Obama Calls for Economy Where 'Everyone Does Their Fair Share'

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This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

This week, President Obama gave his State of the Union speech, the last one before he seeks re-election in November.

BARACK OBAMA: "Tonight I want to speak about how we move forward and lay out a blueprint for an economy that is built to last -- an economy built on American manufacturing, American energy, skills for American workers and a renewal of American values."

Tuesday night, Mr. Obama told Congress and the nation that "the renewal of American leadership can be felt across the globe."

BARACK OBAMA: "Anyone who tells you that America is in decline or that our influence has waned, does not know what they are talking about."

He also talked about what he called "the defining issue of our time."

BARACK OBAMA: "We can either settle for a country where a shrinking number of people do really well, while a growing number of Americans barely get by. Or we can restore an economy where everyone gets a fair shot and everyone does their fair share and everyone plays by the same set of rules."

On foreign policy issues, he noted that for the first time since two thousand three, no Americans are fighting in Iraq. He spoke about progress in Afghanistan, where American troops are beginning to withdraw. He also discussed the killing of Osama bin Laden and the "wave of change" across the Middle East and North Africa. He noted that today, in Libya, Moammar Gadhafi "is gone."

BARACK OBAMA: "And in Syria, I have no doubt that the Assad regime will soon discover that the forces of change cannot be reversed, and that human dignity cannot be denied."

The president said American-led international pressure on Iran is having an effect. He said he "will take no options off the table" to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon.

BARACK OBAMA: "But a peaceful resolution of this issue is still possible, and far better. And if Iran changes course and meets its obligations, it can rejoin the community of nations."

President Obama did not talk about issues such as North Korea, Middle East peace efforts or the European debt crisis. Daniel Serwer at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Washington says that was because of the election campaign.

DANIEL SERWER: "It seems to me very significant that a lot was left out and that the president is trying to refocus away from broad international commitments and toward some very specific, mostly domestic commitments."

The president did talk about China's trade policies. He announced plans to create a Trade Enforcement Unit to investigate reports of unfair trade practices.

Governor Mitch Daniels of Indiana gave the Republican Party reaction to the State of the Union speech. He called Mr. Obama's policies extreme and "pro-poverty."

MITCH DANIELS: "No feature of the Obama presidency has been sadder than its constant efforts to divide us, to curry favor with some Americans by castigating others. As in previous moments of national danger, we Americans are all in the same boat."

The day after his speech, the president began a three-day trip to five states across the country. The states were Iowa, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado and Michigan. All are considered political "swing states," which could help decide the election.

In the Nevada, for example, the president discussed his proposals for increasing American energy development while protecting the environment. Republicans denounced his recent rejection of a proposed pipeline to move natural gas from Canadian tar sand fields to Texas.

The four remaining candidates for the Republican nomination debated in Florida Thursday night. It was their last debate before that big southern state holds its primary election on Tuesday.

And that's IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English. I'm Steve Ember.

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For Some, Religion is Part of the College Experience

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FAITH LAPIDUS: Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC in VOA Special English.

(MUSIC)

I’m Faith Lapidus. Today on our show, we play music from singer Lana Del Rey.

We also answer a question from Burma about the way Americans elect a president.

But, first we go to real college to hear how some students combine religion with their school life.

College Religious Life

FAITH LAPIDUS: Going to college is often a chance for young adults to explore ideas and beliefs different from those they grew up with. As they do, college students are finding new ways to express their beliefs. As we hear from Christopher Cruise, American clergy say many young people are remaining true to their religious faith.

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CHRISTOPHER CRUISE: A traditional observance gives Indian students a chance to share their faith and culture with others. Many did that at this recent event, says Chandni Raja of the Hindu Student Organization at the University of Southern California.

CHANDNI RAJA: “Meeting other groups on campus and trying to get that dialogue going, while also maintaining our own communities as a strong place where people can come together.”

