Are Bush and Cheney not getting along?

New Republic, Feb. 20

In the

cover article

, Ryan Lizza gives a tour of the interior of "Hillaryland" and the political strategists who enjoy the most influence there. Hillaryland has grown from occupying a "small corner of office real estate in Little Rock" to a "vast political empire based in Washington and New York, that, in its scale and ambition, is unrivaled in Democratic politics." Lizza calls the "ideological brand" Clinton has been cultivating in the Senate "decidedly centrist." He writes, "While there are plenty of lefties populating Hillaryland, especially in her circle of female confidantes, the spirit of the place is hardly the communist salon imagined by the right."

…

An American journalist based in Lebanon describes the new price of being blond-haired and blue-eyed in Beirut—an angry mob thought he was Danish. "The mob attacks anything that is vaguely Danish, which, since no one really knows much about Denmark, amounts to open season on luxury consumer-goods shops and the occasional church."

—S.S.

Economist, Feb. 9 Whether they are anti-war liberals or immigration-weary conservatives, some Americans think the United States should mind its own business, according to an article. "Many Americans wish to disengage from the world in one or more of four ways: by fighting fewer wars, by trading less freely, by allowing fewer foreigners into their country or by giving less foreign aid," the author writes. … An article says Germany will use the World Cup soccer tournament this summer to boost its economy and overall national mood. "Germany aims to use the attention generated by this world-class event to repair its battered image," the author explains. A survey asked if Germans were hopeful for the future entering 2006: 45 percent said "yes." Wallpapering the country with soccer balls is one ploy to get the other 55 percent to go along. The issue also includes a profile of new German Chancellor Angela Merkel.—M.M.

New York Times Magazine, Feb. 12 In addition to cultural mandates that inflate the importance of bearing sons, disease might also be a factor in lopsided birth rates in developing Asian countries. An article looks at research indicating that a Hepatitis B-carrying parent may have less chance of having a girl. "Yet others fear that such findings are based on flimsy data and could help governments turn a blind eye to gender discrimination," according to the writer. (Stephen J. Dubner and Steven D. Levitt covered the Hepatitis B angle in Slate last year.) … The cover piece profiles Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel, an Iraq war dissenter who wants to make a run for the GOP ticket in 2008. Hagel isn't shy about expressing his views, which often clash with the party line. "Now—33 months before a presidential election, two years before the first primaries—his chances aren't merely discounted; he's seldom even mentioned in Republican circles, as if he has been sidelined by his independence on Iraq," the author writes.—M.M.