US Disappointed Over Failure of Bosnia Reform Talks

By David Gollust Washington 24 May 2007

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Bosnia-Herzegovina

The U.S. State Department is expressing disappointment over the failure by key leaders of Bosnia and Herzegovina to make progress on government reforms in three days of U.S.-brokered talks in Washington. U.S. officials say the stalemate is blocking the Balkan country's prospective membership in the European Union and NATO. VOA's David Gollust reports from the State Department.

Officials here are using unusually blunt terms to express their displeasure over the continuing impasse in U.S.-mediated reform talks between the Bosnian Serb and Muslim leaders.

Haris Silajdzic, leader of the country's Muslim community, and prime minister Milorad Dodik of the country's ethnic-Serb entity the Republika Serbska, spent three days behind closed doors with senior State Department officials in a new U.S. push for constitutional reforms.

The Bush administration had hoped to conclude an agreement to unify the ethnically-separate police forces of the country's two mini-states, one led by Serbs and the other by Muslims and Croats, and to at least make progress on a streamlined central government.

But a written statement issued at the close of the meetings late Thursday by State Department Deputy Spokesman Tom Casey expressed disappointment that the two leaders had failed to reach agreement on the issues.

Casey said by failing to overcome the differences, the sides are making it impossible for Bosnia and Herzegovina to proceed on a path of full integration into Euro-Atlantic structures.

Casey said the leaders must work within the framework of the 1995 Dayton peace accords to resolve their issues, and live up to their obligations to the country's citizens for a stable and prosperous future.

U.S. participants in the talks included Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Nicolas Burns, Assistant Secretary for Europe and Eurasia Dan Fried, and the U.S. Ambassador in Sarajevo Douglas McElhaney.

In a VOA interview, McElhaney said the United States will not halt its mediation efforts though no new talks are in immediate prospect. He declined to apportion blame, and said both sides need to compromise. "We thought we had a good chance of coming to agreements and I think a lot of people were very optimistic. This doesn't mean however that we're somehow or another going to walk away from the issues involved here. We're going to continue to push this forward, and we're going to have to remind people, as we reminded Mr. Dodik and Mr. Silajdzic, that you can't do anything today in Bosnia and Herzegovina without compromising. And the compromise was not there," he said.

Ambassador McElhaney said it is virtually impossible under the country's current political structure to get anything done on the national level, and he said unifying the police is a fundamental condition for Bosnia reaching a stabilization and association agreement with the EU.

The statement issued here said Undersecretary Burns stressed the importance of halting the nationalist rhetoric that has characterized the Bosnian political environment for the past year.

In an appearance earlier Thursday at Washington's Center for Strategic and International Studies, Silajdzic accused the ethnic-Serb side of wanting to make the divided status-quo a permanent solution, though he said he remained hopeful of an agreement in the near future.

Before leaving for Washington, Mr. Dodik reiterated his party's stand that Bosnia should become a federation of three ethnically-based units, one Serb, one Muslim and the other Croat.

US Senate Rejects Efforts to Derail Immigration Bill

By Deborah Tate Capitol Hill 24 May 2007

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The U.S. Senate has voted down proposals that could have derailed a broad immigration reform bill. The action came after President Bush urged lawmakers to back the legislation. VOA's Deborah Tate reports from Capitol Hill.

The Senate rejected challenges to the immigration bill from both conservative Republicans and liberal Democrats.

Senators voted 66-29 late Thursday against a measure sponsored by Republican Senator David Vitter of Louisiana to strip the bill of a provision that would grant the estimated 12 million undocumented workers in the United States legal status if they obtain a so-called 'z visa'.

Vitter argued the provision rewards immigrants who crossed U.S. borders illegally.

"The 'z visa' amnesty provision absolutely rewards those who have broken the law," said David Vitter.

Senator Edward Kennedy, 24 May 2007

But Senator Ted Kennedy, a Massachusetts Democrat, argued the plan is not amnesty because undocumented workers can only gain legal status after meeting certain conditions, including paying a fine, learning English and undergoing a background check.

