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OPINION
Gear from Massachusetts
Billionaires are in notably bad odor with
many people on the left. Socialists have
and Yale lab’s material aid
long held that large stores of private campaign against Uighurs
wealth are tantamount to violence
against those in need. But regular non BY SUILEE WEE
radical folks not on the left are fed up,
too. Howard Schultz’s potential inde The authorities called it a free health
pendent White House bid is simply check. Tahir Imin had his doubts.
infuriating, and it’s maddening to feel They drew blood from the 38yearold
helplessly tangled in the gilded web of Muslim, scanned his face, recorded his
global intrigue emanating from the voice and took his fingerprints. They
president, his plutocrat dictator pals didn’t bother to check his heart or kid
and America’s retail overlord, Jeff Be neys, and they rebuffed his request to
zos. see the results.
Thanks at least in part to Bernie “They said, ‘You don’t have the right
Sanders and the sizzling rise of Alexan to ask about this,’” Mr. Imin said. “‘If
dria OcasioCortez, you want to ask more,’ they said, ‘you
As wealth this dry wick has met can go to the police.’”
a spark. Enthusiasm Mr. Imin was one of millions of people
in other for radical leveling is caught up in a vast Chinese campaign of
countries whistling out of the surveillance and oppression. To give it
proves, it’s hardleft fringe and teeth, the Chinese authorities are col
time to blossoming into a lecting DNA — and they got unlikely
abolish bad mainstream mood. corporate and academic help from the
U.S. policy Ms. Ocasio United States to do it.
instead. Cortez’s policy advis China wants to make the country’s Ui
er, Dan Riffle, con ANGELA PONCE FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES ghurs, a predominantly Muslim ethnic
tends that “every Peruvian inmates at work. One high-end fashion brand pays prisoners in Peru $180 to $329 a month, with the prison taking a 10 percent cut of the inmates’ wages. group, more subservient to the Commu
billionaire is a policy nist Party. It has detained up to a million
failure” (that’s the tagline on his Twitter people in what China calls “reeduca
handle) because “the acquisition of that tion” camps, drawing condemnation
much wealth has bad consequences”
and “a moral society needs guardrails
against it.” He’d like to see the 2020
Democratic primary contenders an
swer a question: Can it be morally
Made in prison, worn by you from human rights groups and a threat
of sanctions from the Trump administra
tion.
Collecting genetic material is a key
part of China’s campaign, according to
appropriate for anyone to be a billion brand founded in 2016 specifically to producing sportswear and strikes “On one hand, there are definitely human rights groups and Uighur activ
aire? Is it ethical to build provide incarcerated women with jobs, against imposed labor for paltry wages wellintentioned brands with rehabilita ists. They say a comprehensive DNA
It’s a compelling litmus test. I’d also
like to watch wouldbe Democratic
a profitable fashion brand training and, possibly, a crimefree fu
ture.
in American prisons. This month, ten
sions flared on social media when Carcel
tion programs in place doing some good
work all over the world,” he said. “On the
database could be used to chase down
any Uighurs who resist conforming to
nominees take it. However, I hope that using inmates’ labor? More than two years into their pro introduced a new line of silk garments other hand, there are big questions to be the campaign.
they would stick up for the idea that it gram, both Carcel’s founders and the Pe produced in women’s jails in Thailand. asked around whether inmates should Police forces in the United States and
can be morally kosher to bank a billion BY ELIZABETH PATON ruvian prison authorities say the project “Companies are literally advertising ever form the mainstream production of elsewhere use genetic material from
and that the existence of virtuous three AND ANDREA ZARATE has been a measurable success. It’s pop that they use slave labor now as a rea a profitdriven label, particularly given family members to find suspects and
comma fortunes is a sign not of failure ular with prisoners and consumers alike son you should buy their product,” one how many unacceptable cases of pris solve crimes. Chinese officials, who are
but of supreme policy success. In a lush valley surrounded by the Peru and proof that the profitable and respon person wrote on Twitter, prompting a oner exploitation exist deep in the global building a broad nationwide database of
The empirical record is quite clear vian Andes — past two sets of security sible production of luxury fashion can chorus of outrage from hundreds. fashion supply chain.” DNA samples, have cited the crime
about the general form of national poli gates, high fences, barbed wire and a have a place behind bars. “Your ‘sustainable business model’ Fashion has a longestablished his fighting benefits of China’s own genetic
tical economy that produces the happi rigorous patdown — 13 women stood Peru is becoming something of a case includes the need for women to be in tory in prisons, dating to the 1700s. Tra studies.
