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The eMediaNews Reviews in other magazines Making the World Safe for Intervention (SLATE) By Maureen Cosgrove, Jeremy Derfner, and Amanda Fazzone New Republic, March 12 The cover story argues for construction of a sea-based missile-defense system. The left-wingers who say missile defense is too expensive and won't work are just recycling old anti-Star Wars arguments from the Reagan era. The right-wingers who support the system because it will protect America don't understand foreign policy. The real reason to back missile defense: It can be an offensive weapon that allows U.S. forces to intervene all over the world without fear of missile attacks. ... A piece says that by opposing campaign-finance reform, labor unions are setting themselves up as a scapegoat for pro-business money Democrats, who'd like to see McCain-Feingold killed. Unions don't like several of the bill's minor restrictions, but they would benefit greatly from its ban on soft money, because they raise relatively little of it. Meanwhile, dollar Democrats who quietly want to keep collecting soft money can use the unions as cover for their unpopular positions.-J.D. Washington Monthly, March 2001 A piece argues against lifting the ban on gays in the military. Homosexuals in uniform by and large don't want to come out, because they fear being ostracized by their fellow soldiers. Until the gay community in larger society commits itself to full equality the way blacks did in the '50s and '60s, the article says, "it seems a little unfair (and hypocritical) to force the military to take steps we won't make civilian employers take." ... An article describes the CIA's role in helping to topple the Milosevic regime in Serbia. Instead of the traditional Bondian high-tech high jinks, the agency helped finance a Western style political campaign. The CIA helped the student opposition group, Otpor, with tracking polls, Get Out the Vote efforts, and snappy slogans for T-shirts and bumper stickers. All this proved that in a globalized society, covert action simply doesn't work (if it ever did).-J.D. Economist, March 3 A piece rejoices that the mad cow panic in Europe might finally shake up the common agricultural policy (CAP), which saddles the European Union with expensive farm subsidies. Falling beef prices in the short term and the threat of protracted struggles with mad cow disease in the long term could force the EU, which now pays 46 percent of its budget to farmers, to radically alter its agricultural policy. ... A piece profiles Rolltronics, a California tech company that aims to manufacture computers on thin (a few millimeters) plastic films, which users could roll up like newspaper. ... An article describes an Oxford professor's quest to discover how minks being farmed for their fur view their captivity. Employing microeconomic analysis, she found that minks most value water for swimming and drinking (more than, say, tunnels for digging and soft cages for sleeping), so scrupulous mink farmers can salve their consciences by providing mink mini-pools.-J.D. Harper's, March 2001 The second of a two-part series argues that former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger should be tried for, in addition to war crimes in Indochina as Part 1 asserts, atrocities committed in Chile, Cyprus, Bangladesh, and East Timor. Among the highlights: 1) Kissinger covertly played a part in the 1973 Chilean coup that put Gen. Augusto Pinochet in power; he also sanctioned cross-border terrorism in an "intelligence-sharing arrangement" among Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay. 2) Kissinger, by ignoring warnings of the 1974 Cyprus coup, was a silent accomplice to a Greek junta's plan to assassinate Cyprus President Makarios and the thousands of civilian deaths that accompanied the coup. 3) Kissinger admitted breaking the law in supplying weapons for Indonesian dictator Gen. Suharto's 1975 invasion of East Timor; 200,000 people were killed. 4) Recent changes in national and international law make Kissinger more vulnerable to prosecution for war crimes. -M.C. New York Times Magazine, March 4 The cover package profiles two great, aging pitchers, Roger Clemens and David Cone. The Clemens piece endearingly portrays him as an overgrown kid. He delights in his own achievements, quoting statistics, speculating about his election to the Hall of Fame, and even giving his four sons names that start with "K" (the symbol for strikeout). Clemens works out compulsively to maintain his 100 mph fastball, a power pitch that makes him the most intimidating pitcher in the game even today, as he approaches 40. ... The Cone article wonders if he can come back from an abysmal 4-14 season during which he felt the Yankees, a team he had helped win the World Series, publicly lost faith in him. Now he has signed with the rival Red Sox, and every remembered slight serves as motivation for him to return to form and beat the Yankees in the post-season. ... A piece describes the rebirth of Paula Fox, a once forgotten novelist. Her out-of-print work was republished after novelist Jonathan Franzen wrote an essay about her, and now a young generation of writers idolizes Fox and considers her book Desperate Characters the best domestic novel of the 1960s.-J.D. The New Yorker, March 5 A profile of Bob Kerrey, the Nebraska senator-turned-New School University president, wonders why it seems so easy for him to let go of political power. As a senator, he was famous for his willingness to take unpopular stands and his unwillingness to explain why. Now nobody knows why he took the job at the New School (perhaps to be near his girlfriend, perhaps to run for president), and he isn't telling. ... A piece argues that Americans eat obscenely fatty food because we think it tastes better. Ten years ago scientists developed a hamburger with only 5 percent fat that beat McDonald's in blind-taste tests. But as soon as it was marketed as the McLean, it flopped because people assumed it tasted horrible. The technology to make French fries that taste good but won't kill us exists, but it may never get used.