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GazapaloozaThe New Republic examines the Israeli withdrawal.

By Bidisha Banerjee and Zuzanna KobrzynskiUpdated Friday, Aug. 26, 2005, at 3:19 PM ET

New Republic, Sept. 5
The cover is devoted to Israel's withdrawal from Gaza. Leon Wieseltier disapproves of the Jewish settlers' propensity for injecting mysticism into politics and bemoans the hundreds of Israeli soldiers who died protecting Gaza. He claims that Greater Israel was "always a foul idea, morally and strategically." He concludes, however, "Without Palestinian compromise on certain ideological and territorial issues, for which there is no precedent, Gaza will have been not a breakthrough in foreign policy but an adjustment of security policy." ... And Yossi Klein Halevi explains the mystical underpinnings behind the settlers' mission, noting that they "were inspired not by the bombastic English phrase 'Greater Israel,' with its expansionist overtones, but by the Hebrew phrase 'Eretz Yisrael Hashlemah,' the completed land of Israel." ... Martin Peretz, also in Gaza, writes sympathetically of the settlers, criticizes the provisions that the government has made for them, and points out that Israel's strength lies in the fact that "the civil war that had been widely feared turned out to be a lot of civil and very little war."—B.B.

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Economist, Aug. 27
The cover investigates why the global economy has been doing relatively well despite high oil prices and asserts, "[T]he notion that rising oil prices have no economic impact until they hit the previous peak in real terms is ridiculous." Pointing out that the price of oil and the price of money are intimately linked, the piece contends that "cheap money has supported spending sprees and housing bubbles in many countries, notably America, which have offset the impact of dearer oil." It further explains that high oil prices help keep interest rates down, and therefore they are good for the global economy. "A much more efficient solution would be tighter global monetary conditions. But tighter money now risks pushing the housing and borrowing booms into reverse, tipping economies into recession." ... Another piece focuses on the boom in America's goat industry created by "ethnic" demand from Hispanics, Muslims, and Indians. Texas has the most goat farms, but other states like Kentucky and Tennessee are trading in tobacco farms for goats.—B.B.

Foreign Affairs, September/October 2005
An article ponders whether democracy can put the kibosh on terrorism in the Arab world. Modeled on the Cold War prescription that a flourishing democracy quells anti-Americanism, some hoped this approach would dampen the terrorist libido. Regrettably, even though "what is known about terrorism is admittedly incomplete, the data available does not show a strong relationship between democracy and an absence or a reduction in terrorism." … Two years into the Iraq occupation, an article chastises the Bush administration for doing little to rout "the insurgency or provide security for the Iraqis even as it has overextended the U.S. Army and eroded support for the war among the American public." Often criticized for lacking an exit plan, the administration does in fact have one, "as the Iraqis stand up, we will stand down." But what is lacking, the article says, is a strategy to win the war.—Z.K.

Rolling Stone, Sept. 8
An article chronicles the Brazilian government's attempt to eradicate the use of "forced labor," i.e., slavery, by wealthy property-owners. Outlawed in the late 1800s, it's still a common practice among ranchers and farmers, including government officials, in the area known as "Brasil Profundo—Deep Brazil." An estimated 25,000 to 100,000 men are victims of this circumstance. With only seven federal anti-slavery units patrolling an area the size of Australia, the country's "grupo movels" face a life-threatening battle against the ranchers, who don't want the interference. … The cover serves up an interview with the sun-averse duo behind the White Stripes, Jack and Meg White. The bandmates, who once claimed to be siblings because fans might "go oh, that's interesting," were in fact husband and wife. And yet, music accomplished what the bonds of matrimony could not: "It will always be us two," says Jack White.—Z.K.

New York, Aug. 29
Kurt Andersen weighs in on John Roberts' Supreme Court nomination, noting that it coincides with an age where "the debates over Supreme Court nominations may be replacing presidential elections as our great self-defining civic moments." Roberts' Harvard cred, D.C. establishment links, and contrarian wit have charmed some liberals, so his nomination hearings could be antithetical to the Robert Bork inquisition, which swept in "a new, more highly public and hyper ideological era of judicial nominations." Roberts' nomination "represents the next stage of politicization—of the nominee chosen like a golden boy by the party bosses, nice-looking and pleasant-seeming, a prospective justice who, positions aside, seems like a good guy." This, coupled with Roberts' appeal to liberals and his apparent unwillingness to act like a social conservative, gives Anderson hope that instead of grandstanding political theatrics, "we have a chance at a serious, civil, constructive conversation about the society and government we want for ourselves."—Z.K.

