Black Mauritanian Refugees Wait for Election Results

By Phuong Tran Dodel, Senegal 18 March 2007

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During the final campaign week in Mauritania's second round of the presidential election, two white Arab candidates are trying to court the sizable black vote in a country long divided by color and ethnicity. Blacks expelled almost two decades ago are watching the new candidates, looking for signs they may safely return. Phuong Tran brings us this report from a Mauritanian refugee camp in Senegal, 20-kilometers from the border.

Mauritanian horse carriage

Camps like this one in Dodel hold thousands of Mauritanians along the Senegal-Mauritania border.

Dotting the 600 kilometer desert landscape are hundreds of communities of straw thatched huts, sparse vegetation and thousands of blacks pushed out of Mauritania in the early 1990's, when ethnic and regional tensions flared.

These men closely follow the second round of voting between candidates Sidi Ould Sheik Abdellahi and Ahmed Ould Daddah.

Amadou Samba Ba camp chief with son

But none of these men who heatedly argue politics over mint tea are able to vote. They say when they fled, officials took away their papers and now they have no way of proving their Mauritanian citizenship.

This camp's chief Amadou Samba Ba, a former high-ranking army official, says he wants to go back if the elected president delivers on promises to end slavery and a safe return for refugees, but that otherwise he will accept repatriation to another country. He says he wants to show his seven children life outside the camp.

Human-rights lobbyists and blacks say racism is widespread in Mauritania, where slavery is still openly practiced.

Moustapha Toure

Spokesman for the Association of Mauritanian Refugees in Senegal, Moustapha Toure, says most Mauritanian refugees want to return home, but only if officials acknowledge what he says are human-rights abuses against blacks. He adds his community is ready to negotiate its return.

"We are open. We will probably accept to discuss with Mauritanian officials," said Toure. "But we have our conditions. It will be very difficult for us, but I think it is right for Mauritanians to come back to their home."

The group's conditions include the organization of a national commission of truth and reconciliation and an internationally overseen repatriation.

Mauritanian girl

Displaced Mauritanians also want a guarantee of proper citizenship papers and help with employment and housing.

A U.S. based refugee advocacy organization, Refugees International, says expelled Mauritanians are essentially stateless. Most do not have refugee status because of the expensive and complicated process in Senegal, where most live.

Mauritania will not accept them if they cannot show Mauritanian papers.

There is not a lot of work for this kora player, like others in Mauritanian border camps.

Some find occasional work in livestock or agriculture, but mostly they simply wait.

On March 25, voters in Mauritania will elect one of the two presidential candidates, the first time a president has not been elected in the first round.

It is also to be the first democratic change in government in a country that has been rocked by repeated coups and coup attempts.

White House Says US Will Not Resume Palestinian Aid

By Paula Wolfson White House 18 March 2007

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The change in the Palestinian leadership has apparently led to no change in Bush administration policy. VOA's Paula Wolfson reports from the White House.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas (l) and Prime Minister Ismail Haniyah from Hamas, at a special session of parliament in Gaza City 17 Mar 2007

The Palestinians put together a new government of two feuding factions - militant Hamas and moderate Fatah - in hopes of getting the United States and its allies to resume financial support.

But the White House says the change is not enough, and the conditions for resumption of aid have not been met.

White House National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley says the Palestinians still have not accepted the guidelines set down by Mideast negotiators from the United States, Russia, the U.N., and the European Union - the so-called "Quartet."

"We have said very clearly that this new government needs to accept the Quartet principles," said Stephen Hadley. "These are the sort of fundamental building blocks for peace in the Middle East."

Stephen Hadley (Feb 2007 photo)

Speaking on CNN's Late Edition program, Hadley emphasized the Palestinians must renounce violence, and recognize Israel's right to exist. He said the previous Hamas-led government refused to take these steps, leading to the suspension of aid.

"They have not accepted those principles," he said. "We have not dealt with them. We will not deal with this government until it accepts those principles."

The White House national security adviser left no doubt the Bush administration will be watching the Palestinian government closely. And he made clear Washington was not encouraged by comments made Saturday by the new Prime Minister, Ismail Haniyah of Hamas.

"We will be watching, obviously for the words and deeds of this government," noted Stephen Hadley. "It was a little troubling that Prime Minister Haniyah in his statement in the program of the government talks about the right of resistance. This is not the same as [saying] 'we are giving up violence and terror.'"

Israel has already said it will boycott the new Palestinian government, although it will maintain contacts with President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah, who was elected separately.

The United States has also said it will continue a dialogue with Mr. Abbas as well as other Palestinian officials with no ties to Hamas, which Washington has long considered to be a terrorist organization.

Debate Heats up With Approach of Iraq War's 4th Anniversary

By Stephanie Ho Washington 18 March 2007

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As the fourth anniversary of the Iraq war approaches, debate over the war's future is heating up among politicians in Washington. The sides of the argument mostly fall along partisan lines, with Democrats, who control both houses of Congress, sharply criticizing the Bush administration's policies. VOA's Stephanie Ho has more on the story.

John Kerry (Feb, 2007 photo)

Critics of the Bush administration's Iraq policy include Democratic Senator John Kerry, who was his party's presidential candidate in 2004. He blasted the White House for sending more U.S. troops to Iraq, and said he believes there is no military solution to the ongoing violence in the country.

"I get really angry," said John Kerry. "I heard about those four soldiers killed today and I say to myself, as someone who remembers going out on patrols that sort of had a huge question mark over them, what are we doing? What are these kids doing, going out there and finding an IED [improvised explosive device] the hard way?"

The four U.S. troops were killed Sunday by a roadside bomb in Baghdad.

In an effort to quell the violence, the White House in January said it is sending 21,500 additional U.S. troops to Iraq. More recently, the Bush administration announced it is sending 4,700 more troops to Iraq, mostly to serve in a support capacity.

