As Hormones Go, So Go Markets This Period of Growth,” Ilya Bagrak, the Company, Was Abruptly Frozen During Company’S Software Product Manager, Said Last Month

Supplemento al numero odierno de la Repubblica Sped. abb. postale art. 1 legge 46/04 del 27/02/2004 — Roma

FINANCIAL CRISIS ILL THE DOWN market never end? For months, policy makers around the world have tried bailouts, interest rate As Hormones Go, cuts, anything ESSAY they could think of, really, to bring JUDITH H. DOBRZYNSKI global markets out of their deepening depression. Once in a while, So Go Markets the markets do move up — only to fall again. Nothing seems to work for long. Perhaps there’s a reason that everyone has overlooked: hormones. If a research paper published earlier this year is correct, traders have become prisoners of their endocrine systems — testosterone, the elixir of male aggressiveness, during a bull market; cortisol, a steroid that helps the body deal with stress, when fear takes over. The study suggests that raging hormones might explain why the men who rule the global markets send them up when they’re winning, and down when they panic. One investment strategist intui- tively grasped the situation when he recently told The New York Times: “Normally markets are driven by fear and greed. Now it’s fear and fear.” In other words, instead of a rhythm of testosterone alternating with cortisol, it’s been cortisol and more cortisol for weeks. Actually there was a step in between — greed and greed, the bubble period. That’s when traders were making a lot of money, which made them pump out extra testosterone, grow overconfident and overcompeti- tive, and take on more and more

Con tin ued on Page 6

SCOTT OLSON/GETTY IMAGES

WORLD TRENDS LIVING: THE WAY WE EAT ARTS & STYLES Congo’s riches, Chocolate helps The genius who looted by renegades. III bolster Indian pride. VII assassinated art. VIII

INTELLIGENCE:Pausing in Havana, Page 2.

PUBBLICITÁ Married to the Mob

In theory, the 21st century is marked karova, a lawyer and executive director of Somalia: seizing freighters in poorly by 21st-century threats, like global ter- of the Bulgarian Judges Association, patrolled waters of the Indian Ocean ror networks and sophisticated cyber told Doreen Carvajal of the Times that — most recently, a Saudi-owned super- attacks. But in many places, the prob- lawyers were well aware of judges with tanker, the largest ship ever hijacked — lems are more familiar, parochial and criminal ties. they have built a lucrative business col- old-fashioned: drug dealing, “How do we know?” Ms. lecting ransoms in a region otherwise prostitution, kidnapping and LENS Pushkarova said. “They have lacking for opportunity. corruption, all the hallmarks of marriage connections or And in the eastern Congo, as Lydia organized crime. business ties with organized Polgreen reports in this issue (Page In developing countries, rack- criminal bosses. They are 3), a tin mining operation run by a ren- eteering thrives on instability. neighbors.” egade army brigade provides employ- But it can be hard to eradicate In parts of Mexico, criminal ment to hordes of miners and porters, even in more prosperous and gangs fueled by the booming and a certain level of assurance to their well-regulated places. drug trade have diversified into customers. In Japan, for example, the kidnapping for ransom. The na- “To be honest, it is better for us that criminal syndicates known as yakuza tion’s affluent families have responded they are there,” said Bakwe Selomba, have been tolerated as regulators of by hiring swarms of bodyguards for an ore purchaser. “I can send my buy- gambling, sex trades and other shad- themselves and their children, donning ers walking through the jungle with lots owy enterprises, so long as they do designer clothes made of bulletproof of money, but nobody will touch them as not disturb the peace. But in the city of material and, in some cases, leaving the long as we pay the tax.” Kurume, residents protested when a country altogether. The yakuza also claim to promote factional feud among the Dojinkai, the “There’s an exodus, and it’s all about stability in Japan. But in Kurume, No- local yakuza, led to shootouts in the insecurity,” Guillermo Alonso Meneses, buyuki Shinozuka, 54, the Dojinkai’s street. As Norimitsu Onishi reported an anthropologist at the Colegio de la acting chairman, was philosophical in The Times, more than 600 alarmed Frontera Norte in Tijuana, told Marc about the lawsuit his group faces — neighbors recently went to court to Lacey of The Times. “A psychosis has and about the place of organized crime try to evict the Dojinkai from their six- developed. There’s fear of getting kid- in any society. “It’s up to the state,” he story Kurume headquarters. napped or killed.” told Mr. Onishi. “If the state feels it no That kind of civic action is less likely But in places where there is little longer needs us, it can pass a law ban- in a country like Bulgaria, where wide- government to speak of, anything ning the yakuza. But if it feels even a spread mob influence is assumed to organized can look like a boon, even little bit that it still needs us, then we’ll infect the legal system itself. Iva Push- crime. Consider the audacious pirates find some way to survive.”

Repubblica NewYork II MONDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2008

OPINION & COMMENTARY

EDITORIALS OF THE TIMES INTELLIGENCE/ROGER COHEN In Havana, Time to Reflect A Bailout in Need HAVANA, Cuba It is also less than free, If there’s a place on and that I cannot accept. Of Some Clarity earth untouched by the Yet, at a moment when global financial crisis, it’s the West, in one way or Fidel Castro’s Cuba. As another, is assessing the 50th anniversary of the huge cost of excess, A month into the Bush administra- consumers and small businesses. the revolution that swept I found myself feeling tion’s $700 billion bank bailout, the He has diverted another $40 billion him to power on January more indulgent toward effort has become as fractured as the of the fund to American International 1, 1959, approaches, Fidel ailing Fidel than I would ad hoc rescues that it was supposed to Group, the reckless insurance compa- presides still over his have thought possible. replace. As a result, the modest easing ny that had already received $85 billion quietly decaying social- His obstinate pursuit the bailout initially brought about in the in federal assistance. If government ist experiment. of an unfashionable idea credit markets is now being reversed officials know where all that money is Stress inhabits the has driven many Cubans over doubts about the Treasury’s stew- going, they haven’t shared their knowl- wired societies of mod- to flight, still more to mis- ardship of the plan. edge with the public. ern capitalism. From ery. The Cuban economy The rates for loans between banks Mr. Paulson disappointed investors Hong Kong to Houston, makes no sense. But Fi- have begun edging up again, and con- by ditching the plan to buy up banks’ there is little relief from del’s obsession has also sumer borrowing costs are also up — bad assets. Instead, he expanded the the pressure to have instilled forms of pride, that is, assuming consumers can find a bailout to include investing money in more. As there is not civility, altruism, educa- bank willing to lend. nonbank financial companies, like much to have in sagging tion and humor that are President-elect Barack Obama’s GMAC, the lending arm of General Cuba, that particular woven into the frayed transition team is reportedly planning Motors, and the other carmakers’ angst does not exist. In fabric of Cuban life and how the new administration will better lending units. He also announced that its place hovers the de- constitute its strange re- manage the bailout. But two months is the Treasury and the Federal Reserve pression of idle days. silience. a long time to wait while the Bush Trea- were considering a plan to use taxpayer Masonry sags in love- ASSOCIATED PRESS I sympathize with sury burns through the bailout billions, money to jump-start consumer lending ly Havana. Paint peels. Life in Cuba is very hard and doctrinaire, but it has been every Cuban who longs with little to show in terms of enhanced via credit cards, car loans and student The Atlantic pounds spared the worst gyrations of the global financial crisis. to escape this beautiful stability and even less in terms of en- the Malecón, perhaps island. But I thank Cuba hanced confidence. the most beautiful ur- for allowing me to press Recently Treasury Secretary Henry ban waterfront in the world, sending United States auto museum. the pause button. We all need that from Paulson outlined a complex new bailout eruptions of spray over the granite They have also, at great cost to them- time to time. strategy intended to promote consumer As the strategy shifts, wall. People gaze. Their minimal sal- selves, afforded the rushing world The shock of being sucked into Ha- borrowing. Mr. Paulson defended this aries buy little. There is no incentive a place of strange silence in which to vana’s frozen half-life is matched only latest iteration, saying he would never investors and the public to work harder. Conversation is the reflect. There is no visual clutter in by the shock of emerging from it, back apologize for changing his approach as grow doubtful. sole thriving commodity as the city Cuba. Yes, there are countless exhor- to Starbucks, and Christmas carols the facts change. But it is not surprising crumbles. tations to further the glory of social- (already), and 500 waiting emails, and that everyone else is feeling confused. General Motors, Citigroup, A.I.G. ism, daubed on walls, trumpeted on the gyrating Dow and disappearing Before the bailout even got under way and late lamented Lehman Brothers: billboards, but the ad-free landscape jobs. in October, Mr. Paulson had to sideline these are faraway names in Cuba, rests the eye. Life without brands ex- The danger in this globalized as- his original strategy — to buy up banks’ loans. The Fed quickly said the plan where the lost glory of Detroit is on ists after all. sault on our senses, this insatiable bad assets — because, he soon came to was still in early development. display in the form of 1950s Pontiacs On the eight-lane, trans-island na- demand on our very beings, is that of realize, it was too complex and indirect The one approach Mr. Paulson stub- and Studebakers with their extrava- tional highway, started with Soviet dehumanization. As the credit-driven to deliver the swift jolt the financial bornly refuses to consider is using bail- gant fins and hulking forms. Before help, abandoned at its halfway point party unwinds, people are consuming markets needed. out money to help homeowners avoid consumerism intensified, things were when the Soviet Union imploded, three less and reflecting more. He indicated that he would return to foreclosure. His reasoning — that the built to last. In the absence of new cars, cars pass every couple of minutes. A In this time of questioning, Cuba of- that strategy later, but to get the bailout money is to be used to stabilize the fi- Cubans have contrived their very own great emptiness extends. This almost fers no answers. But it is provocative. started, he opted instead to directly in- nancial system — inexplicably ignores unfathomable absence is one measure The obverse of the haunting humanity vest $250 billion in the nation’s banks. the fact that the instability he is seeking Send comments to intelligence@ny- of Cuba’s failure. Life is hard for most within its material failure is the inhu- The about face was necessary, but it to quell is rooted in the housing bust. times.com. Cubans. It is very hard. manity of material excess. raised uncertainty about whether the Over the next two months, Mr. Paul- Treasury really had a firm grasp of the son must impose some coherence and problem — exactly what shaky markets clarity on the bailout. Otherwise he will don’t need. only fan anxieties and mistrust, which Since then, the doubts have grown, will undermine the effectiveness of his NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF among investors and the public. Mr. good decisions and amplify the fallout Paulson invested the taxpayers’ money of his bad ones. With markets gyrating on terms so lenient that banks have felt wildly, and the economy deteriorating free to hoard it, or to buy other banks rapidly, the nation needs clear leader- Talia for President — while refusing to bolster lending to ship and a sound plan.

