July 17, 1998 All Things Considered (entire program) Requires the RealAudio Player

An index of the day's stories:

Duma Update -- NPR's Michael Shuster reports from Moscow that the lower house of the Russian parliament, or Duma, has adjourned after adopting some -- but not all -- the austerity measures proposed by the government. The lawmakers approved enough of the package to satisfy the International Monetary Fund, which has pledged huge new loans to save Russia from financial collapse. The government will push through decrees mandating those reforms the Duma rejected. (3:45)

Czar Bones -- Mike Hornbrook reports from St. Petersburg on the burial of the remains of Tsar Nicholas, his wife Alexandra and three of their children at the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul. The ceremony took place exactly 80 years after the royal family was murdered by the Bolsheviks. The event was intended to promote national reconciliation, but has instead stirred up old passions and resentments. The head of the Russian Orthodox Church stayed away, arguing he was not convinced by DNA evidence that the remains were genuine. In a last minute change of heart, however, President Boris Yeltsin did attend. (3:00)

Memory Loss -- This week, a man from Pennsylvania was found, disoriented and searching for his pregnant wife...who actually gave birth eleven years earlier. Upon examination, doctors found a cyst on the man's brain that they suspect may have caused the man's confusion about time and his lack of memory. Robert talks with Dr. John Gabrieli, a professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at Stanford University, about long-term and short-term "retrograde amnesia." Gabrieli says that a brain cyst could cause this phenomenon. (5:00)

Be Gentle -- Commentator Elissa Ely remembers a disturbing incident during her medical school training. An eminent psychologist had a health problem -- and was kept in the dark by the medical staff attending him. She says that doctors should remember to treat each other gently, and with respect. (2:30)

Gays and Religion -- NPR's Lynn Neary reports on how some Christians are reacting to an anti-gay ad campaign that appeared in major newspapers this week. Placed by a coalition of Christian right-wing organizations, the ads declare homosexuality a sin and urge gays and lesbians to "change" through Christian counseling and therapy. Religious opponents of the ads are challenging the Right's definition of truth when it comes to homosexuality. (6:00)

Magnets and Sports -- Many successful sports figures are now touting a new kind of therapy -- the use of magnets and magnetized forces on the body. Robert talks with Dr. Michael Weintraub, who heads the American Academy of Neurology's critical evaluation team for Alternative Therapies, about why people are interested in magnet therapy and what it's supposed to accomplish. (4:30)

Long Cold Summer -- Commentator Lenore Skenazy says that she can't stand going into overly-air-conditioned buildings in the summertime. (2:00)

Star Wars Breakbeats -- Linda talks with Morgan Phillips, producer of a new CD called Star Wars Breakbeats. Phillips believes the Star Wars trilogy of movies is cultural mythology and worthy of reinterpretation through music. Star Wars Breakbeats is a full-length CD on which sounds from the trilogy are mixed with electronic beats and other musical hooks. Star Wars Breakbeats was available on Suckadelic Records, but is now out of print. This item is unavailable due to copyright issues.

Secret Service Testimony -- Linda talks with NPR Legal Affairs Correspondent Nina Totenberg about today's decision by Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist to let stand an appeals court decision compelling Secret Service agents to testify in the investigation President Clinton. The agents were called by Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr to appear this afternoon at the federal courthouse in Washington. (4:00)

GM Productivity -- NRP's Don Gonyea reports that the current strike against General Motors, was prompted largely by the company's demands for higher productivity at the plants in Flint. A highly respected industry study, released this week, shows why GM is so concerned with productivity. The car maker's productivity lags far behind Ford, Chrysler, and the U.S.-based factories of the Japanese car companies. (4:00)

Lockheed Cancels Merger -- NPR's Jim Zarroli reports that Defense Secretary William Cohen said today the Pentagon would continue to support mergers in the defense industry, but only if they don't hurt competition. Cohen spoke to reporters one day after Lockheed Martin announced it was giving up its bid to acquire Northrop Grumman. The merger had been opposed by federal officials who said it would have hurt competition and led to higher prices for defense projects. (3:45)

South Africa Violence -- NPR's Charlayne Hunter-Gault reports on an upsurge in violence in South Africa's troubled province of KwaZulu-Natal. In the past two weeks some thirty people have been killed there. Traditionally the province's violence has pitted the African National Congress against the Inkatha Freedom Party. But now a third party, a splinter from the A-N-C, is apparently involved as well. In the decade before the end of apartheid, more than ten thousand people died in ANC-Inkatha fighting in KwaZulu-Natal, but the situation had calmed since the 1994 democratic elections. (7:30)

International Criminal Court -- Over the objections of the United States, a plenary session of the U.N. conference in Rome has adopted a treaty creating a permanent international court to prosecute war criminals. The United States wanted guarantees that U.S. soldiers serving abroad would not be arbitrarily prosecuted. But the U-S delegation found itself isolated from its allies in Europe and overruled by a majority of delegates. U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan is to fly to Rome tomorrow to sign the treaty. Robert talks with NPR's Sylvia Poggioli about the day's events. (4:45)

East Germans Abandoning Kohl -- With German federal elections less than three months away, Chancellor Helmut Kohl's Christian Democrats are trailing in the polls. His support has slipped badly in the former East Germany, where unemployment is running at 20 percent. Eastern Germans are abandoning the man they once hailed as the "Chancellor of Unification," in favor of the Social Democrats, led by the more charismatic Gerhard Schroeder. NPR's Edward Lifson reports. (4:45)

Burrito Odyssey -- Peter Fox has been searching for the origins of what we know as the burrito. What he wants to know is how the burrito got to America, and which restaurants first served the flat flour tortilla filled with beans or meat. He files this audio postcard from Los Angeles and with the help of "Dr. Loco," Peter finds the restaurant called El Tepayac. (3:15)

Shakuhachi -- The Japanese flute called the shakuhachi has been part of Japanese culture for thousands of years. Now, the 5-holed bamboo instrument is finding its way into all sorts of music beyond its meditative origins. Michael Velasco talks to players in America who are playing the shakuhachi and are being challenged by this simple flute. This item is unavailable due to technical problems.