President Bush says he is encouraged by the Palestinian arrests of 16 Hamas members in response to Tuesday's bomb attack near Tel Aviv. Mr. Bush says what happens to those arrested will be a key test for Palestinian leaders.
 
 

George Bush

 "That is good. That is a positive development. Now it is up to Chairman Arafat to perform, to keep them in jail," he said. "Arrest them and keep them in jail. In order for there to be peace, we must rout out terror."

 White House spokesman Ari Fleischer says the administration expects Palestinian leaders to deal seriously with the Hamas suspects. "If people are engaged in murder," Mr. Fleischer said, "they should be held accountable, and a good government would arrest them and take it seriously."

 President Bush rejects Israeli characterizations of his Tuesday meeting with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Israeli officials say Mr. Bush agreed to sideline Mr. Arafat in favor of more moderate Palestinian leaders as part of an effort to reform the Palestinian authority.

 "What is an accurate reflection of my opinion is that Mr. Arafat has let the Palestinian people down. He has not led, and as a result, the Palestinians suffer. My heart breaks for the Palestinian moms and dads who wonder whether or not their children are going to be able to get a good education and whether or not there is going to be a job available for their children," he said. "And one of the things we did talk about was how to put institutions in place so that a potential Palestinian state can be a peaceful neighbor with Israel."

 The president says those reforms of Palestinian institutions include an economic system promoting rule of law, rooting-out corruption and a unified security force held accountable for arresting terrorists.

 President Bush is sending CIA Director George Tenet back to the region to help organize that unified security force a plan which appears to have the backing of U.S. allies in the Arab world.

 White House officials say no one in the Bush administration is trying to tell Palestinians who their leaders should be. While they make it clear Mr. Arafat has yet to earn the president's trust, they recognize that he is the Palestinian leader and must be part of the dialogue toward peace.

AP
A Taiwan made 'Sky Bow' surface-to-air missile is test launched to hit an electronic generated target above the Pacific Ocean

Members of the press were invited to join Taiwan's president in witnessing the medium-range surface-to-air missile test at Taiwan's top secret testing facility in the southeast of the island. One medium-range Sky Bow II missile and three U.S.-made Hawk missiles were fired. All hit their targets. The Sky Bow II is an indigenous weapon system with radar developed from U.S. technology transferred in the 1980's.

 Taiwan's Sky Bow and U.S.-manufactured Patriot missiles are considered key to Taiwan's air defenses. The government in Taiwan has repeatedly complained about China's deployment of M-class missiles along its southeast coast, citing them as a major threat to Taiwan's security. China claims sovereignty over Taiwan, and Beijing has repeatedly refused to rule out of the use of military force to bring Taiwan to the negotiating table or to counter any declaration of Taiwan independence. 

President Chen Shui-bian expressed satisfaction with the test and stressed that Taiwan's primary goal was to build a sufficient air defense, not to engage in an arms buildup with Beijing.

 U.S.-made Patriot missiles are currently deployed in urban areas of northern Taiwan, and plans call for implementing a second Patriot-missile command further south within two-years. An official at the agency that developed the Sky Bow missile expressed the hope that Taiwan can eventually use the indigenous weapon in place of U.S. Patriots. China has protested Taiwan's requests for more of the U.S. made weapons.

The president of Mexico's largest opposition party says he would like to reach consensus with President Vicente Fox in order to move forward with needed reforms. The opposition leader also favors a partial opening of Mexico's energy sector to private investment.

 Speaking to foreign reporters Thursday, Roberto Madrazo, president of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, said he believes a consensus can be reached through dialogue. But, he said, the president must be flexible. Mr. Madrazo said the legislative and judicial powers had awakened and that Mr. Fox will have to work with them.
 
 

Roberto Madrazo, president of Mexico's Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI VOA Photo - G. Flakus

 One of the president's most urgent priorities is energy reform, which would allow more private investment and participation in the state-owned oil industry and the government-controlled electricity generation sector. Although the PRI has opposed most proposals for opening these industries to private investment, Mr. Madrazo said his party would back some limited form of private participation.

 He said it would be possible for the Federal Electrical Commission (la Comision Federal de Electricidad)and the state-owned oil company, Pemex, to issue stock that could be traded on the Mexican stock market. He said this is not impossible and that it would allow the state-run entities to expand projects.

 However, Mr. Madrazo provided few details of how this could be done without upsetting nationalists in his own party as well as in other parties. He also conceded that a change in the constitution, which makes these industries part of the public sector, is unlikely at this time.

 Mr. Madrazo said his party is seeking a meeting with Energy Minister Ernesto Martens to discuss these ideas in more detail.

 President Fox has said the energy sector should be maintained as national patrimony, but that some opening to private investment is necessary in order to meet the nation's energy needs. An estimated three to five billion dollars in investment in electricity generation will be needed in the coming year in order to maintain economic growth. 