For those of you who don’t happen to a bit intimidated when she visits a high The godfather of the social entre- be named Barack, change in the next school. preneur movement is Bill Drayton, four years might seem a spectator “I’m only in middle school, so I see who founded an organization called Protecting Mr. Mugabe sport. high schoolers as the big kids,” she Ashoka to support “change-makers.” In the aftermath of a campaign, it’s said. “When I go to high school to pass Now he is heavily focused on nurtur- natural to think that the agenda now out Unicef boxes, I see them as the big, ing student social entrepreneurs, and We had hoped that political lead- second round, creating the current de- is in the hands of our newly elected scary ones.” he has started an organization called ers in southern Africa would finally structive political impasse. leaders, and that the agents of change At a dinner a few days ago in New Youth Venture to support them. But resolve Zimbabwe’s political crisis at For too long, Zimbabwe’s people have will be government officials in Wash- York, Talia was honored by World of Mr. Drayton is frustrated that many their summit meeting November 8-9. been abandoned to Mr. Mugabe’s bru- ington. Yet the best proof that you Children, an organization that en- youngsters are too passive and are Instead, they made it worse, agreeing tality, famine and economy-destroying don’t need a White House pass to ac- courages youth activism and calls never encouraged to run anything of that President Robert Mugabe and his hyperinflation. There hardly could be complish change comes from youth- its awards the “Nobel Prizes for chil- their own. thuggish loyalties can keep control a clearer case of a violently stolen elec- ful social entrepreneurs around the dren.” If kids like Talia can accomplish “This is like foot-binding of the spir- of the two ministries that oversee the tion, a ruinous dictator and a respon- country. Too naïve to realize that they so much, without credit cards or driv- it,” he said. “We can’t imagine what the army and the police. sible opposition willing to compromise are powerless, these kids are flexing ing licenses, just imagine what adults Chinese were doing when they bound A power-sharing compromise negoti- and accept less than the clear victory it remarkable muscle. could achieve. girls’ feet, but now we’re doing it to our ated in September can work only if these won at the polls. If your image of a philanthropist Young people have often been en- children’s spirits.” two ministries are divided between Mr. Yet handed the opportunity for con- is a stout, gray geezer, then meet Ta- gaged in social movements, of course, The Girl Scouts organization has al- Mugabe’s supporters and those of Mor- structive leadership, the politicians lia Leman, an eighth grader in Iowa but today’s activists are younger than so led the way in embracing social en- gan Tsvangirai, the top vote-getter in in the Southern African Development who loves soccer and swimming, and trepreneurship, training girls how to the first round of this year’s presiden- Community chose instead to protect whose favorite subject is science. I’m start their own movements. It’s a step tial elections. That is essential since it Mr. Mugabe (one of their own) and his supporting her for president in 2044. toward a “you-figure-out-how-to-get- was army- and police-backed violence undercutting of the power-sharing deal When Talia was 10 years old, she it-done” model of citizen participation that drove Mr. Tsvangirai out of the painstakingly negotiated under their saw television clips of New Orleans For a grass-roots army, in the 21st century. own auspices. after Hurricane Katrina and decided “Social entrepreneurship is taking Now that Zimbabwe’s neighbors to help. She galvanized other kids and there’s work beyond the root across the age spectrum,” said have failed, the United States, Eu- started a movement to trick-or-treat White House. David Bornstein, whose book “How rope and others will have to increase at Halloween for coins for hurricane to Change the World” is the bible of the pressure on Mr. Mugabe and his victims. would-be change-makers. But he says cronies, denying visas and freezing The movement caught the public that the movement has been stifled in Direttore responsabile: Ezio Mauro Vicedirettori: Mauro Bene, foreign assets. While providing hu- imagination, Talia made it on the “To- some privileged communities, per- Gregorio Botta, Dario Cresto-Dina manitarian relief, they must withhold day” show, and the campaign raised ever. More important, these kids haps because students in such places Massimo Giannini, Angelo Rinaldi all other forms of aid and recognition more than $10 million. With that suc- aren’t just protesters but rather are are so stressed by academic pressures Caporedattore centrale: Angelo Aquaro until Mr. Mugabe agrees to share or cess behind her, Talia organized a pro- “social entrepreneurs,” pioneering that they can’t find the time for philan- Caporedattore vicario: Fabio Bogo Gruppo Editoriale l’Espresso S.p.A. vacate power. gram called RandomKid to help other clever ways to “give back” just as a thropy. • According to some reports, Mr. young social entrepreneurs organize business entrepreneur fills a market President-elect Barack Obama won Presidente onorario: Carlo Caracciolo Mugabe has contemplated yielding sev- and raise money. niche. the White House partly because of a Presidente: Carlo De Benedetti eral times since his first-round election At randomkid.org, young people If the emblematic 1960s youth was grass-roots army of youthful volun- Consigliere delegato: Marco Benedetto Divisione la Repubblica defeat but has been held back by pleas can link up with others to participate an anti-Vietnam protester, and the teers; he showed the power of social via Cristoforo Colombo 90 - 00147 Roma from his generals who fear losing their in various philanthropic ventures. 1980s emblem was a geek assembling movements and social networking in Direttore generale: Carlo Ottino power and ill-gotten gains and pos- On the Web site, Talia has organized computers in the garage, then today’s presidential politics. Those same forc- Responsabile trattamento dati (d. lgs. sibly being prosecuted for their worst a campaign to build a school in rural is a kid uploading videos to YouTube to es can be just as powerful on behalf of 30/6/2003 n. 196): Ezio Mauro Reg. Trib. di Roma n. 16064 del crimes. Cambodia, backed by children in 48 raise money for anti-malarial bed nets humanitarian causes. 13/10/1975 That suggests the regional leaders states and 19 countries. in Africa. It would be a shame if the political Tipografia: Rotocolor, might have been able to pressure Mr. Likewise, she’s working with schools Frankly, these kinds of initiatives armies took a break until the 2012 elec- v. C. Colombo 90 RM Mugabe into doing the right thing for in seven states to provide clean water have a mixed record in terms of help- tions. Only one person can be presi- Stampa: Rotocolor, v. C. Cavallari 186/192 Roma; Rotonord, v. N. Sauro Zimbabwe. Instead, they have enabled for rural African villages. She is a fre- ing the poor in a cost-effective way. But dent, but as Talia and so many kids 15 - Paderno Dugnano MI ; Finegil his continued misrule and guaranteed quent guest speaker at other schools, they have a superb record in enlighten- show, absolutely anybody can be a Editoriale c/o Citem Soc. Coop. arl, his people’s further misery. although she acknowledges she’s just ing and educating the organizers. change-maker. v. G.F. Lucchini - Mantova Pubblicità: A. Manzoni & C., via Nervesa 21 - Milano - 02.57494801 • THE NEW YORK TIMES IS PUBLISHED WEEKLY IN THE FOLLOWING NEWSPAPERS: CLARÍN, ARGENTINA ✂ DER STANDARD, AUSTRIA ✂ FOLHA, BRAZIL ✂ LA SEGUNDA, CHILE ✂ EL ESPECTADOR, COLOMBIA ✂ LISTIN Supplemento a cura di: Alix Van Buren, DIARIO, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC ✂ EL UNIVERSO, ECUADOR ✂ LE MONDE, FRANCE ✂ SÜDDEUTSCHE ZEITUNG, GERMANY ✂ PRENSA LIBRE, GUATEMALA ✂ THE ASIAN AGE, INDIA ✂ LA REPUBBLICA, ITALY ✂ ASAHI Francesco Malgaroli SHIMBUN, JAPAN ✂ SUNDAY NATION, KENYA ✂ KOHA DITORE, KOSOVO ✂ REFORMA GROUP, MEXICO ✂ VIJESTI, MONTENEGRO ✂ LA PRENSA, PANAMA ✂ EXPRESO, PERU ✂ MANILA BULLETIN, PHILIPPINES ✂ EL PAÍS, SPAIN ✂ THE TIMES, SOUTH AFRICA ✂ UNITED DAILY NEWS, TAIWAN ✂ SUNDAY MONITOR, UGANDA ✂ THE OBSERVER, UNITED KINGDOM ✂ THE KOREA TIMES, U.S. ✂ EL NACIONAL, VENEZUELA

Repubblica NewYork MONDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2008 III

