Letter from the Editor
For most people, the hospital is a place to avoid, not a destination to anticipate. But as Joe Cochrane writes in this week's Health for Life Special Report, new high-end hospitals like Bangkok's Bumrungrad International are becoming magnets for patients from all over the world. They boast lobbies that look like five-star hotels, as well as service to match. And all at a price that is making health insurers in the United States and elsewhere look twice. Plus: While developing countries like India and Thailand are leading the field in medical tourism, new technologies and some remarkable personalities have forged centers of excellence all over the world. NEWSWEEK reporters from Israel to Russia to Britain spotlight 10 of the best. Happy, and healthy, travels.
—Nisid Hajari, Managing Editor
United Nations: A Bitter Defeat for Chávez
Three things are clear regarding Venezuela's campaign to land a seat on the United Nations Security Council. First and foremost, flamboyant President Hugo Chávez has lost: after dropping 34 out of 35 votes in a head-to-head match against Guatemala (only tying in one of the first straw polls), he will not be able to chair his country's delegation in the Council chamber, where he recently declared George W. Bush a devil not so much in disguise. Even though Guatemala may not be elected either, the country has consistently won between 20 and 30 votes more than Venezuela and is unlikely to lose them now. Almost certainly, a compromise candidate—Uruguay, Panama, Costa Rica—will eventually be elected.
Second, Chávez will do all he can to stall that moment until after Dec. 3—the date of Venezuela's presidential election. It won't be easy, but isn't impossible. In 1979, Cuba and Colombia dueled for more than 150 ballots until both finally declined in favor of Mexico. And Chávez has good reason to drag matters out. Although he leads by a comfortable margin in polls back home, the sole opposition candidate, Manuel Rosales, is closing the gap. In the past few months Chávez has jetted around the world, doling out oil and cash in return for the promise of votes. The last thing he wants is to be accused of having wasted tens of millions of dollars, if not more, in vain.
Lastly, but perhaps most important, this is Chávez's first real defeat, domestically or abroad. He invested much of his personal reputation in his country's bid, casting the vote as a referendum on his view of the world versus that of the Bush administration. Yet despite his recent antics in the U.N. chamber, or thanks to them, the Venezuelan leader was unable even to beat out even tiny Guatemala. Ultimately, Chávez may end up regretting that he tried.
—Jorge Castañeda
THE GOOD NEWS: Burma has a new constitution in the works—and elections may be on the horizon. The junta appears ready to loosen its grip: Gen. Than Shwe says that what Burma needs now is a "disciplined and flourishing democracy."
THE BAD NEWS: The new constitution will ensure that the military retains control of the government. David Steinberg, a Burma expert at Georgetown University, thinks it will stipulate that 25 percent of National Assembly seats be reserved for active-duty military members. Kyaw Yin Hlaing, a Burma watcher at the National University of Singapore, says the regime is slightly less repressive these days. Agitators aren't arbitrarily beaten and thrown in prison, and the generals supposedly want to create a "more humane" intelligence service. But political opposition is still not tolerated.
—Richard Ernsberger Jr.
Allan Sloan: Bubble Trouble
Bubbles are building in the so-called alternative investments—hedge funds, private-equity funds, commodities and commercial real estate. Day after day, I hear of hedge funds' growing power—we're up to almost 9,000 funds with $1.225 trillion in assets, according to Hedge Fund Research, from about 3,600 with $456 billion at the start of 2000. To me, it feels like something bad's about to happen. The more hedge funds there are chasing the same opportunities, the less profitable those opportunities become.
Another danger signal is that retail investors are being given a chance to run with the big hedge-fund dogs without meeting the Securities and Exchange Commission requirement of being a "qualified client" with a net worth of at least $1.5 million. It's globalization. Funds of hedge funds are becoming a hot item on the London Stock Exchange. "It's a way for someone with $20,000 or $30,000 to invest in a portfolio of hedge funds," says Sabby Mionis, whose CMA Global Hedge went public in June. Players like Harris Associates and Goldman Sachs are in this game, and a company run by Tom Lee, a legendary U.S. private-equity investor, is seeking to join them. By my math, if these funds hit their targets, a third of what your money earns will go to fees and expenses. Seems expensive to me.
