Economist , Jan. 24
(posted
Saturday, Jan. 24)
The cover
editorial decries President Clinton's "temptations." 1) The Lewinsky scandal
may overshadow the State of the Union, one of Clinton's last chances to "set
out a distinctive programme for government." 2) Clinton is also tempted by the
chance to blow the budget surplus on social spending--the Economist
hopes he'll refrain. ... An article explains how game theory can help
businesses. By tenuously cooperating with rivals (as Netscape, Sun, and Oracle
do) and deceiving enemies, a firm can beat its competitors. ... An
obituary mourns Mona May Karff, pioneering woman chess player. Karff, dead at
86, was born in Russia, moved to Boston, and won the American women's chess
championship seven times. Of more than 450 international grandmasters, only six
are women.
The
Nation , Feb. 2 and Feb. 9
(posted
Friday, Jan. 23)
A special
double issue makes the case for nuclear disarmament. Jonathan Schell's cover story--the
longest article in The
Nation 's history--updates his 1982 book
The Fate of the Earth . The article's conclusion: We should push for
"horizontal" disarmament (taking weapons off alert, partially dismantling them)
rather than "vertical" disarmament (abolishing weapons altogether). ...
In an interview with Schell, Mikhail Gorbachev claims he proposed total
disarmament to the Politburo. Gorbachev adds that Kremlin briefings on nuclear
protocol baffled him. ... An essay pegged to Roe vs. Wade 's
25 th anniversary says that current proposals for "compromise" on
abortion are ridiculous. Roe was itself a compromise: Radical feminists
had lobbied for no abortion restrictions at all.
New
York Times Magazine , Jan. 25
(posted
Friday, Jan. 23)
Three
articles analyze America's political apathy. One piece argues that the
investing boom makes us solipsistic. Americans care too much about the state of
their own stock portfolios, not enough about policies that affect us all. (Full
disclosure:
Slate
's Chief Political Correspondent Jacob Weisberg
wrote the article.) ... Another piece claims our "placid" mood lets us
ignore impending problems such as income inequality and mass layoffs. Americans
should force themselves to become "indignant" in order to tackle these problems
early. ... An article tracks the ongoing fight to get Food and Drug
Administration approval for thalidomide, the drug that caused thousands of
birth defects in the 1960s. Thalidomide relieves symptoms of AIDS and leprosy.
Its new spokesperson? One of the deformed thalidomide babies, all grown up. He
has reservations, but wants to help the afflicted.
New
Republic , Feb. 9
(posted
Friday, Jan. 23)
The cover
story says liberals shouldn't get excited about the budget surplus because it
could easily disappear. Instead, liberals should focus on a more pressing
issue: building stronger unions. ... An article doubts the pope's visit
to Cuba will change the country immediately, but it could encourage a more open
society. That, in turn, might cause a peaceful transition from communism.
... A story says tourism is destroying the Chicago blues scene. Rich
patrons flock to faux blues clubs on the yuppie North Side, while authentic
blues men are left audienceless in the slums.
Time and Newsweek , Jan. 26
(posted
Tuesday, Jan. 20)
This week's dog that didn't
bark: According to the Drudge Report, Newsweek spiked a story about a Clinton
affair with a 24-year-old White House intern. The story Newsweek does
run about Paula Jones' sexual-harassment suit says that her lawyers are trying
to prove that Clinton promoted women who slept with him. As a result, they are
deposing other women linked to Clinton, including Gennifer Flowers and former
White House aide Kathleen Willey.
Time puts the pope
and Fidel Castro on the cover, a week after Newsweek . The article rehashes the usual generalizations about their
similarities: both in their 70s, both haters of rampant capitalism, etc. The
difference: Catholicism will outlast Pope John Paul II; communism won't outlast
Castro. Cuban official Ricardo Alarcón (see The New Yorker , below)
doubts that the pope's visit will affect U.S. policy toward Cuba. ...
Newsweek 's health cover story--yet another one--argues that everyone is
slightly crazy. New genetic research suggests that the difference between
"normal" behavior and mental illness is a matter of degree. For example: A
person with one gene for obsessive-compulsive disorder might be extremely
well-organized, but a person with five genes for it might be dysfunctional.
(The package has a celebrity twofer: The cover shot is of Robin Williams; the
inside illustrations are of cartoon shrink Dr. Katz.)
Also in Newsweek ,
four hotshot Hollywood directors discuss the Oscars and make fun of studio
execs: L.A. Confidential director Curtis Hanson predicts Titanic
for best picture; Boogie Nights director Paul Thomas Anderson predicts
L.A. Confidential .
Time identifies the next big food boycott: swordfish. Lots of trendy restaurants have stopped serving
the endangered fish.
U.S.
News & World Report , Jan. 26
(posted
Tuesday, Jan. 20)
The
cover story insists that President Clinton has a distinct agenda:
He emphasizes "opportunity and responsibility" (expanding day-care programs
while cutting back welfare), "economic globalism" (the commitment to free
trade), "fiscal discipline" (the balanced budget), and "government as
'catalyst' " (V-chip legislation). ...
U.S. News runs a short
interview with Clinton, as well as an accompanying piece on Clinton's obsession with second-tier,
under-appreciated presidents. ... An article claims crime
fiction's runaway success might kill the genre. A slew of best sellers
prompted publishers to flood the market with mediocre mysteries--now readers
think twice before buying.
The
New Yorker , Jan. 26
(posted
Tuesday, Jan. 20)
A special
issue on Cuba. A profile examines Castro's likely successor, Ricardo Alarcón.
He helped lead the Cuban revolution, lived in New York for 15 years, reads
Joyce and Faulkner, and loves socialism. He vows to end the embargo and warm up
relations with the United States. ... A story follows the quest to
preserve Havana's crumbling buildings. Government architects restore
noncontroversial, colonial-era structures. Tragically left in ruins: gorgeous
Art Nouveau, Art Deco, and Modernist buildings. ... A writer prints
letters he wrote while living in Cuba. At the height of the 1994 refugee
escapes to Miami, the author sees his neighbor "repairing the blue fibreglass
boat that has sat untended the entire time we've been here. Boats like his are
now fetching up to five thousand dollars. Inner tubes went up to three hundred
dollars in the last week."
Atlantic Monthly , February 1998
(posted
Tuesday, Jan. 20)
A former
CIA officer attacks the agency for recruiting tons of useless foreign agents
who file reams of worthless intelligence reports. The upshot: The CIA's most
talented are resigning in frustration. ... An article describes a
bizarre disease that turns bodies into bone. Sufferers of fibrodysplasia
ossificans progressiva remain healthy inside, but their muscles and tendons
ossify, leaving them paralyzed. So far, no explanation or cure for the
disease's 18 living victims. ... A story says that many astronomers now
deem Pluto too small to be a planet and want it reclassified as a large
asteroid. (Odd scientific fact: There is no firm definition of "planet.") On
Pluto's side: tradition.
--Seth
Stevenson