Stephen Hadley (file photo)

The Bush administration's policy was praised by White House National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley. Speaking on the ABC television program This Week, he acknowledged that some Iraqis want the U.S. military presence to be, in his words, "over."

"But the point is we need to get it in a position where the Iraqis can take responsibility for security successfully," said Stephen Hadley. "Because if we do not and we do a premature withdrawal, then what we have is a situation where, if the Iraqi forces cannot handle the situation, which is the case now, we have Iraq as a safe haven for terrorists, who will destabilize the neighbors and attack us."

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates appeared on the CBS television program Face the Nation to urge critics to wait and see whether the White House's latest troop surge plan is effective.

US Defense Secretary Robert Gates, 07 Mar 2007

"General Petraeus, the commander out there, has said it will probably be summer before we know whether we are being successful or not," said Robert Gates. "But I would say that the Iraqis are meeting the commitments they have made to us."

Democratic congressman and prominent critic of the Iraq war, John Murtha, indicated his distrust of the Bush administration's management, in an appearance on CNN's Late Edition.

"Every time they say there is progress, it turns out there is no progress and then they have to backtrack," said Congressman Murtha. "For instance, they say everything is getting better, yet oil production, electricity production are all below pre-war levels. Incidents have increased outside Baghdad."

He said he believes something dramatic needs to be done in order for the situation to get better. He is among supporters of legislation in the House of Representatives that includes a deadline of September 2008 for U.S. troops to be withdrawn from Iraq.

Meanwhile, thousands of people demonstrated in Washington Saturday to show their opposition to the Iraq War. There were others demonstrating in support.

Protests are expected to continue in the United States and elsewhere in the world before Tuesday's four-year anniversary of the start of the war.

China Says US, North Korean Envoys Resolve Bank Dispute

By Daniel Schearf Beijing 18 March 2007

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Chinese yua

The U.S. chief negotiator on North Korea's nuclear programs says sanctions against a Macau bank for allegedly helping North Korean money laundering are no longer an obstacle to six-nation talks. As Daniel Schearf reports from Beijing, the financial sanctions have been a key problem to de-nuclearizing North Korea.

The chief U.S. negotiator on the nuclear talks, Christopher Hill, told reporters financial sanctions against Banco Delta Asia are no longer an issue and would not obstruct six-nation negotiations on North Korea's nuclear programs.

Ambassador Hill said he is expecting an announcement very soon on the fate of about $24 million in North Korean accounts at the bank frozen by Macau authorities for investigation under U.S. suspicions of illicit activity.

North Korea's chief negotiator to the talks Kim Kye-Kwan said Saturday North Korea would not implement a February agreement to move towards giving up its nuclear programs until the accounts were unfrozen.

The agreement calls for North Korea to shut down its main Yongbyon nuclear reactor and allow international nuclear inspectors back into the country within 60 days in exchange for aid and diplomatic incentives.

Despite the comments, Hill said North Korea is on schedule with the agreement. But he said negotiators from the two Koreas, China, Japan, and Russia needed to work out a step-by-step process beyond that two-month plan when they meet beginning Monday for talks in Beijing.

"We are going to need a roadmap ahead. I think we are going to have to discuss that. I think the DPRK wanted to keep the discussions pretty much focused on the sixty-day obligations. But, we need to keep, continue to go forward," said Hill.

Wednesday, the U.S. Treasury Department finished its investigation of the Macau bank, declared it guilty of helping North Korea with money laundering and counterfeiting and officially banned U.S. banks from doing business with the family-owned operation.

The bank denied knowledge of any wrongdoing and China's foreign ministry spokesman called the ban "regrettable."

North Korea had refused to participate in talks on its nuclear programs for more than a year because of the sanctions. But the United States agreed to discuss the issue in December, leading to the breakthrough agreement in February on a timetable for de-nuclearization.

China's official Xinhua News Agency quoted Chinese State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan as saying North Korea and the United States had worked out a solution to the frozen funds, but did not elaborate.

UN Chief Praises Saudi Peace Proposal, Calls Palestinian Coalition 'Disappointing'

By Peter Heinlein United Nations 19 March 2007

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U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has praised a five-year old Saudi Arabian peace proposal as a "pillar" in the search for Middle East peace. The Saudi plan is to be discussed later this month at an Arab summit in Riyadh. Mr. Ban spoke about the plan in a one-on-one VOA interview as he prepares for his first trip to the Middle East as U.N. chief. VOA Correspondent Peter Heinlein talked to Mr. Ban, and filed this report.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

Mr. Ban told VOA he is generally encouraged by recent Middle East developments. He pointed in particular to the Mecca agreement that led to formation of a Palestinian national unity government.

At the same time, the secretary-general said he was disappointed at news that the Palestinian coalition has not endorsed the three basic peace principles set down by the Middle East Quartet.

Among the key stops on his 10-day visit will be in Riyadh, where a 2002 Saudi Arabian peace proposal will be reconsidered. It offers Israel full recognition by Arab States and permanent peace in return for a withdrawal to pre-1967 borderlines, the establishment of an independent Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital, and a return of Palestinian refugees to lands lost in the 1967 war.

The plan was widely criticized at the time,not least because Israel has several objections to it. But both Israeli and American officials have recently noted that it contains positive elements. Secretary-General Ban says the Saudi plan has the potential to move forward the long-stalled peace process.

"I think the Arab peace initiative of 2002 by Saudi Arabia is one of the pillars, which will facilitate the peace process in the Middle East," said Ban Ki-moon. "It is encouraging that Americans and Israelis are now trying to revisit this Arab peace process. I know that there are still reservations shared by Israelis. But one cannot always be fully satisfied with one or two agreements. We must build upon these good principles."