"Legalization is important for our national security, we have to know who is in the United States of America," said Ted Kennedy.

Earlier, the Senate voted 49 to 48 against a Democratic-sponsored proposal to phase out temporary worker provision after five years. Senator Byron Dorgan, a North Dakota Democrat was the sponsor:

"Why don't we take a look in five years and see, were the claims that were made for the temporary worker provision, were they claims that turned out to be accurate," he asked.

The guest worker proposal would allow temporary workers to come to the United States on two-year visas and renew them up to three times, but only after they return to the home countries for a year.

Many Democrats are critical of the plan, saying it would depress wages of U.S. workers and would deny temporary workers the opportunity to become American citizens.

It was Dorgan's second unsuccessful challenge to the guest worker program. Earlier this week he proposed stripping the bill of the provision, but that, too, was rejected. A separate Democratic amendment to slash the number of temporary worker visas issued each year from 400,000 to 200,000 was approved on Wednesday.

The guest worker program and the provision that would grant legal status to undocumented workers are seen as the key underpinnings of the immigration reform bill, and supporters warned that removing either one of them would kill the overall legislation.

The Senate action came after President Bush urged lawmakers to approve the legislation, which also includes measures to boost border security.

"If you are serious about securing our borders and bringing millions of illegal immigrants in our country out of the shadows, this bipartisan bill is the best opportunity to move forward," said President Bush.

Senators are expected to vote on the overall legislation when they return from a week-long recess in early June.

The House is scheduled to begin debating the issue later this year.

UN Nuclear Chief: Iran 3-8 Years Away From Bomb

By Sonja Pace London 24 May 2007

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The head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog group, the IAEA, says Iran is probably three to eight years away from being able to produce a nuclear bomb and urges negotiations to keep that from happening. But, in Washington, President Bush is calling for tougher sanctions against Tehran. VOA's Sonja Pace reports from London.

Mohamed ElBaradei, 24 May 2007

Speaking at a news conference in Luxembourg, IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei said he agrees with U.S. intelligence assessments that if Iran wants to develop nuclear weapons, it is three to eight years away from being able to do so.

He said there is no doubt that Iran is increasing its capacity, but he also urged an easing of the rhetoric and the start of comprehensive negotiations to contain the threat of a nuclear arms race.

"I see a proliferation issue that is deteriorating, that we are heading toward a confrontation," he said. "I wanted to make it clear that people understand they need to assess their strategy to do something about it so that we can contain an emerging threat to a region that is, to say the least, an absolute mess right now."

ElBaradei was in Luxembourg for an international conference on nuclear arms technology.

Iran insists its nuclear program is for peaceful energy purposes only. But the United States and many other nations say Iran is seeking to develop nuclear weapons.

The U.N. Security Council has already imposed sanctions on Iran for refusing to suspend its uranium enrichment program. The U.S. and other nations say such a halt is a prelude to any negotiations. But the most recent IAEA report, issued Wednesday, said Tehran has not halted, but has actually expanded its uranium-enrichment activities.

President George Bush holds a press conference in the Rose Garden at White House, 24 May 07

In Washington, President Bush said Iran knows what it has to do.

"The world has spoken and said: No nuclear weapons programs. And yet they are constantly ignoring the demands," he said. "My view is that we need to strengthen our sanction regime."

Mr. Bush said the U.S. will work with its European partners to develop further sanctions. The president said he will also discuss the issue with the leaders of Russia and China.

"The first thing that these leaders have got to understand is that an Iran with a nuclear weapon would be incredibly destabilizing for the world," he said.

The United States will need the support of Russia and China to get additional sanctions approved in the UN Security Council.

