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Kids in the Jail

By Jeremy Derfner
Updated Friday, Sept. 8, 2000, at 8:30 PM ET

Foreign Policy

Foreign Policy, September/October 2000

FP goes bimonthly. … An article argues that globalization will make the world happier, citing sociological studies that indicate that increases in wealth will bring proportionally greater happiness in poor countries. A subsidiary point: Increased wealth tends to make rich countries more psychologically unstable. … A piece describes those crazed suicide bombers as effective and rational weapons in the terrorist syndicate arsenals. Suicide bombers can be stopped if law enforcement authorities strike at the organizations that train them. … An article exposes Bush and Gore as foreign policy twins. Both are pro-free trade, moderately pro-humanitarian intervention, pro-missile defense, and moderately pro-foreign aid. Neither has much room to move, either. Increasingly, presidents find themselves boxed in by such NGOs as Oxfam, Human Rights Watch, and the World Wildlife Fund, whose expert staffs help set the foreign policy agenda in Congress and in the media.

New York Times Magazine

New York Times Magazine, Sept. 10

The cover story decries the breakdown of the juvenile justice system. By making it easier to try juveniles as adults, tough-on-crime states have turned adult prisons into finishing schools for young troublemakers. … A profile of French novelist Michel Houellebecq (say "WELL-beck") explains why he poses such a threat to the literary elite. They are steeped in the mythology of the 1960s, but his books blame that decade for everything from selfishness to maldistribution of wealth to joyless sex. … An article previews the next Israeli-Palestinian conflict, between Israeli Jews and Israeli Arabs (who make up 18 percent of the population). The Arabs demand full citizenship, and Knesset members Azmi Bishara, a radical, and Nawaf Massalha, an accomodationist, are leading a debate among Arabs about how they will fight for it.

New Republic

New Republic, Sept. 18

The eyes of the Bush and Gore campaigns are upon Texas, argues the cover story. Bush portrays the state as the easygoing place where the American dream comes true, and Gore casts it as a Third-World backwater. In fact, Texas is modernizing rapidly: The state's high-tech employees outnumber oil workers and farmers combined; it leads the anti-sprawl movement; and it has become increasingly interracial without any white backlash. … A piece lambastes Dick Cheney's lethargic campaign style. He's worse than boring: He absolutely hates interacting with real people. And the seriousness he was supposed to bring to the campaign affects only defense and finance. He doesn't care about Social Security and Medicare.

Economist

Economist, Sept. 9

The cover story blasts OPEC for wanting to keep oil prices high. If consuming economies continue to suffer, central banks will rein in demand, and oil prices will drop sharply in the long run. Only Saudi Arabia has been a force for stabilization. … A piece criticizes the international community for engaging the military dictatorship in Myanmar. Though the current government has shown repeatedly that it will not tolerate even the beginnings of democracy (most recently by detaining the opposition leader), Myanmar maintains cordial relations with China, India, and the Association of South-East Asian Nations. … A piece criticizes the Chinese government for razing hutongs, centuries-old neighborhoods of narrow alleyways, to build huge avenues and austere high-rises. The hutongs are the last remnants of the Beijing laid out by Kublai Khan.

Time and Newsweek

Time and Newsweek, Sept. 11

Both go with breathless Olympics previews and Marion Jones covers that tout the indomitable Olympic spirit that keeps bringing nations and athletes together despite all the bribery, steroids, and terrorism. Time and Newsweek run similar profiles of Jones, the American sprinter who boasts that she'll win five gold medals in Sydney. Jones' good nature is contrasted with that of her husband, C.J. Hunter, a gold-medal contender in the shot put, who treats the press with contempt (both pieces cite European tabs that call the couple "Beauty and the Beast"). Both mags run drug-use primers (click here for Newsweek's), and Time throws in a long travel piece about "the real Australia."

Newsweek explores the religion-in-politics debate sparked by Joe Lieberman. A poll found that 51 percent of voters think religion should play a bigger role in public life; 12 percent think it should play a smaller role. Time describes Bush's new investment in policy damage control now that Gore is scoring points against the governor's record in Texas. A Time piece judges statewide education testing in Texas. Scores—especially those of minorities—have skyrocketed since testing began, but critics say teachers drill students for the tests only and that administrators inflate the final tabulations by assigning poorer students to special education.

U.S. News & World Report

U.S. News & World Report, Sept. 11

The America's Best Colleges special issue. Princeton is first. Harvard and Yale are tied for second, followed by Cal Tech, MIT, Stanford, Penn, Duke, and Dartmouth. Amherst, Swarthmore, and Williams are the top liberal-arts colleges. Berkeley and Virginia tie for best public university. See the full rankings here. (This Washington Monthly article argues that the rankings are bunk.)

The New Yorker

The New Yorker, Sept. 11

A profile of New York Post columnist Steve Dunleavy describes the odd respect the fabled tabloid journalist has earned from his colleagues. Known for hard drinking, questionable reporting methods, and knee-jerk defenses of brutal cops, Dunleavy has worked unapologetically for Rupert Murdoch for more than 30 years. … A piece traces the history of missile defense and explains how President Clinton accidentally revived Reagan-like Star Wars. Clinton's opposition to Star Wars was sacrificed to politics in 1996, when he needed to repel Bob Dole's charge that he was soft on defense. His decision to put off missile defense until 1999 came back to haunt him when impeachment forced him to embrace the GOP position. Even though Clinton postponed missile defense again last week, some sort of system will probably be built by either Bush or Gore. The recent failed tests have only encouraged supporters to think of more ambitious systems.

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Jeremy Derfner is a former Slate editorial assistant.
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