As U.N. secretary-general, Mr. Ban leads one of the members of the Quartet, which also includes the United States, Russia and the European Union. His visit to the region coincides with a similar trip by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and Mr. Ban says he hopes to meet her when they are both in Israel. Their agenda is expected to include the Arab peace proposal.

Mr. Ban said, however, that his hopes for the Saudi proposal were dampened somewhat by the new Palestinian unity government's refusal to accept international principles laid down by the Quartet, including recognition of Israel's right to exist.

"Initial reports coming from this national unity government seem to be a little bit disappointing," said U.N. secretary-general. "They have not clearly stated they will abide by these three principles. I urge that the national unity government will surely adhere to and respect principles laid out by the Quartet. It is important that parties concerned should respect the right to exist, particularly Israel's, and engage in dialogue without resorting to violence."

In addition to his stop in Saudi Arabia, the secretary-general's 10-day Middle East trip will take him to Jordan, Egypt, Israel, Lebanon and the Palestinian territories. Notably, he will not visit two other regional players, Syria or Iran.

The U.N. chief also says he hopes to convene a meeting of the full Middle East Quartet sometime in April.

VOASE0318_This Is America

18 March 2007

On a Farm, Life Has to Go On -- Even in the Dead of Winter
Meet the Fitzpatricks, a family in rural Michigan with an award-winning barn and a strong connection to local history.

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VOICE ONE:

Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. I'm Steve Ember.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Faith Lapidus. Every family has a story. Today we travel to a farm in the Midwest, the center of American agriculture, to meet the Fitzpatrick family.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Thick snow falls on the quiet Michigan countryside as we make our way to visit Leo Fitzpatrick and his family.

The Fitzpatricks are among the minority of Americans who live a rural life. Instead of a big city, they live near small towns. And, unlike many families today, they all still live near each other.

As we drive along a country road, we can see many buggies in a line near a farmhouse. These belong to Leo's Amish neighbors. The people are attending religious services in a home. The Amish live as people did many years ago.

The horses that pull the buggies are nowhere to be seen -- probably warming up inside a barn.

VOICE TWO:

It seems hard to believe that any crop could survive this icy weather. The land is asleep. But not completely. Winter wheat grows in a field that belongs to the Fitzpatrick family.

Leo Fitzpatrick, the head of the family, farmed for most of his long life. Now he is leaving the work to his sons. The oldest son planted the wheat.

The Fitzpatrick family is well known in this corner of rural America. Some of them live on the family's one hundred fifteen hectares of land. Almost all have helped farm at some time or another, but most also hold other jobs. Some work in manufacturing. Another is an excavator; he has a digging and earth-moving business. Others work in a dentist's office, a post office and a courthouse.

VOICE ONE:

Leo Fitzpatrick's grandfather claimed land here more than one hundred years ago. In two thousand five, Leo was honored as the owner of the Michigan Centennial Farm of the Year. The honor goes to land that has been farmed by the same family for at least a century.

That might not sound like very long compared to other countries. But keep in mind that the United States is not yet two-and-a-half centuries old.

VOICE TWO:

Leo Fitzpatrick holds a picture of his prize-winning barn

Leo Fitzpatrick will be eighty years old in October. He looks powerful and muscular. And he soon proves it, as he leads a visitor around his farm through the deepening snow in the fierce cold and wind. A big red barn stands out even in the gathering darkness. Other, smaller red buildings house bright green farm machinery.

Leo explains that his grandfather, Dennis Fitzpatrick, built the barn more than ninety years ago. The family made repairs over the years. By the nineteen nineties, though, it became clear that the wooden structure would need a lot of work or it would have to be torn down.

Leo decided that he would restore the barn. He did much of the work himself, over a period of nine years. He also worked in a factory some of that time.

He used wood from trees in the area to strengthen and support the roof and the walls. To reach the roof he stood on bales of hay.

VOICE ONE:

Today the barn is a big star. In the last few years it has been named Michigan Barn of the Year and honored with the Barn Alive! Farm Heritage Award. The award is given by the National Trust for Historic Preservation and Successful Farming magazine.

Fitzpatrick's barn

In winter the Fitzpatricks use the barn to keep straw that they sell. The straw is made from the remainders of their wheat and oats. Nine thousand bales of straw reach almost to the roof of the barn. Near the roof is a round window. When the Fitzpatrick children were young, they climbed up to this window to look out at the surrounding land.

The barn is big enough to hold several hundred people. In warmer weather, the family uses it for social events like dances and special celebrations.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

Another building on the Fitzpatrick property is a workshop. It contains what seems like every tool ever manufactured. The tools line the walls.

The workshop feels warm and welcoming. A corn burner heats the building. Kernels of corn make a very hot fire, Leo says.

Now we are on the move again, following Leo and his footsteps through the snow. His house is not far. It just feels that way in the wind.

(SOUND)

VOICE ONE:

Inside the house, family members are seated around a table. On this snowy day, the extended family has gathered for a meal. Everyone brought food -- lots of food. Corn pudding is being heated up in the oven. It smells wonderful.

Judy Fitzpatrick Weber (left) playing Scrabble next to Paul Webber and Mary Fitzpatrick (Leo's daughter-in-law)

Some people have been playing a lively game of Scrabble, a word game. There is much laughter and talking. One of the Fitzpatrick daughters holds a one-point lead over her brother's wife.

Others in the family have been talking about family happenings and local news. The youngest family members are playing computer games on a huge television.

VOICE TWO:

Leo Fitzpatrick's wife, Mary, died in nineteen ninety-six. But he never has to worry about being alone.