est, healthiest, wealthiest, freest and hard at work. They were weaving and study on the issue of aid versus exploita prisons,” another user wrote, followed ditionally, most manufacturing pro To bolster their DNA capabilities, sci
longest lives. There’s no pithy name for knitting luxurious alpaca wool sweat tion. More than 5,000 women are incar by a slew of confusedface emojis. The grams in countries like the United entists affiliated with China’s police
it, so we’ll have to settle for “liberal ers, deeppile rollnecks and silkysoft cerated there, and over 50 percent are more Carcel posted explanations on its States or Britain were run either by gov used equipment made by Thermo
democratic welfarestate capitalism.” track pants, destined to be sold to actively employed in producing leather practices, payment models and prices, ernment bodies or correctional boards Fisher, a Massachusetts company. For
There’s a “social democratic” version, wealthy shoppers with lives far away, goods, clothing and textiles, according the angrier the responses became. to massproduce lowvalue items like comparison with Uighur DNA, they also
which is what you get in countries like and a far cry, from their own. to INPE, the national penitentiary insti “Prison labor is a very complicated military uniforms at scale. Inmates re relied on genetic material from people
WILKINSON, PAGE 9 All were prisoners at the women’s tute. and opaque topic,” said Peter McAllis ceived well below the minimum wage, if around the world that was provided by
penitentiary center in the city of Cusco, Yet questions around the ethics of ter, the executive director of the Ethical anything at all. In the 1990s, with a Kenneth Kidd, a prominent Yale Univer
The New York Times publishes opinion serving long sentences, predominantly prison labor and regulation have also Trading Initiative, an alliance of compa record number of people behind bars in sity geneticist.
from a wide range of perspectives in for drugrelated crimes but also murder, made headlines of late. There have been nies, trade unions and nongovern many countries, there was a boom in On Wednesday, Thermo Fisher said it
hopes of promoting constructive debate human trafficking and robbery. They reports that Muslims incarcerated in mental organizations that back work private companies’ employing pris would no longer sell its equipment in
about consequential questions. were also employees of Carcel, a Danish brutal Chinese internment camps are ers’ rights. PRISONERS, PAGE 2 CHINA, PAGE 4
page two
At a prison in Cusco, Peru, above, inmates are trained by more experienced weavers until they have the skills to work five-hour shifts for Carcel, top right, a high-end label. Above right, Veronica D’Souza, left, and Louise van Hauen are the founders of Carcel.
World
Saudi Arabia bets on music to lure tourists
AL ULA, SAUDI ARABIA
The new Italiandesigned concert hall in
the middle of the desert shimmered in
the sunset, its mirrored walls reflecting
the golden sandstone hills and cliffs.
Inside, a symphony orchestra from
China rehearsed a Western classical
piece, preparing for a concert featuring THE NEW YORK TIMES
the Chinese pianist Lang Lang.
The concert was part of a series of package (including roundtrip flight
performances by Andrea Bocelli, Yanni from Jidda or Riyadh, the capital) to
and Majida El Roumi taking place this $6,000 for a “diamond” weekend pack
winter in Saudi Arabia. age — prohibitive costs for many
From the western desert, Saudi Ara Saudis.
bia appears to be a different country Popup restaurants with outdoor seat
than the one that has been under criti ing opened among the canyons on week
cism from politicians around the world ends. There is a version of Salt, a popu
since last October, when Crown Prince lar burger restaurant in Dubai, and No
Mohammed bin Salman, the country’s zomi, a Saudirun sushiandburger
33yearold de facto ruler, was first ac restaurant.
cused of ordering the murder of Jamal The festivalgoers would sometimes
Khashoggi, a Virginia resident and meet local residents in a weekend tour
Washington Post contributor. ist market, next to the mud homes of the
The C.I.A. has since concluded that ancient quarter.
the crown prince was responsible for The festival “has allowed the people
Mr. Khashoggi’s killing. The Saudi gov of Al Ula to proudly show their home to
ernment denies that the crown prince the world,” said Abdullah alKhelawi,
was involved. the royal commission’s head of eco
Prince Mohammed has also come un nomic development. He said the festival
der international criticism for impris provided seasonal work to 1,000 locals.
oning human rights activists, detaining “This can start a tourism industry,”
hundreds of prominent businessmen said a local driver, Saleh alBilawi, 25,
and former officials in a Riyadh hotel, who had recently studied criminal jus
and waging a war in Yemen that the PHOTOGRAPHS BY TASNEEM ALSULTAN FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES tice at an American university. “They
United Nations calls the world’s worst Clockwise from above: A helicopter carrying tourists at Mada’in Saleh, near where the Saudi government sponsored the Winter at Tantora music festival; many of the festival- employ a lot of drivers just for the winter
manmade humanitarian crisis. goers, like these women from Riyadh, were from Saudi Arabia; Andrea Bocelli singing at the event. More than 30,000 people attended the two-month-long festival. festival alone.”
But at the same time, Saudi officials Mr. alBilawi and his colleagues were
are trying to build up the country’s tour aware the work was only temporary. An
ism and culture industries by promoting other driver, Faisal, also a university
events like the music festival. In past graduate, said he was paid $36 per day
years, an event like this would not have and worked only on weekends, but that
taken place in a remote region of the he was grateful for the job.
ultraconservative kingdom. The royal commission and the French
government agreed in April to send 300
to 1,000 local residents to France for
A “revolutionary reintroduction training, mostly in the hospitality indus
of ‘fun’ to a society in which try.
public entertainments have been In September, the first 68 students, 32
of them women, arrived at Campus
basically eliminated for decades.” France, a French agency.
