Chinese
President Jiang Zemin completed his summit with President Clinton.
Clashes over human rights upstaged collaboration on other matters. First,
Clinton criticized China's human-rights record during a news conference with
Jiang. Reporters oohed and aahed. The New York Times said Clinton
"showed plenty of spine." Then, congressional leaders grilled and lectured
Jiang on the same subject. Jiang dismissed Chinese political prisoners as
criminals, likened China's treatment of Tibet to Lincoln's liberation of the
slaves, and defended the Tiananmen Square massacre as being necessary to
preserve "state security." Worst moment: Jiang's entourage asking U.S.
officials to move protesters off the street outside Independence Hall in
Philadelphia so he wouldn't have to look at them. On the bright side, Jiang
promised to "open China still wider to the outside world" and said that
"without democracy, there can be no modernization." Pundits agreed that Jiang
got prestige at home and around the world and that China is replacing Russia as
the chief concern of U.S. foreign policy. Editorialists groused about China's
persistent evils but grudgingly conceded that it was a good idea to make nice
with Jiang in the hope of reforming China over the long term.
(10/31)
The
"Nanny Murder Trial" ended in a conviction . British au pair Louise
Woodward was found guilty of second-degree murder for causing fatal injuries to
the baby of two Boston-area doctors. The inside spin: Woodward's defense,
headlined by O.J. trial veteran Barry Scheck, blew it by refusing to offer the
jury the option of a lesser manslaughter conviction. The cultural spin: This is
what can happen when you leave your baby in the hands of a mysterious au pair.
The political spin: Should the U.S. government continue sponsoring the
importation of au pairs? The backspin: Women should stop working and stay at
home with their kids, instead of hiring nannies. (10/31)
Iraq
stopped three U.S. weapons inspectors from entering its territory. This
once again violates U.N. resolutions that put Iraq's military under
international supervision. Both sides will now replay their old game: The
United States will seek international support for sanctions and perhaps a
military strike, probably to be thwarted by a last-minute Iraqi retraction.
There are two schools of thought: 1) Saddam once again is proving his genius by
taunting and frustrating the United States. 2) Saddam once again is proving his
idiocy by galvanizing the international coalition against him, which had been
disintegrating. (10/31)
Update
on the campaign-finance scandal: 1) Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt
appeared before the Senate investigating committee and denied allegations that
his department reversed its decision on an Indian casino project in order to
please Democratic contributors. Babbitt explained that he had probably lied to
a lobbyist about being pressured in the matter by Clinton political aide Harold
Ickes, but that he (Babbitt) was not now lying to senators about having lied to
the lobbyist. The New York Times called it "the closest [thing] to a
quid pro quo " in the scandal. Pundits blamed Babbitt's troubles, like
those of Vice President Gore, on the corrupting influence of President Clinton.
The casino episode is seen as a prime candidate for triggering an independent
counsel, who could then investigate everything else. 2) Documents show that two
Republicans on the Senate investigating committee received political help from
an independent conservative group secretly funded by conservative moguls. 3)
Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott agreed to schedule a vote on the
McCain-Feingold bill in March. Commentators cheered. (10/31)
A
consensus is forming on why the stock market pulled out of its nose
dive. The antidote to a crash, as summarized in Friday's Wall Street
Journal , is confidence. 1) Investors are confident that the U.S. economy is
stronger than in 1987. 2) Brokers and mutual funds handled "sell" orders more
quickly and willingly than in 1987. This reassured investors that they could
get out at a time of their choosing and therefore, that they needn't rush to do
so. Corollary: The "circuit breakers," which suspended trading, backfired.
