Newsweek International articles from December 2007

Newsweek International archives from December 2007

Mail Call: Free the Burmese.(Letters)(Letter to the editor)
December 3, 2007... Readers of our Oct. 8 report and Fareed Zakaria's Oct. 15 column on Burma were shocked by the brutalization of the Buddhist monks. "Take positive action through the United Nations to end this massacre of innocents," recommended one. Another...

A Red Scare In Delhi.(World Affairs)(communism; Prakash Karat)(Cover story)
December 3, 2007... Byline: Ron Moreau and Sudip Mazumdar With the nuclear pact and a booming economy, India seems set to vault into the future -- unless the Stalinist left succeeds in dragging it down. From his fortress-like red sandstone headquarters...

Partying while Gujarat Burned.(World Affairs; POINT OF VIEW)(India)(Cover story)
December 3, 2007... Byline: Tarun J. Tejpal; Tejpal is editor in chief of Tehelka magazine, based in New Delhi. A serious schism between India's 900 million Hindus and 150 million Muslims would tear it apart. Making trouble in India is easy. The country...

The Silence of the Monks.(World Affairs)(Myanmar)
December 3, 2007... Byline: Lennox Samuels Burma's rebellious holy men are now off the street, out of sight. Tales of collaboration and 'monastery arrest' from inside the closed regime. The 26-year-old monk was one of thousands who took to Burma's...

Friends in High Places.(World Affairs)(Burma; human rights activist)
December 3, 2007... Byline: Kendyl Salcito When knowing English could save your life. Umyint Aye, a 56-year-old Burmese human-rights activist, had already been jailed for two weeks in Rangoon when incoming prisoners began to describe the abuse of monks in...

The Vatican's Asian Vexation.(World Affairs)
December 3, 2007... Byline: David Gibson Catholicism is thriving in the East. But for the Holy See, all roads to salvation must go through Rome. For nearly a quarter century before his election as pontiff, Joseph Ratzinger served as the Vatican's guardian...

Beltway Bandits.(Business)(for-profit aid)
December 3, 2007... Byline: Roya Wolverson Thanks to the Bush administration, for-profit aid work is a booming -- and controversial -- business. Blackwater Worldwide is only the tip of the iceberg. The private security firm, now a target of controversy...

Staying Safe in the Middle of the Road.(World Affairs)(Europe; economic policy)
December 3, 2007... European politicians are looking for the ideological center. It is comfortable ground, and a good place to pick up votes, but where are the big, bold ideas? It wasn't that long ago that Britain's Labour and Conservative parties were locked...

Keeping the Lights On.(Business)(energy outsourcing)(Company overview)
December 3, 2007... Byline: Sam Knight A British company is making big profits by outsourcing power to the world's poorest countries. It's a proposal that has come up in neither President Nicolas Sarkozy's energy plans for France, nor President Vladimir...

Back To The Future.(The Last Word; Staffan de Mistura)(Interview)
December 3, 2007... Byline: Rod Nordland and Larry Kaplow Staffan de Mistura, the U.N. Secretary-General's new special representative in Iraq, has been a troubleshooter in 19 conflicts worldwide. The United Nations all but withdrew from Iraq in 2004, after a...

China Will Eat Our Lunch.(Global Investor)
December 3, 2007... Most economists attribute the recent spike in Chinese inflation (6.5 percent in October) as an inevitable consequence of rapid growth. Few question why a country that has made tremendous gains in productivity, and that is responsible for...

Wonder Lands.(The Good Life; Shopping)(Highland Village Christmas Market)(Buyers guide)(Brief article)
December 3, 2007... Byline: Jenna Crombie Crowded streets and cookie-cutter gifts can make Christmas shopping less than heartwarming. However, traditional markets in Europe provide a saner setting for gift hunting and authentic, locally crafted treasures....

