The
Chicago Bulls won their sixth National Basketball Association championship in
eight years. Michael Jordan nailed the game-winning jump shot with five
seconds left, cementing his legacy as the greatest clutch performer of all
time. Sports pundits gave the Bulls a few seconds to celebrate before
bombarding them with questions about whether Jordan, sidekick Scottie Pippen,
and coach Phil Jackson will return to the Bulls or disband the dynasty. Jordan
worshippers debated whether he should retire on this perfect note or return in
pursuit of even greater perfection. Cynics advised him to retire before the
impending salary-cap war between players and team owners brings the NBA to a
grinding halt. (6/15/98)
Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr confirmed he and his aides had briefed
reporters on a not-for-attribution basis on the Monica Lewinsky case.
Brill's Content , a new media magazine, broke the story. Publisher Steven
Brill says the briefings violated Justice Department ethical guidelines because
some of the information came from witnesses who were about to give the same
testimony to the grand jury. Starr rejects this interpretation of the
guidelines and says he is authorized to brief reporters whenever necessary to
"counter misinformation" and "engender confidence in the work of this office."
President Clinton's aides are demanding an investigation of Starr's conduct.
(6/15/98)
Sunbeam CEO Al "Chainsaw" Dunlap , who earned his reputation and wealth
by firing employees because they weren't helping the company's bottom line, was
fired because he wasn't helping the company's bottom line. "A taste of his own
medicine," clucked the Wall Street Journal . (Click here for David
Plotz's "Assessment" of Dunlap and here for James
Surowiecki's analysis of how Dunlap darkened Sunbeam's future.)
(6/15/98)
NATO
is planning military exercises in Albania and Macedonia to deter further
Serbian aggression against Kosovo . Background: Yugoslav President (read:
Serbian strongman) Slobodan Milosevic has launched a military assault on ethnic
Albanian rebels who seek Kosovar (read: ethnic Albanian) independence from
Yugoslavia. Lots of people have been killed or left homeless. NATO ministers
say the exercises are designed to 1) scare Milosevic and 2) allow NATO to avoid
actual military involvement. Skeptics argue that this is a contradiction. The
United States doesn't want to undertake a military commitment in Kosovo because
this is a U.S. election year. (
Slate
's "Gist" gives you a
backgrounder on the conflict, and Laura Kay Rozen is filing "Dispatches" from Kosovo.) (6/12/98)
Mitsubishi agreed to settle a sexual harassment suit for $34 million ,
triple the previous record for such a suit. The case involved 300 women at an
Illinois auto plant. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which
negotiated the settlement, says it will scare other companies into enforcing
zero-tolerance policies on sexual harassment. Skeptics argued that Mitsubishi
got off easy. (6/12/98)
Local
and federal prosecutors are looking for grounds to execute the three whites
charged with the vicious murder of a disabled black man in Texas. The
men, who have been linked to the KKK and the Aryan Brotherhood, allegedly
chained James Byrd Jr. to a pickup truck and dragged him two miles, tearing him
to pieces. The district attorney wants to justify the death penalty by adding
an additional felony charge, such as kidnapping. The FBI wants to charge the
men with violating Byrd's civil rights. The Texas spin: Who'da thunk it could
happen here? The out-of-state spin: Texas is in denial about its racism. The
high-minded spin: The whole country is in denial. The anti-media spin: Why do
we treat school shootings as a national epidemic but dismiss racial killings as
isolated incidents? (6/11/98)
The
Supreme Court heard arguments on whether the attorney-client privilege
continues after the client is dead. (
Slate
's "Explainer" ponders the
question.) Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr asked the court to strip this
privilege from Vince Foster, the late deputy White House counsel, so Starr can
see notes that Foster's attorney took from a conversation with Foster days
before the latter's death. Starr thinks the notes may indicate that Hillary
Clinton or others lied under oath about Travelgate. He argues that the
privilege has already been curbed in some cases. Liberal editorialists replied
that a victory for Starr would unacceptably deter other clients from speaking
honestly to their lawyers, and they predicted the court will see it their way.
(6/11/98)
Internet reporter Matt Drudge is charming his way into the punditocracy.
Previously vilified for inaccuracy and recklessness, Drudge is drawing
favorable reviews this week following a recent speech at the National Press
Club. To learn how Drudge is rehabilitating his image, click .
(6/10/98)
The
Federal Trade Commission sued Intel for alleged antitrust violations. It
says Intel denied three companies information about its chips (which they
needed in order to develop products for the 80 percent of computers that are
based on Intel chips), thereby forcing them to accept Intel's terms for use of
their patented technologies. Intel agrees that this happened, but says it isn't
against law. Skeptics say that 1) the case against Intel is far weaker than the
case against Microsoft, because the allegedly victimized companies are Intel's
customers more than its competitors, and 2) the government's picture of Intel
as a fierce monopoly is outdated, since its market share is under assault. As
though on cue, Intel cut its prices. (6/9/98)
Nigerian dictator Gen.
Sani Abacha died , reportedly of a heart attack. Almost nobody is sorry.
Experts debated whether he would be remembered more for his brutal tyranny or
for his corruption and plunder of the economy. Western countries and Nigerian
opposition leaders implored the military to use Abacha's death as an
opportunity to restore civilian democracy. Instead, the military immediately
named Abacha's top defense aide, a fellow general, to succeed him. The good
news: The country might be angry enough to rise up against the military. The
bad news: Lots of people might be killed in the process. (Read "International
Papers" for media reactions from Nigeria.) (6/9/98)
