A prep course for the month-long World Cup soccer tournament, a worldwide pheno

in France a couple years ago that she says gives her family a sense of security 

a place to go `` if something happens '' in Germany . And many Jews born and rai

sed in Frankfurt are beginning to ask themselves whether they should raise their

 children here . `` I don't want my children to live in fear , '' David Lieberbe

rg worried aloud . `` I am German . I feel very German , '' added Reich . `` But

 since having a daughter a year ago , I don't know if I really want to stay now 

. ''

 MANAGUA , Nicaragua The last time President Violeta Barrios de Chamorro tried t

o fire Gen. Humberto Ortega , the powerful army chief lashed out publicly at gov

ernment officials for having `` sold out '' to pressure from Washington . He ref

used to budge . Months later , Ortega has finally agreed to step down , having s

uccessfully delayed his retirement date by more than a year . The Ortega episode

 underscores the difficulties the Chamorro government has experienced as it stru

ggles to bring the army , dominated by leftist Sandinistas , under civilian cont

rol . `` Nicaragua will have for the first time in its history a national army ,

 clearly subordinated to civilian power , committed to the Constitution , that d

oes not belong and is not subordinated to the interests of any political party o

r social class , '' Chamorro said in a ceremony last week to announce Ortega 's 

departure . `` The years of armies that belong to parties , which made the birth

 of democracy so difficult in Nicaragua , are now behind us . '' In addition to 

changing the army chief , the government has finally drafted a long-awaited mili

tary code that for the first time gives the president formal authority over the 

army commander . It also sets term limits for senior officers . Still , despite 

Chamorro 's stated intentions , Sandinista influence on the army will not end wi

th Ortega 's departure next year . His likely successor is Maj. Gen. Joaquin Cua

dra , another veteran Sandinista . And the entire officers corps remains Sandini

sta . Chamorro defeated former President Daniel Ortega , Humberto 's brother , a

nd the Sandinista Front in presidential elections in 1990 . She named herself De

fense Minister but stunned her followers by retaining Humberto Ortega as army ch

ief , saying his presence was necessary to ensure the peaceful downsizing of Nic

aragua 's huge military apparatus . U.S. officials and Chamorro 's conservative 

critics denounced that decision , arguing that continued Sandinista control of t

he army would forever limit the civilian president 's ability to govern . Demand

ing Ortega 's removal , the critics maintained that the army could not become a 

professional and non-political force as long as he and other key Sandinistas rem

ained in top positions . Sandinista domination of security forces was one of the

 reasons the United States gave for withholding millions of dollars in aid last 

year . Chamorro tried to dump Ortega in September , when she announced his retir

ement at an Army Day ceremony . Shocked and furious , Ortega stormed up to the p

resident and said she had exceeded her authority . She could not remove him , he

 told her . But now the two have negotiated what the Sandinista newspaper Barric

ada called `` a dignified withdrawal . '' Ortega will formally step down on Feb.

 21 , 1995 , the 100th anniversary of the birth of Augusto Cesar Sandino , the g

uerrilla who fought U.S. Marines occupying Nicaragua in the 1920s and 1930s and 

for whom the Sandinista National Liberation Front is named . ( Optional add end 

) `` The military has professed to be professional and non-political , and at th

e same time we know that the whole corps of officers is Sandinista , '' said a d

iplomat . `` It will be up to them to show they are professional and non-politic

al . '' The Sandinista People 's Army swelled to become the largest army in Cent

ral America during the 1980s , as it battled U.S.-backed Contra rebels . It has 

been reduced dramatically , according to government figures , from more than 85,

000 troops to 14,000 . It is not completely clear what finally forced Ortega to 

accept retirement now . However , he has told Nicaraguan reporters that he is in

terested eventually in running for president .