Hot Spot: Indonesia.(The Good Life)(Brief article)
December 3, 2007... Byline: Dana Thomas Bulgari Bali Bali, Indonesia This mystical island has ramped up its jet-set quotient with the arrival of the Bulgari Bali in Uluwatu, the second of the Italian luxury jewelry brand's hotels (the first opened in...

4 Hours in Aarhus.(The Good Life)(Denmark)(Brief article)
December 3, 2007... Byline: Charles Ferro Denmark's second city offers a range of museums, cultural institutions and fun, most of it packed into the center of town. DINE at one of the cafes on the Vadested strip by the canal. Enjoy a long draft beer with...

Dream House: Villefranche-Sur-Mer.(The Good Life; Dream House)(Buyers guide)(Brief article)
December 3, 2007... Relax in this 2,800-square-meter villa on the Cote d'Azur. Set on 1.5 lush hectares, this Mediterranean home offers 11 bedrooms, 14 bathrooms, a swimming pool, a game room, a sauna and stunning views of the ocean and the Riviera (€55...

Wine that Goes with a Shrimp Roll.(The Good Life; Cuisine)(Brief article)
December 3, 2007... Byline: Sonia Kolesnikov-Jessop Asian drinkers have preferred beers and liquors to wine, but that may be changing. Most restaurants in Asia now offer wine, and wine bars are cropping up in the more cosmopolitan cities. At the ultrachic...

Road Test: Mercedes-Benz S63.(The Good Life)(Product/service evaluation)
December 3, 2007... Byline: Tara Weingarten Smooth, Smart And Safe The Mercedes-Benz S63 IS not just a great drive, it's the safest car Mercedes- Benz has ever made. Body roll has been reduced 63 percent, allowing this full-size sedan to easily slice...

Perspectives.(Perspectives)(Quotation)(Brief article)
December 3, 2007... Byline: Quotation sources: The Washington Post, Financial Times, BBC, New York Times, AFP "I tell a lot of my soldiers: a good way to prepare for operations in Iraq is to watch the sixth season of 'The Sopranos'." Maj. Gen. Rick...

The Thin Red Line Between Promoting and Meddling.(Periscope; Bush's Democracy Campaign)
December 3, 2007... Byline: Seth Colter Walls As Lebanon's Parliament battles over who it will choose as the nation's next president, U.S. Ambassador Jeffrey Feltman has made it clear which side America is not on. In op-eds, TV appearances and meetings with...

Loveboat Diplomacy.(Periscope; Nuclear Relations)(United States and North Korea)(Brief article)
December 3, 2007... Byline: Christian Caryl Few things have been as dependable as animosity between the United States and North Korea -- until now. This month, U.S. sailors helped a North Korean ship repel a pirate attack near Somalia, winning a courteous...

Breaks in the Ranks.(Periscope; World Leaders)(Venezuela)(Brief article)
December 3, 2007... Byline: Phil Gunson More drama ahead in Venezuela's long-running political soap opera: after nearly nine years in office, radical leftist President Hugo Chavez is facing his strongest opposition in years and possibly his first-ever...

By the Numbers.(Periscope)(movie piracy)(Brief article)
December 3, 2007... China and other Asian countries get most of the blame for pirating films and other intellectual property. But a Motion Picture Association study finds that while Hollywood lost $6.1 billion in revenue to piracy in 2005, China was far from the...

THE DIGIT.(Periscope)(Tokyo restaurants; Michelin stars)(Brief article)
December 3, 2007... Tokyo restaurants were awarded a combined 191 Michelin stars in the famed food rater's first Asia Guide. That's more than any other city: Paris got 64 and New York got 42.

Reality Check.(Periscope)(Brief article)
December 3, 2007... The price of cocaine in U.S. cities rose 44 percent in the past nine months; Washington says this means it's winning the war on drugs. Critics say prices are spiking due to better border controls, but that most drug-war money goes to military...