(SOUND)

"My name is Linda. I'm the second child to Leo."
"I am Leo Fitzpatrick's third daughter, third in line. And my name is Judy Weber."
"I am Leo's friend, Judy Grant."
"Leo Fitzpatrick. I'm the daddy of the seven children assembled here."
"I'm Leah Fitzpatrick, and I'm Vernon Fitzpatrick's wife."
"I'm Vernon Fitzpatrick, and I'm Leah Fitzpatrick's husband."
"I'm Dan Fitzpatrick, I'm the oldest son of three."
"I'm Terry Fitzpatrick, I'm the second son of three."
"I'm Debbie Fitzpatrick. I'm the oldest daughter."
"I'm Rhonda Reppert, I'm number six in the family, youngest daughter."
"I'm Sarah Fitzpatrick. I'm Leo's granddaughter."

VOICE ONE:

Where is Mark, the youngest of Leo's three sons? Mark is somewhere else in the house.

Some of the family moved out the area for a while, but in time they returned. Leo's daughter Rhonda married a man named John Reppert. For years they lived near the biggest city in Michigan, Detroit.

VOICE TWO:

Rhonda Reppert says it was good to come back. The Repperts now live in a big house that was built for them. The house is made from logs of cedar wood.

John Reppert likes to hunt and fish. But if he wants to see wildlife, all he has to do is look out his window. Rhonda says deer often come right up to the house.

VOICE ONE:

Rhonda's brother Dan never left the area. After high school he spent more than twenty years as a welder and part-time farmer. Then he got his wish. He became a full-time farmer. He plants corn, wheat and oats on more than three hundred twenty hectares of land, including some family land.

His father says Dan has greatly improved the farm's production with up-to-date agricultural methods and equipment. Dan planted soybeans once, not too long ago. The crop did well. But it was a loss. It was destroyed by hungry deer.

The Fitzpatricks used to raise turkeys, but not anymore, not since wild turkeys invaded their farm.

VOICE TWO:

Debbie, the oldest of the Fitzpatrick children, lives with her father and her sister Linda. Debbie works at a post office. Linda works at a machinery company in the nearby town of Beaverton, Michigan.

The two sisters have never moved from their childhood home. But they remember how the family would take a two-week vacation every year when the children were growing up. Linda and Debbie now continue that tradition. They often go to Canada with other family members and have traveled as far as New Zealand.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

These days only about two percent of Americans farm for a living. Part-time farming and community farming are gaining popularity. But traditional family farms have largely been replaced by big, highly productive factory farms.

Fifty years ago, fourteen hours of labor on one hectare of land produced about one hundred bushels of corn, or maize. Now it can be done with less than half a hectare. These numbers come from the United States Department of Agriculture.

But Leo Fitzpatrick points out that farmers still work very hard. It is not unusual for a farmer to work day and night at planting and harvest times.

LEO FITZPATRICK: "With all the gadgets and things that's great for industry and everything, we're still people who live off the land. We're part of the land. You can eat an old cow, but you can't eat an old computer."

VOICE TWO:

Leo and his friend Judy Grant belong to several historical societies. Together they research family history, and Leo has written a book about his ancestors.

His grandparents on his mother's side were named Abraham Lincoln Brubaker and Emma Cecilia Shondell. They arrived in Michigan with almost enough children to start a school. The family came from the neighboring state of Ohio. Fourteen of their sixteen children were born there.

VOICE ONE:

Leo Fitzpatrick makes it clear that he wants to help save the memories of America's rural past. He wants people to know the story of the land and its people.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

Our program was written by Jerilyn Watson and produced by Caty Weaver. You can see pictures of the Fitzpatricks and their farm at voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Faith Lapidus.

VOICE ONE:

And I'm Steve Ember. From time to time we plan to introduce you to other American families, so keep listening. We hope you can join us again next week for THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English.

VOASE0318_Development Report

18 March 2007

Honors for Women From China, Guatemala, India and Sudan
Vital Voices, a nonprofit group, recognizes seven at a ceremony in Washington for working for women’s rights in their countries.

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This is the VOA Special English Development Report.

Seven women were honored last week in Washington for their efforts to expand democracy and women’s rights in their countries. The seven from China, Guatemala, India and Sudan received awards from Vital Voices, a nonprofit group.

Doctor Gao Yaojie

Among them was Chinese AIDS activist Gao Yaojie, an eighty-year-old retired doctor. During the late nineteen nineties, Doctor Gao discovered a public health crisis in Henan province. Thousands of local farmers were being infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. They were selling their blood at collection centers that were using dirty needles and recycled blood.

Doctor Gao was almost not able to travel to the United States to receive the Vital Voices award. Local officials in Henan placed her under house arrest. But they let her travel after her situation received international attention.

Vital Voices also honored three other Chinese women. Guo Jianmei has led efforts to provide Chinese women with legal aid. Wang Xingjuan has created a telephone hotline for women seeking advice about their rights and ways to improve their economic situations. And Xie Lihua started Rural Women Knowing All magazine. She is also secretary general of the Cultural Development Center for Rural Women.

Vital Voices also recognized Margaret Alva from India. She has been a government minister and parliament member. She helped start a so-called "silent revolution" in an effort to guarantee that women’s voices are heard in Indian politics.

Award winner Maria Pacheco is from Guatemala. She has worked to help local women start small businesses and connect with world markets.

Awut Deng Acuil (left) with Margaret Alva

The seventh women is Awut Deng Acuil, a leader in conflict resolution in southern Sudan. She tells us that working for peace requires self-sacrifice. Becoming a victim does not give you hope, she says; what does is turning that experience into change for good.

Among those attending the ceremony was Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, a Vital Voices board member.

Until now, Vital Voices has only honored women. But this year it gave an award to Muhammad Yunus of Bangladesh. He won the Nobel Peace Prize last year for starting the Grameen Bank, a leader in micro-lending, giving small loans as a way to fight poverty. The bank directs most of its services to women.

And that's the VOA Special English Development Report, written by Jill Moss. I'm Steve Ember.

