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Noah speaks with Saud Abu Ramadan, a Palestinian journalist in Gaza, about a 17-year-old youth who was recruited by Islamic extremists to become a suicide bomber. In describing the recruitment process, Abu Ramadan says extremist leaders keep an eye out for especially religious youths and brainwash them into believing that their impoverished lives on earth are failures. He says they then convince these young people that the awards of paradise await them if they become martyrs for the Islamic cause.

Commentator Marianne Jennings says that in the wars of the competitive new global economy, U.S. employees have become the casualties. American workers have become the most expendable resource a business has. But Jenningsa this kind of "quick fix" is no real answer for declining profits, and she wonders what it does to the consumers trust in a company.

Noah and Linda read more listeners' responses to our request for notable quotes in which the speaker refers to him or herself in the third person, ala Bob Dole.

Linda talks with NPR's chief political correspondent Elizabeth Arnold about the string of Republican primaries and caucuses throughout the country today and how the results may affect the political futures of the GOP candidates.

We play an excerpt from British Prime Minister Winston Churchill's famous speech, delivered in Fulton, Missouri, 50 years ago today, in which he warned of an "iron curtain" descending across eastern Europe.

Commentator David Kline says that while the media and Wall Street may be going wild over the internet, some 90 percent of Americans are not on-line and do not much reason right now for them to go on-line. He notes that while you can read consumer reports on-line, you can't find someone to fix your washing machine, or sign your kid up for local soccer league, or pay your parking ticket. Until the internet becomes more practical, Kline says, it will still remain useful for just a few.

NPR's Joe Palca reports that two U.S. Marines face court martial for refusing to give samples of their DNA. The military is collecting DNA samples from all the services to help identify the remains of casualties. But the marines are concerned that the information might be used for other things, and their privacy may be violated.

Commentator Elissa Ely talks about a patient who hardly spoke, moved with difficulty, and stayed locked in the same position for hours. One day, she has a visitor who talks to her intently and inspires her to cure herself through words.

NPR's Linda Gradstein has this report from Jerusalem about Israel's Orthodox Jews who take it upon themselves to collect the bodies of those who've lost their lives from terrorist acts in order to give them a proper burial as defined by jewish law.

Noah talks with Miami Herald columnist Liz Balmaseda about Brothers to the Rescue, the Cuban exile organization whose airplanes were shot down by Cuban warplanes last Saturday, sparking an international incident. Havana, justifying the dowing of the planes over Cuban territorial waters, charges Brothers to the Rescue is a terrorist organization. Balmaseda disagrees.

Less than two years after Missouri opened it's first casino, the state's division of Alcohol and Drug Abuse reports that addiction to gambling is increasing. NPR's Laura Ziegler reports that the gaming industry is working with Missouri and other states to alleviate the problem.

Linda talks to Dr. William Bright, president and founder of the Campus Crusade for Christ and this year's winner of the Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion. Begun in 1972 by investor Sir John Templeton, the prize is awarded each year to a living person who has shown "extraordinary originality in advancing humankind's understanding of God and/or spirituality."

John Irving's immense 1985 novel, "The Ciderhouse Rules," has become an equally immense play. It's being presented in two parts by Seattle Repertory Theatre. Part One, premiering tonight (Wed. 3/6) in Seattle, runs almost four hours. It requires seventeen actors playing multiple roles and two directors. One of them is noted actor Tom Hulce.

NPR's Anne Garrels reports from Moscow on one of the largest investors in Russia to date: the Coca Cola company of Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Coca-Cola's efforts to do business with the Russians is a study in stubborness... a stubborn company facing off against the inertia of the Russian bureaucracy.

Noah talks with Wayne Watkins from Capitol Records. He's the executive producer of a new six-CD set called "Ultra Lounge" -- recordings from the era of lounge music, the 1950s and early 1960s. Performers like Martin Denny, Bobby Darin, Julie London -- music which evokes smooth, smoky images of martinis, leopard skin, mambo, and the like. Watkins says lounge music has become popular among many young adults, who are dressing the part at nightclubs and listening to the music their parents might have played on their hi-fis.(6:00) (IN S

As the House prepares for a floor debate and vote Wednesday on a bill that would streamline procedures at federal regulatory agencies, David Baron looks at why the GOP, as well as business and industrial leaders, want health and environment regulations simplified. We examine one company's 18-year struggle with the EPA over a controversial additive for gasoline.

By a vote of 74 to 22, the Senate today passed the Helms-Burton bill, which expands sanctions against Cuba. NPR's Peter Kenyon reports. that the measure would require an act of Congress to loosen the current U.S. embargo of Cuba, and would permit the United States to aid pro-democracy movements there. It would also allow Cuban exiles whose property was confiscated by the Castro government to sue foreign companies who use that property. The House votes tomorrow.

Commentator Reuven Frank says that the media has some responsibility in making Pat Buchanan the popular fellow he is. The more the press condemns him, calls him names and puts labels on him, the more attractive they make him to a public that doesn't trust the press.

Noah talks with Vermont Representative and dairy farmer Ruth Towne about a bill that allows the cultivation of industrial hemp. The state House of Representatives voted for the act overwhelmingly. Legislators hope the two-year experimental plan will lead to a new source of income for struggling farmers.

In a straight party line vote the Senate Banking Committee today approved a measure to indefinitely extend the Whitewater committee. NPR'S Jon Greenberg reports Democrats argued that the further into this election year the committee hearings go, the greater the appearance of political motives. In vain, Democrats also appealed to Republicans' sense of history and fairness by pointing out that when Republicans asked for an early end date on the Iran/Contra investigation, Democrats agreed. Today, though, Republicans said too many questions remain and too many witnesses are unavailable until the conclusion of the McDougal-Tucker trial by the Independent Counsel.