-J.D. The Nation, March 12 The cover story accuses Fox News of being Rupert Murdoch's right-wing mouthpiece. Its anchors, hosts, and even its reporters demonstrate a clear conservative bias, and staffers sense an anti-Democrat political correctness in the newsroom. Its talk shows pit A-list right-wingers against centrists and overmatched second-rate lefties. With President Bush in office, perhaps the left wing can launch its own news network, but it would take a billionaire like Murdoch to finance it. ... A piece argues that Ralph Nader and the Greens could re-energize an ideologically confused Democratic Party. Nader's issues have a natural constituency (labor, blacks, environmentalists), and if the Greens pick off a few Democratic incumbents in 2002, the rest of the party will move to the left out of fear.-J.D. Weekly Standard, March 5 A piece blasts Clinton for blaming the Marc Rich pardon on the Jews. The pardon had no effect whatsoever on the faltering peace process, and it seems that Ehud Barak cared more about getting one for spy Jonathan Pollard. Other countries that benefited from Rich's largesse lobbied for the pardon, but Clinton never mentioned Spain or Romania in his explanations. Clinton also said American Jews supported the pardon, which simply isn't true. ... The cover story claims modern memorial architecture "is ruining America's public spaces." A fear of building classically heroic monuments, such as the Grant and Lincoln memorials, has left us with wishy-washy minimalist pieces. The Vietnam and Oklahoma City memorials, for example, are "grounded in sentimental notions of therapy" and fail to "relate human suffering to a larger sense of life."-J.D. Newsweek and U.S. News & World Report, March 5 Both covers recount the downfall of accused FBI double-agent Robert Hanssen. Newsweek interviews associates of the counterintelligence expert whom the Russians code-named "B" and "Ramon." ... U.S. News quotes former insiders who say the bulk of the FBI affidavit in support of Hanssen's arrest came from a single source. Says one, "There's definitely a body attached to all that paper." A Newsweek article speculates on Microsoft's antitrust appeal in the D.C. circuit. If the case is sent back to the lower court, attorney John Roberts, hired by pro-breakup state attorneys general, could dog Microsoft to the Supreme Court, where he has won 20 of 31 cases. ... A portrait package wonders if Colin Powell is ready to lead U.S. diplomacy, concluding maybe not. Characterizing Powell as an emotionally scarred Vietnam vet whose judgment as chairman of the Joint Chiefs was "unduly swayed" by his allegiance to the Army, recent flip-flops on Saddam policy are cited as cause for second-guessing. A U.S. News piece on the Feb. 16 airstrike against Iraq says it might take a few weeks to figure out why half of the nearly 24 new Joint Standoff Weapons missed their mark. Unlike laser-guided bombs, these new missiles can home in on their target from up to 40 miles away and don't require a pilot to fly close to the target.-A.F. Time, March 5 The cover story honors Dale Earnhardt. NBC News anchor and friend Brian Williams says Earnhardt's mourning, mostly in election map "red states," befuddled New York newsies, "while millions living north of [the Mason-Dixon Line] wondered what the big deal was." ... An article on child slavery in Florida's Haitian immigrant community says private agencies conduct most of the investigations. Florida's newly elected Haitian-American state legislator vowed to put an end to child slavery, which is not uncommon (though illegal) in Haiti. ... An article details the plight of more than 1 million drought-plagued Afghans who may be at risk of starvation. Because the Islamic Taliban government shelters Osama Bin Laden and imposes fundamentalist beliefs on women, few donors have come through with emergency aid and U.N. sanctions continue.-A.F. Last Month News Print Summaries By Jeremy Derfner, Slate.com Esquire, February 2001 A piece profiles Greg Dark, the creepy-looking director who graduated from pornographic movies to Britney Spears videos. He became famous for making the filthiest of filthy adult films and for being able to convince his actors to do the unthinkable. He gets the same docile cooperation out of teenybopper pop stars, but his music videos are G-rated. ... A Jewish author attends a Holocaust revisionist conference and comes away liking the deniers personally. Their obsession derives not from anti-Semitism but from the desire to rehabilitate Germany. Jews hate them more than they hate Jews, and in most countries, the deniers are legally prohibited from expressing their apostate views. New Republic, Feb. 19 A piece about the evolution of Amazon.com says the New Economy, which was supposed to democratize the workplace, has turned out sadly similar to the Old. Amazon started with the idea that all its workers had talent and believed in the company and in their own mobility within it. Now Amazon outsources cheap labor in West Virginia and India, recruits upper management from outside the company, and intimidates employees attempting to unionize. ... An article documents the developing struggle between John McCain and President Bush. Contrary to White House spin, their meeting about campaign-finance reform went poorly, and when McCain pledged himself to the patients' bill of rights, Bush strategist Karl Rove tried to convince other Republican backers of the legislation to withdraw their support. ... A piece says the reason congressional Democrats are floundering is not President Bush's charm offensive but former President Clinton's absence. Democrats have lost the bully pulpit, the security of the veto, and the superior research that the executive branch produces. New York Times Magazine, Feb. 11 The cover story examines post-Giuliani New York. Even the old Dinkins-era liberals now support quality of life initiatives and fiscal austerity, but most New Yorkers dislike Giuliani and hate that he hasn't done more for the 22 percent of them