Economist , May 16
(posted
Saturday, May 16, 1998)
The lead
editorial frets over crises in India and Indonesia. The international community
must level sanctions on India for its nuclear tests, or other near-nuke countries (Taiwan, Iraq)
will be tempted to conduct their own tests. India's government is using the
tests for political gain, because the economy is weak. On the Indonesian front, the editorial calls for Suharto's army
to abandon him and for the International Monetary Fund to withhold loans unless
Suharto steps down. ... An editorial claims that Israel is to blame for
the gradual breakdown of the Middle East peace process. The United States
should stop feebly appeasing Israel and start making clear, unwavering demands.
... A book review tells the fascinating story of W.C. Minor, major
contributor to the original Oxford English Dictionary . A schizophrenic,
Minor was in the midst of a delusion when he shot a man. He filed his excellent
entries from a prison-hospital for the criminally insane. "He was given two
cells, one of which he turned into a library and filled with antiquarian books;
he was allowed to practise his flute and paint water-colours; and he was even
allowed a knife, to cut the pages of the old books, although in the end he used
it to slice off his penis."
Details , June 1998
(posted
Saturday, May 16, 1998)
A story
profiles Jared Paul Stern, promising young gossip columnist for the New York
Post 's "Page Six." Foppishly dressed and snottily mannered, Stern always
gets his dish--but not without incurring the hatred of seemingly all New York.
The piece points out that gossip columnists are generally far more seasoned
than the 27-year-old Stern: "Stern's success in the gossip world is seen by
many not only as an indictment of his moral character--surely it should take
years for a person to become this shallow?--but as a maddening violation of the
professional rules."
New
Republic , June 1
(posted
Friday, May 15, 1998)
The
magazine apologizes for having published fabricated articles by Stephen Glass
and announces Glass' dismissal as associate editor. It acknowledges that, as
has been widely reported, Glass invented characters, organizations, and events
in the recent article "Hack Heaven" and other pieces. How did it happen? "For
reasons known only to him, Glass mounted what appears to have been quite an
elaborate effort, including the falsification of documents and reporter's
notes, to trick our editors and elude our fact-checkers." (For more on the
uproar, see Jack Shafer's "Glass Houses.") ... The cover story notes the growing
irrelevance of college presidents. Once, they were revered public
intellectuals; now, they spend more than half their time fund raising and most
of the rest on administration. They don't take high-profile stances for fear of
a backlash. (Full disclosure:
Slate
's David Greenberg wrote the
piece.) ... An article says Democrats are secretly planning a report
about Kenneth Starr's alleged "illegal collusion" with right-wing Clinton
enemies. At a time when Clinton is being compared to Nixon, the report would be
designed to make Starr look Nixonian.
New
York Times Magazine , May 17
(posted
Thursday, May 14, 1998)
Another
special issue. Theme: 13-year-olds. Dozens of photographs portray neo-teens in
school, on the family farm, on inner city streets, at the mall, and in their
bedrooms (all of which are apparently decorated with Hanson posters). Basic
conclusion: Though cliquey, 13-year-olds are basically nice, innocent kids (who
really like Hanson). 13-year-old boy on going out with girls: "You even talk to
them--even if it's just over the phone." 13-year-old Latino gang member: "I
ain't down to die right now, for I'm barely having fun. I don't want to die
right now." 13-year-old girl: "I hate the people in our grade--they're all so
boring! People usually think we're older, and we hang out with 15-year-olds.
They're just so much fun."
Vanity Fair , June 1998
(posted
Thursday, May 14, 1998)
Vanity
Fair profiles socially maladjusted genius John Forbes Nash Jr. Nash took
the Princeton math department by storm in the '40s and '50s and is often
considered the godfather of game theory. In the '60s, he succumbed to
schizophrenia, believing himself a "messianic figure of great but secret
importance" and writing cryptic messages, such as "Mao Tse-tung's Bar Mitzvah
was 13 years, 13 months, and 13 days after Brezhnev's circumcision." Nash
suddenly regained his sanity in the late '80s and then won the 1994 Nobel
Memorial Prize in economics.