On Jan. 31, tourists began flying in for
The strategy is in line with Prince Mo the concert by Mr. Bocelli, who was to
hammed’s efforts to loosen restrictions perform the next night. Most appeared
on entertainment and popular culture. to be wealthy Saudis, although there
In developing a tourism industry, offi were some foreign residents of the coun
cials are focusing on the ancient caravan try, too.
town of Al Ula in Hejaz, a western region The few coming from outside had
that was a crossroads for traders from managed to get tourist visas with the
Mediterranean empires and from ports royal commission’s help; Saudi Arabia
along the Gulf of Aden. generally does not give out such visas. A
“We call this the place of the future,” nished gold at sunset. ferent civilizations. Some people had mi “The people were asked to move after tion of ‘fun’ to a society in which public good number of the visitors appeared to
said Maher Mazan, a manager at This was the southern reach of the grated here from Greece, he said, point this was designated Saudi Arabia’s first entertainments have been basically be guests of the commission, which was
Shaden Resort, a new hotel built among Nabateans, who carved Petra, the sand ing to a carved eagle above a doorway. World Heritage Site,” Mr. alAnzi said, eliminated for decades.” paying their way.
rock canyons outside town where rooms stone city in Jordan. The tombs date “Later, the Romans destroyed the referring to a label given by a United Na But because this plan involves ex An Italian couple sitting in a restau
typically go for $440 per night. “If you back two millenniums, and many Saudis Nabateans,” he said. “Civilizations tions agency. changes with the West, that creates a co rant at a farm said they had come at the
come back in one year, it’ll be different.” believe them to be cursed. come, civilizations go. This is life, since The austere wonders of Mada’in nundrum, Mr. Ibish said. urging of their friend, the Italian ambas
The area’s rich history and archaeo Nearby is a preserved station of the the beginning of life.” Saleh contrast with the luxury trappings “While you are unleashing socially sador to Saudi Arabia.
logical sites have long captivated King defunct Hejaz Railway, an Ottomanera Among the tourists was a Chinese of the music festival, Winter at Tantora, liberalizing and economically moderniz “We want to see the country before it
Salman, the crown prince’s father. In line built by German and Turkish engi British couple who gaped at the struc which ends this weekend. As of early ing forces that call on, and appeal to, the is affected by the Western world and
2017, the king established the Royal neers. By 1908, it ran 800 miles from Da tures and took photographs and video to February, at least 30,000 people had at West — and which must appeal to the looks the same as everywhere else,”
Commission for Al Ula, with the goal of mascus, Syria, to Medina, Saudi Arabia. post to a Chinese travel website. Walk tended the twomonthlong festival, offi West — you’re trying to contain that said Cinzia Chiari, who was dressed in
preserving the striking rock archaeolo One afternoon, a guide, Mohammed ing into a tomb, they asked about three cials said. with a political crackdown that is com black robes. “I hope the Saudis realize
gy and drawing more tourists. alAnzi, led a group of foreign visitors to burial niches. Mr. alAnzi said the Hussein Ibish, a scholar at the Arab pletely unacceptable and alienating to their treasure and beauty is in its dis
The centerpiece of the area is Mada’in the train station, then to the Nabatean custom then was to wrap the dead in ani Gulf States Institute in Washington, said most Western audiences,” he said. tinct heritage.”
Saleh, or Al Hijr, a collection of more tombs. mal skins and adorn them with jewelry. the entertainment piece of Prince Mo Prices for the festival were not cheap.
than 100 towering tombs carved into Mr. alAnzi said the region had been Driving out of the area, the tourists hammed’s vision “is very large, and con For the weekend of the Yanni concert, Tasneem Alsultan contributed reporting
hillsides that take on the glow of bur dominated in ancient times by four dif noticed abandoned mudwalled homes. stitutes the revolutionary reintroduc prices ranged from $1,400 for a daytrip from Al Ula.
world
mantle a handful of nuclear or missile fa
denuclearization.”
cilities.
Ending the war is a cherished goal of China is a signatory to the 1953 Kore
medical checkups, police and local cad ghurs and compared it with DNA from ate informed consent on the samples,” are assessing their sales and operations, President Trump could agree to declare an end to the seven decades of war on the
res called or sent them text messages, other ethnic groups. In the 2017 filing, he said, “though I must say what I’ve especially in Xinjiang,” said Sophie Korean Peninsula during his coming meeting with North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un.
telling them the checkups were re researchers explained that their system been hearing in the news recently about Richardson, the China director of Hu
quired, according to Uighurs inter would help in “inferring the geographi the treatment of the Uighurs raises con man Rights Watch.
viewed by The Times. cal origin from the DNA of suspects at cerns.” China’s tracking campaign unnerved CORRECTIONS
“There was a pretty strong coercive crime scenes.” people like Tahir Hamut. In May 2017,
element to it,” said Darren Byler, an an For outside comparisons, they used MACHINE LEARNING the police in the city of Urumqi in Xin • An article on Feb. 5 about efforts in Ja drinking with clients only occasionally.
