August 19, 1998 All Things Considered (entire program) Requires the RealAudio Player

An index of the day's stories:

Russia Stocks Slide -- David McGuffin reports from Moscow that Russian financial markets lost more ground today following Monday's de facto devaluation of the ruble. Foreign creditors are nervous about reports that the government will discriminate against them, in favor of Russians, when it repays its debt. They became even more nervous when the government postponed an announcement on how it will restructure its debt. (3:00)

Free Market Economy -- All Things Considered host Linda Wertheimer talks with Marshall Goldman, associate director of the Davis Center for Russian Studies at Harvard University, about the progress of the free market economy in Russia. Goldman says although the Russian economy is suffering a set-back, there won't be a return to a controlled economy. (4:30)

KKK Trial -- NPR's Debbie Elliott reports from Hattiesburg, Mississippi that an FBI informant described in court today the 1966 Ku Klux Klan firebomb attack that killed black businessman Vernon Dahmer. Billy Roy Pitts, who said he participated in the attack, testified that it was ordered by Klan Wizard Sam Bowers to stop Dahmer's efforts to register black voters. Bowers is on trial for the fifth time on murder and arson charges stemming from the bombing. Four other trials that took place in the 1960's ended in mistrials. (3:00)

Aryan Nations March -- Writer Ursula Hegi felt drawn to protest when an Aryan Nations march was held this summer in Coeur D'Alene, Idaho. The experience was terrifying for her, a German-born woman who documented the rise of Naziism in Germany in her prize-winning novel, Stones From the River. (4:30)

Japan Economy -- NPR's John Ydstie reports that Japan's economic crisis began to be apparent in the early 1990's, when shoddy banking practices and over-speculation in real estate began to take their toll. But in this third report of a series on the crisis, he finds that the foundations of Japan's phenomenal post-war growth had been cracking for some time due to other problems. Third report in a series. (8:30)

Tornado Proof Bathrooms? -- Linda talks with Russell Carter, a research associate at the Wind Engineering Research Center at Texas Technical University, about designing rooms for homes that provide safe shelter from tornados. You can visit the FEMA and Texas Tech Web sites.

No Apologies -- All Things Considered host Noah Adams talks to Deborah Tannen, professor of linguistics at Georgetown University and author of the book, The Argument Culture, about the language President Clinton used in his address on Monday night. Tannen says that the language the President used stopped short of an actual apology. People sometimes don't apologize, Tannen says, because they feel it is a sign of weakness. The President may have steered away from a full apology in order to maintain the appearance of strength. (4:15)

Plain English, Please -- Gene Weingarten, staff writer for the Washington Post, takes the text of President Clinton's address Monday night and puts it into plain English. What did the President mean when he said "While my answers were legally accurate, I did not volunteer information?" Or when he said, "At no time did I ask anyone to lie, to hide or destroy evidence or to take any other unlawful action." (3:20)

Embassy Bombings -- NPR's Tom Gjelten reports on the latest development in the investigation into the August 7 bombings of the US embassies in Tanzania and Kenya. The FBI raided a hotel in Nairobi today, taking evidence from a room reportedly used by a suspect in the bombings. The New York Times and Washington Post reported today that Pakistani authorities have arrested at least one more suspect trying to cross into Afghanistan. (4:00)

Northern Ireland Bombings -- NPR's Michael Goldfarb reports that a wave of anti-terrorist sentiment has swept across the city of Dundalk in the Irish Republic. Dundalk is the base of "The Real IRA," the group responsible for the car bomb attack that claimed 28 lives in Northern Ireland Saturday. Residents plan a protest this evening. (4:00)

Congo Rebellion -- NPR's Jennifer Ludden reports from Kinshasa on the latest fighting in the two-week-old rebellion against the government of Laurent Kabila. Today there were conflicting comments from senior officials of southern African nations about their willingness to provide Kabila with arms and troops to combat the uprising in Congo. Angola's defense minister said fourteen nations have agreed to help Kabila, but South Africa and other nations say it's not true. (2:15)

Kosovo Fighting -- NPR's Edward Lifson reports from Pristina that Emma Bonino, the U.N.'s deputy High Commissioner for refugees, is warning that the international community will not be able to cope with the flood of displaced person in Serbia's Kosovo province. Bonino says that no amount of humanitarian aid will substitute for a lasting political settlement of the conflict. (2:00)

Objects of Affection -- President Clinton reportedly wore a tie Aug. 6 that was given to him by Monica Lewinsky. That was the day she testified before the grand jury about their relationship, and prosecutors reportedly asked President Clinton if he was trying to send Lewinsky a message. NPR's Steve Inskeep explores what other people do with the presents they receive from former spouses and lovers. (4:00)

The Brunner Twins -- Commentator Scott Brunner discusses his preparations for the birth of twins. (4:00)

Cow Cloning -- NPR's Joe Palca reports New Zealand researchers say they've produced the world's second cloned cow -- confirming that the procedure works. What makes the New Zealand report unique, however, is that the clone originates from a cow that is the last known member of its breed. In the future, cloning may be used to save endangered species. (5:00)

Elk Farming -- Kathy Witkowsky reports from Missoula, Montana on the growing business of elk farming. A single elk can cost 5,000 to 25,000 dollars and antlers can fetch more than 100 dollars a pound. But some worry that the practice could end up hurting wild elk by diluting the gene pool and spreading disease. (7:00)

Barnicle Quits -- NPR's Brooke Gladstone reports newspaper columnist Mike Barnicle resigned from the Boston Globe today because of suspicions he fabricated a 1995 column about two children hospitalized with cancer. Barnicle was already under a two-month suspension without pay for copying jokes from a George Carlin book without attributing them to Carlin. (2:30)

Adventures in Listening -- Music reviewer Tom Manoff listens to a lot of CDs, from the horrid, to the mediocre, to the sublime. He offers a sample of this range of music. Note: the CD Tom liked was Bach English Suites nos 1, 3 and 6 performed by Murray Perahia on Sony Classical. The music he found mediocre was by Bernhard Romberg, on a CD called "the Cello and the King of Prussia." Theatre music by Christian Horneman is on the Bis label, and "The Mask of Zorro," is the soundtrack composed and conducted by James Horner on the Sony classical label. (5:30)