MonitoRadio Daily Program; [1997-02-24]

I'm sorry After radio is the worldwide broadcast edition of the Christian Science Monitor on PRI, Public Radio International, amidst memorial activities for Dung Xiaoping, Beijing welcomes the U .S.

Secretary of State. We'll have details of her first visit there also. Hello Dolly. A clone's got a sheep by that name, triggers an ethical debate. The main importance of cloning this sheep is that we can now have a more informed and a more immediate debate on what's reasonable and what is not reasonable for science to do in the area of human duplication. Those stories and more coming up on Monitor Radio, first this news. For the Christian Science Monitor, I'm Judy Ewell at the Monitor Radio News Desk. U .S. Secretary of State Madeline Albright met with top Chinese officials today on the last stop of her trip around the world. Albright said no progress was made on the issue of human rights, and the U .S. is threatening to join European nations and sponsoring a resolution critical of China's human rights record, and less Beijing eases up on political dissidents. Before the meeting, Albright spoke with reporters at the U .S. Embassy in Beijing. My name mission is to engage with China and make

them realize that we want them to be part of our international system. Albright leaves tomorrow before the Chinese hold a memorial ceremony for their late leader Deng Chao Ping. The observation deck at the Empire State Building is closed today has workers install metal detectors. Yesterday evening, a Palestinian gunman opened fire there, killing one man and wounding six others before he shot himself to death. The gunman's family interviewed at their home in Gaza City say he was distraught after losing his life savings that he accrued while working as a teacher. They deny he had any links to terrorist groups. The U .S. Senate is expected to resume debate today on a constitutional amendment requiring a balanced federal budget, as U .P .I .P. Chamberlain reports from Washington support for the proposal has been weakened by concerns for a social program. Social security, one of the most potent democratic weapons in the election, is now hurting the amendment. Democrats in droves and some Republicans say the amendment has to be rewritten to protect social security benefits. Some of them had supported and

even voted for the amendment without social security protection. Top supporters of the plan say shielding social security checks from budget cuts would ruin the amendment, providing too big a loophole. Senate leaders are anxious to act soon, failure in the Senate would kill the plan. Pai Chamberlain, Capitol Hill. The attorney for Israel's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, says his client may have been manipulated in an alleged influence trading scandal. The Prime Minister is accused of appointing the former attorney general in exchange for political support for the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the West Bank City of Hebron. But Mr. Netanyahu's attorney says the Prime Minister was led to believe that the appointment had the support of Israel's chief justice. The leader of Tupac Amaru Rebels is meeting with a government negotiator today in Lima, Peru, and talks aimed at ending a hostage standoff. Those talks are being held not far from the Japanese ambassador's compound, where the rebels have held 72 men hostage

for nearly 10 weeks. Previous negotiations have stalled over the rebels' demand that the government free their jailed comrades. In London, the Financial Times index lost six points to close at 4 ,331. Just before the hour, the Dow Jones industrial average was at 42 points at 69 .74 in New York. This is Monitor Radio News on Public Radio International. During a televised meeting today at the Kremlin, Russia's president, Boris Yeltsin, scolded his Prime Minister for government delays in paying state workers. Monitor Radio's Eric Engelman reports from Moscow. President Yeltsin went on state television to publicly chastise his Prime Minister Victor Yeltsin referred to an opinion poll that shows many Russians are dissatisfied with the government. He called for urgent measures to pay workers, salaries, and pensions, and told Yeltsin to consider possible changes in the cabinet. It's not the first time the president has called for payment of overdue wages. He made similar promises at the end of December, but was sidelined with pneumonia just a few days later. In recent TV appearances, the Russian leader appears vigorous and in better health than he has

in weeks. On Sunday, he pronounced himself fully recovered and said recent moves to impeach him on the grounds of ill health were purely political. For the Christian sides monitor, I'm Eric Engelman in Moscow. A bomb exploded today at a crowded marketplace in Algeria and one person was killed. At least 20 other people were wounded as they fled the scene. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. It coincides with a threat by the armed Islamic group to continue its fight to bring down the Algerian government. Police in Atlanta, Georgia, are trying to determine if a bombing Friday night at a gay and lesbian nightclub was the work of a serial bomber or a copycat crime. Five people were injured in the blast. Police say there are some similarities between the attack and the bombing at an abortion clinic last month, but not enough to be sure that they were done by the same person. They also say the two attacks appear quite different from the bombing at the Summer Olympics in Atlanta. The U .S. Food and Drug Administration said today that women can avoid pregnancy by taking birth control pills and high doses after unprotected sex. The FDA will publish its recommendations tomorrow in a guide for doctors. It is legal to prescribe

the pill for emergency contraception, but few physicians have known what dose to use. From Monitor Radio News, I'm Judy Ewell, on PRI. This is Monitor Radio. I'm David Brown. On the last leg of her round the world inaugural tour as U .S. Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright is in Beijing for talks with top Chinese officials. It's a sensitive time there, only a few days after the passing of the nation's paramount leader, Deng Xiaoping. But that seems to have barely affected Secretary Albright's agenda, according to New York Times Beijing bureau chief Patrick Tyler.

