Slate's Bizbox
other magazines: Summaries of what's in Time, Newsweek, etc.

By David Plotz
Posted Sunday, June 29, 1997, at 3:30 AM ET
Economist

Economist, June 28

(posted Saturday, June 28)

An optimistic cover editorial says that Hong Kong may take over China, rather than vice versa. Hong Kong has inspired capitalism in China--60 percent of Chinese investment is routed through it--so perhaps it can inspire political freedom there too. Hong Kong could serve as China's political "laboratory," proving that free elections and the rule of law are not destabilizing. A related article speculates that Hong Kong is safe from excessive Chinese meddling: China doesn't want to alienate Taiwan or the international community, and Tung Chee-hwa is making sound, relatively liberal decisions. A story on the world environmental summit says that developed nations are breaking their promises to curtail emissions of greenhouse gases. And they can't agree on how to do better. A piece on Bosnia says there is a teensy, tiny bit of hope that new economic laws will help unify the three feuding ethnic groups.

New Republic

New Republic, July 14 & 21

(posted Friday, June 27)

TNR finds a new angle on Hong Kong. The cover article, "Hong Kong Is in Worse Trouble Than You Think," warns that the colony's "triad" gangsters have forged an alliance with Chinese officials. China will let the triads extort, smuggle drugs and arms, pander, and counterfeit. The triads, in turn, will maintain order in Hong Kong and may act as the de facto secret police. Several tycoons with ties to the triads and Beijing are investigated. Also, philosopher Amartya Sen argues that the idea of "Asian values"--collective identity, absence of individual rights--is bunkum. Asia's authoritarians are wrong: Freedom, tolerance, and respect for individual rights are integral to the Confucian, Buddhist, and Hindu traditions.

New York Times Magazine

New York Times Magazine, June 29

(posted Thursday, June 26)

The diary of a breast-cancer patient takes the cover. The piece's main themes: the writer's fear that she won't be able to have children, anxiety about the appearance of her breast, and gratitude toward her husband and her cancer support group. After a lumpectomy and radiation, she has an excellent prognosis. A story sings the praises of the federal Legal Services Corp., describing how one of its lawyers has served a poor Appalachian town devotedly for 25 years. The message: Conservatives in Congress should think twice before defunding the program. A piece chronicles the struggles of Firefly, a tiny Internet startup: Its "agent" software, an artificial-intelligence program that helps consumers choose and buy online, may be the Net's next killer application, but only if Microsoft or another software giant doesn't create a knockoff first. Also, an elderly widow writes about rekindling a sexual affair with her first lover, a man she slept with 50 years ago.

Newsweek and Time

Newsweek and Time, June 30

(posted Tuesday, June 24)

Newsweek runs its seventh health cover story of the year. "How to Live to 100" advises exercise, low-fat food, and perseverance. Centenarians, it notes, are the fastest growing segment of the population. A "Longevity Test" lets you calculate your life expectancy (e.g., add two years if you're a happily married man, and subtract three if you don't exercise), while a sidebar explains the many benefits and few risks of estrogen therapy.

Time puts the cigarette deal on the cover. It describes the negotiations (extremely civil) and the agreement. Anti-tobacco forces fear that the industry will find a way to evade regulation. Industry folks fear they have given too much away. Cigarette historian Richard Kluger praises the deal, saying that FDA regulation of nicotine content is a huge defeat for the industry. Newsweek's cigarette story cautions that Congress may spike the agreement: Liberals think it's too soft on the industry, while conservatives think it's too harsh.

Time's 20-page special report on Hong Kong reaches the same conclusions as all the other special reports on Hong Kong: The colony's residents are optimistic; corruption and crime will seep in from China; no one knows whether China will quash political freedom. Accompanying articles describe three Chinese towns: One town is decrepit, polluted, and filled with idle, state-owned factories; one is experimenting with private farming and local democracy; one is bustling with capitalism. Also in Time, the movie critic pans the summer blockbusters for their similarly idiotic plots, brutality, and witlessness.

Also in Newsweek, a package of articles cheers the capture of Pol Pot--"the last monster of the 20th century"--but notes that Cambodia is still corrupt, lawless, and scarred by Pol Pot's genocide.

U.S. News & World Report

U.S. News & World Report, June 30

(posted Tuesday, June 24)

"Extreme" sports are on the cover. Kayaking, sky diving, radical skiing, street lugeing, etc., are booming. The pop-psychology explanation: The elimination of risk in daily life has made Americans hungry for danger and excitement. Dramatic photos of ice climbers, BASE jumpers, and sky-surfers accompany the article. A piece describes the moronic things tourists do in national parks: hike the Grand Canyon in high heels, run at midday in Death Valley, dip their hands in 200 F geothermic pools. An article says that both the Republican and Clinton tax plans favor the rich too much, but that the Republican plan is much worse.

Weekly Standard

Weekly Standard, June 30

(posted Tuesday, June 24)

Another cover package on the Republican crackup--the second this month. One of the cover pieces predicts that Newt Gingrich will be ousted as speaker by the end of next year: His lieutenants (Richard Armey, Tom Delay, John Boehner, Bill Paxon) are abandoning him because he has betrayed them repeatedly. An article contends that China's behavior toward Hong Kong proves the failure of Clinton's "constructive engagement" policy, which holds that China will become more democratic as it becomes more capitalistic: By gutting the Joint Declaration, China proves that it will never allow democracy to flourish, even if it lets capitalism flourish. Also, the Standard apologizes to Deepak Chopra for a 1996 cover story that called him a "huckster." The magazine retracts a charge of plagiarism and an allegation that Chopra hired a prostitute.

The Nation

The Nation, July 7

(posted Tuesday, June 24)

An ambivalent cover story cheers Richard Gephardt's new commitment to old-time liberal populism, but frets that he's a political chameleon who has adopted this cause for political reasons (i.e., the 2000 presidential campaign). It also criticizes him for being a follower. An article warns that the growing power of Orthodox Jews will weaken American Jews' staunch support of Israel. Orthodox Israeli Jews are alienating American Jews by refusing to recognize them as Jews.

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David Plotz is Slate's deputy editor. He is the author of The Genius Factory: The Curious History of the Nobel Prize Sperm Bank. You can e-mail him at .
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