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ATROCITY your life awakening
p.5 p.11 p.10

THE BEST OF THE U.S. AND INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

America’s
princeling
How Trump son-in-law
Jared Kushner inherited
the earth
p.16

APRIL 14, 2017 VOLUME 17 ISSUE 817

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 Contents 3

Editor’s letter
“Best wood for a fence.” “Rainbow mermaid Barbie.” “MacBook
battery problems.” You can tell a lot about people by what they
search for on the internet. Those phrases, for instance, all of
which I’ve Googled in the past few hours, could tell you that
I’m hoping to spruce up the backyard, that I live with a young
kid, and that I might be in the market for a new computer. And
soon, that web-surfing history of mine could be available for
sale to the highest bidder, thanks to a bill that President Trump
signed into law this week. (See Technology.) The new law al-
lows internet providers to sell advertisers our personal data, in-
cluding the words we search for and the websites we visit, with-
out our permission. Coupled with what internet companies al-
ready know about us—where we live, our Social Security num-
bers, when we watch TV and go online—it’s easier than ever for
companies to paint an incredibly detailed portrait of who we are
and how we live.
All this wouldn’t be that big of a deal if it just meant a few
more annoying ads for laptops and children’s dolls following
me around the web—though that’s creepy enough. But no one
thinks that’s where this ends. After all, it’s not just advertisers
who would pay top dollar for insights into our web habits; so
would political parties, insurance companies, and more. What if
health insurers want to know if you search for chronic illnesses
like diabetes, heart disease, or cancer online? Will employers vet
job candidates by buying their browsing history? And will pub-
lic officials or celebrities—or any of us—be open to blackmail if
someone purchases access to their secret web proclivities? We’ve
now opened the door to that future, and privacy experts say
there’s not much we can do to protect our data, save going off-
line. Perhaps it’s time to Google “off-the-grid properties.”
Carolyn O’Hara
Managing editor

NEWS
4 Main stories
The battle over intelligence
revelations; chemical
attack in Syria; the Senate
weighs a “nuclear” change
6 Controversy of the week
Mike Pence won’t dine
alone with a woman who
isn’t his wife. Is he a sexist
or a good Christian?
7 The U.S. at a glance
North Carolina repeals
“bathroom bill”; traffic
chaos in Atlanta
8 The world at a glance
Devastating mudslides
in Colombia; suicide
bombing in Russia
10 People
Meghan Markle’s racial
education; Michael J.
Fox laughs at Parkinson’s
11 Briefing
Has the West’s craving
for sugary treats caused a
public health crisis?
12 Best U.S. columns
Medicare for all suddenly
looks more likely; why
A young victim of the Syrian government’s gas attack (p.5)
ARTS
22 Books
Were Baby Boomers the
worst generation?
23 Author of the week
A former White House
insider demystifies life at
1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
26 Stage & Music
John Leguizamo gives
a lesson in Latin
LEISURE
30 Food & Drink
Tastes from remote lands at
three U.S. restaurants
31 Travel
Discovering Slovakia’s
majestic medieval sites
34 Consumer
Must-have accessories for
fans of farmers markets
Editor-in-chief: William Falk
Managing editors: Theunis Bates,
Carolyn O’Hara
Deputy editor/International: Susan Caskie
Deputy editor/Arts: Chris Mitchell
Senior editors: Harry Byford, Alex
Dalenberg, Richard Jerome, Dale Obbie,
Hallie Stiller, Frances Weaver
Art director: Dan Josephs
Photo editor: Loren Talbot
Copy editors: Jane A. Halsey, Jay Wilkins
Chief researcher: Christina Colizza
Contributing editors: Ryan Devlin,
Bruno Maddox
VP, publisher: John Guehl
VP, marketing: Tara Mitchell
Sales development director:
Samuel Homburger
Account director: Steve Mumford
Account managers: Shelley Adler,
Alison Fernandez
Detroit director: Lisa Budnick
Midwest director: Lauren Ross
Southeast director: Jana Robinson
West Coast directors: James Horan,
Rebecca Treadwell
Integrated marketing director: Nikki Ettore
Integrated associate marketing director:
Betsy Connors
Integrated marketing managers:
Matthew Flynn, Caila Litman
Research and insights manager:
Joan Cheung
Marketing designer: Triona Moynihan
Marketing coordinator: Reisa Feigenbaum
Digital director: Garrett Markley
Senior digital account manager:
Yuliya Spektorsky
Digital planner: Jennifer Riddell
Chief operating & financial officer:
Kevin E. Morgan
Director of financial reporting:
Arielle Starkman
EVP, consumer marketing & products:
Sara O’Connor
Consumer marketing director:

business doesn’t prepare history BUSINESS Leslie Guarnieri

people for government
14 Best European
columns
Britain and the EU begin
their difficult divorce
16 Talking points
Jared Kushner’s ever-
growing to-do list;
California’s tough line on
Getty (2)
Production manager: Kyle Christine Darnell
27 Film 35 News at a glance HR/operations manager: Joy Hart
Adviser: Ian Leggett
A spooky school More scrutiny for H-1B Chairman: John M. Lagana
tale in The visa program; “cyborg” U.K. founding editor: Jolyon Connell
Blackcoat’s workers in Sweden Company founder: Felix Dennis
Daughter 36 Making money
Why robot stock pickers Visit us at TheWeek.com.
are beating human traders For customer service go to www
.TheWeek.com/service or phone us
38 Best columns at 1-877-245-8151.
The corporate battle over Renew a subscription at www
a U.S. border tax; Silicon .RenewTheWeek.com or give a gift

anti-abortion activists; Meghan

at www.GiveTheWeek.com.
Trump’s energy plans Markle (p.10) Valley’s bro woes
THE WEEK April 14, 2017
4 NEWS The main stories...
Trump team’s allegations against Susan Rice
What happened Sorry, but Rice is not credible, said The Wall Street
Republicans this week accused former Obama Journal. Two weeks ago, she was denying any
administration national security adviser Susan knowledge of surveillance of Trump associates.
Rice of using intelligence information to spy on By asking for the “unmasking,” she may not have
President Donald Trump’s associates—a claim broken the law, but she was clearly motivated by
Democrats insist is designed to distract attention “political curiosity.” Investigators looking into
from the investigation into the Trump campaign’s Trump’s Russian connections must also determine
links to Russia. Rice reportedly asked intelligence whether the Obama administration “abused do-
agencies in her final weeks in office to provide mestic surveillance for its political purposes.”
her with the names of some Trump associates
who had been mentioned in surveillance reports What the columnists said
about foreign nationals. The identities of U.S. Of all the diversionary tactics Trump and his back-
citizens caught up in “incidental” collection are ers have deployed, this “ranks among the most des-
typically concealed in internal intelligence reports, Rice: ‘Unmasking’ was necessary. perate,” said Fred Kaplan in Slate.com. Unmasking
but high-level officials can ask for them to be requests by senior White House officials aren’t
“unmasked.” In an interview on NBC, Rice said “unmasking” unusual—former National Security Agency director Michael Hayden
was sometimes “necessary to do my job,” and insisted that she had calls them “somewhat routine.” As for motive, Rice’s alleged request
never leaked names or used intelligence for “political purposes.” came when investigators were looking into whether Russia had in-
terfered in the election, and whether Trump’s cronies were trying to
The Rice revelations came amid a fierce partisan struggle over the “undermine U.S. foreign policy” by promising to lift Obama’s puni-
FBI and congressional investigations into whether Trump loyalists tive sanctions on Putin. In other words, she was just doing her job.
colluded in Russia’s meddling in the 2016 campaign. The inves-
tigation by the House Intelligence Committee essentially ground Sorry, but “that won’t wash,” said Andrew McCarthy in National
to a halt in rancor, after its Republican chairman, Devin Nunes of Review.com. Rice, who disgraced herself trying to cover for the
California, privately met with two White House officials, and then Obama administration during the Benghazi scandal, asked for the
announced he’d seen reports showing Trump aides were “inciden- names so they’d spread “down the dissemination chain” to people
tally” swept up in surveillance. In other developments: Russian who might leak them. Lo and behold, national security adviser
spies targeted former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page after Michael Flynn later lost his job when details of his wiretapped con-
meeting with him in 2013, BuzzFeed.com reported. Trump cam- versation with a Russian ambassador were leaked. The media can’t
paign donor and adviser Erik Prince, a founder of the security firm afford to ignore this story, said Peter Wallison in RealClearPolitics
Blackwater, had a secret overseas meeting in January with a Rus- .com. If there’s any evidence Obama officials encouraged intel-
sian close to President Vladimir Putin, in an attempt to establish a ligence agencies to surveil Trump’s campaign or transition team, it
Trump-Moscow back channel, The Washington Post reported. The would be a “Watergate-level scandal.”
White House denied any knowledge of the meeting.
The legal “unmasking” of names during a legitimate investiga-
What the editorials said tion is irrelevant, said Jennifer Rubin in WashingtonPost.com.
Don’t fall for these “diversionary stratagems,” said The Washing- What should disturb every American is the mounting evidence that
ton Post. Ever since evidence started mounting that Trump’s team numerous Trump associates—including Flynn, former campaign
may have been working with the Russians, the president has been manager Paul Manafort, and former adviser Carter Page—got
“doing his best to confuse the public.” His ludicrous claim that money from Russia and had secret meetings with Russians, and
then–President Barack Obama ordered a wiretap on Trump Tower then worked for “the only candidate pushing a pro-Putin line.”
was an attempt to shift the focus toward leaks, and away from Maybe it’s all “lots and lots of smoke,” with no fire. But Trump and
his ties to Russia—and now Nunes and other water carriers have his loyalists are doing a good impression of “panicked people trying
taken up that mission. to hide something very damaging.”

It wasn’t all bad
QWhen 7-year-old Brady Duke
heard that a local police officer
had been shot dead in the line of
duty, he knew he had to help. The
Wisconsin boy packed up his prized
Nintendo Wii and his favorite video
games, and donated them to the
Wausau Police Department with a
note thanking the officers for keep-
ing his family safe. Touched by his
QSean “The Champ” McCarthy packs a mean punch. The
46-year-old former park ranger was born with cerebral palsy,
which affects body and muscle coordination, but just over
a decade ago he decided to challenge himself by taking up
boxing. Since then, the Milton, Mass., resident has worked
with a trainer three times a
week and focused inten-
sively on his core strength
and balance to help counter
his unsteady legs. Underes-
timated by many opponents,
McCarthy has clocked an
QKatie Blomquist has many fond
memories of riding a bicycle as a
child. But the first-grade teacher
recently realized that such experi-
ences were out of reach for many
kids at her South Carolina school,
because their low-income families
couldn’t afford bikes. So Blomquist,
34, launched an online campaign
to raise $65,000 to buy bikes and
helmets for all 650 students at North
Charleston’s Pepperhill Elementary.
Getty, The Boston Globe/Getty

generosity, the department invited
Brady to play Wii with the officers.
When Brady showed up, the boys
in blue gave him a new Xbox 360
console. Brady “just has a really big
heart,” said his mom, Jessica.
impressive series of wins in
the ring. His record is 11-0, all
knockouts. “I can be normal
in the ring,” McCarthy says.
“I got a left, right hook,
The Champ: Undefeated that’ll take you down.”
She ended up raising $82,000, and
the new wheels recently arrived
at the school, much to the delight
of the young students. “It’s about
bringing happiness,” says Blomquist.
“All children deserve that.”

On the cover: Senior White House adviser Jared Kushner.

THE WEEK April 14, 2017 Illustration by Howard McWilliam.
Cover photos from SANA/AP, Newscom, Getty
 ... and how they were covered
Trump shifts on Syria after chemical attack
What happened
President Trump hinted at a change in U.S.
policy toward Syria’s civil war this week after
he accused the regime of Bashar al-Assad of
crossing “many, many lines” by killing dozens
of civilians in a chemical weapons attack on
a rebel-held town. Survivors said residents of
Khan Sheikhoun began choking and foaming
at the mouth not long after suspected govern-
ment warplanes had roared overhead and
dropped several bombs—which experts be-
lieve could have carried the toxic nerve agent Rescuing civilians in Khan Sheikhoun
sarin. At least 72 civilians died in the attack,
Syrian activists said; videos from the scene showed volunteer med-
ics piling up the bodies of lifeless children. Trump called the attack York Times. “If there were a good, easy solution it would have been
an “affront to humanity” and said that, following the atrocity, “my found already.” Should the U.S. focus solely on ISIS in Syria, Assad
attitude toward Syria and Assad has changed very much.”
Before the gas attack, administration officials had repeatedly said
they would not continue President Obama’s policy of pushing for
Assad’s removal. The dictator’s fate, Secretary of State Rex Tiller-
son said last week, “will be decided by the Syrian people.” Trump
has not detailed his new policy toward Assad, but did criticize
former President Obama for failing to use military force follow-
ing a similar attack in 2013, a year after declaring that the use of
chemical weapons by Assad would “cross a red line.” “That set us issue empty expressions of outrage. The president has so far prac-
back a long ways,” said Trump, who in 2013 tweeted that Obama ticed an “unabashedly transactional foreign policy”—look at his
should “not attack Syria—if you do very bad things will happen.”
 
What the columnists said
It’s true that Obama “bears responsibility for the horror in Syria,”
Senate showdown over Gorsuch nomination
What happened
Republicans vowed to enact a historic rule change in the Senate
this week in order to confirm Supreme Court nominee Judge
Neil Gorsuch, after Democrats said they would mount an
unprecedented single-party filibuster against Gorsuch’s confir-
mation. As The Week went to press, the Senate had begun a
formal debate on the 49-year-old federal appeals court judge. If
Democrats use the filibuster to stop that debate from proceed-
ing to a confirmation vote, as expected, Republicans will need
60 votes to break the blockade. But Majority Leader Mitch
McConnell (R-Ky.) said Republicans would instead trigger the
“nuclear option,” changing long-standing Senate rules to allow
Supreme Court picks to advance with a simple 51-vote majority.
“What I can tell you is that Neil Gorsuch will be confirmed this
week,” said McConnell.
Republicans and Democrats traded bitter blows over the loom-
ing rule change. In a marathon 15-hour speech on the Senate
floor, Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) said that Republicans had
driven Democrats to filibuster Gorsuch by picking an outside-
the-mainstream judge to fill a “stolen” seat—a reference to the
GOP’s refusal to consider the nomination of Judge Merrick
Garland, President Obama’s pick to replace the late Justice An-
tonin Scalia. Republicans said Gorsuch was more than qualified
and accused Democrats of dragging the Senate “into the abyss”
by forcing them to deploy the nuclear option. “This is going to
Newscom
haunt the Senate,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.).
NEWS 5
said Jonathan Tobin in NationalReview
.com. U.S. inaction allowed Assad to gain
the upper hand in the country’s six-year-old
civil war with the help of his allies Russia
and Iran, and left ISIS looking like the only
defender of Syria’s Sunni Muslim major-
ity. But this is Trump’s mess now. And if he
doesn’t abandon his dream of closer relations
with a Moscow that enables Assad, he’ll find
himself complicit “in one of the great human
rights catastrophes of the 21st century.”
Trump “is discovering that every big problem
he faces is like Obamacare,” said Thomas Friedman in The New
will keep trying to restore his control over the whole country, which
“will mean endless massacres.” A negotiated power-sharing deal
between Assad and the rebels is impossible, because there’s no trust.
The least bad solution is to partition the country, but such a plan
would require hundreds of thousands of international peacekeepers.
This latest gas attack is a threat to “the very heart of foundational
international norms,” said Thanassis Cambanis in TheAtlantic
.com. Yet nobody should be surprised if Trump does nothing but
“warm words” for brutal Egyptian dictator Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi
during his Washington visit this week. But if the U.S. no longer re-
sponds forcefully to acts of barbarity, more tyrants will feel free to
slaughter innocents. “Today, Syrians suffer. Tomorrow, the world.”
What the columnists said
Neil Gorsuch may soon be on the Supreme Court bench, and he
“is more dangerous than he appears,” said Nancy Gertner in The
Boston Globe. Though he appears mild-mannered, his approach is
staunchly pro-business and “far out of the mainstream.” He once
sided with a company that fired a trucker who abandoned his
broken-down rig in minus-14-degree temperatures. If Republicans
have their way, Gorsuch could be on the bench in time for this
term’s biggest case, said Adam Liptak in The New York Times. It
involves the separation of church and state in Missouri, and the
new conservative justice “is likely to cast the decisive vote.”
Democrats made their bed and now they have to lie in it, said
the Washington Examiner in an editorial. In Gorsuch, they op-
posed an “obviously qualified” nominee and pushed Republicans
toward the nuclear option by destroying every other Senate norm
in their path. That includes the filibuster, which Democrats were
the first to abolish to smooth the way for Obama’s appeals court
and executive branch nominees in 2013.
Both parties may have damaged the Supreme Court forever, said
Jennifer Rubin in WashingtonPost.com. The threat of a filibuster
used to guarantee that presidents picked moderate nominees.
Without that threat, presidents with a Senate majority can nomi-
nate any “political hack” they want. So prepare yourself for “a pa-
rade of partisans” in the coming years. “Are we ready for Justice
Keith Ellison?” Or “Justice Steve King, anyone?”
THE WEEK April 14, 2017
6 NEWS Controversy of the week
Pence: When does Christian virtue become sexism?
It turns out President Trump and his straitlaced VP Mike inhibitions.” Infidelity is easily stumbled into, which is
Pence have something in common, said Jia Tolentino in why cheating—and divorce—are so rampant. The Pences’
NewYorker.com: They share “a stated inability to model may not be for everyone, but every married couple
resist women.” Trump, of course, is on videotape that wants to stay that way should “develop their
attesting to his lack of self-control in the pres- own guidelines to protect their marriages.”
ence of beautiful women. Thanks to a profile
last week in The Washington Post, however, Men can take whatever steps they need to
we’ve learned that Pence, too, is evidently help- defend their marriages, said Jill Filipovic in
less in the face of female temptation. A devout Cosmopolitan.com, but “it crosses a line
Christian, the vice president refuses to eat when those steps handicap the women you
alone with a woman not his wife, or work work with.” Pence’s view of women as sirens
late with a female aide, or attend any party and his fear of his own sinful nature put the
where alcohol is being served unless Karen women who work beneath and around him
Pence, his spouse of 31 years, is at his side. Karen and Mike Pence: No butting in. at a huge, albeit very familiar, disadvantage.
The Pences are entitled to run their marriage as Like “women across America,” his female
they see fit, said Heather Schwedel in Slate.com. But their embrace staffers are excluded from the bonding and mentoring that occur
of “the Billy Graham rule”—named for the evangelical leader who when the boss grabs a beer or dinner or golf game with the boys
came up with it—does “point toward a pretty radically retrograde or an individual male protégé. This is one big reason why “it’s
mindset” about women in the workplace. Pence, who calls his still men who run the show” in our society. Pence’s “‘No Girls
wife “Mommy,’’ seems to see women “primarily as sexual tempta- Allowed’ dining rule” would ensure it’s kept that way.
tions,” rather than as peers whose ideas might be worth discussing
over a sandwich, or even—heaven forbid—a glass of wine. This liberal outrage rings hollow, said Jonah Goldberg in
NationalReview.com. If Pence were Muslim and followed the
“Good for Mike Pence,” said Charles Cooke in NationalReview same rule, “as devout Muslims indeed might,” would liberals be
.com. Despite a loud, collective “Yuck” from the liberal media, so open in expressing their scorn? What if he were an Orthodox
Pence’s personal code makes sense in a town where marriages Jew? I suspect the negative reaction to the Pences is less about fem-
and careers are routinely destroyed by the explosive mixture of inism than about anti-Christian bigotry, and liberals’ “self-loathing
alcohol, long hours of close collegiality, and lust. Far from being of America’s traditional culture.” Nevertheless, said Olga Khazan
a sexist oddball, Pence clearly just thinks that in Karen “he has in TheAtlantic.com, treating people in workplaces differently
a great thing going,” and he’d rather err on the side of caution based on their gender inevitably hurts women’s careers. Besides,
to minimize the risk of messing it up. In case you hadn’t noticed, Pence should be aware that in 2017, forgoing cocktails with oppo-
“men and women are sexually attracted to each other,” said site-sex co-workers is no longer a guarantee of fidelity. In the age
Mollie Hemingway in TheFederalist.com, “and alcohol lowers of sexting, you can always just “hit her up on Snapchat.”