I think her overall mission is to introduce herself to the Chinese leadership early on in her tenure as Secretary of State and establish or provide the continuity in the high level dialogue that the Clinton administration has been pursuing here. I think there are a number of points of dispute that she wanted to raise, including human rights, but a whole range of issues that are in the bilateral relationship. And so I think her purpose was an introduction, and of course she came here at a very delicate time when the paramount leader was being put to rest today. In fact, I was going to ask how is the overall tone upon the death of Deng Xiaoping affecting her ability to communicate squarely with Chinese leaders? I don't think she's having any trouble, David, in the private meetings talking straight and bluntly to the Chinese leadership about the points of contention that exist between Washington and Beijing. She came here to tell

it like it is. On a number of issues, particularly human rights, I suspect that occurred in the private sessions. I suspect that there was some pretty tough talk that she will then try to downplay in the public recitation and review of her meetings, because that is where the whole issue of China being in mourning over the death of Deng Xiaoping, the leader comes into play. She won't want to make any public statements that would seem impolite as it were on this important day when he was cremated and all the leaders went to bow three times before him, before they sent him off. But in private, I suspect it was a business as usual and pretty straight. This year features a number of potential flashpoints in the relationship between the U .S. and China. You have, of course, the return of Hong Kong in an extraordinary event which comes up a few months from now. And as we have talked about, America remains China's largest economic market. Do you think, in general, the relationship between Washington and Beijing is moving in the right direction, or is it

possible some of these flashpoints may in fact emerge as obstacles in the relationship? I think both sides, David, feel that they have made some progress in walking back from the level of crisis atmosphere that existed about a year ago. When, as you remember, missiles were flying, aircraft carriers were being dispatched to the Western Pacific and the Taiwanese were holding their first presidential election under enormous amount of duress and military bluster from the mainland. That was a real crisis. And I think since then that both sides have been trying to walk back, open a strategic dialogue, get a clear understanding of what the points of contention are, but also try and have a framework so they can talk about these points of contention and make some progress. I think to answer your question though, in the largest sense, no one knows whether any of these flashpoints, as you call them, are going to blow up in a way to destabilize the always fragile relationship. If Hong Kong goes sour, it is

hard to imagine that there's going to be summits between President Clinton and President Jiang Zemin in which they're toasting each other over issues of friendship. If there are demonstrations in the streets, if there is any instability here on the mainland, if there's another outbreak of democratic pro -democracy demonstrations, all of these things could test for relationship. And I think we have to wait and see. Patrick Tyler of the New York Times Beijing Bureau, thanks very much for speaking with us, Patrick. Pleasure. It's the stuff of science fiction and some of the world's worst nightmares too, the cloning of living breathing creatures. Scientists in Scotland are trumpeting the news that they have indeed cloned an adult mammal. In terms of physical science, this is truly a groundbreaking event, one which one medical ethicist says he would have preferred never to have seen happen. Using cells from an adult sheep's utter, the Scottish

scientists created a lamb called dolly that is genetically identical to the original sheep. Allen Dow reports from London that the news has created an enormous stir. Genetic research involving sheep has been going on here and written for some time, but this latest discovery has amazed even the most hardened skeptics. The procedure sounds straightforward. The scientists removed DNA material from the cell of one animal and substituted it for the genes in the egg of another. The resulting offspring was genetically identical to the first one. Those involved in this project say it's a breakthrough for animal husbandry and it will help in the search for new medicines for humans. But of course many people wonder how long it will take before human cloning becomes a reality. Dr. Ron James of the company that owns the rights to this discovery says cloning humans is not something we're likely to see anytime soon. A lot of experimental work would have to be done before you could do it with a human. We now know after a great deal of work that we can do it with a sheep. The next step is to see if we can adapt it to do it for a cow,

which is fairly similar to a sheep. We'll require a good deal more work to do it with a pig and nobody's even thinking about doing the experimental work for humans. James says, even if this research involving sheep could one day lead to the cloning of people, it's unlikely we'd want to make thousands of copies of one individual. Not because of ethical concerns, but because scientists believe it could be a threat to our survival as a species. Genetic diversity, he says, is one of the main reasons the human race flourishes. If everybody had exactly the same genes, if one of us was susceptible to a disease, we'd always susceptible to a disease and then we'd all get wiped out. So the very last thing you want is a clone of humans or indeed a clone of farm animals. Roger Highfield is a science correspondent for the British newspaper, The Daily Telegraph. He cautions against worries that this technology could fall into the wrong hands. The problem is the whole debate is being skewed by the mad sort of cloned Hitler scenarios and maybe moving away from more realistic things that you might see, for instance, in in vitro fertilization and so on. I've got no doubt that in some countries we perhaps more lax,