thropologist at the University of Wash DNA samples provided by Dr. Kidd’s In 2015, Dr. Kidd and Dr. Budowle spoke jiang drew the 49yearold Uighur’s pan to encourage mothers to join the
ington who studies the plight of the Ui lab, the 2017 filing said. They also used at a genomics conference in the Chinese blood, took his fingerprints, recorded his work force misstated several aspects of • An article in the Feb. 1617 edition
ghurs. “They had no choice.” samples from the 1000 Genomes city of Xi’an. It was underwritten in part voice and took a scan of his face. He was one of the families profiled. Yoshiko about a fire in 2017 at a governmentrun
Project, a public catalog of genes from by Thermo Fisher, a company that has called back a month later for what he Nishimasa can work a shortened work group home in Guatemala that killed 41
CALLING DR. KIDD around the world. come under intense criticism for its was told was a free health check at a lo day until her youngest child enters third girls rendered the name of the home in
Kenneth Kidd first visited China in 1981 Paul Flicek, member of the steering equipment sales in China, and Illumina, cal clinic. grade, not second grade. Ms. Nishi correctly. It is Hogar Seguro Virgen de la
and remained curious about the country. committee of the 1000 Genomes Project, a San Diego company that makes gene Mr. Hamut, a filmmaker who is now masa’s former employer offered to con Asunción, not Virgin de Asuncion Hogar
So when he received an invitation in said that its data was unrestricted and sequencing instruments. Illumina did living in Virginia, said he saw between vert her working status to parttime af Seguro.
2010 for an expensespaid trip to visit that “there is no obvious problem” if it not respond to requests for comment. 20 to 40 Uighurs in line. He said it was ter she got married, as was customary
Beijing, he said yes. was being used as a way to determine China is ramping up spending on absurd to think that such frightened for married women, she said; it did not • An article on Monday about Wall
Dr. Kidd, a Yale professor emeritus, is where a DNA sample came from. health care and research. The Chinese people had consented to submit their automatically convert her status. Ms. Street banks’ plans to move to other
a major figure in the genetics field who The data flow also went the other way. market for genesequencing equipment DNA. Nishimasa had a miscarriage early in parts of Europe from London ahead of
has helped to make DNA evidence more Chinese government researchers and other technologies was worth $1 bil “No one in this situation, not under one pregnancy, not late in that preg the anticipated British withdrawal from
acceptable in American courts. contributed the data of 2,143 Uighurs to lion in 2017 and could more than double this much pressure and facing such per nancy. The story also referred impre the European Union misstated the given
His hosts had their own background the Allele Frequency Database, an on in five years, according to CCID Consult sonal danger, would agree to give their cisely to what her husband does at night name of a lawyer specializing in corpo
in law enforcement. They were scien line search platform run by Dr. Kidd that ing, a research firm. But the Chinese blood samples for research,” Mr. Hamut during the workweek. While he often rate lending. She is Susan Whitehead,
tists from the Ministry of Public Securi was partly funded by the United States market is loosely regulated, and it isn’t said. “It’s just inconceivable.” stays late at work, he says he goes out not Susanne.
..
THE NEW YORK TIMES INTERNATIONAL EDITION SATURDAY-SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 23-24, 2019 | 5
Business
Another shoe drops on college amateurism
such as John Thompson of Georgetown through 2027, are not publicly known. As
Sneaker that split leaves and Jerry Tarkanian of NevadaLas Ve a private university, Duke is not obligat
Duke star injured and puts gas, to receive money in exchange for
outfitting their players in the company’s
ed to reveal the terms.
But a look at Nike deals with similar
focus on school’s Nike deal shoes. Starting in the late 1980s, Nike universities that are public offer some
began to sign deals that covered all of a indication of how the contracts work.
BY MARC TRACY university’s teams. Nike’s deal with North Carolina, for
AND KEVIN DRAPER In 2006, the N.B.A. barred talented instance, will give the university more
teenagers from following in the foot than $90 million in cash and merchan
When the left sneaker of college basket steps of Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett and dise over 10 years. Nike also signed per
ball’s biggest star split open on national LeBron James by entering the league sonal contracts with a number of North
television Wednesday night 30 seconds straight out of high school. Players now Carolina coaches: Roy Williams, the
into the biggest game of the season, must be at least 19 and a year removed men’s basketball coach, will receive an
what spilled out was not only his foot but from high school to apply for the draft. average of $300,000 a year over the life
also questions about the future of a In September 2017, federal prosecu of the 10year agreement.
marquee player and about the huge in tors in New York’s Southern District re Contracts generally state that Nike is
fluence shoe companies hold over big vealed more of the chasm between col not liable for injuries suffered by ath
time college basketball. lege basketball players, who can receive letes wearing its products. The con
The episode occurred in a game be only scholarships and related costs of tracts also require every player to wear
tween the archrivals Duke and North being on campus, and the administra the company’s shoes unless a medical
Carolina. Zion Williamson, a Duke fresh tors and coaches who reap the benefits condition makes Nike footwear unsuit
man, pivoted with the ball above the foul of the revenue the athletes generate for
line, and the sheer force of his 285 their colleges, conferences and the
pound frame and acrobatic versatility N.C.A.A. itself. The men’s basketball Should a talent like Zion
appeared to cut the shoe almost in two, tournament yields about $1 billion a Williamson, who is good enough
as though severed by a sharp knife. year for the television rights. for the N.B.A., have to risk his
Former President Barack Obama, sit In three complaints filed in United
ting on the sidelines at the Duke arena, States District Court in New York, pros
future competing for free?