Good week for:

Only in America
QA Northern Arizona Uni-
versity student had her grade
reduced on an English paper
for using the term “mankind”
rather than a gender-neutral
alternative. Cailin Jeffers ap-
pealed, saying the term clearly
refers to all people. Her profes-
sor, Dr. Anne Scott, countered
that it is “sexist” and “does not
mean ‘all people’ to all people.”
She urged Jeffers to “look
beyond her preset ideologies”
and resubmit the paper.
QA Pennsylvania business-
man who voted for Donald
Trump says he has to hire
immigrants because too many
native-born workers take
drugs. Sterling Technologies
president Craig Quigley says
that about 20 percent of local
applicants fail drug tests, forc-
ing him to hire immigrants,
including Syrian refugees, “to
fill the void.” Quigley says he’d
gladly hire more Americans,
but only if they “get off drugs.”
Complicity, after President Trump gave his daughter Ivanka an
Boring but important
official though unpaid White House position as a senior adviser, Bannon off NSC
with a security clearance. In a TV interview, Ivanka said that President Trump removed chief
strategist Stephen Bannon
“when I disagree with my father, he knows it” and that if “being
from his seat on the National
complicit is wanting to be a force for good...then I’m complicit.”
Security Council this week, in
Pink diamonds, after the most expensive jewel ever sold was a demotion that was report-
auctioned off at Sotheby’s. The 59.6 carat Pink Star diamond was edly pushed by senior White
bought for $71.2 million by a Hong Kong jewelry retailer. House aide Jared Kushner. The
A quiet repast, after an Italian restaurant in North Carolina saw original decision to elevate
business double when it decided to stop serving children under Bannon to the council caused
controversy in January; critics
age 5. Owner Pasquale Caruso said it ruins his customers’ dinners
said his presence risked politi-
“when there’s constantly food on the floor, loud electronic devices
keeping kids entertained, and small children screaming.” cizing foreign policy. Kushner
was increasingly concerned
Bad week for: that Bannon’s confrontational
influence was hurting the pres-
Separate bedrooms, after more than 250,000 people signed an
ident, according to Politico.
online petition demanding that Melania Trump move to the White Trump’s decision was seen as
House from New York City, to save taxpayers about $150,000 a a vote of confidence for his
day in security costs. “This expense yields no positive results for new national security adviser,
the nation,” the petition says, “and should be cut.” H.R. McMaster, who replaced
The gender gap, after The Washington Free Beacon reported Michael Flynn. A White House
that equal-pay champion Sen. Elizabeth Warren on average pays official said Bannon had been
her female staffers $20,000 less than her male staffers. placed on the NSC to “baby-
sit” Flynn and to ensure the
Dunkin’ Donuts, which agreed to give three free buttered muffins council was “deoperational-
or bagels to 1,400 Massachusetts customers, to settle a class-action ized” under Trump. “That job
lawsuit from a man who was repeatedly served a “butter substi- is done,” the official said.
Getty

tute.” Jan Polanik’s lawyer said, “He just really prefers butter.”
THE WEEK April 14, 2017
 The U.S. at a glance ...
Louisville Washington, D.C.
Rally violence lawsuit: A federal judge Extreme vetting: The Trump administra-
ruled last week that three protesters tion is considering security measures
could move that would force tourists from the U.K.,
ahead with France, and other long-standing U.S. allies
their lawsuit to reveal their cellphone contacts and
accusing social media passwords when they enter
President the U.S., The Wall Street Journal reported
Trump of this week. President Trump promised as
inciting a candidate to implement “extreme vet-
violence at ting” procedures to combat terrorism.
a Louisville The changes might apply to visitors from
Protesters at the March rally campaign 38 countries that participate in the visa
rally. The protesters said they were peace- waiver program. The aim is to “figure
fully protesting Trump at the March out who you are communicating with,” a
2016 event when they were physically Department of Homeland Security official
attacked by three Trump supporters—one said. “What you can get on the average
of them a member of a white national- person’s phone can be invaluable.” Trump
ist group. Moments before the attack, is also considering an “ideological test”
Trump had pointed at the protesters and for visa applicants that would ask them
said, “Get ’em out of here.” One of the their opinions on the treatment of women
demonstrators, an African-American and the “sanctity of human life.” Travel
woman, said she was subjected to sexist experts said the measures would be disas-
and racist slurs by rally attendees. trous for the U.S. tourism industry.
Trump had sought to dismiss the
lawsuit on free speech grounds,
arguing that he didn’t intend
for his supporters to use force.
But Judge David Hale said
the protesters’ injuries were a
“direct and proximate result”
of Trump’s words. The three
are seeking unspecified damages
for incitement to riot and negli-
gence against the Trump campaign.
Atlanta
Bridge collapse: A massive fire under an
Atlanta
bridge
allegedly Raleigh, N.C.
started by ‘Bathroom bill’ repeal: North Carolina
a homeless lawmakers last week voted to undo the
man caused controversial “bathroom bill” that caused
a portion nationwide outrage in March 2016—
of Interstate though critics said the new legislation fails
85 to col- to fully repeal the original act. Businesses,
Commuting nightmare lapse last sports groups, and entertainers boycotted
week, creating traffic chaos in one of the the state when it passed the earlier law,
nation’s most congested cities. Authorities known as HB2, which required transgen-
accused the homeless man of causing the der people to use public restrooms corre-
blaze by setting fire to a chair under the sponding to their sex on their birth certifi-
expressway. The fire spread to a stock- cates. The compromise repeal bill, signed
pile of construction materials, igniting a by Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, elimi-
fireball that melted the bridge’s steel rein- nates that requirement—though it also
forcements and caused the concrete struc- states that only state legislators, not cities,
ture to collapse. No one was hurt, but can make rules for public restrooms in the
evening-rush-hour drivers were stuck for future. It also blocks local governments
hours. The damaged section of I-85 usu- from passing ordinances that expand
ally carries about 250,000 vehicles a day; LGBTQ protections for nearly four years.
officials said it wouldn’t reopen until June. The NCAA lifted its ban on holding
Some residents said beleaguered motor- championship events in the basketball-
ists needed to consider other commuting mad state following the repeal. But gay
options anyway. “I think Atlanta needed a rights groups said that Cooper had made
AP (4)
little kick in the butt,” said one. a “dirty deal” with GOP lawmakers.
NEWS 7
Washington, D.C.
Trump greets el-Sissi: President Trump
vowed to
help Egyptian
President Abdel-
Fattah el-Sissi
fight terrorism as
he welcomed the
hard-line leader
to the White
House this
week, in a meet- A warm hello for el-Sissi
ing that was criticized by human rights
advocates. The visit marked a departure
from U.S. policy under President Obama,
who didn’t extend a White House invite
to el-Sissi after the general seized power in
a 2013 coup. The Obama administration
also briefly froze military aid to Egypt
when el-Sissi’s military killed more than
2,000 people in a crackdown on support-
ers of former president Mohamed Morsi,
the Muslim Brotherhood leader who was
elected in 2012. Trump and el-Sissi
discussed designating the Muslim
Brotherhood a terrorist group
and working together against
violent extremism. Trump told
el-Sissi he was doing a “fantastic
job,” adding, “You have a great
friend and ally...in me.” El-Sissi told
Trump he “had a deep admiration of
your unique personality.”
Washington, D.C.
Police reforms delayed:
Attorney General Jeff
Sessions ordered a
review this week of
all Obama-era agree-
ments to overhaul
troubled police
Sessions
departments, in
order to see whether those reforms fit
with the Trump administration’s agenda
of promoting officer safety and morale.
Since 2009, the Justice Department has
enforced 14 reform agreements, known
as “consent decrees,” with police depart-
ments accused of racial discrimination
and excessive force—including a sweep-
ing overhaul of the Baltimore Police
Department. The Baltimore agreement
was reached after the death of Freddie
Gray, a black man who was fatally
injured in police custody, and called for
changes to officer training. Sessions’
memo also covers a pending agreement
with the Chicago Police Department.
Baltimore and Chicago officials expressed
dismay at the delay. But Sessions has long
criticized consent decrees and federal
investigations into police departments—
arguing they endanger officers’ lives and
“undermine respect for police officers.”
THE WEEK April 14, 2017
8 NEWS The world at a glance ...
Lampedusa, Italy
Refugees drown: Nearly 150
people, including children and
pregnant women, are believed to
have drowned last week when
a boat loaded with migrants
capsized in the Mediterranean.
The sole survivor, a 16-year-old
Rescuing Europe-bound migrants
Gambian boy who held on to
a floating fuel can until he was
rescued by a Spanish ship, said the boat had left Libya with 147
people from sub-Saharan Africa on board. So far this year, at least
600 migrants are believed to have died trying to reach Europe
from Libya. Last month, a humanitarian vessel rescued some
400 migrants who were found drifting in a wooden boat without
power some 10 miles off the Libyan coast.
Bucharest, Romania
Measles spreads: A measles outbreak centered in Romania and Italy
is spreading across Europe, and the World Health Organization
is urging countries to get their people vaccinated. Romania, the
worst-hit nation, has reported more than 3,400 cases and 17 deaths
since January 2016, while Italy is thought to have had more than
450 cases since the start of this year. The outbreaks have partly
been caused by mistrust of vaccines and partly by the fact that
vaccines are difficult to obtain in some countries. In France, for
example, people need to make an appointment with their doctor
to get a prescription, then pick up the vaccine at a pharmacy and
revisit their doctor to receive the injection. “Outbreaks will con-
tinue,” said WHO’s Zsuzsanna Jakab, “until every country reaches
the level of immunization needed to fully protect its population.”

Ciudad Juárez, Mexico

Journalism under siege: Three reporters have been shot dead
in Mexico in the past month, an unprecedented attack on
the country’s free press. In the most brazen killing, journalist
Miroslava Breach, 54, was shot eight times while sitting in her car
with one of her three children. A note left at the scene called her a
“tattletale.” Breach had reported on the links between politicians
and drug cartels in Chihuahua state for
La Jornada, a national newspaper based
in Mexico City, and Norte de Ciudad
Juárez. In a front-page letter headlined
“Adios!” Norte’s owner Oscar A.
Cantú Murguía this week announced
he was closing the paper. “I am not pre-
pared for any more of my collaborators
Protesting Breach’s murder to pay [with their lives],” he wrote.

Mocoa, Colombia
Flood and mudslides: A deluge of rain caused
devastating flash floods and landslides in a
Colombian city overnight last week, sending
tons of mud and debris crashing through the
streets and sweeping away houses, cars, trees,
and bridges. At least 270 people were killed
and hundreds more injured. “To see how some
Rescuers look for bodies.
people screamed, and others cried, ran, tried
to flee in cars, on motorcycles, and how they were trapped in the
mud,” street vendor Marta Ceballos told Agence France-Presse,
“I don’t want to even remember.” President Juan Manuel Santos
apologized for delays in getting water and supplies to survivors
and promised to rebuild Mocoa “better than before.”
Quito, Ecuador Asunción, Paraguay
Leftist wins: Bucking a political shift to the right across Latin Riots over term limits: Paraguayan
America, Ecuadorean leftist Lenín Moreno was declared this week lawmakers this week suspended a
the winner of his nation’s presidential election. Moreno, 64, a para- controversial bill that would allow
plegic and a former deputy to outgoing President Rafael Correa, President Horacio Cartes to run for
took 51.2 percent of the vote, but his rival, right-wing former re-election, after a protester died in
banker Guillermo Lasso, said the election was marred by fraud. clashes with police. Paraguayans
Angry in Asunción
The Organization of American States, endured 35 years of dictatorship under
which monitored the vote, said it had General Alfredo Stroessner, and when his rule ended in 1989, they
found “no discrepancies.” The result limited their presidents to one five-year term each. But last week
was likely a relief for WikiLeaks founder the country’s senate approved a measure that would let presidents
Julian Assange, who has been holed up run for a second five-year term. When news of the vote broke,
in Ecuador’s embassy in London since hundreds of protesters stormed the capital’s congress building and
2012 to avoid being deported to Sweden set fires. Police shot dead a 25-year-old activist, Rodrigo Quintana.
Street protests continued this week, and the bill was suspended by
Newscom (5)

to answer allegations of sexual assault.

Lasso had vowed to boot Assange from the legislature’s lower house—a key condition set by the opposition
Moreno: Victorious the building. before talks aimed at ending the political crisis could start.
THE WEEK April 14, 2017
 The world at a glance ...
St. Petersburg, Russia
Terrorist attack: A jihadist from the
former Soviet republic of Kyrgyzstan
blew himself up on the St. Petersburg
subway this week, Russian and Kyrgyz
authorities said, killing 14 people and
bringing transport in Russia’s second-
largest city to a near halt. “Children were
torn to pieces,” said witness Konstantin
A memorial to the dead
Kolodkin, describing a blast that hurled
nails and screws into passengers. The suspected suicide bomber,
Akbarzhon Dzhalilov, 22, had lived in Russia since 2011. Several
Islamist terrorist groups, including ISIS, are active in Central Asia,
but no group claimed responsibility. Conspiracy-minded Russians
had been speculating on social media that a terror attack might
occur soon to distract the country from recent protests
against President Vladimir Putin.
Pretoria, South Africa
Standing by Zuma: The African National Congress said this
week it would continue to back President Jacob Zuma despite
a chorus of calls for his resignation. Several top party officials
had joined trade unions and opposition parties in demanding
Zuma’s ouster after the president abruptly fired the internation-
ally respected finance minister, Pravin Gordhan, prompting credit
rating agency Standard & Poor’s to lower South Africa’s rating to
junk status. The rand plummeted against the U.S. dollar following
the downgrade, but ANC officials dismissed the new rating and
railed against the West. “The West
can’t dictate to us,” said Sanitation
Minister Nomvula Mokonyane.
“These junk ratings have nothing to
do with financial ratings—it’s politi-
AP, Getty, Newscom (2)
cal ratings.” South Africa’s economy
has stagnated over the past year, debt
has piled up, and a quarter of the
Zuma: Under pressure workforce is unemployed.
NEWS 9
Grozny, Russia
Anti-gay purge: Authorities in the Russian republic of Chechnya
are rounding up, torturing, and killing gay men, Novaya Gazeta
reported this week. Some 100 people—including two well-known
local television personalities—have been detained, and at least
three have been killed. The purge seems to have been motivated
by a request from a Russian LGBT group to hold pride rallies in
cities across the country. Chechen authorities denied the report,
saying there are no gays in Chechnya. “You cannot detain and
persecute people who simply do not exist in the republic,” said
Chechen spokesman Alvi Karimov. If there were gay Chechens, he
added, “their own relatives would have sent them to where they
could never return.” Russia outlawed “gay propaganda” in 2013,
banning public discussion of gay rights and relationships.
Pyongyang, North Korea
Missile test: North Korea test-fired a medium-range ballistic missile
off its east coast this week, one day before President Trump was
set to host his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, at his Mar-a-Lago
estate in Florida. The launch was seemingly intended to ratchet up
tensions between the two leaders: China is North Korea’s closest
ally, and the White House says Beijing is not doing enough to rein in
dictator Kim Jong Un, who it believes is trying to develop a nuclear-
armed intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching the U.S.
“If China is not going to solve North Korea, we will,” Trump said
in an interview with the Financial Times. A senior White House offi-
cial later declared that “the clock has now run out” on Pyongyang’s
nuclear program and “all options are on the table,” presumably
including sanctions against Chinese firms that do business with
North Korea, as well as cyberattacks and military action.
New Delhi
Attacks on Africans: African students have been told
to stay indoors after a wave of mob attacks on
Africans in a New Delhi suburb. The violence
began when a teenage boy went missing and
his family accused Nigerian neighbors of kill-
ing and eating him. The boy returned home a
few days later and died of a suspected drug
overdose, but by then rumors of cannibalistic
Africans had swept the neighborhood. Mobs
Endurance: Beaten
of Indian men were beating African students,
pulling them out of cabs and stomping and hitting them. “They
attacked him with bricks, sticks, belts,” Nigerian student Precious
Amalawa, 23, said of the brutal assault on his 21-year-old
brother, Endurance. Some 25,000 Africans are studying in India.
Baghdad
Kushner goes to Iraq: Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law,
met with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi in Baghdad this
week to discuss the fight against ISIS. Kushner, a White House
adviser who has no foreign policy background, is the first top
Trump administration official to visit Iraq. Speaking at a military
base 10 miles south of heavy fighting in Mosul, Kushner said ISIS’s
impending defeat in the city would “be a victory for the American
and Iraqi troops” and “for the
world.” His warm words were
part of an effort by U.S. officials
to reassure Iraq that the U.S. is a
reliable ally. Trump said in January
that the U.S. should have taken
Iraq’s oil after the 2003 invasion,
and still might do so, and the pres-
ident included Iraq on his first list
of countries whose citizens were
barred from travel to the U.S. Kushner flies over Baghdad.
THE WEEK April 14, 2017
10 NEWS People
Why Fox laughs at Parkinson’s
After living with Parkinson’s for 26 years,
Michael J. Fox has found the humor in his
condition, said Andrew Corsello in AARP The
Magazine. “There comes a point where I literally
can’t stop laughing at my own symptoms,” says
Fox, 55. The actor has confounded expectations
of what a Parkinson’s sufferer can do: He’s kept
working, earning an Emmy nomination last year
for his turn as a Machiavellian lawyer on The Good Wife, and has
raised than more $700 million for research into the debilitating
disease. Yet he says the shakes he suffers can turn a simple morn-
ing ritual into pure slapstick. Fox describes what happened when
he recently decided to get his wife, Tracy Pollan, some coffee. “I
pour a cup—a little trouble there. ‘Can I get that for you, dear?’
‘Nah, I got it!’ Then I begin this trek across the kitchen. Hot java’s
sloshing onto my hands, onto the floor, and Tracy’s watching
calmly, going, ‘Darling, why don’t you [expletive] let me get it?’
Of course, by the time I reach the table, the cup’s all but empty.
‘Here’s your coffee, dear—enjoy!’” Fox erupts in laughter. “There
are times when I love these things.’’ Humor, he says, is a path to
acceptance. “My happiness goes in direct proportion to my accep-
tance, and in inverse proportion to my expectations.’”

The Syrian boy who began a war

Mouawiya Syasneh never meant to start a revolution, said Josie
Ensor in The Daily Telegraph (U.K.). Six years ago, inspired by
the Arab Spring uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia, Syasneh and
some friends in the southern Syrian city of Deraa sprayed a slogan
bashing dictator Bashar al-Assad onto their school building. “It’s
your turn, doctor,” the graffiti read, referring to Assad, a trained
ophthalmologist. Then 14, Syasneh didn’t expect the adolescent
scrawl to have any lasting impact. “It was more of a joke,” he
says. Yet Syasneh and his friends were arrested, beaten, and tor-
tured by security forces, igniting a wave of protests that precipi-
tated a nationwide “day of rage”—and, ultimately, a catastrophic
conflict. Syasneh joined the rebel Free Syrian Army at 16 in 2013
after a rocket attack killed his father. Four years on, Deraa lies in
ruins and half the population has fled. “Most of my classmates
have been imprisoned or killed.” Overall, the Syrian civil war has
claimed up to 500,000 lives so far. If he could go back, would
Syasneh do it again? “If I knew what I know now, I don’t think I
would,” he says. “I never expected that my father would be killed,
or that thousands of other boys’ fathers would be, too. I regret
that so many innocent people had to die.”
Markle’s racial awakening
Growing up in Los Angeles, Meghan Markle never thought twice
about her racial identity, said Marissa Muller in Allure. Born to a
black mother and a white father, the actress and current girlfriend of
Britain’s Prince Harry has vivid childhood memories of visiting her
grandmother with her mom. “There were the three of us, a family
tree in an ombré of mocha next to the caramel complexion of my
mom and light-skinned, freckled me,” says Markle, 35. “I remember
the sense of belonging, having nothing to do with the color of my
skin.” But while studying at Northwestern University, she took an
African-American studies class. “We explored colorism. It was the
first time I could put a name to feeling too light in the black commu-
nity, too mixed in the white community.” After launching an acting
career, Markle became even more aware of her biracial identity—
largely because it caused such confusion in Hollywood. “For cast-
ings, I was labeled ‘ethnically ambiguous.’ Was I Latina? Exotic
Caucasian?” It frustrates her that people still want her to conform to
a particular look. Photographers often lighten her skin or airbrush
out one of her favorite features, her freckles. “My dad told me when
I was younger, ‘A face without freckles is a night without stars.’”

reported. Newly revealed payouts went to to J.Lo as her “sister-in-law.” In an appear-

QBill O’Reilly and Fox News have shelled
out more than $13 million to settle cases
with five women who accused the star
anchor of making sexual comments
and advances, The New York Times
reports. O’Reilly, 67, has denied the
allegations, but personally paid
out $10 million “to put to rest any
controversies,” he said, and “to
junior producer Rebecca Witlieb; former host
Rebecca Gomez Diamond, who reportedly
taped phone conversations with O’Reilly in
2011; and another ex-host, Laurie Dhue, who
was awarded $1 million after claiming sexual
harassment. At least 22 companies, including
BMW, Lexus, Bayer, and Allstate, announced
they were canceling ads on O’Reilly’s show
in light of the harassment scandal.
QIn a sign things may be getting serious
ance on The View, Rodriguez, 41, called
Lopez “one of the smartest human beings
I’ve ever met, and also an incredible mother.”
QBob Dylan finally accepted his 2016 Nobel
Prize for literature last week at a small private
ceremony in Stockholm. The folk-rock icon,
75, caused a stir when he declined an invita-
tion to attend the official awards banquet in
December, citing previous touring commit-
ments. So Nobel officials presented Dylan
Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, Newscom, Getty

spare my children” embarrassing
publicity. Over a 15-year span, the
lawsuits claim, O’Reilly offered
selected female staffers career
counseling and advancement,
then pursued them sexually;
plaintiffs said they feared retribu-
tion if they refused him. Two of the
five settlements were previously
between Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez,
the singer last week introduced the retired
baseball slugger to her mother, ETOnline
.com reports. The couple was seen strolling
hand in hand in Manhattan, with Lopez’s
mom, Guadalupe, tagging along. The outing
occurred shortly after Lopez, 47, spent a day
out in Miami with A-Rod’s realtor sister, Susy
Dunand—who in an Instagram post referred
with the award in a private gathering at a
hotel next to the venue where he performed
later that night. “It went very well indeed,”
says academy member Klas Ostergren, call-
ing Dylan “a very nice, kind man.” In order
to collect the $895,000 that accompanies the
prize, Dylan must give a Nobel lecture by
June 10. He’s indicated he’ll videotape his
presentation.

THE WEEK April 14, 2017

 Briefing NEWS 11

Sugar, the new food villain

Many experts believe that sweetened foods have caused a global health crisis. What’s so bad about sugar?

Why is sugar in the spotlight? Why is sugar so bad for us?