they might take a slightly say more unhealthy interest in these kind of developments than we do. That of course is the problem, the weak link in the chain. It's not so much that this scientific breakthrough will fall into the wrong hands, but rather the difficulty in identifying whose hands are the wrong ones. For the Christian science monitor, I'm Alan Dow in London. Joining us now are Dr. George Anis, Director of the Law Medicine and Ethics Program at Boston University School of Public Health and Dr. Arthur Kaplan. He is Director of the Bioethics Center at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Anis first to you, you know, people are talking about the Frankenstein factor that if animals can be cloned and are being cloned, what's to stop someone from cloning a human? Well right now there's probably nothing to stop someone from cloning a human except that you'd have to have a reason to do it. I haven't heard any good reasons to do it. Some people talk about replacing their child who's killed tragically at a young age, but you can't replace a child. Obviously the environment that the child was raised

in will have tremendous influence on what kind of a child. My own view is that most of these science fiction scenarios, although it's possible to do, are not worth doing. There are too many downside issues that we should simply not apply this to human beings at all. Dr. Kaplan, any good reason for cloning a human? I can't think of any reasons to do it. I think that what makes cloning attractive in the animal world is that you get copies of the physical body of the animals. If you want the perfect pork chop or the perfect low producer, then you go out and make lots and lots of copies. That's a good deal of what our breeding of animals is all about right now. That's precisely not of interest when it comes to human beings. Dr. Anas, I want to get back to something that you were talking about when you mentioned the example of someone who wants to bring back to life a relative who's died in a horrible accident or something along those lines. Even though that does seem outrageous now and it's hard to imagine someone actually participating on a scientific level with doing something like that, especially in a Western country. Isn't the nature

of science such that we may find at some point someone coming up with the perfect rationale to conduct such an experiment? Ethics in medicine are dynamic in many cases very subjective. Well, one might say ethics in medicine and science are unusual rather than dynamic. But sure, someone I don't think will be a perfect rationale, but can someone persuade themselves that they have a good reason for doing something like this, the answer is of course they can't. And could we ever prevent it on a worldwide level, the answer is of course we can't. But that doesn't mean that we want to encourage it, that doesn't mean we want to commercialize it, that doesn't mean we should see it as anything as bizarre, unusual, marginal and essentially unacceptable. Having said that though, you consider for instance the benefits to medicine itself. Some may argue that people with serious diseases could benefit from having, again horrific as it sounds, parts of themselves or themselves cloned. Yeah, I don't see any benefits to medicine, I didn't see benefits to the individual, sure. If we

can't prohibit human reproduction, the idea of making copies of people just to keep them around as sort of portable organ and tissue farms, we probably have really lost any hope of controlling anything. Well, that's right. Do there need to be the prohibitions? Because the prohibit doesn't mean we shouldn't prohibit. Sure, but does that mean that now Congress and people who are policymakers in Washington and elsewhere need to be looking at legal prohibitions against such research? Yes, and I think that's probably the main importance of cloning the sheep, is that we can now have a more informed and a more immediate debate on what's reasonable and what is not reasonable for science to do in the area of human duplication. I know this is sort of a broad question, but I think as a lot of people are considering this today, people are asking quite simply if this revelation of the sheep having been cloned is really evidence of a monstrosity, or indeed a scientific miracle, and I'm wondering Dr. Annis how you characterize it? Well, I wouldn't characterize it either as a monstrosity or a scientific miracle. It's replicating something that

exists right now, making it duplicate of it. The monstrosity or the miracle would be not copying something that exists today, but actually trying to make a better sheep or a better human being. That's where I think we want to concentrate our discussion, should we ever try to genetically engineer a better human, a smarter human, a more beautiful human, etc. From an embryo, which is where I think the real debate lies and where I think we should start at a national level now. Dr. Kaplan, would you agree with that? Yeah, I don't think we're in the realm of the monstrosity. I have to say for me we're in the realm of the astounding. It hasn't been clear that this would be possible, biologically, and yet here it is. I think that the notion of being able to take this technology into the world of agriculture and veterinary medicine, even to preserve species that are going extinct, is going to open up some exciting and wondrous possibilities, not monstrosities, but good things. But if it comes into the human arena, I agree with George 100%.

It's what we're going to do in terms of designing our descendants, trying to impose our values onto future generations. That's where the concentrated attention has to go. Dr. Arthur Kaplan, Director of the Bioethics Center at the University of Pennsylvania, and also Dr. George Anis, Director of the Law Medicine and Ethics Center at Boston University School of Public Health. This is Monitor Radio. Stay with us. Just ahead, reading, writing, and revenue, making the pitch to put ads in school hallways may be a hard sell in Seattle, but in Colorado, parents bought into the idea. How's it going? All reports coming up here on Monitor Radio. This is Monitor Radio. The

advertisement. In the capitalist U .S. of A, there are very few places where the ubiquitous pitchman doesn't poke his head. In Seattle, Washington, parents are trying to keep ads out of the classroom. Next week, the school board is to reconsider a plan to sell space inside school buildings to corporate advertisers. It's an attempt to offset financial pressures since tax money doesn't cover all the school's needs. Some folks may think this is an outrage, but in Colorado, which began the selling of ads space in school hallways and on the flanks of school buses about a year ago, there's been no meltdown from parents or students. That's not to say the experiment's been a resounding success, though. From Denver, Leslie Dahlkempere explains. The clock in the afternoon, students pour out of Thunder Ridge Middle School in a Denver suburb. Rose of Yellow School buses sit in the parking lot, ready to take the students home. Some buses stand out from others. On their sides are splashy ads, some hawk soft drinks,

