Economist, April 1 An article claims that online applications might eventually eclipse Microsoft’s dominance of the software market. Suppliers such as Salesforce.com offer programs that may come to rival Microsoft’s big sellers, Windows and Office. “Online competitors have also mastered quick development and deployment times that Microsoft cannot match. Meanwhile open-source software—developed co-operatively and distributed free of charge—is also gaining ground,” according to the author. … Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been acting weird lately, an article claims. Recent economic decisions have offended the International Monetary Fund, while his handling of port relations with Cyprus has brought disdain from the European Union. The writer suspects that the PM knows what he’s doing, as parliamentary elections loom. “Lowering taxes, raising spending and snubbing Israel and America are sure vote-catchers in a country where unemployment has reached 11.2% and pro-Islamic feelings are on the rise,” the author writes.—M.M.
New Republic, April 10 An article by Noam Scheiber profiles lawyer Tommy Goldstein, who has earned rogue status for his unconventional tactics and unorthodox career path. He founded a law firm dedicated to Supreme Court litigation—the world’s first—and finds most of his clients through the controversial practice of cold-calling lawyers who have cases he believes are suited for the Supreme Court. “If you needed a heart surgeon, [Justice John] Roberts once mused to a reporter, you wouldn’t hire the one who called you out of the blue,” the author writes. Just 35, Goldstein has argued 16 before the court, most recently Georgia v. Randolph. … Ryan Lizza reflects on the career of Andrew Card and his masochistic streak. He describes Card’s eagerness to shoulder the blame for President Bush’s mistakes and speculates that Bush’s acceptance of his resignation must have been weirdly vindicating. “Finally, a dramatic public gesture by the president to indicate that it was Card who messed everything up,” Lizza writes.—S.S.
New York Times Magazine, April 2 Although the world seems to be ignoring the cries for help coming out of genocide-ravaged Darfur, Sudan, the United Nations at least intends to punish those responsible for the rape and plunder when the dust settles, the cover article reports. Despite protests by citizens of U.N. member nations, there has been no military intervention. Although the United Nations isn’t preventing the war crimes that will be tried in its International Criminal Court, chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo bristles at the suggestion that the court is a “token body.” “They have no army, but they want to ensure that out of this history—this slow-motion genocide—they can wrest some justice,” writes the author. … Electrodes planted in the brain are freeing some depression sufferers from their unrelenting black moods, according to a story. “It was literally like a switch being turned on that had been held down for years,” a patient says.— M.M.
New York, April 3 The days when being an adult meant going to work in a suit and tie and climbing the corporate ladder are so over, reports an article that profiles “Grups.” More and more thirty- and fortysomethings are doffing the suits, donning trendy jeans worn ironically with grungy T-shirts, and pursuing their “passion,” which can mean anything from skateboarding to playing in rock bands. And their progeny aren’t immune from pursuing the id of cool either: They are listening to the Strokes while wearing toddler-sized Ramones T-shirts. However, some find it lame that the Grups don’t realize they “can’t pull it off anymore.” Says one anti-Grupist: “Giving your kid a mohawk is fucked up, too.”… Kurt Andersen hears the death knell of America’s fascination with celebrities. His harbinger: Reports of the demise of Paris Hilton’s 15 minutes are not greatly exaggerated.— Z.K.
The New Yorker, April 3 In the wake of the controversy over Danish cartoons depicting Mohammed, a story details conflicts within neighboring Holland involving Dutch Muslim immigrants. From the revenge murder of subversive filmmaker Theo van Gogh to everyday cultural differences, the writer claims that the Dutch are unsure of how to move forward in a society fraught with religious tension. “So perhaps it isn’t surprising that the country remains preoccupied by what happened to Theo van Gogh and what the politically correct position toward people who live in your midst but feel free to kill you should be,” the author writes. … Family members should be able to enter the emergency room while medical personnel try to resuscitate a relative, according to medics and chaplains who advocate the practice. But not all hospitals allow it, an article reports. Medical workers who are trying to change the policy believe that kin have a right to attend what could be the last moments of a loved one’s life, and that seeing the process may ease the survivors’ grieving.— M.M.
Weekly Standard, April 3 As the congressional midterm elections loom, Frederick W. Kagan and William Kristol urge the president to stay the course in Iraq noting: “Iraq is at a critical turning point, and U.S. forces are essential to helping the Iraqis get past it.” Kagan and Krisol dismiss the possibility of a large-scale civil war and laud the performance of the Iraqi army, saying part of their strength comes from being “backed up and supported, materially and psychologically, by the U.S. Army—and by a sense that the U.S. Army will be there for quite a while to come.”… Springtime student riots in France are about as common as baguettes, paté, and a side order of anti-Americanism. However, this time the riots over the employment rights of French twentysomethings bear “an ironic ideological twist: It is the French government that is advocating change while students on the moral barricades are defending the status quo,”states an article.—Z.K.
Time, April 3
The cover package uses a somber tone and colorful charts to illustrate the gravity of global warming, claiming that drought, flooding, and even recent hurricanes can be traced to the phenomenon, which is also taking a toll on wildlife. “Global warming, even most skeptics have concluded, is the real deal, and human activity has been causing it,” the writer claims. Meanwhile, government and big business are finally talking solar panels and emissions control—chatter that is long overdue. … Republicans vying for congressional seats during this year’s midterm elections are not cozying up to the Bush administration for support, according to an article. Bush’s slumping approval ratings are causing candidates to shy away from his overt endorsement and to point out that they’ve diverged from the party line on issues such as the Dubai ports deal and warrantless surveillance. According to the authors, these issues are threatening to topple the Republican stronghold on Congress.— M.M.
Newsweek, April 3”Welcome to the new tech boom,” proclaims the cover story. New technology is fueling a resurgence in successful Web projects that integrate services such as matchmaking and file-sharing with the public’s increasing reliance on the Internet. “As we keep offloading our activities to the Web and adding previously unmanageable or unthinkable new pursuits, it’s fair to say that our everyday existence is a network effect,” the authors say. Tiny startups are becoming financial success stories again—Flickr was picked up by Yahoo! for a cool $35 million, while MySpace was purchased by Rupert Murdoch’s conglomerate for $580 million. … Under the leadership of a billionaire businessman, Italy is suffering zero economic growth. That’s just one of the reasons European leaders want Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi gone, according to an article. April elections will decide the embattled PM’s fate. “Berlusconi’s political machine is in meltdown. The candidate’s first televised debate was a disaster. His coalition and his cabinet are out of control,” the author claims.— M.M.