New York Times Magazine, Aug. 28
On the eve of the U.S. Open, an article chronicles James Blake's attempt at a comeback. In 2002, Blake was hailed as the second coming of Arthur Ashe. He had a compelling story: handsome as heck, smart (he dropped out of Harvard to play tennis), and a minority in a sport dominated by whites. The intervening years have not been so kind to Blake. Beginning in 2004 he suffered a series of Greek-tragedy setbacks: breaking his neck while practicing, watching his devoted father die of stomach cancer, and being stricken with a stress-induced virus that left one side of his face paralyzed for months. Now healthy both emotionally and physically, perhaps Blake's amazing recovery can be attributed to his late father's mantra: "[I]f there's a problem, you're going to fix it, you're not going to complain about it." … In an interview, Prince Turki al Faisal, Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the United States and scion of the House of Faud, criticizes the United States for its pro-Israel policy, claiming he "cannot see any logic in it."—Z.K.

Time, Newsweek, U.S. News Time, Newsweek, U.S. News, Aug. 29
Iraq: Time points to a murder spree in Baghdad, where there were "at least 880 violent deaths last month"—mostly from gunfire—along with 100 other deaths caused by exploding cars and suicide bombers. "Death squads, which tend to move in Opel sedans, are entering what once were tight-knit communities and killing ordinary citizens, apparently to stir up sectarian hatred." Shiites and Sunnis are locked in a vicious circle of retributive justice, "and the list of potential targets seems to include just about everyone." … Newsweek focuses on Marine Sgt. Daniel Cotnoir, who recently shot at boisterous partiers, wounding two, outside his apartment window, in an article examining the role of Marine morticians. The piece notes Cotnoir's heroics ("his unit brought back the remains of 184 dead Marines, as well as numerous Iraqi civilians, policemen and some independent contractors killed in action"—including the contractors who were killed, burned, and strung from a bridge in Fallujah last year) and notes that he believes he has post-traumatic stress disorder.

Kanye: Time's cover profiles Kanye West, who is about to release his sophomore album, Late Registration. "It was a strike against me that I didn't wear baggy jeans and jerseys and that I never hustled, never sold drugs," says West, who claims he used to leave business meetings in tears when he was starting out. His mom, Donda West, says she often followed West to concerts when he was a teenager in order to keep an eye on him. … Newsweek profiles rapper Rhymefest, who co-wrote West's Grammy-winning song "Jesus Walks." Rhymefest also has a new album, Blue Collar, due out shortly; although he hasn't received anywhere near the attention West has, 'Fest doesn't seem bitter. On his own version of "Jesus Walks," he raps, "So I gave my nigga the sample and the joint took off/ But the verse that 'Fest did somehow got lost/ ... Homie I ain't mad at ya, doin' your thing/ Let every man be his own king."

Odds and ends: U.S. News rolls out its annual list of top colleges. Harvard, Princeton, and Yale lead the overall rankings; Alabama A&M, Jackson State, and South Carolina State have the most economic diversity. … Newsweek's cover studies Americans' spirituality. According to a new poll, "eight in 10 Americans—including 68 percent of evangelicals—believe that more than one faith can be a path to salvation." The piece argues that most Americans care more about the direct experience of divinity than about the politics of church and state. "Young people got tired of hearing that once upon a time people experienced God directly," says one historian. "They want it to happen for themselves. They don't want to hear that Joan of Arc had a vision. They want to have a vision." … Time profiles "real-life boy wizard" Christopher Paolini, who bears a passing resemblance to Harry Potter; the home-schooled Montana resident authored an immensely popular fantasy novel, Eragon, at age 15. Now, at 21, Paolini's back with a sequel, Eldest.—B.B.

The New Yorker, Aug. 29
"A country that displays an almost ruthless commitment to efficiency and performance in every aspect of its economy—a country that switched to Japanese cars the moment they were more reliable, and to Chinese T-shirts the moment they were five cents cheaper—has loyally stuck with a health-care system that leaves its citizenry pulling out their teeth with pliers," writes Malcolm Gladwell. Using Susan Starr Sered and Rushika Fernandopulle's Uninsured in America as a jumping-off point, he lambastes the Bush administration's beloved Health Savings Accounts because they thwart social redistribution of insurance costs. … And Tad Friend profiles "green burial expert" Tyler Cassity, who once granted "a request for a monument in the shape of a pre-historic rat." Fernwood, Cassity's green cemetery in California, eschews embalming, favors shrouds or wooden coffins, uses rocks as headstones, and aims to conserve land.—B.B.

Weekly Standard, Aug. 29
Matt Labash visits the Arizona/Mexico border for a firsthand look at the Minutemen, an armed volunteer organization that targets illegal aliens. "[M]uch of their activity requires taking a load off in their best lawn chairs … the entire month of April, the heaviest thing that went down was the censuring of a new volunteer who gave a weary illegal water and Wheaties (along with 20 bucks), then photographed him wearing a T-shirt that said 'Bryan Barton Caught Me Crossing the Border And All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt.' " The piece concludes with a sympathetic description of Minutemen co-founder Chris Simcox at a recruiting meeting where he and his group "present a squeaky clean image. He is so condescendingly earnest about orderliness and rule of law, the need to stick to protocol, clean up one's trash in the desert, and have absolutely no contact with aliens unless it's to help them survive that the former schoolteacher's instructions should come printed on a freshly warm purple-and-white ditto."—B.B.