WORLD TRENDS

CARACAS JOURNAL Salon for Left Thrives From Petrodollars

By SIMON ROMERO CARACAS, Venezuela — The Nepal- ese Maoist smiled as he glanced around the lobby of the Hotel Alba Caracas. To his left, West African delegates to the World Meeting of Intellectuals and Artists in Defense of Humanity chatted in French. To his right, the Egyptian author of a book on President Hugo Chávez puffed on a cigarette. “This has been a most enjoyable fo- rum, allowing us to learn from the glori- ous heritage of socialist revolution in Latin America,” said the Maoist, Chan- Militias in dra Prasad Gajurel, 60, a Politburo eastern Congo member of the Communist Party of Ne- are bankrolled pal, which put an end to that country’s by tin ore monarchy in elections this year. mining, keeping He joined some 200 other leftist millions in thinkers from around the world who convened here for a few days in October profits and to discuss transitions toward socialism. levying illegal Delegates in Birkenstocks and guay- taxes on aberas discussed Marx and Antonio workers. Gramsci, the leftist Italian writer. JOHAN SPANNER FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES Such meetings have become a staple of life in Caracas, with Mr. Chávez’s government rich with petrodollars Congo’s Vast Mineral Riches, Looted by Renegades that can be used to attract sympathetic members the world over. Officials here have organized conferences for By LYDIA POLGREEN militia has convinced some workers philosophers, poets, women’s rights BISIE, Congo — Deep in the forest, CONGO and local officials that the company will advocates, government spokesmen of the colonel sat atop his mountain of Bisie leave the local people empty-handed. nonaligned countries and, in Septem- ore. Everyone here knows that Colo- Tin mine The workers toil in hand-dug tunnels ber, specialists in body painting. nel Samy Matumo, commander of a location as deep as 180 meters that are held up Few of these conferences offered as renegade brigade of army troops that Manoré precariously by wood pillars. Some of much optimism about shifting interna- controls this mineral-rich territory, is Congo Main support town the workers are children, especially in NORTH UGANDA tional events as the meeting for intel- the master of every hilltop as far as the KIVU the summer, when desperate parents lectuals, which included guided tours of eye can see. send boys here to earn cash for the Caracas’s slums for the delegates and Columns of men, bent double under Approximate next year’s school fees. The tunnels are panel discussions examining the evolv- 50-kilogram sacks of tin ore, emerged Area Goma route of trail pitch-black and suffocatingly narrow. ing financial from the colonel’s mine shaft. It had of detail from Bisie They often fill with dangerous fumes. RWANDA crisis. been carved nearly 200 meters into the to Biruwe Miners sometimes spend 48 hours “We must help mountain with Iron Age tools. Porters straight in the tunnels. the current capi- carry the ore nearly 50 kilometers on Hard-rock miners who work deep BURUNDI talist model col- their backs, a two-day trek through a Biruwe Approximate in the tunnels say the money they can lapse, for on its mud-slicked maze to the nearest road route of trail earn on a productive day makes up for own this will not and a world hungry for the laptops and M to Bisie the risk. A young man who gave his Lualaba ain happen,” José other electronics that tin helps create. ro name as Pypina said he made $200 on River TANZANIA a Déniz Espinós, On paper, the exploration rights to d a good shift. But his friend Serge said an economist this mine belong to a consortium of such days were rare. “We have some from Madrid, British and South African investors Ndjingala days where we find nothing, where we told attendees. who say they will turn this perilous and dig and dig for nothing,” he said. The confer- exploitative operation into a safe, mod- After porters bear the loads, often Lake CONGO ence was held ern beacon of prosperity for Congo. But heavier than the men themselves, the Tanganyika NORTH KIVU MERIDITH KOHUT in the Alba, a in practice, the consortium’s workers ore reaches middlemen along the main FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES luxury hotel cannot even set foot on the mountain. road. One such middleman, Bakwe Sel- Chandra Prasad taken over by the Like a mafia, Colonel Matumo and his omba, said he did not mind paying the Gajurel, a government last men extort, tax and appropriate at will, 320 Kms. ZAMBIA 16 Kms. militiamen because the payment guar- Maoist politician year from the draining this vast operation, worth as THE NEW YORK TIMES anteed his investment. “To be honest, from Nepal. Hilton chain. much as $80 million a year. The journey to Bisie is two days on foot. No paved roads lead there. it is better for us that they are there,” Mostapha el- The exploitation of this mountain is he said. “I can send my buyers walking Gammal, 56, an emblematic of the failure to right this through the jungle with lots of money, Egyptian, said a highlight of his visit sprawling African nation after many and extract another tribute. The price on roads and border crossings, help but nobody will touch them as long as was the opportunity to discuss his new years of tyranny and war, and of the is usually 10 percent of entering mer- bankroll virtually every armed group we pay the tax. It protects us.” book, “Chávez: Charisma, Revolution, deadly role the country’s immense chandise and cash. in the region. Congo’s tin ore represents a relative- Dialectics,” which he said the Venezue- natural wealth has played in its mis- Though blessed with an incompa- A company called Mining and Pro- ly small slice of the world market, but lan government was planning to trans- ery. This is Africa’s resource curse: rable endowment of minerals and wa- cessing Congo bought the rights to in recent years supplies have been so late from the Arabic and publish here. The wealth is unearthed by the poor, ter and abundant fertile land, this vast search for tin ore at the mine in 2006. tight that efforts to stop mining at Bisie “Is Chávez a mere populist or a genuine controlled by the strong, then sold to a nation in the heart of Africa has known But the militia has effectively barred have caused price spikes. This year, revolutionary?” he asked, rhetorically. world largely oblivious of its origins. little but domination and war since its the company, which is owned by South the government tried to shut down the “I dismiss the first idea.” Despite a costly effort to unite the founding as a colony under King Leo- African and British investors, shooting mine, but it was quickly reopened by lo- Venezuela’s government also earns nation’s many militias into a single pold II of Belgium in the 19th century. at its helicopter and chasing its repre- cal authorities. high marks from some foreign scholars national army, plus billions of dollars Congo’s riches have played a key role sentatives from the premises. In May, United States Senators Sam for its creation of the Miranda Interna- spent on international peacekeepers in the chaos and conflict of the past de- “We have all our documents and per- Brownback of Kansas and Richard J. tional Center, a policy research group, and an election in 2006 that brought decade, which has killed as many as five mits in order,” said Brian Christophers, Durbin of Illinois introduced a bill to re- and for prizes like the Liberator Prize mocracy to Congo for the first time in million people, mostly from hunger and the weary managing director of the quire certifying minerals from Congo. for Critical Thinking. Franz J. Hinke- four decades, the government is unable disease. A peace deal officially ended company. “We have written to the head “Without knowing it, tens of millions lammert, a German-born theologian or unwilling to force these fighters — the war in 2003, and elections in 2006 of the military, the minister of mines of people in the United States may be living in Costa Rica, was the first win- who wear government army uniforms brought Congo its first democratically and even the president. But there are no putting money in the pockets of some ner of the $150,000 prize in 2006. and collect government paychecks — to chosen leaders in more than four de- rules in Congo, just the rule of the gun.” of the worst human rights violators in It is all too much for Mr. Chávez’s leave the mountain. cades. In many parts of the country, life He said his company was prepared to the world, simply by using a cellphone doubters, people like Fernando Mires, a No roads lead to Bisie. This hidden is slowly returning to normal. help pay not just for a road to the mine or laptop computer,” Senator Durbin Chilean historian and philosopher who town of 10,000 lies about 50 kilome- But here on Congo’s eastern edge, the but also for schools, clinics and a hydro- said at the time. was here for a separate conference. ters down a winding, muddy footpath war never really ended. In the latest electric power station. It also promised Here in Bisie, almost none of the On his way out of town, Mr. Mires, 65, through dense, equatorial forest. chapter, fighting between government to invite government agencies to en- workers know what tin is actually used was detained by security forces and At the trailhead, a burly soldier de- troops and a renegade general named force labor standards. But none of them for. “It is for weapons,” suggested Dju- interrogated about his visit. He said he mands 50 cents from each person en- Laurent Nkunda has forced hundreds have had the chance. ma Assualani, 21. viewed the conference at the Alba with tering the narrow trail to the mine. At of thousands of civilians here in eastern Indeed, some workers are suspicious “It’s gold,” shouted Makami Kimima, resignation. “Yesterday it was Mugabe the other end of the trail, at the base of Congo to flee and pushed the nation to of the company’s plans, fearing that a 18. His fellow miners jeered at his igno- or Castro; today it’s Chávez,” he said. the mountain, another crowd forms at the brink of a new regional war. road would put thousands of porters out rance. “It is something like gold,” he the gate into Bisie. Exhausted porters The proceeds of mines like this one, of work and that mechanized mining said, chastened. “It goes to America. Thom Walker contributed reporting. wait for soldiers to inspect their loads along with the illegal tributes collected would drastically cut employment. The And China. It makes people rich.” OWN THE HISTORIC NOV. 5, 2008, ISSUE

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Repubblica NewYork ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT E spective of the women who used them. used who women the of spective per- the changed features these how by impressed was and stoves, and toilets of community, she organized the construction Caaguazú, in impoverishedan region Paraguay. of In one with women working began she After university, life’s work. nomics her percent of the national territory.’’ than 10 original forest to less reduced our already we’ve ‘‘because 48, dívar, Zal- says Paraguay,’’ in important very environment. ‘‘That’s the for also good it’s for them, only good not is opportunity This families. their for houses inexpensive ablebetry will construct to decent, housing. With the panels, many citizens this in coun- used for can be panels that construction low-cost, lightweight create sponges. loofah and husks corn netting, A recyclableA house built from loofah and plastic ENVIRONMENT helicopter could save thousands of lives. Andrew McGonigle’ssensor-equippedsmall, the work offiveindividuals To find out more about theRolex Awards for Enterprise, visit rolexawards.com advrhsmd development eco- Zaldívar has made All these materialsare combined to aeil:rcce lsi,cotton recycled plastic, materials: the of cycle poverty with a few simple breaking is Paraguay of Zaldívar lsa this year inDubai, honorthis year for Enterprise, presented for Enterprise, whose projects visionary The 2008 Rolex Awards Rolex The 2008 embody excellence | Elsa Zaldívar,Elsa social activist and innovation

