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CNNstudent news

10 min - May 25, 2007

May 25th CARL AZUZ, CNN STUDENT NEWS ANCHOR: You've made it to the end of the week with CNN Student News and we're glad to have you with us. I'm Carl Azuz. No need for a veto: After rejecting a previous version, President Bush says he's happy with Congress' new war funding bill. No plan to back down: US Navy war games off the coast of Iran are just part of the rising tensions between the two countries. And no missing this ape: An orangutan in Taiwan breaks out of his cage and then heads to a restaurant to unleash his fury. First Up: Funding the War AZUZ: First up today: Compromise. It's the name of the game on Capitol Hill. After serious negotiations, lawmakers in the House and the Senate passed a controversial war spending bill just last night. It pays for US military operations -- mostly the war in Iraq -- through September. Now you may remember President Bush vetoed the last version of this bill because it set a deadline to bring US troops home. This one, though, doesn't, and the president is indicating it won't fall victim to his veto pen. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) US PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: Legislation that provides our troops with the funds they need, makes clear that our Iraqi partners must demonstrate progress on security and reconciliation. My administration and members of Congress from both parties have had many meetings to work out our differences on this legislation. (END VIDEO CLIP) Minimum Wage Hike AZUZ: Okay now, one more thing about that bill that may affect a lot of you: It includes a $2.10 increase in the federal minimum wage, and that could eventually mean more pop in your paycheck. Week in Review AZUZ: Diving into our next story, you might think your best chance of seeing a whale out in the middle of the ocean sounds logical. But a couple humpbacks have been getting a lot of camera time right in the heart of California! That's part of our Week in Review, which starts right now. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) AZUZ: The search is over for one of three US soldiers missing in Iraq for almost 2 weeks. Military officials have confirmed a body found in the Euphrates River is one of the men who disappeared after a surprise attack south of Baghdad. US commanders say they'll keep looking for the remaining troops with the "same level of intensity." In a different part of the region, fighting has raged in Lebanon all week, as that nation's army battles a militant group with suspected ties to al Qaeda. Dozens of people have been killed on both sides of these clashes, which started on Sunday. An official from the group, Fatah al-Islam, announced a truce on Tuesday, but it's been interrupted by violence several times. Turning to the weather now. Experts are making their predictions for this year's hurricane season in the Atlantic, which gets an official start on June 1st. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says we can expect 13-17 named storms, with about 7-10 of those becoming full-fledged hurricanes. But Mother Nature doesn't always stick to the calendar. We've actually had one named storm so far this year. It's a fiery ordeal for the world's last surviving 19th century clipper ship. A massive fire broke out onboard the Cutty Sark, which has been a popular tourist attraction in London for 50 years. The famous vessel was in the middle of a $50 million makeover, so a lot of its components, fortunately, were safe in storage. And finally, we've got our two wayward whales, who are still doing laps in the Sacramento River. The mother humpback and her calf seem to be a little confused about their sense of direction. Scientists haven't had too much luck turning the off-course ocean goers back toward the Pacific Ocean after they got lost 90 miles inland. (END VIDEO CLIP) Word to the Wise GEORGE RAMSAY, CNN STUDENT NEWS: A Word to the Wise... sanction (noun) the penalty for not obeying a specific law or decree source: www.dictionary.com US - Iran Relations AZUZ: American and Iranian officials are scheduled to meet on Monday, but strong words from both countries' leaders might make that meeting a little awkward. President Bush says Iran is developing nuclear weapons, and he wants to beef up sanctions against the middle eastern country. And his counterpart, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, says there's no way he'll stop Iran's nuclear program. Zain Verjee has more on the rising tensions. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ZAIN VERJEE, STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT: An American armada flexing muscle in broad daylight. War games: 9 US warships steaming into the Persian Gulf, ever so close to Iranian shores. On board, 17,000 sailors and Marines. But miscalculations can happen, especially with military drills in Iran's backyard. This "in your face" drill comes as both Iran and the United States turn up the heat. VERJEE: Iran has detained a fourth Iranian-American: Kian Tajbaksh, a consultant working in Iran. TOM CASEY, STATE DEPT. SPOKESMAN: The idea that somehow these people represent a threat to the regime is just absurd. VERJEE: And now a top US military commander tells CNN of a disturbing development, accusing Iran of forging a new alliance to spread terror in Iraq. MAJ. GEN. WILLIAM CALDWELL, MULTI-NATIONAL FORCE, IRAQ: There are Sunni extremist elements that are in fact being funded by Iranian intelligence agents and they are also providing some training for them, too. VERJEE: The United States has been trying to isolate the Iranian regime by supporting tough UN sanctions, cutting it off from international banks, detaining five Iranians in Iraq, and is planning to step up democracy programs inside Iran that support human rights, media access and education groups. VERJEE: Both sides trying to one-up the other in a battle of wills that shows no sign of letting up, even as they prepare to sit down on Monday for direct talks on Iraq. KARIM SADJADPOUR, CARNEGIE ENDOWMENT FOR INTERNATIONAL PEACE: I think there are elements in both capitals, both in Washington and in Tehran, that don't want to see improved ties between the US and Iran, and don't even want to see a dialogue between the US and Iran. And they are doing their best to torpedo these talks. VERJEE: The International Atomic Energy Agency has come out with a report blasting Iran for continuing its nuclear activity in defiance of international demands to suspend it. Zain Verjee, CNN, at the State Department. (END VIDEO CLIP) Shoutout RAMSAY: Today's Shoutout goes out to Mr. Cassidy's International Studies classes at William Tennent High School in Warminster, Pennsylvania! Which of these is China's flag? If you think you know it, shout it out! Is it A, B, C or D? You've got three seconds -- GO! A is China's flag! It flies over the country's population of more than 1.3 billion people. The Next Idol AZUZ: America's got a new idol. You probably know that the mega-popular talent contest crowned a new champ this week. Now millions of people in the US tune in for the show every year. But other countries have similar competitions, although the name and the game are a little different. John Vause gives us a look at China's search for "Superboy"! (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JOHN VAUSE, CNN REPORTER: Humiliation, it seems, knows no borders, regardless of country, regardless of language. Here in China, 100,000 wannabes and never-really-should-of's have tried out for the title of "Superboy," an all-male talent quest now down to the final 12, where just like the international "Idol" series, viewers get to choose the winner. VAUSE: Contestants are chosen from six different provinces, like these fifty from Nanjing. "This is a war zone," the voiceover says as competing Superboys jump in and out of tanks. While these contestants from Xian province are portrayed as ancient Chinese warriors about to do battle. The "Superboy" series is a spinoff from the wildly popular "Supergirl." When it first went to air two years ago, more than 400 million watched the grand finale. Jane Zhang was the runner-up that first year. This former student who once sang in a bar now has a number one selling album and performs to sold out concerts. "So much has changed in my life," she told me. "So many strangers just want to meet me now. It feels like everything around me is alive." VAUSE: Her record producer says "Supergirl" and "Superboy" have permanently changed China's music industry. "The audience wants to be involved," he says. "They choose the contestants they like, and then they want to buy their albums." VAUSE: Call it the Idol effect: A fast road to fame for a few, a cringing moment for so many others. John Vause, CNN, Beijing. (END VIDEO CLIP) Promo AZUZ: The CNN Classroom Edition: Wounded Warriors gives you a rare look at the medical care US soldiers get when they're injured during fighting in Iraq. The program airs this coming Monday, and you can check out our free curriculum guide at CNN.com/EDUCATION. Before We Go AZUZ: Before we go, a story from Taiwan that'll make you go ape! Now we don't know how this orangutan got out of his cage. But once he did, we do know he was plenty angry! After taking out some serious road rage on a motorbike, you see him tipping it over there, the wild wooly ripped through a restaurant, chasing away diners and turning over tables. It took 2 hours to chase down the berserk beast and bring his boisterous belligerence to an end. Goodbye AZUZ: Maybe he just wasn't happy with the service. Just so you guys know, we'll be off the air for Memorial Day on Monday, but we'll see you back on Tuesday for more CNN Student News. Enjoy the holiday weekend, everybody. I'm Carl Azuz.