others promote a local bank. The students don't seem to mind. They're okay. I think they're cool. Well, they tell us what's happening in supermarkets and stuff and all kinds of stuff around the area. Neither do many of the parents who've come to pick up their children from school. I think it's a good deal. I think we need to do something because money from the political arena seems to be drying up for education, so I think we need to do something. Thunder Ridge Middle School is in Colorado's a fluent Cherry Creek school district. The district started selling ad space on its buses in 1995 when it fell on hard times. Local voters had rejected a property tax increase for schools, and the Colorado legislature gave the district less money than it had promised. Jerry Difford is the assistant superintendent of Cherry Creek Schools. We cut and transportation, and we privatized our custodial services, and we cut back on the number of administrators and all that kind of stuff. But our problems were big enough that we had to increase class size slightly, and we

did. School administrators asked for help at a forum of parents, community, and business leaders. And it was during that that this idea came forth from the citizen saying, you know, you ought to be doing advertising and making money and taking having less burden on the taxpayers because of that. So Cherry Creek school administrators hired a marketing firm to launch the advertising program. The agency gets 30 % of the revenues. After the first year of advertising, the district cleared nearly $80 ,000. School administrators have not yet decided how to divide up the money between classrooms or athletic activities. A committee made up of parents, educators, and community leaders reviews all advertising. They want it to be limited. They want it to be classy. And so it's going to not going to look like the minor league baseball park where there are signs on every square foot of the outfield fence. That's not what Cherry Creek is going to be about. A typical package includes a few bus ads, a sign in each of the four high school

gyms, and one or two in the district sports stadium. The typical price tag, $25 ,000. The school district won't accept ads for some products, including those for tobacco, alcohol, and firearms. So far, difference as the district has not rejected any advertisers, difference as some pitches have been changed, however. It was the cab company that wanted an ad that said something to the effect, if you drink, let us drive. We didn't want to have an ad that implied that, well, alcohol use was okay, and here's a way to solve it. So they came back with an ad and just said, when you need a taxi call, that a taxi, such and such a number. Administrators in Cherry Creek had a model for all of this, less than 60 miles to the south. The first public school district in the nation to sell advertising space is in Colorado Springs. Sales started three years ago in response to the conservative city's demand for a more business -like approach by school administrators. In Colorado Springs, there are even ads above classroom doors. District spokeswoman Tracy Cooper

says the program has had mixed results. We had no idea if anyone would buy anything or whether it would take off like gangbusters, but we were hoping for about 150 ,000. The district raked in only half that. Supporters of the program call it a moderate success and insist it will take off in time. Last year, the district hired a more aggressive advertising agency. Its executives aimed to raise more than $250 ,000 for the district by the end of this school year. More than 150 businesses have paid for advertising since the program began. One of them is the full service beverage company. Manager Steve Gibson has spent $12 ,000 so far on bus ads to build customer loyalty among school children. If they were going in to make a purchase of soft drinks that they would at least consider the seven of brands. Maybe they would look at the spot character and maybe would spark something or my eye. I remember that was my bus. Like many school advertisers, Gibson's company includes a pitch for education

as well. One ad reads, be cool, stay in school. In Colorado Springs, money raised from advertising has paid for student field trips, apparent news letter and athletic uniforms costing upwards of $200 each. One school purchased a violin for its orchestra. But even if Colorado Springs's ad agency reaches its goal, revenue from advertising will make up only a tiny fraction of the millions of dollars it takes to educate the district's 32 ,000 students each year. Critics worry that schools are selling off one of their most precious assets, the attention of their students, and putting education itself at risk. You have to ask yourself what's being bought and what's being sold. And what's being sold in this relationship are the school children. Alex Molnar is a professor of education at University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee and the author of Giving Kids the Business, the commercialization of America's schools. Those school children don't belong to the business

community. They don't belong to the school administrators. What they're doing is they're exploiting the law, which says school children have to attend school. And there's nothing about a child that meets the capitalist model of a free consumer. It's bad public policy. It's bad ethic. But administrator Jerry Difford says the advertising permitted in Cherry Creek schools is a drop in the bucket compared with the volume and intensity of sales pitches outside of school. That's life today. I mean kids read newsweek or time or whatever they're reading and there's advertising everywhere and it's on TV. So does putting it in the schools really make that much more difference? I don't think it does. Advertising aside, Molnar is even more concerned about what drives school districts to sell advertising. I think underlying all of this is a culture which doesn't really want to make a strong commitment to providing an equal, high quality education for every child. An awful lot of people seem to want to believe that you can

get something for nothing. That advertising in this case is just a quick fix, a win -win situation so that you can finance schools painlessly and without anybody paying anything. In Colorado where school enrollments are growing but local governments face resistance to raising property taxes for education. Selling advertising space in schools and on buses is only growing in popularity. Denver Public Schools kick off a new advertising program next month. Colorado Springs is considering forming partnerships with other districts across the state to give marketers a greater audience. For the Christian Science Monitor, I'm Leslie Dalkimper in Denver. What do you think about advertising at schools, the cloning story or about anything else you hear on Monitor Radio? Well, we'd like to hear from you now. Call us at 617 -450 -7779. We're send us an email, our address,

radioatcsps .com. That's radioatcsps .com. When you contact us don't forget to tell us your name and where you hear Monitor Radio, the worldwide broadcast edition of the Christian Science Monitor. I'm David Brown. TRI Public Radio International.

