The
National Education Association voted not to merge with the American
Federation of Teachers. NEA delegates who opposed the merger welcomed the vote
as a reaffirmation of the NEA's dignified professionalism. Conservatives
welcomed it as a reaffirmation of the feud between the NEA and the AFT, which
cripples both unions' resistance to school privatization. (7/6/98)
Catholic-Protestant strife flared again in Northern Ireland. British
troops blocked the Orangemen, a Protestant fraternal order, from marching
through a Catholic neighborhood. The Orangemen threatened to call a general
strike, and authorities agreed to let them stage another march in Belfast next
week. Protestants called the British blockade a violation of their right to
march. Catholics called the march a violation of their right not to be marched
on. Outsiders called the confrontation a test of the Northern Ireland Peace
Accord. (
Slate
's "International
Papers" samples local coverage of the brouhaha.) (7/6/98)
Sports
news: 1) Pete Sampras won his fifth Wimbledon title. This ties Bjorn
Borg's record for Wimbledon championships and brings Sampras within one victory
of tying the record for men's Grand Slam championships. 2) Jana Novotna
won the women's championship, overcoming her history of choking in the finals.
3) Brazil, Holland, France, and Croatia reached the World Cup semifinals.
Brazil is the favorite. Croatia is the soccer tournament's Cinderella, becoming
the first country in 30 years to reach the semifinals in its first World Cup.
(7/6/98)
President Clinton said on Chinese television that China's government
should continue to pursue "openness and freedom" but that the United States
should not simply "tell other people what to do." Analysts noted that this
equivocation echoed earlier remarks at Clinton's televised joint press
conference with Chinese President Jiang Zemin, in which Clinton said of the
Tiananmen Square massacre, "I believe, and the American people believe, that
the use of force and the tragic loss of life was wrong." ( For a roundup of
spins on the China trip, click .
Slate
also surfs through
China. Click here. Also see International Papers for reactions from around the
globe.) (7/2/98)
A
federal judge threw out Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr's tax evasion case
against Webster Hubbell . Judge James Robertson ruled that 1) prosecutors
unconstitutionally forced Hubbell to incriminate himself (by using documents
they got from him under a grant of immunity) and 2) Starr exceeded his
authority by going "six degrees of relationship" beyond the Whitewater S &
L case to nail Hubbell on the far more recent tax charge. White House aides
drew attention to Robertson's description of the prosecutors' tactics as
"scary" and a "fishing expedition." The anti-Starr spins: This confirms Starr's
public image as a reckless zealot and removes the leverage he had hoped to use
to make Hubbell rat on Clinton. The pro-Starr spins: This ruling doesn't void
the Lewinsky investigation and, anyway, Starr will get it overturned on appeal.
(7/2/98)
The
Kosovo crisis is worsening . Serb forces have recaptured a region of the
province (which they officially control, though its population is 90-percent
Albanian) in heavy fighting with the ethnic-Albanian Kosovo Liberation Army.
The old spin, articulated by Bob Dole in the Los Angeles Times : Serb
strongman Slobodan Milosevic is up to his old brutality and, if another Bosnia
is to be averted, NATO must quickly impose a no-fly zone and threaten
airstrikes. The new spin, explained by the Washington Post : The United
States is becoming less concerned about Milosevic and more concerned about the
KLA, which is proving stronger and more dangerous than expected, particularly
since it seems to be taking an ethnic nationalist interest in the Albanian
populations of adjacent provinces and countries. (In
Slate
: Laura
Kay Rozen's "Dispatches" from the scene, an "Assessment" of
Milosevic, and a "Gist" on Kosovo.) (7/1/98)
Alabama Gov. Fob James Jr. won a Republican gubernatorial runoff over
businessman Winton Blount III. Christian conservatives called it a mandate for
the Christian conservatism James has championed. The national media consoled
themselves by arguing that 1) turnout was low, except among Christian
conservatives; 2) James made a last-minute racial appeal by airing an ad that
paired Blount with black Birmingham Mayor Richard Arrington; 3) the primary
exposed and exacerbated the national Republican feud between social and
economic conservatives; and 4) the Democratic gubernatorial nominee will
capitalize on this in November. (7/1/98)
Israeli
President Ezer Weizman blamed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
for blocking the peace process and urged him to call early elections. "Bibi
lives in a state of euphoria, in his own world, cut off from reality," said
Weizman. Although Weizman lacks the authority to order early elections, he is
sufficiently popular that his criticism undermines Netanyahu's public support.
A new poll shows Israelis favoring early elections 50-to-39 percent. Netanyahu
accused Weizman of siding "with the left" and "strengthening" the Arabs.
Netanyahu's allies demanded Weizman's resignation. Eventually the two leaders
met and agreed to keep their criticisms private. (7/1/98)
Jim Fallows
announced he is being ousted as editor of U.S. News & World Report .
He will be replaced by National Journal Editor Stephen G. Smith. Fallows
said U.S. News owner Mort Zuckerman wanted him out because they
disagreed on what the magazine should cover, particularly when it came to
"celebrity news" such as the murder of Gianni Versace. Cynics' translation:
Zuckerman is a shallow fool. U.S. News Editorial Director Harry Evans
asserted that he, not Zuckerman, made the decision. "I have not been known
simply to be a lap dog," said Evans. Cynics' translation: Only a lapdog feels
obliged to deny he's a lap dog. Journalists tried to enjoy Zuckerman's
egomaniacal self-destruction but were restrained by contempt for Fallows'
sanctimony. (7/1/98)
