Economist , March 28
(posted
Saturday, March 28)
The
Economist , like everyone else, is baffled by Boris Yeltsin's recent
dismissal of his Cabinet. The cover editorial says Russia is in surprisingly
decent economic shape, but Yeltsin's infirmity could quash reforms and lead to
"crony capitalism" or possibly even communism. ... An editorial slams
India's recent moves toward becoming a nuclear power. Hemmed in by unreliable
neighbors (China and Pakistan), India has not signed the Nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty, and will shortly hold a confidence vote to explore
going nuclear. The move would boost the government's popularity but would
provoke worldwide trade sanctions and heighten regional tensions. ... A
story explains a new theory that algae create wind. Algae on the surface of the
ocean emit gases that heat the air. The pressure change stirs up wind, which
lifts the algae off the water and up into the clouds. The algae then travel in
the clouds and are redistributed by rain.
New
Republic , April 13
(posted
Friday, March 27)
A story
warns of the flood of Monica merchandise about to hit stores. Scandal-related
T-shirts, wigs, berets, dolls, and sex toys are all part of what novelty
sellers hope will be an $80 million payday. A pro-Clinton group called
Patriotic Profits hopes to block the exploitation. ... The "TRB" column
says blacks score poorly on standardized tests because they don't take
test-prep courses. A prep course, which typically costs $900, can boost LSAT
scores 7 points on a 60-point scale. ... An article argues that,
Buchananites to the contrary, the United States is not a nativist, xenophobic
country. Americans generally support immigration, and our laws still welcome
law-abiding, self-supporting aliens.
New
York Times Magazine , March 29
(posted
Thursday, March 26)
The cover
story argues that Kofi Annan's success in Iraq marks his arrival as the first
important U.N. Secretary-General since Dag Hammarskjöld. Annan was chosen
partly because the United States thought he would be "more secretary than
general," but he has proved to be a wily negotiator, restrained and persuasive.
He now must convince the United States to accept a powerful United Nations--and
to pay the $1 billion it owes the organization. (For
Slate
's take
on Annan, see David Plotz's "Assessment.")
... A story follows Mary Bono's bid to assume her late husband Sonny's
seat in Congress. Widowhood wins votes: Between 1916 and 1993, "84 percent of
first-time female candidates for the House who were running to succeed their
dead husbands won their races." Only 14 percent of other first-time female
candidates won. Bono leads all opponents despite lacking any political
experience. On her side: Her main opponent is best known for having played Pa
on The Waltons .
Time and Newsweek , March 30
(posted
Tuesday, March 24)
The magazines split over
Kathleen Willey. Time 's revelations: 1) Willey friend Julie Steele says Willey
asked Steele to lie to Newsweek (Willey asked Steele to confirm Willey's
claim that the president groped her). 2) In 1995, Willey took revenge on a
lover named Shaun Docking by faking a pregnancy and miscarriage and asking
Steele to lie about it. 3) Democratic donor Nathan Landow, accused of trying to silence Willey's
testimony against Clinton, may in fact have been the target of Willey's
romantic advances--"an easy mark for a calculating gold digger."
Newsweek 's story grants that some flaws have been exposed in Willey's
character but asserts that her story regarding her encounter with Clinton (as
told to Newsweek last July) has remained unchanged. Both magazines print
Willey's letters to Clinton, post-incident, in which she lobbies for a job.
Newsweek goes U.S.
News , with a "news you can use" education cover package. It claims parents
are hiring tutors to supplement their children's public-school educations. Why?
To counteract mushy curricula (whole math, multiculturalism) and keep pace on
the highly competitive college track. Newsweek (more U.S. News
plagiarism) also ranks the country's top 100 public high schools.
Time 's cover story, pegged to Clinton's Africa tour, says the continent
is not the economic basket case it used to be: A number of countries (Uganda,
Ghana, Eritrea, Mali) are embracing free market capitalism and thriving.
... Also, Time visits Nike factories in China and Vietnam and rejects
claims that the company exploits workers. The plants are "modern, clean, well
lighted and ventilated, and paying decent wages by local standards." However,
workers still have no voice at the plants and "fear reprisal from
bosses."
U.S.
News & World Report , March 30
(posted
Tuesday, March 24)
Like
Newsweek , U.S. News goes with a kid cover story. U.S. News
calculates the cost of raising a child from birth to age 22: more
than $1.45 million. Most of that is lost parental wages, but the average
middle-class 15-year-old costs $1,920 per year to feed. Nachos aren't
cheap.
The
New Yorker , March 30
(posted
Tuesday, March 24)
An
article applauds the growing automation of medicine: Computers using
statistical evidence make more accurate diagnoses than doctors, who are misled
by irrelevant "human" factors. Some doctors have responded by becoming more
like computers: One Canadian hospital does nothing but hernia operations, and
its automaton-like doctors have become the world's best hernia surgeons.
... An essay claims, regretfully, that we lose our taste for new music,
food, and fashion by age 35. It's possible to have big, new ideas after that
age, but usually you have to change disciplines to do so. ... The lead
article in the large fashion package is a profile of "fabulous monster" Leigh
Bowery, a profoundly weird, masochistic clothing designer/performance artist.
Bowery wore scab makeup and pubic wigs, dribbled glue over his skull, slept
with a tea cozy on his head, and vomited and shat on his audiences. The London
fashion world adored him, of course. (He was also Lucian Freud's chief
model.)
Weekly Standard , March 30
(posted
Tuesday, March 24)
Dick
Morris predicts a Republican landslide in the 1998 elections but a Gore victory
in 2000 (because voters want a split government). The scandals, plus the
traditional off-year swing against the president's party, will drive voters
toward clean-cut Republican candidates. ... The Standard runs a
damaging still taken from an ABC News videotape: The prez is gripping the thigh
of the flight attendant seated next to him on a 1992 campaign flight. In the
next frame (not shown), the attendant allegedly pushes away Clinton's hand.
The
Nation , April 6
(posted
Tuesday, March 24)
The cover
story defends Ron Carey, ex-Teamsters president, claiming Carey was unfairly
booted from the union without due process. While aides may be guilty of
laundering campaign money, much evidence suggests that Carey was unaware of
their transgressions. ... An essay calls for liberals to stop bashing
organized religion. There needs to be a "Christian Left" that recognizes the
strong faith much of America holds. ... A "manifesto" proclaims the
beginning of "Technorealism." The platform: strong ambivalence toward
technology, shunning of both technophobia and technophilia. For
Slate
's take on the movement, see Michael Kinsley's "Readme" from March
21.
--Seth
Stevenson