ROLEX AWARDS / MARC LATZEL F waste. He invented a machine that melted that machine a invented He waste. plastic with loofah combining of idea the hit on who engineer, industrial an Padrós, with Pedro She worked low-cost housing. for panels roof and wall to make material off during the manufacturing process. trimmed was percent 30 another and ity, export qual- were not of the loofahs cultivated third of About a fully satisfied. wasn’t environmentalists, Zaldívar praise from as Europe. away far as exported were that products and other mats, slippers facture sponges, and also used loofah to manu- loofah sold and acooperative into selves women organized them- dried. isplant The the when remains that sponge textured coarse- the mind: in else something had Zaldívar edible, is fruit loofah Though favor. once flourished locally but had fallen out of agingthem to grow loofah, aplantthat had earningcapacity rural women of encour- by has presented the awards in the Middle East. The initiative timepieces fine of maker Swiss the time first the marked a Rolex chronometer. receive also 10 All $50,000. receive each Laureates ciate Asso- while of $100,000, a grant receives Laureate Each to enterprise of spirit benefit their communities and the wider world. the embody who Laureates five — 127 countries applicants from nearly 1,500 lected from were honored a at ceremony in Dubai Nov. on 18, were se- who winners, year’s This globe. the around enterprise of it a spir- foster to Rolex by created were prize-giving, first the Enterprise, but of the five Laureates honored in in 2008. honored Laureates five the of but Enterprise, h hlpie.Bttecniin hten- abled this early warning are rare. that conditions But the in Philippines. exploded the Mount Pinatubo when 1991, ing may have saved up to 300,000 lives in of mudand rock. Six yearslater, early warn- deadly river created a glacierand melteda Ruiz del Nevado eruption of the when in 1985, in Colombia 25,000 of deaths saved. be can lives more the warning, the accurate more and earlier The eruptions. volcanic for tems improve early-warning sys- questhis to in them of 15 climbed has He awesome.’’ icist Andrew McGonigle finds it ‘‘absolutely Developing a new predictor of volcanic activity volcanic of predictor new a Developing SCIENCE are honored in Dubai individuals dedicated improvingto the world Five 2008 AWARDS L Zaldívar then had another idea: the then hadZaldívar another use drew project successful the Although the on increasing focus decidedto She h hieo ua o hs1t wr ceremony 13th award forthis of Dubai The choice named. were Laureates Associate five addition, In of anniversary 30th the celebrating now Awards, The h otefciemonitoring, accord- The most effective the in resulted forewarning of lack A hs r h isntol fteRlxAad for Rolex Awards the of only not aims are the these — and well-being human knowledge and advancing ostering enterprise, enabling groundbreaking work, uaiu nepie u h phys- but the audaciousenterprise, the world’s60active one of crater of into the ooking volcanoesisan | Andrew McGonigle, vulcanologist | Dubai event n hpe onhss vnuly a handle to easier is that emerged product husks. Eventually, chopped corn and cotton netting fibers like and vegetable other with loofah liquid theresulting bined com- then plastics, recycled of mixture a up andmade into new panels. ground be can they break, or out wear they if too; recyclable, are themselves panels The needed. fibers with the other and husks corn to provide and market women plastic, groups of of supply a guarantee to areas urban in recyclers with working is of she time, same the At houses. model three construction and the center promotion as wood. such materials, building existing per $6 of cost with competitive them making meter, square original panels’ the halved panels. the produce to chine ma- of a the prototype funds for provided Bank Development Inter-American caseof natural disasters. A grant from the is safer in the thanlumber or brick and dioxide (SO sulfur measuringthe techniques is fective ef- most of the One basis. near-real-time and acontinuous on analysis) satellite remote geochemical hydrological, detic, (seismic, geo- combinationof techniques ingto the U.S.Geological Survey, uses a other sensing devices. He saw that the that saw He devices. sensing other lasers and volcanic gases using lutionand United Kingdom,specializes study the in of air pol- inthe Sheffield of University the data but then problematic. was retrieval greatest accuracy, for aeo CO of case inthe closeto the mouthof the volcano — very be to had instruments that lieved of early 22 detection that is was it long be- Catch The volcano. active an from issue advrsRlxAadwl iac a will finance Rolex Award Zaldívar’s have improvements design then, Since Dr. McGonigle, a research scientist at scientist research a McGonigle, Dr. 2 2 ) and carbon dioxide (CO dioxide carbon and ) culyisd h crater — , actually inside the to the twin shortages of housing and lumber. and housing of shortages twin the to response in material building sustainable eco-friendly, an those lives of the developing is Zaldívar Elsa Paraguay,In AIDS. by orphaned toheal training vocational and nature combining is Muir Andrew conservationist the while African South eruptions, volcanic predict to way reliable develop- a ing is Scotland, from physicist a McGonigle, Andrew pollutionAsian its source. at away reduce to air found has Tim Bauer, a mechanical engineer from the United States, city, Petra. country’s millennia-old of his heritage cultural the preserve helps that system knowledge a completing is projects. The Jordanian chemistry professor Talal Akasheh main- outside the stream. often, work and, box individuals outside the sincethese think categories, often cross winners But award environment,cultural and heritage. covery,the and dis- and innovation, exploration medicine, technology Awards. Rolex 2006 the for 35 with compared 138, Africa: North and East Middle the from nearlyquadrupled number the applications of in 2008 hsya’ arae ersn ag fvisionary of range represent a Laureates This year’s and science areas: into five fall projects Prize-winning " 2 ) that )

ROLEX AWARDS / JESS HOFFMAN proof that the concept worked.’’ McGonigle: ‘‘Clear tioned perfectly,says It func- of Vulcano, near Sicily. the vent at 2007 March in tested was I, AEROVOLC a three-kilo (6.6 pound) payload. a remote-controlledcopter that could carry develop to him with work to Britain, Great of David champion helicopter remote-control Fisher, tapped He volcanic gases. the do for same to idea this the McGonigle radio-controlled and Dr. gave glaciers, studying a for helicopter testing began sity it. through briefly and below sensors ot ih rvd etrwyt read way to SO better a might provide mouth plume of gas emanating from the volcano’s recyclable. Paraguay, In ZaldívarElsa and ecological both is that material building new a developing is 2 He adds: ‘‘It may be possiblebeadds: ‘‘It may topredict He helicopter, resulting prototype The In 2005, a colleague at SheffieldUniver- Isola Vulcano, off northeastern Sicily, Isola Vulcano, northeastern off ofsites Rolex Awardsofis the one Enterprise for fieldwork. and CO and 2 eesi ecudposition could he levels if Repubblica NewYork ingenuity to the good of all. the de- innovation and through company’s termination to support excellence the reflect Enterprise for Awards Rolex the conservation, and exploration fos- science, in advances tering By watch. first waterproof world’s chronometer, the man, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Oyster former chair- Heiniger, the company’s late André J. by the that can benefit humankind. show need to just how they will turn an original idea into functioninga project they — background nationality or age, tobe launched. Applicants are under no restrictions in termsof or about already under way continue projects to means the given as work of a body for not so rewarded much Winners are ongoing nature. the project’s ation is of enterprise. spirit important An consider- candidates’ the above all, impact and, for sustained feasibility, potential lished this lished this month by Thames Hudson. & describing the 10 winners and their projects, is being pub- Winning projectsWinningare decidedoriginality, basis the of on ‘nprn niiul,’a illustrated,144-pagebook ‘‘Inspiring Individuals,’’ an 1976 in created were Enterprise for Awards Rolex The oko niiul h r eiaigtervso and vision dedicating their are who of individuals work CO an eruptiondeveloping, is from the flowof whether ahead months to weeks from bepeitosta ol aemany thousandsof lives. could save predictions that able reli- data, producing ground deformation formationwith gathered seismic other and noes, Mount Stromboli and Mount Etna. volca- Italy’s famous more of on two trials field further out carry will McGonigle year, Next volcanoes. over flights helicopter $80,000, a fraction of price the of piloted about costs equipment The II. AEROVOLC a equip and helicopter14-kilo that willas known be purchase to Award Rolex that volcanoes centuries. the over active been have 550 around the live who 2 Eventually,he hopes to combine thein- is using his The 35-year-old scientist .’’canonly This be good newsthose for " "

ROLEX AWARDS / MARC LATZEL ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT ol o oka uhbat without beauty such look at saying: Maybe I help.’’can not could I done about it. felt something should be deterioration.I saw manysigns of I also itsarchitecture,’’ its geology, ‘‘But he says. site, of the the beauty astonished by was and inspired. ‘‘I at he was onceawed, concerned area, visited the a he first When than city. the more helping save quarter-century to devoted has Petra, originally is from whose family Akasheh, Talal times in the past 12 years. four sites endangered most 100 annual the among Fund World Monuments the by listed been has also Petra 1985, in sites addedUnescoofWorld list to the Heritage of in tens wonders,thousandsits viewto were which have flocked world. While visitors in the rock-carvedmonuments of treasure, which boasts the largest number T Recognizing five more remarkable achievers and achievements ASSOCIATE LAUREATES T pollution in Asia two-strokeCutting INNOVATION V Petra’sKnowledge ancient stones system helps conserve CULTURAL HERITAGE to be affordable for Filipino drivers.’’ Filipino for affordable to be without onlybasic a tool set. Of course, it also had installed be to machiningengine the crankcase, and with had It engine’s performance. impairing the emissions without substantially reduce had to ‘‘It developed. they kit the of Bauer says make it widely available Asia.in product and commercially viable velop a engines, in 2004and the pair to decided de- two-stroke from emissions reducing for technology of this the potential recognized Bauer Park. National of Yellowstone mobiles snow- the in injection fuel direct on focusing led a project a colleague, Nathan Lorenz, he and years later, Lab. Three servation Con- Energy and Engines the called spinoff university a joined Bauer 1997, in versity 50 as cars. pollution much as generate 100 the of each million motorized tricycles in Asia can a result, As pollution. air hydro- major sources of carbons and fine dust — sulfur, carbon, nitrogen, of oxides substantial emissions of exit unburned. Thisresults in oil to fuel and percent of public healthdisastrous.’’ is on impact their ‘‘But engineer. mechanical American 31-year-old a Bauer, Tim says economicsocial the andin fabric,’’ tial role an essen- ‘‘They play simple two-stroke engines. their to operate, thanks to pensive easy to lightweightbuild, to move and inex- transportation,acteristic ofalso mode but and char- a colorful not only world. They’re the developing landscape throughout ooyi h hlpie n h world, and the Philippines in the nology money on promoting and sharing the tech- sold for $25. He will spend his Rolex Award rice husksinto a gaslike flame andthat canbe converts burning stove that metal unaware of this. He came up with simple a happily was engineering, agricultural of sor suggested that this was unfeasible. results had cookers, thediscouraging for fuel as before tried been had husks source energy of cooking. for Althoughrice a into people — billion two feeds which husks rice staple, food main Asia’s of a by-product — turning Philippines is the of nio earth. life on to improve fieldwork their in India,they share adetermination to use from Ice caverns Age isolated to cultures Associate been named ranges research their Though Laureates. who have als Enterprise can found be the in five individu- h odna hmsr professor Jordanian chemistry The r eoi,4,a soit profes- an associate Belonio, 48, Dr. Belo- Alexis professor and inventor The off-the-shelf used his team and He constraints,’’ key several were ‘‘There Uni- State Colorado student at a While The two-stroke engine allows to 40 up arae fteRlxAad for Rolex Awards of the Laureates this year’s five prize-winning that characterizes he same vision urban the of part are — tricycles motorized or shaws, trishaws rick- auto as known also — uk-tuks this 2,500-year-old archaeological of the beauty by struck Jordan are isitors the to ancientof Petra city in | Tim Bauer, mechanical engineer | Talal Akasheh, chemist and conservationist | The vision widens vision The