 TORONTO Canada is being dragged reluctantly into a new confrontation over the f

uture of French-speaking Quebec . In the last two weeks , political leaders and 

commentators across Canada have lobbed rhetorical grenades at each other over th

e revived prospect of Quebec independence . Two factors have pushed Quebec back 

to the top of the national political agenda . First is the pending provincial el

ection there , which by law must take place by fall . Virtually every poll shows

 the separatist Parti Quebecois leading the governing Liberal Party . PQ leader 

Jacques Parizeau has promised to begin laying the groundwork for separation imme

diately upon his election and to hold a province-wide referendum on independence

 within 10 months of taking office . Second is the peripatetic Lucien Bouchard ,

 leader of the Bloc Quebecois , the PQ 's separatist counterpart in the federal 

government in Ottawa . Bouchard has become an international evangelist for separ

atism . Last week , Bouchard was in Paris seeking assurance of quick French reco

gnition of an independent Quebec . He did not get it , at least publicly , but h

e did get saturation coverage in the Canadian media . Earlier this month , he pr

eached his separatist message in British Columbia and Alberta , the Canadian pol

itical equivalent of proselytizing for vegetarianism at a Texas cattlemen 's con

vention . Most of the resulting argument has focused not on whether Quebec ought

 to be allowed to secede most Canadians agree that 's for Quebecers to decide bu

t what the terms of separation ought to be : What would the boundaries of the ne

w country look like ? Should the native peoples of Quebec be permitted to opt ou

t of independence and keep their lands in Canada ? What kind of economic relatio

nship would Canada have with a sovereign Quebec ? The commentary suggests that t

his could be a very nasty divorce indeed . `` To hell with common sense , one-si

ded decency and compromise . You don't win a country that way and you shouldn't 

lose one , either , '' stormed columnist Peter C. Newman in the national news we

ekly Maclean 's . In media interviews , British Columbia Premier Michael Harcour

t predicted that his province would be `` the worst of enemies '' with an indepe

ndent Quebec . Saskatchewan Premier Roy Romanow accused separatist leaders of pu

lling a `` con job '' on Quebec voters by suggesting that separation would be si

mple and painless . Ron Irwin , minister of Indian Affairs , declared that the f

ederal government would back native organizations that repudiated Quebec indepen

dence . Prime Minister Jean Chretien , who like his predecessors for 25 of the p

ast 26 years is from Quebec , has sought to avoid the issue , saying he remains 

confident his fellow Quebecers ultimately will reject separation . That prompted

 Preston Manning of Alberta , leader of the opposition Reform Party , to accuse 

the government this week of `` sleepwalking toward a .. . constitutional crisis 

. '' ( Optional add end ) Quebec separatists argue that their French language an

d culture cannot survive so long as they are a minority amid an English-speaking

 majority . The province 's relationship with the rest of the country has been a

 political tripwire throughout Canadian history . The traditional strategy has b

een to defuse it through compromise , but the most recent attempts have failed a

crimoniously . The 1990 Meech Lake agreement and the 1992 Charlottetown accord (

 both named for the places they were negotiated ) proposed constitutional reform

s aimed at securing Quebec 's special status within Canada . Both went unratifie

d . In the end , most English-speaking Canadians thought Quebec was being given 

too much , and many Quebecers thought it was not enough . The result was the re-

emergence of the Quebec independence movement after more than a decade in retrea

t and heightened hostility in the rest of the country , especially the West . An

alysts are divided on how the latest arguments might affect the upcoming Quebec 

election . Quebec voters have a history of unpredictability . In 1976 , they ele

cted the late Rene Levesque , father of the separatist movement , premier . But 

four years later they voted down Levesque 's province-wide referendum on soverei

gnty . Current polls show they might do it again . While the PQ is ahead of the 

Liberals , the surveys also show much more uncertainty about full separation . A

 poll over the weekend showed 52 percent opposed to independence . It could all 

add up to a year of wrenching political combat .

