NPR 2009-04-17

The Obama administration has told CIA officials, said that they will not be prosecuted² for waterboarding terrorism suspects during the Bush administration. A message came as the White House released Bush era memos⁴, authorizing⁵ harsh interrogation techniques. NPR's Ari Shapiro reports.

There are four memos from 2002 and 2005. They list in detail which harsh interrogation tactics the CIA can use on detainees. The approved techniques include slapping, stress positions, sleep deprivation⁶ and waterboarding. One memo³ tells interrogators they can exploit a detainee's fear of bugs⁷ by putting him in a cramped⁸ box with an insect. The ACLU sued to get these documents. Several former CIA directors fought to keep them secret. The Obama administration paired the memos’ release with the reassurance⁹ for CIA officials. For the first time, Attorney General Eric Holder¹⁰ said the Justice Department will not prosecute¹ interrogators who abused detainees under Bush administration legal guidance. He said it would be unfair to prosecute people for conduct that was sanctioned in advance by the Justice Department. Ari Shapiro, NPR News, Washington.

President Obama is in Mexico City right now where he is pledging to help Mexico in its battle against violent drug cartels and to cooperate on economic issues. "It is more important than ever that we work together, not only to restore economic growth in Mexico and the United States, but also to make sure that growth is sustainable." The president was speaking during a formal welcoming ceremony at a news conference with Mexican President Felipe Calderon. Mr. Obama said he would push the US Senate to ratify¹¹ a treaty designed to reduce the flow of arms and ammunition¹² to the drug cartels. The two have also announced an agreement on climate change and clean energy cooperation. The president is due in Trinidad and Tobago tomorrow for the summit of Americas.

Home foreclosures in the US have reached their highest monthly level since 2005. The latest data from the firm RealtyTrac show many lenders are following through on foreclosures already in the pipeline¹³. Jason Lopez has more from San Francisco.

More than 340, 000 foreclosures filings across the US were reported in March, up 46% from a year ago and the highest monthly total since RealtyTrac began monitoring foreclosure data in 2005. Nevada, Arizona and California had the highest foreclosure rates. The spike¹⁴ in March has something to do with earlier efforts to keep people in their homes. Lenders that had put freeze on foreclosures lifted those moratoriums¹⁵ in the first quarter and are now pushing them out of the pipeline. Some real estate observers pointed¹⁶ out that there are still new defaults and repossessions enough to predict that things could get worse before they get better. From NPR News, I'm Jason Lopez in San Francisco.

Stocks posted a strong surge again today on reassuring¹⁷ earnings¹⁸ reports from technology companies such as Nokia and big banks like JP Morgan Chase. The Dow picked up 95 points. The S&P and NASDAQ both posted solid gains.

This is NPR.

The prime minister of Somalia says pirates operating off the coast to the lawless country cannot be defeated at sea regardless of how many international warships¹⁹ are sent to the region. Meanwhile the United Nations special envoy²⁰ to Somalia says the presence of navy ships would reduce the number of pirate attacks but would not stop the problem and the Security Council must intervene. NPR's Ofeibea Quist-Arcton reports.

The Somali Prime Minister Omar Sharmarke said pirates would always find ways to avoid the international navies patrolling off Somalia and that the best way to deal with them was on land before they took to the sea. The UN special representative to Somalia Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah says the Security Council must do more to help turbulent Somalia, a country without an effective central authority since 1991. "We have a new government - legitimate²¹, legal, but weak and something has to be done to address this pandemic of piracy²² because it's threatening not only the poor Somalis but it is threatening international peace." Abdallah said young Somalis are being exploited and encouraged to become pirates by ruthless finances, sending victims onto the high seas and possible death.
Ofeibea Quist-Arcton, NPR News, Johannesburg.

The container ship captain who was held hostage in a lifeboat by Somali pirates for five days is said to be due back in the US tomorrow. The Associated Press says Captain Richard Phillips has left the USS Bainbridge in the Kenyan port of Mombasa and has boarded a chartered airplane. Meanwhile his crew was already back. They were greeted earlier today by relatives when they arrived at Andrews Air Force Base near Washington D. C.