Varun Soni works as dean of religious life at the University of Southern California. He says many students keep religion on their own terms.

VARUN SONI: “They’re more interested, I find, in making religion work for them as opposed to working for it. So they interpret their religious and spiritual traditions in a way that makes sense for them.”

Scotty McLennan is dean for religious life at Stanford University in California. He is also seeing a new openness.

SCOTTY MCLENNAN: “I think the most exciting thing that’s happening is that students really are learning how to listen to each other across traditions, and they really are getting more interested in that kind of empathetic listening and presence to each other, hearing each others’ stories.”

Some students use religious traditions to support their beliefs. Others become less observant, but many want to share their faith and culture with others.

Omer Bajwa directs Muslim religious activities at Yale University in Connecticut. He advises Muslim students. He says they have many questions about the importance of faith.

OMER BAJWA: “In a time of increasing religiosity but also increasing secularism, where are the fault lines, and what are the tensions and what are the areas of conversation? I think we find common questions coming across.”

Rabbi Patricia Karlin-Neumann is senior associate dean for religious life at Stanford University. She says discussions in the classroom and with students from different religious traditions can lead to questions in a student’s faith.

PATRICIA KARLIN-NEUMANN: “The question in my mind is whether that questioning leads to a falling off of commitment or a deepening of commitment. And my experience is that people who claim their religious traditions after having or in the process of being engaged with other people are far more inclined to see what they have as something precious.”

Tahera Ahmad is associate university chaplain at Northwestern University in Illinois. She says interfaith service projects and community discussions are bringing students together at schools all across the country.

TAHERA AHMAD: “What I’ve seen on college campuses is that the young students who are from various faith backgrounds are coming together and not necessarily leaving their faith at the door, but not also wearing their faith on their sleeve, so to say, but finding some kind of balance as to saying, ‘This is who I am. I am a Muslim, I am a Christian, I am a Jew. We’re all coming together towards making the world a better place.’”

These clergymen and women say college students are growing in their faith by meeting and learning from those of other religions.

Electoral College

FAITH LAPIDUS: Our question this week comes from Burma. Ko Maw Gyi wants to know about the Electoral College. This is the name of the system Americans use to elect a president.

The Electoral College is made up of representatives from all fifty states and the District of Columbia. Electors are appointed representatives who promise to vote as the people of the state guide them. Different states have different laws on the appointment of the electors. In some states, the names of the electors appear on the ballot, below the names of the candidates.

The number of electoral votes in each state equals the number of representatives and senators in Congress from that state. This depends on population. So, states with more people have more electoral votes. In all, there are five hundred thirty-eight electoral votes. To become president, a candidate must win a simple majority, at least two hundred seventy.

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What this means is that it is possible for a presidential candidate to win the popular vote in the country but lose the election. This has happened four times. The most recent was in two thousand, when George W. Bush was elected to his first term in office. Five hundred thousand more Americans voted for Vice President Al Gore for president. But Mister Bush received more electoral votes.

This is because forty-eight of the fifty states have a winner-take-all electoral votes policy. The candidate who wins the highest number of popular votes in a state receives all of that state’s electoral votes.

Critics of the Electoral College say it is undemocratic, difficult to understand and dangerous to the political system. Supporters say it helps to guarantee the rights of states with small populations. They say it also requires candidates to campaign in many states, not just those with large populations.

There have been hundreds of proposals in Congress to end or reform the Electoral College. But amending the Constitution is a difficult process.

Ko Maw Gyi in Burma also asked about American presidential debates. We will answer that question next week.

Lana Del Rey

FAITH LAPIDUS: Twenty-five year old singer and songwriter Lana Del Rey has an album set for release Tuesday. But, she already has been getting a lot of attention with the release of several singles and music videos. Shirley Griffith has more.

