November 12, 1986

Anger Along the Rhine Since a chemical fire in Switzerland sent poisoned water into the Rhine, protests have erupted along the river all the way to the North Sea.

A large entourage arrived here from the Bronx today to lend moral support to Stanley M. Friedman as he took the stand in his own behalf after being pummeled by prosecutors for six weeks in the case entitled, dauntingly, United States of America v. Stanley Friedman. ''At times,'' a friend said, ''it seemed the whole world was against Stanley.'' The man watched as two large carts filled with the prosecution's supporting documents were wheeled past by Federal Bureau of Investigation agents. ''Stanley, I need a ticket,'' a woman from the Bronx yelled at the Bronx Democratic leader outside the jammed courtroom. Mr. Friedman talked to a United States marshal about getting her a seat in the courtroom, but Mr. Friedman had to tell her that he could not swing it. The woman appeared stunned. She was not in the Bronx any more.

The New York City Housing Authority Symphony Orchestra has a name that doesn't exactly sing. What leaps to mind is an orchestra pit filled with civil servants - building codes in one hand and musical instruments in the other. But the symphony, which celebrates its 15th anniversary tonight with a black-tie concert at Lincoln Center, is a diverse group whose 50 or so members have included public housing workers and tenants, as well as conservatory students and concertmasters just looking for a place to play.

In another bold step, the Wickes Companies agreed tonight to buy Lear Siegler Inc., an aerospace, automotive and industrial conglomerate, for about $1.7 billion. Wickes, a building materials, apparel and automotive parts company, emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings less than two years ago. It said tonight that it would pay $93 a share for each of Lear Siegler's 17.8 million common shares outstanding and $232.50 a share for its 177,500 shares of preferred stock outstanding. Wickes had initially offered to pay $91 a share, or about $1.62 billion for Lear Siegler but tonight announced that it had raised its offer.

In war, the military strategist Clausewitz counseled, the men who design the firearms can be as important as those called upon to fire them. Meet Dr. Jameel Ahmad, chairman of the civil engineering department at Cooper Union, and the New York City driver's best hope in the continuing battle against what were, at last count, 94,147 potholes. Where generations of road crews and asphalt manufacturers have failed, Dr. Ahmad and his multinational team - not to mention the city's Transportation Department -are hopeful they will triumph. The secret to that hope, call it a pothole panacea, is a bonding agent called CU-31 (CU for Cooper Union, of course).