Sandra Bullock Stars in New Romantic Thriller "Premonition"

By Alan Silverman Hollywood 18 March 2007

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Sandra Bullock stars in a new romantic thriller as a woman caught between what she knows is reality and a nightmare that she fears will come true. Alan Silverman has a look at Premonition.

Sandra Bullock "Premonition"

The apparently idyllic life of suburban housewife Linda Hanson is devastated by what the police officer at the door tells her. Then she awakens the next morning to find her husband Jim in bed next to her and very much alive.

But when the pattern starts to repeat ...when she wakes up to find her family in mourning ...Linda begins to believe that she is experiencing a Premonition and becomes determined to change the tragic fate it foretells.

Sandra Bullock stars as Linda and says she had to come to terms with her own beliefs about the unsettling feeling that something is about to happen. "I do think that there is something to human nature. You can call it intuitiveness or 'gut instinct' ...people who know things that have happened. It has happened to a lot of people, so when someone says to me 'I had a bad feeling that something is going to happen and then it did,' I don't know how to explain it. It can't be explained by science, but I believe in that happening," says the actress.

Jim McMahon, a co-star of the edgy TV series Nip/Tuck, plays Linda's husband, Jim. The Australia-born actor says his character is unaware of the fate his wife believes awaits him. "He had to live his life normally, but with this wife of his who is becoming a little strange, telling him 'don't go to work tomorrow, don't go there, don't do this ...' crazy stuff and particularly at a point in time when their relationship is pretty far on the rocks. So I felt like my part was kind of to solidify things a little bit, just in regards to the fact that we were, at some point, a normal family and this is the way we live our life. While she's going all haywire, living days out of order and doing all that kind of stuff, still whenever she came back to us it was just kind of normal life," he says.

If it seems confusing to describe, Sandra Bullock says imagine what it was like to act that out. I had a really hard time. I thought I was going to lose it. I went to the director and said 'I'm having a hard time. I don't know what to do.' There was a smile on his face when he heard that and he said 'no, this is exactly where you need to be.' I answered 'no, it's not' ...but in my unraveling we played the levels right. We played the levels right. Is she just pure grief here? When does the grief go into denial and anger? And when does she get angry at [events]? You have to start infusing ...it just wasn't pretty," she says.

"For me it was important that you believe her emotional journey," says Director Mennan Yapo. He says he could not worry about loose ends in the plot that might confuse the audience. The German-born filmmaker says the film balances on believing in the emotions that Bullock's character is going through. "Once you believe that, the details and all that become less important ...and they should, because at some point the story and the film should elevate into something else, and I feel it does. It goes to a place where you clearly understand that it's not only a thriller about this-and-that; it's about loss [and] much more. It's about what goes on inside of her."

Bullock says that once she accepted that premise and stopped questioning the details, she could take the character's emotional journey. "It was all about 'what is Linda going through at this point? What did she do with her kids? What wouldn't she say? Why doesn't she say anything to him, because he's going to think she's crazier.' So you feel it when you see it, but you don't know it until the pieces get together. Then, at the end, there's that feeling of 'what would I have done? Would I have gone back and changed or would I have let him die?' What would you have done?"

Premonition is written by Bill Kelly. The cast also features Peter Stormare as a psychiatrist to whom Linda turns for answers; and Amber Valletta is a woman in the husband's life who may hold a key to averting the tragic outcome.

Bush Cautions Democrats Against Setting Iraq Withdrawal Timeline

By Scott Stearns White House 17 March 2007

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U.S. President George Bush says he will veto an emergency spending bill for the war in Iraq, if Democrats, who control Congress, include conditions setting a timeline for the withdrawal of U.S. troops. Democrats say the president is committing American forces to an open-ended civil war. VOA White House Correspondent Scott Stearns reports.

President Bush says Democrats in Congress want to force a precipitous withdrawal from Iraq, just as his new strategy for success is beginning to show what he calls hopeful signs of progress.

President Bush

"As these operations unfold, they will help the Iraqi government stabilize the country, rebuild the economy, and advance the work of political reconciliation," said Mr. Bush. "Yet, the bill Congress is considering would undermine General Petraeus and the troops under his command, just as these critical security operations are getting under way."

General David Petraeus, the new U.S. commander in Iraq, was confirmed by the Senate without opposition.

The House of Representatives is expected next week to consider Democratic-sponsored legislation calling for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq no later than September next year, as part of a spending package that includes more than $95 billion for Iraq and Afghanistan. President Bush says Congressional Democrats want to impose what he calls arbitrary and restrictive conditions on the use of war funds.

In his weekly radio address, President Bush said imposing an artificial timetable on the war would be disastrous.

"Many in Congress say they support the troops, and I believe them," added Mr. Bush. "Now they have a chance to show that support in deed, as well as in word. Congress needs to approve emergency funding for our troops, without strings and without delay. If they send me a bill that does otherwise, I will veto it."

In the Democratic radio address, Washington Senator Patty Murray said narrowing America's mission gives U.S troops the best chance to succeed. She says it is time for a new direction in Iraq, not more of the same.

"Unfortunately, this is a reality President Bush and a majority of Congressional Republicans still refuse to recognize," she said. "They want to stay the course. They want to ignore the lessons of the last four years. They want to commit America to an open-ended civil war."

Tuesday marks the fourth anniversary of the U.S. invasion, and protests are planned around the country, including a march in Washington Saturday to the Pentagon. A public opinion poll by CNN says 61 percent of Americans believe the United States is not winning.

Senator Murray says the start of the fifth year of U.S. troops in Iraq will be a solemn day.

"In Congress, my fellow Democrats and I believe it is time to bring this war to a close," she added. "Our troops, who have served bravely under difficult conditions, have done everything we have asked. As we enter the fifth year, it is time for the Iraqis to step up, secure their own country, and finally take responsibility for their own future."

White House officials say the president does not intend to mark the anniversary of the invasion.