For years, dieticians have warned us to steer clear Scientists have found that refined sugar, which is made
of fat and cholesterol—the two food evils long up of fructose and glucose carbohydrates, is harder
believed to be fueling the West’s obesity, dia- to metabolize than the purely glucose-based carbo-
betes, and heart disease epidemics. But hydrates found in potatoes and other starches.
a growing number of nutritionists are While glucose is converted into energy by
now pointing the finger at sugar, argu- every cell in the body, fructose is mainly
ing that our overconsumption of sodas, metabolized in liver cells. When a person
candy, cookies, and other sweets and consumes too much fructose, many nutrition-
processed foods is the real cause of our ists say, the liver becomes overwhelmed and
health crisis. Some go even further, argu- begins converting it into fat, some of which
ing that sugar is an addictive “poison” that gathers in the liver. An accumulation of fat in the
causes a whole host of degenerative ailments— liver can cause insulin resistance, which disrupts
including cancer—even in thin people. Evidence the body’s ability to maintain stable levels of blood sugar
has emerged that shows the sugar industry and fat, leading to heart disease and diabetes.
may have downplayed those risks for profit— A sugar-heavy diet can harm the heart. Anti-sugar advocate Gary Taubes contends that
turning the modern Western diet into the sweetest in human his- insulin resistance is a primary driver of obesity, and can also give
tory. “We’re in a whole new world of sugar consumption,” says rise to dementia and some cancers. “If I’m right about sugar,” says
Barry Popkin, professor of nutrition at the University of North Taubes, “then it’s more harmful ultimately than smoking.”
Carolina. “We don’t really know what that means for our health.”
  Do all nutritionists agree?
How much sugar do we consume? No. Some, including Fred Brouns, professor of Health Food
The average American adult downs 22 teaspoons of the stuff a Innovation at Maastricht University in the Netherlands, argue that
day, the average child 32. The World Health Organization recom- sugar’s effects remain “poorly investigated and highly controver-
mends just six teaspoons a day. Added sugars—those not found sial.” The problem with all nutritional science is that it’s difficult
naturally in fruit and vegetables, like table sugar and high-fructose to monitor diets over the years-long time span needed to track the
corn syrup—began to proliferate in the Western diet in the mid- causes of degenerative diseases. But there’s no doubt that we’re lac-
20th century, just as scientists were starting to discover links ing modern supermarket food with concentrated sugar in a way that
between sugar and heart disease. The sugar industry decided to isn’t replicated in nature. (See box.) Kimber Stanhope, a nutritional
push back against this research, adopting the aggressive tactics of biologist at University of California-Davis, ordered her staff to eat
Big Tobacco. First, as memos uncovered last September reveal, an enough fruit to get 25 percent of their daily calories from sugar—
industry group paid three Harvard nutritionists $6,500—about the quantity she has shown raises the level of artery-clogging triglyc-
$50,000 today—to divert the blame. In a 1967 New England erides in the blood. Four out of seven of the subjects had to quit. “It
Journal of Medicine article, the nutritionists discounted the evi- was more fruit than they could bear to eat,” says Stanhope. Yet you
dence against sugar and concluded there was “no doubt” the best can easily get that same amount of sugar by washing down a couple
way to prevent heart disease was to reduce cholesterol and satu- of brownies with a can of Coke.
rated fat. “This is quite what we had in mind,” one sugar industry
executive said when he saw the article. What can be done?
  Individuals can choose to limit their sugar intake—but that requires
What did Big Sugar do next? avoiding nearly all processed foods. Public officials are also try-
The industry launched an aggressive advertising campaign in the ing to nudge society at large toward making healthier choices. In
1970s to convince Americans that sugar actually helps you lose the 2016 election, three California cities passed ballot measures
weight by suppressing the appe- imposing taxes on sugary sodas. But
tite. “Sugar can be the willpower America’s favorite drug conservatives largely oppose these so-
you need to undereat,” one ad Sugar is everywhere. Eighty percent of supermarket called sin taxes, arguing that people
asserted; another recommended foods contain it—and purportedly “savory” foods should have the freedom to do what
eating a cookie before lunch each often contain more sugar than sweet treats like ice they want to their bodies. To cut down
day. That campaign, combined with cream. Whole-wheat bread can have a teaspoon on sugar, some people have switched to
work by the Harvard researchers, of sugar per slice; Heinz tomato ketchup contains zero-calorie artificial sweeteners, like the
helped muddy the scientific waters 22.8 percent sugar, twice as much as Coca-Cola. saccharin-based Sweet ’N Low. But little
enough to keep dietary sugar guide- As we swamp our bodies with sugar, we only is known about the long-term effects of
lines vague. The American Heart become more addicted. A 2016 study in Nature these chemical substitutes on the body.
Association approved of added sugar Neuroscience suggested that sugar hijacks the brain And because such products can be up
as part of a healthy diet, and mil- by triggering its reward system, pushing the body to 13,000 times sweeter than sugar, they
lions of Americans embraced low- to ask for more and more. Sugar might even be can trick the body into craving even
more addictive than recreational drugs, says cardio-
fat, high-sugar diets. Consumption more calories. Don’t be fooled, says
vascular research scientist James DiNicolantonio.
of added sugars soared 30 percent “When you look at animal studies comparing sugar
metabolism researcher Susan Swithers.
between 1977 and 2010. It’s no to cocaine, even when you get the rats hooked on “We were once led to believe that ‘light’
coincidence, many nutritionists say, intravenous cocaine, once you introduce sugar, and ‘low tar’ cigarettes are better choices
that obesity rates more than doubled almost all of them switch to the sugar.” than regular cigarettes,” she says.
Alamy

over that same period. “Neither choice is actually healthy.”

THE WEEK April 14, 2017
12 NEWS Best columns: The U.S.
“The president is this presidency’s worst enemy,” said Jonah Goldberg.
Trump’s My panicky fellow conservatives are full of suggestions for how Presi- It must be true...
biggest dent Trump can salvage his first 100 days, but no new policy direction
or political strategy will address the fundamental cause of the chaos and
I read it in the tabloids
problem dysfunction. Even Trump’s self-destructive tweeting “is just a symptom.”
The real problem is Trump’s impulsive, thin-skinned personality—his
QA Chinese man has be-
come the nemesis of arcade
Jonah Goldberg obsession with counterattacking critics and saving face. “His presidency owners by mastering the
NationalReview.com doesn’t suffer from a failure of ideas, but a failure of character.” Many notoriously difficult “claw”
Republicans hoped the grave responsibilities of the presidency would machine—and winning
humble Trump and force him to act more responsibly. But “septuage- 15,000 stuffed toys in 18
narian billionaires who’ve won so many spins of the roulette wheel of months. Chen Zhitong, 35,
life” don’t change. Though his failures and mistakes are multiplying, found he could successfully
Trump refuses to apologize or back down; “he’d rather just change the pluck a toy every time by
subject or attack.” But that strategy is already wearing thin. His ap- carefully studying the claw’s
proval ratings have sunk to 35 percent in several polls, with 57 percent grip strength, rotational po-
disapproving. For a new president, that’s abysmal. If Trump were smart, sition, and the placement of
he’d admit he’s had a rough start and ask the American people to give toys in the machine. Arcade
owners now dread his ar-
him a do-over. But he won’t. “Character is destiny.”
rival. “Some buy me meals,”
he says, “and beg me not to
play their machines.”
“Repeal and replace is not quite dead,” said Charles Krauthammer. If
GOP failure congressional Republicans want to revive their hopes of replacing Obama- QSoccer fans reacted

may lead to care, they should wait until September, when insurers announce their
premiums for the coming year and trigger “our annual bout of Obama-
with gasps and guf-
faws last week after
single payer care sticker shock.” A new replacement bill tailored to conservative prin-
ciples, which strips out Obamacare’s expensive coverage mandates and
a bizarre statue
of the famously
handsome player
Charles Krauthammer includes tort reform and the selling of health insurance across state lines, Cristiano Ronaldo
The Washington Post might get through the House. If a second repeal attempt fails, however, was unveiled in
Republicans may be paving the way to “a government-run, single-payer his Portuguese
system.” Thanks to Obamacare, “a broad national consensus is develop- hometown.
ing that health care is indeed a right.” The “historically new” expecta- Social media
tion that government should guarantee health coverage to everyone leads users mocked the
inexorably to “Medicare for all.” It’s what President Obama and most bust’s bulging eyes
Democrats wanted all along. And as their “Rube Goldberg wreckage” of and crooked grimace,
a health-care plan falls apart, the Republican failure to devise an alterna- saying it looked nothing like
tive will embolden liberals to propose their own. Don’t be too surprised the Real Madrid star, a heart-
if President Trump—a populist at heart, not a conservative—sees where throb who has modeled
the wind is blowing “and joins the single-payer side.” underwear for Armani. But
sculptor Emanuel Santos
defended the likeness, say-
“Financial success does not easily transfer into other realms,” said Jo- ing that great art is never
Getting rich seph Epstein. If that wasn’t obvious before, President Trump has proved universally appreciated. “It
is impossible to please the
isn’t the same the ability to amass money does not qualify you to run the federal
government. In his first months in office, Trump rushed out an immi- Greeks and Trojans,” he said.
“Neither did Jesus please
as governing gration order that was “neither well thought out nor even quite legal,”
had to fire improperly vetted national security adviser Mike Flynn for everyone.”
Joseph Epstein lying about his secret contacts with Russians, and botched the repealing QRussia’s foreign ministry
The Wall Street Journal and replacing of Obamacare while proving he has no clue about the has produced an etiquette
complexities of health-care policy. The negotiating talents he bragged guide that spells out how
about in The Art of the Deal have failed him; in business, people are Russian tourists can avoid
motivated by the promise of profit, but in politics, motives are not so offending the locals. It
notes that Canadians don’t
easily discerned. To get legislation through a factionalized Congress,
appreciate “obscene male”
“an understanding of varied, often subtle human motives is required.” anecdotes or being com-
Trump’s Cabinet of plutocrats is also struggling, amid policy incoher- pared to Americans, that Uz-
ence and vicious infighting. Moneymaking has nothing to do with beks react badly when their
governing; let’s hope the proof of that reality “will soon humble even so mothers are insulted, and
arrogant a man as our new president.” that Mongolians think it’s a
bad omen to carry a shovel
into a yurt. The guide, which
Viewpoint “Is the American Dream killing us? The main causes of rising death rates
offers cultural insights on 52
among non-Hispanic whites 50 to 54, men and women, are so-called ‘deaths
of despair’—suicides, drug overdoses, and the consequences of heavy drinking. American cul- nations, also suggests that
ture emphasizes striving for and achieving economic success—homeownership, modest financial tourists avoid mocking lesbi-
and job security, and a bright outlook for our children. When striving accomplishes these goals, it ans and gay men in France,
strengthens a sense of accomplishment and self-worth. But when the striving falters and fails— and observes that poking a
when the American Dream becomes unattainable—it’s a judgment on our lives. We become hostage Kenyan with your finger can
to unrealized hopes.” Robert Samuelson in The Washington Post “instigate aggression.”
AP

THE WEEK April 14, 2017

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14 NEWS Best columns: Europe
Hungary’s far-right government is waging a war on
HUNGARY thought itself, said Reka Kinga Papp. Prime Minis-
ter Viktor Orban has “already robbed the state uni-
Trying versities of their autonomy.” His government has se-
verely cut those social science disciplines that would
to silence be most useful in dealing with the massive refugee
crisis on our borders—such as studies of other
the scholars cultures—and replaced them with state-sanctioned
political science. Now “these thugs” want to “bring
Reka Kinga Papp
down the last academic bastion”: the Central
Heti Vilaggazdasag
European University. The university is funded by
U.S. billionaire George Soros, the Hungarian-born
philanthropist who is Orban’s nemesis because he
finances organizations that promote human rights
and fight corruption. So the government wrote a
bill to shut down the university, on the grounds
that foreign-funded institutions present a danger to
national security. Many Hungarians reject this anti-
intellectual claptrap, and thousands of them pro-
tested in the streets to keep the university open. But
the bill passed parliament this week and now looks
set to become law. Orban’s government exhibits
“many elements of classical fascism,” and thought
control is key to its survival. I would say it is trying
to return us to the Middle Ages, but that “would
be an insult to medieval emperors like Barbarossa,”
who valued universities. Orban, by contrast, wants
to keep his people ignorant.

FRANCE The killing of a Chinese citizen by French police
has unleashed rage in China, said Manon Dognin.
Facing The Chinese are furious over the killing of Liu
Shaoyo, a 56-year-old father of five who was shot
the wrath dead by French police in his Paris apartment last
week. And they have every right to be. Police say
of China Liu threatened them with a blade, but family mem-
bers say Liu had scissors in his hand because he
Manon Dognin
was preparing fish for dinner. It’s the latter theory
Marianne that the Chinese believe. “French police officers
treat Chinese residents like dogs,” say posts on
Chinese social media sites. “They have slaughtered
our compatriot!” There are calls for a boycott of
French goods and demands for an official apology
from the French government. Some social media
users are even demanding the destruction of the
Eiffel Tower. This outpouring of anger has contin-
ued for days, and given that China heavily censors
the internet, that means Beijing is permitting its
people to demonize the French. Four days after the
shooting, a Frenchman was stabbed walking on
the streets of Shanghai. It’s unclear whether the at-
tack was meant as revenge for Liu, but the French
consulate has warned French people in China to
be careful. Beijing apparently has “no intention”
of discouraging anti-French sentiment.

United Kingdom: The battle over Brexit terms

“There’s no going back!” said The While the EU says it won’t be
Sun in an editorial. Now that Prime “punitive” with Britain, in fact it
Minister Theresa May has triggered must, said Markus Becker in Der
Article 50, the formal mechanism for Spiegel (Germany). The U.K. can’t
leaving the European Union, Britain be allowed to emerge with a better
is rocketing toward full sovereignty deal than it has now, “if only to
by 2019. A “better, more prosperous avoid encouraging EU skeptics in
future” awaits a U.K. with control other EU countries.” May’s fantasy
over its own laws and borders. Of involves the U.K. getting all of the
course, negotiating with a petulant perks of an open market with total
Brussels won’t be easy. EU Council domestic control over borders and
President Donald Tusk has thrown regulations. But if Britain wishes to
up “huge stumbling blocks” by insist- trade with the EU, its companies
ing that the terms of Britain’s exit— must continue to adhere to EU
like the multibillion-dollar bill we’ll standards—while, as a nonmember,
be handed for EU spending that our Gibraltar faces an uncertain future after Brexit.
it will have zero input on how those
government committed to but now regulations are drawn.
won’t fulfill—must be agreed to before any new trade pact can be
negotiated. May will have to play hardball to get a good deal. Yet most Britons are still in denial, said Sam Leith in the London
Evening Standard. We need to discuss trade, but talk mostly
There’s simply not enough time to reach any deal, good or bad, of swapping our EU-mandated red passports for the blue ones
said Christopher Booker in The Sunday Telegraph. Brussels says we had before 1988 and “the restoration of good old imperial
it can’t negotiate an agreement “covering not just trade but count- measures.” Now there’s chatter of “an invigorating expedition-
less other issues, from foreign policy to agriculture,” in two years. ary war with Spain over the status of Gibraltar.” That rock off
Yet to leave the single market with no new trade deal means that Spain’s southern coast was ceded to Britain by Madrid in 1713
commerce with our Continental neighbors will have to be done and is today home to 30,000 mostly U.K. citizens. But the EU
under World Trade Organization rules. We’ll go from a system says no Brexit deal can include Gibraltar without Spain’s say-so.
where British goods can flow freely throughout the EU to one May was forced to laugh off a suggestion from a former leader
that involves high tariffs plus “a devastating thicket of paper- of her Conservative Party that the U.K. send warships to enforce
work, checks, and inspections” at the border. Those new barriers its claim. I know and love many people who voted for Brexit
will create a “catastrophe beyond imagining” for British firms, and are delighted by this jingoism, “but I also look at them and
Newscom

because 44 percent of their exports go to other EU nations. think: You people are completely off your onions.”

THE WEEK April 14, 2017

 Best columns: International NEWS 15

Venezuela: Maduro makes a grab for total power

President Nicolás Maduro has been
foiled in his attempt to become Ven-
ezuela’s supreme dictator, said Xabier
Coscojuela in Tal Cual (Venezuela).
Ever since his defeat in December 2015,
when the opposition won a supermajor-
ity in the National Assembly, Maduro
has been trying to strip the legislative
body of power. He used his lame-duck
legislature in late 2015 to stack the Su-
preme Court with justices loyal to his
Socialist Party. That compliant court
recently issued two bombshell rulings
taking “galactic leaps toward authori- Maduro’s plot to shut down the legislature failed.
tarianism,” all but abolishing the Na-
tional Assembly and stripping lawmakers of immunity, paving
the way for opposition legislators to be charged with treason.
But after massive street demonstrations, an international outcry,
and condemnations from Maduro’s own attorney general, Luisa
Ortega Díaz, “who courageously denounced these violations of
the constitution,” the court revoked its rulings. Still, Maduro
has shown us that he is willing “to walk the road toward pure,
harsh dictatorship,” and we must redouble our opposition. “We power because it refused to rubber-stamp his oil deal with Rus-
Venezuelans want to live under democracy.”
Maduro may have backed down this time, said El Mundo
(Spain) in an editorial, but “it is essential to redouble foreign
pressure on the Bolivarian regime.” Maduro already has nearly
total power, having seized control over the economy and de-
fense, and is “ruling practically as an autocrat.” Now he has
demonstrated “how far he will go to perpetuate himself in
power.” Venezuela lost any claim to being a democracy a long
time ago, said José Miguel Vivanco
in El Comercio (Peru). The National
Electoral Council, which Maduro
also stuffed with loyalists before he
lost his parliamentary majority, im-
properly stopped a recall referendum
against him last October, claiming
without evidence that the opposition
had rigged a signature drive. And
election officials have failed to call the
local elections that were due last year.
Opposition leaders, such as Leopoldo
López, have been “arbitrarily im-
prisoned” with “no due process,”
journalists and activists arrested, and
protesters detained en masse and tortured. Yet so long as Ven-
ezuela remains a petro-state, Maduro has a source of income to
dole out to loyalists, allowing him to hold on to power.
This political crisis, in fact, was really about oil—and it has
ramifications for the U.S., said Robin Mills in The National
(United Arab Emirates). Maduro wanted to strip the legislature of
sia, in which Russia’s state-owned Rosneft acquired 40 percent
of a major Venezuelan oil company. Russia is now the Maduro
regime’s “key financier,” and in exchange for Russian loans,
Venezuela has pledged half its shares in its U.S.-based refining
and gas retail company, Citgo. If Venezuela were to default on its
loans from Russia, Rosneft would own American refineries, and
that “would be political dynamite in Washington.” So far, Presi-
dent Trump has named no ambassador to Venezuela and has no
clearly defined Venezuela policy. That has to change, and soon.

An outspoken Islamophobe is surely the last per-
INDIA son a great Indian political party would choose to
run a state containing some 44 million Muslims,
Putting a bigot said the Deccan Herald. Yet that’s exactly what
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata
in charge is a Party has done. It has appointed Yogi Adityanath,
a Hindu nationalist priest with a vile reputation for
huge mistake hate speech, as chief minister of Uttar Pradesh—
India’s “most populous and politically important
Editorial
state.” The priest has been named in several
Deccan Herald
ongoing legal cases related to “his hostile and ob-
jectionable statements against Muslims”: He has
threatened to force every mosque in the state to
erect statues of Hindu deities, and has said that if
a Muslim man marries a Hindu girl, “we will take
100 Muslim girls.” The BJP, which has moderated
its own Hindu nationalism in recent years, has pre-
viously shrugged off such statements as the ravings
of the fringe. But with this appointment, it has “le-
gitimized all the outlandish and dangerous views”
of the bigots that it once insisted were not official
policy. The BJP seems to have calculated that put-
ting a rabble-rouser in charge is the way to win
votes. Forget about all the talk of “inclusive devel-
opment” that Modi has so often mouthed. After
this, who could possibly take him at his word?

