April 27, 1998 All Things Considered (entire program) Requires the RealAudio Player

An index of the day's stories:

SINN FEIN -- Noah talks with Bairbre DeBrun, the senior negotiator and director of International Affairs for Sinn Fein, the political wing of the Irish Republican Army. Gerry Adams, the head of Sinn Fein, began talks today with British Prime Minister Tony Blair. DeBrun talks about what ground still needs to be covered before the May 22nd referendum on Irish peace. (5:30)

KOSOVO TODAY -- Today in Luxembourg, the foreign ministers of European Union members said that economic sanctions should be applied to Yugoslavia if the Serbian government refuses to withdraw special police and army units from Kosovo and if international mediation continues to be rejected. The Kosovo question is up for review Wednesday in Rome by representatives of the six-nation Contact Group. The BBC's Karen Coleman reports from the capital of Kosovo, Pristina. (2:00)

SUICIDE BOMBERS -- Robert talks with Dan Setton, the writer and director of the documentary "Suicide Bombers: Secrets of the Shaheed," which will air on the HBO cable service on Tuesday, April 28. Setton discusses his travels to the Gaza Strip and to Israeli prisons, where he met young men who are willing to make themselves into human bombs. His film explores the complicated issues of the Israeli-Arab conflict which motivate these men. (5:00)

MARKET DOWN -- NPR's Jim Zarroli reports the stock market was off sharply today as investors reacted to news the Federal Reserve may be preparing to raise interest rates at its next meeting. The Dow Industrials were down more than 2% most of the day, but recovered some ground in late trading. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq composite were also down. (2:30)

RALOXIFENE -- NPR's Joe Palca reports on how stock analysts are influencing the way developments in medicine are being reported by the media. Because there's so much money to be made on new drugs, Wall Street jumps on any shred of information suggesting that a particular drug will work. But more and more, these speculative stock tips are winding up on the front pages of newspapers as the latest health news -- long before conclusive evidence is in hand. An incidence of this occurred just last week, with a drug that is being tested for breast cancer prevention. (5:00)

COLE PORTER -- Tonight in New York, the Cole Porter musical revival "High Society" opens on Broadway, and Noah talks to Robert Kimball, who is artistic advisor to the Cole Porter Musical and Literary Trust. Kimball oversees the thousands of pieces of sheet music, contracts, and notes that are part of the Porter estate, and he's a virtual encyclopedia of Cole Porter information, including song lyrics, what show a song was in, and who sang it. Kimball worked with the production team of "High Society", finding new songs to add to the existing songs, and deciding which lyrics could be changed. (4:15) 11:26.5

AMERICAN THEATRE -- Playwrights Paula Vogel, Terrence McNally, Christopher Durang, and John Guare discuss the state of their art and the relevance of theatre to American life. To John Guare, theatre, at its best, is a rehearsal for the "great moments of our life"... while to Christopher Durang, it's a map of life's absurdities. Susan Stamberg reports. (7:00)

NATO DEBATE -- The Senate began debate today on a plan to expand NATO to include the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland. The Senate is expected to vote on the plan later this week. Opponents argue that NATO expansion could alienate Russia and will be costly for U.S. taxpayers, but proponents say it would improve stability in Europe. NPR's Peter Kenyon reports. (4:00)

RT. WING PARTIES -- Robert talks with Martin Walker, the European editor for the Guardian newspaper. They discuss the rising power of extreme right-wing parties in Europe. In many countries, these parties are attaining the same aura of respectability as mainstream political parties. Walker talks about what that could mean for the future of the European Union and the status of these countries' relations with the United States. (4:30)

TOMB OF THE UNKNOWNS -- Pentagon investigators have recommended to Defense Secretary William Cohen that the Vietnam era soldier in the Tomb of the Unknowns be removed and his DNA tested. The investigators have been looking into charges that the Pentagon could have identified the serviceman, but succumbed to political pressure to honor a Vietnam casualty by placing him with the Unknowns. NPR's Martha Raddatz reports. (3:30)

HOFFA DECISION -- NPR's Don Gonyea reports from Detroit that James P. Hoffa was given the go-ahead today to run for president of the Teamsters Union. A court-appointed monitor said there was no evidence of large-scale cheating by the Hoffa campaign during the last Teamsters election in 1996. Hoffa lost that race to incumbent Ron Carey, whose victory was later thrown out because the Carey campaign illegally diverted union money into its own coffers. A re-run election is scheduled for later this year, and Hoffa is now considered the front-runner. (4:00)

MEETINGS -- Commentator Marianne Jennings talks about meetings in the workplace. She talks about how meetings may not be productive, but they make you look busy. She ends by saying that if there are enough meetings, people forget who said what in the meetings, and often times there are meetings called to clear up what was done in previous meetings. (3:00)

EU, US, AND CUBA -- NPR's Tom Gjelten reports that this week's visit to Cuba by Canada's prime minister highlights Ottawa's growing willingness to challenge US policy towards Fidel Castro. Jean Chretien is the first Canadian leader to visit Cuba since Pierre Trudeau went there in 1976. In Havana, Chretien is criticizing the US policy of isolating Cuba, even while calling on Castro to "adapt" its system to the modern world. Canada also says it would support Cuba's re-entry into the Organization of American States. (3:30)

CODE OF CONDUCT -- NPR's Kathleen Schalch reports that human rights organizations are teaming up with some businesses to implement what they hope will become a universal code of conduct for manufacturers with factories in the developing world. In exchange for meeting certain minimum requirements, companies would be able to advertise their products were made without "sweatshop" labor. (6:00)

BILINGUAL ED. -- NPR's Mandalit Del Barco reports that the Clinton Administration today announced their opposition to California Proposition 227, the California ballot measure that would dismantle the state's bilingual education programs. The administration is going to call for a three year limit to participating in bilingual programs, but opponents to Prop 227 say that there should be no time limit. Survey show that most California voters support the ballot measure. (3:00)

QUAKE -- Commentator David Weinberger considers himself a gentle guy. A pacifist, he was granted conscientious objector status by his draft board. But now that he is playing "Quake", a fast and violent game on the Web, he is pondering his impulses to kill his opponents. He still considers himself a pacifist, but Quake is too much fun to give up. (3:00)

MEL POWELL OBIT -- Composer and pianist Mel Powell died Friday at his home in southern California. He was 75 years old. Powell won the Pulitzer Prize for music in 1990 for his composition, "Duplicates," written for two pianos and orchestra. A student of Paul Hindemith, Powell went on to become chairman of the composition faculty at Yale in the 1960's and director of its electronic music studio. In 1969, he helped set up the music school at the California Institute of the Arts. But Powell was also a jazz musician. At 19, he joined Benny Goodman's band as pianist and arranger. He also worked with Glenn Miller. NPR's Dean Olsher reports. (4:00)