Thousands March in Washington to Protest Iraq War

By Sean Maroney Washington 17 March 2007

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Thousands of anti-war protestors rallied near the Pentagon Saturday, calling on President Bush to pull American forces out of Iraq. Organizers led the march to what was the site of a pivotal rally against the Vietnam war 40 years ago. VOA's Sean Maroney followed the rally from Washington to the Pentagon and has this report.

Riot police confront protesters near the Pentagon

Demonstrators huddled close to each other against the wind outside the Pentagon.

Anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan addressed the predominately young crowd. Sheehan's son was killed while serving in Iraq. She invoked the memory of another demonstration outside the U.S. military headquarters decades ago against the Vietnam war. "Forty years ago, there was a march on the Pentagon," she said. "And here we are, 40 years later, marching on the Pentagon in another illegal and immoral war. When is it going to stop?"

Veterans and other activists also took the stage, calling on the Bush administration to change course. "I will be brutally honest, it is insane to believe that more of the same will end it," said one Iraq war veteran. "Our clever signs, our passionate speeches and our large crowds alone -- if that could end the war, we would not be here today."

Demonstrators opposed to the Iraq war march across the Memorial Bridge in Washington

The protesters had marched across the Potomac River from Washington's Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Many held signs calling for the United States to pull out of Iraq and for the impeachment of President Bush.

Across the street, a sizable gathering of counter-demonstrators waved their own placards that read "Peace Through Strength" and "Win the War or Lose Jihad."

Jane Johnson was among them. Her 22-year-old son was killed while serving in Baghdad. "To me, they are basically spitting on my son's grave," she said.

Juan Torres led the anti-war protesters during the march. His son also died while deployed overseas. "I come from Argentina to this beautiful country for my American dream. And my American dream is destroyed forever. My only son is dead now. This is why I came here. Because I don't want to see any more kids die," he said.

Police arrested a number of people assembled outside the White House Friday evening after an anti-war religious service ended at the Washington National Cathedral.

Protests are expected to continue in the coming days in the United States and elsewhere in the world ahead of Tuesday's four-year anniversary of the start of the war in Iraq.

Chlorine Gas Attacks in Iraq Injure 350

By Margaret Besheer Irbil, Iraq 17 March 2007

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In the volatile Western Iraqi province of Al-Anbar, suicide bombers driving trucks filled with chemicals struck at three different locations late Friday afternoon. U.S. military officials said Saturday at least two Iraqi policemen were killed and 350 civilians and six U.S. troops required medical treatment for exposure to chlorine gas.

A US soldier keeps watch in a Shi'ite enclave of Sadr City in Baghdad, Iraq

The two most serious explosions happened just south of the town of Fallujah, and a third, smaller blast occurred near Ramadi. Both towns are in the heartland of the Sunni Arab insurgency.

In each attack, a suicide bomber detonated a truck packed with explosives and chlorine canisters near police and civilian targets in crowded areas.

U.S. military officials said about 350 civilians required medical treatment. Most were suffering from signs of chlorine gas exposure, with symptoms ranging from minor skin and lung irritations to vomiting.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks, but some observers say they bear the hallmarks of al-Qaida in Iraq.

The French Press agency (AFP) reports that a senior Iraqi interior ministry official (Brigadier General Abdel Karim Khalaf) suggested the bombings may have been carried out in retaliation for recent government successes against insurgents in Ramadi.

This is not the first time insurgents have used unconventional weapons. Earlier this year, two separate bombings involving chlorine gas killed several people and sickened dozens more in Baghdad and Ramadi.

In February, the U.S. military said its troops uncovered a car bomb factory near Fallujah that had dozens of propane tanks and ordinary chemicals it believed the insurgents were going to try to mix with explosives.

Meanwhile, in Baghdad, Australian Prime Minister John Howard made an unannounced visit to meet with his Iraqi counterpart, Nouri al-Maliki, and to visit some of Australia's nearly 1,500 troops serving in Iraq.

At a joint press conference, Mr. Maliki said he did not want to put a timeline on Australian withdrawal, while Mr. Howard said his country's troops would remain in Iraq until the job is done.

"I have also told the prime minister that Australia will continue its presence in Iraq to assist in bringing about a situation where the Iraqi people are reasonably able to provide for their own future security," he said.

Most of Australia's troops are stationed in southern Iraq, along with British forces.

New Palestinian Unity Government Sworn In

By Robert Berger Jerusalem 17 March 2007

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The new Palestinian national unity government has been sworn in, after it was overwhelmingly approved by parliament Saturday. The ruling Islamic militant group Hamas now begins to share power with the rival and more moderate Fatah faction. The coalition agreement caps months of negotiations, and is aimed at ending infighting that has raised fears of civil war. As Robert Berger reports from VOA's Jerusalem bureau, the Palestinians are also hoping to end their international isolation.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, left, and Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh from Hamas, right, raise their linked arms as they move through the crowd at a special session of parliament in Gaza City 17 Mar 2007

President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah began the parliament session with an appeal to the international community to lift crippling sanctions on the Palestinian Authority.

But Hamas has rejected key international conditions for removing the boycott, namely renunciation of violence and recognition of Israel. Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas reiterated that position in a policy speech.

Mr. Haniyeh said the new government affirms the Palestinians' right to resist the Israeli occupation "by all means," understood as a reference to shooting attacks and suicide bombings. Such attacks in the past have prompted the United States and European Union to brand Hamas a terrorist organization and cut off nearly $1 billion in annual aid.

Israel says it will not deal with the new government, and it will urge the international community to keep sanctions in place.

Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres told Israel Radio that if this is a government of terror and not peace, it should not be helped.

International reaction has been mixed. Russia said the new Palestinian government has taken international demands "into account," while Britain said it is "a step in the right direction."