RUSSIA For a long time, Russian President Vladimir Putin
seemed like “one of those fairy-tale dark princes
Putin no whose every intrigue is crowned with success,”
said Ilta-Sanomat. He stole Crimea from Ukraine
longer looks without firing a shot, used airpower to change the
course of Syria’s civil war, and appears to have
invulnerable helped Donald Trump win the American presi-
dency. But a crack appeared in Putin’s all-powerful
Editorial
image last week, when up to 150,000 protesters
Ilta-Sanomat (Finland) demonstrated in dozens of cities across Russia
and denounced his kleptocracy. The world has
seen that beneath its seemingly calm surface, Rus-
Getty
shrinking wages, and the elite’s flagrant corruption.
Of course, none of this means that Putin—who
has ruled as president or prime minister since
2000—will disappear anytime soon. He has
spent years preparing for mass protests, creating
a 350,000-strong National Guard that is directly
under his control and tasked with quelling dissent.
They might not be needed. Many Russians fear that
Putin’s overthrow would “result in bloody chaos”
as rival factions battled for power, and so they re-
sist rising up. Still, the sight of so many angry peo-
ple on his nation’s streets last week should remind

sia is bubbling with fury over rising food prices, Putin “that no one remains in power forever.”
THE WEEK April 14, 2017
16 NEWS
Noted
QPedestrian deaths
soared by 25 percent
between 2010 and 2015,
according to a new
report by the Governors
Highway Safety Asso-
ciation. More than 28,000
pedestrians were killed by
cars nationally during that
period. The distracting use
of smartphones by both
pedestrians and drivers
is believed to be a major
factor in the increase.
NBCNews.com
QIn 86 percent of U.S.
counties that voted for
Donald Trump, the total
annual income of the
entire population is less
than the collective $2.3 bil-
lion net worth of 27 of
President Trump’s closest
aides. His Cabinet is the
wealthiest in U.S. history.
The Washington Post
QDrone purchases are
booming, with more than
770,000 drone registra-
tions
in
the past
15 months.
The number
of small
hobbyist drones in the
country is expected to
triple to about 3.55 million
by 2021.
CNN.com
QSince 2007, the DEA has
seized about $3.2 billion
in cash from people not
charged with a crime,
although they were
suspected of involvement
with the drug trade. These
seizures, for which no judi-
cial review ever occurred,
were all legal under the
controversial practice of
civil asset forfeiture.
WashingtonPost.com
QAlmost one in four mar-
ried couples sleep in sepa-
rate bedrooms, according
to a new survey from the
National Sleep Founda-
tion. Many cited snoring,
different sleep schedules,
or restless leg syndrome
as the reason.
USA Today
THE WEEK April 14, 2017
Talking points
Kushner: The White House’s ‘princeling’
“In a White House where Presi-
dent Donald Trump commands
reverence,” only one man gets
to call him “Donald,” said Josh
Dawsey in Politico.com. That’s
Jared Kushner, Trump’s 36-year-
old son-in-law, who has both the
president’s ear and his “implicit
trust.” Trump has handed Kush-
ner a vast portfolio that includes
forging a peace deal between Israel
and the Palestinians, negotiat-
ing with China and Mexico, and
reinventing government according
to business principles. This week,
Kushner even traveled to Iraq to
Kushner: A very broad portfolio
evaluate the war on ISIS. Resentful
White House sources complain that Kushner, who trouble. In 2011, Kushner hired me as editor-in-
has spent his life running his inherited real estate
company, “does essentially what he wants” but is bought at the tender age of 25. During my tenure,
utterly out of his depth. The “princeling,” as the
Chinese now view Kushner, has only one quali-
fication for his vast new powers, said Jeet Heer
in NewRepublic.com. “He’s married to Trump’s
beloved daughter, Ivanka.”
Trump’s decision to rely on Kushner should not
be surprising, said Michael D’Antonio in CNN
.com. While running his private real estate com-
pany, Trump has long depended on “the extreme that Kushner’s time in government is yet another
loyalty of the family.” Kushner, the son of a
billionaire, also plays into Trump’s overriding
Anti-abortion videos: A partisan prosecution?
“A hidden-camera investigation reveals corpo-
rate wrongdoing. The managers are caught not
only describing unconscionable acts but also
joking about their victims.” In most cases, said
the Washington Examiner in an editorial, such
videos would raise “holy hell” and bring demands
for prosecutions. But when that corporation is
Planned Parenthood, count on Democrats to
“crack down on the whistleblowers.” Last week,
California prosecutors charged anti-abortion
activists David Daleiden and Sandra Merritt with
15 felony counts for publishing undercover videos
in 2015 that show Planned Parenthood executives
flippantly discussing the harvesting of fetal tis-
sue. The footage showed officials discussing how
they “dismember” the unborn so as to harvest
as many organs as possible. But prosecutors say
the videos represented an invasion of the partici-
pants’ privacy. “To say that this is outrageous is
an understatement,” said Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry
in TheWeek.com. Yes, the activists’ actions were
politically motivated, “but they are still being
prosecuted for doing the work of journalism.”
This wasn’t journalism, said The Sacramento Bee.
The videos were “far-right fake news” deceptively
edited to make it look like Planned Parenthood
belief that wealth is the ultimate
proof of competence and intel-
ligence. Actually, Kushner is well
suited to help Trump bring busi-
ness efficiencies to our bloated,
bureaucratic government, said
Cheryl Chumley in The Wash-
ington Times. Who better to do
that than “a former real estate
and media executive with a string
of financial accomplishments”?
“I worked for Jared Kushner,”
said Elizabeth Spiers in The
Washington Post, and from what
I saw of his skills in publishing
and real estate, the nation is in
chief of The New York Observer, a newspaper he
Kushner reversed his pledge to me to expand
the staff and pursue growth, and embarked on
a “nihilistic” cost-cutting spree that badly dam-
aged the once respected newspaper and website.
He later shut down the print edition and put
the website up for sale. In real estate, Kushner
almost “destroyed the family’s fortune” by going
deeply into debt to acquire 666 5th Avenue for a
Manhattan record price of $1.8 billion. I worry
“vanity project”—one where his “expertise isn’t
just low, but nonexistent.”
illegally sells fetal tissue for profit. Several subse-
quent investigations have found no evidence that
this is true. As a result of Daleiden and Merritt’s
lies, Planned Parenthood clinics were firebombed,
and at a Colorado clinic, three people were killed
“by a gunman raving about ‘baby parts.’” The
crusading filmmakers may have also violated a
California criminal statute, said Mark Joseph
Stern in Slate.com. They used hidden cameras in a
state that prohibits recording “confidential” con-
versations without both participants’ permission.
That’s a ridiculous argument, said Noah Roth-
man in CommentaryMagazine.com. California
prosecutors filed no charges when the animal
rights group Mercy for Animals secretly recorded
footage of poultry slaughterhouses in California in
2015. Or when the mistress of former Los Angeles
Clippers owner Donald Sterling illicitly recorded
him making racist comments. Yet California’s
Democratic Attorney General Xavier Becerra
has thrown the book at Daleiden and Merritt. In
recent months, liberals have been apoplectic about
supposed threats to the First Amendment. Yet
here “is a real, genuine example” of the govern-
Newscom (2)
ment trying to “criminalize standard journalistic
practice”—and they all look the other way.
 Talking points NEWS 17

Climate change: Can Trump revive coal? Wit &

“Climate change doesn’t mat-
ter.” That’s the “devastating”
away from dirty, inefficient
coal and toward natural gas
Wisdom
message President Trump sent and renewable resources. “When one tugs at a
out with his executive order The number of coal-fired single thing in nature, he
on “energy independence” power plants dropped from finds it attached to the rest
of the world.”
last week, said David Roberts 619 in 2005 to 427 in 2015, John Muir, quoted in
in Vox.com. Trump ordered and just 65,000 coal miners MontrealGazette.com
the Environmental Protec- remain. Even coal execu-
tion Agency to review and tives admit their industry is “Without lies, humanity
would perish of despair
rewrite the Clean Power Plan, in permanent decline. But if
and boredom.”
an Obama-era edict to cut A coal-fired power plant in West Virginia
the market forces pushing us Poet Anatole France,
carbon emissions from exist- toward clean energy are so quoted in TheHindu.com
ing power plants. He also asked the EPA to relax “potent,” said Holman Jenkins in The Wall Street
“Human madness is often-
carbon rules for new power plants; loosen limits Journal, then surely we don’t need all the costly times a cunning and most
on methane emissions in oil and gas production; Obama-era regulations in the first place. feline thing. When you
and rescind a moratorium on new coal mining think it fled, it may have but
on federal land. “You’re going back to work,” The market is changing, but not fast enough, said become transfigured into
the president told the coal miners he had invited Jonathan Chait in NYMag.com. It’s still cheaper some still subtler form.”
to the executive order’s signing ceremony. Trump to run an old coal-fired plant than to invest in Herman Melville, quoted in
The Wall Street Journal
didn’t “formally withdraw” from the Paris climate building a new, cleaner one. To protect our planet
accords, the landmark 194-nation agreement to from the “dire effects of climate change,” we have “The future is already
reduce greenhouse gas emissions, said Amy David- to “accelerate the pace of decarbonization.” There here; it’s just not evenly
son in The New Yorker. But by killing the Clean are also “sound business reasons” for Trump distributed yet.”
Power Plan, which is currently stuck in the courts, to rethink his energy agenda, said the Financial Novelist William Gibson,
quoted in Recode.net 
Trump has made it impossible for the U.S. to ful- Times in an editorial. Propping up a declining
fill its emissions targets—and ended our “partici- coal industry will inevitably reduce U.S. invest- “Great people do things
pation in the fight against climate change.” ment in renewable energy—“opening the way for before they’re ready.”
China and others to dominate” the industries of Amy Poehler, quoted in
Mashable.com
“Everybody needs to calm down,” said Kurt the future. Rather than trying to return the U.S.
Eichenwald in Newsweek.com. Trump can’t revive to its coal-fired past, Trump should be “aiming “If you think you’re great,
the coal industry by signing orders. For market for the U.S. that could exist 20 years hence—a then something is seri-
reasons, energy companies have long been shifting global leader in clean technology.” ously wrong with you.”
Artist Marina Abramavic,
quoted in NYMag.com

GOP: A circular firing squad “You will know that it’s

Republicans are “on the verge of civil war,” said
Jonathan Lemire in the Associated Press. In the
wake of the GOP’s failure to repeal and replace
the Affordable Care Act, President Trump last
week blamed the conservative House Freedom
Caucus for the embarrassing defeat. “The Free-
dom Caucus will hurt the entire Republican
agenda if they don’t get on the team & fast,”
he tweeted. “We must fight them, & Dems, in
2018!” Trump even threatened to throw his
weight behind primary challengers to caucus
members. Unintimidated by a scandal-plagued
president with “approval ratings hovering below
40 percent,” Freedom Caucus members fired
back. Michigan Rep. Justin Amash called Trump,
the self-styled Washington outsider, just another
establishment sellout, tweeting, “It didn’t take
long for the swamp to drain @realDonaldTrump.”
If Trump “can’t even pressure his core supporters,
it’s a clear sign that his presidency is shrinking,”
said Josh Kraushaar in NationalJournal.com. The
GOP has split into three factions: “pragmatists,
Trumpian populists, and hard-right maximalists.”
To be an effective president, Trump has to serve
Newscom
a true romance between
thorny policy details, and was unable to address A-Rod and J.Lo if they
the objections of House members. He “has little decide to share a publicist.”
Publicist Sy Presten,
interest in the art of governing; he craves person- quoted in the New York Post
ally fulfilling political victories.” Weakened by this
major defeat and facing difficult legislative battles
ahead, he “needs the Freedom Caucus more than
it needs him.” To salvage his presidency, said Poll watch
Jamelle Bouie in Slate.com, Trump also needs “a Q55% of white Repub-
hefty dose of humility.” He has to realize he’s not licans say that black
a king, negotiate in good faith, and “essentially Americans are economi-
unlearn the habits of his entire adult life.” cally worse off because
they “just don’t have the
It’s not all Trump’s fault—there’s plenty of blame motivation or willpower
to go around, said Noah Rothman in Commentary to pull themselves up out
Magazine.com. Republicans wield “total control of poverty.” 26% of white
of the levers of governmental power,” yet their Democrats agree. The gap
schisms and squabbles threaten to squander “an between the two parties
opportunity to leave a lasting mark on history.” on this question is the
It’s not too late to turn it around. Democrats have biggest since 1977.
GSS-NORC/University of
passed sweeping legislation with an unruly coali- Chicago
tion of machine politicians, blue-collar workers,
Q20% of people ages 18
minorities, progressives, and Dixiecrats. Under
to 34 identify as LGBTQ, a
George W. Bush, divided Republicans passed tax
big increase from Genera-
relief, Medicare reform, and a partial-birth abor- tion X (12%) and the Baby
tion ban. But if Trump and Congress don’t change Boomer generation (7%).

as “the glue” to hold these factions together. But course soon, their only legacy will be “the disgrace GLAAD/Harris
Trump showed no grasp of the health-care bill’s of the Republican moment lost.”
THE WEEK April 14, 2017
18 NEWS Technology

Online privacy: Telecoms mining your search history

“What if your telecom company tracked for “free,” but “there’s no built-in
the websites you visit, the apps you use, expectation that your providers will
the TV shows you watch, the stores you ‘double dip’ by selling your data and
shop at, and the restaurants you eat at, collecting advertising fees.” To be hon-
and then sold that information to adver- est, this brouhaha feels like “shouting
tisers?” asked Jack Marshall in The Wall at the horse to come back long after
Street Journal. Thanks to Congress, he’s left the barn,” said Stephen Carter
AT&T, Verizon, and Comcast can now in Bloomberg.com. Why is it disturb-
do just that. The House of Representa- ing that Verizon and AT&T suddenly
tives voted last week to dismantle strict want to act like Google and Facebook?
online privacy rules set up by the Obama We traded away our online privacy
administration that would have required long ago.
internet service providers to get custom-
Your browsing history could be up for sale.
ers’ permission before selling their data For now, “you probably won’t notice
to third parties. The legislation, which President Trump signed any difference,” said Brian Chen in The New York Times. The
into law this week, is a huge boon to the major telecoms, which rules that Congress overturned were so new that they hadn’t even
hope to build billion-dollar online ad businesses to rival those taken effect yet. But while ISPs have always been able to monitor
of Facebook and Google. what websites you visit and then share some of that data with
third parties, they are now likely to become much “more aggres-
If those Silicon Valley giants can turn data into profit, “the sive with data collection and retention.” There’s only so much
logic goes, why can’t the cable companies?” said Klint Finley you can do these days to protect your digital data—short of going
in Wired.com. It’s a decent pitch, but it doesn’t hold up under off the grid, said Timothy Lee in Vox.com. One option is to use a
scrutiny. The telecoms have a huge advantage, since they pro- virtual private network, which hides your browsing information
vide both wired and wireless networks—seeing nearly every- from your internet provider, but those can be pricey and hard
thing a user is doing on the web from multiple devices. They’re to set up. And most internet users can’t be bothered with such a
also already squeezing money from us in the form of monthly complicated work-around. The advantage of the just-overturned
bills. It’s understood and accepted that we give up some per- rules was that consumers would “get privacy by default.” Now
sonal data and privacy in order to use Facebook and Google the burden is on us.

Innovation of the week Bytes: What’s new in tech

“Qualcomm wants your gadgets
to look out for you,” said Stacey
Higginbotham in TechnologyReview
.com. The mobile chipmaker is work-
ing on a tiny,
low-power
module that
could add
computer
vision tech-
nology to everyday devices, from
toys to home appliances. The tech-
nology, called Glance, “isn’t quite
a camera, but it can gather more
detailed information than a simple
motion sensor.” It contains a lens, an
image sensor, and a low-power pro-
cessor that allow it to detect people
and recognize specific gestures. It’s
cheaper and uses far less energy
than a built-in camera would, mak-
ing some smartphone security fea-
tures more practical. Phone makers
would like to use iris scans to unlock
phones, for instance, “but a device’s
camera can’t be constantly active
without draining the battery.” Glance
offers a low-power way to detect
when a person is facing the screen,
triggering the camera to turn on and
conduct a scan.
Samsung’s smartphone mulligan
“Samsung is ready to try again,” said Mike
Murphy in Qz.com. The South Korean elec-
tronics giant last week unveiled its first new
smartphones since last year’s recall of the
explosion-prone Galaxy Note 7. The new Gal-
axy S8 and S8+ “have just about everything
you’d expect” in a premium smartphone,
including “powerful processors, 4GBs of
memory, 64 GB of storage, large batteries, and
beautiful high-definition screens.” The S8 and
S8+ displays are 5.8 and 6.2 inches, respec-
tively, making them both bigger than the 5.5-
inch iPhone 7 Plus. The added screen real es-
tate comes from the lack of a physical “home”
button. The two phones are also the first to
feature Bixby, Samsung’s new virtual assistant.
Elon Musk’s cyborg future
“Building a mass-market electric vehicle and
colonizing Mars aren’t ambitious enough for
Elon Musk,” said Rolfe Winkler in The Wall
Street Journal. The billionaire tech mogul’s
newest company hopes “to merge computers
with human brains to help people keep up
with machines.” Neuralink, which registered
in California as a “medical research” company
last July, is working on “neural lace” technol-
in the brain to enhance cognitive function.
Some day, the technology may even be used to
“upload and download thoughts,” enabling
humans to compete with artificial intelligence.
The operational details are sketchy so far, but
the company is said to be focusing its early ef-
forts on treating brain disorders like epilepsy
and depression. Simpler electrodes are already
used in some Parkinson’s treatment.
Need cash? Try Facebook
Facebook is getting into personal fundrais-
ing, said Sarah Perez in TechCrunch.com. The
social network has given users the ability to
raise money for “personal crises and other
campaigns,” taking a page from crowdfunding
sites like GoFundMe. Users can launch per-
sonal fundraisers in six categories: education,
medical, pet medical, crisis relief, personal
emergencies, and funeral costs; more catego-
ries are in the works. To cut down on fraud,
campaigns are subject to a 24-hour review
process. Facebook will charge a 6.9 percent fee
on every gift, which comes out of the recipi-
ent’s cut, plus a 30-cent fee to cover security
and payment processing. “GoFundMe, by
comparison, takes 7.9 percent, plus $0.30.”
Facebook is also adding Donate buttons to live
Alamy

ogy that involves implanting tiny electrodes video broadcasts.

THE WEEK April 14, 2017
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 20 NEWS
Most cancers caused by chance mutations
Scientists are always telling us what we
can do to lower cancer risk: Exercise more,
stay out of the sun, eat more of this and
less of that. But new research suggests
that two-thirds of cancer-causing genetic
mutations are the result of random and
unavoidable DNA errors—“bad luck,”
as the authors put it. Mistakes occur
every time a cell divides and copies its
DNA to produce two new cells. Most of
those mutations don’t cause any harm,
reports NBCNews.com, but a small num-
ber affect so-called cancer driver genes.
After analyzing genome sequencing and
epidemiologic data from 32 cancer types
Did a slower jet stream cause Texas’ heat wave?
Climate change stalls jet stream
Climate scientists have long understood that
global warming can make extreme weather
events like the Texas heat wave of 2011
and last year’s floods across Europe more
common. But new research suggests this
rise in extreme weather isn’t simply due
to increasing atmospheric temperatures:
Climate change might also be altering the
flow of planet-scale air patterns like the
jet stream. Normally, the jet stream moves
from west to east across the Northern
Hemisphere, with ribbon-like air currents
that undulate from the equator to the North
Pole. A large temperature difference between
the tropics and the Arctic causes the winds
to blow faster. But when the difference is
smaller, the jet stream slows and whole
regions can be left under the same weather
for long periods, turning hot days into heat
waves, dry spells into droughts, and wet
conditions into floods. Using temperature
records and climate model simulations, an
international team of researchers found
that such stalls are increasing in frequency,
largely because climate change is causing
the Arctic to warm faster than the rest
of the planet.“Human activity has been
suspected of contributing to this pattern
before,” study leader Michael Mann tells
The Guardian (U.K.). “But now we’ve
uncovered a clear fingerprint.”
THE WEEK April 14, 2017
Health & Science
in 69 countries, researchers at Johns
Hopkins University found that 29 per-
cent of cancer-causing mutations are the
result of environmental factors, such as
smoking and sun exposure; 5 percent are
caused by inherited genetic mutations; and
66 percent are completely random. They
note that arbitrary mutations are more
common in cancers involving tissues with
higher rates of cellular “turnover,” such
as the colon. Critics of the study contend
that cancer is a complex disease whose
causes cannot be separated and simplified,
and that people shouldn’t be discouraged
from quitting smoking and taking other
Beating paralysis with the brain cells. The therapy restored the rodents’
A quadriplegic man can now feed himself
again after a breakthrough procedure that
has allowed him to control his hand with
the power of thought. Bill Kochevar, 56,
suffered a severe spinal cord injury in a
bicycle accident eight years ago and was left
completely paralyzed from the neck down,
reports NPR.org. In order to circumvent his
damaged spine, researchers at Case Western
Reserve University in Cleveland surgically
implanted two electrodes in the motor
cortex region of his brain, and 36 inside
his arm. The brain implants are linked to
a computer, which translates brain signals
into electrical impulses that trigger move-
ment in Kochevar’s hand, wrist, elbow, and
shoulder. After four months of training the
system to recognize the signals that cor-
relate with his desired actions, Kochevar
is now able to drink from a cup and eat
with a fork. “I thought about moving my
arm and I could move it,” he says. “I’m
still wowed every time I do something.”
The system is not yet ready for use outside
a lab, but the team hopes to streamline the
technology so that it becomes routine treat-
ment for paralysis.
Aging-reversal treatment
Scientists studying age-related disease
may be one step closer to a therapy
that could help reverse the ravages of
time. Researchers in the Netherlands
have been investigating senes-
cent cells, “zombie” cells
that have stopped dividing
and that can contribute
to illnesses such as heart
disease, arthritis, and dia-
betes. For a new study,
the team designed
a molecule to selec-
tively kill these cells
in mutant mice that age
rapidly, without harming healthy
Each time a cell divides, mutations occur.
steps that reduce their cancer risk. But the
authors say their findings offer comfort
and reassurance to the millions of people
who have been diagnosed with cancer
despite living a healthy lifestyle. “It’s not
your fault,” says co-author Bert Vogelstein.
kidney function, stimulated the growth of
their fur, and improved their stamina. The
researchers are now studying whether the
mice also live longer. They believe the pro-
cedure could potentially be used to treat
age-related disorders in humans and even to
kill cancer cells, which share certain features
with senescent cells. “It’s definitely a land-
mark advance,” University of Montreal biol-
ogist Francis Rodier, who wasn’t involved
in the study, tells Science. “This is the first
time that somebody has shown that you can
get rid of senescent cells without having any
obvious side effects.”
Health scare of the week
Marathons tax the kidneys
Running a marathon may be about as
traumatic for the kidneys as heart surgery,
reports CNN.com. To assess how run-
ning 26.2 miles affects kidney function,
researchers from Yale University collected
blood and urine samples from a group of
people just before they ran the Hartford
Marathon, and then immediately after-
ward. They found that after the race
82 percent of the runners had signs of acute
kidney injury—likely due to dehydration—
as well as reduced blood flow to vital
organs and a rise in core body tempera-
ture. “Almost everybody had a significant
increase in the novel markers of injury,
inflammation, and repair,” says
study leader Chirag Parikh.
The researchers found these
effects were only temporary,
and reversed within 48 hours.
But they warned that the
long-term impact of running
marathons remains unknown,
Newscom, AP, Newscom
and said their findings empha-
size that runners should stay
well hydrated and avoid
medications that are toxic to
the kidneys.
 Pick of the week’s cartoons NEWS 21

