October 6, 1998 All Things Considered (entire program) Requires the RealAudio Player

An index of the day's stories:

Clinton on World Economy -- NPR's John Ydstie reports that President Clinton told financial officials from around the world that they must put a human face on the international economic system. The president told a joint meeting of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund that in reforming the international financial system, they must find a way to avoid the boom and bust cycles of the past. He said he is confident the ongoing economic crisis can be solved if the nations of the world work together. (4:00)

Secondhand in Japan -- NPR's Eric Weiner reports that the severe recession in Japan is slowly bringing about changes in lifestyle and attitude. One shift is in the way Japanese view second-hand goods. In the past, many people wouldn't have considered buying second-hand clothing, books or appliances. Not so today. But one thing hasn't changed; Japanese generally won't touch second-hand products unless they look as if they've never been used. (5:30)

GM Reorganization -- NPR's Don Gonyea reports that General Motors today announced a major reorganization that will include consolidation of the company's North American and international automotive operations into one unit. (2:30)

Kosovo -- The United States today stepped up pressure on Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic to commit to peace in Kosovo province or face NATO air strikes. NPR's Tom Gjelten reports that the path to such air strikes may be cleared when NATO foreign ministers meet in Brussels on Thursday. (2:00)

Infection and Counseling -- NPR's Joe Neel reports on a new study in tomorrow's Journal of the American Medical Association showing that repeated hour-long counseling sessions reduces the rate of new sexually transmitted diseases among heterosexual men and women. (1:40)

HIV Prevention -- Frank Browning reports that San Francisco health workers have made substantial progress in slowing the rate of new HIV infections among among gay teens and gay men in their early 20s. But San Francisco's success is not being repeated in other cities hard hit by AIDS. In some cases, as many as 6 in 100 teenage gays already are infected. (11:00)

Agriculture Bill -- The federal government has only three days of funding left, but Congress is making slow progress on passing the appropriations bills needed to sustain federal agencies and programs. The Senate is set to pass an Agriculture bill today that includes nearly four billion dollars in emergency assistance for farmers hit by weather disasters, the troubled Asian economy and falling prices. But as NPR's Peter Kenyon reports, Democrats say much more farm aid is needed, and the president has promised to veto the bill. (3:30)

Prairie View Suspension -- Robert Siegel talks with Jim Belew, the editor, publisher, reporter and photographer of The Waller County New Citizen in Hempstead, Texas. They discuss a decision made by the Southwestern Athletic Conference to suspend all athletics at Prairie View A & M University after a fight broke out between the Prairie View Marching Band and another school's band. Prairie View A & M's football team recently broke an eighty-game losing streak. (4:00)

What's Next in the House? -- House Majority Leader Dick Armey said today the House will not consider anything other than whether to hold impeachment hearings. But the Democrats are still looking for a way to get the scope and duration of the inquiry limited. The Democrats are also hoping to convince their members not to vote for the inquiry, even if there is pressure from the home district. If there is such pressure, none of it is coming from the latest national Republican campaign ads, which seem to take their cue from polls that show Americans don't want to hear candidates talk about the Lewinsky matter. NPR's Brian Naylor reports. (4:30)

Impeachment and Election -- NPR senior news analyst Daniel Schorr doubts that Congress will rely only on conscience for guidance in the impeachment process. Many are waiting for a mandate from the ballot box. (3:00)

Housing Bill -- NPR's Steve Inskeep reports on today's debate in the House on a bill containing the most extensive overhaul of public housing laws in more than half a century. The measure, which provides funding for the Veterans Administration and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, was expected to pass. Provisions in the bill require recipients of public housing subsidies to work a minimum number of hours each month. (4:30)

Immunization in Inner Cities -- While immunization levels among preschoolers in this country have been rising, rates among inner city children have lagged far behind. In this week's "Journal of the American Medical Association," federal health officials report on an incentive program in Chicago that has succeeded in getting urban children immunized. As NPR's Vicky Que reports, the program makes food vouchers for poor women, infants and children easier to get if young children are immunized. (4:30)

Balloon Fiesta -- All Things Considered host Noah Adams talks with Tom Garrity, the media director of the Kodak Albuquerque International Fiesta. The festival, in its 27th year, features more than 800 hot-air balloons. Yesterday, high winds delayed the race, and an accident occurred which killed one person in one of the balloons. (3:30)

Protests Planned for Moscow -- NPR's Michele Kelemen reports from Moscow on the nationwide protests expected tomorrow against President Boris Yeltsin. The protests have been organized by the Communist Party to demonstrate their lack of confidence in Yeltsin's handling of Russia's economic crisis. But even with a weakened ruble and soaring inflation, Kelemen reports that on the eve of the planned protests, Russians seem more apathetic than angry. (3:30)

Mideast News -- NPR's Jennifer Ludden reports that after a day of talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright reported little progress in restarting the peace process. Albright has gone to the Mideast for two days to lay the groundwork for a Camp David-style peace negotiation later this month in Washington. The Secretary of State told both sides that they had "tough choices" to make if the peace process was to be salvaged. (3:30)

Paying for More Police -- NPR's Andy Bowers reports that Los Angeles will receive federal funds to hire some 700 new police officers. The problem is, the federal funds will run out in three years -- leaving the city to pick up the tab for those new officers. (5:30)

Davy Spillane -- Noah talks with Davy Spillane, who plays the uillean pipes, which are the traditional bagpipes of Ireland. Back in the early 80s, when he was barely out of school, Spillane was in the band Moving Hearts, one of the first groups to put rock and traditional folk together. He recalls that playing the pipes in a rock and roll setting was extremely stressful. Now he plays the uillean pipes in what he terms a "contemporary setting", backed by a keyboard, instead of the more limited drones of the pipes. (Note: Davy Spillane's new CD is "Sea of Dreams", catalog number #1676 on Covert Records - a subsidiary of Relativity Entertainment.) This item is unavailable due to copyright issues.