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Kosher Wars
The New York TimesMagazine examines the battle over food and religion.
Morgan Smith
posted Oct. 10, 2008
Getting Bitter All the Time
The New Republic on Sarah Palin's class resentment.
Morgan Smith
posted Oct. 7, 2008
Depression 2.0?
Time compares the current financial troubles to the Great Depression.
Daniel Riley
posted Oct. 3, 2008
Virginia Slim
The New Yorker on Barack Obama's push for Old Dominion.
Daniel Riley
posted Sept. 30, 2008
Bringing Down the House
The New York Times Magazine on deconstructing foreclosed homes.
Kara Hadge
posted Sept. 26, 2008
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other magazines: Summaries of what's in Time, Newsweek, etc.

Monday Morning Quarterbacking on Kosovo

By Jodi Kantor and Eve Gerber
Updated Thursday, June 10, 1999, at 10:28 PM ET

Click here for Slate's complete Kosovo coverage.

Economist, June 12

An editorial laments the mess NATO has made of war and peace. Milosevic can claim vindication, because NATO dropped its Rambouillet demands for full access to Serbia and for an independence referendum in Kosovo. NATO botched its central aim--prevention of ethnic cleansing--and bears some responsibility for bombing fatalities. ... The cover story claims that Serb brinkmanship spurred some NATO concessions during negotiations, including the extra four days for withdrawal of Serb troops and a trimmed demilitarized zone. But NATO did hold its line in how it carved up peacekeeping zones: The French will govern the region that Russia coveted. ... Another piece suggests South Africans have less to celebrate about their recent elections than they think. The peacefulness of the process would seem to augur well for continued reconciliation. But the African National Congress' vast parliamentary majority will silence opposition, and votes were split neatly along racial lines.

New Republic, June 28

The cover story denounces the allies' prosecution of the war and its settlement. A weaker America will result from the idea that we can triumph without peril to our armed forces. Air power only worked when combined with KLA pressure on the ground and the threat of a ground invasion. The settlement is fatally flawed: Milosevic can't be trusted, ex-combatants can't coexist, and the Kosovars will continue to agitate for their own state. ... National sovereignty is overrated, according to an article. Supporting nationalist aspirations is humanistic and consonant with the United States' rebellious roots. Plus, the more nations splinter, the longer America will dominate the fractured world stage. ... "TRB" bemoans the abolition of the draft. Americans view military engagements as distant exploits. A national service requirement would relink citizens to their country, their compatriots, and the nation's foreign policy.

New York Times Magazine, June 13

The cover story follows a Minnesota public school's "harassment specialist" as she leads workshops, distributes pamphlets, and investigates complaints. Recent legal decisions, including one by the Supreme Court, have made schools liable for indifference to sexual harassment among students. Conclusion: Trying to distinguish harassment from everyday schoolyard taunts is a clumsy but worthwhile process. ... College tuition is rising two to three times faster than inflation, another piece reports. Explanations: Universities vie to supply the most luxurious amenities; generous federal loans mean students can afford higher tuition; and the steep fees are a way for colleges to have wealthier students effectively subsidize poorer ones.

Time, June 14

The cover package wraps up Time's "100 People of the Century" series by profiling 20 icons and heroes. Colin Powell lauds the GI as an embodiment of America's courage and diversity. Henry Aaron celebrates Jackie Robinson for inspiring civil rights by breaching baseball's color barrier. Others honored include Anne Frank, Billy Graham, Princess Diana, and Che Guevara. ... The Kennedys and the Nehrus are rated the 20^th century's greatest dynasties. ... The "100 Worst Ideas of the Century" are also named, including Prohibition, The Jerry Springer Show, Barney, and letting interns staff the White House during the government shutdown. ... An article dampens enthusiasm about NATO's victory. The West drew a moral line against barbarism but failed in its primary aim, which was to avert a humanitarian catastrophe. NATO is saddled with an unstable Kosovo and an intact Milosevic.

Newsweek, June 14

The cover story says stress causes heart disease, memory loss, immune deficiency, impaired cognition, and even a thick waist. Women respond to more stressors than men do, but their blood pressure spikes less in reaction. Stressed-out kids are more likely to be listless when they're not tense and to overreact as adults. ... In an essay, British Prime Minister Tony Blair urges "a new internationalism" based on values and law. The West must start a moral crusade to excise "the cancer of ethnic conflict" by rebuilding the Balkans, strengthening the economies of southeastern Europe, and eventually welcoming some more states into NATO. ... A glowing review of the new Austin Powers movie notes the campy merchandising that accompanies it. Coming to a store near you: a genuine Austin Powers Swedish Penis Enlarger.

U.S. News & World Report, June 14

The already-outdated cover story wonders if NATO's deal with Yugoslavia will hold. ... A piece says the food-stamp program is funding the war in Kosovo. With poverty down, politicians are raiding food-stamp surpluses for extra cash. ... An article examines the booming international car-theft industry, which is virtually ignored by law enforcement. Vehicles are picked off American streets and smuggled abroad, where foreign buyers pay two to three times a car's U.S. retail price for them. The most commonly stolen models are Honda Accords and Toyota Camrys.

The New Yorker, June 14

A piece investigates Binjamin Wilomirski, author of a heart-rending, highly lauded, and completely fake memoir describing the atrocities he (never) suffered as a Jewish child in Nazi death camps. Wilomirski, a Swiss Protestant since birth, may be a charlatan, or he may simply be deluded. Most troubling is the public's willingness to value the memoir's drama over its truthfulness. ... A survey of the nascent presidential race declares George W. Bush and Al Gore ideologically indistinguishable. The country is so flourishing "that politics has almost begun to seem irrelevant." ... Editor David Remnick opines that Bosnians and Kosovars have suffered from the president's historical naiveté in general and from his seduction by Balkans fatalist Robert D. Kaplan in particular. (Click here to read William Saletan's explication of the debate that arose out of Kaplan's work.)

Weekly Standard, June 14

The cover package assesses George W. Bush's coronation as GOP savior. One piece argues that "compassionate conservativism" is merely a loose translation of President Clinton's triangulation and asks Bush to flesh it out with specific policy proposals. But another piece suggests that Lawrence Lindsey, Bush's top economic adviser, is the very embodiment of the phrase. Despite his Reagan administration pedigree, Lindsey ardently supports government assistance to the underprivileged. ... An editorial crows that Milosevic's capitulation represents a triumph for the president, hawkish Republicans, NATO, the U.S.-Russia relationship, and interventionism.