who are poor. The next mayor will try to channel Giuliani's policies but abandon his hard heart. ... A piece describes how Rick Ankiel, the best young pitcher in baseball, suddenly came apart at the seams and set a record for most wild pitches in an inning. Many great athletes fear the expectations that come with success, so they subconsciously fail on purpose. ... A profile explains how economist Richard Thaler has challenged the neoclassicist orthodoxy. By showing that people don't act rationally toward their finances-for instance, they'll mow their own lawn to save $10 but not somebody else's to make $15-he helped found a new field called behaviorism that could alter government policy and market analysis. Time, Feb. 12 The harrowing cover package includes a photo essay and an article about AIDS in Africa, "humanity's deadliest cataclysm." The piece tells the story of five AIDS sufferers, including Laetitia Hambahlane (not her real name), who was fired from her job and ostracized by her mother and children after she was diagnosed in 1996. Now she is forced to live off what she makes selling beer and cigarettes from her room, and passers-by sometimes curse her and beat her. ... An article confirms the pre-inauguration hype about Dick Cheney's major-league role in the administration. He spends two-thirds of his time with the president, and because he doesn't view his job as a steppingstone, he can get into political tangles without worrying about the fallout. ... A piece describes the old-PC crisis. Computers are the fastest-growing category of solid waste in America, and manufacturers have started their own clean-up programs to avoid being regulated (like their counterparts in Europe). But they are off to a slow start because old machines are worth only six bucks in spare parts. Newsweek, Feb. 12 The cover story describes the emerging consensus on drug policy: treat addiction as a disease, not a crime. Many localities have reduced mandatory sentences and introduced mandatory treatment, finding it is both cheaper and more effective. Federal drug policy, however, has not caught up with the new wisdom, and President Bush shows no signs of wanting to reform the system. ... A companion profile of Robert Downey Jr., everybody's favorite addict, says his fame has kept him from recovery. Instead of starring in Ally McBeal, he should be in a no-nonsense residential treatment center. ... A piece describes how President Bush has tied the Democrats in knots. Voters want Dems to act in the interest of bipartisanship while standing up for core principles, but so far Bush has all the good sound bites about cooperation, and his policy proposals are so moderate that many Dems support them. U.S. News & World Report, Feb. 12 The cover story laments the popularity of herbal supplements such as ephedra, Saint Johnswort, and ginseng. An estimated 123.5 million Americans try natural remedies, but only a third tell their doctors. Many supplements include harmful fillers and dangerous doses, and some react poorly with other mainstream medications. The FDA does not regulate them. ... A piece debunks the notion that the economy is headed for a deep recession. Both Bush and Greenspan have been warning about bad times, but the economy is still in decent shape, and most consumers are not yet as panicked as the pundits and the politicians. ... A piece describes a wave of immigration to Fargo, N.D. The Lutheran Immigration Refugee Service has settled 2,500 refugees in North Dakota since 1995, including Vietnamese, Kosovars, and several Lost Boys of Sudan who escaped to Kenya when their parents were taken as slaves in a civil war. The New Yorker, Feb. 12 A piece tells how one man tore the packaged ice industry apart. Because ice cannot be transported very far, the industry historically has been a sprawling, friendly, un-cutthroat one. But Jim Stuart developed a machine that makes and bags ice on store premises, and it shook the ice industry to its foundations. He has since bought up about 200 ice companies and is now four times larger than his biggest competitor. ... An article describes how blushing can ruin your life. Everybody blushes, though scientists still haven't figured out exactly why, but for a few "pathological blushers," turning red is a paralyzing cycle of embarrassment that prevents normal professional and social interactions. Swedish doctors have invented an increasingly popular surgery that stops blushing by severing fibers in the nervous system. National Review, Feb. 19 A piece about liberal economist Paul Krugman calls him "the smartest man ever to have a regular column on the op-ed page of the New York Times" before blasting him for the "latent thuggishness" of his columns. Krugman caricatures his opponents and then pompously dismantles the arguments he says they make (but that they don't actually make). ... A piece defends racial profiling on the grounds that it is more efficient for police to focus on minorities when, for instance, victims report that 60 percent of robberies are committed by blacks. Moreover, government has to "shed the idea that deference to the sensitivities of racial minorities ... trumps every other consideration, including even the maintenance of social order." The Nation, Feb.19 The editorial delights in Democrats' recent disappointment with Alan Greenspan. During the Clinton years, he turned them into fiscal conservatives "promising to do little or nothing of significance while massive surpluses accumulated." Now that he seems to be on board with the Bush tax cut, Democrats are scrambling to develop their own tax-cutting strategy. The piece urges them to stand their ground on a progressive cut. ... The cover story laments the increasing anti-secularism of the left. Many liberal theologians and politicians have bought into the right-wing idea that the rigid separation of church and state is based on anti-religious bigotry. They believed, for instance, that the infamous Piss Christ sculpture was an expression of hatred for religion, when in fact the artist meant to suggest that "bodily fluids are holy."