For more political cartoons, visit: www.theweek.com/cartoons. THE WEEK April 14, 2017
22
Review of reviews: Books
Book of the week
A Generation of Sociopaths:
How the Baby Boomers
Betrayed America
by Bruce Cannon Gibney
(Hachette, $27)
At long last, “the backlash to the
Boomers is at hand,” said R. Emmett
Tyrrell Jr. in The Washington Times.
Decades after it ought to have become
clear to all that my Baby Boomer
generation was destroying America,
a sharp Gen X writer has arisen to
finally take my birth cohort to task. In
A Generation of Sociopaths, Bruce Cannon At times, Gibney’s indictment goes a “just
Gibney, a 42-year-old venture capital-
ist, paints “a persuasive and frequently
hilarious portrait” of the horde of white
Americans born between 1940 and 1964,
said Timothy Bracy in Men’s Journal.
Raised in comfort and certain of their righ- failed to act on global warming or runaway
teousness, the Boomers in Gibney’s account entitlement spending; watched inequality
are forever running up debt and rigging the spike; and presided over declining faith
tax code to benefit themselves. And though in virtually every institution. “But Gibney
even Gibney concedes not every member
of the Me Generation is a sociopath, “the
overall critique feels eerily on the mark.”
Novel of the week
The Twelve Lives
of Samuel Hawley
by Hannah Tinti
(Dial, $27)
Hannah Tinti “knows how to cast the
old campfire spell,” said Ron Charles
in The Washington Post. Drawing from
the tale of the 12 labors Hercules per-
formed as penance for killing his family,
the author of 2008’s The Good Thief
has created an engrossing coming-of-
age tale that’s also “a master class in
literary suspense.” The gun-toting title
character, a former career criminal, is as
tough as they come, but he also cares
deeply for his precocious 12-year-old
daughter, who’s eager to learn about
her deceased mother and about the
12 bullet scars that pockmark Samuel’s
torso. Flashbacks eventually reveal
the origins of all dozen wounds, said
Michael Berry in the Portland, Maine,
Press Herald. Though it’s a risk to keep
interrupting the main storyline—and to
mix violent action with a teen’s typical
rites of passage—the strategy pays off.
“Tinti has set herself a Herculean liter-
ary task, and she accomplishes it, not
with brute force, but with wit, aplomb,
and a love of adventure.”
THE WEEK April 14, 2017
ARTS
The Me Generation: Making debt, and perpetual war
a wee bit” too far, said Dana Milbank in
The Washington Post. Sure, it’s true that
since fellow Boomers Bill Clinton and
Newt Gingrich rose to power in the early
1990s, the whole generation of leaders has
blames the Boomers for everything,” includ-
ing abortion, divorce, inflation, crime, and
even adjunct professors. His disdain is so
The Cubs Way: The Zen
of Building the Best Team
in Baseball...
by Tom Verducci (Crown, $28)
When the hardest-
luck franchise in
baseball ended
a 108-year title
drought last fall,
the story “almost
demanded that
Tom Verducci
weigh in,” said Ed
Sherman in the
Chicago Tribune.
The longtime Sports
Illustrated scribe
is “arguably the
best baseball writer of his generation,” and
he’s delivered in a big way with his new
“deep, deep dive” into the Chicago Cubs’
enchanted 2016 season. The suspenseful
opening chapter, set just before the first pitch
is thrown in Game 7 of the World Series,
puts the drama in motion. But Verducci
proves equally adept at analyzing how team
president Theo Epstein, who’d previously
worked his magic with the Boston Red Sox,
has tweaked the data-driven approach to
team building that was outlined in Michael
Lewis’ seminal 2003 book, Moneyball.
indiscriminate that both evangelical
leader Pat Robertson, born in 1930,
and Marco Rubio, born in 1971,
are portrayed as accessories to the
Boomers’ idiotic narcissism. If Gibney
looked closer, he might realize that the
Boomers created a mess because they’re
so divided—not because they’re all the
same. Counterculture types and their
opposites have been at war for decades,
unable to compromise on any issue.
A Generation of Sociopaths shouldn’t
be treated as sober social science, said
John Semley in the Toronto Globe and
Mail. “The book feels most useful as
a forceful, polemical riposte to a decade’s
worth of risible op-eds about Millennials
being lazy, narcissistic, unmotivated, and
blasé.” Boomer thought leaders have had
their say; now comes the younger set’s
retort. Still, given the politics of resentment
that govern today’s America, “one won-
ders how useful the widening of intergen-
erational divides really is.” Unless people
under 52 are ready to launch a revolution,
they have to work with America’s graying
cohort of “sociopathic” leaders until the
Boomers all die off.
Epstein has learned that numbers aren’t
everything, said Jena McGregor in The
Washington Post. In Boston, he watched
his 2011 team disintegrate when tested by a
late-season losing streak, and so in Chicago
he put new focus on character. He ordered
scouts to prepare reports that looked into
every aspect of players’ makeup, including
what friends and rivals said about them,
and how they’d responded to adversity. “If
we can’t find the next technological break-
through,” Epstein told Verducci, “maybe
we can be better than anyone else with how
we treat our players and how we connect
with players.”
“Hooray for good intentions,” said Steven
Goldman in Slate.com. Fans shouldn’t
forget that midway through the 2016
season, however, the Cubs compromised
on character when they acquired pitcher
Aroldis Chapman, a standout closer who’d
previously been suspended by baseball for a
domestic violence violation. Epstein is proud
that his staff and players share genuine
affection for one another—but will senti-
mentality interfere with management’s need
to be ruthless about players whose perfor-
mance fades? As the Chapman deal proved,
having shared ideals only gets a team so far.
“To succeed against tough competition, you
have to be willing to shelve your ideology.”
AP
 The Book List
Best books...chosen by Rebecca Skloot
Rebecca Skloot is the author of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, a best-selling
account of how one 1950s cancer patient unwittingly spawned many medical break-
throughs. A film adaptation, starring Oprah Winfrey, premieres April 22 on HBO.
Love at Goon Park by Deborah Blum (Basic,
$18). This is a wonderful and compulsively read-
able character study of Harry Harlow, the scientist
whose amazing, often disturbing, research on pri-
mates provided crucial insight into child-rearing.
Silent Spring by Rachel Carson (Houghton
Mifflin Harcourt, $16). Carson’s book is one of
the most important pieces of science writing ever
published. The author was fearless in her pursuit
of scientific truth, and with this book, she helped
shape our modern understanding of environmen-
tal science and activism.
The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down
by Anne Fadiman (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, $15).
In an incredible story of cultural miscommunica-
tion and of a tragic clash between scientists and
nonscientists, a girl born to a Hmong refugee
family in California meets a heartbreaking fate.
It’s a dramatic and important story that Fadiman
tells without demonizing either the doctors or
the family, and it was an early model for me as I
wrote The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.
In the Name of Eugenics by Daniel J. Kevles
(Harvard, $32.50). I devoured this meticulously
Also of interest...in artists’ muses
Portraits of Courage
by George W. Bush (Crown, $35)
Former President Bush has
“improved drastically” as a painter
since his awkward first efforts
became public in 2013, said Peter
Schjeldahl in The New Yorker.
Working from photographs of U.S.
war veterans, Bush painted 98 portraits for this
volume, and though the book is “maddeningly”
self-comforting, the quality of the art is “astonish-
ingly high” for someone so new to the discipline.
Bush’s brushwork is confident, and his subjects
“look honestly observed and persuasively alive.”
A Piece of the World
by Christina Baker Kline (William Morrow, $28)
The subject of Andrew Wyeth’s iconic
1948 painting Christina’s World could
seem a wholly tragic figure, said Jenny
Sawyer in CSMonitor.com. But this
Manda Townsend, courtesy of the author
ARTS 23
Author of the week
Alyssa Mastromonaco
No one has ever written a
White House memoir like
footnoted story of scientists who hoped to Alyssa Mastromonaco’s,
“improve” the human race by eliminating minori- said Rebecca Nelson in
ties, “immorality,” and “inferiors,” by means of Cosmopolitan.com. A long-
selective breeding and much worse. It’s an essen- time aide to Barack Obama,
tial chapter of American history that we should the Rhinebeck, N.Y., native
never forget. was once was labeled “one of
Washington’s
The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat most pow-
by Oliver Sacks (Touchstone, $16) I love any- erful, least
thing by Sacks, but especially this collection of famous
essays about his patients and their fantastical people.”
array of neurological ailments. He transports But the for-
himself and his readers into the minds and lives mer deputy
of his patients, reminding us that there are always chief of staff
wanted to
human beings behind the scientific mysteries.
demystify the White House
And the Band Played On by Randy Shilts workplace experience. So
(St. Martin’s, $22). And the Band Played On is in Who Thought This Was
up there with Silent Spring as one of the most a Good Idea? she tells tales
influential pieces of science writing. Published in about being caught with her
1987, it changed the way AIDS was understood shoes off, about hunting des-
and treated in the U.S., and did so by combining perately for a bathroom while
powerful investigative journalism with beautiful visiting the Vatican, and about
storytelling. The first piece I read by Shilts was a making operational decisions
that would earn an email
follow-up essay to the book. I finished it and said
from the president asking the
to myself, “I want to write like that guy.” ribbing question she chose
as the book’s title. A 2008
outdoor campaign speech
during a hailstorm? That was
Mastromonaco’s idea. “This
Lara book, hopefully, makes gov-
by Anna Pasternak (Ecco, $28) ernment a little more relatable,
a little less scary,” she says.
“Sometimes when you read a novel,
you just know that the love story at its Mastromonaco consistently
heart has to be based on a real rela- presents a cartoon version of
tionship,” said Martin Rubin in The herself, said Caitlin Flanagan
Washington Times. In Boris Paster- in The Washington Post. But
nak’s Dr. Zhivago, the real relation- the former grocery clerk was
ship was the author’s affair with Olga Ivinskaya, also helping run the country
a fellow writer who typed the manuscript, which by the time she was 32, and
was eventually smuggled out of the Soviet Union. her book shows how she
Pasternak’s great-niece has finally convincingly made the climb mostly by
throwing herself enthusiasti-
established that Ivinskaya—who paid dearly for
cally into every task along the
assisting Pasternak—was the original Lara.
way. The White House she
Birds Art Life describes sounds like it was
a pretty good place to work,
by Kyo Maclear (Scribner, $25) but she doesn’t pretend it was
This “profound little book” is only always a well-oiled machine,
partially about an author’s year of and that gives her a bit of
therapeutic bird-watching, said Laurie sympathy for the new team
at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. “I
Hertzel in the Minneapolis Star

remember when Hurricane

new historical novel “paints her dif-
ferently,” showing readers a Christina
who’s undaunted in the face of a crippling mus-
cular disease. In these pages, Wyeth is a sensitive
young man who coaxes middle-aged Christina
out of her shell. Like Wyeth, author Christina
Baker Kline “has an artist’s eye,” and a gift for
revealing inner beauty.
Tribune. Though the Toronto-based
author sought solace in birding after
her father suffered a debilitating stroke, her long
walks also afforded time to meditate on her mar-
riage, her favorite books, and the ways that past
creative greats have embraced the natural world.
A fair amount of ornithological language creeps in,
but those allusions “feel natural, never forced.”
Katrina happened, and I was
like, ‘F--- George Bush! This is
terrible,’” she says. “And then
you get in the White House,
and you take a beat, and
you’re like, ‘God. I can under-
stand how that can happen.’”
THE WEEK April 14, 2017
24 ARTS
Exhibit of the week
Louis Kahn:
The Power of Architecture
Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth,
through June 25
The Louis Kahn retrospective in
Fort Worth begins well before
you set foot in its first gallery,
said Michael Hoinski in Texas
Monthly. The approach to the
Kimbell Art Museum is “like a
walk in the park,” a progres-
sion through a grove of trees and
past cascading water; it clears
the mind. The Kimbell is inargu-
ably one of Kahn’s architectural
masterpieces, “a case study in
symmetry” that creates a soothing inter-
play between landscape and building,
sunlight and shade. Visiting the Kimbell
has long been “a journey all architects feel
compelled to make at least once in their
lifetime,” and no time could be better than
now to make that pilgrimage, said Gaile
Robinson in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
For the next three months, the Kimbell is
hosting a traveling Louis Kahn exhibition
that’s “a lovely valentine” to a modernist
genius, and the first major Kahn retrospec-
tive in 25 years.
Kahn “made architecture new in utterly dis-
tinctive ways,” said Julie Iovine in The Wall
Where to buy
A select exhibition in a private gallery
Mary Weatherford paints sunsets in a
whole new way. For five years, the Los
Angeles–based artist has been filling
mammoth
canvases
with bold
color
fields,
then affix-
ing to each
painting Animals (2017)
a strip or two of illuminated neon—all
in the service of capturing a particular
feeling. The series came to mind one
evening when Weatherford was driving
in Bakersfield and the sky was turning
otherworldly colors just as businesses’
neon signs were clicking on and begin-
ning to buzz. The paintings evoke a
twilight feeling, the feeling of time
running out. Without the neon touch,
Weatherford’s swaths of subtly shifting
color might evoke merely the soothing
power of a beautiful sky at dusk. The
humming neon layers in a frisson of
danger. At David Kordansky Gallery,
5130 W. Edgewood Pl., Los Angeles.
(323) 935-3030. Prices upon request.
THE WEEK April 14, 2017
Review of reviews: Art
Kahn’s Salk Institute: Classicism for a new age
Street Journal. While many other modern-
ists were distancing their work from “all
that was old, massive, and portentous,”
Kahn was mining the lessons of the clas-
sical world to create buildings of timeless
monumentality. Born in 1901 Estonia and
raised in Philadelphia, Kahn was trained in
the Beaux Arts tradition before embracing
modernism, and this exhibition shows how
in his early 50s he finally found his path.
During travels to Rome, Greece, and Egypt,
he visited many ancient structures, and in
the pastel sketches displayed in this show,
“you can see the vigorous application of
a purple pastel stick as he tried to capture
exactly how light changes when it falls
The Mysterious Landscapes of
Hercules Segers
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City,
through May 21
The 17th-century Dutch artist Hercules
Segers “had only a passing interest in real-
ity,” said Roberta Smith in The New York
Times. At a time when realism was the
rage among his peers, this contemporary of looking at Chinese prototypes.” Yet the
Rembrandt was dream-
ing up surreal landscapes
while turning printmak-
ing to purposes it had
never served before.
Instead of seeking to
duplicate monochrome
images over and over,
Segers boldly varied the
colors of both his inks
and his paper, playing A circa 1625 Segers landscape
with emotional effects
while producing images that could be sold
as one-of-a-kinds. Rembrandt himself was
a fan, but because most of Segers’ works
were lost, “his audaciousness has yet to
receive its due.” The Met is trying to right
that wrong, and its new Segers show, which still life. It’s “a work of audacious original-
gathers 102 of the 182 or so of the artist’s
known surviving prints, emerges as “one
against a wall at dusk.” The
play of light became a focus of
his work, as did the simplest
geometrical shapes. At La Jolla,
Calif.’s Salk Institute, another
of Kahn’s masterworks, mono-
lithic concrete slabs frame the
view west across a wide central
plaza, and the vista at the far
end is bisected by a horizontal
ribbon of distant ocean, making
the whole complex feel as eter-
nal as nature.
A thorough assessment of
Kahn’s work appears to be
underway, said Christopher
Hawthorne in Architect maga-
zine. In the old view, reflected by this exhi-
bition, Kahn was a singular creative force,
“a man who stood apart from both other
architects and the cultural zeitgeist.” But
contemporaries showed a similar interest
in classically inspired monumentality, and
a new generation is turning away from the
showy sculptural structures of Zaha Hadid
and Frank Gehry and finding inspiration in
Kahn’s respect for history and its simpler
forms. In a statement about the upcoming
Chicago Architecture Biennial, that show’s
curators promised to celebrate buildings
that make history new and turn away from
architecture that insists on being unprec-
edented. “Kahn would surely approve.”
of the dreamiest, most immersive presenta-
tions of the year.”
If only the exhibition’s curators weren’t
such killjoys, said Christopher Benfey in
NewYorkReviewOfBooks.com. Studying
Mossy Tree, an “absolutely stunning”
circa 1625 print, “I couldn’t kick the
impression that Segers must have been
show’s catalog rejects
the possibility of Chinese
influence outright, even
though Segers was prob-
ably the first artist in
Europe to work on paper
imported from the Far
East. And why should
we listen to so-called
experts who claim Segers
avoided depicting the
human figure because he
struggled to do so? “I think he deliberately
attributed character, even personality, to
seemingly inanimate objects,” like trees
and ruins and the stack of books in a circa
1618–22 print that might be Europe’s first
John Nicolais
ity,” by an artist who by now really should
be familiar to us all.
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26 ARTS Review of reviews: Stage & Music
Latin History for Morons
The Public Theater, New York City, (212) 967-7555 ++++
Leguizamo in professorial mode
Thank goodness John Leguizamo hasn’t
mellowed with age, said Ben Brantley in
The New York Times. In his new one-man
show, the 52-year-old actor and comedian
“registers as hyperkinetic even on the rare
occasions he’s standing still.” Sure, he’s
no longer the brash young barrio kid you
might know from his 1990s routines; here,
he’s the father of two sulky teenagers with
little patience for Papi’s history lessons.
But though the writer-performer adopts
the role of a bespectacled professor, you’d
Father John Misty
Pure Comedy
++++
The new Father John
Misty album is “some-
thing of a miracle,” said
Jeremy Winograd in
SlantMagazine.com.
Singer-songwriter
Josh Tillman, who first
adopted the Misty per-
sona five years ago, is telling listeners in no
uncertain terms that the world is a mess,
but his “captivating” voice, his sly humor,
and a raft of “heartbreakingly beautiful”
melodies make Pure Comedy a challeng-
ing but deeply rewarding listen. Tillman’s
voice, these days, is “pure honey,” said Tom
Breihan in Stereogum.com. “Even in his
darkest lyrical moments, he delivers every-
thing with a soul singer’s sense of tender-
ness,” and on a production scale, “it’s been
years since I’ve heard anyone attempt this
level of unapologetic grandeur.” Tillman’s
overriding message is that human beings
are so dumb and selfish that they may
destroy the planet, and he “sees all this as
inherently funny”—the ultimate tragic com-
edy. Still, when he sings that it’s a miracle
to be alive, he means it. Pure Comedy is
too long and too self-congratulatory, but it’s
also “an absolutely stunning piece of work.”
THE WEEK April 14, 2017
be forgiven for mistaking the chalk dust
that swirls around him for smoke from
his firing synapses. Off he goes, “churn-
ing up hot waves of improbably connected
ideas” and dispensing some hilarious—and
unprintable—one-liners as he attempts to
help his son identify a Latin hero to profile
for a middle-school assignment.
In Leguizamo’s 95 brilliant and fast-paced
minutes onstage, “the best he can do is
take the rough edges off us morons,” said
Allison Adato in Entertainment Weekly.
He races through the pre-Columbian
civilizations—with shout-outs to the
potato, chocolate, and the mambo—and
spotlights Latin heroes in every major
American conflict, including a Cuban-
American woman who dressed like a
man to fight in the Civil War. Leguizamo
“knows how to pace a monologue,” so
he spices up his talk with dance breaks,
accents, physical gags, and, alas, “a few
dated stereotypes.” But he also provides
something beyond history: “the image of a
father desperate to get it right as a parent.”
That struggle is one all audience members
can relate to. “Here’s hoping there’s more
of Leguizamo’s own family saga to come.”
Bob Dylan
Triplicate
++++
Let’s stop treating Bob
Dylan’s current Great
American Songbook
phase as a lark, said
Tom Moon in NPR.org.
With his new three-disc
collection of standards,
the 75-year-old Nobel
laureate has recently released five albums’
worth of Frank Sinatra–era tunes, and the
effort suddenly looks like “an act of radi-
cal conservation.” Dylan’s voice has gone
ragged, of course, but he “sounds deeply
committed to this music,” and to the task
of memorializing its signal traits: sophis-
ticated lyrics, winding chord sequences,
and challenging, meandering melodies that
“somehow burrow into the ear.” Though
Dylan can’t pull off every melody, Triplicate
draws listeners in, and across 96 minutes
“casts a hypnotic musical spell,” said Neil
McCormick in The Daily Telegraph (U.K.).
“But enough already.” A Nobel winner
should be writing new material, not croon-
ing oldies. That’s a legit complaint, said
Randy Lewis in the Los Angeles Times. Still,
the world is “undeniably richer” for having
Dylan’s guided tour through the songs that
laid the foundation for American music.
The week’s other opening
Harlequino: On to Freedom
The Actors’ Gang Theatre, Culver City, Calif.,
(310) 838-4264
++++
Even the bawdiest
farce can make seri-
ous noise, said Philip
Brandes in the Los
Angeles Times. That’s
the message of the
“inventive and infor-
Lamont
mative” new stage
show written and directed by film star
Tim Robbins. In a bid to sketch the his-
tory of the commedia dell’arte tradition,
Robbins has pitted two groups against
each other: a pair of academics trying to
deliver a lecture and a troupe of com-
media players determined to hijack the
proceedings. Amid a barrage of songs,
slapstick, and dirty jokes, we eventu-
ally learn that commedia dell’arte was
once deemed so radical that actors were
sometimes executed for performing it.
The title character, a black servant played
by a masked Joshua R. Lamont, finally
utters the show’s core message about
the need for self-determination after two-
plus hours, said Deborah Klugman in
CapitalAndMain.com. The first-night audi-
ence spontaneously applauded, and why
not? “These days, we can use as much
theatrical subversion as we can get.”
Aimee Mann
Mental Illness
++++
Aimee Mann’s first solo
album in five years
is “mood music for a
single intractable mood:
a lingering doldrums,
a daylong drizzle under
overcast skies,” said
Jon Pareles in The
New York Times. “An exquisite wallow,”
the record finds the former lead singer
of ’Til Tuesday departing from her usual
midtempo rock to deliver a clutch of more
stately folk hymns and waltzes. Singing
in her “glumly levelheaded voice” about
broken relationships and broken people,
Mann sounds completely at home amid
the songs’ pleasant pop structures. “But
nothing interrupts the air of elegant futil-
ity.” In one sense, this is just another Aimee
Mann album full of character sketches and
personal laments, “all branded by a kind of
urgent hyperliteracy,” said Craig Dorfman in
PasteMagazine.com. But in its dependence
Joan Marcus, Ashley Randall
on spare guitar and piano accompaniment,
this album highlights Mann’s melodies and
candid lyrics. Like a collection of short sto-
ries that rewards repeated readings, Mental
Illness rewards repeated listens, revealing
“ever more intricate” emotional textures.
 Review of reviews: Film ARTS 27
The Blackcoat’s The Blackcoat’s Daughter
is “the kind of film that fol-
going, said Jordan Hoffman
in TheGuardian.com. Shipka
Daughter lows you home, that makes and her co-stars Lucy Boynton
Directed by
you scared to enter a dark and Emma Roberts “do their
Osgood Perkins
alley or go in the basement,” best with the lackluster mate-
said Randall Coburn in rial,” but having people mope
(R)
ConsequenceOfSound.net. At about until a supernatural force
++++ an isolated all-girls Catholic emerges is “no way to keep an
A dark force haunts an boarding school blanketed in audience entertained.” Still, the
empty girls’ school. snow, two students are left Shipka, living a freshman’s nightmare film is “so perfectly acted and
behind during winter break gorgeously filmed” that you
when their parents fail to pick them up. Dread might not mind its coyness, said Jeannette Catsoulis
builds from the moment the younger girl, played in The New York Times. More than scares are at
by Kiernan Shipka, begins experiencing disturbing stake in this directorial debut from the son of actor
visions, and though the movie’s a slow burn, it’s Anthony Perkins. The Blackcoat’s Daughter has its
“never dull.” To me, only the late explosion of vio- share of bloody murder scenes, but “even its most
lence relieves the “impenetrable tedium” of the early brutal acts pulse with inchoate sadness.”

