Economist , May 9
(posted
Saturday, May 9, 1998)
The cover
editorial praises the Daimler-Chrysler merger for ushering in an era of
cross-border car manufacturing. Jingoistic pride thwarted past proposed
international mergers, and led to quotas, tariffs and overcapacity at many auto
plants worldwide. ... A story says scientists may have found the reason
for cystic fibrosis. Inheriting a faulty gene from both parents means getting
this fatal disease. Inheriting the faulty gene from only one parent means no
cystic fibrosis and also means immunity to typhoid. Once, this may have been a
wise genetic trade-off, but typhoid has now disappeared. ... The
obituary mourns Samuel Cummings, "probably the world's biggest private dealer
in small arms." An utterly amoral yet entirely licit businessman, Cummings sold
weapons to Castro, Haiti's Duvaliers, and countless guerillas in Africa, Asia,
and Latin America. Business suffered when, post-Cold War, millions of Soviet
guns hit the open market.
New
Republic , May 25
(posted
Friday, May 8, 1998)
A story
deplores efforts by U.S. corporations to prevent economic sanctions against
rogue nations. A corporate umbrella group named USA*Engage is lobbying fiercely
and successfully against sanctions: In 1996, "23 sanctions were put in place;
in 1997, only two countries ... were sanctioned." This is troubling, because
sanctions are more effective at undermining evil regimes than trading is at
democratizing them. ... A piece welcomes the proposed merger of the
American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association, saying
it would create a unified voice on education. But the NEA may be too defensive
and too politically correct to ally with the bold, reform-minded AFT. Early
indications suggest members will vote down the merger.
New
York Times Magazine , May 10
(posted
Thursday, May 7, 1998)
A couple
of months ago John Travolta and Primary Colors made the rounds of
magazine covers. The political movie puffery continues with Warren Beatty and
Bulworth . The cover story on Beatty, a longtime Democratic activist,
says his new movie is the most radical political statement of his career. In
the film a senator discards politics as usual and starts talking straight,
especially about race. He speaks in rhyme: Beatty says he met with many rappers
before writing the senator's dialogue. ... An article says biologists
are breeding better bees. Farmers rely heavily on honeybees to pollinate crops,
but new, specialized bees are quicker, more effective fertilizers. For
instance, honeybees have adapted to steal alfalfa nectar without taking
pollen--not so leafcutter bees, which pollinate alfalfa like champs.
National Review , May 18
(posted
Thursday, May 7, 1998)
The cover
article urges the GOP and the Christian right to compromise. Religious
conservatives complain that the GOP has ignored their causes. In fact, the
Christian right is politically naive, and its intractability dooms its own
goals. An accompanying piece says Republicans no longer own a monopoly on
pro-lifers. Several pro-life Dems are mounting serious campaigns at the state
level, often against pro-choice Republicans.
People , May 11
(posted
Thursday, May 7, 1998)
People presents the "50 Most Beautiful People in the World," 1998
version. Obvious inclusions: Leonardo DiCaprio, Gwyneth Paltrow, Prince
William, and Cameron Diaz. Surprising inclusions: Tony Blair, Titanic 's
Gloria Stuart. Highbrow cheesecake: Arundhati Roy. Shocking omissions: JFK Jr.
(Wasn't he their "Sexiest Man Alive" for 12 years running? What changed?) and
the Family Research Council's Gary Bauer. An accompanying piece introduces us
to "Real-Life ER Beauties": Julianna Margulies and George Clooney have nothing
on these hot docs, contends the article.
Time and Newsweek , May 11
(posted
Tuesday, May 5, 1998)
Newsweek 's cover
story: how to raise male children. Boys are more enthusiastic and just as
emotional as girls but less able to express themselves. Give them lots of
affection: They need it even though they pretend to hate it. ...
Time 's peculiar cover story follows the sad case of a banker whose
ex-wife abducted their children and is now in hiding. Grass-roots networks
designed to protect women in abusive marriages can sometimes keep innocent
fathers from their kids.
