Sept. 24, 2007 Issue

COVER: The World According To Greenspan. (All overseas editions). Senior Editor and Columnist Dan Gross writes that former Chairman of the Federal Reserve Alan Greenspan considers himself the luckiest economist in the world. Greenspan says he was "very fortunate" during his tenure in which he led the world through vast economic changes and growth. "I emerged on the scene at the beginning of this extraordinary half-generation." He has been appointed and reappointed by four presidents, and having overseen nearly two decades of nearly uninterrupted growth -- the U.S. economy suffered just two brief recessions under his watch -- Greenspan has arguably been the most successful public official of the past three decades.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20803168/site/newsweek/

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070916/NYSU001 )

INTERVIEW: The Oracle Reveals All. As part of the cover package, Gross and Editor Jon Meacham have a candid conversation with Greenspan about the housing bubble burst, the sub-prime-mortgage market melt down, and the credit crunch, which critics have charged the Fed contributed to by keeping interest rates low for so long. "This particular problem was an accident waiting to happen," he says. "The euphoria that existed in the expansion of the housing market bubble induced investors around the world who'd had a huge buildup in liquidity ... to invest in something with a higher rate of return. And, lo and behold, the sub-prime-mortgage market provided it."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20803170/site/newsweek/

The Belgian Breakup. Special Correspondent Tracy McNicoll reports that as Belgium enters 100 days without a government this week, new frenzied talk of a separation between the country's Dutch-speaking Flemings and the French-speaking Walloons has been growing louder. Although calls for Flemish independence are not new, the current push is in part a reaction to the continental superproject that surrounds it. The European Union inadvertently makes the process of internal devolution easier and the prospect of separation less dramatic, says Kris Deschouwer, a politics professor at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20790114/site/newsweek/

In The Face Of Death. Special Correspondent Sam Knight reports on the story of Hazim Hanna and Emal Meskoni, an Iraqi couple who became two of the first Iraqis working as translators for the U.S. embassy in Baghdad and were later kidnapped and eventually killed. Their sad story illustrates the dangers and the impossible situation the estimated 100,000 Iraqis face who have and are still working for the American military, contractors, and civilian companies.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20789357/site/newsweek/

With Friends Like George. Tokyo Bureau Chief Christian Caryl reports on the growing list of global leaders taken down by their ties to the United States. Last week Japan's Shinzo Abe joined the ranks of colleagues including Spain's Jose Maria Aznar, Italy's Silvio Berlusconi and Britain's Tony Blair, who found themselves pushed out of power when support for America's wars lost traction with their own countrymen. While the Japanese remain very pro-American, according to polls, many are revolting, in the European way, against Bush's priorities -- the War on Terror and its battlefields in Iraq and Afghanistan.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20790121/site/newsweek/

Brazil Cries 'Enough!' Special Correspondent Mac Margolis reports that Brazil is working on doing to politics what it did to its economy a decade ago. On Sept. 12, when the Brazilian senate cleared its scandal -- hounded president, Renan Calheiros, of charges that he abused his office by using a lobbyist for a government contractor to pay his personal bills, something seemed to snap. From the bishopric to the bar association, Brazilians, who have been historically tolerant of official corruption, lashed out, calling the outcome a "disgrace" and "a national shame." This kind of backlash suggests Latin America's biggest and perhaps unruliest country will no longer turn the other cheek to official misdeeds.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20790115/site/newsweek/

The Fragile Democracy. Jorge Castaneda, Mexico's former foreign minister, writes that the reforms passed by Mexico's Congress last week may have been worse than none at all. While President Felipe Calderon's administration wanted more revenue but no new election laws, opposition leaders wanted electoral reform but no new taxes. Both got part of what they wanted, meanwhile Mexico got a mess.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20790117/site/newsweek/

GLOBAL INVESTOR: The Catch-22 Of Economics. Contributing Editor Robert J. Samuelson writes that there isn't a singular reason why the U.S. economy is in its current state. In addition to miscalculation, incompetence, predatory behavior and some criminality, the fact that the U.S. economy grew in spite of daunting obstacles -- corporate scandals, 9/11, higher oil prices -- may have also created a false sense of confidence.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20790126/site/newsweek/

HEALTH FOR LIFE: You and Your Quirky Kid. Senior Writer Lorraine Ali reports on "quirky kids," or children who, for varying reasons, do not fit in, and how to determine the difference between a nonconformist kid and a child with more serious issues that may need to be addressed. Previous generations of parents could embrace, or overlook, their child's tics, quirks or eccentric personalities much more freely than parents today. Even pediatricians were far less versed in disorders such as attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder and the autism-spectrum disorders.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20657188/site/newsweek/

Homeroom Zombies. Lawrence Epstein, M.D., and Steven Mardon, authors of "The Harvard Medical School Guide to a Good Night's Sleep," report that adolescents who don't get enough rest have more learning, health, behavior and mood problems than students who get at least nine hours a night, as well as what parents can do to help their teens avoid sleep deprivation.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20643572/site/newsweek/

WORLD VIEW: Go Down in Iraq, But Go Long. Newsweek International Editor Fareed Zakaria writes that without political change, military success in Iraq is meaningless. The surge has proved that more troops can produce enhanced security, but eventually American troops will have to leave. "What will cement the security in those places that we control now is a political deal among various factions in which they're all invested in stability," Zakaria writes. "Without such a power-sharing agreement, the order we build will degenerate when we leave -- whether that's six months from now or six years from now."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20789358/site/newsweek/

THE LAST WORD: A Legal Fight For Freedom. Pakistani Lawyer Aitzaz Ahsan, a former Interior minister under Benazir Bhutto, who defended the Supreme Court's Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, told Newsweek that former prime minister Nawaz Sharif's deportation may impact the ongoing dialogue between Bhutto and Musharraf. "The PPP [Pakistan People's Party] dialogue with Musharraf has certain parameters, which Miss Bhutto has emphasized. One of her conditions has always been that there must be a free and fair election with the return of all the exiles, including Nawaz Sharif ... Is Musharraf prepared to let Sharif come back? If not, then one of her major conditions is not being met. So what happens to the negotiations? Negotiating with Musharraf carries a very high cost, as he is the most unpopular, indeed hated, man in Pakistan."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20790124/site/newsweek/ SOURCE Newsweek

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