 WASHINGTON The top U.S. spokesman for Jaguar , the British luxury carmaker , ha

s been suspended for using the word `` nigger '' at a Washington luncheon meetin

g with journalists who cover the auto industry . Jaguar Vice President John Craw

ford was suspended Wednesday by Jaguar 's owner , Ford Motor Co. , pending compl

etion of an internal investigation of the incident . A Ford spokesman said it di

d not learn of the incident until Tuesday night , explaining that Jaguar 's publ

ic relations operation is independent of Dearborn , Mich.-based Ford . Ford offi

cials called the incident `` unfortunate '' and said both companies deeply regre

t it . `` It 's a very unpleasant situation ; the facts are fairly straightforwa

rd , '' a Ford spokesman said Thursday . But he said the case goes beyond the me

re facts . `` There is a governance issue with regard to our own company , '' he

 said . During a discussion of the federal luxury car tax in the United States ,

 Crawford referred to rival Mercedes-Benz as `` the biggest nigger in the woodpi

le . '' The incident was reported in Wednesday 's editions of USA Today . Crawfo

rd has sent letters of apology to each reporter present at the luncheon , acknow

ledging that he was guilty of `` gross insensitivity . '' He said the offending 

phrase was one that was commonly used in his native Australia and it `` just sli

pped out . '' Washington Post reporter Warren Brown , who attended the May 12 me

eting and was the only black in the room , said `` the phrasing was offensive . 

The context wasn't . '' Brown said Crawford was reaching for examples to show ho

w different sides were lining up over the auto luxury-tax issue . `` In doing so

 , he used an unfortunate phrase , '' Brown said , `` comparing a competitor to 

`` the nigger in the woodpile . ' It was clear , from the context of his comment

 , that he meant no offense to me or any other black person . He later apologize

d . I accepted . ''

 NEW YORK A day after top banking regulators told Congress they didn't want more

 legislative authority to supervise financial derivatives , two congressmen have

 introduced a bill to do precisely that . House Banking Committee Chairman Henry

 B . Gonzalez , D-Tex. , and ranking Republican Rep. Jim Leach of Iowa initiated

 a bill to protect the financial system and ensure that taxpayers will not have 

to bail out banks that might fail in a financial crisis because of large derivat

ives obligations . Banks sell the complex , risk-laden financial instruments to 

corporations and speculators that are looking either to protect their investment

s ' value or to take big bets . Unlike stocks , derivatives are contracts that d

o not entitle holders to any stake in a business or its profits , but rather pay

 off if certain indexes reach designated levels . Gonzalez and Leach worry that 

banks eager for hefty fees from such deals might enter contracts with questionab

le partners and lose vast amounts of money as banks and savings and loan associa

tions did in real estate loans in the 1980s . The bill largely codifies regulato

ry steps some banking regulators are already taking . `` The key is that they sh

ould take a uniform approach to regulating and supervising derivatives activitie

s , '' said a banking committee spokesman . Congressional sources said the bill 

's chances of passage were unclear .