An Uneasy Race to Profit.(Periscope; Marketing)(ethnic marketing)(Brief article)
December 3, 2007... Byline: Tony Dokoupil The idea that genetic differences exist between ethnicities is the basis of a growing and controversial advertising strategy for a $2 trillion market. Much of the money is tied to skin-care supplies, such as Rx for...

Is It Hatchet or Fiction?(Periscope; Books)('The Ghost'; Robert Harris)(Brief article)(Book review)
December 3, 2007... Byline: William Underhill Picture a former British prime minister who got mired in a Middle Eastern war alongside the United States. He's charming, but glib for some tastes. By his side: a manipulative wife. Surely it's Tony Blair....

The Lady in Waiting.(Periscope; Fast Chat)(Nicole Kidman)(Interview)(Brief article)
December 3, 2007... Byline: Nicki Gostin Nicole Kidman packs a one-two punch this fall with the indie "Margot at the Wedding" and the big-budget fantasy "The Golden Compass." The actress spoke with Nicki Gostin Excerpts: "Margot's Wedding" is...

Forget About the Viruses, Focus on the Bad Behavior.(The Technologist)
December 3, 2007... Byline: Karin Rives The attack came in late September, a few weeks after a regional Swedish newspaper published cartoons by a controversial artist portraying the Prophet Muhammad as a dog. In a few days, hackers ultimately traced to IP...

Carbon cycles naturally . . .(The Technologist)(global warming; Himalayas)(Brief article)
December 3, 2007... Byline: JAIME CUNNINGHAM --from atmosphere to soil to ocean and back again. In the Amazon, carbon from dead trees tends to quickly make its way back into the atmosphere, but not so in the Himalayas. Scientists at Woods Hole and in Europe,...

India's Masala Movies Ending Corruption in Brazil Selling Democracy in Africa? A Gory Gang-War PictureMail Call: Women At The Helm.(Letters)(Letter to the editor)
December 10, 2007... Readers of our Oct. 22 cover story on women leaders were full of praise. "Brava!" cheered one. "Thanks for the extensive coverage," wrote another. Many singled out India's Mayawati for admiration, and one summed up, "She's politically mature,...

Under A Quiet Surface.(World Affairs)
December 10, 2007... Byline: Owen Matthews AND Anna Nemtsova Forget democracy. The real Russian politics rages in the Kremlin. When a squad of heavily armed Russian federal agents started banging on the front door of her suburban mansion, Galina Bulbova did...

Same Old, Same Old.(World Affairs)
December 10, 2007... Byline: William Underhill; With Jacopo Barigazzi in Milan Italy's political leaders are older than most, which helps explain the slow, shuffling pace of change. At 82, Giorgio Napolitano might be contemplating a quiet end to an...

Rough Justice.(World Affairs)
December 10, 2007... Byline: Daniel Pepper Rwanda's experiment with grass-roots courts isn't helping this traumatized land. Last month, on the outskirts of Kigali, an impatient judge was berating a suspected member of an execution squad during the 1994...

Why Apple Isn't Japanese.(World Affairs)
December 10, 2007... Byline: Christian Caryl; With Akiko Kashiwagi in TokyoWith in Tokyo Once a technology leader, Japan is now struggling to find its place in the digital age. Ever heard of DoCoMo? probably not, unless you happen to live in Japan. NTT...

Roll Over, Monroe.(World Affairs)(Monroe Doctrine )
December 10, 2007... Byline: Joseph Contreras The influence the United States once claimed as a divine right in Latin America is slipping away, fast. From Tijuana to Tierra Del Fuego, American rivals are making rapid inroads into a region that the United...

On Ability And Responsibility.(World View)
December 10, 2007... Byline: Aluf Benn When the Bush administration first proposed holding a Middle East peace conference in Annapolis, Maryland, some months ago, the idea was greeted with almost universal skepticism. Op-ed writers mocked the key participants...