The National Assembly looks at getting tougher on immigrants. I'm David Brown and this is Monitor Radio. Monitor Radio is the worldwide broadcast edition of the Christian Science Monitor on PRI Public Radio International. Coming up, a look at French immigration reforms and the reaction to them. Also, the language police on the worldwide web and an opera singer who's in tune with kids. I guess so many ladders from kids where they're saying, you know, I think I might want to be an opera singer. You know, I didn't think I'd like opera and, you know, because of you, I really like it and you're funny and it just opens up their minds. Those stories and more coming up on Monitor Radio, stay with us.

For the Christian Science Monitor, I'm Kathy McLaughlin at the Monitor Radio News Desk. Rapping up an 11 -day World Tour US Secretary of State Madeline Albright said she urged China today to improve its human rights record. But she acknowledged little progress was made in brief talks with top Chinese officials. Tom Korski has more from Beijing. Secretary of State Madeline Albright, speaking after talks with Chinese President Zhang Zemin, said the US remains troubled by human rights abuses in China. The State Department has condemned China for what it calls widespread and well -documented abuses, including persecution of political prisoners. Albright said in her words, she told it like it is, enclosed or talks with China's leaders, but emerged with no new commitment from communist authorities to free dissidents. It was Albright's first state visit to China and her last stop on around the World Tour. Talks in Beijing

were cut short by the death of Supreme Leader Deng Xiaoping. Memorial services for Deng will be held Tuesday. For the Christian Science Monitor, I'm Tom Korski in Beijing. The body of China's paramount leader Deng Xiaoping has been cremated at a cemetery for revolutionary heroes in Beijing. Deng died last week at the age of 92. A funeral will be held Tuesday. Some 10 ,000 people, all Chinese, have been invited. New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani says the shooting on top of the Empire State Building Sunday afternoon was not politically motivated. Giuliani says it turns out the Palestinian men who opened fire had no link to a terrorist group. One person was killed and six wounded in the incident. Police say the gunman Ali Abu Kamal died hours later from a self -inflicted gunshot wound. The lawyer for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says his client is blameless in the alleged influence trading scandal surrounding the appointment of Israel's former Attorney General. Monitor Radio's Clay

Scott has more from Jerusalem. The lawyer for Mr. Netanyahu said the Prime Minister had been manipulated in the baron scandal. Netanyahu, along with other members of his government, is being investigated by police in connection with the short -lived appointment last month of Ronnie Baron as Attorney General. Netanyahu was allegedly pressured to appoint Baron by the leader of the religious Shas Party and returned for that party's support of last month's deal to withdraw Israeli troops from Hebron, but Netanyahu's lawyer denied any wrongdoing. Police sources say they expect at least one senior official to be charged in the affair. Meanwhile, officials of the opposition labor party met to discuss early elections, which would be called of the current government falls. For the Christian Science Monitor, I'm Clay Scott in Jerusalem. The U .S. government has declared that high doses of ordinary birth control pills can prevent pregnancy after unprotected sex. The announcement marks the nation's first formal acknowledgement of emergency contraception. This is Public Radio

International. Federal investigators are looking into a possible connection between the bombing of a gay nightclub Friday in Atlanta, Georgia and a bombing last month of an Atlanta clinic where abortions are performed. Investigators say nail bombs were used in both cases. Tests could determine if the attacks were carried out by the same person. The bombings injured a total of 12 people. A Cuban exile group plans to fly a number of small planes to the edge of Cuban airspace today, a memory of their colleagues who died one year ago in an attack by Cuban fighter jets. Monitor Radio's Kirk Nielsen has more from Miami. Controversy still surrounds last year's shoot down of two small planes operated by Cuban exile group brothers to the rescue. Four people were killed in the attack by two Cuban migs, a third plane flown by brothers to the rescue leader Jose Basuto returned safely to Florida. Cuba says the two sestans were in Cuban airspace when they were downed. Basuto and the

U .S. government say the planes were in a location over international waters. The airborne memorial is to include the dropping of reads over that site. The State Department has warned brothers to the rescue its planes will be in danger if they enter Cuban airspace. The U .S. has also warned the Cuban military to use the utmost discretion and restraint. The Cuban government said it would take all necessary measures to prevent a violation of Cuba's airspace. For the Christian science monitor, I'm Kirk Nielsen in Miami. The U .S. Senate is expected to resume debate today on a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution. A vote could come by the end of the week, and it is expected to be extremely close. Republicans have lost the support of a freshman Democrat, Senator Tim Johnson of South Dakota, now says he'll vote against the measure. That's a summary of this hour's top news stories. From Monitor Radio News, I'm Kathy McLaughlin, on PRI. The U