ROLEX AWARDS / STEFAN WALTER hi odto n h urudn en- croachment of modern development. surrounding the condition and their features, 3,000 and tombs of facades characteristics, 500 its site, physical its detailsof the includes mapsand minute the and manage plan and to Antiquities of Tourism by Jordan’s Ministry used being and operational was Jordan, in formation system (GIS), the first of its kind efforts. conservation for as abaseline serve would that system information an op withprecision. So,slowly, he helped to devel- unlesstheexisting sitebe could described preservation couldn’t managedbe Petra’s it.’’ manage can’t you it, measure can’t you stoodthewisdomof under- he scientist, a But as those things.’’ learn to had I ‘‘and admits, he time,’’ the scopeat of my thebusinessadage‘‘If were out logical processes chemical and bio- ‘‘Thegeological, physical, ence with the weathering of monuments. Bauer’s retrofit kit affordable for Filipino users. Bauer’s retrofit kit affordable for Filipino Off-the-shelf components make help Tim ceps new caves and including species, threatened new add Professor allow to Medellín will Award Rolex The benefits. bat about communities educates species and save endangered grams to country’s 30,000 caves, develops pro- the among sites priority identifies team His International. Conservation Bat and versity uni- his with partnership in 1994 in Mexico of Bats of Conservation the for Program founded the species, ProfessorMedellín 138 different bat of some of Mexico’s night and pollinating the rain forests. - ‘‘misunder each pests crop and mosquitoes in weight says, he are, stood animals,’’ consuming almost their They bats. on Mexico and the country’s leading authority Autonomous University of at the National ecology of professor 50, Medellín, Rodrigo the energy generated by burning rice husks. for uses new industrial while finding ed e rcesad fcus,hard course, work.’’ of and, brackets few a we head, day, the cylinder with a of the end lives their improvecan At ethic. work and their to ingenuity tricycles are a testament these ‘‘and says, he pyramid,’’ economic kit the distribute more widely in Asia. help Bauer will Award the kit. The Rolex fitted their taxis with have 260 drivers over date, To program. train- microcredit a launched and workshops ing held manual, a published have They Princesa. and Puerto Philippines, Vigan in the seaside two resorts working with ganization,Envirofit,in 2003, and began or- a nonprofit colleagues founded his of three and Bauer kit, the commercialize To percent. by 76 dioxideemissions carbon and percent 70 by emissions particulate into direct fuel-injection mechanisms, reducing tuk-tukengines forms two-stroke components developto a kit that trans- nte2 er htD.Akasheh has that 26 Dr. years In the By 2002, Petra’s geo-archaeological in- experi- little had now 61, Akasheh, Dr. ae fadfeetsr r h focus the are sort different a of Caves Alarmedbythe decline inthe population is work about his passionate Equally ‘‘These drivers are at the base of the of base the at are drivers ‘‘These , one of the world’s smallest, the of one world’s bats. " Myotis plani- Myotis ie It site. E most urgent need of conservation. of need urgent most istryof the monuments, to identify those in chem- weathering the to study deployed be fluoro- will techniques advanced other and scopy X-ray treasures. archaeological other and tombs hidden for terrain ing the surround- search and the site threaten that floods flash Re- the study will searchers rest outside. the and withinPetra half in the database, features additional 1,000 to up incorporate to years three next the used in Rolex Award willbe Akasheh’s Dr. nershave all contributed their expertise. plan- and architects engineers, chemists, hydrologists, Ar- Sayhoun. chaeologists, geologists, Um of settlement Bedouin the and Wadi Musa town of tourist nearby andfeatures, and mapped Petra itself, the monuments 10-gigabyte GIS’s the collated 2,000 has memory year, this of As database a using new digital technologies. vanceddramatically, leading tocreate him ad- has technology project, the to devoted xsigtdyi i oesaeo Ar- state of home his todayin existing cultures tribal ancient 26 the of folkways and traditional practices of the recordings into the Americas. evolu- movement human and life prehistoric tion, about human beunderstood can ancient evidencethatisfound, more The research. of year other Rolex teamAward field least to for a an- at hesays,themoreAsians. East of that resembling morphology with of fossils anyother human remainsthe in Americas, than Age older be that may found Ice humanskeletons They insula. Pen- Yucatán the of sinkholes the explore team to together multidisciplinary a Nacionalde Antropología Historia, e he put Instituto the with 1999, while In working inspiredcombine tohim the interests. two underwater exploration mentaryabout docu- a diver; a scuba became he student, Mexico. While a González,44, also of Arturo archaeologist underwater the of shelter, and the like.’’ the and shelter, choppingdown trees for firewood and to poaching, lead can ‘‘This Muir. old 42-year- them,’’ explainsavailableto the readily resources the use to than tion butdevastating to the environment. percussions were not only socially grave, re- that the he He understood ago, wasshocked. years four report Nations a United in statistics similar read Muir Andrew ist 2.2million mated orphans. country’sesti- the about half deaths for account HIV/AIDS infected. be to believed country the in world, with 5.5 million people infections of any number of HIV/AIDS largest the has Africa South region. the in contact contact the with powers ofhealing nature. philosophy, his own keeping with and,in models, job opportunities role education,health care, support, adult residential programwas needed. It would encompass realized multifaceted Muir a — thebyvirus infected necessarily not are who but AIDS by affected been have lives whose viduals indi - povertyfacing orphans Africa’s — and public parks. reserves game private with jobs tourism majority prepares them for eco- (the dueto AIDS) and parents lost their have who people young mentoring to and ternships in- vocationaltraining, a certified provides year of full It individual experts. and cies agen- institutions, government academic parks, and reserves game organizations, in- partners, and community 30 cludingnongovernmental than more with working Elizabeth, Port in in2006 Xhosa) home’’ in aueshaigpwrcagsopas lives in Africa Nature’s healing power changes orphans’ ECOTOURISM Still, the GIS covers only part of the site. the of part only covers GIS the Still, The filmmaker The Moji Riba, 36, creating is his use to plans González Professor To break the break To ‘‘Orphans generally have no other op- African conservation- When South the oh one Umzi Wethu (‘‘our Sohe founded hmvciso h AIDS pandemic the of victims them of many Africa, sub-Saharan in live world’s orphans of the ighty percent | Andrew Muir, conservationist Andrew Muir, yl fdpnec and of dependence cycle

ROLEX AWARDS / TOMAS BERTELSEN ROLEX AWARDS / MARC LATZEL sites anywhere in the world. the in anywhere sites Petra conservation for a model creating and process in the slowing are they that in worthwhile are his efforts maintains, he nature will reclaim the sandstone city. But, ect and purchase video equipment. proj- the launch help to used be will Award 4,000hours local of culture. His Rolex vil- per more than of film recorded, atotal of lage will be hours 300 to up year, next from people each community to do the filming. Starting training young and lecting thein life 15 different of ethnicgroups, se- film on year a Project,will which document tribalpeople. for aplatform taries and an archive, a library, astudio for documen- unachal’s capital. The center functions as Ar- in Documentation & Centerfor Research Cultural established the 1997, he of being overwhelmed by the outside world. In danger in now are knowledge, digenous these diverse ethnic societies, storehousesof in- influences, outside from isolated unachal Pradesh northeastin India. Long sition into employment, with some already graduateshave made the successful tran- 40 the of percent ‘‘Eighty-five — heal and thesustain human psyche.’’ ‘‘can says, he wilderness,’’ ‘‘The change. springboard for social and environmental inspired him touse nature as a also him and transformed says, he experience, The athletes. was country’sof thejoined 13 top by he which in tuberculosis, about awareness raise to coast had meter) walk along South Africa’s he life in organized a 485-mile (780 kilo- Earlier years. over the conservation projects and of social dozens responsible for been Elizabeth, he had ness Foundation in Port Wilder- the of director executive as Muir: OJA)LHEEC,FH89 BJA1JH=E970H7 H>9"1 = F9:A O4:7AN" >O IF:9I:HA@ M=I 1J 6HE>K9A" .)151" 0AH=7@ +))7,1) >O 19JAH9=JE:9=7 6ANJ JDA :B ,AF=HJ8A9J )@LAHJEIE9C JDA >O Talal Akasheh’s digital database will serve as a key tool in efforts to conserve Jordan’s city. ancient Talal conserve to a key as intool efforts Akasheh’s digital database will serve NAJ2= ?ELH$6A J 2A MHIBH-1JAHFHEIA B2H )M=H@I 420AN !JD 6DA =?DEALAHI$ -N?AFJE21=0 by orphaned been AIDS. programtraining vocational provides intervention multifaceted Muir’s Andrew havewho those for Ultimately, Dr. Akasheh concedes, Akasheh Dr. Ultimately, Next, Riba created the Mountain Eye olwn miWtusscess far so success Wethu’s Umzi Following The organizational challenge didn’t faze Repubblica NewYork can heal and heal can sustain the wilder ness psyche’ human ‘The gone.’’ keeps site its memory safe, aftereven it is long the of documentation good the of project. ‘‘And as possible,’’he says aslong it last to respect it, to want and to iydtbs n eie mobile deliver database and educational programs. sity a biodiver- create research, and expertise will exchange network, which develop this for millions of Indians. supplies of water forests, origin therain in strongholds stations linking the of seven 2005, first center in conservation search the people,’’ he says. He establishedre- a by faced problems past the of any dwarf resources. water and ment with eco-develop- to him led fascination snakes eventually his and filmmaker, tary as a herpetologist, author and documen- forests.hasHe distinguished had a career of India’s rain about conservation — cares equally though American-born, que andque Namibia. game Africa, Mozambi- of South other reserve areas developments in tourism eco- to concept extend the to workshops of series a launch will they 2009, in Starting early project model. fining the over the nextdecade. people young 10,000 reach to program the to widen hopes he — Muir says ment,’’ to junior manage- having been promoted ‘‘It natural is for at look to man hispast i oe wr ilb sdt further used to be will Rolex Award His ‘‘thatwill shortage water a faces India India, from also 65, Whitaker, Romulus He and his associates are currently re- associates currentlyare his and He " fantastic opportunity for this.’’ a is Award Rolex through the receive it will and attention age the cover- — Wethu is all about Umzi what to know need people to happen, other program. For this get if we this embrace to organizations words, other ‘‘in says, he rollout,’’ achieve ‘‘We are only on track if we if track on only are ‘‘We = H@?@E J A9JEHAJO EJI E9 FH:@K?A@ M=I " " VI MONDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2008