Newsweek wonders how
health insurance will cover Viagra. Most health insurance covers "quality of
life" afflictions such as arthritis, but how much sex is required for a decent
quality of life? (We refrain from making a joke about this, the only
publication in America to do so.) ... Following the lead of many
newspapers, Newsweek excerpts the Unabomber's diary. Standard grim
quote: Ted Kaczynski writes of a fatal bomb, "Excellent. Humane way to
eliminate somebody."
A week after U.S.
News , Time examines the growing influence of Christian conservative
James Dobson. The Christian right's latest coup: blocking the nomination of an
openly gay man to be ambassador of Luxembourg. ... A story says the Chinese government is surprisingly tolerant
of the Internet's expansion in China. While the government blocks many sites
(notably cnn.com), most citizens find ways around barriers, and the government
encourages the Net as a means of increasing commerce.
Both
magazines preview the big summer movies. Much hyped: Godzilla , The
Truman Show , Armageddon , Saving Private Ryan .
U.S.
News & World Report , May 11
(posted
Tuesday, May 5, 1998)
The
cover story on the "next pope" profiles leading candidates.
Insiders bet the new pope will share John Paul II's conservative traditionalism
and be "a noncontroversial figure, in his mid-60s, who is multilingual, has
curial experience, and is archbishop in a nation that is not a major power."
... "News You Can Use" finds the safest
airplane seat. Not in the back--turbulence is worse there; not in the
front--in a nosedive, you go first; not by a window--you'll have to climb over
neighbors in a crash; and not on the aisle--heavy luggage can fall from
overhead bins and injure you. Oh, and definitely buckle your seat belt.
The
New Yorker , May 11
(posted
Tuesday, May 5, 1998)
"The
Shadow Epidemic" charts the alarming rise of hepatitis-C, a disease that
infects four times as many Americans as HIV, kills 10,000 a year, and is
largely untreatable. There are no early symptoms, and many hepatitis-C victims
aren't aware they have the disease until their liver is nearly destroyed. Sex
and shared needles easily transmit the disease, and anyone who received a blood
transfusion before 1992 is at serious risk. ... A piece says the United
Nations knew that Rwandan Hutus were preparing to slaughter Tutsis three months
before the 1994 massacre. The U.N. force in Rwanda could have taken simple
steps to prevent killing, but U.N. higher-ups declined to act.
Secretary-General Kofi Annan, then head of U.N. peacekeeping, probably was one
of those higher-ups. ... A profile of Hollywood mogul Edgar Bronfman Jr.
says he is being fleeced by his entertainment-industry business partners. His
studio, Universal, is struggling largely because Bronfman has cut foolish deals
with Barry Diller, DreamWorks, and lots of producers. The genial Bronfman has
also hired too many nice guys to work for him. (See
Slate
's
"Assessment" of Bronfman and his father.)
The
Nation , May 18
(posted
Tuesday, May 5, 1998)
The cover
story profiles Minnesota Sen. Paul Wellstone, a possible contender for the 2000
Democratic presidential nomination. Wellstone boasts old-time liberal populist
values but lacks the ego and charisma to win votes. Possible mission: Win a big
enough coalition to drive the party to the left. ... A story slams
Proposition 226, a California initiative that would "compel unions to obtain
the permission of members annually before using their dues for political
activity." The bill would crush unions' political strength, since thorny
logistics make it costly and difficult to get permission on a yearly basis.
Backers of the bill: Richard Mellon Scaife, Grover Norquist, and anti-union
companies.
Weekly Standard , May 11
(posted
Tuesday, May 5, 1998)
The cover
essay defends Israel as the last hope for Judaism (and a fragile hope at that).
Outside Israel, intermarriage and assimilation are quickly eroding Jewish
communities. Inside Israel, Jews are alarmingly vulnerable to violent attacks
from neighbors. Israel's fall would relegate Jews to curious
obscurity--somewhat like the Amish.
--Seth
Stevenson