 The following editorial appeared in Friday 's Washington Post : Dolphins are pr

otected by an American law that , according to a panel of experts , violates the

 rules of international trade . This decision will now accelerate the attacks on

 the revision of trade rules that some 120 countries have negotiated and that Co

ngress is supposed to take up later this year . Some environmental organizations

 will brandish the ruling to argue that trade agreements threaten to undercut th

e environmental protection laws . Some conservatives will use it to press their 

claim that the new trade agreement threatens American sovereignty . Both are wro

ng . The dolphins are safe . This trade agreement does not and cannot nullify Am

erican law on dolphins or anything else . But the United States may have to pay 

a price for enforcing this law . Why , environmentalists angrily ask , should th

e country pay a price for the privilege of doing good ? Since this case is turni

ng into an ideological cause , it 's worth a careful look . Dolphins , in some p

arts of the Pacific , tend to swim above schools of tuna . Commercial fishermen 

throw-or used to throw-vast nets around the dolphins to get the tuna , killing a

ll of them together . Congress enacted legislation that not only outlawed that p

ractice among American fishermen but banned imports of foreign tuna caught that 

way . It 's the ban that violates the trade rules . The General Agreement on Tar

iffs and Trade says one country can't penalize goods from another because of the

 way they were produced . Why ? Because it creates much too easy an opportunity 

to invent high-minded reasons for flagrant protectionism . If there were an envi

ronmental exception , a lot of European farmers would love to ban American wheat

 exports to Europe on grounds that their American competitors benefit from a che

ap oil policy that encourages wasted resources and global warming . An environme

ntal exception would impose particularly high costs on the world 's largest expo

rter the United States . As a result , if the dolphin decision survives appeal ,

 the United States will have to compensate the countries that are complaining . 

It can give them trade concessions equal to the value of the tuna sales they are

 losing . There 's also a better solution , and this case illustrates it . Two y

ears ago most of the countries that fish for tuna in the Pacific agreed to prote

ct the dolphins under a stringent schedule that will push dolphin kills down clo

se to zero by the end of the decade . At that point , the trade issue will vanis

h . The world 's environment will be best protected by this kind of cooperation 

, not by trade fights .