Recently, IAEA chief ElBaradei suggested that Iran should be allowed to keep some elements of its nuclear enrichment program. His comments, made to the media, have angered U.S. officials. On Thursday, a senior U.S. diplomat, speaking in Washington, called ElBaradei's comments "inappropriate" and said a delegation of American and European officials is to meet with the IAEA chief in Vienna.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, center, 21 May 2007

In Tehran, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad dismissed the threat of sanctions. Speaking to members of the elite Revolutionary Guards, Mr. Ahmadinejad said Iran will not give in to the demands of its enemies, whom he accused of trying to eradicate the roots and principles of the Islamic Republic.

VOASE0524_Economics Report

24 May 2007

US and China Hold High-Level Trade Discussions
The talks in Washington end with an agreement to increase air links, but no word of progress on the deficit issue.

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This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.

Top officials from the United States and China held two days of trade talks this week in Washington.

Chinese Finance Minister Jin Renquing, Vice Premier Wu Yi and US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson at the US-China Strategic Economic Dialogue

They agreed to increase the number of direct flights between the United States and China. And Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi said the talks cleared the way for other progress. But no progress was reported on the issue of the trade deficit.

It was the second in a series of talks, the U.S.-China Strategic Economic Dialogue. The next meeting is later this year in Beijing. Vice Premier Wu says talks are better than threats of what she calls "irresponsible" protectionist measures against China.

Some American lawmakers say China is taking too long to raise the value of the yuan. They say China unfairly keeps its currency weak. They say this fuels the deficit by pushing down the cost of its exports and raising the price of American-made imports.

China eased controls on the yuan this week, but not enough to satisfy many critics. China promises more but says a large increase would hurt its fast-growing economy. Some experts say the yuan would rise fifty percent if permitted to trade freely. Others think it would be much less.

China's huge trade surplus has left it with the world's largest foreign exchange reserves, more than one trillion dollars. Most of that is held in United States government debt. But China took steps this week to change the way it invests its reserves, in order to seek higher returns.

China will invest three billion dollars in the Blackstone Group, a private-equity company based in New York. The deal will take place as Blackstone sells stock to the public for the first time. But China said it did not want any voting rights in the company.

President Bush met Thursday with Vice Premier Wu. He later said the two countries have a complex relationship but the two hundred thirty-three billion dollar trade deficit must be dealt with.

One of the ways, he said, is to get the Chinese people to spend more, to change from savers to consumers. For example, the United States has been trying to get China to open up its beef market.

The negotiators talked about food safety. The United States is importing more and more food products from China. Yet there is growing concern that they are not always very safe.

Still another issue: The United States is pushing China to do more about illegal copying of movies, music, software and books.

And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report, written by Mario Ritter. I'm Steve Ember.

VOASE0524_American Mosaic

24 May 2007

Mason Bates Creates a 'Liquid Interface' Between Electronica and Classical Music
Also: music by classical and popular singer Josh Groban. And a listener in Taiwan asks about the Jim Crow laws that once enforced racial separation in the US.

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HOST:

Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC in VOA Special English.

(MUSIC)

I'm Doug Johnson. On our show this week:

We answer a question about racial separation laws of the past …

Play music from Josh Groban …

And report about musical composer Mason Bates.

Mason Bates

The worlds of techno music and classical symphonies are usually very separate. But the musical composer Mason Bates is changing this. This thirty-year-old musician from Virginia artfully combines classical music with the sound of electronic beats. Barbara Klein has more.

(MUSIC)

BARBARA KLEIN:

Mason Bates

That was part of a work called "Liquid Interface." Mason Bates performed it for the first time in February with the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D.C. He was influenced to write the musical piece while living in Berlin, Germany. He watched the lake near where he lived transform from an ice formation to a warm swimming place.

In “Liquid Interface” you can listen to the many forms water takes and the effects of climate change. You can hear the breaking of large ice glaciers, as well as melting drops of water. Bates also makes a musical reference to New Orleans, Louisiana to show the more destructive side of water.

This work needs a very large orchestra. Musicians played more than forty traditional instruments at the Washington, D.C. performance. They were guided by the orchestra's musical director, Leonard Slatkin. Mason Bates stood on the side with his own instrument, the portable computer. He fluidly worked the electronic sounds and beats into the structured classical music.

