To much of the outside world, the image of Haiti — when it pops up at all — is one of catastrophes, both natural and man-made. Violence, grinding poverty, flood, earthquakes all leave a lingering image of a benighted nation bereft of tender moments.Maggie Steber thinks that’s nonsense — and she has the pictures to prove it.Ms. Steber has made more than 80 trips to Haiti since 1986, venturing far and wide from the slums of Port-au-Prince, through the Artibonite Valley and up to Cap Haitien. She did this at great personal risk — not that she would brag about that. For much of this time, she covered a lot of the breaking stories and chaotic events favored by editors. But there came a point ... Continue reading →
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BRUSSELS — Firing back after the nationalization by Argentina of assets belonging to a Spanish oil company, the European Union said Friday it would challenge what it called the South American country’s “protectionist” import restrictions at the World Trade Organization. Although the rules have been in effect since 2005, the E.U. trade commissioner, Karel De Gucht, said Argentina “tightened the screws” in February by extending the rules to cover all imports, instead of just some product categories, prompting an outcry not only from Europe but the United States and others. The Argentine government’s decision in April to seize the YPF unit of the Spanish company Repsol only poisoned relations further. “The trade and investment climate in Argentina has steadily become worse over the years, and ... Continue reading →
Timothy Egan on American politics and life, as seen from the West.We interrupt reality to bring you Arizona, once known as the Grand Canyon state. So glorious, this home to sublime cacti and ugly javelina, an outdoor stage for the high histrionics of geologic time, but so very, very crazy. Even a spate of recent temperatures in the 105-degree range cannot explain the latest doings of government by crackpots.Let’s start with the secretary of state, a wide-eyed fellow named Ken Bennett. He is Arizona’s chief elections officer. He is a Republican. He is also co-chairman of Mitt Romney’s campaign in Arizona. Recently, a few hundred people who probably spend their lives searching the Internet looking for proof that the moon landing was fake asked Mr. ... Continue reading →
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O rio Tapajós, artéria principal de uma Amazônia ainda virgem, está no limiar de ter as suas águas liberadas para a construção de um complexo de hidrelétricas. O antigo plano de erguer cinco usinas ao longo desse rio que nasce no Mato Grosso e avança pelo Pará, até encontrar o Amazonas, começou a sair do papel silenciosamente, processo que foi detonado por uma polêmica Medida Provisória editada no dia 6 de janeiro pela presidente Dilma Rousseff. Com a MP 558/2012, o governo alterou os limites de sete unidades de conservação da Amazônia e retirou delas a área que será alagada pelos reservatórios das usinas. Boa parte da redução dessas florestas protegidas por lei tem o propósito específico de desobstruir o caminho para o licenciamento ambiental ... Continue reading →