Ghost in Remaking Ghost in the Shell

couldn’t have been easy, said
“isn’t a liability in Ghost in the
Shell,” said Stephanie Zacharek
the Shell Leah Greenblatt in Entertain- in Time. “She’s its great
Directed by Rupert Sanders ment Weekly. The Japanese strength.” A machine with a
(PG-13)
sci-fi franchise that spawned human’s brain, her Major Mira
one of anime’s greatest films Killian leads a counterterrorism
++++ has a lot of hardcore fans, so unit that takes up pursuit of
A cyborg reckons with it’s a shame that British director a shadowy figure called Kuze
her past life. Rupert Sanders “doesn’t quite (Michael Pitt). The android
know what to do with the back- Johansson as a latex-suited killer remembers little of her human
story he’s been handed.” Set in life, and Johansson mixes steeli-
a future where the line between humans and robots ness and misty-eyed doubt to convey the resulting
is blurring, this big-budget reboot is “visually stun- identity crisis. In a few emotional moments, this fun
ning” but doesn’t tackle the 1995 original’s dense action film becomes “something more than a flashy
mythology and deep moral quandaries. Though cash-in,” said Stephen Whitty in the Newark, N.J.,
casting Scarlett Johansson as the lead instead of a Star-Ledger. Mostly, “it’s a gorgeous copy of an
Japanese actress provoked controversy, Johansson original, but a safe copy all the same.”

The A Holocaust movie shouldn’t better grounded in real details,

be this tidy, said Stephanie said Joe Morgenstern in The
Zookeeper’s Merry in The Washington Post. Wall Street Journal. One change
When the Germans invaded the movie makes proves “flat-
Wife Poland in 1939, a husband- out foolish”: turning Hitler’s
Directed by Niki Caro and-wife team at the Warsaw already villainous chief zoologist
(PG-13) Zoo really did hide Jews in into a gun-toting creep with an
the facility’s underground tun- unhealthy interest in Antonia.
++++ nels and shuttled hundreds of The dialogue sounds, unfor-
A couple shelters Jews in them to safety. But the movie tunately, as if “every last line”
wartime Warsaw. Chastain cuddles two lion cubs.
makes the title character “per- were written in highlighter, said
fect beyond plausibility” and the villains pure evil. Ty Burr in The Boston Globe. The movie does have
Jessica Chastain’s Antonia is presented as such a some strengths, like an uncommon focus on the
fairy-tale figure that “you can practically imagine ways women suffer during war. If nothing else, this
the animals gathering to help her get dressed every “well-intentioned and plushly mounted” drama
morning.” Diane Ackerman’s 2007 book was far “may send moviegoers back to Ackerman’s book.”
Petr Maur, Paramount Pictures, Anne Marie Fox/Focus Features

New on DVD and Blu-ray

Silence
(Paramount, $30)
Making a film about religious faith can be
a challenge, “but that didn’t deter Martin
Scorsese,” said The Miami Herald. The
director’s deliberately paced drama about
two 17th-century Jesuits who travel to
Japan to find their mentor “feels like a
career summation.”
20th Century Women
(Lionsgate, $20)
“Sterling performances” elevate this pica-
resque comedy about a 1970s single mother
who enlists help to raise her teenage son,
said the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Elle Fan-
ning plays the boy’s enigmatic crush and
Greta Gerwig his punk-scene mentor, while
Annette Bening is “as good as ever.”
Paterson
(Universal, $20)
In Jim Jarmusch’s latest idiosyncratic
drama, Adam Driver stars as a bus driver
who writes poetry on the side. “Composed
almost entirely of quiet reveries” and chats
with “quirky neighborhood folks,” the film,
said Newsday, “perfectly captures the trans-
portive pleasure of a creative pursuit.”

THE WEEK April 14, 2017

28 ARTS
Movies on TV
Monday, April 10
Tales of Manhattan
A cursed tailcoat is passed
from one unlucky wearer
to another in an anthol-
ogy film featuring Rita
Hayworth, Henry Fonda,
Ginger Rogers, and
Edward G. Robinson.
(1942) 8 p.m., TCM
Tuesday, April 11
The Lady Eve
Barbara Stanwyck stars as
a card sharp who falls for
an awkward brewery heir
she’d hoped to con out of
millions. Henry Fonda co-
stars. (1941) 8 p.m., TCM
Wednesday, April 12
Notting Hill
Julia Roberts and Hugh
Grant co-star in a charming
romantic comedy about a
Hollywood actress courted
by a bookstore owner.
(1999) 7 p.m., Ovation
Thursday, April 13
Tootsie
An Oscar-nominated Dustin
Hoffman plays a struggling
actor who scores a role on
a soap opera by pretend-
ing to be a woman. (1982)
5 p.m., Starz
Friday, April 14
Unforgiven
Clint Eastwood plays an
aging outlaw who takes on
one more job in a revision-
ist Western that won him a
Best Picture Oscar. (1992)
7:45 p.m., HBO
Saturday, April 15
Brooklyn
A 1950s Irish immigrant
is torn between her new
life in New York and
the life she left behind.
Saoirse Ronan stars, oppo-
site Emory Cohen and
Domhnall Gleeson. (2015)
6:05 p.m., Cinemax
Sunday, April 16
Ben-Hur
Charlton Heston is a
Jewish prince sold into
slavery during an epic
life that includes bearing
witness to Jesus’ crucifix-
ion. The film garnered 11
Oscars. (1959) 2 p.m., TCM
THE WEEK April 14, 2017
Television
The Week’s guide to what’s worth watching
American Experience: The Great War
The America we all know was born a century
ago this month, when the U.S. entered World
War I. This three-part series, airing on consecu-
tive nights, leans in to hear the voices of soldiers,
nurses, and aviators, as well as the trailblazers
back home who during the war era established
new roles in American society for women,
African-Americans, and immigrants. The first
two-hour episode begins with a focus on the
lengthy pre-1917 debate over whether to main-
tain neutrality or leap in. Monday, April 10, at
9 p.m.; check local listings
Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Things are getting even wackier in the 99th
Precinct. Taking a page from big serial drama
series, Fox’s Andy Samberg–led cop comedy
ended its previous season with a cliffhanger that
put a major character’s life in the balance. Now,
following a three-month break, it’s time to learn
if Chelsea Peretti’s salty Gina Linetti can walk
away from a direct hit by a New York City bus.
Tuesday, April 11, at 8 p.m., Fox
Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Return
A cult hit from the ’90s finds new life, with its
creator, Joel Hodgson, still aboard as producer.
Comedian Jonah Ray now occupies the key seat,
playing a space janitor forced by two mad sci-
entists to watch bad B movies. The good news:
He has two robots to keep him company and
add snarky commentary while flicks like 1961’s
Reptilicus test the protagonist’s sanity. Felicia
Day and Patton Oswalt co-star. Available for
streaming Friday, April 14, Netflix
Doctor Who
After a year off, the longest-running sci-fi series
in history returns for a new season of adven-
tures. Peter Capaldi’s Doctor Who will be time
traveling with a new companion, played by Pearl
Mackie, while many familiar faces return, includ-
ing Michelle Gomez’s villainous Missy. Capaldi,
who’s been great as the 12th Who, vows this
season—his fourth—will also be his last.
Saturday, April 15, at 9 p.m., BBC America
Odenkirk with co-star Rhea Seehorn
Pinto takes up arms in Guerrilla.
Guerrilla
In early 1970s London, a young mixed-race
couple drift toward militancy and become targets
of a police crackdown on all Black Panther–style
groups. Freida Pinto and Babou Ceesay star in
this powerful six-part limited series, which was
written by John Ridley (12 Years a Slave) and
executive-produced by co-star Idris Elba. The
show has the intensity of a thriller without ever
losing sight of its moving central love story.
Sunday, April 16, at 9 p.m., Showtime
Other highlights
Angie Tribeca
A punny new season begins for the Police Squad–
style spoof starring Rashida Jones. Season guest
stars will include Natalie Portman and Chris
Pine. Monday, April 10, at 10:30 p.m., TBS
Saturday Night Live
Jimmy Fallon hosts as the 41-year-old sketch
show broadcasts “live from New York” coast
to coast for the very first time. That’ll mean the
usual 11:30 p.m. cold opening on the East Coast
and early starts in the Mountain and Pacific
zones. Saturday, April 15, NBC
Veep
As the Emmy-winning comedy series returns,
Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ Selina Meyer faces a
new challenge: how to be the first female ex-
president. Sunday, April 16, at 10:30 p.m., HBO
Sky UK Limited/Showtime, Robert Trachtenberg/AMC/Sony Pictures Television
Show of the week
Better Call Saul
He’s not yet Saul Goodman—the unscrupulous
lawyer who abets a meth kingpin in Break-
ing Bad. But in the third season of this slow-
evolving but excellent prequel series, Jimmy
McGill (Bob Odenkirk) is clearly heading for a
rebranding as his admirable traits fade away.
He has put himself in a bad spot with a recent
confession he made to his brother. Meanwhile,
his fixer, Mike, is searching for a mystery char-
acter who seems to know everything he’s up
to, including an aborted assassination attempt.
Could that someone be Breaking Bad villain
Gus Fring? Monday, April 10, at 10 p.m., AMC
• All listings are Eastern Time.
 before anything else, we’re all human
rethink your bias at lovehasnolabels.com
30
Critics’ choice: From remote lands to America’s tables
Sahib New York City
Because it gives fine Kashmiri cuisine
a foothold in Manhattan, this five-month-
old Curry Hill restaurant “deserves all
the stars that can be bestowed upon
it,” said Robert Sietsema in Eater.com.
Though the menu at Sahib tours all of
India, the kitchen’s most inspiring dishes
hail from the northern land of mists and
mountains that Led Zeppelin sang about
in 1975. Chef Hemant Mathur visited
Kashmir while gathering ideas for Sahib,
and his best work couples a reverence
toward tradition with a willingness to
innovate new pleasures. Fenugreek, an
earthy, aromatic herb, appears again and
again—including in a delicious sauce that
accompanies a meaty lamb shank. Rogan
josh, a signature Kashmiri dish, combines
tender braised lamb with a yogurt sauce fla- said Pat Sharpe in Texas Monthly. Ortega,
vored with cumin and caramelized onions.
Mathur “plays fast and loose” with Punjabi captains Hugo’s and Caracol, was 10 when
specialties too, stuffing eggplant curry into his family left Mexico City for a small farm
a smoked eggplant skin and creating an
“unforgettable” vegetarian dish from green kitchen, grinding corn and toasting cacao
chiles, tomatoes, and minced cauliflower.
A run-of-the-mill chicken vindaloo only
tells you to opt for unfamiliar paths at
Sahib. “May it be the precursor to many
other restaurants splurging on fenugreek.”
104 Lexington Ave., (646) 590-0994
Xochi Houston
If Hugo Ortega hadn’t once moved to
Wine: Alexander Valley
Not every great California cabernet
sauvignon comes from Napa Valley,
said Patrick Comiskey in the Los Angeles
Times. Alexander Valley is a highly re-
spected appellation in adjacent Sonoma
County, and its cabs are “among the
sturdiest in California,” characterized by
robust tannins, “a warmth and generos-
ity of fruit,” and a consistency across
vintages. They exude classicism, and at
a fraction of Napa’s prices.
2012 Jordan ($50). Give this “intrigu-
ingly savory” wine some air and a
“cherry core of fruit” emerges.
2013 Lancaster Estate ($70). “Warm
and deep,” this cab tastes of dark
plum, with a background savory
note and supple tannins.
2013 Stonestreet ($45). In this high-
end Kendall Jackson product, scents
of bay leaf and cedar give way to
red plum and wild cherry, a grippy
mouthfeel, and “a foresty wallop of
mountain tannin on the finish.”
THE WEEK April 14, 2017
LEISURE
Food & Drink
larvae to add to a taco. Less daring din-
ers can steer instead to crudo of scallop
and avocado drizzled with a prickly
pear syrup. Every dish is “deeply and
enthusiastically” Mexican, yet no one
should feel intimidated. The barba-
coa de res de Zaachila, for instance,
“reminded me a lot of an American
Sunday supper.” 1777 Walker St.,
Suite A, (713) 400-3330
The Gundis Chicago
The food at the Gundis is “unlike
what you’re probably used to from
your average Turkish restaurant,”
Sahib’s Hemant Mathur: Pushing beyond tradition said Mike Sula in the Chicago Reader.
Created by two Turkish Kurds who
the middle of nowhere as a boy, he might met in Chicago after emigrating from a
never have dreamed up his latest venture, small city called Nusaybin, it’s this town’s
only Kurdish eatery—a modern-looking
the acclaimed Houston chef who already storefront space where the dominant ingre-
dient is isot—a raisiny, crimson pepper
that provides a slow-building sweet heat to
outside Puebla. There, he gravitated to the everything from the lentil soup to the fried
potatoes. You might think you’re in New
beans with his grandmother. Though Xochi Orleans when you try the peppery shrimp,
is surely Ortega’s most ambitious effort yet, if not for lamb dishes like the Mardin
its Oaxacan menu feels as if it sprung from special—braised lamb wrapped in fried
lessons he learned in that kitchen. A tast- eggplant set between a tomato sauce and a
ing menu of moles brings, among others, a yogurt sauce. “Gundis is a small door open-
mole made with the elusive chilhuacle negro ing onto a part of the world where most of
chile and a puya chile mole flecked with us have never been,” and “the food that’s
crunchy flying ants. Order queso del ran- come through is something to embrace.”
cho, and you’ll get grasshoppers and agave 2909 N. Clark St., (773) 904-8120
Recipe of the week
A great marinade “hits every single taste bud,” balancing sweet, salty, savory, and
spicy flavors, said Ellie Krieger in The Washington Post. With this Asian-inspired
recipe, the sweetness derives mostly from mango, not sugar, and the marinated
chicken needs just 20 minutes under a broiler to develop mouthwatering tenderness,
plus “the alluring char that happens when food gets near fire.”
Mango-lime marinated chicken thighs
1 cup mango chunks • 3 tbsp fresh lime juice • 1½ to 2 tbsp Thai fish sauce • 2 tbsp
canola or other neutral-tasting oil • 1 tbsp light brown sugar • 2 tsp Sriracha • 3 large
cloves garlic, coarsely chopped • ½ tsp kosher salt • 1½ lbs boneless, skinless chicken
thighs • fresh cilantro leaves, for serving • lime wedges, for serving
Brie Passano/The New York Times/Redux, The Washington Post
• Combine mango, lime juice, fish sauce, Place chicken on a broiler pan, allowing
oil, sugar, Sriracha, garlic, and salt in a some marinade to cling. Broil for about
blender; puree to form a smooth mari- 8 minutes, then use tongs to turn chicken
nade. Transfer to a quart-size zip-top bag. over and spoon a bit more marinade on
Add chicken and seal, second side. (Discard
pressing as much air out any remaining mari-
of the bag as possible. nade at this point.) Broil
Massage to coat, then re- until chicken is cooked
frigerate at least 4 hours through and lightly
and up to overnight. charred around the edges,
• Position an oven rack 4 about 9 minutes. Garnish
to 6 inches from broiler with cilantro and lime
element; preheat broiler. wedges. Serves 4 to 6.

This week’s dream: Soaking in Slovakia’s medieval charm
Slovakia gets scant coverage in most
travel volumes, but “maybe it’s time those
guidebooks got an overhaul,” said Erica
Rosenberg in The Washington Post. Few
Americans visit this former Soviet satellite,
despite its rich culture, great food, beauti-
ful national parks, and perfectly preserved
medieval towns—all of which can be expe-
rienced at little cost and with no tourist
crowds. To be honest, when my husband
and I arrived in Kosice, Slovakia’s second-
largest city after Bratislava, I felt dismayed
by all the drab Communist-era apartment
buildings and the dowdy pension house
that awaited us. Right around the corner,
though, sat the “lovely and lively” town
center, anchored by a stunning Gothic cathe-
dral and packed with bustling shops, cafés,
and restaurants serving dumplings doused
with a sour cream–and-mushroom sauce.
While Kosice exceeded modest expectations,
Levoca proved to be “a small-scale medi-
eval marvel by any standard.” Founded
in 1249, this walled town of 14,500 can
Travel
A view from Spis Castle
be a great base for exploring castles and
nearby national parks. Spis Castle, the larg-
est fortress complex in Central Europe,
is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and
its 12th-century main structure overlooks
“multihued fields,” red-roofed villages, and
“rolling hills with a backdrop of snowy
mountain ranges.” You could spend hours
LEISURE 31
taking in the views and exploring the
grounds. At Slovak Paradise National Park,
we spent another day hiking the popular
Sucha Bela trail, which climbs a gorge cut
by a stream and its waterfalls. After hours
of hoisting myself upward on chain holds
and climbing 90-foot ladders just inches
from falling water, I was delighted to find
rentable mountain bikes awaiting us for the
trip down the canyon’s back side.
“The best was yet to come.” Farther west,
Banska Stiavnica is a centuries-old village
whose charms, culture, and food “rival
those of any Italian hill town.” Set in a
mountain valley, Banska Stiavnica is book-
ended by two castles, both with panoramic
views. We skipped the mining museums,
but enjoyed a Bach concert played on the
organ at a 15th-century church. One day
the town square was taken over by a medi-
eval festival—complete with blacksmiths,
armored knights, and stilt walkers.
At Levoca’s Hotel U Leva (uleva.sk/en),
doubles start at $60 in season.

Hotel of the week Getting the flavor of...

