China
exiled dissident Wang Dan to the United States. He had been in prison on
and off for "subversion" after he helped lead the democracy movement that
culminated in the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre. The official reason for his
exile is health problems. The real reason is to ease the way for Clinton's June
visit to Beijing. U.S. officials are touting his expulsion as a triumph of
constructive engagement. Critics reply that 1) he will be less of a nuisance to
the Chinese government as an exile than as a prisoner; 2) in exchange for his
expulsion and other concessions, the United States recently stopped sponsoring
the U.N. resolution condemning China's human rights policies; and 3) the United
States will further repay China by refusing to air Wang and other dissidents on
U.S. government international broadcasts. ("International Papers" gives you the Asian spin.) (4/20)
Octavio Paz, Terry Sanford, and Linda McCartney died. Back-page scribes
remembered Paz as Mexico's most culturally influential writer and recalled
Sanford's pioneering leadership for civil rights as governor of North Carolina
in the early 1960s. Meanwhile, television fawned over McCartney, brushing aside
the "modesty" of her musical skills and marveling at her heroic struggle
against breast cancer. The principal feel-good theme was the stability of her
29-year marriage to Paul McCartney, an exemplary contrast to the promiscuity
and serial marriages of other celebrities. (4/20)
President Clinton joined other Western hemisphere leaders in Chile for the
Summit of the Americas . (An earlier installment of "International
Papers" recaps regional coverage of preparations for Clinton's visit.) The
big story was an agreement to begin talks on a hemispheric free trade zone. The
countries also announced an alliance against drug cartels and a collective
drug-fighting-certification process. American conservatives condemned this as
an assault on U.S. control of certification. Cynics viewed Clinton's emphasis
on partnership rather than U.S. dominance as a symptom of his lingering
humiliation from Congress' refusal to give him fast-track trade negotiating
authority. Optimists spun the same behavior as more friendly, respectful, and
effective. (4/20)
The
Teletubbies are coming . The colorful British toy characters, designed to
appeal to 1- and 2-year-olds, speak in baby talk, smile, hug, and roll on the
ground. PBS is airing their TV show and will earn a percentage of profits from
sales of their merchandise. Critics protest the Teletubbies are corrupting PBS,
addicting children to the idiot box, and robbing kids of what's left of their
pre-consumer innocence. An Associated Press reviewer gagged at the prospect of
"the In Utero Channel." PBS defenders countered that toddlers are already
addicted to televised toy characters (e.g., Winnie-the-Pooh, who was the
subject of a
Slate
"Assessment") and
that if they can't watch the Teletubbies, they'll rot their brains watching
soaps. (4/20)
Former
Cambodian dictator Pol Pot died . According to his wife and Cambodian
captors, he died of heart failure in his sleep. Skeptics noted the convenient
timing of the report--the Cambodian army was closing in on him and the United
States was building international support for a war crimes trial--but
journalists saw the corpse, confirmed his death, and broadcast video of him to
prove it. Everyone agreed he was one of history's worst butchers, having killed
between one-fourth and one-seventh of Cambodia's population. The spins on his
death: 1) It cheated Cambodians of an explanation of his atrocities. 2) It
cheated justice. 3) It prevented him from testifying against his ex-lieutenants
who remain at large--which is why they may have orchestrated his death.