WORLD TRENDS Once Engines of Growth, China’s Factories Stall

By EDWARD WONG across China in the first half of the year, CHANG’AN, China — Wang Deng- according to government statistics. La- gui, father of three, arrived more than bor disputes and protests over lost back a year ago in the palm-lined streets of wages have surged, igniting fear in lo- this southern town with a single goal: cal officials. toil in a factory to save for his children’s Local officials are also trying to tamp school tuition. down unrest by doling out back wages. But the plans of Mr. Wang and thou- Here in Chang’an, after the worker sands of co-workers unraveled at noon protest, the government distributed on November 1, when the Taiwanese more than $1 million to pay back wages chairman of their ailing shoe factory to most of the workers at the shoe fac- climbed over a factory wall to flee the tory. country and his debts. That left several The slowdown in exports has accel- American shoe companies with unfilled erated a major shift in the nature of orders and 2,000 workers without jobs. Chinese manufacturing: small facto- “He just ran without telling anyone,” ries that were already being pinched Mr. Wang said. by rising costs of labor, transporta- For decades, the steamy Pearl River tion and raw materials, as well as by Delta area of southern Guangdong the appreciating yuan, are closing en Province served as a primary en- masse. That is especially the case in gine for China’s astounding economic these towns scattered around the city growth. But an export slowdown that of Dongguan, known for churning began earlier this year and that has out low-end products. Soon the labor- been magnified by the global financial intensive factories that rely solely on crisis of recent months is contributing migrant work could disappear from to the shutdown of tens of thousands of southern China, and foreign companies small and mid-size factories here and could contract with similar factories in in other coastal regions, forcing labor- Vietnam and other countries where ers to scramble for other jobs or return costs are lower. PHOTOGRAPHS BY SHIHO FUKADA FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES home to the countryside. “There’s very serious damage being Men looked for work in Chang’an, China, a town in the coastal region that had fueled China’s export growth. Furthermore, the slowdown inhibits done down there, I don’t deny it, and I China’s ability to work with other na- think it’ll get worse because we haven’t tions in alleviating the worldwide cri- seen the full impact of the economic who spend virtually the entire year top leadership of the Communist Party, ing the country’s annual growth rate sis. downturn in Europe,” said Arthur away from home. Many are heading whose legitimacy is based on maintain- above 8 percent, which they see as vital The Pearl River Delta, known as the Kroeber, managing director of Drago- home early for the Chinese New Year, ing economic growth. Prime Minister to generating enough new jobs. Some world’s factory, powered an export nomics, an economic research and ad- in late January, and say they might not Wen Jiabao is pushing for policies that analysts say economic expansion industry that pushed China’s annual visory firm based in Beijing. “I think return to work in the coastal regions. will increase domestic consumer con- could drop to as little as 5.8 percent in growth rate into the double digits and next year we might see export growth Once in the interior, the workers will sumption to wean China off its reliance the fourth quarter this year, down from provided work for migrants from inte- in the country as a whole go down to 0 have less incentive than in the past to on exports. Recently, the government about 11 percent in 2007. rior provinces with poor farmland. But percent.” return to the coastal provinces. Rising unveiled a stimulus package worth “I think China foresees that it’ll need circumstances have changed quickly. The export sector is still growing but grain prices have made farming more $586 billion over the next two years to to spend a lot of money to get itself out The slowdown in exports contributed has slowed considerably; year-on-year profitable. The Chinese government re- help create jobs. of the current domestic situation,” said to the closing of at least 67,000 factories growth was at 9 percent in October cently announced a rural land reform Foreign governments expecting Victor Shih, an assistant professor of compared with 26 percent in September policy that could spur some farmers to China to take the lead in addressing political science at Northwestern Uni- Keith Bradsher contributed reporting 2007, Mr. Kroeber said. stay on their land and make better use the global crisis will be disappointed, versity who studies the political econ- from Guangzhou, and Jimmy Wang The mass layoffs have led to a proof it. say analysts and scholars. Chinese of- omy of China. “On the global financial from Chang’an. Huang Yuanxi found change in the movements this The social problems arising from the ficials say they are focused on trying crisis, China will not take a leading contributed research. year of migrant workers like Mr. Wang slowdown have stirred anxiety in the to ease domestic problems and keep- role.”

In Russia, Start-Up Dreams Interrupted by Cold Reality

By ELLEN BARRY and Google, where he had done intern- MOSCOW — Last month, as Russia’s ships. His peers worked long hours and stock market fell and the credit crunch were buzzing with start-up ideas. took hold around the world, Russian “There’s this idea of ‘You can make companies spooked by memories of something happen,’” Mr. Bagrak said. previous bank collapses scrambled to In the midst of young people in blue protect what cash they had. Venture jeans, Efim Grinkrug was areminder of capital dried up virtually overnight, the past. At 57, he was a chain smoker in including at a young company called a loose black suit, from a generation that Until recently, MeshNetics. saw science as a religion. When the So- markets were The tale of MeshNetics, which pro- viet Union collapsed, scientists his age driven by fear duces innovative wireless networking left Russia, or left science. He considers systems, offers a glimpse of how the it a success that, as he put it, “I didn’t end and greed. financial crisis has swept through Rus- up selling cars.” Lately, they have sia’s budding entrepreneurial culture When Mr. Suvorov announced that been driven by and crashed like cold water onto young layoffs were coming, alarm bells went fear and fear. workers who had come to see the boom off in Mr. Grinkrug’s brain. His last ma- STAN HONDA/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE times as normal. jor project, a three-dimensional Web “It’s going to be tough letting go of browser he had developed for another As Hormones Go, So Go Markets this period of growth,” Ilya Bagrak, the company, was abruptly frozen during company’s software product manager, said last month. He was still in shock From Page 1 of cortisol; they fall into a negative know, because people don’t think from the experience of firing one of his feedback loop that turns them into about hormones in this context, but employees hours after they had shared risks that eventually went bust. emotional fear-mongers, rather than this is an aspect we have to consider. their morning coffee. Moscow’s high-tech Now, the lingering presence of cor- analytical thinkers. So they’re now All bets are off.” Eight years of stability and economic tisol makes them irrationally fearful, prolonging and deepening the mar- Dr. McEwen said it was too early growth under Vladimir V. Putin had pro- sector feels the pain negative and risk averse. ket plunge, and dragging down the to make recommendations to policy duced a wave of start-ups and spinoffs of the financial crisis. John M. Coates, a former trader economy. makers. in Moscow’s high-tech sector. Here the who is now a senior research fellow in With markets swinging scarily Not so Dr. Coates: The question employees of MeshNetics had found the neuroscience and finance at the Uni- from one day to the next, traders have reminded him of a headline in The kind of opportunity that Russian scien- versity of Cambridge, and a colleague, become bundles of dueling hormones. Financial Times: “Icelandic Women tists once could pursue only overseas. Joseph Herbert, laid it all out in the Though Dr. Coates hasn’t studied to Clean Up Male Mess.” The article The workers were young and com- the Russian banking crisis of 2004, and study, published in the Proceedings it — yet — he said “it’s possible” that reported that Iceland had turned to pulsive. Their main product, the ZigBit, it was still frozen. The first round of cuts of the National Academy of Sciences. testosterone-fueled competitiveness two women to lead banks national- was a chip capable of setting up wireless at MeshNetics was less than 10 percent. Measuring steroid levels of traders in may even have driven investment ized during the country’s brush with networks almost automatically. Vasily Nine days later, about a dozen more the City of London, they demonstrated bankers to be ever more creative in bankruptcy. Suvorov, the chief executive, seemed to people were fired. On October 29, Mr. that successful traders were heavily inventing the risky, complex securi- Women, Dr. Coates explained, have picked the perfect moment. This Suvorov looked stricken. He said the influenced during market booms by ties designed to deliver more lever- have only about 10 percent of the spring, President Dmitri A. Medvedev company was in a “shutdown phase.” a positive feedback loop fueled by in- age and better returns. They got so testosterone men have; their judg- came to power vowing to wean Russia’s Within days, there seemed to be rea- creased levels of testosterone. creative that few people understood ment is not confused by it. He said he economy off fossil fuels and invest in in- son for optimism: Mr. Suvorov said he It’s akin, Dr. Coates says, to the their risks. also suspected that women were less novation. was close to reaching an agreement “winner’s effect” among male ath- But Jonathan D. Cohen, director of likely to produce excess cortisol. So In March, Mr. Suvorov, 36, met with with a Western company that would letes, in which successive victories the neuroscience program at Princ- he advised getting “more women and his shareholders and planned “full- save the core of the business. That was push testosterone levels higher and eton University in New Jersey, hesi- older men on trading floors.” throttle movement.” The ZigBit has little comfort to Mr. Grinkrug, who was higher, giving the winner an advan- tated to agree. “This is intriguing, but There’s a lesson in this, too, for cen- an 18-month sales cycle, so it requires told that his division would be eliminat- tage — until he begins to misjudge correlation is not causation,” he said. tral bankers. heavy upfront investment, and the ed. The thought of finding a new job at risk and take stupid chances. “Testos- “That’s the first thing we learn in sci- “This explains why bubbles and company was not yet profitable. But his age scared him. terone doesn’t create bubbles, but it ence.” crashes are beyond the control of sales were growing by 50 to 80 percent MeshNetics was retaining four of his exaggerates them,” Dr. Coates said. Still, Dr. Bruce McEwen, head of central banks,” Dr. Coates said, and per quarter. programmers, so that his project might “It’s possible that bubbles are a male the neuroendocrinology lab of Rock- they should recognize that male trad- When Mr. Bagrak moved back to Rus- go forward if the new leadership chose. phenomenon.” efeller University in New York, said ers simply don’t respond rationally to sia from Berkeley, California, he worried “All the rest, probably, will die in my Likewise, when markets tumble, “it’s kind of exciting.” “Who knows,” their pricing signals. about the fabled lassitude of Russian of- head,” Mr. Grinkrug predicted sadly traders are stressed out by the uncer- he asked, “what other hormones are And maybe they should add more fice life. But what he found at MeshNet- in an e-mail message. “This head is not tainty and volatility and produce a lot doing as well? There’s a lot we don’t women to the mix, too. ics reminded him of Sun Microsystems needed anymore.”

