Economist , May 17
(posted
Saturday, May 17)
The
cover editorial cheers the ascendancy of democracy and the free
market in Latin America. The region is now an equal partner of the United
States, not a dependent cousin. The editorial predicts a hemisphere-wide
free-trade region within 20 years. A piece
pegged to Clinton's Tuskegee apology insists that the United States improve its
rules for scientific research on humans: There are too many cases where
patients don't really consent to experimental treatments. An article claims that sly telecom firms have figured out how to
collude in U.S. spectrum auctions. The result: A recent auction raised only $14
million--about $1.7
billion less than expected.
New
Republic , June 2
(posted
Friday, May 16)
The
mammoth cover essay denounces human cloning as morally repugnant. Among the
many objections cited are that cloning: 1) dehumanizes procreation by
separating it from sex and love; 2) commodifies children; 3) distorts
relationships between "parents" and "children"; 4) denies children their own
identity; and 5) turns children into slaves of their parents. The author
rejects the technological determinists who say that because human cloning is
possible, it should be done. Also, an article contends that Tony Blair's
legislative proposals (to adopt a bill of rights, abolish hereditary rights in
the House of Lords, impose proportional representation, assign interest-rate
control to a central bank, and establish parliaments for Scotland and Wales)
will change Britain as much as Thatcherism did.
New
York Times Magazine , May 18
(posted
Thursday, May 15)
A
photography issue. Nineteen famous and not-so-famous photographers shoot Times
Square. Actors, neon signs, and hotel rooms are much depicted. A few short
articles accompany the images. One celebrates the trend toward "true" fashion
photography (pictures that show models warts and all). Another describes
Corbis, Bill Gates' digital photo archive: It's not making much money because
the market for digital images is growing so slowly.
Newsweek
and
Time , May 19
(posted
Tuesday, May 13)
"Can Hong Kong Survive?"
Newsweek answers its own cover line with an optimistic "yes." A poll of
Hong Kong residents finds them sanguine about the city's future. An economist
lists 12 factors for worried Hong Kong investors to watch. Chief among them:
Will China preserve the rule of law and free speech, which are essential for
business prosperity? Steven Spielberg takes Time 's cover as he ends a
three-year absence from the screen with three new movies, including The Lost
World , a sequel to Jurassic Park . The article concludes the
50-year-old Spielberg has grown up since E.T. , but not too much: He's
still a boy at heart. (Only revelation: He plans a fourth Indiana Jones
movie.)
Newsweek describes
the controversy over sex-corrective surgery for "intersexual" babies--children
born with the wrong--or incomplete--sex organs. Doctors have given a generation
of such children "normal" sex organs (i.e., they have transformed boys'
incomplete penises into vaginas, then treated the patients with female
hormones). Now the intersexuals are fighting back, arguing that the surgery
inflicts vast physical and psychological damage. A story chronicles Fidelity
Investments' continuing troubles. Fidelity's funds are lagging and the best
fund managers are leaving, but the firm is thriving as a manager of corporate
pension plans.
Also in
Time , a package of stories celebrates U.S. prosperity, saying that the
country is in better shape than it's been in decades: The economy is humming,
crime and divorce rates are falling, etc. An article warns that Russia is
losing control of its nuclear weapons: Its early warning system is
disintegrating and the soldiers who man the missiles aren't being paid, raising
the possibility of nukes being sold to terrorists.
The
New Yorker , May 19
(posted
Tuesday, May 13)
Donald
Trump is still shamelessly self-promoting, monumentally egotistical, and
greedy, concludes a long profile. The real-estate impresario has rebounded from
his 1990 financial collapse, though he exaggerates his wealth. He is now
divorcing his wife, Marla, largely because under the terms of their prenuptial
agreement, she'd be entitled to a huge chunk of his fortune if they stayed
married another year. An article argues that blacks may be better athletes than
whites because they have more genetic variability: According to statistical
laws, more variability means that blacks are disproportionately represented
among both the best and the worst athletes. A piece says that Timothy McVeigh's
lawyer Stephen Jones has erred by trying the case in the press. He may have won
McVeigh favorable coverage, but he's getting hammered in the courtroom.
U.S.
News & World Report , May 19
(posted
Tuesday, May 13)
Moral-condemnation month continues at U.S. News . Last week's cover story
blamed parents for caring more about their careers than their kids. This week's
cover deplores adult premarital sex, saying that it leads to
abortion, weaker marriages, and STDs. Unmarried twentysomethings get 50 percent
of America's abortions, and cohabiting unmarried couples have high rates of
domestic violence and drug abuse. A piece concludes that Clinton's $7 billion education plan funnels
too much money into higher education while ignoring the primary and secondary
schools that really need funds. Also, Arianna
Huffington accuses fellow conservatives of reneging on their promises to
help America's poor.
Weekly Standard , May 19
(posted
Tuesday, May 13)
The vice
president is "shifty and disingenuous" and "the biggest phony in the White
House," argues the cover story. The veep avoids taking stands on tough issues,
flip-flops on abortion, exploits family tragedy for political gain, and
shamelessly seeks press coverage. An article claims that liberals are the new
"Confederacy" because they deny American national identity and want to classify
everyone on racial lines. It also likens American affirmative action to
race-classification practices in Nazi Germany and apartheid South Africa. A
piece says that Tony Blair is not like Clinton: Blair has actually
turned his party rightward and imposed fiscal conservatism, unlike Clinton, who
only pretends to do so.
The
Nation , May 26
(posted
Tuesday, May 13)
The
investigative cover story examines the U.S. military's use of depleted uranium
(DU) anti-tank shells. During the Gulf War, more than 30 U.S. soldiers received
friendly fire wounds from DU shells. Many others were exposed to the toxic,
radioactive remains of exploded shells. Iraqi cancer rates seem to have
increased in places where the shells were used. Also, hot author Arlie Russell
Hochschild adapts a chapter from her book The Time Bind : She argues that
Americans must stop treating home life as a chore and learn how to invest
emotionally in their families.
Vanity Fair , June 1997
(posted
Friday, May 9)
Software
upstart Oracle's CEO Larry Ellison is profiled. He comes across as a
superannuated adolescent: hypermacho, sexist, and desperate for attention (but
brilliant). His quest to defeat Microsoft is portrayed as an unhealthy
obsession. A long article chronicles the turmoil at ABC News. David Westin has
been anointed Roone Arledge's successor as head of the news division, but
Arledge seems reluctant to cede his power. The legendary Arledge is depicted as
detached, lazy, and old. Arnold Schwarzenegger is on the cover. Why? Because
he's turning 50.