(MUSIC)

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: Lana Del Rey’s “Video Games” was first released in June of last year. Her smoky, sexy sound and the somewhat strange song became popular on the World Wide Web. So did her video that went with it. The artist says she made it herself, using film and video clips she found on the Web. The video is an interesting, piece filled with images that bring old Hollywood and new love to mind.

Lana Del Rey
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Lana Del Rey

In October, “Video Games” was re-released as a single from her new album “Born to Die.” The album is supposed to come out on January thirty-first. However, it was leaked on the Internet Tuesday.

“Blue Jeans” is another single from the new recording.

(MUSIC)

Lana Del Rey was born Elizabeth Grant in New York City. She grew up in Lake Placid, New York, but returned to the city to begin her music career. She told a reporter she often performed in small Brooklyn music clubs on nights when anyone was permitted to get on stage.

We leave you with her performing the title song from her new album, “Born to Die.”

(MUSIC)

FAITH LAPIDUS: I’m Faith Lapidus. We’re thinking about starting a new feature on American Mosaic. It would offer advice to people who have a problem in a relationship. It could be a problem in a romantic relationship, or with a family member or a friend, or at school or work.
We would talk to experts for advice and gather opinions from users of our social media sites. We would give a brief summary of the problem but never identify you. We would give our answer online and on radio during our program AMERICAN MOSAIC.
To test this idea, we need your help. If you have a relationship problem write to us about it. Give us enough details to understand the situation. Make sure you tell us how old you are, whether you’re a man or a woman, and the country you live in.
Write to mosaic@voanews.com and type "Relationship" in the subject line.

This program was written by Christopher Cruise and Caty Weaver, who also was our producer. We had additional reporting from Mike O’Sullivan.

Join us again next week for music and more on AMERICAN MOSAIC in VOA Special English.

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How an Allowance Helps Children Learn About Money

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This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.

Many children first learn the value of money by receiving an allowance. The purpose is to let children learn from experience at an age when financial mistakes are not very costly.

The amount of money that parents give to their children to spend as they wish differs from family to family. Timing is another consideration. Some children get a weekly allowance. Others get a monthly allowance.

In any case, parents should make clear what, if anything, the child is expected to pay for with the money.

At first, young children may spend all of their allowance soon after they receive it. If they do this, they will learn the hard way that spending must be done within a budget. Parents are usually advised not to offer more money until the next allowance.

The object is to show young people that a budget demands choices between spending and saving. Older children may be responsible enough to save money for larger costs, like clothing or electronics.

Many people who have written on the subject of allowances say it is not a good idea to pay your child for work around the home. These jobs are a normal part of family life.

Paying children to do extra work around the house, however, can be useful. It can even provide an understanding of how a business works.

Allowances give children a chance to experience the things they can do with money. They can share it in the form of gifts or giving to a good cause. They can spend it by buying things they want. Or they can save and maybe even invest it.

Saving helps children understand that costly goals require sacrifice: you have to cut costs and plan for the future.

Requiring children to save part of their allowance can also open the door to future saving and investing. Many banks offer services to help children and teenagers learn about personal finance.

A savings account is an excellent way to learn about the power of compound interest.

Compounding works by paying interest on interest. So, for example, one dollar invested at two percent interest for two years will earn two cents in the first year. The second year, the money will earn two percent of one dollar and two cents, and so on.

That may not seem like a lot. But over time it adds up.

And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report, written by Mario Ritter. We invite you to share your family stories about getting or giving an allowance. Write your comments at voaspecialenglish.com -- where you can also read, listen and learn with our programs and English teaching activities. I'm Steve Ember.

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Does Physical Activity Lead to Higher Grades?

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This is the VOA Special English Education Report.

Recently we told you about a finding that more years of school could help students get higher scores on intelligence tests. That was the finding of a study of teenage males in Norway. Now, other research shows that physical activity may help students do better in their classes.

The research comes as educators in some countries are reducing time for activities like physical education. They are using the time instead for academic subjects like math and reading.