However, the U.S. reiterated its long-term position that it will not deal with the Palestinian government until it renounces violence and recognizes Israel.

North Korea Will Not Stop Nuclear Program Unless US Releases Frozen Funds

By Heda Bayron Hong Kong 17 March 2007

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North Korea says it will not shut down its nuclear programs as agreed, until the United States releases millions of dollars frozen in a Macau bank. U.S. officials say that decision is up to Macau. The comments come ahead of Monday's resumption of six-nation talks in Beijing on North Korean nuclear disarmament. VOA's Heda Bayron reports from our Asia News Center in Hong Kong.

A branch of Banco Delta Asia in Macau (file photo)

North Korea's chief nuclear negotiator, Kim Kye Gwan, threatened to renege on his country's promise last month to abandon its nuclear programs, unless the issue of frozen North Korean funds in Macau is resolved.

Speaking in Beijing Saturday, Kim says his country will not shut down its main Yongbyon nuclear facility, until all the money is released.

The dispute erupted in September 2005, when the United States imposed restrictions on Macau's Banco Delta Asia for alleged money laundering for North Korea's illicit activities. The Monetary Authority of Macau subsequently froze about $24 million in North Korean funds.

The U.S. financial sanctions against North Korea led banks in other countries to curtail financial dealings with North Korea, cutting off much of the isolated country's access to international financing.

The United States had promised it would resolve the issue by this week ahead of crucial disarmament implementation talks in Beijing.

In a decision Wednesday, the U.S. Treasury Department said its investigation found that Banco Delta Asia had indeed "turned a blind eye on the illicit activity" of its North Korean clients, who the U.S. accuses of depositing money from narcotics trading and counterfeiting of U.S. currency. As a result, the United States is banning American banks from doing business with the Macau bank.

U.S. Treasury Department's Deputy Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing And Financial Crimes Daniel Glaser

U.S. Deputy Assistant Treasury Secretary Daniel Glaser met with Macau's leader and monetary authorities Saturday to discuss the U.S. findings. But he says it is not up to the United States to release North Korea's money.

"I think it is important to emphasize that it was a Macanese action to freeze the funds, and it will be a Macanese process to [determine] the release of the funds," he noted.

The financial issue had been a major stumbling block in nuclear negotiations. For more than a year, Pyongyang refused to return to the bargaining table. It only agreed to resume talks after it conducted its first ever-nuclear test last October.

At the February 13 talks, the U.S. promised to resolve the Macau bank issue after North Korea agreed to take steps to shut down its nuclear programs within 60 days, in exchange for economic and diplomatic benefits.

The next round of talks resume in Beijing Monday on how to implement the February agreement. The chief U.S. negotiator, Christopher Hill, says he does not believe the Macau bank issue should be an obstacle.

VOASE0317_People In America

17 March 2007

Thomas Edison, 1847-1931: America's Great Inventor
Edison is remembered most for the electric light, phonograph and his work with motion pictures.

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ANNOUNCER:

Welcome to the VOA Special English program, People in America. Today, Sarah Long and Bob Doughty tell about the inventor Thomas Alva Edison. He had a major effect on the lives of people around the world. Thomas Edison is remembered most for the electric light, his phonograph and his work with motion pictures.

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VOICE ONE:

Thomas Edison

Thomas Edison’s major inventions were designed and built in the last years of the eighteen hundreds. However, most of them had their greatest effect in the twentieth century. His inventions made possible the progress of technology.

It is extremely difficult to find anyone living today who has not been affected in some way by Thomas Edison. Most people on Earth have seen some kind of motion picture or heard some kind of sound recording. And almost everyone has at least seen an electric light.

These are only three of the many devices Thomas Edison invented or helped to improve. People living in this century have had easier and more enjoyable lives because of his inventions.

VOICE TWO:

Thomas Alva Edison was born on February eleventh, eighteen forty-seven in the small town of Milan, Ohio. He was the youngest of seven children.

Thomas Edison was self-taught. He went to school for only three months. His teacher thought he could not learn because he had a mental problem. But young Tom Edison could learn. He learned from books and he experimented.

At the age of ten, he built his own chemical laboratory. He experimented with chemicals and electricity. He built a telegraph machine and quickly learned to send and receive telegraph messages. At the time, sending electric signals over wires was the fastest method of sending information long distances. At the age of sixteen, he went to work as a telegraph operator.

He later worked in many different places. He continued to experiment with electricity. When he was twenty-one, he sent the United States government the documents needed to request the legal protection for his first invention. The government gave him his first patent on an electric device he called an Electrographic Vote Recorder. It used electricity to count votes in an election.

VOICE ONE:

In the summer months of eighteen sixty-nine, the Western Union Telegraph Company asked Thomas Edison to improve a device that was used to send financial information. It was called a stock printer. Mister Edison very quickly made great improvements in the device. The company paid him forty thousand dollars for his effort. That was a lot of money for the time.

This large amount of money permitted Mister Edison to start his own company. He announced that the company would improve existing telegraph devices and work on new inventions.

Mister Edison told friends that his new company would invent a minor device every ten days and produce what he called a “big trick” about every six months. He also proposed that his company would make inventions to order. He said that if someone needed a device to do some kind of work, just ask and it would be invented.

VOICE TWO:

Within a few weeks Thomas Edison and his employees were working on more than forty different projects. They were either new inventions or would lead to improvements in other devices. Very quickly he was asking the United States government for patents to protect more than one hundred devices or inventions each year. He was an extremely busy man. But then Thomas Edison was always very busy.

He almost never slept more than four or five hours a night. He usually worked eighteen hours each day because he enjoyed what he was doing. He believed no one really needed much sleep. He once said that anyone could learn to go without sleep.

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VOICE ONE:

Thomas Edison did not enjoy taking to reporters. He thought it was a waste of time. However, he did talk to a reporter in nineteen seventeen. He was seventy years old at the time and still working on new devices and inventions.