was seen on video pointing at ecutors accused roughly a dozen assist
Williamson and appearing to say, “His ant coaches, middlemen and employees able. A player might, as stipulated in Ni
shoe broke.” of Adidas of plotting to funnel money to ke’s deal with the University of Michi
As the scene was replayed on count players’ families in exchange for gan, be required to make himself avail
less highlight shows on Thursday, the pledges that the athletes, among other able for examination by Nike or a local
damaged shoe threatened to become a things, would play for certain universi podiatrist before using a shoe made by
nightmare for Nike, which pays tens of ROB KINNAN/USA TODAY SPORTS, VIA REUTERS ties and sign with Adidas, once they be another company.
millions to elite college sports programs Zion Williamson of Duke, college basketball’s breakout star this season, hurt his knee as his Nike sneaker came apart in a game. gan their pro careers. The scandal led to It is not known why Williamson wore
to be the exclusive sponsor for teams the firing of a Hall of Fame coach, Rick the particular Nike model that tore on
and supplier of their footwear. Pitino of the University of Louisville, Wednesday. It was a Nike “signature
With his shoe split and his knee do more harm than good in college this season and risk his N.B.A. statement called the shoe explosion “an and has netted three convictions, includ shoe,” a term for a style endorsed by a
sprained, Williamson, an unpaid, bud sports? prospects. isolated occurrence,” though in 2015, the ing of Adidas’s former director of global specific athlete — in this case, the N.B.A.
ding superstar, sat helpless on the arena For a quarter of a century, Nike has Nike stock closed down Thursday by Kenyan marathoner Eliud Kipchoge sports marketing. star Paul George, who plays for the Ok
floor, staring at the shoe he was wearing been paying Duke tens of millions of dol 1.05 percent, as the world wondered how won the Berlin Marathon even as the in The transactions outlined by the com lahoma City Thunder.
in part because of a rich deal between lars to sponsor its teams and to ensure a sneaker could split so badly in the mid soles of his Nike shoes slipped out of plaints are practically the modus ope What makes Williamson so compel
Nike and Duke, one of the world’s that its athletes wear only footwear dle of a game. (Duke went on to lose.) place. randi at many top basketball programs, ling is the same thing that might make a
wealthiest universities. bearing the company’s ubiquitous logo. The answer remains a puzzle even to Williamson, who has a mild knee documents and testimony in the legal shoe unable to contain him. He com
Here were all the issues of bigtime The players receive enough shoes to experts. James Gilbert, an orthopedic sprain, will probably be sidelined for one case suggested. Wiretaps revealed sus bines size and speed with strength and
college sports laid bare: Should ama carry them through the season, allowing surgeon who worked with Duke athlet to two weeks and then continue being pects describing at least one Adidas ri agility in the manner of James, who dur
teurism be curbed in college sports, al them to serve largely as free human bill ics in the 1990s, said he had seen shoes the favorite to become the No. 1 overall val engaging in similar practices. Docu ing a day off this month went to Char
lowing athletes a cut of the money they boards. fall apart similarly on soccer players, pick in the N.B.A. draft in June. By then, ments from the case reported by Yahoo lottesville, Va., to see Williamson and
help produce? Should a prodigious tal “All this does,” Gabe Feldman, who di but never on the hardwood. he will probably already be a million Sports last year indicated that former the Blue Devils take on Virginia. Though
ent like Williamson, who is good enough rects Tulane’s sports law program, said “I think it’s a product failure,” Gilbert aire, because of the endorsement deals top players at dozens of prominent pro Williamson weighs 285 pounds, at times
to play professionally right now, have to of Williamson’s injury, “is put a magnify said. “I’ve never seen that. I had no idea he can sign when he ends his college ca grams — including Duke — had been on he seems like the fastest player on the
risk his future competing for free be ing glass on an issue that has existed for that that happens.” reer. For now, he is an N.C.A.A. amateur. the payroll of an aspiring agent who has court.
cause of an N.B.A. rule prohibiting him a long time.” In a statement Wednesday night, Sneaker companies first became since been convicted of fraud. “When you’re dealing with some of
from leaping to the league from high Williamson has not commented. In Nike said: “We are obviously concerned deeply involved with college athletics in Duke did not reply to requests for these athletes who are getting quicker,
school? Do the sneaker companies, the aftermath of his injury, there are and want to wish Zion a speedy recov the late 1970s, when an enterprising comment Thursday. stronger, faster, you’ve got to consider
which were at the heart of a federal those who have suggested that ery. The quality and performance of our Nike executive, Sonny Vaccaro, ar The specifics of Duke’s deal with Nike, some of that,” said Gilbert, the orthope
fraud trial near the start of the season, Williamson should not return to play products are of utmost importance.” The ranged for several prominent coaches, which the two sides have extended dist.
16 – 24 MARCH 2019
THE NETHERLANDS
INVITATION ONLY
14 – 15 MARCH, 11AM – 7PM
GENERAL ADMISSION
16 – 23 MARCH, 11AM – 7PM
Image courtesy of Adrian Sasson
#tefaf2019
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6 | SATURDAY-SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 23-24, 2019 THE NEW YORK TIMES INTERNATIONAL EDITION
business
Opinion
From Crocodile Dundee to $39 hand soap
These days, Amelia Lester
Brand
Australia has
caught up Back in the 1990s, Australia was a little
with the bit daggy. Even that word — Anti
podean slang for unfashionable, which
country’s in its initial meaning referred to the
urbanized dried droppings on a sheep’s rear end
reality. — now seems quaint, a byproduct of a
simpler era, when Magic Eye pictures
kept kids entertained for hours and
internet was dialup.
