Economist, May 1

The cover story predicts that the disappearance of privacy will bring about "one of the greatest social changes of modern times." Technology is destroying privacy that we took for granted 20 years ago, but the corresponding benefits--better government services, cheaper products, less crime--may outweigh that loss. ... An editorial sighs that Milosevic's firing of his most liberal aide bodes poorly for a compromise in the Kosovo war. ... The magazine slams the recent spate of millenially inspired "best" books lists and recommends Slate's very own silliest books list instead.

New Republic, May 17

The cover story describes the Palestinians' shriveling economy and corrupt political system. Palestinians now level their anger at their own rotten leadership as well as at Israel. (Intifada-era graffiti has been painted over with phrases such as "Confront corruption and patronage!") Some right-wing Islamic factions aspire to replace the current government with a theocracy similar to the Sudan's. ... Holocaust scholar Daniel Jonah Goldhagen asserts that Serbia's crimes are "different from those of Nazi Germany only in scale." He also argues that an allied victory could stimulate a postwar democratic transformation of Yugoslavia similar to that of West Germany after World War II.

New York Times Magazine, May 2

The cover story contends that eliminating affirmative action does not devastate equal opportunity in higher education. Only six of 74 public colleges, universities, and graduate programs in California and Texas suffered losses in minority enrollment following affirmative-action bans. California's Proposition 209 sent minorities "cascading" to less prestigious California universities but caused university heads to adopt more "holistic" admissions criteria--e.g., giving more weight to nonacademic achievements--to bolster minority enrollment. ... A profile condemns the coach-choking (and uncoachable) Latrell Sprewell for crushing the New York Knicks' NBA championship hopes: His nihilism and selfishness have sapped his teammates' will to win. ... A Susan Sontag essay riffs on the Kosovo crisis, concluding that it is a just war to deter "radical evil" and that the allies will fail if they don't oust Milosevic.

Time and Newsweek, May 3

The newsweeklies reconstruct the Littleton massacre and solicit expert opinions on why it happened. Newsweek says that teen-agers kill when pre-existing biological flaws are exacerbated by poor nurturing. Biological warning signs: low heart rates and swollen brain lesions. Other post-massacre advice: Time recommends that high schools provide counseling to "help bullies deal with frustration," and Newsweek writes that kids should vet their peers' comments ("Mrs. Jones gave me a D, and I could just kill her for that.") for homicidal tendencies.

Both magazines print blueprints for a ground war in Kosovo. Time inventories the troops, time, casualties, and money necessary to carry out four different plans, from limited force (10,000 troops, 2-3 weeks of prep time, 500 dead, and $5 billion) to full-on occupation of Yugoslavia (200,000 troops, 4-6 months of prep time, 5,000-10,000 dead, and $25 billion). A retired Army officer tellsNewsweek that NATO could retake Kosovo in a brief ground attack (100,000 troops, 2-3 months of prep, and 10,000-30,000 Serb casualties).

Newsweek reports that black athletes are shunning white agents for black ones. Among the black agents courting rookies are Puffy Combs, Master P, and Johnnie Cochran.

U.S. News & World Report, May 3

The cover story details the disturbing behavior of the Littleton killers before last week's massacre. Every kid at school knew about the Trenchcoat Mafia, but Columbine adults were unaware of its existence. A sidebar stresses the dangers of bullying, which causes 8 percent of school kids to miss "a day of class monthly" and 43 percent to fear using school bathrooms. ... A writer goes inside the Air Force surveillance planes currently searching Kosovo for Serbian tanks. Despite the planes' detection techniques, sometimes "you don't know if it's some civilian driving to the grocery store, or a military vehicle," says an intelligence officer. ... A piece calls Frank Lloyd Wright an awful engineer. His masterpiece, Fallingwater, has been girded by steel scaffolding to prevent it from crumbling.

Weekly Standard, May 3

An editorial warns that the president may lose both the war in Kosovo and his strong popular support if he continues to dither over the use of ground troops. ... Another editorial defends the "incrementalist" positions that George W. Bush and Elizabeth Dole have taken on abortion. Their hesitantly pro-life platforms are useful token gestures "of occasional conformity with the governing [pro-choice] orthodoxy." (For Slate Editor Michael Kinsley's take on this topic, see the April 17 "Readme.")