The reporter asked Mister Edison which of his many inventions he enjoyed the most. He answered quickly, the phonograph. He said the phonograph was really the most interesting. He also said it took longer to develop a machine to reproduce sound than any other of his inventions.

Thomas Edison told the reporter that he had listened to many thousands of recordings. He especially liked music by Brahms, Verdi and Beethoven. He also liked popular music.

Many of the recordings that Thomas Edison listened to in nineteen seventeen can still be enjoyed today. His invention makes it possible for people around the world to enjoy the same recorded sound.

VOICE TWO:

The reporter also asked Thomas Edison what was the hardest invention to develop. He answered quickly again -- the electric light. He said that it was the most difficult and the most important.

Before the electric light was invented, light was provided in most homes and buildings by oil or natural gas. Both caused many fires each year. Neither one produced much light.

Mister Edison had seen a huge and powerful electric light. He believed that a smaller electric light would be extremely useful.He and his employees began work on the electric light.

VOICE ONE:

An electric light passes electricity through material called a filament or wire. The electricity makes the filament burn and produce light. Thomas Edison and his employees worked for many months to find the right material to act as the filament.

Time after time a new filament would produce light for a few moments and then burn up. At last Mister Edison found that a carbon fiber produced light and lasted a long time without burning up. The electric light worked.

At first, people thought the electric light was extremely interesting but had no value. Homes and businesses did not have electricity. There was no need for it.

Mister Edison started a company that provided electricity for electric lights for a small price each month. The small company grew slowly at first. Then it expanded rapidly. His company was the beginning of the electric power industry.

VOICE TWO:

Thomas Edison also was responsible for the very beginnings of the movie industry. While he did not invent the idea of the motion picture, he greatly improved the process. He also invented the modern motion picture film.

When motion pictures first were shown in the late eighteen hundreds, people came to see movies of almost anything -- a ship, people walking on the street, new automobiles. But in time, these moving pictures were no longer interesting.

In nineteen-oh-three, an employee of Thomas Edison’s motion picture company produced a movie with a story. It was called “The Great Train Robbery.” It told a simple story of a group of western criminals who steal money from a train. Later they are killed by a group of police in a gun fight. The movie was extremely popular. “The Great Train Robbery” started the huge motion picture industry.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Thomas Alva Edison is remembered most for the electric light, his phonograph and his work with motion pictures. However, he also invented several devices that greatly improved the telephone. He improved several kinds of machines called generators that produced electricity. He improved batteries that hold electricity. He worked on many different kinds of electric motors including those for electric trains.

Mister Edison also is remembered for making changes in the invention process. He moved from the Nineteenth Century method of an individual doing the inventing to the Twentieth Century method using a team of researchers.

VOICE TWO:

In nineteen thirteen, a popular magazine at the time called Thomas Edison the most useful man in America. In nineteen twenty-eight, he received a special medal of honor from the Congress of the United States.

Thomas Edison died on January sixth, nineteen thirty-one. In the months before his death he was still working very hard. He had asked the government for legal protection for his last invention. It was patent number one thousand ninety-three.

(MUSIC)

ANNOUNCER:

This Special English program was written and produced by Paul Thompson. The announcers were Sarah Long and Bob Doughty.

I’m Mary Tillotson. Join us again next week for another PEOPLE IN AMERICA program on the Voice of America.

VOASE0316_In the News

16 March 2007

Presidential Candidates Crowd the Field for a Long Race to November '08
Campaign for the White House is seen as the most wide open in many years.

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This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

Who will be the next person to live here?

The next presidential election in the United States is in November of two thousand eight. But a crowd of candidates and possible candidates is forming early for what is seen as one of the most wide open races in many years.

The last election without a sitting president or vice president as a candidate was either in nineteen fifty-two or nineteen twenty-eight. Political experts disagree. In any case, President Bush is constitutionally barred from a third term. And Vice President Dick Cheney says he will not be a candidate for president.

Every president and vice president has been white and male. The current group of candidates includes a woman, Hillary Rodham Clinton; an African-American, Barack Obama; a Latino, Bill Richardson; and a Mormon, Mitt Romney.

The diversity may not mean much to people who are waiting to hear more about candidates' positions. But others may feel conflicting loyalties. A black teenager in Washington, D.C., is excited that she will be old enough to vote in her first presidential election. She says that as a woman, she hopes Hillary Clinton will win. But as an African-American, she hopes Barack Obama will win.

"I'm in, and I'm in to win," says Hillary Clinton. The New York senator and former first lady is the most popular Democrat. But Senator Obama of Illinois has gained on her with a following that some call "Obamamania."

Another popular Democrat is John Edwards, the two thousand four vice presidential nominee. Also in the race are Senators Chris Dodd and Joe Biden, Representative Dennis Kucinich and New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson.

In the race for the Republican nomination, some early studies show former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani in the lead. He gained national attention after the September eleventh, two thousand one, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.

Other Republicans include Arizona Senator John McCain and Kansas Senator Sam Brownback. They also include former governors Mitt Romney of Massachusetts and Mike Huckabee of Arkansas. Former House speaker Newt Gingrich is popular among Republicans. But he says he will wait until September to decide whether he will run.

Chuck Hagel announced that he too will make a decision later this year. The Nebraska senator is known for his criticism of President Bush's handling of the Iraq war. Sam Brownback is the only declared Republican candidate who has spoken out against the recent troop increase.

The presidential nominating process involves state primary elections and party meetings known as caucuses. A lot of states are moving to vote earlier than they have, in an effort to increase their influence.

California is the most populous state. Yet Californians were feeling disrespected by candidates because of their June primary. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has just signed legislation to move it to February fifth, a day when many other states may also vote.

And that's IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English, written by Brianna Blake. I'm Steve Ember.