President Clinton has promised further efforts to bring them to trial. 4) Some
of these ex-lieutenants serve current dictator Hun Sen, on whom the world must
maintain pressure to restore democracy and human rights. (Last year, David
Plotz wrote this
appreciation of the much-misunderstood tyrant.) (4/17)
Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr launched a PR counterattack on the
White House. First, he renounced his job offer from Pepperdine University,
saying it would be wrong to make Pepperdine wait for him to finish his
investigation. Pundits theorized Starr's true motive was to distance himself
from right-wing Clinton conspiracy theorist Richard Mellon Scaife, a major
donor to Pepperdine who is accused of funneling money to Clinton Whitewater
accuser David Hale. Second, Starr suggested the Justice Department could not
credibly investigate the Hale allegations because of two conflicts of interest:
the threat posed by Hale to Clinton, and DOJ's efforts to prevent Secret
Service officials from giving testimony sought by Starr. Third, Starr blamed
the slow pace of his investigation on Clinton's invocation of executive
privilege. The White House spin: Starr's withdrawal from Pepperdine is a
confession of a conflict of interest. The short-term spin: Clinton's surrogates
have succeeded in focusing media attention on Scaife. The long-term spin: Starr
is finally getting the hang of the PR game. (4/17)
Paula Jones will appeal the dismissal of her suit against President
Clinton. Nobody was surprised. Jones said she was initially reluctant to appeal
because it would put "stress on my family" but that she decided to go ahead for
the sake of women everywhere. The media's spins on her press conference: 1) She
cried. 2) She appeared to be coached and directed by her friend/Svengali Susan
Carpenter-McMillan. 3) Carpenter-McMillan seems to have been demoted for being
a loose cannon. The legal consensus: The appeal is doomed. The political
consensus: The public has stopped paying attention, and the media will follow
suit, because the appeal is confined to matters of law rather than salacious
subpoenas and depositions. (4/17)
Republicans are hammering Vice President Gore for having donated only $353 to
charity last year. His income was $197,729. The Republican National Committee
called him "Scrooge" and peddled the story to radio talk show hosts, who dubbed
him "Cheap Al ." Gore aides pleaded that he has given $85,000 to charity
over five years, and they accused the GOP of trying to "slash money for
education, health care, and the environment." The backspin: Gore's rivals and
critics, such as Bill Bennett, Newt Gingrich, and House Minority Leader Dick
Gephardt, won't even divulge their charitable donations, as Gore has done.
Commentators who deemed Gore innocent of parsimony faulted him anyway for
permitting the appearance of parsimony. (
Slate
's "News Quiz"
asked participants what $353 referred to: Click here to read their
speculations.) (4/17)
Virginia executed Paraguayan citizen Angel Francisco Breard for the
murder (during an attempted rape) of an American woman. The International Court
of Justice had asked Virginia to postpone the execution, saying police had
violated the Vienna Convention by failing to inform Breard of his right to be
helped by Paraguayan consular officials. The U.S. Justice Department,
Republican Gov. Jim Gilmore, and the U.S. Supreme Court rejected these
entreaties, saying, variously, that 1) Breard had failed to protest in state
courts; 2) access to a consular official would probably not have changed his
insistence on pleading innocence (against his lawyers' advice); 3) the murder
was especially vicious; 4) the case (complete with DNA tests and the
defendant's confession) was open-and-shut; and 5) an apology to Paraguay would
suffice. U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and other internationalists
protested the execution would embolden other countries to deprive U.S. citizens
overseas of the same rights. (4/15)
Miscellany: Colin Powell died in a car crash. He was 50. Obituaries recalled
his career as a hard rock drummer (he was better known as "Cozy") and did not
mention the retired U.S. general who bears the same name. ... Economist
Robert Barro decided to stay at Harvard rather than take Columbia's
offer of a $300,000 salary and lavish perks. Columbia is humiliated. Observers
searched in vain for an economically rational explanation for Barro's change of
heart. (
Slate
's Paul Krugman explains why universities
are throwing money at economists.) ... Clinton budget director
Franklin Raines resigned to become chairman of Fannie Mae, the giant,
government-chartered home mortgage lender. (4/15)
The
Pulitzer Prizes were announced. "Times Wins 2 Pulitzers for Spot News,
Photos," declared the front page of the Los Angeles Times . "Katharine
Graham, Philip Roth Win Pulitzers," declared the front page of the
Washington Post , praising the recognition of its former publisher's
autobiography. The New York Times highlighted three prizes won by the
New York Times . Eventually, all three papers got around to acknowledging
that the Grand Forks Herald had won the top prize for its coverage of
last year's North Dakota floods and fires. (4/15)
Some famished North
Koreans are eating their children , according to refugees and aid workers.
One account says a woman ate her 2-year-old child. Another says an orphan was
killed, salted, and eaten. There have been other tales of cannibalism in North
Korea, none of them confirmed. Cynics suggested the government allows such
tales to be disseminated in order to attract sympathy and foreign aid.
(4/15)