Repubblica NewYork MONDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2008 VII

THE WAY WE EAT

Food charities To Feed the Less Fortunate, receive surplus fruit from private homes. Gleaners Harvest Surplus Fruit Natasha Boissier harvested apples in California. By PATRICIA LEIGH BROWN and increased demand at food banks, has inspired BERKELEY, California — Natasha Boissier did many to search for solutions in their backyards. not expect an epiphany while pushing her baby’s “Farmers’ markets are great for those who can stroller around the neighborhood. But as she eyed afford to spend $2 on a peach,” said Aviva Fur- her neighbors’ yards, she began noticing the abun- man, 54, whose year-old Community Harvest of dance of fruit trees — and how much of their suc- Southwest Seattle also offers canning and prun- culent bounty wound up on the ground. ing classes. “But a huge percentage of Americans “There was all this fruit going to waste,” she can’t afford the two cups of fruit a day recommend- said of the apples, pears and plums in her midst. ed by the government.” “It seemed like such a natural way to deal with The concept of gleaning, or collecting a portion hunger.” of crops on farmers’ fields for the needy, goes back Thus was born North Berkeley Harvest, part of to ancient cultures. Now it has been taken up by a small but expanding movement of backyard ur- people like Joni Diserens, a 43-year-old program ban gleaners — they might be called fruit philan- manager for Hewlett-Packard and founder of Vil- thropists — who voluntarily harvest surplus fruit lage Harvest in Silicon Valley. She uses databases JIM WILSON/THE NEW YORK TIMES and then donate it to food banks, centers for the and remote telephone answering systems to track fruit. “You feel like you’re actually doing some- said. “Backyard gleaners make a difference.” elderly and other nonprofit organizations. around 700 volunteers, 40 receiving organizations, thing,” said Diana Foss, a 44-year-old volunteer, Backyard harvests gleaned for the common In an era when fruit canning, drying and pre- 1,000 homeowners with fruit trees and, on a recent while sorting plums and prunes in Ms. Leone’s good echo the Victory Gardens of World War II, serving are no longer common skills, harvesters Tuesday, 350 sticky kilograms of French prunes. yard. “You pick a piece of fruit and know that when mandatory food rationing in the United like Ms. Boissier, a 40-year-old social worker, are They rescue people like Diane Leone, an art- someone’s going to eat it.” States resulted in citizen gardens, said Amy Bent- transforming the old concept of pick-your-own- ist whose property south of San Jose, California, The group’s car pools fan out to places like the ley, an associate professor of food studies at New fruit farms. A renewed emphasis on locally grown contains some 40 unpicked fruit trees, from bees, Community Services Agency in Mountain View, York University and the author of “Eating for Vic- organic food, along with higher grocery prices squirrels and other creatures that gorge on fallen which operates a food pantry. “Their speed is tory.” During the war, she said, the private yard astonishing,” said Laura Schuster, the agency’s became “a place of civic obligation.” nutrition director. “They’ll A survey this year by the call and say, ‘Hey, we’re hit- National Gardening Asso- ting an orchard in San Jose.’ ciation predicted a 10 percent Then they walk in with 1,000 Volunteers gather increase in the number of pounds of plums.” Americans growing vegeta- In the last decade, groups unpicked fruit and bles at home. “Sticker shock like Feeding America, a non- is prompting many folks to profit agency that distributes donate it to the needy. grow, if not a produce depart- food to more than 200 food ment in their backyards, then banks, have introduced more at least a salad bar,” said fresh produce to respond to Bruce Butterfield, the group’s high rates of obesity and a lack of access to nutri- research director. tional food in poor neighborhoods. In Berkeley, Ms. Boissier drives through hillside About 8 million kilograms of fresh produce was neighborhoods in a Toyota hybrid loaded with ap- distributed nationally 10 years ago, said Rick Bel- ples and ladders. In the kitchen of the Bay Area la, the agency’s director of food purchasing. This Rescue Mission in Richmond, California, a shelter year that has grown to 68 million kilos, 30 percent that serves more than 800 people a day, the apples of it donated by corporations and individual farm- would soon be turned into pancake toppings, apple ers. butter, cider and cobblers. But affordability continues to be an issue, he Roy Hunderson, homeless for four years, pre- said, which is where the harvesters come in. “It’s a pares meals in the kitchen. “The fresher the fruit, shame to say, but a package of Twinkies per pound the better it is,” he said. “If I had a backyard with costs a lot less than a pound of fresh apples,” he fruit going, I’d bring it here, too.”

PHOTOGRAPHS BY JILL SANTOPIETRO South American Indians Find a Calling In the Production of Chocolate Bars

By JILL SANTOPIETRO The Quichua of Ecuador On an island in the Napo River are now making high- in Ecuador’s Amazonian rain end chocolate. Cacao forest, in a tin-roofed hut on stilts, live some of the world’s most un- beans drying in the Napo usual chocolate entrepreneurs. Valley, above. César and Magdalena Dahua Even your opinion about Saxony-Anhalt as a place to do business. grow cacao, along with pineap- ples, vanilla, avocados, cassava, Then in 1997 they met Judy coffee, oranges and plantains. Logback, a woman from Kan- As they hack off the fruit of the sas who was volunteering for a cacao trees, their three youngest foundation promoting biodiver- daughters run barefoot nearby. The girls stop to sity in Ecuador. “I didn’t show up with a plan,” suck the sticky white pulp that envelops the ca- Ms. Logback said. “I asked them what they want- cao beans in the pods. ed.” Mr. Pozo and others said they wanted to find For Quichua people like the Dahuas, part of the a way to survive and thrive. it largest Indian group in South America that num- Ms. Logback first helped them take their beans alt. bers about 2.5 million, cacao has always been a more than 400 kilometers to Guayaquil. treat — the pulp a tart candy and the purple bean, “We received threats that the intermediaries when ground to a paste and mixed with hot water would rob or hijack our trucks,” Mr. Pozo said. ww.investire-in-sassonia-anh and a little sugar, a rustic hot chocolate. “In the first years, Kallari was so united that the w But mostly, the beans were a commodity, sold intermediaries realized they could not break for more than 40 cents a kilogram to men who through this union.” They watched their profits would bring them to the port of Guayaquil. From from cacao more than double as they got about $1 there they would be shipped around the world to a kilogram in Guayaquil. be turned into chocolate. Four years later, they established Kallari. The But the Quichua grew tired of making such a cooperative now includes about 850 families. meager living from so highly valued a product. As their confidence grew, theye-mailed choco- With the help of volunteers they eliminated the late makers in North America, attracting the in- middlemen and created their own chocolate. terest of Robert Steinberg, a founder of Scharffen Now Kallari bars — named for the cooperative Berger chocolate in Berkeley, California. But Dr. they formed — are being sold throughout the Steinberg said that before he could use the beans United States. they needed to be properly fermented, a process In Saxony-Anhalt, investors receive the The cooperative uses an unusual blend of that brings out flavors and reduces astringency. offer of a business location in just 24 hours. cacaos that grow on the Quichua land — fruity Ms. Logback hired Dr. Jorge Ruiz, who had You are welcome to contact us: Cacao Amazónico, nutty Criollo, Forastero worked for a cacao cooperative on the coast, to Oliver Koehn Amazónico, Tipo Trinitario and, most impor- teach the Quichua fermentation. IMG Sassonia-Anhalt tant, a rare variety that flourishes around their In October 2004, Dr. Steinberg made a choco- c/o F.A.S.T. homes, Cacao Nacional. late bar with Kallari beans and helped them P.le. R. Morandi, 2 | 20121 Milano | Italy “They have a certain smell and taste that is present it at the Terra Madre conference of the E-Mail: [email protected] herbal, flowery but also savory, like black pep- Slow Food group in Turin, Italy. Inspired by their Phone: +39 02 777 90 430 per,” Tomas Keme, a Swiss chocolate expert who success, Ms. Logback and Mr. Pozo told Kallari Fax: +39 02 777 910 432 consults for Kallari, said of the Cacao Nacional elders that they should start making chocolate. beans. The 70-gram bars, in 75 and 85 percent In the spring of 2007, Stephen McDonnell, the www.investire-in-sassonia-anhalt.it cacao, sell for as much as $5.99 in American gro- founder and chief executive of the Applegate cery stores. Farms organic food company, established the To become chocolate makers the Quichua first Kallari Chocolate Company, which lists him as had to decide to be more than just farmers. But the owner for liability and insurance reasons. All PROJECT PART-FINANCED they didn’t have the knowledge or experience. of the profits, though, go back to the Kallari coop- BY THE EUROPEAN UNION. “We wanted change,” said Carlos Pozo, Kal- erative. “The Kallari people have pride in their lari’s marketing director, “but we didn’t have the farms,” Mr. McDonnell said, “and are transfer- capital or anyone who would trust us.” ring that pride into their bar.”

Repubblica NewYork VIII MONDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2008