As for the oil industry, Pemex is currently unable to increase exploration or take advantage of some known reserves because it does not have sufficient money to invest in improving its technology. Pemex provides the Mexican government with over one third of its current funds, leaving it with little left over for expanding its own operations. 

The United Nations refugee agency has said it is concerned about the rapidly deteriorating security situation in Liberia, where an insurrection that began three years ago is intensifying. On Friday, the Liberian military said rebels had gained control of part of a government stronghold east of Monrovia. 

The United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, has said the intense fighting in Liberia is forcing many people to flee for safety. 

UNHCR spokesman Ron Redmond said the agency has been providing humanitarian assistance to those displaced by the conflict, but the quick advance of rebel troops into some areas means the agency cannot reach all the people who need help. 

"This week there has been fighting occurring near the town of Gbarnga, which is in the northeast part of the country in a place called Bong County. People are reportedly fleeing the area in large numbers but because of the insecure situation, we have not been able to get a firm fix on what exactly is happening up there," Mr. Redmond said. 

Meanwhile, the UNHCR also reported instability in Senegal ahead of Sunday's municipal elections. Mr. Redmond said an attack on a government electoral convoy this week has sparked fighting and sent thousands of people fleeing, many of them into neighboring Gambia. 

"We have seen up to 2,000 new refugees from the Casamance region in Senegal who have arrived in southern Gambia over the past few days. This has been sparked by fighting by the Casamance Democratic Forces Movement, which is a separatist movement which has been waging a struggle in that part of Senegal since the early 1980's. It is a sporadic conflict. It rises and ebbs and flows," Mr. Redmond said. 

UNHCR said it is sending a team Friday to the border between Senegal and Gambia to get a better idea of what assistance is needed for the refugees. 

(Mothers Acting Up photo )

Mother's Day was proclaimed a national holiday in 1914. But nearly half-a-century earlier, another Mother's Day Proclamation called not for honor, but action - urging mothers throughout the world to work together for peace. Now, some 21st century mothers are reviving the original focus of the holiday. 

It's a busy afternoon at JoEllen Raderstorf's house, as she and three friends welcome kids home from school, get snacks for the pre-schoolers and craft projects for everyone. Today's extra busy, because they're giving me a news briefing about their plans for Mother's Day.

 As kids dart into the kitchen to nibble fresh-baked bread, their moms begin the news briefing by announcing what they want for Mother's Day: not flowers or candy but a political lobby group to protect all the world's children. 

"It's called Mothers Acting Up. And, it's about all people, young, old, male, female who are powerful and impressive and exercise care over someone smaller," Ms. Raderstorf said. 

On its website, Mothers Acting Up encourages moms to spend at least one hour every month taking some action that will help the world's children. This month, the focus is on reducing the way America's War on Terrorism hurts children, especially in Afghanistan. They want the United States to remove unexploded land mines and cluster bombs, and they want policy makers in Washington to invest more money in health care and education for that nation. 

Their website includes links to UNICEF, Save the Children, and other international relief organizations. And it provides a way for mothers to share how they've gotten involved, whether it's contributing to a relief fund or teaching kids how to call the White House comment line. Through this website, these women hope to build a powerful mother's lobby, right here from Mrs. Raderstorf's kitchen table. 

"This is a scoop! You are getting a scoop. And we started this even before we knew that Julia Ward Howe really created Mother's Day to protect our children," she exclaimed. "She was tired of sending our boys off to war to die." 

Julia Ward Howe was a poet and an anti-slavery activist, perhaps best known for writing the words to The Battle Hymn of the Republic. The song became the unofficial anthem of the Union Army during the American Civil War of the 1860s. The women of Mothers Acting Up say they like knowing that as the Civil War dragged on, Mrs. Howe yearned and worked for peace. Founding member Beth Osnes reads from Mrs. Howe's 1872 Mother's Day Proclamation. 

"'Arise, women of this day. Say firmly, we will not have our great questions decided by irrelevant agencies. Our husbands shall not come to us, reeking of carnage for caresses and applause. Let us then solemnly take council with each other as the means whereby the great human family can live in peace.' She says much more, but we just love the [idea that] husbands can't come to us reeking of carnage, wanting caresses and applause. It's just not going to happen!" Ms. Osnes said. 

As they build the power of the mother's lobby, they plan to infuse the political arena with the same lessons they teach at home. To get some idea about those lessons, I consulted the experts - Lily and Eliza, their grade school daughters.

Schlender: "What would you say to people who are fighting in the world?" 
Lily and Eliza:"We'd say to use your words . . . Yes. And, um. . . .And to not be mean back cause then it's just going to start a whole nother thing. Yeah, if someone hits you, you don't necessarily hit them back." 