Dark Days For The Empire.(Business)
December 10, 2007... Byline: B. J. Lee AND George Wehrfritz A corruption scandal is threatening to take down the Republic of Samsung, and reshape Korea Inc. Business One of Asia's pre-eminent family empires is under assault. Samsung (often called the...

Life's A Beach.(Business)
December 10, 2007... Byline: Mac Margolis The real is flying high -- and so are Brazilians. For the makers of Porsche, times have never been better in Latin America's biggest nation. Sales to Brazil have risen tenfold since 2003 and are set to hit a record...

Old Friends Of Tehran.(World Affairs)
December 10, 2007... Byline: Roya Wolverson Washington's economic sanctions have pushed Iran closer to trade partners like Russia and China. President George W. Bush's charm offensive is paying off. After a slew of cozy visits in recent weeks with European...

Caught In The Middle.(Iraq)(Interview)
December 10, 2007... Byline: Rod Nordland and Larry Kaplow Simply holding office in Iraq can be deadly; just ask its vice president, who faces enemies on all sides. Vice President Tareq Al Hashemi is the highest-ranking Sunni in Iraq's Shia-dominated unity...

Forests Are Not Green.(Society)
December 10, 2007... Byline: Mac Margolis The Amazon may not help in the battle against rising temperatures. Think of global warming and the usual set of apocalyptic images comes to mind, from glaciers crashing into the sea to Biblical deluges. But what...

Roaring Into Fashion.(Arts)
December 10, 2007... Byline: Amber Haq The 1920s saw the liberation of the female form -- and the birth of haute couture. It's an open secret in Parisian fashion circles that when designers need inspiration for new embroidery motifs to adorn their haute...

A Ghost Of War's Past.(Books)
December 10, 2007... Byline: Adam B. Kushner The Treaty of Versailles didn't just provoke World War II. It betrayed the very idea of the nation-state. Woodrow Wilson was an inadvertent villain. David A. Andelman's new book, "A Shattered Peace: Versailles...

The Price Is Right.(The Last Word; Anand G. Mahindra)(Interview)
December 10, 2007... Byline: Vibhuti Patel The U.S. dollar may be plummeting fast, but Anand G. Mahindra is moving faster. As CEO of India's $6 billion Mahindra Group (which introduced the Jeep to India and now leads the nation's SUV market), he intends to use...

Hunting Foxes.(Arts)(Brief article)
December 10, 2007... Byline: MALCOLM JONES RALPH STEADMAN, BEST KNOWN FOR his savage illustrations accompanying the writing of the late Hunter S. Thompson, is a man who thinks best with pen in hand. But what he thinks can get out of control in a hurry, as...

Japan And Then Some.(Global Investor)
December 10, 2007... Byline: Peter Tasker For those who lived through the late-1980s japanese bubble, today's rip-roaring bull market in Chinese stocks is deja vu all over again. The similarities are striking -- the seemingly unstoppable rise of a new economic...

Wrap It Up.(The Good Life; Holiday Gift Guide)(Buyers guide)(Brief article)
December 10, 2007... It's our favorite time of year again: the season of indulgence. Holding back is not an option when it comes to eating, drinking, partying or buying presents. So we offer up to you a tiny sampling of the items we most covet. After all, nothing...

WISH LIST.(The Good Life)(Buyers guide)(Brief article)
December 10, 2007... 1. Carolina Herrera strapless dress: For the life of the party. $3,290; saks.com 2. Laure Selignac cache pot: Hand-painted, gold-rimmed porcelain. From $390; laureselignac.com 3. Loro Piana cashmere bathrobe: Step out of the shower...

DREAMING BIG.(The Good Life)(Buyers guide)(Brief article)
December 10, 2007... 8. Royal DeMaria 2000 Icewine: An award-winning Chardonnay. $50,000; royaldemaria.com 9. VPL Tidal Tote bag: A sleek patent carryall to make her shine. $1,015; vplnyc.com 10. H. Stern feather bracelet: Glamorous in gold. $15,500;...