The Maturing of the Democratic Process, third party platform
capnarness
9 min - May 24, 2007

Subtitled, "Resolved: The American public is now just as capable of voting on the competing Democratic and Republican versions of Congressional bills, as voting on the competing candidates." In the interest of bringing America's political process up to speed, it seems no candidate could want anything more than to have their party's version of a Congressional bill put up for a public vote along side the other party's version. This is because everyone knows the other party's version is bogus, and a public vote would expose it for the partisan scam that it is. In actual practice though, moderation would prevail. Since the competing Republican and Democratic versions of a bill would of course need to be written away from party base extremes in order to gain the public vote majority...in a process that would effectively begin to continuously define the national interest one issue at a time. There are two ways Congress and We the People could grant ourselves this option. The first is through a binding resolution...binding on no one other than Congress itself...to pass along the public vote majority-winning version to the President. The second way is through a National Referendum Amendment (NRA), where the book points out since more amendments have dealt with the extension of voting rights than any other single issue, an NRA would form the next logical term in the series...which Marilyn vos Savant and media savvy Constitutional Law Prof. Jonathan Turley of George Washington University could both be asked to verify. The initiative version of direct democracy, or privately written laws and their nasty petitions, is not supported here on the federal level. The concept is to elevate to a statutory level the process by which the Constitution itself was written by elected representatives, and then referred to We the People for a public vote. As a matter of Constitutional law, the book points out all that would be required to grant Congress this option, to put the competing versions of a bill to a public vote, is 18 hard words added to the 1st sentence of the 2nd paragraph of Article I section vii. The perspective is to re-strike the balance of power, take back America, and end the era of government by psychological operations. And the good news is the book has already entered the 2008 Presidential Debates...sort of. Since it looks a lot like here's where Former Senator Gravel got the talking points for his "Take Back America" video and a few later ones as well. Anyway, gravel2008 was sent a link to this video, and my YouTube records show they read it on 5/29/2007. Their "Take Back America" video of 6/22 came out with an introductory speech about "shifting of power:" In which pardner couldn't repeat enough about power and empowerment of the "citizens as lawmakers on the federal level." The first three sentences of the book are: "Governments are about the balance of power. Balance of power is about the abuse of power. In conclusion governments are about the abuse of power." Re-striking the balance of power is the major reoccurring theme. In the second chapter Jefferson's letters and Madison in "The Federalist" are quoted to show, as Gravel repeats, "the people are qualified to make the laws." Though the closest thing Jefferson actually wrote was "It is left...to the juries, if they think the permanent judges are under any bias whatever in any cause, to take on themselves to judge the law as well as the fact." The book basically makes the distinction, favoring the referendum over the initiative, that judging a law as Jefferson was writing about it is not meant to include writing the law. The first issue I suggest to use the new process on, to have a popular vote on the competing Republican and Democratic versions of a bill, would be tax code reform...and tax code reform is the one issue the Senator brings up in this speech. Another common theme of the book is that, for their part in fixing the broken system of government, the American people need to grow out of their adolescence, and recognize their responsibilities in the decision-making process. Hence the title of the book, wherein we have Gravel saying "when I see a protest I realize our democracy is not yet mature," "our democracy is not yet mature," and "our democracy needs to become mature." Pardner even finishes with a quote from Cicero where the book ends with a quote on citizen participation from Aristotle. From this it is concluded the book has already entered the 2008 Presidential Debates...sort of. Gravel's team makes a fatal error though, I believe, in advocating the initiative form of direct democracy on the federal level. The problem is a National Initiative Amendment (NIA), or again privately written laws and their nasty petitions, is not a new idea. It's been brought up periodically throughout the years ever since the populist movement swept the nation 100 years after the first revolution, and repeatedly denied promotion to the federal level as too disruptive. The key critical distinction the book makes is that with all the media polls there's no need for petitions on the national level...and no shortage of laws written by elected representatives...just a broken system that uses the polls and focus groups in order to focus on what lies to tell. What is needed in America now is a slight adjustment to the process which would trim off the line-item pork barrels hanging from the undercarriage in a dirty configuration, and shift the campaign cash flow so the corporations would need make their best case to the people directly. Since the competing politicians would now need to be writing their versions of bills more towards moderation, away from party base extremes, in order to gain the public vote majority. Also, very importantly as the book points out, an NRA would require much less of a modification to the Constitution than an NIA. Even to the extent, as indicated above, of requiring no modification at all and the deal going down by means of binding resolution. Anyway, "Take Back America" is kind of a CNN Lou Dobbs theme, so I had earlier sent 11 signed copies of the book to Dobbs, Blitzer, Cafferty, Amanpour, Zahn, Ware, King, Phillips, Harris, Grace, and Lisovicz in Atlanta.

תצוגת רהבה לדמוקרטיה במדינת ישראל בשנת 2007 תראו מה קורה לקבוצת סטודנטים שבאה להלחם על הזכויות של כולנו, מדוע על המשטרה והמדינה להפעיל כח רב כלכך ...

אלימות משטרתית בהפגנת הסטודנטים בירושלים 10.5.2007
anker5
6 min - May 11, 2007

תצוגת רהבה לדמוקרטיה במדינת ישראל בשנת 2007 תראו מה קורה לקבוצת סטודנטים שבאה להלחם על הזכויות של כולנו, מדוע על המשטרה והמדינה להפעיל כח רב כלכך מול סטודנטים שמנצלים את זכותם האזרחית להפגין???

Local TV & Local Responsibility Part One
The Oklahoma History Center
25 min - May 8, 2007

Panel Discussion on the takeover of New York Times Corporations news stations by Oak Hill Capital Partners and its holding company, Local TV LLC. Panelists include Oklahoma's GOP Chairman Gary Jones, OU Journalism Professor Ken Fischer, and former radio personalities Ron Black and Mark Shannon. The video shown that is edited out is FCC Comissioner Michael Copps discussing various issues regarding media consolidation, including his "new America media contract" which included: First, a right to media that strengthens our democracy; Second, a right to local stations that are actually local; Third, a right to media that looks and sounds like America; Fourth, a right to news that isn’t canned and radio playlists that aren’t for sale; and Fifth, a right to programming that isn’t so damned bad so damned often” Special thanks to the Oklahoma Historic Society for helping out with this production.