 HOLLYWOOD Fox 's historic raid on eight CBS affiliates this week could cause se

rious problems for Paramount and Warner Bros. as they try to launch their own fi

fth networks next year . With CBS on the prowl to replace the affiliates it is l

osing in such key markets as Detroit , Atlanta and Cleveland , those stations th

at presently intend to align with Paramount 's or the WB network have become obv

ious targets , analysts say . `` Stations that were going to be a Paramount or W

B affiliates now have the option of going with CBS , '' said Matt Shapiro , a vi

ce president at MMT Sales Inc. , who advises stations on programming . `` You ha

ve to assume that , given the choice , somebody is going to go with an establish

ed network rather than a start-up . '' With the exception of Paramount 's announ

cement that it would use its spin-off `` Star Trek : Voyager '' series as the an

chor for its network , neither company has disclosed much about its programming 

plans so far . The Paramount Network , which is a joint venture with TV station 

group Chris-Craft , plans to go on the air with two nights of programming in Jan

uary . WB is starting with one night and says it will expand to two by the end o

f the year . Paramount and Warner Bros. have been competing to sign up independe

nt TV stations around the country . So far Paramount has aligned with 36 affilia

tes covering 47 percent of U.S. TV homes , and WB has signed 22 affiliates along

 with cable TV channel WGN-TV that WB says will give it exposure to 73 percent o

f all TV homes . The problem is that there are only a limited number of TV stati

ons in every market , so that an affiliation swap can set off a chain reaction o

f other switches . The smaller the market , the fewer the available outlets and 

the more likely that a Paramout or WB affiliate is at risk . Each of the major b

roadcast networks has slightly more than 200 affiliates , but the top 30 markets

 account for 50 percent of all TV households . Since the networks own the majori

ty of affiliates in the top 10 markets , the battleground will be in the 10th to

 30th biggest markets . For example , in St. Louis ( market No. 18 ) , the ABC a

ffiliate KTVI-TV will become a Fox affiliate , forcing ABC to seek another outle

t in that market . And in Phoenix ( the 20th biggest market ) , WB has affiliate

d with KPHO-TV . Paramount will partner with KUTP , which will not change since 

the station is owned by its partner Chris-Craft . CBS affiliate KSAZ-TV will bec

ome the Fox affiliate , leaving CBS the choice of picking up former Fox partner 

KNXV-TV , which is on Channel 15 , or going after the more desirable KPHO-TV , C

hannel 5 . Should CBS make a run on the ABC or NBC affiliates , whichever networ

k is dislodged would also likely go after KPHO-TV before seeking the UHF indepen

dents in the market . Jamie Kellner , the former president of Fox Broadcasting w

ho was integral in launching the fourth network and is now president of WB , sai

d fears that the Fox raid on CBS affiliates will affect either WB or Paramount i

s `` silly . '' Kellner said the four other networks have already picked off `` 

the best stations , '' and CBS will `` poach '' ABC and NBC affiliates . But the

 situation promises to get even more complicated in the months ahead . Fox Chair

man Rupert Murdoch has told his station executives that he wants VHF affiliates 

in all of the top 30 markets . Murdoch has been trying to get Westinghouse to se

ll to Fox its TV stations in Philadelphia , San Francisco and Baltimore all but 

one NBC affiliates but Westinghouse so far has refused . Some expect him to buy 

the Philadelphia station , however . And CBS , badly shaken by the surprise atta

ck on its affiliates , was rumored Thursday to be mounting a counter bid for Arg

yle Television Holding Inc. , part of the group of four TV stations that New Wor

ld Communications Group is assembling to own 12 Fox affiliates . CBS Broadcast G

roup President Howard Stringer , while downplaying the effect the raid would hav

e on the network , said Thursday in a meeting with reporters that CBS would cons

ider investing minority stakes in TV stations to secure affiliation agreements s

ignaling the affiliate wars are far from over .

 Forget about Fred and Barney . If you really want to gauge how deeply the Flint

stone phenomenon is ingrained on the American psyche , sing a few bars of `` Mee

t the Flintstones '' and see how many people join in . Even more impressive is t

he consistent quality of the other music featured on the original TV show . Skim

 through `` The Flintstones : Modern Stone-Age Melodies '' ( Rhino 71649 ) , and

 odds are you 'll know half the songs by heart , from the zippy `` Car Hop Song 

'' to the dippy `` Open Up Your Heart and Let the Sun Shine In . '' As such , th

e real challenge facing the movie sound track `` The Flintstones : Music from Be

drock '' ( MCA 11045 ) is how to update the old songs without losing their charm

 in the process . Frankly , it 's harder than it looks . Although the aptly rena

med BC-52 's try to get into the spirit of the thing , their `` ( Meet ) the Fli

ntstones '' owes more of its charm to the vintage sound bites than to the overwr

ought yowling of Kate Pierson and Fred Schneider . Worse , the only other songs 

on the album that come close to being memorable are borrowed oldies like `` Walk

 the Dinosaur '' by Was Not Was or `` Weird Al '' Yankovic 's hysterical Red Hot

 Chili Peppers parody , `` Bedrock Anthem . '' -0- Because Erasure owes its repu

tation to a mix of synthesized soul and over-the-top pop , it 's hard to think o

f the duo as being especially subtle ; the campy tribute of `` Abba-esque '' see

ms far more in character . But not only does `` I Say I Say I Say '' ( Mute/Elek

tra 61633 ) bring an unexpected warmth to the group 's steady-as-a-second-hand p

ulse , it infuses the music with a genuinely affecting romanticism . Naturally ,

 much of that has to do with Andy Bell 's lusciously expressive singing , which 

adds an enormous amount of heart to everything , from the warm , soaring chorus 

of `` Always '' to the soulful strains of `` Take Me Back . '' But it 's Vince C

larke 's canny electronics that ultimately carry the day , softening techno-edge

d groove of `` Run to the Sun '' and filling `` Blues Away '' with such warmth t

hat it 's easy to forget he 's doing it all with synthesizers . A revelation . -

0- There 's no denying that Heavy D and the Boyz command the respect of their pe

ers , but is it really necessary to open `` Nuttin ' But Love '' ( MCA/Uptown 10

998 ) with five minutes of famous friends paying their respects ? A far better s

tart would be to jump straight to the sassy , bass-driven groove of `` Sex Wit Y

ou '' and take the album from there . True , the Heavster does rely a tad too mu

ch on the tried-and-true here , stressing his good-guy image and playing `` The 

Overweight Lover '' to the hilt . But just as `` Something Goin ' On '' puts a f

resh spin on the `` Heartbeat '' bassline or `` Got Me Waiting '' manages to rei