Researchers at VU University Medical Center in Amsterdam reviewed the results of fourteen studies. Twelve were from the United States, one from Canada and one from South Africa.

The studies appeared between nineteen ninety-seven and two thousand nine. They included more than fifty-five thousand children, ages six to eighteen.

Researcher Amika Singh says the studies showed a link between physical activity and scores on subjects such as math, English and reading.

AMIKA SINGH: "Based on the results of our study we can conclude that being physically active is beneficial for academic performance."

Ms. Singh offers some possible explanations.

AMIKA SINGH: "There are, first, physiological explanations, like more blood flow, and so more oxygen to the brain. Being physically active means there are more hormones produced like endorphins. And endorphins make your stress level lower and your mood improved, which means you also perform better."

Also, students involved in organized sports learn rules and how to follow them. This could improve their classroom behavior and help them keep their mind on their work.

The study leaves some questions unanswered, however. Ms. Singh says it is not possible to say whether the amount or kind of activity affected the level of academic improvement. This is because of differences among the studies.

Also, they were mostly observational studies. An observational study is where researchers do not do controlled comparisons. They only describe what they observe. So they might observe a link that students who are more active often have better grades. But that does not necessarily mean being active was the cause of those higher grades.

The researchers said they found only two high-quality studies. They called for more high-quality studies to confirm their findings. They also pointed out that "outcomes for other parts of the world may be quite different."

Still, the general finding was that physically active kids are more likely to do better in school. Ms. Singh says schools should consider that finding before they cut physical education programs. Her Amike Singh's paper on "Physical Activity and Performance at School" is published in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine.

And that's the VOA Special English Education Report. I'm Alex Villarreal.

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Health Risks in a Crowd: Not What You May Think

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This is the VOA Special English Health Report.

Picture a huge public gathering -- a sea of people like the hajj to Mecca or an appearance by the pope. Think of the World Cup, the Olympics, a political event, a rock concert or a train station in Asia before the Lunar New Year.

When thousands or even millions of people get together, what do you suppose is the biggest health concern?

Traditionally, doctors and public health officials were most concerned about the spread of infectious diseases, like influenza. Robert Steffen, a researcher in Switzerland, says infectious diseases are still a concern. But he says injuries are a bigger threat at so-called mass gatherings.

ROBERT STEFFEN: "The risk has actually been dominated by sprains or lacerations, or the mortality risk due to stampedes and heat exhaustion in periods of extreme heat."

Mr. Steffen is a professor of travel medicine at the University of Zurich. He is the lead author of one of several new papers about health problems at mass gatherings in the journal Lancet Infectious Diseases.

Professor Steffen says children and older people have the highest risk of injury or other health problems at these events. He says children are more at risk of getting crushed in stampedes, while older people are at higher risk from extreme heat.

ROBERT STEFFEN: "At the hajj, it’s particularly senior adults who attend, and so they have great risk of suffering of heat stroke and of dying."

Stampedes and crushing at mass gatherings have caused an estimated seven thousand deaths over the past thirty years.

The design of an area can play a part. There may be narrow passages or other choke points that too many people try to use at once. Professor Steffen says the mood of a crowd can also play a part.

ROBERT STEFFEN: "If suddenly they get agitated, for instance, firework is being launched within a football stadium, then they get very much afraid and try to escape."

He says organizers of large gatherings need to avoid creating conditions that might lead to panic, stampedes and heat stroke. And he says they must be ready to give medical care.

So what advice does he have for people attending a large gathering? First, get any needed vaccinations before traveling. Then, stay away from any large mass of people as much as possible. Also, be careful with alcohol and drugs, which can increase the risk of injuries.

And that’s the VOA Special English Health Report, available online at voaspecialenglish.com with texts, MP3s, podcasts and captioned videos. Have you ever been in a huge crowd and worried about your safety? Or did you feel fine? Tell us about your experience. Post a comment at voaspecialenglish.com. I’m Christopher Cruise.

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