Perspectives.(Perspectives)(Brief article)
December 10, 2007... "The days of bargain land prices are over. Well, unless there's another eruption." Albert Prigione, a property developer in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, where gold, diamond, timber and cassiterite smuggling has funded a housing boom...

Periscope: Environmental Politics: World's First Green Leader; World Leaders: 'P.M. Bean'; House Arrest: The Blue Jailers; Wealth: Gore's Green Dream; Fast Chat: Smile for The Camera; Books: The Graphic Future.(Periscope)
December 10, 2007... Byline: Stefan Theil and Patrick Falby; Stryker Mcguire and Jenna Crombie; Patrick Falby; Tony Dokoupil and David A. Kaplan Environmental Politics: World's First Green Leader Commentators worldwide called Australia's vote last week the...

Socializing With Your Friends Amid The Commercial Clutter.(The Technologist; Technology)
December 10, 2007... Byline: Sarah Elkins Greg Benedetto believes in the old adage "the customer comes first." He worked for Canada's HMV record chain for two years as a teenager and, in that time, learned a thing or two about getting people to buy things. "A...

Our biofuel future.(The Technologist)(Brief article)
December 10, 2007... -- may live in the belly of Nasutitermes corniger, an ordinary termite. Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Joint Genome Institute in Walnut Creek, California, went into the termite's "hindgut paunch" to study bacteria that in theory...

Don't Give Up On Afghanistan.(Arts)(Cover story)
December 17, 2007... Byline: KHALED HOSSEINI The fact that Afghans haven't is all the more reason for us to stay engaged. EVERY TIME I STEP BEFORE A PODIUM, SOMEONE will inevitably raise his hand, and say, "So, Mr. Hosseini, are you optimistic or...

Letters.(Letters)(Letter to the editor)
December 17, 2007... Mail Call: A Terrorist Haven Readers of our Oct. 29 cover story on where the jihad is sent in hundreds of passionate cheers. "You're right. Pakistan is the hub of jihad," wrote one. "It's the breeding place and haven for terrorists," said...

Is This the New Look of France?(World Affairs)
December 17, 2007... President Sarkozy has a lot of energy. But he is increasingly looking like a placeholder for whoever comes next. In Paris this week I am shocked at the number of homeless people sleeping in the cold and rain in doorways of the richest...

The Modernizing Mob.(World Affairs)(yakuza)
December 17, 2007... Byline: Christian Caryl and Akiko Kashiwagi Like smart businesses everywhere, Japan's infamous underworld gangs are reinventing themselves to cope with increasingly global competition. If you ever want to see Japanese gangsters at...

Where 'Guanxi' Rules.(World Affairs)
December 17, 2007... Byline: Jonathan Ansfield; With Melinda Liu and Wang Zhenru in Beijing and Jonathan Adams and Jackie Lin in Taipei Party politics, cross-Strait relations and good old greed still trump everything else in China. Chinese politics are...

A Rock Star Is Reborn.(Business)
December 17, 2007... Byline: Keith Naughton Carlos Ghosn made history by saving Nissan from bankruptcy. Now for his second act, he's engineering a turnaround at his Franco-Japanese auto alliance. It's seven minutes to showtime and Carlos Ghosn is backstage...

Blowing in the Wind.(Arts)('The Kite Runner')(Movie review)
December 17, 2007... Byline: Lorraine Ali The film adaptation of 'The Kite Runner' is a model of cross-cultural collaboration. Khaled Hosseini's 2003 novel "The Kite Runner" introduced Western readers to an Afghanistan beyond the Soviet invasion, Osama...

How To Fly Kites and Other Lessons.(Arts)('The Kite Runner'; movie adaptation)(Interview)(Cover story)
December 17, 2007... Byline: Lorraine Ali The writer, director and lead actor dish on the joys and hardships of turning a beloved book into a film. On the eve of "The Kite Runner's" Los Angeles premiere, Hosseini, Forster and Abdalla spoke with NEWSWEEK's...