Time and Newsweek , May 18
(posted
Tuesday, May 12, 1998)
The cancer hoopla allows the
newsweeklies to strike a favorite pose: pretending to preach caution while
actually hyping madly. The large print on Newsweek 's cover reads "Cancer
Cure," while Time puts a huge red X through the word "Cancer." Beneath,
they run sober (and nearly identical) small print: "The Hope and the
Hype--Behind the Latest Breakthroughs," Newsweek ; "How to Tell the Hype
From the Hope," Time . Their inside stories, too, are cautious, noting
that the new anti-angiogenic drugs are extremely promising but not a miracle
cure. (Both mags rap the New York Times for its overenthusiastic
endorsement.) Time runs an excellent chart of the various kinds of
cancer treatments. Requisite Wall Street angle: Time says biotech stocks
are undervalued; Newsweek says they're still too volatile to be reliable
investments.
Time reports that
Kenneth Starr's prosecutors have been meeting secretly with Secret Service
agents. Despite pressure from Starr's team, the agents refuse to discuss any
specifics about Clinton's meetings with Monica Lewinsky. ...
Time 's farewell to Seinfeld says that it 1) has a much
smaller audience than many popular sitcoms of the last generation; 2) is not
the first show "about nothing" ( Three's Company ); and 3) is not even the
funniest show on television ( The Simpsons ).
Newsweek likens Apple's new iMac to the Volkswagen Beetle, saying it's
both fun and functional. Steven Jobs really does seem to have revived Apple,
which has now had two profitable quarters in a row. ... Also, a
profanity-laced jail interview with gangsta rap tycoon Suge Knight. He blames
his imprisonment on rivals jealous of his company, Death Row Records.
U.S.
News & World Report , May 18
(posted
Tuesday, May 12, 1998)
Its
cancer cover concurs with Time and Newsweek that
the anti-angiogenic drugs won't work as well in humans as they do in mice. It
also explains why human trials of the drugs can't begin for at least a year:
The current total supply of the drugs is only enough to treat a few mice.
... A piece describes the growing conflict between skinheads and
rappers--in Moscow. Neo-Nazi skinheads, who beat up an African-American Marine
last week, hate the (slightly) more racially tolerant rappers, who imitate
black American fashion and music. ... The magazine says the Internal Revenue Service is being scapegoated for the wrong
reasons. In fact, criminal tax prosecutions are decreasing . Most of the
IRS's stumbles are caused by outdated computers, not rogue agents.
The
New Yorker , May 18
(posted
Tuesday, May 12, 1998)
A Ken
Starr profile says he is a moderate, inside-the-Beltway schmoozer, not a
Torquemada. Starr's first year as independent counsel was vigorous and
effective, but he has been bogged down by Clinton's stonewalling and the decay
of his own staff. Starr's original experienced deputies have been replaced by
young lawyers with little prosecutorial experience. ... A respectful
profile of Robert Redford--pegged to his new movie, The Horse
Whisperer --says he's "wraithlike" and private. But he is responsible for
"some of America's most defining contemporary images: the investigative
reporter, the loner, the defender of the unregulated outdoors," etc. ...
A piece says major-league pitchers are injuring their arms more frequently
because the mound is too low, the strike zone is too small, and the rise of
other sports (soccer, basketball) has diminished the supply of major leaguers
with strong arms.
Weekly Standard , May 18
(posted
Tuesday, May 12, 1998)
A long
story exposes wrongheaded sexual correctness in the military. Jackie Parker,
who sought to be the first woman to fly an F-16 in combat, complained that her
New York Air National Guard unit mistreated her, ending the careers of many of
the unit's pilots. In fact, says the Standard , Parker was unqualified to
fly F-16s, was given favorable treatment by higher-ups because she was a woman,
destroyed morale by sleeping with her supervisor, and herself sexually harassed
male pilots. Lesson: The gender wars are undermining military
effectiveness.
--David
Plotz
