New York, Jan. 16 The magazine profiles Craig Newmark, the founder of Craigslist, the free Internet bulletin board that some predict will cause newspapers to go the way of the eight-track by cutting into their classified revenues. The article reveals a man who admits to having “difficulties communicating with most people,” and being a “bit of an asshole,” yet who has created an online community where you can find an apartment, a roommate, your true love, and even someone to, “Do my laundry, get a blowjob.”… An article advises New York’s police chief, Ray Kelly, not to jump on the federal government’s civil-liberties-infringing bandwagon. So far Kelly has excelled at doing his job—protecting New York—but his “great test for the next four years will be keeping the city safe without abusing that faith.”—Z.K.
Economist, Jan. 12 The cover story enumerates the troublesome economic issues that lauded Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan will leave behind when he retires this month. While the economy looks robust on the surface, reliance on foreign labor, a current-account deficit, and slow real-wage growth all loom as threats to economic stability. “Part of America’s current prosperity is based not on genuine gains in income, nor on high productivity growth, but on borrowing from the future.”… A story applauds Spain for arresting the head of the Spanish army for suggesting possible military intervention after a new constitutional statute gave Catalonia more autonomy. Gen. José Mena Algado argued that the constitution gives the military the power to uphold Spain’s “integrity and constitutional order.” The article argues: “A modern democracy should be capable of accommodating regional autonomy, and even a clear wish for independence. But it should never be intimidated by a general.”— M.M.
New Republic, Jan. 23 An article addresses an emerging gender gap in academic performance and chastises the media for their silence. As success is increasingly predicated on verbal skills, boys are slipping behind, the author writes. The gap emerges early and is only exacerbated by puberty and “verbally drenched” high school curriculums. The article debunks the notion that male underperformance is due to the “anti-academic” evils of video games and rap, instead suggesting that many boys have grown to regard reading as a “sissy” pastime. Notably, when educators concentrate on cultivating reading and writing skills in all students, the performance gap between the sexes shrinks. … An article examines “starchitect” Santiago Calatrava’s body of work, finding it “shockingly, boringly repetitious.” Calatrava’s design for the Calatrava’s WTC transportation hub is a success, but other creations are marred by his penchant for kitsch. While the author lauds Calatrava for his vision, she derides Calatrava’s work for its “exuberant but shallow” style and heavy reliance on simplistic natural forms.—S.S.
Boston Review, January/February 2006 An essay analyzes last fall’s riots in French “outer cities” and the extent to which they were the result of official hypocrisy. The author suggests that official French policy, which dictates that no data be collected on ethnic origins, creates a society that is blind to its own systemic discrimination. France “must give equal public recognition to all its citizens by acknowledging their human differences, not by denying them.”… Even when a president thinks he is nominating a staid conservative, Supreme Court justices have a tendency to drift leftward, an article finds. “Presidential buyer’s remorse is as old as the process itself and may develop even when a president nominates a lifelong ally or a well-known public figure,” the authors write. Surveying the history of the court in the 20th century, the article cites Nixon appointee Harry Blackmun (who penned Roe v. Wade) and Reagan appointees Sandra Day O’Connor and Anthony Kennedy as evidence of this leftward-moving juridical drift.—S.S.
New York Times Magazine, Jan. 15 The push for a living wage in cities across America has become a calling card for Democrats looking to sway swing states in their favor, says an article. “[S]ome in the Democratic establishment have come to believe that the left, after years of electoral frustration, has finally found its ultimate moral-values issue.” Contrary to the Democrats’ desire to co-opt the issue, though, living wage advocacy crosses party lines and income brackets, and economists still debate its efficacy. … An article looks at the growing and disturbing trend of Japanese “hikikomori” boys. These boys—adolescents as young as 13—seclude themselves in their rooms for six months or more, creating a puzzling cultural phenomenon that some compare to anorexia in the West. School bullying, a slipping economy, and parental problems are seen as possible triggers for societal withdrawal, which ranges from a few months to several years.—M.M.
Weekly Standard, Jan. 16 A special report by Stephen Hayes claims that the Iraqi military under Saddam helped train Islamic terrorists, contrary to the belief that “Saddam Hussein would never work with Islamic radicals, any more than such jihadists would work with an infidel like the Iraqi dictator.” The existence of such terrorist training camps has been substantiated though documents and photographs found by the U.S. military. However, a large trove of these documents (numbering about 2 million) have yet to be examined. “Is what we don’t know literally killing us?” asks Hayes. … Editor William Kristol chides the administration for not releasing the documents, calling the decision “foolish and unmanly.”… Despite Democratic declarations that their party did not dance with the devil Jack Abramoff, an article reveals that prominent party members such as Sen. Harry Reid did receive Abramoff’s tainted funds through third parties.—Z.K.