Nowadays, however, Australia is an
Instagrammer’s dream destination.
Between the global ubiquity of avo
cado toast, ever more elaborate latte
art and a proliferation of luxebohe
mian fashion labels selling the promise
of endless summer, living as they do
down under has become hashtag goals
for many millennials.
How do I know this? I’ve spent most
of the 21st century outside the country
I was raised in, and over that time, I’ve
witnessed the way Australia is talked
about change in a subtle yet significant
way.
In 2001, when I first moved away,
the major cultural touchstone for
Australia abroad remained Paul Ho
gan. “That’s not a knife. That’s a knife”
has become one of those indelible
movie lines, but it didn’t seem very
relevant to the country I’d come from.
“Crocodile Dundee” was 15 years old
by then. And I didn’t have the heart to
tell Americans quoting it that far from
being a nation of outback adventurers,
around 85 percent of us lived in cities.
My dark secret was that most of the
people I knew had never uttered the
word “crikey.”
These days, Brand Australia has
caught up with the country’s urbanized
reality. Whether or
The bizarre not they made the
connection, up
evolution of wardly mobile shop
Antipodean pers around the
hip. world have most
likely consumed one
or more of the fol
lowing, all arguably with antecedents
YING ANG FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES
in the bougie back streets of Sydney or
Melbourne: Designer denim. Good
yogurt. Fashionforward swimwear. wood, Resurrection hand wash became tributing to a growing notion of Aus ticians not only have failed on the focusing on keeping electricity prices A fashion bou-
Very expensive hand soap. an integral aspect of a pretty restau tralia as a gastronomic mecca. There’s “vision thing”; they’ve also ignored low, whipping up fear about transgen tique on Collins
That last one is a useful example of rant aesthetic. It’s soap, but it’s also a reason the René Redzepis of the existing problems. der kids and safeguarding religious Place, Melbourne,
Australia’s image overhaul. Aesop’s shorthand for sophistication. world rave about native ingredients Take the case of our environment: freedom when no one seriously Australia, in an
Resurrection Aromatique Hand Wash Like Aesop, the other brands that like Tasmanian abalone, lantana blos This year alone, the precious south thought it was at risk. Not exactly area known as the
costs $39, and its brownandcream have altered the way the world sees soms and pink peppercorns. western wilderness of Tasmania has inspiring. “Paris” end of
packaging can be spotted in well Australia mostly reside at the top end But even as the version of Australia faced catastrophic fires during its Australian companies have success Collins Street,
appointed bathrooms the world over. of the market. Twenty years ago, Aus sold abroad starts to look more nu driest January on record; in the north fully packaged up and exported a famous for luxury
(Tokyo alone has 13 Aesop stores. tralian fashion abroad mostly meant anced, the real Australia is becoming ern city of Townsville, there have been sunny, laidback lifestyle, but we’ve shopping and
More than one of them are legitimate surf gear; now highend brands like increasingly myopic. Thanks to the unprecedented floods; and up to a never looked less like our selfimage. beautiful architec-
architectural landmarks.) Zimmermann appeal to a very differ mining boom and a strategic realign million fish have died in the Darling Perhaps, with household debt at an ture.
Founded by a Melbourne hair ent beachgoer — Beyoncé, for in ment with Asia over the past three River. alltime high, we don’t even feel that
dresser, Dennis Paphitis, in 1987, Ae stance, who has often worn its whimsi decades, we’ve become very, very Then there’s our policies toward rich.
sop gained a steady international cal creations. wealthy. At the same time, our politics some of the most vulnerable. Australia But the fact is we are. Australia is no
following in the ensuing decades for its The Australian cafe explosion is well have grown increasingly small. has enjoyed 27 years of uninterrupted longer a daggy sheep station. As of last
cerebral, paredback approach to skin documented; chains like Bill Granger’s We’ve turned into highly discerning economic growth, yet successive gov year, according to a Credit Suisse
care. Not until 2009, though, when the in Britain and Asia, and Bluestone consumers, eager to spend on ever ernments have done little to improve report, we’re vying with Switzerland
company took back control of its global Lane in the United States have raised more beautiful homes, wardrobes and health and education outcomes for for the title of richest people in the
distribution — including vetting every the standard for mass market coffee experiences. Australia today is coun Australia’s First Peoples. And there world. There are lots of companies that
restaurant and cafe that stocks its and successfully made the case for try, continent and concept store all in has been a bipartisan refusal to adopt have been clever enough to capitalize
soap — did its sales escalate into the breakfast as a social event. one, filled with exquisite, expensive a more humane policy on refugees on this good fortune.
stratosphere. (Mr. Paphitis has since And although Yellow Tail dominated items for an optimized life. under the guise of deterring people When will our government show the
sold Aesop to a Brazilian cosmetics the cheapwine market in America for You’d think with all that extra cash smugglers. same sense of imagination?
