November 23, 1997

'Asian values' credited with the phenomenal growth of economies of the Far East in 80's and 90's are given sharper scrutiny as economic uncertainty spreads through the region; crony capitalism, corruption and secrecy are revealed as the darker side of the value system that drove Asia's growth and now threatens to halt it in its tracks; one question now is whether present crisis will lead to any fundamental reassessment of link between Asia's authoritarian ways and its success; photo (M)

Kathy Butler is pregnant with triplets, but babies bear no relationship to her or her husband, Gary; they are growing from ready-made embryos that Butlers selected and paid for at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center; doctors there mixed human eggs and sperm to make variety of embryos with different pedigrees, then froze them; idea is to allow prospective parents to select embryos whose parents resemble them physically or have same ethnic background and are well educated--best possible sperm and egg donors for those who cannot have babies of their own; Butlers are part of quiet but fast-emerging new world of assisted reproduction in US; new technique has resulted in unknown number of births over last several years; Dr Mark Sauer of Columbia-Presbyterian comments; his photo (M)

Marie-Anne Oudejans of Tocca is promoted at party hosted by Samantha Kluge Cahan and attended by other daughters of fabulously wealthy men; photo; 33-year-old Dutch-born designer's romantic retro dresses have become preferred uniform of Manhattan's Nescafe social set (S)

David Kaczynski, who turned in his brother, Theodore J. Kaczynski, as the suspected Unabomber, bitterly describes what he calls a cynical reversal by the Government. He says that prosecutors had earlier described his brother as a ''disturbed individual,'' but are now seeking the death penalty in four of the bombings that began in 1978. Article, page 22.

A COUPLE of years ago, over dinner with Jim Press, the general manager of Lexus, the conversation turned to passion -- the kind stirred up by a handful of high-performance luxury cars. While complimenting Mr. Press on the quality and technology of his products, I pointed out that they arouse little passion, a sentiment I share with many people who test-drive new cars. While Lexus models are fine machines, I said, they seem cold -- bordering on sterile -- and lack the soul of the German cars on which they are modeled.