Economist , Nov. 22 (posted Saturday, Nov. 22) The cover editorial worries that Russian economic reform is tenuous. The next two years, which are critical to a stable capitalist future, will require unwavering leadership from Boris Yeltsin. A study suggests a novel form of health care: Let your kids get sick. Children who get illnesses like malaria, diabetes, and asthma and aren't treated for them have more resistance to disease in later life. Also, an article follows McDonald's attempts to enter the Indian market. The "Maharaja Mac" is made from mutton, and customers can top it with sauces like "McMasala" and "McImli." So far, sales are slow. New Republic , Dec. 8 (posted Friday, Nov. 21) The cover story mocks movie star Alec Baldwin's quest for campaign-finance reform. (He took a bus trip through the Northeast promoting the cause.) Problem: Baldwin doesn't seem to know much about the subject, or to want to talk about it. He's contemplating a Senate run. An article questions CBS News' use of former Sen. Bill Bradley as a correspondent. Bradley's patriotic "essays" (on the disabled, good sportsmanship, etc.) look suspiciously like campaign spots for the 2000 race. Other candidates protest his free air time. Also, wary praise for the Department of Housing and Urban Development's new welfare-reform plan. The agency installs computers in public-housing projects so that jobless residents can do telemarketing from home. New York Times Magazine , Nov. 23 (posted Thursday, Nov. 20) Benjamin Netanyahu's peace-through-strength coalition may dominate Israeli politics for a long time. Israel's secular elite hates Netanyahu, but Russian immigrants; ultra-orthodox Jews, to whom he panders; and Middle Eastern/North African Jews unite behind Bibi's patriotism and distrust of Arabs. One politician says Israelis "no longer share the values of America--religious freedom, the civility of political discourse, democratic values ... [Netanyahu's election] was the victory of Judaism over Israel." A profile of Webster Hubbell, the former Clinton adviser jailed for tax evasion, finds a sad, humbled figure. Hubbell, who still supports Clinton, is now a "consultant" making big bucks off Clinton-referred clients. Independent Counsel Ken Starr suspects the cash is hush money. Also, a story rejects the conventional wisdom that overpopulation is imminent. It argues that birth rates are falling across the world, and populations will soon begin to shrink. Time and Newsweek , Nov. 24 (posted Tuesday, Nov. 18) Saddam on both covers. Time 's superior package emphasizes U.S. hopes that Iraq's military will strike first. (Quote from senior Pentagon official: "We're just waiting for him to do something stupid so we can whack him.") Time also runs a disturbing report from Baghdad, where Iraqi commando units proved their battle-readiness by gutting a live dog on television while chanting, "Our God, our nation, our leader!" A nifty two-page map in Newsweek describes Iraq's military as seriously diminished since the Gulf War. Newsweek also publishes a dispatch from a U.N. weapons inspector: "[W]hile they delayed us from entering some sites, we have seen Iraqi officials burning documents and throwing the embers into a river." Time 's explanation of the science of toxic weapons trumps Newsweek 's. Newsweek excerpts the forthcoming memoir of former Air Force bomber pilot Kelly Flinn, who was discharged for adultery. She claims the Air Force treated her unfairly and that her commanding officers gave her no guidance. The Air Force says the case was less about adultery and more about Flinn's subsequent lying and cover-up. Also in Newsweek , an essay by Hillary Rodham Clinton argues that American foreign aid and investment will improve human rights. Time interviews Deborah Eappen, grieving mother in the Louise Woodward au pair case. Eappen remains convinced of Woodward's guilt, and is stunned at her negligible punishment. "Louise took away Matthew and the judge took away justice." Also in Time , trend-spotting: the Kabbalah, a brand of Jewish mysticism employing numerology and the code-breaking of sacred texts, is drawing celebrity converts (Madonna, Roseanne, and Laura Dern, among others). The New Yorker , Nov. 24 (posted Tuesday, Nov. 18) A story follows the gruesome trail of Michael Swango, a doctor suspected of poisoning colleagues, patients, and friends. In the mid-'80s, surgical resident Swango was investigated after patients died suspiciously. Later, he was convicted of poisoning five paramedic colleagues with arsenic. Even so, he landed subsequent jobs as a paramedic and a medical resident (hospitals didn't thoroughly investigate his background). In every case, colleagues and patients mysteriously fell ill or died. He's currently in jail for a minor fraud charge. An essay examines Napoleon's mixed legacy: Alone of history's great leaders, Napoleon inspires ambivalence (French adoration, British loathing). Conclusion: He deserves credit for inventing the merit-based army and restoring glamour to military service; criticism for destroying Europe with his self-aggrandizing, idiotic wars. Weekly Standard , Nov. 24 (posted Tuesday, Nov. 18) The cover story blasts Secretary of Defense William Cohen for blocking the promotion of Air Force General Terry Schwalier. Schwalier was in command of the Saudi Arabian barracks where a terrorist bombing killed 19 U.S. airmen last June. The article claims Schwalier did everything right, and that Cohen simply sought a scapegoat. A story gushes over Oklahoma Rep. Steve Largent, a former NFL star. Largent is devoutly religious, looks like a male model, and stood firm as a supporter of the attempted Gingrich coup (even after it failed). An essay by William J. Bennett condemns President Clinton's recent comparison of gay rights to civil rights: "Homosexuality should not be socially validated, for reasons rooted in custom and tradition, natural law and teleology, morality and faith." The Nation , Dec. 1 (posted Tuesday, Nov. 18) The cover story rails against the growing commercialization of public television. PBS now licenses tie-in products to the "Learningsmith" retail chain; signs pre-production deals with huge companies like AT&T, US West, and Disney; and lets underwriters announce their sponsorship with commercial-like spots. An editorial points out that Saddam Hussein's current naughty actions (lying, subjugating his citizens, developing weapons of mass destruction) earned him U.S. support in the '80s. Also, an editorial chides the Smithsonian for running a rosy exhibit on the Alaskan pipeline--sponsored by, among others, British Petroleum and Exxon. The pipeline's negative environmental impact and the ravages of the Valdez spill are downplayed. Vanity Fair , December 1997 (posted Tuesday, Nov. 18) A posthumous profile of Dodi Fayed says he was childish, profligate, unreliable, paranoid, and drug-using. His father totally controlled him, his much-touted involvement in film production has been wildly exaggerated, and his affair with Diana would have fallen apart, as his many other glam romances did. A story marvels at New Yorkers' conspicuous consumption, which far outdoes the '80s. Grotesque examples: $20,000 watches, $14,000 bags, $5,800 bottles of wine, and $3,000 sweaters are popular items, and some thirtysomethings are purchasing $10-million apartments-- with cash . Vanity Fair exhaustively chronicles the events at Brooklyn's 70 th precinct, where the "Plunger Cops" assaulted Abner Louima. Thomas Bruder, one of the four officers accused, tells his story, blaming the others. Louima's lawyers are depicted as shameless money- and publicity-seekers. A piece about Internet gossip Matt Drudge depicts him as a charming, naive young man who made a terrible mistake in reporting that White House aide Sidney Blumenthal beat his wife. Blumenthal's lawsuit may well ruin Drudge and threaten Internet free speech. --Seth Stevenson