The Great Race.(Arts)(Craig Venter; genetic research)
December 17, 2007... Byline: Fred Guterl Craig Venter recounts bucking the system to decode the human genome. To what degree is Craig Venter a product of his age? It's hard not to ask this question in reading his memoir, "A Life Decoded: My Life, My...

The Luxuries of Technology.(Nick Foulkes; TOP Shelf)(cell phones; sound systems; innovations and design)
December 17, 2007... Byline: Nick Foulkes I am caught on the horns of an argumentum cornutum, pondering the question, "Can a technology product be a luxury product?" It is the sort of philosophical issue worthy of a 21st-century Aristotle or Socrates. After...

Adding Fuel to the Fire.(World Affairs)(social unrest; car fires)
December 17, 2007... Byline: Tracy McNicoll Thousands of vehicles are set ablaze each year in France. Blame the urban planners -- and the media. The spark was a collision between a motorbike and a police car in a neighborhood north of Paris. Two teenagers...

The Last Word: Luis Moreno-Ocampo: The Global Lawman.(The Last Word)(Interview)
December 17, 2007... Byline: Arlene Getz and Jonathan Tepperman Midway through his nine-year term as prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Luis Moreno-Ocampo is ebullient about the prospects -- and progress -- of the tribunal. As bureaucracies...

Mind Buffett, Don't Panic.(Global Investor)(Warren Buffett)
December 17, 2007... Byline: Barton Biggs; Biggs, the legendary Wall Street strategist, is a managing partner at Traxis Partners. A year from now, stocks, the dollar and U.S. inflation will be higher, and oil, gold, the euro and the pound will be lower. ...

Home, Sweet Home.(The Good Life; Children)(playhouses)(Buyers guide)(Brief article)
December 17, 2007... Byline: Jenna Crombie It's never too early to start cultivating a luxury property owner. Children now have a growing range of dream-home options, conveniently located in Mom and Dad's backyard. The latest crop of kids' playhouses combine...

Hot Spot: Singapore.(The Good Life)(Majestic Bar)(Brief article)
December 17, 2007... Byline: Sonia Kolesnikov-Jessop MAJESTIC BAR SINGAPORE This traditional Chinese shophouse has been converted into a hip new fantasy-theme bar built around a giant, whimsical tree hosting strange creatures on its walls. ...

4 Hours In Montevideo.(The Good Life)(Uruguay)(Brief article)
December 17, 2007... Byline: Brian Byrnes Often overshadowed by neighboring behemoth Buenos Aires, the Uruguayan capital is a bustling port and financial center that mixes modern culture with historic charm. It's also becoming a popular spot for Hollywood film...

The Maximalist.(The Good Life)(Koenigsegg)(Brief article)
December 17, 2007... Koenigsegg is producing limited-edition models of two popular supercars, the CCX and the CCXR. Both can jump from zero to 60 in 2.9 seconds, but the CCXR goes faster, up to 250mph. Only 14 of the special CCXs and six CCXRs have been produced,...

Visiting the Newest Wonders.(The Good Life; Travel)(Seven Wonders of the World)
December 17, 2007... Byline: Zvika Krieger Intrepid travelers who missed visiting the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World by about 500 years now have a chance to visit the New Seven Wonders -- a list of the top man-made landmarks chosen earlier this year via...

Cool Drawers.(The Good Life; Appliances)(refrigerators)(Buyers guide)(Brief article)
December 17, 2007... Byline: Susan H. Greenberg The refrigerator never seems big enough to hold all those holiday leftovers and half-drunk bottles of champagne. But appliance-makers have devised an innovative solution: refrigerated drawers, which can fit under...