.S. Senate is expected to resume debate today on the U .S. Senate. This is Monitor Radio, I'm David Brown. The intellectual's movement disowned by the French. That was the headline to a poll released in France today, the conservative newspaper Le Figaro pointing out that on the issue of tougher immigration laws, artists, celebrities and intellectuals stand opposed, while a majority of French citizenry backs the reforms. The public debate and the clashes between immigrants and French authorities that have turned bitter and violent over the last few years will get a formal hearing tomorrow when the French Parliament considers new legislation to further restrict who's allowed into France and tighten rules on foreigners who already reside there. As Lynn Terry reports ahead of the legislative action, Paris became the backdrop for a rising tide of voices for an against immigration curves. There is largely Paris chanting documents for everyone, untoded, tattered suitcases symbolizing the precarious position of immigrants in France. The demonstrators are against the

government's anti -immigration bill, which is going before Parliament on Tuesday. The part of the bill that they found most defensive has already been amended. The would have forced French citizens who lodge foreigners from developing countries to report to police when their guests left. Critics say that provision was reminiscent of World War II when many French people denounced Jews who were then shipped to concentration camps. In face of wide outrage, last week, Parliament changed the bill, putting the onus on foreigners to report to the police. But the protesters want the legislation shelf completely. The bill coming up for vote would create a fingerprint bank of visitors in France. It would rescind the right of immigrants with ten -year residents permits to have them renewed automatically. And it would widen the powers of police to arrest illegal immigrants. Sociologists Henri Mondra, the works at the Economic Observatory, a French think tank, says opponents of the bill think these measures are inhumane. They think it's very important that France keeps

his position in the world as the place where human rights are respected. And they want France to be an open country where foreign people can get in. There are four million legal foreigners in France. Analysts say up to one million immigrants are here illegally. The center -right government is under pressure from right -wing politicians to crack down on illegal immigrants. It's also battling increasing support for the far -right national front, which wants all immigrants deported. This month it captured its port town hall and hopes to do even better in the legislative elections next year. The government's worried about losing those elections. Henri Mondra says it's also worried about the stagnating economy. The right, thanks having so many foreigners in France, is no good for an employment because we have a high percentage of an employment. And they think if you allow foreigners to come in,

they will take the jobs and the French people will be more and more unemployed. Unemployment has started in recent months to record 12 .7%. Analysts say that explains why polls show that almost 70 % of the public supports the anti -immigrant bill. Nevertheless, civil rights groups aim to keep up the pressure. They're planning more protests on Tuesday and Wednesday when the bill will be discussed and voted by Parliament. For the Christian -Fliens Monitor, I'm Lynn Terry in Paris. When it comes to controlling its borders, France has to consider Belgium, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Luxembourg, Andorra, and Britain, if you count the channel. And of course, there are the ports, sea, and air. But how are the French going to patrol their virtual borders? With the rapid spread of culture from one place to another, whether it's Hollywood films or music from Africa, the guardians of the Republic standards, specifically linguistic ones, are expressing some anxiety about the primacy of French. And as Sarah Chase reports now from Paris, that's led them to the tangled world -wide web. Law number

94 -665 on the use of the French language says French must be employed in the presentation, advertising, users' manuals, and guarantees of goods and services sold in France. Two associations charged that the English -only home page of Georgia Tech Lorraine, Georgia Institute of Technology's French campus, violates the law because it's just an electronic version of the school's catalog. Mark Jobert, the plaintiff's lawyer, insists the aim of the law is to help French consumers not banish English. It's not a prohibition of English. It's just requiring businesses, people who are selling either goods or services, to French people, basically, to use at least French, which means they can also use English if they want to. A posting lawyer, Jacques Cheffère, says his legal argument was based on the idea that the Internet isn't advertising, it's more like a telephone conversation. Internet, what are these exchanges between a dividend, between service, eventually,

but exchanges, private? What is Internet? It's private exchanges between individuals, except by way of a dream, instead of a telephone, but no one would dream of prohibiting people using whatever language I want, telephone. Cheffère says bringing the food against Georgia Tech Lorraine is tantamount to demanding that all messages on Internet sites resident in France be in French. That's absolutely false. The message Mark Jobert says of defense of the French language, co -plaint its against Georgia Tech. He explains it's only the homepage and not personal emails to students or other individuals that should include a French translation. To Hans Putgen, head of Georgia Tech Lorraine, there's no point in translating the homepage because it's aimed at English speakers. What we are doing is providing information for potential students who might be interested in registering.