(What are circuit breakers, and how do they work? See
Slate
's
"The Gist.") 3) The
remaining problem is lack of confidence in Asian economies. The International
Monetary Fund is now putting up billions of dollars in loans in the hope of
solving this problem, and the United States has agreed to backstop loans to
Indonesia . (10/31)
Pundits
are debating where the markets will go next . The conventional, feel-good
view is that the U.S. market withstood its plunge valiantly and will resume
forging ahead. The contrarian view is that the rally happened too soon, that
the market hasn't bottomed out yet, and that it needs to do so in order to
"wash out" its fears--i.e., it needs to finish puking before it can start
eating again. In any event, no one thinks this is a bear market. Tuesday,
optimists speculated that 1) the correction would scare consumers sufficiently
to cool off the economy, so that the Fed won't have to raise interest rates and
2) the U.S. rally would restore global confidence and fuel recoveries in other
countries' markets. Sure enough, Wednesday, 1) Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan told
Congress that the "salutary" plunge will slow consumer spending nicely and 2)
overseas markets rebounded. Even hard-hit Hong Kong rose by 19 percent. (For
more on Monday's madness, see "The Motley
Fool.") (10/29)
A
western New York man allegedly has infected nine women , and perhaps many
others, with HIV . According to authorities, he seduced teen-agers by
lurking around schools and parks and had sex with them despite knowing he had
the virus. The youngest victim is 13. New York City is up in arms because he
evidently had sex with many women there as well. The story is igniting two
controversies: 1) Can the man be convicted of a crime? The district attorney
plans to charge him with six counts of first-degree assault, and New York Mayor
Rudy Giuliani says "he should be prosecuted for attempted murder." 2) Are HIV
confidentiality laws too strict? Authorities had to get an unprecedented court
order to allow the release of his name so that they can find, warn, and test
his sex partners and their subsequent sex partners, who may number in the
hundreds. (10/29)
Miscellany: The National Basketball Association hired its first female
referees . Dennis Rodman said they should be prepared to be patted on the
buttocks. Jerry Brown announced his candidacy for mayor of Oakland, Calif. Rep.
Walter Capps, D-Calif., died of a heart attack. Paula Jones' lawyers
subpoenaed Gennifer Flowers . The federal deficit fell to $22.6 billion, the
lowest in 23 years. President Clinton tried to make a big deal about it, but
everyone was distracted by the stock market. Pol Pot urged Cambodia to
ally with the West in order to avoid a "fascist regime." Tests show that John
Denver was sober when he died in a plane crash two weeks ago.
(10/29)
About
300,000 women attended the Million Woman March in Philadelphia. The main
themes: the status of black women, family unity, repentance, and renewal. Other
topics: drugs, homelessness, and civil rights. Unlike the Million Man March,
this event was organized by Philadelphians unconnected to the Nation of Islam.
The closest thing to a Farrakhan figure was South African
heroine-turned-villainess Winnie Madikizela-Mandela. Other speakers included
Rep. John Conyers Jr., D-Mich., and Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., whose demand
for a probe of CIA drug-peddling in black neighborhoods--unsubstantiated by any
evidence--was played up by march organizers. There was also a pitch for
racially segregated schools. Rosa Parks and Coretta Scott King declined to
attend. The New York Times saw the march, along with the Million Man
March and the Promise Keepers rally, as a sign that Americans are giving up on
institutions and are organizing to solve social problems themselves.
(10/27)
The
Florida Marlins won the World Series . They became the first wild-card
team and the youngest club (they were founded five years ago) to win the
Series. Sentimentalists cheered the triumph of Marlins' manager Jim Leyland,
who had been in baseball 33 years without a championship ring, but lamented the
defeat of the plucky Indians, who haven't won the Series in 49 years.
Commentators complained of the Series' sloppy play but applauded the epic Game
7, in which the Marlins, down to the last two outs of their season, eked out
the tying run and won in extra innings. Sports historians anointed Indians
second baseman Tony Fernandez the goat for missing a ground ball that ended up
deciding the game--forgetting that Fernandez's previous two-RBI single was the
only reason the Indians were still in the game. (Two baseball broadcasters
discussed this year's Series in a
Slate
"Dialogue.")
Meanwhile, D.C. United won its second Major League Soccer championship.
(10/27)
Stephen King dumped his
longtime publisher, Viking, and is seeking more than $17 million for his new
book. Analysts see this as a milestone in the publishing industry's descent
into the madness of superstar free agency , which has already overtaken
Hollywood, CEO compensation, and professional sports. Patterns: 1) Loyalty is
dead. 2) The superstar is demanding more money than the company can possibly
earn from his services. 3) All it takes is one fool--and there are plenty of
them--to pay him the money anyway, thereby accelerating the madness. 4) The
superstar expects the industry to justify his compensation by finding new
revenue streams. 5) The superstars are eating up all the available money and
crowding out new talent. (10/27)
