(on newsstands Monday, July 28)
COVER: "What Drives China" (p. 38). Guest writer Orville Schell opens the cover package with an essay adapted from "China: Humiliation and the Olympics." Schell argues protests against China could be counterproductive. He writes that China has made a Herculean effort to prepare the way for this spectacle, in which ordinary Chinese can announce themselves to the world as having regained their national greatness. "Protests would almost certainly spark the kind of nationalist and autocratic backlash that they're meant to remedy." China's "proud prickliness" has deep historical roots that involve the West and even Japan. According to Schell the most critical element in the formation of China's modern identity has been the legacy of the country's "humiliation" at the hands of foreigners. "This inferiority complex has been institutionalized in the Chinese mind," he writes. Over the years, China has gotten closer than ever to escaping from this past. "Now is not the time to provoke them further and impede their progress toward a new, more equal and self-assured sense of nationhood."
http://www.newsweek.com/id/148997
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080727/NYSU002 )
"A Viewer's Guide to Beijing" (p. 42). Boston Bureau Chief and National Sports Correspondent Mark Starr provides a viewer's guide to the Beijing Olympics. The guide includes what's behind the race for gold medals between U.S. and China; the key athletes to watch, such as Michael Phelps and Dara Torres; the rivalries in the gymnastics arena; and the new ways scientists are testing athletes for performance enhancing drugs.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/148961
"Who'll Stop the Rain?" (p. 56). Senior Editor and Science Columnist Sharon Begley writes about China's weather modification program and its plans for keeping the rain at bay for the opening and closing ceremonies at the Beijing National Stadium (a.k.a. the "bird's nest"). "Too bad that no project in the 60-year history of weather modification has managed to reliably bring about or suppress rain on demand," Begley writes. "With an estimated 30,000 rainmakers, a $100 million budget and more hardware than it has pointed at Taiwan, China has the largest weather-modification program in the world. Despite China's claims that its cloud-seeding technology can make rain on demand, though, experts are dubious."
http://www.newsweek.com/id/149000
LOBBYING: "A $16 Billion Problem" (p. 27) Investigative Correspondent Michael Isikoff reports on why Chevron has hired mega lobbyists to squeeze Ecuador in a toxic dumping case. Brought by a group of U.S. trial lawyers on behalf of thousands of indigenous people, the suit accuses Chevron of responsibility for the dumping of toxic oil waste into Ecuador's Amazon rainforest. In the spring, a court appointed expert recommended Chevron pay between $8 and $16 billion to clean up the rainforest. Now both sides are in an unusually high-powered battle in Washington between an army of Chevron lobbyists and a group of savvy plaintiff lawyers, one of whom has tapped a potent old schoolmate -- Barack Obama. Chevron is pushing the Bush administration to yank special trade preferences for Ecuador if its government doesn't quash the case.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/149090
CAMPAIGN 2008: "Obama's Sober Mood" (p. 28). In an interview, Barack Obama told Senior White House Correspondent Richard Wolffe that his overriding mood during his recent trip overseas has been a sober one despite the rock-star reception he received in Europe last week. "When you look at the very difficult problem of Iran, the very difficult problem of Afghanistan and Pakistan, continuing difficulties in Iraq, the challenges of Middle East peace, the next president is going to have his hands full. And that's before you start talking about climate change, the economy, relationships with Russia, China and North Korea," Obama says. "The point is it doesn't take much to puncture any euphoria you may feel because of a speech you've given."
http://www.newsweek.com/id/148986
POLITICS: "Say Cheese! But Watch For the Applesauce" (p. 32). White House Correspondent Holly Bailey and National Correspondent Suzanne Smalley report on what John McCain's aides and advisors are doing to draw more media attention. Close friends have urged McCain to pay more attention to the way he comes across on camera. "Senator Obama does a good job with visuals. We need to do a better job," says Sen. Lindsey Graham, one of McCain's closest friends and advisers. "The story is told without anyone having to say one word ... We need to do more of that."
http://www.newsweek.com/id/148959
NATIONAL AFFAIRS: "Rozita Swinton's Bad Call" (p. 34). Miami Bureau Chief Arian Campo-Flores and Reporter Catharine Skipp profile Rozita Swinton, a 33-year-old woman from Colorado Springs who claimed she was a child-bride named Sarah trapped on a polygamist compound in Texas, setting off the April 3 raid of the Yearning for Zion ranch of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS). This, however, was not the first time Swinton has been accused of duping authorities. She's been arrested for false reporting in two separate cases in Colorado, allegedly impersonating abuse victims and setting off frantic manhunts. As much as she's been investigated in recent years, though, Swinton remains an elusive and enigmatic figure.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/148992
BUSINESS: "Love to Hate the Hummer" (p. 36). Detroit Bureau Chief Keith Naughton reports that the Hummer, which was once considered a Hollywood status symbol, has lost its popularity. With gas prices soaring above $4 a gallon, Hummer sales fell 60 percent in May and 54 percent in June. But mortal injury comes from its image implosion. Those gun slits and that growling grille, which provided cartoony comfort post 9/11, now seem sadly out of step as our focus turns from Homeland Security to sustainability. To many, the Hummer now seems overbearing, overweight, militaristic and narcissistic.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/148982
MEDICINE: "Survive Cancer, Have Baby" (p. 57). General Editor Anna
Kuchment reports that as cancer survival rates climb and patients focus on
quality-of-life issues, especially fertility, many couples are forcing two
very different medical specialties -- oncology and assisted reproduction -- to
come together to create oncofertility. "The narrative of cancer is no longer
that it's a death sentence; it's a bump in your medical history that you
overcome and go back to what we hope is a healthy lifestyle," says Teresa
Woodruff of
http://www.newsweek.com/id/148983
CULTURE: "A Word From Our Sponsor" (p. 58). Assistant Editor Jennie Yabroff reports on AMC's series, "Mad Men," which is about to kick off its second season, and how the advertising industry has changed since the 1960's, the era known as the "golden age" of advertising. Advertisers in the '60s strove to evoke a feeling or philosophy. Today, ads sometimes don't even show the product, let alone spend paragraphs explaining why we should buy it.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/148822
TIP SHEET: "Preparing for Splitsville" (p. 61). Contributing Editor Linda Stern reports on the toll the economy is taking on couples going through divorces and provides tips on how they can extricate themselves during troubled times. Along with deciding how to divide property, other tips include preparing for challenges such as job losses and hiring a professional to help negotiate long-term financial arrangements.
http://www.blog.newsweek.com/blogs/tipsheet/default.aspx
SOURCE Newsweek
International News / Press Release source: PR Newswire
Copyright PR Newswire. All Rights Reserved.