A journey back to the ’30s
The Queen Mary
Long Beach, Calif.
A night on this historic
decommissioned ocean liner
“needs to be approached
with a spirit of adventure,”
said Moira Macdonald in The
Seattle Times. Built in 1930
and once the largest, most
luxurious passenger vessel
crossing the Atlantic, the
Erica Rosenberg/The Washington Post, courtesy of The Queen Mary
A land of ancient giants
While roaming recently in California’s Sequoia
National Park, I often found myself “expel-
ling a quivering, involuntary Whoa,” said Jon
Mooallem in The New York Times. We have
all seen photographs of the immense sequoias
in the park’s Giant Forest, but the images don’t
do the trees justice. Some are 300 feet tall, with
branches that dwarf the largest trees on the East
Coast. What’s more, the delirium triggered by
the sequoias’ size is amplified when you think
about their age. To walk among giant sequoias is
to share the air with organisms older than most
major religions. At one point, I noticed that the
distant branches were gray but that each mam-
moth trunk “hums with a dreamy reddish-orange
glow.” Veering away from my small hiking
group, I reached out to touch the rutted bark and
was surprised by its sponginess. “That’s crazy,”
said the hiker closest by, and for a moment, we
Artsy Tucson
There’s a lot more to do in Tucson than play
a round of golf, said Jim Byers in DallasNews
.com. “Increasingly known as an urban hot
spot,” the desert city’s downtown has a lively
restaurant scene, tons of outdoor art, and,
because it’s so flat, a big biking culture. I took a
two-wheeled tour of the hodgepodge of neigh-
borhoods that compose the city center, pedaling
from Exo Roast Co.’s mural-covered coffeehouse
to Hamilton Distillers, where the owners malt
barley over mesquite to create a distinctly smoky
craft whiskey. Along the way, I was surprised to
see one storefront sign that read “No Guns” and
a cultural center advertising a “women, trans,
and femme workshop.” Another potential sur-
prise for visitors is “how strong the winemaking
scene is in southern Arizona.” Just 30 minutes
outside town at Charron Vineyards, I savored a
crisp viognier as I sat on a sunny patio, enjoying

Queen Mary has fallen into
disrepair, but it’s “still a mag-
ical place.” The staterooms
are small but “utterly charm-
ing,” and guests are free
to explore, soaking in the
“glorious” art deco detailing
while imagining that film
stars are still wandering the
halls. “See it while you can,”
though: The rusting hull
won’t last 10 years if major
repairs don’t begin soon.
queenmary.com; doubles from $124
stood side by side, kneading the tree’s epidermis.
Last-minute travel deals
An India twofer
Through April 15, On the Go
Tours is offering two-for-one
rates on trips across India.
With the discount, the 11-day
Taj and Raj tour, which stops
at Jaipur and the Taj Mahal,
is $1,028 per person, double
occupancy.
onthegotours.com
lovely views of the surrounding valleys.
Angling in Scotland
Through April 30, the River
Tweed Fishing Lodge outside
Edinburgh is offering 20 per-
cent off fishing packages. A
four-night package, including
meals and guides, starts at
$2,600 per person. Use promo
code Scotland Week.
albagamefishing.com
Hip digs in Mexico City
All this month, Mexico City’s
Galería Plaza Reforma is offer-
ing 25 percent off or more on
stays through September, if
the booking is made at least 60
days in advance. With the dis-
count, doubles at the four-star
Zona Rosa hotel start at $93.
galeriaplazareformahotel-mexico.com

THE WEEK April 14, 2017

32 Best properties on the market
This week: Homes for large families

1 S Austin Built in 1982, this house underwent a

gut renovation in 2003. The six-bedroom home
features two master suites, oversize walk-in closets,
six bathrooms, and a two-story children’s play-
room with built-ins. Additional amenities include
a four-car garage, a covered outdoor dining area,
and a pool with a spa. $3,995,000. Cord Shiflet,
Moreland Properties/Christie’s International Real
Estate, (512) 751-2673

2
3
5

2 X Salt Lake City This eight-bedroom home lies along the

tree-lined streets of the Federal Heights neighborhood. Inside
there are hardwood floors, a brick fireplace, a main suite with
a balcony, and an oversize kitchen with a breakfast nook.
The secluded yard has a flat grass area as well as a patio with
a fire pit. $1,385,000. Cody Derrick, CityHome Collective,
(801) 718-5555

3 X Portland, Ore.
Lying on 1.1 acres
in the Raleigh
Hills neighbor-
hood, this five-
bedroom house
was built in 2014.
Unique features
include a geo-
thermal system, a family room with
tongue-and-groove wood-paneled
walls, a quartz built-in children’s
desk, hand-painted Moroccan tiles,
and a master bedroom with a marble
fireplace and a spa bathroom with
heated floors. Outside there’s a pool,
a sound system, and a sport court
area. $3,950,000. Suzann Murphy,
Where Real Estate, (503) 789-1033

THE WEEK April 14, 2017

 Best properties on the market 33

4 X Montecito, Calif. Set

on 1.6 acres, this six-
bedroom, six-bathroom
house provides views of
the surrounding moun-
tains. The home features a
chef’s kitchen, hardwood
floors, multiple balco-
nies, and a living room
that opens to a covered
patio and an outdoor
kitchen. The property
boasts a two-bedroom
guesthouse, a bocce
court, and a pool with a
gazebo. $6,495,000. Ron
Brand and Bob Lamborn,
Sotheby’s International
Realty, (805) 565-8654

Steal of the week

6 S Tucson This
currently config-
ured four-bedroom
house on an
5 S Pittsburgh This seven-bedroom home is in the borough of elevated lot can
Fox Chapel, which offers multiple top-rated schools. Interior easily be expanded into a six-bedroom with two master suites.
details include a library, a family room with a fireplace, and The home has an open floor plan, a recreation room, and a large
an open-concept kitchen with two dishwashers, a prep sink, living room with a flagstone fireplace. The property includes a
and a six-burner stove. The house’s lower level has a wet bar, a four-car garage, covered patios, landscaping with large cacti, and
playroom, and an expansive game room with an exercise area. views of the Catalina and Rincon mountains. $438,900. Alan
$1,450,000. Barbara Bolls, Howard Hanna, (412) 496-5361 Aronoff, Long Realty Co., (520) 631-7222
THE WEEK April 14, 2017
34 LEISURE
The 2017 Mazda CX-5: What the critics say
Autoblog.com
“It would seem that the Society of Persnick-
ety Engineers is well represented at Mazda
HQ.” The CX-5 was already arguably the best-
driving compact SUV on the market last year
when once again it was Mazda’s best-selling
vehicle. But that didn’t stop the engineers
from obsessing over refinements on the
second-generation edition. Though the new
CX-5 doesn’t include any headline-grabbing
changes, it has emerged, after many smart
tweaks, as a crossover that “thoroughly
trounces the majority of its competition.”
Autoweek
“The first thing you’ll notice as you slide
Consumer
behind the wheel is just how much more
upscale the interior looks.” Throw in better
noise insulation, improved ergonomics,
and an upgraded suspension, and life in a
CX-5 becomes “a far more serene experi-
ence” than it was before. Mazda still needs
to modernize the infotainment system,
though, and the 187-hp four-cylinder engine
isn’t exactly a powerhouse. “A vehicle this
great deserves something more exciting.”
A driver’s SUV, from $24,045
Jalopnik.com
“The CX-5 is not going to be the car to even banality, rule. If you need an affordable
blast adrenaline into your heart at every compact SUV and “want to feel like you’re
on-ramp.” But it remains “a shining light of driving, not just steering,” the CX-5 seems
artistry” in a segment where practicality, “hard to beat.”

The best of…must-haves for a farmers market regular

Baggu Bag Kuhn Rikon

Baggu makes more-
elaborate totes, but its
classic reusable grocery
bag is “nowhere near
plain or boring.” The
sack holds up to 50 lbs.
and “comes in so many
fun colors and prints
you won’t be able to
pick just one.”
$10, baggu.com
Source: Better Homes
& Gardens
ChicoBag Vita Oxo Good Grips Vegetable Peeler Norpro Herb Keeper
An upsized shoulder- Salad Spinner Though “wildly inexpen- “Looking to extend the
friendly version of the Easy to use, store, and sive,” this Swiss-made longevity of fresh, fra-
original ChicoBag, the clean, the sturdy Oxo implement is “by far the grant herbs?” The best
Vita “weighs practically bests all other spinners preferred peeler in pro- herb keeper around
nothing” but can carry for all-round perfor- fessional kitchens.” The has a deep base and
up to 40 lbs. Made of a mance. Even parsley handle could be sturdier easy-to-see water-level
washable fabric, it folds dries without bruising in and the blade more rust markings. Sturdy and
into an integrated pouch its coddling basket, and resistant, but the edge spacious, it’s also slim
that will fit in a large the spinner’s pump eas- cuts like a dream and enough to fit on a
pocket. ily outlasts a string pull. never dulls. refrigerator door.
From $8, chicobag.com $30, target.com $5, surlatable.com $13, amazon.com
Source: RealSimple.com Source: TheSweethome.com Source: TheSweethome.com Source: Cooks Illustrated

Tip of the week...
A healthy lawn made easy
QWatering: A typical lawn needs only an
inch of water a week, rain included, and the
roots will be happiest if that inch comes in
one soaking.
QMowing: Let grass grow to about 4.5 inches
before trimming it down to 3 or 3.5 inches,
never cutting off more than a third of the
blade. Long grass is heartier and needs
less water. Sharpen your mower’s blade
three times a year so that it slices the grass
instead of tearing it.
QFertilizing: No lawn is easy to care for
if the soil isn’t healthy. You can smell
healthy soil, and if you have worries, you
should send samples away for testing.
Regular fertilizing should occur when roots
are growing—meaning autumn in cooler
climates and late spring in the South and
Southwest. Avoid fast-release fertilizers,
which can burn your grass. Instead, use
compost or slow-release or organic options.
Source: Consumer Reports
And for those who have Best apps...
everything... For job hunting
Forget all the QIndeed Job Search is the most compre-
creams, masks, hensive job search engine, with more than
and peels. The 16 million listings in over 60 countries.
LightStim LED QLinkedIn Job Search is a job-searching
Bed invites you app created by LinkedIn, the business net-
to take a nap working website. The app helps you quickly
on a bed of find opportunities based on location, and
therapeutic notifies you of relevant new postings. With
lights that, a premium subscription, you’ll know how
if the manu- you compare with other applicants.
facturer’s claims are true, can kill acne and QGlassdoor offers the usual job-search
reduce wrinkles from head to toe. Developed tools but also provides reviews of compa-
by Dangene, a New York–based clinic that nies, details on their salaries and benefit
also calls itself the Institute of Skinovation, packages, and even office photos.
the bed is the first of its kind to be cleared by QSnagajob focuses on hourly employment,
the FDA as safe for use. Like Dangene’s more covering more than a million full- and
affordable LED wands, it uses a NASA tech- part-time positions in restaurants, retail,
nology developed to stimulate the healing of hospitality, and similar industries.
wounds. Non-purchasers can enjoy time on QZipRecruiter makes it easy to view hun-
the bed at $300 for a 40-minute session. dreds of different job boards at once. The
$65,000, lightstim.com app sends you the best matches daily.
Source: Jezebel.com Source: PasteMagazine.com

THE WEEK April 14, 2017


The bottom line
QAs of this week, electric-
car company Tesla is worth
more than the 113-year-old
Ford Motor Co. Tesla now
has a market capitalization of
$47 billion, compared with
Ford’s $45 billion. Last month,
Tesla sold 4,000 vehicles in
the U.S.; Ford sold 234,000.
Recode.net
QGillette plans to cut prices
on its razors by as much
as 20 percent in order to
compete with online startups
like Dollar Shave Club and
Harry’s that specialize in sell-
ing cheap blades. Gillette’s
share of the men’s razor
business has shrunk from
more than 70 percent in 2010
to 54 percent in 2016.
The Wall Street Journal
QAmazon is expected
to spend $4.5 billion on
television and film content
for Prime Video this year,
roughly twice what HBO will
spend. But so far, streaming
video isn’t winner-take-all.
Some two-thirds of subscrib-
ers to American Prime also
subscribe to Netflix.
The Economist
QThe
U.S. coal
industry
employed
76,572
workers in
2014, fewer
people than
Arby’s (80,000), Dollar Gen-
eral (105,000), or J.C. Penney
(114,000). Even if there were
as many coal workers as
there were 25 years ago
(131,000), the coal industry
would still employ fewer
people than the retail shoe
sales industry (224,000).
The Washington Post
QSome airlines make as
much money selling miles
to credit card companies as
they do selling seats to pas-
sengers. The card companies
pay airlines anywhere from
1.5 cents to 2.5 cents per
mile, which they then dole
out to customers. Airline
miles now account for more
than half of all profits at
Getty, Newscom
American Airlines, the larg-
est U.S. carrier.
Bloomberg.com
BUSINESS 35
The news at a glance
Tech: More scrutiny for skilled-worker visas
The Trump administration is For now, “the changes are more
making it harder for Silicon cosmetic than substantive,” said
Valley companies to hire Vindu Goel and Nick Wingfield
workers from overseas, said in The New York Times. Still,
Jing Cao and Joshua Brustein bigger reforms could be on the
in Bloomberg.com. U.S. way. Applications for entry-
Citizenship and Immigration level programmers have already
Services issued new guidelines been getting more scrutiny in
last week for the H-1B work recent years, but the Justice
visa program, increasing scru- Department warned employers
tiny for applications from entry- Trump to tech: Hire more Americans. this week not to discriminate
level computer programmers. against American workers when
Tech and outsourcing companies are the biggest making hiring decisions. While the biggest tech
users of the roughly 85,000 H-1B visas issued companies like Google and Facebook aren’t likely
each year and often say they can’t find Americans to be affected much in the short term, because
with the right skills to fill the jobs. President they rely on H-1Bs for higher-skilled workers, the
Trump promised to crack down on the visa pro- industry is bracing for more changes, possibly in
gram during the campaign. the form of an executive order.
Aerospace: Boeing’s Iran deal tests Trump ‘Cyborg’ workers
in Sweden
Aerospace giant Boeing has agreed to sell 60 jets to Iran’s third-largest
airline, a deal that will test President Trump’s “avowed hostility toward “What could pass for
a dystopian vision of
that country,” said Rick Gladstone in The New York Times. The
the workplace is almost
$6 billion transaction, announced this week, is the first major deal by routine at the Swedish
an American business with Iran since Trump took office, and must be
startup hub Epicenter,”
approved by the U.S. government. Trump has repeatedly denounced the said James Brooks in
2015 nuclear accord, which allows for commercial aircraft sales to Iran, the Associated Press.
but he has also pledged to protect American manufacturers. Boeing says Since January 2015,
the deal will create 18,000 U.S. jobs. the Stockholm co-
working space has been
Retail: Payless files for bankruptcy implanting employees
Payless ShoeSource has joined the “growing list” of chains driven into
and members with
bankruptcy by online and discount retailers, said Krystina Gustafson in microchips that allow
CNBC.com. The Topeka-based shoe chain filed for Chapter 11 bank- them “to open doors,
ruptcy protection this week, announcing that it will immediately close operate printers, or buy
nearly 400 of its 4,400 global stores as part of the reorganization. The smoothies with a wave
company blamed “its crushing debt load and weak sales” for the move. of the hand.” The chip,
Payless’ parent company was purchased in 2012 by private equity firms, which isn’t manda-
leaving it “saddled with debt.” tory, is about the size
of a grain of rice and
Autos: Car sales down, discounts up injected via syringe into
“The U.S. auto industry turned in an underwhelming performance in the fleshy area between
March,” said Nathan Bomey in USA Today. Automakers sold 1.56 mil- the thumb and index
lion vehicles for the month, according to Autodata, down 1.6 percent finger. The technology
from a year earlier. Most analysts had expected “a modest upturn.” isn’t new; similar chips
Automakers have begun offering heavy discounts to clear out their have been used to track
growing backlog of unsold vehicles, especially of small cars. “Sales pets and packages for
years. At Epicenter, the
incentives rose 13.4 percent in March, compared with those of a year
chips have become so
earlier, to an average of $3,511 per vehicle.” Even so, the industry is still popular that employees
in “decent shape,” coming off two consecutive years of record sales.
hold monthly “chipped”
Economy: Productivity down for first time since 2009 parties for new employ-
The U.S. economy just got “a disturbing piece of bad news,” said Jeff ees getting the implant.
Guo in The Washington Post. “Americans actually became less produc- “The biggest benefit I
think is convenience,”
tive in 2016, the first time since 2009.” Overall efficiency fell roughly
said Patrick Mesterton,
0.2 percent in 2016, even though the economy grew 1.7 percent. That Epicenter’s CEO. “It
means any growth in the economy came solely from firms hiring more basically replaces a
workers and buying more equipment, “not from improvements in tech-
lot of things you have,
nology or organization.” It’s a warning sign for the U.S. economy, which whether it be credit
faces a shrinking workforce in the decades to come and will “need to cards or keys.”
find ways of doing more with fewer people.”
THE WEEK April 14, 2017
36 BUSINESS Making money

Investing: BlackRock bets on robot stock pickers

“Score one for the machines,” said Landon Thomas Jr.
in The New York Times. BlackRock, the world’s
largest money manager, with some $5 trillion in
assets, is shifting away from human stock pickers
in favor of computer models that use complex algo-
rithms to make investing decisions. The firm is taking
baby steps, initially shifting a relatively small $30 bil-
lion in funds to the machine-led system. But it’s perhaps
the biggest attack yet “on the cult of the brainy mutual
fund manager.” In recent years, investors have increas-
ingly fled actively managed funds, which charge hefty
fees for the expertise of their handsomely paid portfolio
managers, and turned instead to low-cost, passive options
that simply track the market’s performance. Not only are
these funds cheaper, they’ve also been leaving human stock
pickers “in the dust.” Since 2009, only 11 percent of
BlackRock’s actively managed stock funds have beaten
their market benchmarks. Higher returns, lower fees
BlackRock is hoping that “relying more on robots” will be a hit if you aren’t a client,” said Tom Anderson in CNBC.com.
with cost-conscious customers, said Sarah Krouse in The Wall
Street Journal. One selling point is that the rebranded unit will
begin offering Main Street customers computer-driven invest-
ment strategies that were “previously available only to large
institutional investors.” The revamped funds will also charge
considerably lower fees than BlackRock’s active funds have in
the past—which BlackRock admits will eat into its bottom line.
BlackRock says it initially expects to lose $30 million annually
from the planned price cuts.
The reality is that BlackRock is “giving in to mar-
ket forces,” said Rachael Levy in BusinessInsider
.com. Last year alone, global investors pulled
$423 billion from actively managed stock funds
and poured $390 billion into index funds. To
stay competitive, active managers have been try-
ing to keep their fees as low as possible while tap-
ping into new technologies to improve their chances
of beating the market. Hedge funds especially have
been making use of so-called alternative data for guid-
ance on which stocks to buy. Rather than just looking
at a company’s balance sheet, they are beginning to
tap “data that comes from the apps we use, the online
shops we buy from, and the GPS tracking within our
smartphones”—anything that gives them more insight into
“which companies will continue to rake in cash, and which
ones are likely to flop.”
“You may benefit from BlackRock’s move even
BlackRock’s embrace of low-fee funds should prompt other firms
to bring down their fees as well, which benefits everyone except
high-flying portfolio managers. Alas, human stock pickers now
find themselves in the same hot seat as taxi drivers and truckers,
whose livelihoods are being threatened by self-driving technology.
Automation “just hit asset management people who make half
a million dollars a year,” said Laura Varas, founder and CEO of
financial research firm Hearts & Wallets. “What BlackRock is
doing is huge, and there will be more to come.”

What the experts say Charity of the week

Lower credit-card fees
“Annual credit-card fees aren’t set in stone,”
said AnnaMaria Andriotis in The Wall Street
Journal. More than 80 percent of people who
asked their card company for a break on
their annual fees got one, according to a new
survey from CreditCards.com. Most of those
who asked got their fee waived entirely. Fierce
competition between credit-card issuers means
companies are doing whatever it takes to hold
on to customers. But that doesn’t mean your
card issuer is guaranteed to bend. “Those who
have the best luck tend to be those who are
on time with their payments and threaten to
stop using the card or to close it if the fee isn’t
waived.” Other terms are usually negotiable
as well. Nearly 70 percent of borrowers who
asked for a lower interest rate got it.
Roth IRAs are inheritance friendly
If you’re already planning to leave a tradi-
tional IRA to an heir, it might make sense to
convert it to a Roth IRA now, said Rachel
Sheedy in Kiplinger.com. That’s “because
the Roth can grow tax-free not only over
your lifetime, but your heir’s lifetime too.”
In a recent analysis, Vanguard found that
20 years “could be worth more than $21,000
extra,” compared with what a traditional IRA
would have been. One big advantage is that
the original Roth owner doesn’t have to take
required minimum distributions. And because
the tax on the inheritance is prepaid, the heir
can take tax-free required distributions and re-
invest that money as he or she sees fit. Mean-
while, “the money still sitting in the inherited
Roth continues to grow tax-free” over the
heir’s own lifetime.
Building Junior’s credit score
“Handing over your credit card to your teen-
ager might not seem like a good idea. But it
might actually be a smart financial move,”
said Kathryn Vasel in CNN.com. Parents who
have good credit can help children start build-
ing their own strong credit history by adding
them as authorized users. On-time payments, a
good credit utilization ratio, and a long credit
history “are likely to have a positive impact on
an authorized user’s credit score.” It can also
be an opportunity to talk about proper credit
use. Parents should set strict rules about how
much their child can spend, and who will pick
up the tab. “Keep in mind that parents don’t
Seventy percent of the world’s poor are
rural farmers, many of them concen-
trated in eastern and sub-Saharan Africa.
In those areas, one in 10 children dies
before the age of 5, often from hunger.
The One Acre Fund (oneacrefund.org)
helps small farmers thrive by offering
them the resources and training they
need to build sustainable businesses
and, in turn, take care of their families.
The organization uses a four-pronged
approach: Finance resources like seeds
and fertilizers on credit; deliver those
items directly to farmers’ doors; teach
farmers how to best use those tools;
and then help farmers sell their harvest.
Since its founding in 2006, the organiza-
tion has helped 420,000 farming families
in Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania,
Uganda, and Malawi.
Each charity we feature has earned a
four-star overall rating from Charity
Navigator, which rates not-for-profit
organizations on the strength of their
finances, their governance practices,
Shutterstock

and the transparency of their operations.

if a 65-year-old converts a $100,000 tradi- have to hand over the card at all” for their kid Four stars is the group’s highest rating.
tional IRA to a Roth, the heir’s inheritance in to reap credit benefits.
THE WEEK April 14, 2017
38 Best columns: Business

Issue of the week: Businesses battle over border tax

Corporate America almost uniformly com. Republican Sen. Tom Cotton of Ar-
craves tax reform. But businesses are kansas, whose state is home to Walmart
deeply split over whether to support the headquarters, is a “vocal opponent” of
“centerpiece of the Republican tax over- the border tax and gearing up for a fight.
haul effort,” said Nicholas Confessore and Consider also that manufacturers typi-
Alan Rappeport in The New York Times. cally have to entice only executives to
House Speaker Paul Ryan has proposed a buy their products, while retailers “are
“border adjustment tax” that would put extremely good at selling stuff” directly
a 20 percent tax on imports coming into to the public. “Which do you think is
the U.S. “In theory, this would buttress do- going to be better equipped to persuade
mestic manufacturing and make American voters to call their senators and represen-
products more competitive with foreign tatives about the border-adjusted tax?”
goods.” The revenues generated by the
Ryan’s proposal has the backing of big exporters.
tax—as much as $1 trillion over the next “Just saying ‘no’ to the border adjust-
decade—would also make possible the Republican dream of low- ment tax will not work,” said Derek Scissors in TheHill.com.
ering the corporate tax rate without adding to the federal budget Everyone agrees that our corporate tax code needs “profound
deficit. Major U.S. manufacturers like Boeing and Caterpillar are change.” A border tax would allow us to meaningfully lower
behind the idea. But retailers like Target and Ikea, as well as other the corporate tax rate from the current 35 percent without
companies that import most of their goods, are lobbying furi- blowing up the deficit, and encourage companies “to locate and
ously against it. So are several deep-pocketed conservative groups, hire in the U.S.” It also puts the U.S. on more even footing with
including the political network backed by billionaire businessmen countries that impose value-added taxes on American goods.
Charles and David Koch, who see it as anti–free trade. So opponents “need to do more than object; they should offer
a replacement.” We can debate the border tax all we like, but
“Imposing a 20 percent tax on imports would have a chilling ef- it’s dead on arrival, said Peter Coy in Bloomberg.com. The op-
fect on job creation and the budgets of working families,” said position to it is just too powerful and united. And without the
Judson Phillips in WashingtonExaminer.com. Not only would it added revenue, Republicans are going to have to settle for much
drive up costs for small retailers and manufacturers that rely on smaller tax cuts. So instead of the 15 percent corporate tax rate
imports but also “the cost of big-ticket items like cars, electronics, President Trump has promised, companies might face something
and appliances would all rise.” The National Retail Federation more like 28 percent—“the same corporate rate that President
estimates that the average American family will pay $1,700 more Obama sought.” Trump desperately wants a major legislative
per year in higher prices on goods. It’s also never smart to anger win after the health-care debacle. But it looks as if whatever he
retailers, said Dylan Matthews and Matthew Yglesias in Vox. manages to get done on taxes “is likely to be small-bore.”

