In Colombia, the drug-financed guerrillas trying to seize the country and destroy democracy include M-19, which Castro has clearly backed. Robert Merkel, a former U.S. attorney handling drug indictments in Florida, doesn't think for a minute that Castro's much publicized trials of high officials engaged in the drug trade mean he has broken off with the Medellin drug cartel. "If the cartel succeeds in blackmailing the Colombian authorities into negotiations, the cartel will be in control and Fidel can exploit his past relationships with them," he told the Journal's David Asman recently. The struggle against the drug lords in Colombia will be a near thing. This week, the government arrested Jose Abello Silva, said to be the fourth-ranking cartel leader. He will probably be extradited to the U.S. for trial under an extradition treaty President Virgilia Barco has revived. Later, another high-ranking trafficker, Leonidas Vargas, was arrested and 1,000 pounds of dynamite seized. Mr. Barco has refused U.S. troops or advisers but has accepted U.S. military aid. President Bush has agreed to meet within 90 days with Mr. Barco, President Alan Garcia of Peru and President Jaime Paz Zamora of Bolivia to discuss the drug problem. It might not be a bad idea to do that sooner, rather than later. After the Panama fiasco, they will need some reassurance. Certainly, the Colombian press is much in need of that.

Question: "What are the names of the two people most recently arrested in the drug trade?"

OPTIONS:
- no
- yes

Answer: "Jose Abello Silva"

Response: yes

The French have always wanted to know what it means to be aFrenchman. Their history has been a constant quest for national identity: a conflict between strong regional loyalties and central authority. In about 2000b.c. Celtic tribes probably from eastern Europe came looking for greener pastures in the areas that are now Franche-Comte, Alsace, and Burgundy. At the same time, migrants from the Mediterranean countries were trickling into the south. The first recorded settlement was the trading post set up by Phocaean Greeks from Asia Minor at Massalia (Marseilles) around 600b.c. , followed by other ports at Hyeres, Antibes, and Nice. But the Greeks developed few contacts with the interior beyond a little commerce in olives and wine with the Celts of Burgundy. When their position was threatened by Ligurian pirates at sea and warlike tribes from inland, the merchants of Marseilles called on Rome for help. From Gaul to France In 125b.c. , the Romans came in force, conquered the "Gallic barbarians," and set up a fortress at Aquae Sextiae (Aix-en-Provence). They took advantage of this new stronghold to create Provincia (now Provence), stretching from the Alps to the Pyrenees, in order to guarantee communications between Italy and Spain. When this province was endangered by fresh attacks from the north, Julius Caesar himself took charge, conquering practically the whole of Gaul by 50b.c. Caesar drew Gaul's northeastern frontier at the Rhine, taking in present-day Belgium, and warned that the Germanic tribes across the river the Franks (after whom France is named), Alamans, and Saxons would always threaten the security of the frontier. The Romanization of Gaul sent the most energetic warriors to defend the outposts of the empire while their families settled down to work the land or build towns such as Lyon, Orange, Arles, and Nimes, and the first great highways between them. At the same time, merchants built up a thriving trade with the rest of the Roman Empire. The pattern for the peasantry and bourgeoisie of France was thus established. Christianity was introduced into Gaul in the first century a.d.

Question: "Where were France's first settlements?"

OPTIONS:
- no
- yes

Answer: "Nice"

Response: no

Representing yourself in court can be a tricky endeavor. There are confusing legal terms to learn, strict procedures to follow and volumes of case law that often need to be understood to prepare a case. Lake County officials and a private agency that assists indigent litigants in Illinois want to make the practice easier by creating a self-help center for people who choose to represent themselves in legal matters. The center, which will be housed in the law library at the main courthouse in Waukegan, could open later this summer. "I think it's going to be extremely helpful," Court Administrator Bob Zastany said. "There is a population out there that will take advantage of this resource." The self-help center will be the only one of its kind in the county. Only a few operate nationwide, officials said. The project is the work of Lake County circuit court officials and Prairie State Legal Services, a statewide agency with an office in Waukegan that provides information and legal assistance to poor and elderly Illinois residents. The organization has received a $25,000 grant from the Illinois Equal Justice Foundation, a nonprofit group that funds programs designed to increase access to legal information and assistance, to help pay for the effort. Prairie State will share the money with the county. The county's law library is on the first floor of the governmental center at 18 N. County St. The new self-help center will be designed to help litigants find the information they need to properly represent themselves in court, an undertaking that can be complicated and confusing. "Some people can do OK on their own, and some people can do OK with some help," said Linda Rothnagel, the managing attorney for Prairie State Legal Services. "But other people can't do it. It's not always easy." Self-representation is a right affirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court. The practice is far more common in civil matters than in criminal cases. In fact, self-represented litigants - formally called "pro se" in Latin, or "for oneself" - in criminal defenses are so rare that statistics about the practice generally are not kept, legal experts say.

Question: "What will be the purpose of the center that will be housed in the law library at the main courthouse in Waukegan?"

OPTIONS:
- no
- yes

Answer: "The center will help indigent litigants to select lawyers from the State Board"

Response:
no