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