“The tech industry has a problem with ‘bro cul-
Tech’s ture,’” and it’s ruining Silicon Valley startups, said
jerk Dan Lyons. Consider Uber. Its chief executive,
Travis Kalanick, is the prototypical “CE-Bro”: a
problem “good-looking, cocky, and slightly amoral” young
alpha male who has long answered to no one but
Dan Lyons himself. As investors threw billions of dollars at him,
The New York Times Kalanick created a toxic work environment where
sexual harassment and blatant flouting of govern-
ment regulations appear to have been openly toler-
ated. Now, amid a wave of scandals, the $69 billion
company “is in free fall.” Once high-flying startups
like Quirky and Zenefits have similarly crashed and
burned, thanks to “reckless spending and excessive
partying” by their overconfident young founders.
People have been complaining about the Valley’s
bro culture for years, saying it sidelines women and
encourages employees to openly ignore rules in order
to achieve breakneck growth. The behavior has been
tolerated because “sometimes it works,” making in-
vestors a lot of money. But other examples, proving
that “toxic workplace culture and rotten financial
performance go hand in hand,” are starting to pile
up. Perhaps if enough investors get hurt, “this poi-
sonous state of affairs will get fixed.” Because “the
real problem with tech bros is not just that they’re
boorish jerks. It’s that they’re boorish jerks who
don’t know how to run companies.”

Declining homeownership doesn’t mean the Ameri-
Ahistorical can Dream is dying, said Stephen Mihm. Renters
American now dominate more than half of the nation’s largest
cities, and only 31 percent of adults under age 35
Dreams are homeowners. “It’s tempting, perhaps, to read
this trend as yet another sign of national decline.”
Stephen Mihm But homeownership only recently became a symbol
Bloomberg.com of the American Dream. “In fact, homeowners did
not eclipse renters until after World War II.” His-
torians estimate that the homeownership rate was
around 50 percent in 1860, which sounds high until
you factor in that 80 percent of the population lived
in rural areas, and most of them owned a home on a
farm. In the cities, however, people “rarely bothered
to purchase a home”; homeownership rates varied
little from class to class. For many wealthy Ameri-
cans, employing servants was actually considered a
higher priority. Now stagnant incomes and high debt
have pushed many people back to renting. “But the
slide may also reflect a growing awareness that in-
vesting most of your wealth in a single, immovable,
illiquid asset isn’t such a good idea after all.” There’s
no shame in that. “The U.S. was once a nation of
renters. It could be again.”
AP

THE WEEK April 14, 2017


The radical who wrote The Anarchist Cookbook
William In 1969, William
Powell Powell went to the
1949–2016 New York Public
Library and began
studying declassified military docu-
ments, survivalist guidebooks, and
electronics manuals. Within a
few months the 19-year-old had
compiled a comprehensive how-to
guide for aspiring insurrection-
ists, with detailed instructions and
illustrations on everything from making dynamite
to converting shotguns into grenade launch-
ers to cooking up LSD. Published in 1971, The
Anarchist Cookbook would go on to sell more
than 2 million copies and would also be used by
the perpetrators of such atrocities as the 1995
Oklahoma City bombing and the 1999 massacre
at Columbine High School. Powell—whose death
last year only recently became public knowledge—
came to regret writing the Cookbook. “The
central idea to the book was that violence is an
acceptable means to bring about political change,”
he wrote in an author’s note that has accompanied
the book’s listing on Amazon.com since 2000. “I
no longer agree with this.”
Born on Long Island, N.Y., Powell was 3 when
his family moved to London for his father’s
work as a United Nations press officer. He was
bullied and caned at school and “felt alienated”
The gay activist who created the rainbow flag
Gilbert Baker
Gilbert
Baker proudly called him-
1951–2017 self the “gay Betsy
Ross.” In 1978, the
artist and activist was approached
by Harvey Milk, a member of
San Francisco’s board of supervi-
sors and a gay rights campaigner,
and asked to make an emblem of
empowerment for the city’s Pride
festivities. Baker hand-dyed the cotton muslin
in trash cans and stitched together brilliantly
colored strips of fabric, creating the rainbow
flag that has since become the international sym-
bol of gay liberation. When the U.S. Supreme
Court legalized gay marriage in 2015, more than
26 million people on Facebook changed their
profile picture to include the flag, and the White
House was lit up in its colors. “The rainbow
is so perfect because it really fits [the gay com-
munity’s] diversity in terms of race, gender, ages,
all those things,” Baker said. “Plus, it’s a natural
flag—it’s from the sky!”
Born in rural Chanute, Kan., Baker “always
JP Laffont/Polaris, AP
thought of himself as an outcast because he was
gay,” said The New York Times. After serv-
ing two years in the Army, Baker settled in San
Francisco in 1972 “and soon became active in the
Obituaries 39
The domestic violence
victim who inspired
when the family returned to New
The Burning Bed
York in 1959, said The New
York Times. Powell was work- On the night of March 9, 1977,
ing at a bookstore in Manhattan Francine Hughes reached her
when he started compiling The breaking point. Earlier that
Anarchist Cookbook; his motiva- day, her ex-husband James
tion, he said, was his anger at had beaten her, threatened
her with a
receiving a draft card during the
Francine knife in front
Vietnam War. When the book Hughes of their chil-
was published in 1971—“Not Wilson dren, and
for children or morons,” read the 1947–2017 ordered her to
disclaimer—Powell was studying English litera- have sex with
ture at Windham College in Putney, Va. “I don’t him—abusive behavior that
see myself as crazed or bomb-throwing,” he said. had become routine over the
“Though I could be if driven into a corner.” past 13 years. But this time,
she struck back. After James
With his name forever tied to the Cookbook, went to sleep, she poured
Powell “struggled to find work,” said The gasoline on his bed and set it
alight. “Only then,” she said,
Washington Post. He left the U.S. in 1979 to
“did it hit me. ‘My God, what
work as a teacher in schools across the Middle
are you doing!’” She grabbed
East, Africa, and Asia, and later co-founded a
her children, drove to a
nonprofit to help children with developmental
county jail, and turned herself
and learning disabilities. “He described the effort in. Hughes was charged with
as a form of atonement.” The Cookbook “never first-degree murder, but a
made him rich,” because Powell had given the jury found her not guilty by
copyright to his first publisher, said the Los reason of temporary insanity.
Angeles Times. In 2013, he asked the publisher The high-profile case would
to permanently pull the book. Its continued inspire a best-selling book,
publication “serves no purpose other than a com- The Burning Bed, and a 1984
mercial one,” he wrote. “It should quickly and TV movie of the same name
starring Farrah Fawcett, bring-
quietly go out of print.”
ing national attention to the
issue of domestic violence.
Born in Stockbridge, Mich.,
Hughes left high school at
city’s gay rights movement,” 16 to marry James, said The
Washington Post. “The abuse
said The Washington Post.
began on their honeymoon,
He bought a sewing machine, she recounted, when her hus-
which he used to make the band accused her of dressing
gowns “he wore in occasional too revealingly and tore off
appearances as a drag queen.” her clothing.” The couple
Those dressmaking skills were divorced in 1971, but James
“really how I ended up making continued to live with her
the first flag,” he said. “I was and their four children, and
the guy who could sew it.” The doled out regular beatings.
original rainbow banner measured 30 by 60 feet, Her murder trial and acquittal
and each horizontal strip had special significance: became national news and
pink for sex, red for life, orange for healing, yel- “helped transform the public’s
low for sun, green for nature, turquoise for magic, understanding of domestic
indigo for peace, and violet for spirit. “When it violence,” said The New York
went up and the wind finally took it out of my Times. “Burning-bed syn-
hands,” Baker said, “it blew my mind.” drome” entered the national
lexicon, and the number of
Five months later, Milk was assassinated, and the shelters for battered women
in the U.S. grew from a hand-
flag he had marched under “became a symbol
ful in 1977 to nearly 700 in
of pride within the gay community,” said The
1984. But Hughes, who mar-
Miami Herald. Baker would tweak its design,
ried again in 1980 and later
dropping pink because the fabric was too expen-
became a nurse, shied from
sive and blending turquoise and indigo into royal publicity and refused to see
blue. But he never made any money from the
herself as a feminist heroine.
banner, instead supporting himself as a freelance “I don’t need pity or sympa-
designer. “The rainbow flag is a symbol of free- thy,” she said. “I’m just an
dom and liberation that we made for ourselves,” ordinary person.”
he said in 2003. “We all own this flag.”
THE WEEK April 14, 2017
40 The last word
Tipping the scales
America’s obesity epidemic is fueling a boom in expensive weight-loss surgery, extra-wide hospital beds,
and supersize grave plots, said journalist Beth Baker. The costs of the crisis are overwhelming our society.

I
N AN OPERATING room at
Baptist Memphis Hospital, sur-
geon George Woodman stood
over a sedated patient, preparing
to insert a 5-inch needle into her
huge abdomen, draped with yards
of blue surgical cloth. The 30-year-
old patient weighed 330 pounds,
with a body mass index of 46—so
heavy she’s considered “morbidly”
obese. Woodman made five small
incisions and slowly inserted
the instruments he would use
to remove most of her stomach.
As he and his team worked, the
patient’s organs—stomach, spleen,
pancreas, liver, pulsing heart—
could be seen on a video monitor.
Two gaping hernias became vis-
ible, holes torn in the abdominal
sac that holds the body’s major
organs. “The belly wall is not
designed to hold this much
Bariatric weight-loss surgeries can cost as much as $25,000.
weight,” Woodman observed. He
pointed out the many tiny blood vessels in
the stomach lining. “The stomach has a lot well-being and expensive to society—is
of blood supply. That’s why it’s so good at
absorbing terrible foods,” he said.
By the operation’s end, most of the
patient’s stomach was trimmed away, leav- most Americans who want to lose weight,
ing a much smaller “gastric sleeve” that
would allow her to feel full after eating
only small amounts of food. Removing
a portion of the stomach also suppresses
the hormones that stimulate hunger. The
operation (known as a laparoscopic sleeve
gastrectomy) is now the most common
type of weight-loss surgery performed
in the U.S.
Woodman has conducted 6,000 bariatric
surgeries, and did three more that morn-
ing. Memphis is the heaviest metropolitan
more)—the kind most harmful to individual Being Index. For the state of Tennessee, the
rising at an alarming rate and may affect
11 percent of U.S. adults by 2030.
Dieting and exercise are the prescription for ducts, he won’t make a dent; many more
but only a minority succeed. Woodman
estimates that just 3 percent of his mor-
bidly obese patients could lose their excess
weight on their own, so for most, bariatric
surgery is a last-resort option. With luck,
this patient will lose about 75 percent of
her excess weight, putting her on track to a
healthier future.
“People say that obesity is self-induced,”
Woodman said. “But it doesn’t matter. We
have to do something about it.”
Every five days, Woodman holds a semi-
researchers and policymakers
are trying to figure out just
what the obesity epidemic is
going to cost the nation. There
are the direct medical costs
of treating obesity-related
diseases, including type 2 dia-
betes, heart disease and stroke,
high blood pressure, arthritis,
and related cancers, among
others. And then there are the
indirect costs: lost productivity,
more illness, extra infrastruc-
ture to handle heavier patients
and residents.
These bills are already com-
ing due in Memphis. Last
year, extra health-care costs
from obesity were $538 mil-
lion—more than half the
budget of the city’s public
school system, according to
Gallup-Healthways Well-
annual excess health costs of obesity were
$2.29 billion—equivalent to more than
6 percent of the entire state budget. No
matter how many surgeries Woodman con-
Americans are tipping the scales into the
obese range each year.
Endocrinologist Jay Cohen, who treats
many patients with obesity-caused diabetes,
estimates that the average diabetic patient
costs the health-care system triple what a
healthy person costs. Add in their lost pro-
ductivity and the price tag skyrockets.
“It’s politically imperative to reduce the
obesity rate,” said Cohen. Nationally, “it
costs literally trillions of dollars to treat
these conditions.”

A
city in the country, with an adult obesity S COSTLY AS the obesity problem is
nar for prospective patients. On a recent
rate of about 36 percent—approaching the Saturday, 60 people showed up. Perhaps now, it’s set to get worse. The Baby
rate of more than 40 percent that research- one-third would ultimately get surgery. For Boom generation is the fattest on
ers say we’ll reach by 2030, if current some, Medicare, Medicaid, or private insur- record, and they are just reaching the age
trends continue. ers would pay, calculating that the price of where health problems begin to mount.
the surgery is less than the cost of a lifetime Federal and state officials are growing
“There is an unlimited number of patients,” of chronic disease. At Baptist Memphis, increasingly worried about the steep price
he said. the operation costs $14,000. Elsewhere it is the country will pay for its weight problem.
Memphis may be the heaviest city in the often higher—$25,000 or more. In West Virginia, one of the most obese
M. Scott Mahaskey/Politico (2)

country, but it isn’t much of an outlier. That may seem expensive, but it’s a bargain states, public health commissioner Rahul
From the trimmest state, Colorado, to the compared with the estimated $200,000 in Gupta says the preventable direct medi-
most obese, Mississippi, the entire nation excess medical costs obese Americans can cal costs of obesity are $1.4 billion to
has been on a perilous—and costly— rack up over their lifetimes. $1.8 billion a year, with an additional
upward track when it comes to extreme $5 billion in indirect costs, such as lost
weight gain. Severe obesity (a BMI of 40 or As American waistbands continue to expand, productivity. Obese patients submit up
THE WEEK April 14, 2017

to seven times the number of medical
claims normal-weight patients do, he said.
“At the state and federal levels, chronic-
disease burden is among the largest drivers
of health care costs,” Gupta said, “and
among chronic diseases it comes down to
the consequences of obesity and tobacco.”
And then there are the national costs. Zhou
Yang, a professor at Emory University who
studies the impact of obesity on the medical
system, found that obese older males spent
$190,657 more on lifetime health-care
expenses than their normal-weight peers,
while older obese women spent $223,629
more. A 2016 meta-analysis by University
of Washington researchers found that
annual medical spending attributed to obe-
sity nationally was nearly $150 billion—
more than four times the federal budget for
foreign aid and nearly enough to fund the
entire U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
Other potential costs are harder to quantify
but no less worrisome, for patients, tax-
payers, and society at large. For example,
researchers are discovering that vaccines
may not be as effective in those who are
obese. Studies have found that obese
patients do not respond as well to the HIV
vaccine and the flu vaccine, leaving them
more vulnerable to infection—and to pass-
ing those diseases on to others. Over time,
it’s possible that a community’s “herd immu-
nity” could suffer, creating the conditions
for the return of diseases that were once
controlled through immunization—and that
could affect us all, according to an analyst at
the Union of Concerned Scientists.
Even the military is affected, as recruit-
ers struggle to find enough soldiers who
meet fitness requirements. The percent-
age of overweight and obese young men
doubled over a 50-year period and tripled
for young women. According to a study by
the National Bureau of Economic Research,
Navy recruits who were overweight were
more likely than their normal-weight
peers to fail semiannual physical readiness
tests. In all, overweight and obese active-
duty military personnel cost the taxpayer
$105 million a year in lost productivity,
and $1 billion annually in treatments for
obesity-related illness—more than treat-
ments for tobacco- and alcohol-related ill-
ness combined, NBER estimated.
Transportation costs, too, are rising, and not
only for obese passengers who must pur-
chase two seats to fly. Researchers at the
University of Illinois estimated that 1 billion
additional gallons of gasoline are consumed
in the U.S. each year to ferry overweight and
obese car passengers from place to place.
One study estimated that U.S. airlines pur-
chased 350 million more gallons of jet fuel
The last word
because of the number of heavier passengers.
Obesity also affects the bottom line of
employers. Obesity contributes to absentee-
ism and “presenteeism,” when people show
up but are less productive. Based on current
trends, the cost of obesity in lost economic
productivity by 2030 will be between
$390 billion and $520 billion annually.
Obese employees may suffer financially
as well. A 2010 study found that white
women had 9 percent lower wages because
of obesity, “equivalent in absolute value to
the wage effect of roughly 1.5 years of edu-
cation or three years of work experience.”
A study in the Journal of Health Economics
At Le Bonheur’s pediatric obesity program
found that some employers pay lower
wages to obese workers to cover higher
insurance costs.
Even the cost of dying is higher for obese
people. Companies like Goliath Caskets
specialize in funeral products for the
obese—for a price. Everything from wider
grave plots to specialized hearses with rein-
forced chassis and heavy-duty lifting equip-
ment must be used. Crematories are widen-
ing furnace doors and chambers to accom-
modate very large bodies. A “supersize”
funeral costs between $800 and $3,000
more, notes U.S. Funerals Online.
“The costs are not just related to health
care,” said Gupta. “There’s a cost for peo-
ple who can’t reach their full potential in
terms of education, employment, mobility,
physical activity, and productivity.”
D
RIVING AROUND MEMPHIS, as in
many American cities, it’s easy to
find cheap fatty food—Church’s
Fried Chicken, McDonald’s, Crumpy’s
Hotwings. Barbecue joints abound.
“Memphis is the hub of diabetes,” said
endocrinologist Cohen. “We fry Twinkies.”
If Memphis is to avoid an unaffordable fat
future, it has to prevent the younger gen-
eration from adopting the lifestyle habits
41
of their elders. To that end, Le Bonheur
Children’s Hospital created a pediatric obe-
sity program aimed at low-income children.
For some kids, it may already be too late.
“We’re seeing adolescents who are more
than 500 pounds,” said program director
Joan Han.
At the end of a workday, she and
pediatrician-in-chief Jon McCullers sit
in his office to reflect on the obesity epi-
demic. McCullers was an infectious disease
researcher until five years ago, when he
was recruited to Le Bonheur. “It was obvi-
ous that my research wasn’t what they
needed,” he said. High poverty levels in
Memphis had led to a host of urgent prob-
lems. Topping the list was obesity. With
an infusion of state and hospital funding,
he launched the obesity program, which
combines research, community outreach,
and a Healthy Lifestyle clinic. Most of the
program’s $3.5 million annual budget is
not covered by patient insurance.
What is the goal? “Not to be the worst in
the country,” McCullers said wryly.
The clinic has served 650 high-risk kids
since opening in October 2014, the major-
ity African-American girls. For these chil-
dren, a healthy lifestyle can be a new con-
cept. Through surveys, Han’s team found
that two-thirds of the families they serve are
considered “food insecure,” despite their
obesity. “So it’s the types of foods they’re
eating—high in fat, high in sugar,” she said.
As for exercise, said Han, gym class is held
in school hallways, if at all.
Despite the immensity of the problem,
Han and McCullers try to be hopeful.
Nationally, the prevalence of obesity has
remained stable for children and teens,
and the rate decreased significantly among
preschoolers in 2013–14, according to the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“We know we can make the obesity rate
plateau,” said Han. “Now we need to make
it reverse.”
Ultimately, they said, it’s clear obesity has
stopped being a problem that’s only one
for those affected and is now a national
crisis. The country literally cannot afford
the impending costs. Shifting investments
toward encouraging healthy environments
and behaviors rather than paying for expen-
sive, life-threatening chronic disease is the
only affordable—and humane—response.
“[Obesity] costs everybody,” said Yang.
“Nobody can escape. Someone has to pay
the bill.”
Excerpted from an article that originally
appeared in Politico.com. Copyright 2017
POLITICO LLC. Reprinted with permission.
THE WEEK April 14, 2017
42 The Puzzle Page
Crossword No. 403: Let’s Review by Matt Gaffney The Week Contest
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
This week’s question: The CEO of a Connecticut mar-
keting company has developed a “snowflake test”—in
14 15 16
which he asks job applicants when they last cried and
whether they’re afraid of guns—to screen out Millennials
17 18 19
who have “an entitled attitude.” If he were to write a
management book based on his hiring philosophy, what
20 21 22 23 24 would it be called?
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Vladimir Putin has gone on sale in Moscow. The scent is
30 31 32
called Russian Woman, but please come up with a name
for a perfume for either gender that better captures the
macho magnetism of Russia’s dictatorial president.
33 34 35 36 37 38 39
THE WINNER: Old Spyce
40 41 42 Burt Snooks, Gulf Breeze, Fla.
SECOND PLACE: BRUTal
43 44 45 Patty Oberhausen, Fort Wayne, Ind.
THIRD PLACE: Eaupression
46 47 48 Rob Joiner, Carson City, Nev.
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ACROSS 44 AL MVP of 2003, 2005, 6 The Taming of the received gets credit.
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town guest originality from It Was 13 The grassy ___
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a great film would 1 star) “Nicely done!” boxes so that
come along, utilizing 53 Letters on Cardinals 23 Playwright Chekhov
the motorcycle genre...” each row, column,
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in many a moon...
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