Economist , Oct. 3 (posted Saturday, Oct. 3, 1998) The cover editorial urges careful treatment of the world's banks. The International Monetary Fund must bail out banks when their failure might spur a worldwide depression (as in Asia). But in some relatively harmless cases (Russia) we should let banks fail--otherwise gambling investors will never learn their lesson. ... A story attempts to explain the drastic fall in crime in American cities. Small saviors: new crime-fighting ideas (computerized databases, the "broken window" theory), more policemen on the beat, and the end of the crack epidemic. Big savior: the decrease in the number of boys aged 15 to 21. New Republic , Oct. 19 (posted Saturday, Oct. 3, 1998) The cover story says the spread of suburbs has spurred the rise of the Christian right. Back when evangelicals inhabited rural communities, they were never forced to confront cultural enemies. Now that they live in diverse suburbs, they have become separatists. Alarmed by cultural differences, they have started home schooling kids and running for political office. ... A story says that Russia is suffering another huge brain drain. Smart, educated Russians who just recently achieved middle-class comfort refuse to return to poverty now that the economy has collapsed. So they are fleeing the country in droves. New York Times Magazine , Oct. 4 (posted Thursday, Oct. 1, 1998) The cover story describes the chaos of Azerbaijan, a former Soviet republic holding the rights to an oil lode in the Caspian Sea. Capital city Baku is "rampant with ham-handed Russian spies, as well as Turkish gangsters (known for their proud display of chest hair), black-eyed Chechen revolutionaries, paranoid American diplomats, fanatical Iranian terrorists and financial speculators of various nationalities." Baku's foray into capitalism has wrought violence, instability, and corruption, but American companies are still investing. ... A story tracks photography's growing legitimacy as an art form. New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art has been steadily adding to its once meager collection, and photography has become "the medium of the moment." Because millions of amateurs own cameras and take pictures, photography sometimes gets little respect from snobby museums. Time and Newsweek , Oct. 5 (posted Tuesday, Sept. 29, 1998) Time goes Oprah-overboard with four articles on the talk show host and her new movie of Toni Morrison's Beloved (about a runaway slave dealing with motherhood). Making Beloved was a deeply emotional experience for Winfrey, but what isn't? Morrison at first disliked the film, but she is now a fan. ... Newsweek 's cover story: Home schooling--it's not just for zealots anymore! About 1.5 million kids are home schooled, and many parents insist it keeps their children engaged in hands-on learning. Newsweek 's dubious list of recent home schoolees: Jessica DuBroff, the 7-year-old pilot whose plane crashed; Rebecca Sealfon, the national spelling bee champion with bizarre social tics; and Hanson, the teen-idol pop group with great hair. Both mags run wine stories. Newsweek covers the wine industry's push to make Americans drink more wine. America produces more wine than any country save Italy, France, and Spain, yet we rank near the bottom in wine consumption. The Wine Market Council will launch a media campaign in February. Meanwhile, Time salutes the wines of Chile. High quality and cheap, Chilean wines are now the third-most popular imports, behind only French and Italian vintages. U.S. News & World Report , Oct. 5 (posted Tuesday, Sept. 29, 1998) The cover story ranks HMOs. Top three: Fallon Community Health Plan (Massachusetts), Finger Lakes-Blue Choice (New York), and Tufts Health Plan (Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island). An accompanying article profiles Boston's Community Medical Alliance, a small HMO that stresses prevention over treatment and which even makes house calls. ... A story explains Japan's plummeting fertility rate: Women in their late 20s don't want to sacrifice their independence to marriage and motherhood. Japanese men don't help to bring up baby, and nannies are frowned upon, so motherhood can ruin a woman's career. Japan's fertility rate is now "one of the lowest in the world." ... Bummer Dept.: Some parents now rent drug-sniffing dogs to search their teens' bedrooms. Drug-dog rental (for home or office) is a growing industry: One rental facility explains, "We give kids another out. If somebody says, 'Hey, try this,' the kid can say, 'But what if the dogs show up today?' " The New Yorker , Oct. 5 (posted Tuesday, Sept. 29, 1998) "The Talk of the Town" runs essays on Flytrap from Toni Morrison, Janet Malcolm, James Salter, and others. All are pro-Clinton and anti-Starr. Morrison: "This is Slaughtergate. A sustained, bloody, arrogant coup d'etat. The Presidency is being stolen from us. And the people know it." Malcolm: "Since the object of [Starr's investigation] was to turn the nation against the President, those of us who deplored the investigation from the start can only take satisfaction in Starr's bungling--in this time of few satisfactions." ... The fall books section includes articles on Eudora Welty and Raymond Carver (a "prairie existentialist") and reviews much new fiction. The Nation , Oct. 12 (posted Tuesday, Sept. 29, 1998) The cover story argues that devolution of power from the federal government to the states is an opportunity for progressives. Giving power to local governments encourages experimentation that the whole country can learn from. Examples cited: state tobacco lawsuits, local anti-pollution taxes, higher minimum wages, campaign finance reform at the state level, and better local mass transit. Drawback: Progressive policies make a community less "business friendly," so surrounding areas reap the economic benefits. Weekly Standard , Oct. 5 (posted Tuesday, Sept. 29, 1998) The cover story claims that "Hollywood Beats Harvard" in the Clinton administration. Originally a bastion for Ivy League wonks such as George Stephanopoulos and Ira Magaziner, the Clinton White House is now cozier with West Coast elites: the Thomasons, Steven Spielberg, Barbra Streisand, etc. ... A story praises the Miss America pageant for having "tilted the tiara from left to right." The new Miss America is a born-again Christian who says Clinton should resign and whose cause is diabetes awareness. The last Miss America "held progressive views" and supported AIDS research. Apparently even diseases are partisan. --Seth Stevenson More Flytrap ...