The View From the Inside.(Arts; Review)('The Kite Runner')(Movie review)
December 17, 2007... Byline: David Ansen Forster's vivid film is unabashedly sentimental. IF "Atonement" hadn't already been taken, Khaled Hosseini could have used it as a title for his novel "The Kite Runner," whose protagonist, a privileged 12-year-old...

Perspectives.(Perspectives)(quotations; Mahmoud Ahmadinejad; Jeffrey Sachs; Toyota robot)(Quotation)(Brief article)
December 17, 2007... Byline: Quotation sources: Reuters (2), AP, Reuters, New York Times "Today, the Iranian nation is victorious but you [the United States] are empty-handed." Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in a speech after the U.S. National...

Why America's Point Man On China Is Running Into a Wall.(Periscope; Talks)(Henry Paulson)
December 17, 2007... Byline: Stephen Glain Is Henry Paulson's big China offensive dead in the water? As the U.S. Treasury secretary preps for the next meeting of his widely hyped Strategic Economic Dialogue in Beijing this week, some China watchers are...

A November Surprise.(Periscope; Iran)(intelligence report )(Brief article)
December 17, 2007... Byline: Mark Hosenball American intelligence agencies can be leaky, but one secret they kept was the new National Intelligence Estimate's stunning reversal on Iran's nuclear ambitions. This past spring, officials told NEWSWEEK, the report...

The Metal Kingdom.(Periscope; Commodities)(rare earths)(Brief article)
December 17, 2007... Byline: Patrick Falby What's the most exceptional ingredient in your PC, iPod, cell phone and digital camera? Rare earth. The rare earth industry (including minerals and oxides like indium, tungsten and dysprosium) is worth $1 billion and...

By the Numbers.(Periscope)(top American and European chief executive officers)(Brief article)
December 17, 2007... Just because they do business around the globe doesn't mean CEOs get around it. A study of top American and European CEOs by executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles exposes Americans as the homebodies. 10 Percentage of current U.S....

Italians Kiss Off the Mob.(Periscope; Organized Crime)(Brief article)
December 17, 2007... Byline: Barbie Nadeau Muckraker Roberto Saviano is credited with bolstering Italy's recent anti-mafia momentum. Saviano, 28, infiltrated the Camorra in his hometown near Naples and scoured court records to research his best-selling novel,...

Jackson Was King.(Periscope; Worth Your Time)(Michael Jackson; "Thriller")(Brief article)
December 17, 2007... Byline: Joshua Alston Michael Jackson is handsome and charming. He's flirtatious. He's mostly guileless, sometimes a little confrontational. He's magnetic. I don't mean now. Now he's a creepy symbol of the afflictive nature of fame....

'Hamas Closing In'.(Periscope; Fast Chat)(journalist Alan Johnston)(Interview)(Brief article)
December 17, 2007... Byline: William Underhill BBC journalist Alan Johnston was freed by Hamas in July after being held for 16 weeks by Palestinian extremists of the Army of Islam. His new book is "Kidnapped." He spoke to NEWSWEEK's William Underhill....

Cashless In The Hinterlands.(The Technologist)(mobile banking)
December 17, 2007... Byline: Jason Overdorf Mobile banking might save the government and banks money and reduce fraud that plagues the public-distribution system. Mobile phones are making life better for people in remote, underserved areas of India. They...

Panda Lovers Love Coal.(The Technologist; Energy)(World Wildlife Fund)(Brief article)
December 17, 2007... Byline: George Wehrfritz It isn't just pandas the World Wildlife Fund is hugging. In a major policy shift, the group is cautiously embracing a longtime foe of the greens: King Coal. Its report, "Climate Solutions: WWF's Vision for 2050,"...

Is He Still A 'Conviction Politician'?(World Affairs)
December 24, 2007... Byline: Stryker McGuire; With Jenna Crombie Gordon Brown was once riding high in the polls. But mini-scandals and a lack of coherence are taking their toll. The first few months of any prime minister's tenure are about definition: this...