Intel: Prewar Position
The CIA won't say so, but Britain initially opposed war in Iraq. A new book by Tyler Drumheller, chief of the CIA's European ops before the Iraq war, describes how, the day after 9/11, a "powerful delegation from a very close European ally" visited CIA Director George Tenet at HQ. In his book, "On the Brink," Drumheller says the head of the foreign team cautioned: "I hope we can all agree that we should ... not be tempted to launch any attacks on Iraq." In Drumheller's account, Tenet replied: "Absolutely, we all agree on that." Two former intel officials say that the foreign delegation was British, led by spy-agency head Richard Dearlove and David Manning, the national-security adviser. A British source, who, like the former intel officials, requested anonymity due to diplomatic sensitivities, acknowledged that a delegation led by Manning did visit Tenet on Sept. 12, 2001; the source confirmed it was Britain's position at the time that the United States should not attack Iraq.
—Mark Hosenball
Internet: Online Archive
Looking for the 1986 debut of reggae band African Head Charge on Apple's iTunes? You'd sooner find Microsoft Office. To that end, avid record collector Keith Abrahamsson has launched Anthology Recordings (anthologyrecordings .com), the first digital reissue label, as a marketplace for obscure sounds. Like labels such as the Numero Group, Anthology will sell handpicked rarities, but in MP3 format only. A market exists: Oliver Wang runs Soul Sides, an audio blog for rare funk, and boasts 40,000 visitors per month. —Joshua Alston
Music: Killer Cool
The killers' new album, "Sam's Town," has been lambasted as pompous and pretentious. True, like many follow-ups to out-of-nowhere debut hits, such as the band's "Hot Fuss," their newest offering is bigger than its predecessor. But it may also be better. Despite the group's newfound sense of importance, the songs surge with anthemic sweep, inviting comparison to U2 and Bruce Springsteen. Is "When You Were Young" a Springsteen classic? No, but it's a darn good homage. Without sounding like smirking ironists or glib dilettantes, the Killers bring emotion and ingenuity to their new-wave sound. This is an ambitious, if not momentous, album.
Take Two Aspirin..
Baby aspirin—80mg, or one quarter of an adult tablet—may reduce the risk of heart attack, but a new study reveals that aspirin may harm the stomach and upper digestive tract. Using two databases of roughly 4 million patients combined, researchers found that daily low-dose aspirin doubles gastrointestinal risk factors. Do the benefits outweigh the dangers? NO: Aspirin caused 150 more cases of GI complications per 1,000 people in male patients in their 80s with a history of ulcers, far more than the number of heart-attack cases aspirin might prevent.
YES: Aspirin adds only a small risk of GI problems in female patients under 60, according to the study. For such women at risk of heart attacks—smokers, for instance—the benefits of aspirin might be worth the dangers.
Adoption Celebrity Style
Reality Check Don't believe the hype: adopting kids from Africa isn't as easy as Angelina and Madonna make it look. The Material Girl's newly embraced baby is only the 7th that Malawi has released into outside hands since 2001. Even Ethiopia, last year's destination of choice for international adopters, accounted for only 441 of the 23,000 babies brought to the United States in 2005.
Doha Goes For Gold
Is the world ready for a Mideast Olympics? While there are no formal campaigns until after the 2014 Winter Games are announced next July, Doha, Qatar, is weighing a bid for the 2016 Summer Games. Speculation has only increased since Doha was awarded the 2006 Asian Games, taking place this December. If the city aces its job as host, after spending $2.8 billion on sports infrastructure, it could mount a credible campaign.
v
Working against Doha are factors it cannot control, like the consensus that 2016 is the Western Hemisphere's "turn." And with security the biggest and ever-escalating expense, it might be difficult to persuade International Olympic Committee delegates to put the Games so close to Iran. Even if Doha's bid fails—and most first-time efforts do—it's still a smart way to raise the area's sporting profile. Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, is another peaceful, wealthy port city with Olympic aspirations that has won sports cred with high-profile golf and tennis tournaments.
-Nick Summers