All of these students must demonstrate a very comprehensive knowledge of the English language by way of specific tests. And what about their parents who may not speak English at lawyer Mark Jobert? Both sides say they're perfectly aware this is a test case with potentially far -reaching implications for the Net in France. Both sides say they'll appeal if they lose. For the Christian Science Monitor, I'm Sarah Chase in Paris. We have this post -script now. Today, a French court put off a hearing about whether Georgia Tech's homepage violates French law. Authorities said that they'll take it up again at the end of April. The final decision expected some time in May. Where there's smoke, there's controversy and so it is again this week joining us with his weekly

heads up on the news is Mark Jerkowitz. He's the Boston Globes on Budsmen and media critic. Mark, a new law takes effect aimed at cracking down on purveyors of cigarettes. The government finally getting tough on tobacco. Finally getting tough on tobacco and David may be firing the first symbolic shot on a war that will be fast, furious and I think pretty decisive. Starting this week, for example, businesses are going to ask for photo IDs or supposed to ask for photo IDs of anyone under the age of 27 who's looking to buy cigarettes. And there are already advocacy groups that are prepared to sort of monitor this kind of behavior and complain to the FDA, frankly, if it's not being obeyed. Now this seems like kind of a nuisance type of issue. But what we've really got here is, as I said, the first shot in a couple of very decisive court battles that are going to be coming up in the next couple of months. We've got a judge ruling, frankly, on whether the FDA is going to have jurisdiction over tobacco as a product in which case we could see massive changes in the way it's advertised and marketed. There are now more than 20 states that have lawsuits against the tobacco

industry. One of those suits in Mississippi comes up in a couple of months. It's going to be a groundbreaking precedent. There are class action suits waiting against tobacco companies, leading some to believe that there may even be a deal cut. But starting, I think this week, David, we are going to see a fast and furious battle over the role of tobacco in our society. We'll find out whether Joe Campbell is even standing and sitting. I got to say, yeah, you sound a lot more, I don't know if optimistic is the right word, but a lot more certain about what the outcome is going to be. I think about the fact that the government hasn't at least in the past talked out of both sides of its mouth on this issue. I mean, in the past, the US has subsidized tobacco farmers. They've helped the industry make inroads into overseas markets as the markets have shrunk here at home. Well, it's always been a patchwork policy. I think what's different this time is that the Clinton administration has put the weight of the White House. Of course, that weight has been known to fluctuate from time to time. Behind anti -tobacco measures, it may be nothing more than the fact that tobacco interests generally give more to the Republicans

and the President and find themselves with very little to lose. But clearly, even if it's on the battleground of how are you going to market to miners and the kind of advertising you're going to be allowed to do, I think that's a very significant battle on its own, because all the research shows, young people get hooked at a certain age. And frankly, if you can cut off the consuming market at that point, you've really struck a major blow. So, I agree that there's been a patchwork, but I think this is the first administration, even for symbolic reasons, that's pretty much declared war on the tobacco industry. Speaking of hazardous pastimes, Mark, I know that you're interested in sport. I don't know whether you're a professional boxing fan or not. I love the sweet science, David. Unfortunately, it's a fatal weakness in myself, I think. There are two events coming up this week, if I'm not mistaken, which sort of may underscore the point, however, about just how dangerous a professional boxing can be. Well, in a way, you know, boxing has become a circus in the last couple of years, and if not even before, but they're actually two sad things, I think, that are going to happen this week. One in Louisville, Kentucky, which is the home of Muhammad Ali, there's going to be a screening of a

movie, a documentary called When We Were Kings. Ali will be there. It's the story, of course, of the incredible Ali George Foreman fight in Zaire Africa in the mid 1970s. It was Ali at his peak at his greatness. We know today he is perhaps more revered than ever, but the truth is, here was a man who mocked the sport with his speed, with his brilliance, with his wit, and ultimately the sport won. If it weren't for the great amount of respect that everybody pays him today, we would call Ali Punch Drunk. He stuck around too long. He took a beating. He's paying the physical price for it now, which is incredibly sad. And, you know, those who don't learn the lessons of history will repeat it, and it's going to be repeated with another fighter this week, who reminded a lot of people of a smaller version of Muhammad Ali. That's Sugar Ray Leonard, a pretty beautiful, fast, smart, dominating boxer who's coming out of retirement for some strange reason as a 40 -something and climbing back into the ring. He took an awful beating in his last fight. There must be something that's driving him. Well, there are, you know, I mean, on one level, it could simply be money. On another level, it could simply be the craving of

recognition. You know, you'll love to be recognized in the supermarket. Let's face it, boxing is the most elemental sport in the business, David. It's very basic, and I think a lot of these people simply can't get over the idea that they're still not the toughest guy in the block. You throw in the money that's involved, and the fame that's involved, and even the best in the brightest, as Muhammad Ali showed, somehow succumbed to the lure. It's a tragedy. Mark Jerkowitz, media critic and ombudsman with the Boston Globe joins us every week to talk about what's ahead. Mark, take care. Okay, David. This is Monitor Radio. Stay tuned. Coming up, an opera singer puts on quite a show and gets school kids singing along. And a review of Divine Divas, a new CD whose proceeds go to support United

