May 21, 1998 All Things Considered (entire program) Requires the RealAudio Player

An index of the day's stories:

Chronology -- NPR's Ted Clark reports on the events that led to the collapse today of the 32-year tenure of Indonesian president Suharto. The crisis began not in Indonesia, but in Thailand, where the Asian economic bubble first burst, setting in motion a regional economic crisis that the corrupt, crony-ridden Suharto regime was ultimately unable to resolve. (6:30)

Taxicabs -- New York City police blocked some city cab drivers from entering Manhattan today to quell a protest over tougher safety rules. The city's action kept some cab drivers from simply going to work. Laura Sydell reports from member station WNYC. (2:30)

Good Birds, Bad Birds -- Reporter Brad Klein at member station WNYC examines the behaviors of the three most common birds in New York City: the House Sparrow, the European Starling, and the Pigeon. While many ornithologists would never say so, Klein reports all three are "bad birds" robbing "good birds" (like woodpeckers) of their urban homes and hustling unsuspecting New Yorkers for handouts. (5:00)

Politics of Satellites -- NPR's Mara Liasson reports that the administration says President Clinton will still go to China next month despite calls for him to delay the trip in light of allegations that sensitive missile technology might have been transferred to China. Republicans on Capitol Hill and the Justice Department are looking into whether such an illegal transfer occurred as part of a satellite deal and whether campaign contributions to Democrats played a role. The administration says that a 1996 waiver allowing a U.S. firm to launch a satellite on a Chinese missile was protected by numerous national security safeguards and was granted as part of an effort to assist the U.S. telecommunications industry. (3:30)

Business of Satellites -- All Things Considered host Linda Wertheimer talks with Joe Pelton, a senior research scientist at the Institute for Applied Space Research at George Washington University. He's also the author of Satellite Revolution, and was the dean of the International Space University in France. They discuss how the satellite and telecommunications industries could be affected by a ban on exporting related technology to China. (Note: Satellite Revolution is published by the International Engineering Consortium.) (4:00)

Cigarette Smuggling -- As debate on a tobacco settlement continues in the U.S. Senate, many people opposed to the bill's price increase's say it would lead to a new black market in illegal cigarettes that would make it even easier for young people to smoke. Canada experienced the development of a black market when that country raised cigarette prices, but as NPR's Larry Abramson reports, supporter of the bill say there are provision built into the Senate bill that would control smuggling through better law enforcement measures. (5:00)

Rock & Roll Copyrights -- Several members of the most important founding rock-n-roll groups were on Capitol Hill today, trying to prevent "imposter" groups from using their names. Members of the Supremes, the Platters, the Drifters, Danny and the Juniors, and Sam and Dave say they are losing money and audiences are being shortchanged when they attend concerts given by artists who have appropriated those group names. They want their names to be protected by copyright law. (2:00)

The Times -- All Things Considered host Robert Seigel talks with Anthony Handal, the attorney representing The Times newspaper of London in their trademark enforcement case against a small newspaper in the United States. Lawyers for the London Times newspaper -- circulation 750,000 -- sent a cease-and-desist order to the tiny Smithfield, Virginia newspaper The Times -- which has a circulation of 5,000 -- in order to protect their copyright on the name of the paper. Robert also talks with John Edwards, the editor and publisher of the Smithfield paper, which changed its name to The Smithfield Times after being presented with the lawsuit from the well-known London periodical. Edwards says that he's confident he could have won the lawsuit, but that the time and money involved in doing so would have been excessive. (5:30)

Oregon School Shooting -- A 15-year-old student who had been expelled a day earlier for bringing a gun to class opened fire with a semiautomatic rifle in a Springfield, Oregon, high school cafeteria today, killing at least one person. Approximately two dozen others were injured, some critically. Two unidentified adults, who may be the suspect's parents, were found dead at the suspect's home. Nancy Solomon of member station KLCC reports. (2:30)

Habibie & Suharto -- We'll hear an excerpt from Indonesian President B. J. Habibie's first address to the people of Indonesia today, following the resignation of former president Suharto. (2:00)

Student Protests -- Robert talks with Shelvy Lolita, one of the leaders of the student protest movement in Indonesia. She attends the University of Indonesia in Jakarta. She talks about what the students would like to see happen now that Suharto has resigned the presidency. (4:30)

IMF -- Indonesia's newly-installed President Habibie moved quickly to reassure the international community that he intends to honor Indonesia's commitments to the International Monetary Fund. Indonesia has promised to carry out many difficult reforms as part of a $43 billion economic rescue package. The IMF has decided to delay any additional dispersements while IMF officials review the situation in Indonesia. NPR's John Ydstie reports. (3:30)

Yugoslavia -- NPR's Tom Gjelten reports on the latest political rumblings in Yugoslavia. This week the moderate prime minister of the Yugoslav Federation, a Montenegrin, was ousted and replaced by an ally of Serbian strongman Slobodan Milosevic. Analysts say the shake-up set the stage for a more serious confrontation between Serbia and Montenegro, the last remaining republics in the federation. (3:45)

Israeli Torture -- NPR's Linda Gradstein reports from Jerusalem that the Israeli Supreme Court has begun to hear a landmark case on the use of force in the interrogation of prisoners. Israeli and Palestinian human rights groups accuse Israel's security forces of using torture in interrogating prisoners. The government denies it. (3:45)

Decommissioning -- All Things Considered host Noah Adams reports from Belfast on the eve of the referendum on the Good Friday political settlement for Northern Ireland. Many voters are bothered by the thorny issue of decommissioning -- disarming the Catholic and Prostestant paramilitaries. Both sides have accumulated huge arsenals. (7:15)

Marion Barry -- Linda talks with NPR's Barbara Bradley about today's announcement by Washington, DC, Mayor Marion Barry that he will not run for a fifth term. Barry was elected to a fourth term in 1994, four years after being convicted on crack cocaine charges. But this term has been marked by the city's financial crisis and Barry has seen most of his mayoral power transferred by Congress to a presidentially appointed financial control board. (4:00)

Powerball -- Last night's world-record Powerball lottery jackpot -- 195 million dollars -- was won by one individual, who has yet to come forward to claim the prize. The winning ticket was sold in southern Wisconsin, and the person who won beat 80.1 million-to-one odds of winning the prize. (1:00)

Midwest Gambling -- NPR's Cheryl Corley reports from Chicago on the workings of the National Gambling Impact Study Commission, which is meeting this week in the Midwest to analyze the explosion in legalized gambling throughout the country. Of particular concern are riverboat gambling and gambling on the Internet. (4:00)

Letters -- Linda and Robert read from listeners' comments. To contact All Things Considered, write to All Things Considered Letters, 635 Massachusetts Avenue Northwest, Washington DC 20001. To contact us via the Internet, the address is atc@npr.org. (2:45)