The New Yorker, Jan. 16 An article explains the law behind several ongoing and recent federal court cases in which reporters have been held in contempt of court for refusing to testify about confidential conversations with sources. In 1972, the Supreme Court ruled in Branzburg v. Hayes that requiring reporters to so testify does not violate the First Amendment. After Watergate, nearly all states enacted press shield laws. But the federal government did not, and judges have recently revisited that landmark case. As of now, reporters have little legal ground to stand on.… A review essay on two new books about food addiction and obesity ponders the personal and public health consequences of America’s growing waistlines and questions the common wisdom that we are in the middle of an obesity “pandemic.” Some scientists argue that the health problems associated with obesity are in fact caused by lifestyle (little exercise, bad nutrition) and not the weight itself. Maybe you can be fat and fit. A little history shows how much our responses to weight are socially constructed: Until the 20th century, fat was considered attractive and healthy.—B.W.
Time and Newsweek, Jan. 16 Jack Abramoff: The newsweeklies examine Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff’s seedy rise and spectacular fall, recounting the lavish perks he showered on congressional aides. Newsweek offers a brief history of lobbying since the Republicans took over Congress in 1994, explains Abramoff’s methods, and snarks: “It may be convenient for Hill staffers to think of Abramoff as insidious, subtly corrupting idealistic but naive public servants. Actually, Abramoff was about as subtle as a madam in a whorehouse.”Time says the lobbyist also sought out clients who possessed “naiveté and a willingness to part with a lot of money.” Both articles note that politicians who received donations from him have wised up enough to shed the money fast.
Ariel Sharon:Newsweek and Time both remark on the storied career of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, noting his climb from an Army general accused of greenlighting the slaughter of Arabs to a politician widely seen as the only man capable of achieving peace in Israel. Time speculates about Israel’s future after Sharon’s stroke last week, asserting that “[h]is departure from the political stage has sucked the air out of the peace process for the immediate future.” Newsweek echoes the sentiment: “A blood vessel bursts, and the course of history changes. The blood begins to suffocate brain tissue, and projections for war and peace have to be recalculated.”—M.M.
New Republic, Jan. 16 The cover article addresses the uproar over illegal immigration in Arizona and the steps legislators are taking to stem the tide. In 2004, the state’s voters passed Proposition 200, denying “public benefits” to undocumented workers. Other controversial proposals have been floated, including building a wall along Arizona’s southern border. Notably, concerns about Mexican encroachment—not economic excuses—seem to be at the root of the disquiet. The article portrays residents as worried about Arizona becoming “the next Mexifornia.”… Another article highlights Sen. Hillary Clinton’s seemingly conscious effort to cozy up to the New York Post, in spite of (or, perhaps, because of) the brutal coverage it gave her 2000 Senate campaign. After she voted to authorize the war, the Post called Clinton an “unlikely warrior,” a far cry from its previous characterization of her, the author writes, as a “devious carpetbagger.” The article attributes the paper’s change of heart to the favored access she gives to Post reporters and her occasional pandering to the Post’s agenda.—S.S.
Legal Affairs, January/February 2006 An article suggests some legal approaches to preventing U.S. companies from selling IT equipment and computer software to foreign governments that intend to use those products to violate human rights—for example, to censor the Internet or spy on dissidents. Existing laws deal poorly with “dual-use” products that can be used for either legitimate or repressive purposes, and the result is that much of the “Big Brother” technology used in places like China was provided by U.S. companies such as Cisco. … An essay on Internet security makes the case that the same qualities that have allowed software and networks to develop so quickly also make our computers fundamentally insecure. It argues that we’ve avoided a “September 11 moment”—a virus that simultaneously deletes millions of hard drives worldwide, for example—only by good fortune, and that we need a “21st century international Manhattan Project” to bring governments, academia, and business together to address our vulnerability.—B.W.
Foreign Affairs, January/February 2006 A commentary notes that a surprising number of Russians long for the “good old days” of Uncle Joe Stalin, notes a commentary. According to a study conducted by the authors, almost a quarter of Russians would like to see someone like him leading the country. The authors look at the Stalin memorabilia available all over Moscow and conclude it’s not kitsch but a prophylactic against values that would usher in a true democracy. … Since Sept. 11, madrasahs have been accused of being incubators of terrorism. Despite the bad rap, a study finds that most of al-Qaida’s rank-and-file attended secular schools. Rather than trying to extinguish their existence, the West should exploit the schools’ influence within the Muslim world so that “the Muslim leaders of tomorrow do not see the West as an enemy,” suggests an article.—Z.K.
Economist, Jan. 7 The cover story predicts doom in negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians in light of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s massive stroke. “Mr. Sharon’s new party had seemed poised to make a breakthrough of historical significance, by mobilising the moderate majority in Israel and breaking the stranglehold of the settler movement.” A lack of clear-cut leadership in the Kadima party may mean “hope will darken yet again.”… A special report outlines the proliferation in the United States of “maras” or ultraviolent street gangs with roots in Central America. The gangs boast an estimated 25,000 members in El Salvador and their U.S. ranks are growing fast. They specialize in extortion and drug trafficking, and they punish some enemies by beheading them. “To some observers, their members are as much a threat to America as al-Qaeda.”—M.M.