Nations Women's Development projects. Singing for more than their supper. It's all just ahead on Monitor Radio. Music This is Monitor Radio. Without naming any names, the suggestion has been made that there's some kind of peculiar connection between popular opera performers, explosive temperaments, and outrageously inflated egos. However, in Chicago,

Jackie Northam has gathered first -hand evidence disputing the stereotype of the self -absorbed operatic artist. Right from the start, Kirk Walker has the audience eating out of his hands. Stretting across the stage, the tall, broad -shouldered baritone belts out the first of many numbers in a show and quiets the walk as assembly. This is Walker's second performance of the day at the Disney Magnet School on Chicago's North Side. The show was called Hanging with Mr. Walker in a sponsored by the lyric opera of Chicago. About 400 children, 9 -12 -year -olds have crowded into the hall. They know they've come to hear an opera singer, but seem surprised to see a young black man on stage wearing a baseball cap, a t -shirt, and heavy work boots. In his easy -going style, the 27 -year -old Walker begins to introduce the children to opera, gospel, and other types of music, and he gets them involved in the production.

Walker's program has a predominant African -American historical theme to it. This number tells the story of John Henry, the legendary black railroad worker. Walker emphasizes how music was used during slavery in the civil rights movement, and also how it transformed his own life. When he was 11 years old, his mother was diagnosed with breast cancer, then bone cancer, and had to quit both her jobs. While his mother underwent chemotherapy, Walker kept himself busy on the streets of Columbus. Fight, lot of fights. I used to love fights. It was the biggest thrill to knock somebody out. Walker says he and his best friend also began stealing. It was a pivotal point in Walker's life. While his mother got tough, a judge wisely decided to send him through the scared straight program. Walker and several other aspiring thugs spent the day in prison with hardened criminals. The experience was enough to turn Walker's

attitude around. He began working hard in school again and tried to get to college on a football scholarship. One day after practice, his life's path veered once again. That's when the school choir director heard him singing in the shower and recruited him. I was singing Blue Moon. I was doing a 50s tone. I used to lie like 50s music. It's a sickle song. Walker says he was reluctant at first to sing in the choir, but soon changed his mind. I found out girls like singers. So singing became very important to me. Since then, Walker's star has been steadily rising. With a series of national awards already under his belt, Walker's last summer was only one of 11 young singers picked to join the Lyric Opera Center's ensemble for the 1997 -98 season. The Lyric's general director, Bill Mason, says he sees

great potential for the young opera singer. A lot of it has to do with character and determination, but certainly those are qualities that Kurt sings to have an abundance. And so I think that he's got every chance of a successful career in opera. No question about it. He's a very talented and a charismatic young man. The kids who see the hanging with Mr. Walker performance think so too. Walker's story leaves a deep impression on them. It was exciting, funny, sad. It takes a lot of courage to stand up on the stage. Yeah, like when we were on the stage. It was so good we wanted to see it all over again. I get so many letters from kids where they're saying, you know, I think I might want to be an opera singer. You know, I didn't think I liked opera. And, you know, because of you, I really like it. And you're funny. And it just opens up their minds. It opens up windows. And opportunities that they didn't even think were fashionable.

For the Christian Science Monitor, this is Jackie Norrism in Chicago. Divine Divas. It's the second CD in a series inspired by the UN Conference on Women held in Beijing a year and a half ago. The recordings are samplers of women's music from around the world. And Monitor Radio's music critically assignment has had a listen. Compilations like Divine Divas and its 1995 predecessor, Global Divas, run a huge risk. They are collections of women vocalists united by an idea rather than an aesthetic. That opens up the possibility of

some jarring stylistic shifts. Listeners who are in the mood to be lulled by Judy Frankl's lovely lullaby, Dormet Hermotsa Donzella, may not want to be bounced onto the dance floor by the Sukku Supergroup who call themselves Femda Freak. Also, Rounder Records has mixed up traditional songs with contemporary pop, showtunes with folk and acoustic with contemporary electric for a total grab bag of sounds united only by gender. And they haven't gone for name recognition, opting on this disc for artists even more obscure than the 40 who filled the Global Divas CD two years ago. Although Bluegrass fans will recognize

Alison Kraus and modern jazz vocalist Cassandra Wilson is well known, these three discs are filled with unexpected and lesser known choices. Even among the English -speaking musicians, like folk rock or june table and punk radical Annie DeFranco, found here in a surprisingly gentle mode. When all these odds are added up, however, somehow divine divas works. The 37 tracks on this colorful package all share a warmth and liveliness that bring the diverse sounds together. Some of the glue can be found in the tone and timbre of the human voice, a common

sound that comes through no matter what the language. With that shared base, these songs really could be coming from Global Sisters, some sing about love and family, others about work or hardship, but their voices all spring from one source, these women are all singing about life. Clear Simon, reviewing a round -or -records -issue Divine Divas, a compilation of women's music from around the world. Monitor radio is the worldwide broadcast edition of the Christian Science Monitor. Thanks for joining us. I'm David Brown.

I 'm David Brown. I'm David Brown.