ARTS & STYLES For New Role, Dreamgirl Reveals Her Coarse Side

By ALAN LIGHT for the Houston-born Ms. Knowles, In the new film “Cadillac Records,” who — as a solo artist (using only her which tells the story of the pioneering first name) and as a member of the trio Chicago blues label Chess Records, Destiny’s Child — has sold more than Beyoncé Knowles makes a memora- 75 million albums worldwide. It’s an ble entrance. Playing the singer Etta 18-song, double-disc set: one CD, “I James, Ms. Knowles is introduced to Am,” is a ballad-heavy set of relatively the label’s co-founder Leonard Chess spare, introspective songs; the second, (Adrien Brody) in a hotel room, where “Sasha Fierce,” takes its name from she sprawls across the bed and snaps, her onstage alter ego and shifts focus “Don’t be looking at me like I ain’t to up-tempo dance tracks. wearing no drawers.” She then curses The album may represent a more at everyone and everything in sight personal effort than her previous re- before hiding in the bathroom, where leases “Dangerously in Love” (2003) she unleashes the voice that resulted and “B’Day” (2006), but in a bold move in a long string of classic R&B hits for for current pop and R&B these days, Ms. James. there isn’t a single guest performer It’s startling to see Ms. Knowles anywhere on the album. — one of the few pop stars left with a “She was ready to take risks and re- wholesome, good-girl image — swag- define who she is,” said the songwriter gering and swearing through her per- and producer Amanda Ghost, who formance. But her mother, Tina, who worked on several tracks on the al- ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO; BELOW, ©2008 SUCCESSIÓ MIRÓ/ARTISTS RIGHTS SOCIETY (ARS), NEW YORK/ADAGP, PARIS checks all the scripts that are submit- bum, adding that Ms. Knowles hoped ted to her, marked this one as a keeper, to “reach out for a wider audience — noting that the hard-living, emotion- the people who buy John Mayer and Miró, a Serial Murderer of Artistic Conventions ally scarred Ms. James could be the Carrie Underwood records.” role of a lifetime. In an interview, Ms. Ms. Knowles didn’t speak with Ms. Amputate tradition, torture the past, in January to mid- “The Two Knowles said that when she terrorize the present. The impulse to February of 1927. The Philosophers,” 1936, read the script: “I said, ‘I destroy was part of what made early pictures look intact above, and “Painting have to do this movie,’ but Modern art the guerrilla movement it enough, with their I was terrified. Was I really was. handwritten phrases (Head),” 1930, ready?” So in 1927, when Joan and clouds filled with are examples of Ms. Knowles’s most sig- HOLLAND Miró said, “I want to as- dots, until you notice Joan Miró’s efforts nificant previous role was COTTER sassinate painting,” he that something is miss- to “assassinate in 2006’s “Dreamgirls,” for wasn’t saying anything ing: paint, or all but a painting.” which she earned a Golden new. What was new was minimal amount of it. Globe nomination. Even so, ART REVIEW the way he carried out Most of each picture is her study of Ms. James and his task. That process is raw, untouched canvas. tive paintings. Done in her work on the film not only the subject of “Joan Miró: Painting and A year later Miró tempera on Masonite, resulted in new dramatic Anti-Painting 1927-1937,” an absorbing, gets rid of something and in oil on copper range, it also altered the di- invigorating and — Miró would be mor- else: skill. The wood plates, like “The Two rection of her new album, “I tified — beautiful show at the Museum panel used as a support Philosophers,’’ their di- Am … Sasha Fierce,” which of Modern Art in New York. in a piece called “Span- minutive scale and as- is being released on No- ERIC LIEBOWITZ/TRISTAR PICTURES The exhibition illustrates, step ish Dancer I” is covered with a sheet sertive color gives them the toothsome vember 18 on Music World/ Beyoncé Knowles, known for her by step, exactly how Miró stalked of colored paper. A small rectangle of innocence of fairy-tale illustrations. But Columbia Records. wholesome image, plays the heroin- and attacked painting — zapped its sandpaper is tacked on top of it. Glued to they are not sweet or innocent: they are There was certainly no addicted blues singer Etta James in the conventions, messed up its history, the sandpaper is a tiny cutout image of a battle scenes from a psychic hell. guarantee that a woman film “Cadillac Records.” spoiled its market value — through 12 woman’s shoe. That’s about it: no paint, He makes just one more murderous who appeared on the cov- distinct groups of experimental works almost no image, almost no artist. lunge at tradition, in a series of painter of a Sports Illustrated produced over a decade. Crisp, clear Then in a third series the painter ings on Masonite panels from 1936. swimsuit issue could be convincing as James — who, at 70, is still touring — and chronological, the show reads like comes back with a vengeance to demol- The attack is physical and feels a bit the heroin-addicted daughter of a pros- until after the film was completed. a combination of espionage tale and ish art history. In a work called “Dutch desperate. At that point, with Spain titute, whose powerhouse sound con- “She’s just the same, she’s honest and psychological thriller set out in a dozen Interior,” Miró takes an image of a lover in chaos, he leaves for Paris. The final veyed a lifetime of heartbreak and de- no-nonsense,” Ms. Knowles said. “And chapters. serenading his lady, from a 17th-centu- picture in the show was done there. fiance in songs like “At Last” and “Tell I know that in some interviews she was In 1927, Miró, who was born in Barce- ry painting, and turns it into a hostile Titled “Still Life With Old Shoe,” it is in Mama,” incorporating a blues attitude like, ‘I don’t know if she can play me.’ lona, had turned 34. He was a success- clash of bloated, sluglike forms. a conventional oil-on-canvas medium, into a wide range of pop genres. But when I met her, she said, ‘You are a ful artist and an early devotee of Sur- As Miró doggedly continued his as- in semi-realist style, on a traditional “I was surprised at how much Be- bad girl,’ and I know that’s the ultimate realism. But he had a restless tempera- sault on art in the 1930s, the world was theme. The search-and-destroy is yoncé threw the glamour out the win- compliment from her.” ment and lived in provoking times. The assailing him. Fascism was on the rise over. Painting has survived and won. dow so easily and so joyfully, and em- When she returned to finishing the high-flying 1920s were winding down, across Europe. Events that would lead Miró as master painter, the new, oddly braced the unattractiveness of being album, Ms. Knowles said she was be- the political climate was growing to the Spanish Civil War were brew- adorable artist of popular fame, more strung out,” said Darnell Martin, the ing drawn to songs that had previously tense. Surrealism, he discovered, had ing. At this time, he was living in the or less starts here. writer and director of the film, which been off-limits for her. “The music I limitations. He was ready for a radical Catalan town of Montroig, a favorite He must have been exhausted. I was is to open December 5 in the United made before and after the movie were change in art, but he realized that he retreat, but his anxiety was building. when I reached the last gallery, but States. very different,” she said. “I was a lot would have to create it himself. He de- And as it grew, he returned to painting exhilarated too because I felt I’d been Though the role was written with more bold and fearless after I played cided it would take the form of a crime. as if seeking solid ground. through something: the experience of Ms. Knowles, 27, in mind, Ms. Martin Etta James, because of course some of Painting would have to go. He would In the fall of 1934 he finished a series one artist’s creative process and the said she was impressed by how far she the character stays with you. Some of deliver the blow. of 15 extraordinary pastels on paper, experience of an exhibition as a form of pushed herself, physically and emo- the music I would have been afraid to How to start? With dissection, which most of them of single scowling, ex- thinking. tionally, into the darkest parts of Ms. make, I wasn’t. I got more guts, more entailed taking painting apart, piece travagantly sexualized figures so lu- The show could also be a guide to James’s life. “She was really excited confidence as a human being. by piece, and throwing out essential ridly colored and amorphously shaped living a creative life. Destroy the artist about getting that raw,” Ms. Martin “I think that’s why I love doing mov- things. This is what we see happening that they look like walking cancers you think the world thinks you’re sup- said. “She really wanted to dig in and ies so much, because it’s not just an art in the seven stark abstract paintings and oozing sores. posed to be, and you’ll start to find the get real.” form. It changes my life and my music that open the show, all done in Paris They were succeeded by small narra- artist you are. The album marks an ambitious step and the way I look at things.”

Valery Gergiev has drawn The Theme Is Geopolitics criticism for accusing Georgia of aggression in South Ossetia. He led the Vienna From a Renowned Conductor Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall in New York earlier this year. By DANIEL J. WAKIN Three months later, inter- MIAMI BEACH — Back in August, viewed while on the Kirov Or- ranging it. the conductor Valery Gergiev took the chestra’s American tour, Mr. But he said he worried that the Geor- stage in Tskhinvali, the capital of the Gergiev remains unrepentant, gian side, with its media-savvy, articu- breakaway region of South Ossetia, and even proud, of his role. late president, was dominating how the denounced its “monstrous bombard- Mr. Gergiev, as a famous, war was interpreted. He went, he said, ment” by Georgia. world-class conductor, has to help publicize the Russian point of Speaking both in Russian and, point- become one of Russia’s most view. edly for the outside world, in English, he potent cultural symbols. Like JULIETA CERVANTES FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES Mr. Gergiev’s willingness to make said Georgia had carried out a “huge act few other musicians, he wields ex- edy in North Ossetia and of a Japanese tionalist sentiment. Russia’s case again raised questions of aggression” and praised Russia as a traordinary power in his country as earthquake and playing for peace in the “The message is clear,” Jens F. Laur- about his relationship with Vladimir V. savior. Then Mr. Gergiev — perhaps the head of Russia’s musical crown jewel, Middle East. son and George A. Pieler wrote on Putin, the Russian prime minister and world’s most famous Ossetian — led the the Maryinsky Theater and its ballet, But his performance in Tskhinvali on Forbes.com. “South Ossetians are in- former president. Some news reports Kirov Orchestra of St. Petersburg in opera and symphony orchestra in St. August 21 upset some commentators. nocent victims; the Russian army, their that emerged after the Tskhinvali con- what was billed as a memorial concert Petersburg, which tour under the name The scene at the concert, witnesses knight in shining armor; and Georgia’s cert said that he and Mr. Putin were for the dead in the five-day battle be- Kirov. said, was surreal. The area was awash president Mikheil Saakashvili has a godfathers to each other’s children. tween the two countries. He is also the principal conductor of in light amid the blacked-out city. For- metaphorical toothbrush mustache not “Total rubbish,” he said. “A complete The event gave off a strong whiff of the London Symphony and widely in eign reporters were hustled in for a unlike Adolf Hitler’s.” invention.” The two men are friendly Kremlin propaganda and prompted a demand as a guest conductor. quick glimpse. The smoke from burning In response to similar indictments, but not friends, he said, and know each flurry of denunciations of Mr. Gergiev His words and actions over South Os- Georgian villages, set upon by militia- the London Symphony issued a state- other from Mr. Putin’s days in the for supporting Russia, which had inter- setia show the extent to which he is will- men or possibly Russian troops, rose ment reaffirming its support of Mr. early 1990s as a St. Petersburg deputy vened with overwhelming force after ing to embroil himself in politics. Few nearby. Gergiev. mayor. Georgia’s attack. [Recent reporting other conductors, Daniel Barenboim The concert was broadcast across Mr. Gergiev said he had approached Mr. Gergiev defended the concert in the Times, based on accounts from among them, have become so involved Russia, and it evoked Russian suffering officials of North Ossetia, which is part and his choice of the Shostakovich sym- independent military observers, sug- in the public realm. in World War II through a performance of Russia, and said he wanted to visit phony. “Morally, I am 100 percent sure I gested that Georgian forces had at- Mr. Gergiev has given concerts con- of Shostakovich’s Seventh Symphony, the scene. He deflected questions on did the right thing,” he said. As for criti- tacked Tskhinvali with indiscriminate nected to the world’s events: raising completed during the epic German just how the concert had come about, or cism from Westerners? “So what?” he artillery and rocket fire.] funds for the victims of the Beslan trag- siege of Leningrad and steeped in na- what role the Kremlin had played in ar- added. “I’m Ossetian.”

Repubblica NewYork