company.) a decade from the early 2000s, the past floating around we could have become Amid all this, our current prime
Along with Edison bulbs, Mason jars few years have seen more expensive a kind of superSweden. (Or at the minister, Scott Morrison, is gearing up AMELIA LESTERis an Australian editor
and appetizers served on planks of Australian wines gain a foothold, con very least, New Zealand.) Our poli for a federal election, likely in May, by and writer based in Japan.
opinion
Printed in Athens, Denpasar, Beirut, Biratnagar, Doha, Dubai, Frankfurt, Gallargues, Helsinki, Hong Kong, Islamabad, Istanbul, Jakarta, Karachi, Kathmandu, Kuala Lumpur, Lahore, London, Luqa, Madrid, Manila, Milan, Nagoya, Nepalgunj, New York, Osaka, Paris, Rome, Seoul, Singapore, Sydney, Taipei, Tel Aviv, Tokyo,Yangon.
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THE NEW YORK TIMES INTERNATIONAL EDITION SATURDAY-SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 23-24, 2019 | 9
opinion
25-28
bad consequences of . . . having the best economic value they skimming off transactions and nickel
sort of polity that has ever existed? The You’ll find the create. The rest of it anddiming consumers with inscrutable
progressive idea here is usually that accrues to con fees.
people with vastly more wealth than the
same passel sumers. Whatever Fixing these policy failures might
common run of citizens wield vastly of billionaire- that is, it’s not a raw create a system that produces fewer
disproportionate political power and tolerant states deal. The accumula billionaires. But that shouldn’t be the
therefore imperil democracy and the again and tion of these innova point. It might also produce more mor
equal worth of our basic rights. It’s a again. tions over time is the ally worthy 10figure fortunes. That’s
worry we’ve got to take seriously, but mechanism that great, because we should be aiming to
it’s based more in abstract theorizing drives compounding channel entrepreneurial energy into
by EASYFAIRS
04.2019
tries by democratic quality, equal treat years in the typical American standard wealth through unjust rules that close
ment under the law or level of personal of living. Some people may have made off opportunity and deprive us of the
freedom. You’ll find the same passel of an ungodly sum in the course of helping blessings of innovation.
billionairetolerant states again and make this humanitarian miracle hap There is a possible America where
again. If there are billionaires in all the pen, but that’s O.K. routes to extractive wealth have been
places where people flourish best, why This isn’t to say that the deserving closed and barriers to productive
think getting rid of them will make rich deserve every penny they get. In a wealth have been cleared; where the
things go better? better world, billionaires like Dr. Mi wealthiest have somewhat less, and the
It can be tempting to think that there’s chelson would probably have less. rest of us have a great deal more. In this
no morally decent way to accumulate Policy failure is rife, and it’s bound to America, our economy and democracy
that much wealth. And it’s true that account for a portion of even the best are more equitable and less corrupt, and
scads of the filthy rich got that way deserved fortunes. Patents, for exam the least welloff fare better than ever.
through theft, exploitation and the ple, are governmentgranted monopo We should dearly want to live there, in a
subtler corruption of anticompetitive lies meant to incentivize innovation. But place where, if you can manage to be
rules in politically rigged markets. (You the evidence suggests we’ve overshot come one, it’s more than “morally ap
may have heard of Donald Trump.) the mark, and the pace of innovation propriate” to be a billionaire. Main partner
But there’s a big moral difference would quicken, and many of America’s
between positivesum wealth produc biggest fortunes would shrink, if patent WILL WILKINSON is the vice president for
tion and zerosum wealth extraction — a protections were weakened. research at the Niskanen Center.
..
10 | SATURDAY-SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 23-24, 2019 THE NEW YORK TIMES INTERNATIONAL EDITION
science lab
NASA/JPL-CALTECH NASA/JPL/CORNELL
C LU E S TO A P L A N E T ’S PA ST
Above from left: The crust of the Martian surface where Spirit’s wheels broke through; a cliff of rocks, part of a promontory named Cape Verde. Below from left: in Eagle Crater, the rover found spheres nicknamed blueberries embedded in the
rock; a rock at bottom left with a white edge and a red center reminded scientists of a jelly doughnut; at Endeavour Crater, they found rock higher in aluminum and silica than other Martian rocks. Bottom, a panoramic view.
NASA/JPL-CALTECH
..
THE NEW YORK TIMES INTERNATIONAL EDITION SATURDAY-SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 23-24, 2019 | 11
ALFONSO CUARÓN/NETFLIX
Sports
Tebow keeps climbing the Mets’ farm ladder
Wilpon, the team owner. On pitch after
PORT ST. LUCIE, FLA.
pitch, Tebow, who batted .273 with the
Class AA Binghamton Rumble Ponies
last summer, turned his hips and con
Gridiron terms still slip nected with the ball. Seven of his hits
into the 2007 Heisman cleared the rightfield fence.