In addition to reaching out through the Internet and the own families, the women of Mothers Acting Up believe in taking local action. So this Sunday, instead of sleeping late and waiting for breakfast in bed, they'll dress in everything from clown costumes and stilts to fancy Mother's Day outfits and march through the streets of downtown Boulder. Their husbands and kids plan to join the parade, while the moms sing an updated version of Julia Ward Howe's famous song. They call it the Battle Hymn of the New Republic.

 "Mine eyes have seen the need for love and giving to grow strong; I have seen our hungry children turned away for far too long; Mothers, when will we assert what we find right and we find wrong? Our truth has lost its way," the mothers sang.
 
 

Nancy Faust VOA Photo - M. Leland

As you settle into your seat at Chicago's Comiskey Park on a warm evening to watch the White Sox and their opponents playing catch or taking batting practice before the game, organist Nancy Faust is already at work, providing background music . "I think that does set a mood," she says. "You do know you are at a ballpark because it is about the only place you hear organ music."

 During the last 33 seasons, the White Sox have had hundreds of players, more than a dozen managers and two home stadiums, but only one organist. Ms. Faust got the job just after graduating from college, even though she did not know much about the game. "I had attended only one baseball game when I got the job here," she says. "I really was not a big sports fan, but I had a talent of being able to play anything, so I guess that kind of fit in."
 
 

Nancy Faust at work in her Comiskey Park booth VOA Photo - M. Leland

Ballpark organists are among the traditions of baseball. The first team to hire an organist was the Chicago Cubs, back in 1941. But for years, teams had other forms of music to entertain the fans. St. Louis Cardinals organist Ernie Hays remembers those days. "They used to have strolling musicians," he says. "When I started in 1971, when they upgraded the sound system at Busch Memorial Stadium, they did away with four strolling musicians."

 White Sox organist Nancy Faust says one of the challenges of the job has been keeping up with changing musical styles and tastes. "When I started, it seemed everyone was playing organ in those days," she says. "They were playing songs like, "Alley Cat," "Moon River," "Harbor Lights," easy polkas and things like that. As music changed, I think I was able to adapt to the style."

 When she started working for the White Sox, Ms. Faust filled the time between innings with music. Now, most teams use that time for commercials and scoreboard games for the fans. "I do not play as much, I do not have as much airtime, but by job is still as intense because I have to pay close attention and be there when the time is right," she says.

 Nancy now plays only briefly between innings, and when the visiting players are announced before their turn at bat. When White Sox players come up to bat, the stadium's disc jockey plays prerecorded music.

Faust: "The players request to the DJ what their favorite songs are."
Leland: "So the players have their own "theme songs" that are played when they come up to bat."
Faust:"Yeah, and to tell you the truth, that is one area I am not efficient at, and that is playing rap music. It is very hard for me to duplicate rap."
 
 

Since the White Sox are playing the Cleveland Indians on this particular evening, Nancy could play songs that refer to Indians. But with Cleveland among the teams criticized by some for using a Native American character as a mascot, she stays away from those tunes. "Everybody is so sensitive these days that I try to shy away from that. I think I used to be what today might be considered irreverent, but I used to be more uninhibited about everything I played," she says.

 Occasionally, organists are called upon to get the fans clapping and cheering. Ernie Hays in St. Louis says choosing the right tune at the right time can create a lot of excitement in the stands. "Certain songs at certain times would put the crowd over the top," he says.

 In Chicago, Nancy Faust found that out one night more than 20 years ago. On her way to the ballpark, she heard an old hit song called, "Na Na, Hey Hey, Kiss him Good-bye." She thought it would be fun to play the song at that night's game. "It was a Friday night, we were playing Kansas City. They took their pitcher out," she says. "Our fans were really pumped [excited], as they always were on Friday nights when Bill Veeck owned the team."

 When Nancy played the song as Kansas City's starting pitcher was being removed from the game, she was astonished to hear nearly everyone in the park sing along. It became the White Sox unofficial theme song, and the fans still join in, yelling, "hey, hey, hey, good-bye," as Cleveland's starting pitcher discovered when he was removed after the White Sox scored several runs late in this game.

 Nancy gets to lead the crowd in another baseball tradition, playing, "Take Me out to the Ball game" during the seventh inning.

 Today, Nancy Faust in Chicago and Ernie Hays in St. Louis are two of only eight ballpark organists remaining in the major leagues. Both can see a day when all ballparks use only prerecorded music, but both agree this is a pretty good way to earn a living. "This is a great view," she says. "The organ is located right behind home plate in the lower concourse. I have always enjoyed this because I've got some contact with the fans."

 Both Nancy and Ernie say they will keep playing as long as their teams and the fans welcome them. 

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