New York Times Magazine, Aug. 8
An essay argues that the human rights movement is in trouble, despite its triumph in Kosovo. Some of the movement’s frailty stems from the failure to tame China and from general compassion fatigue, but the biggest weakness is that activists make no effort to generate popular support for human rights causes. This elitism could backfire against the movement, just as affirmative action’s elitism undermined it. (The author is David Rieff, whose human rights views were recently dissected in this Slate ” Assessment.”) … An article examines J.D. Power, the consumer research firm that uses public opinion polls to rate products. J.D. Power’s populist method challenges the more established Consumers Union, which pays experts to rate products. (The article is by Slate’s Chatterbox, Timothy Noah.) … The author of the cover story, a former child prodigy, describes his return to piano-playing after a decadelong hiatus. He makes the finals of a prestigious amateur competition. … A piece notes a bizarre Internet phenomenon. Players in the online role-playing game Ultima now auction their virtual gold pieces for real cash on eBay. The exchange rate is about 1,000 to the dollar, making imaginary gold pieces worth twice as much as the Italian lira.
Talk, Premiere issue
On the back page, Editor Tina Brown writes that her sprawling new magazine will end the ” ‘disconnect’ between literary and domestic culture.” … An interview with Hillary Clinton suggests, among other things, that she is responsible for the recent economic boom in Ireland, that her husband is a sex addict, and that running for the Senate will save her marriage. … Former UNSCOM head Richard Butler blames Kofi Annan for the collapse of weapons-inspection efforts in Iraq. Annan failed to understand the most basic inspection rules and permitted the Iraqis to introduce gaping loopholes in the process. … A safari guide narrates how he and his tourist charges were kidnapped by machete-wielding Hutu rebels in Uganda. Only half the captives survived. … The magazine includes many lists: “The Hip List” (snow cones, blimps, scabby knees), an index of the “50 Best Talkers in America” (Alec Baldwin, Arianna Huffington, Harold Bloom), and a reading list (Bob Woodward’s Shadow, pocket-sized guides to European design).
Time and Newsweek, Aug. 9
Newsweek’s cover story notes the resurgence of cosmetic surgery, especially among younger patients. New surgeries are safer, less invasive, and more varied. Still, the anecdotes are cringe-worthy: the 31-year-old man who brags about his pectoral and butt implants, the 24-year-old waitress who took a loan from a “cosmetic loan company” (!) for laser resurfacing.
Time’s cover story reconstructs the Atlanta massacre and blames it largely on America’s gun culture. A related essay contending that Americans have run out of tolerance for the “barbaric era” of guns predicts that we could be “rid of the damned things” in five or 10 years. (The essay seems to ignore the previous story, which notes that 39 percent of American households own a gun.) …Newsweek’s Atlanta package focuses more on the day trading angle, noting that 90 percent of day traders lose money.
Newsweek says that rising house prices nationwide have benefited more families than rising stock prices. Homeowners have $1.2 trillion in unrealized gains tied up in their houses. Loan companies are permitting buyers to borrow more than ever before–5 percent down payments are common–so many overextended buyers could be devastated when the economy slows down.
Time tours the loopy, genial world of Art Bell, who draws 9 million listeners weekly to his late-night, UFO-conspiracy, Martian-happy radio broadcast. Even if it’s all a crock, it’s “great radio.”
U.S. News & World Report, Aug. 9
The cover story attributes teen-agers’ mercurial behavior to underdeveloped brains. Pubescent brains are flooded with aggression-inducing sex hormones and aren’t sophisticated enough to refer to past experience when making judgments. … Microsoft is reaching out to computer novices, says a piece. To keep growing, it will have to win over new users who may be tempted by easier-to-use hand-held devices and specialized e-mail and Internet machines. Microsoft is monitoring selected families for weeks to learn their hardware habits.
The New Yorker, Aug. 9
A piece describes how women in their 20s “donate” eggs to infertile couples for thousands of dollars. The sellers are currently solicited through advertisements (“Pay your tuition with eggs”) but will soon be able to offer their services on a specialized Internet auction site. Hopeful parents often seek out donors who are athletic, Ivy League-educated, animal-loving, or acne-free. … A report from Iowa repeats the conventional wisdom that the Ames straw poll is a sham. The minor candidates are spending vast amounts of time and energy vying for second place, but the poll is irrelevant to the actual nomination process.
Weekly Standard, Aug. 9
The cover piece makes fun of the Reform Party convention, whose attendees included a woman who framed the crumbs of a piece of cake Ross Perot ate in 1992 and a presidential candidate who claims he controlled exactly what President George Bush said by sending faxes to a Secret Service agent. Conclusion: Party members are so obsessed by process they will never get anything done. See the New Republic below for more. … A piece urges the United States to recognize Taiwan as a sovereign state. China won’t dare go to war over Taiwan, and America’s firm stance will cow Beijing, which caves at any show of U.S. strength.
New Republic, Aug. 16
The cover story sneers at conservative doves. Neo-Isolationists oppose interventions abroad because they despise Bill Clinton and believe that American culture is debased. Just as left-wingers did during Vietnam, they argue that “coercive diplomacy” is wrong because the nation is morally unfit to impose its will on other countries. … A piece counsels against discounting “compassionate conservatism.” George W. Bush’s campaign theme represents a vision of government that balances compassion against self-interest, just as Bill Clinton evoked individual responsibility as a counterweight to government benevolence in 1992. … A dispatch reports that the Reform Party has turned into an umbrella organization for fruitcakes. Activists grasp for another flamboyant mogul–Donald Trump, perhaps–to replace Ross Perot, while a bunch of delusional nuts promote their own candidacies for the party’s presidential nomination.
Economist, July 31
The cover editorial supports multilateral interventions to halt belligerency. Violence in Kosovo, Kashmir, and Congo was quelled by outside interference. The world is morally obliged to intervene and prevent atrocities, even if this intervention does not resolve the underlying conflict.
