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Robert talks with Charles Dick, researcher at the Conflict Studies Research Centre in England, about the state of the Russian Army. Dick's report is titled "A Bear Without Claws: The Russian Army in the Nineties." Dick says that while the Soviet Army was a relatively effective force, the Russian Army is corrupt and ill-prepared for crisis. Dick says severe hazing is endemic in the Russian Army, and an estimated three to four thousand servicemen die annually from non-combat causes. The article is published in a journal called "Geopolitique."

President Clinton said today he wants to expand NATO by 1999, admitting former Soviet bloc states. NPR'S Mara Liasson reports Mr. Clinton told a Detroit campaign audience today that the U-S should prepare to think of its former enemies as allies, and to defend them if necessary. Republican challenger Bob Dole told supporters in Frankenmuth, Michigan, today that the president has been dragging his feet on admitting new NATO members. Dole says the alliance could welcome Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic by 1998, a year earlier than the Clinton proposal.

"Cartoongate" is a new video release of old cartoons about presidential elections. The films go back as far as 1944 with a selection directed by Chuck Jones (of Bugs Bunny fame) called "Hell-bent for Election" - a political allegory depicting FDR as a diesel train, racing a rival train championed by right-wingers. Other selections include Eisenhower spots produced at Disney studios, a Reagan satire made in 1984, and a Popeye vs. Brutus fight to get Olive to the polls. Neil Rauch reports on the medium that packed a message with a punch.

NPR's Ted Clark reports that in Sunday's presidential debate Robert Dole tripped up on the facts in criticizing President Clinton's handling of foreign policy. Dole's biggest error was in accusing Clinton of being the US president who had sent the most troops abroad in history, a fact which he should have known was wrong from his own service overseas in World War II. But Clinton too stretched the truth some, taking credit for foreign policy successes in Europe that more rightly belonged to his predecessor, President Bush.

NPR's David Welna reports on Cuba's effort to increase food production by breaking its huge Soviet-style farm collectives into smaller farmer-run cooperatives. So far the project has had only limited success, largely because the co-ops are required to sell eighty percent of what they grow to the government, at artificially low official prices. In addition, the state controls what the co-ops produce. Critics say Fidel Castro doesn't want the co-ops to do too well because economic success would make them less dependent on the government.

NPR's Nina Totenberg reports that the Supreme Court today heard arguments on whether Paula Jones' sexual harrassment suit against President Clinton can go forward while he is still in office. The court has ruled in the past that civil suits cannot be brought against a sitting president if they involve his official actions, but Jones' says that Clinton harrassed her while he was still governor of Arkansas. The president's attornies argued today that any suit against the president could interfere with his official duties and should be delayed. Jones' attornies said the president had same responsibilities as other citizens.

NPR's Brooke Gladstone reports on the long-awaited television rating system, which was unveiled today. A TV industry group chose an age-based plan that child advocates say doesn't give parents enough specific information about a program's sexual or violent content. The proposed six-tiered system is designed to work with the so-called "V-chip" to allow parents to block unwanted shows. The ratings plan is subject to approval by the Federal Communications Commission. President Clinton thanked the industry group that came up with the voluntary plan and said it will be up to parents and child advocates to use, evaluate and comment on the system's effectiveness, once it's implemented.

NPR's Barbara Mantel has the first in a series of reports on student teacher Lea Ricci (LEE-uh RICH-ee), a student teacher at Fordham College who begins her first week of student teaching at Emerson High School in Yonkers, New York. Ricci will be paired with an experienced teacher at Emerson, and she says she's looking forward to learning from a teacher who's already worked with kids. But she's also hoping to try out some of her ideas about getting the kids involved in exciting, hands-on teaching methods, and wonders whether the reality of the classroom will accommodate her ideas about teaching.

Jon Miller reports from Lima that Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori today indicated that he will not resort to force to end the hostage crisis at the Japanese ambassador's residence. Speaking in public for just the third time since the standoff began, Fujimori said he remains steadfast in his refusal to release jailed leftist rebels, the main demand of the guerrillas who took over the compound. But the Peruvian leader also said his position is a mixture of "firmness" and "prudence," and that he is looking for a way out of the crisis. It was three weeks ago today that rebels of the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement seized the compound during a party; several hundred hostages have been released, but 74 remain, including senior Peruvian officials and Japanese businessmen.

NPR's Ann Cooper reports on the work of South Africa's Truth Commission, which is trying to discover who was responsible for human rights abuses committed during apartheid. The commission has the power to grant amnesty to those who fully admit their crimes; the former white minority government insisted on this process as part of the price of a peaceful transition to democracy. While the Truth Commission's work is supposed to help heal the nation's wounds, testimony about gruesome acts of torture and murder is making it hard for many to forgive.