But Mason Bates does not only write symphonies. At night, you can find him playing trip-hop and French house techno music in the clubs of San Francisco, California. He is also finishing his doctorate degree at the nearby University of California, Berkeley. Mason Bates’ skill at combining these two very different musical worlds has been recognized. He has won important awards for his music pieces such as the Prix de Rome.

Mason Bates believes that when you listen to music it lives in your imagination and your blood at the same time. He wants his music to be intelligent as well as interesting. To listen to more music by Mason Bates, go to voaspecialenglish.com for a link to his Web site.

Jim Crow Laws

HOST:

Our VOA listener question this week comes from Taiwan. Howlong Wu asks about “Jim Crow laws."

These laws enforced racial separation between black people and white people in the

Jim Crow laws enforced racial separation

American South. The term was taken from a character called Jim Crow in musical shows in the eighteen thirties. In these minstrel shows, white people darkened their faces and performed as if they were black people. These shows were insulting to black people.

Starting in the eighteen eighties, Jim Crow became the name for the laws enacted by Southern cities and states to oppress black people and keep them separate from white people. For example, Jim Crow laws made it illegal for the two races to attend the same schools, eat at the same restaurants or use the same public transportation.

The United States Supreme Court supported Jim Crow laws in some of its decisions. An important one was Plessy versus Ferguson in eighteen ninety-six. The Court ruled that railroads could require white and black passengers to ride in different cars. It said this was legal because the treatment in the two cars was "separate but equal." In another case in eighteen ninety-nine, the Court ruled that no one’s rights were violated by the two races attending separate schools.

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People led the long effort to overturn Jim Crow laws through legal action. Finally, in nineteen fifty-four, a Supreme Court ruling overturned the Plessy versus Ferguson decision. The decision was called Brown versus the Board of Education. The Supreme Court ruled that separate schools for blacks and whites were unconstitutional. This ruling required towns and cities across the country to permit blacks and whites to attend the same schools.

The Jim Crow system was finally ended in the nineteen sixties through the efforts of the civil rights movement. These efforts resulted in a series of federal laws including the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act and the Fair Housing Act.

Josh Groban

Josh Groban is a young singer who performs classical and popular songs. His record albums have sold millions of copies. Katherine Cole plays some music from Groban's latest album called "Awake."

KATHERINE COLE:

Josh Groban

Josh Groban is twenty-six years old. He is from Los Angeles, California. As a teenager, he sang at the inauguration of former California governor Gray Davis in nineteen ninety-nine. That was when he was discovered by a record company official. He released his first studio album two years later.

Josh Groban's third studio album is called "Awake." Like his other albums, he sings in English, Italian and Spanish. Groban says the music on his latest album sounds like it is coming from his heart and soul as well as his voice. This song, "You Are Loved (Don't Give Up)," was also released as a single.

(MUSIC)

Josh Groban plays several instruments, including piano, drums, electric guitar, marimbas, flugelhorn and dulcimer. Groban also helped write some of the songs on his latest album, like this one, called "Machine." The famous jazz musician Herbie Hancock plays piano.

(MUSIC)

Josh Groban has appeared on many American television shows. Now he is in the middle of a seven-month performance tour to seventy cities in the United States, Canada and Europe.

Groban performs two songs on his latest album with the South African group Ladysmith Black Mambazo. Groban first heard this song during a visit to South Africa in two thousand four. We leave you now with the song "Weeping."

(MUSIC)

HOST:

I'm Doug Johnson. I hope you enjoyed our program today.

It was written by Dana Demange, Shelley Gollust and Nancy Steinbach. Caty Weaver was our producer. To read the text of this program and download audio, go to our Web site, voaspecialenglish.com.

Send your questions about American life to mosaic@voanews.com. Please include your full name and mailing address. Or write to American Mosaic, VOA Special English, Washington, D.C., two-zero-two-three-seven, U.S.A.

Join us again next week for AMERICAN MOSAIC, VOA’s radio magazine in Special English.