November 14, 1996

    All Things Considered
    (entire program)



    • Martha Raddatz reports on the Pentagon's planning for the deployment of several thousand American troops in and around Zaire. President Clinton has provisionally approved the participation of US soldiers in a multinational force in Zaire. The force would protect a relief effort for about a million Rwandan refugees cut off by recent fighting in eastern Zaire. American forces would provide logistical support for a relief effort, and would secure the airport in Goma, which would serve as the hub of the operation. (4:00)

    • Jennifer Ludden reports that the biggest challenge facing any multinational relief effort is the conflict between the Zairean rebels in control of Goma, and the Rwandan militia ensconced in a huge refugee camp outside the city. Today, the two sides traded rocket and mortar fire for several hours. The Rwandan militiamen are among those who carried out the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, and they are using the hundreds of thousands of civilian refugees as a shield. The Zairean rebels insist that a multinational force must separate the militia from the true refugees, a job the outside world does not want to take on. (3:30)

    • Robert talks with Robert Oakley, former special envoy to Somalia in 1992-93, about the impending military mission to eastern Zaire. There have been several missions in which the U-S has participated -- Somalia, Haiti, Bosnia and Rwanda. He talks about some of the wisdom the U.S. has gained from intervening in past conflicts. (4:30)

    • Sylvia Poggioli reports from the World Food Summit, currently underway in Rome. Multi-national companies and rich countries are under attack. They are accused of contributing to poverty in developing countries by promoting industrialized farming. (4:00)

    • Daniel Schorr says that President Clinton's apparent reversal of his reversal on the balanced budget amendment is yet another example of the President tailoring his message to a specific audience. (3:45)

    • Scott Simon offers an appreciation of Joseph Cardinal Bernardin. The Archbishop of Chicago died early today of pancreatic cancer at the age of 68. Tributes are pouring forth for Bernardin whom many considered the most influential American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church this century. (7:30)

    • Robert talks to Father Thomas Reese about the influence the death of Cardinal Bernardin will have on the progressive dialogue he promoted. He began a program called Common Ground to provide a forum for discussion of issues divisive to the church in the U.S., such as abortion, homosexuality, and the position of women and lay people in the decisionmaking process for the Catholic Church. (5:00)

    • Police districts in four Chicago suburbs have started a pilot program to bring more domestic abuse cases to trial, even if the victim doesn't want to press charges. Cheryl Corley reports that in Chicago, Cook County attorneys say prosecuting without a domestic abuse victim's permission could create additional risk for the victim. (5:00)

    • Noah talks with Cheryl Devall, who reports from St. Petersburg, Florida the day after a civil unrest followed a grand jury decision NOT to indict a policeman in the shooting death of a black motorist. Police blamed last night's disturbances on a black community group known as "Uhuru," but today black community leaders defended the group, saying that police provoked last night's unrest. (4:00)

    • Richard Harris reports that scientists have identified a single gene defect that is capable of causing Parkinson's Disease. The flaw is responsible for the disease in only a small number of patients, but researchers hope the discovery will help them gain important insights into the devastating nerve disease. (3:00)

    • Richard Klausner , the director of the National Cancer Institute, about studies that show a decline in cancer mortality rates...for the first time this century. They discuss what this means for public policy and health care, and what resources need to be dedicated to research to continue this trend. (5:00)

    • With urging from regulators, public utilities have led the way with energy conservation programs. But with the dawn of a new age of deregulation, utilities are getting out of the conservation business...something that could send demand soaring. Dan Charles reports. (8:00)

    • Managed care plans such as HMOs and PPOs, where patients are given a list of doctors from which to choose, are beginning to dominate the health care industry. Minority doctors, mainly black physicians, are saying, they can't get into these plans, even as more and more of their patients are being signed up as clients. HMOS say they don't keep tabs on who they sign up. Some experts say there is probably some truth to the complaints -- even if race is not the only reason black doctors are being excluded. Vicky Que examines the charges. (12:30)

    • Letters from listeners. To contact All Things Considered, the address is All Things Considered Letters, 635 Massachusetts Avenue Northwest, Washington D.C., 20001. To reach us via the Internet, the address is ATC@NPR.ORG. (3:30)