1 prosecute   

vt.告发；进行；vi.告发，起诉，作检察官

参考例句：

• I am trying my best to prosecute my duties.我正在尽力履行我的职责。
• Is there enough evidence to prosecute?有没有起诉的足够证据？

2 prosecuted   

a.被起诉的

参考例句：

• The editors are being prosecuted for obscenity. 编辑因刊载污秽文字而被起诉。
• The company was prosecuted for breaching the Health and Safety Act. 这家公司被控违反《卫生安全条例》。

3 memo   

n.照会，备忘录；便笺；通知书；规章

参考例句：

• Do you want me to send the memo out?您要我把这份备忘录分发出去吗？
• Can you type a memo for me?您能帮我打一份备忘录吗？

4 memos   

n.备忘录( memo的名词复数 )；（美）内部通知

参考例句：

• Big shots get their dander up and memos start flying. 大人物们怒火中烧，备忘录四下乱飞。 来自辞典例句
• There was a pile of mail, memos and telephone messages on his desk. 他的办公桌上堆满着信件、备忘录和电话通知。 来自辞典例句

5 authorizing   

授权，批准，委托( authorize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Letters of Marque: Take letters from a warning friendly power authorizing privateering. 私掠许可证：从某一个国家获得合法抢劫的证书。
• Formal phavee completion does not include authorizing the subsequent phavee. 阶段的正式完成不包括核准随后的阶段。

6 deprivation   

n.匮乏；丧失；夺去，贫困

参考例句：

• Many studies make it clear that sleep deprivation is dangerous.多实验都证实了睡眠被剥夺是危险的。
• Missing the holiday was a great deprivation.错过假日是极大的损失。

7 bugs   

adj.疯狂的，发疯的n.窃听器( bug的名词复数 )；病菌；虫子；[计算机]（制作软件程序所产生的意料不到的）错误

参考例句：

• All programs have bugs and need endless refinement. 所有的程序都有漏洞，都需要不断改进。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The sacks of rice were swarming with bugs. 一袋袋的米里长满了虫子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 cramped   

a.狭窄的

参考例句：

• The house was terribly small and cramped, but the agent described it as a bijou residence. 房子十分狭小拥挤，但经纪人却把它说成是小巧别致的住宅。
• working in cramped conditions 在拥挤的环境里工作

9 reassurance   

n.使放心，使消除疑虑

参考例句：

• He drew reassurance from the enthusiastic applause.热烈的掌声使他获得了信心。
• Reassurance is especially critical when it comes to military activities.消除疑虑在军事活动方面尤为关键。

10 holder   

n.持有者，占有者；(台，架等)支持物

参考例句：

• The holder of the office of chairman is reponsible for arranging meetings.担任主席职位的人负责安排会议。
• That runner is the holder of the world record for the hundred-yard dash.那位运动员是一百码赛跑世界纪录的保持者。

11 ratify   

v.批准，认可，追认

参考例句：

• The heads of two governments met to ratify the peace treaty.两国政府首脑会晤批准和平条约。
• The agreement have to be ratify by the board.该协议必须由董事会批准。

12 ammunition   

n.军火，弹药

参考例句：

• A few of the jeeps had run out of ammunition.几辆吉普车上的弹药已经用光了。
• They have expended all their ammunition.他们把弹药用光。

13 pipeline   

n.管道，管线

参考例句：

• The pipeline supplies Jordan with 15 per cent of its crude oil.该管道供给约旦15%的原油。
• A single pipeline serves all the houses with water.一条单管路给所有的房子供水。

14 spike   

n.长钉，钉鞋；v.以大钉钉牢，使...失效

参考例句：

• The spike pierced the receipts and held them in order.那个钉子穿过那些收据并使之按顺序排列。
• They'll do anything to spike the guns of the opposition.他们会使出各种手段来挫败对手。

15 moratoriums   

正式的延缓，暂停( moratorium的名词复数 )

参考例句：

16 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

17 reassuring   

a.使人消除恐惧和疑虑的，使人放心的

参考例句：

• He gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder. 他轻拍了一下她的肩膀让她放心。
• With a reassuring pat on her arm, he left. 他鼓励地拍了拍她的手臂就离开了。

18 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

19 warships   

军舰，战舰( warship的名词复数 )； 舰只

参考例句：

• The enemy warships were disengaged from the battle after suffering heavy casualties. 在遭受惨重伤亡后，敌舰退出了海战。
• The government fitted out warships and sailors for them. 政府给他们配备了战舰和水手。

20 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

21 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

22 piracy   

n.海盗行为，剽窃，著作权侵害

参考例句：

• The government has already adopted effective measures against piracy.政府已采取有效措施惩治盗版行为。
• They made the place a notorious centre of piracy.他们把这地方变成了臭名昭著的海盗中心。