“It’s raw power,” Manager Mickey
winner’s conversation Callaway said. “It’s real. The bat moves
through the zone pretty swiftly. He’s got
BY KEVIN ARMSTRONG to continue to work on handling certain
zones, but he puts the barrel on the ball,
Ed Hobson stood up in the bleachers and it goes a long way.”
along the firstbase line at Field 7 in the Tebow also could not help but weigh in
New York Mets’ spring training facility, on the recent story that touched both of
having driven 300 miles to monitor one his sports. While on assignment for
man. ESPN, he met Kyler Murray, the Okla
“Hoping to meet St. Timothy,” said homa quarterback who won the Heis
Hobson, an assistant chief at the Federal man Trophy last season after being
Law Enforcement Training Centers in picked by Oakland in the Major League
Brunswick, Ga. “We even have a four Baseball draft. Murray recently an
foot alligator in front of our house. We nounced his decision to play football
named him Tebow, because he’s the professionally, instead of baseball.
greatest Gator of all time.” Tebow, who won the Heisman Trophy in
He was referring, of course, to Tim 2007, understood his position well.
Tebow, the former football player and “I think this was a really tough deci
current Mets farmhand. Hobson, a Uni sion for him,” Tebow said. “He loves two
versity of Florida alumnus like Tebow, sports, and I can really relate to that.
had never seen him in the flesh, but he And he went with something that he’s
wore a Tshirt emblazoned “Team been really good at lately and dominat
Tebow.” Hobson’s 6yearold son, Liam, ing in. When we talked about it, and we
wore a replica of Tebow’s old No. 15 Flor did talk about that, I just gave him the
ida football jersey. advice to follow your heart. Whatever
They were on a family pilgrimage. you’re passionate about.”
The night before, they hopped in a Reminders of Tebow’s past life
Honda Odyssey at their home near the greeted him on the other side of the
Georgia coast to observe the latest stop fence after his first workout. One specta
on Tebow’s baseball journey. Father and tor held up a photo of him celebrating
son moved closer to the chainlink fence with football teammates at Florida. An
as Tebow made the first steps in his tran other held out a Jets jersey with his No.
sition from a Class AA AllStar to train 15 stitched into it. Tebow scrawled his
ing for the Syracuse Mets in Class AAA. signature for children as he tucked his
Tebow, 31, strode confidently into this yellow birch bat with “John 16:33” — a
third spring training, intent on not re Scripture passage about taking heart
peating past missteps. Last February, and finding peace — marked on the bar
Tebow failed to make it past a sprinkler MIKE FITZPATRICK/ASSOCIATED PRESS rel beneath his arm.
head during drill work and sprained his Tim Tebow at the Mets’ spring training facility in Port St. Lucie, Fla. Tebow is making his transition from a Class AA All-Star to training for the Syracuse Mets in Class AAA. Anticipation grew for Donna Taaffe, a
ankle. The injury worsened as a result of fan, as she watched him approach.
Tebow’s refusal to rest, and he collected “He’s getting closer!” she said. “Oh
just one hit in 18 atbats, all as a desig On the day of the Sugar Bowl in New Or tiny inches every day,” Tebow said. with former N.F.L. players. Before re for,” he said. “This is what I’m in now, my goodness, he’s getting closer!”
nated hitter, in seven spring games. leans, he performed his television duties “That’s my mindset: Just keep work porting to Mets camp, Tebow also and I’m all in.” Tebow smiled as he passed. He then
“I didn’t play one snap of outfield,” he in the morning, went to Tulane Univer ing; get a little bit better.” walked down the red carpet at the pre Tebow commenced his latest cam shook the hand of Hobson, whose son
said a week ago before catching his slip sity for batting practice and then re Though Tebow has been out of the miere of “Run the Race,” a faithbased paign in the batting cage. He then ran held out a baseball and pen for Tebow to
into football vernacular. turned to the stadium for the game. In a N.F.L. since 2015 — and had not ap movie he coproduced with his brother, down fly balls in the outfield, backped sign. Tebow obliged.
Forgive Tebow. In the gig economy, he suite, he discussed his swing with his peared in a regularseason game since Robby. aling and making overtheshoulder Hobson joked about catching up later
has remained on the go. During the fall hitting coach, Jay Gibbons, the former 2012 — football still calls. In recent He maintained, though, that neither catches. When he walked to home plate on with Tebow, who recently got en
and winter, he returned to work as a col Dodger and Oriole who travels with weeks, Tebow turned down an offer to film nor football could lure him away with his bat, he received hugs from gaged to DemiLeigh NelPeters, the
lege football analyst for ESPN. Still, he Tebow. play for Coach Steve Spurrier’s Orlando from the diamond now. Omar Minaya, the special assistant to 2017 Miss Universe pageant winner.
swung in batting cages on college cam “When you give me enough time, I’m Apollos in the Alliance of American “No way could I stop and not give this the general manager; Brodie Van Wage “My coworker and I are going to
puses between oncamera appearances. going to just make up that ground, those Football, a nascent league populated the chance after everything I’ve worked nen, the general manager; and Fred crash his wedding,” he said.
WIZARD of ID DILBERT
(c) PZZL.com Distributed by The New York Times syndicate
Created by Peter Ritmeester/Presented by Will Shortz
Solution No. 2202 KENKEN THE SATURDAY CROSSWORD | Edited by Will Shortz 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
Fill the grid so
that every row,
column 3x3 box Fill the grids with digits so as not Across 29 Evidence of eligibility 50 Hit 2010s sci-fi series 14 15
and shaded 3x3 to repeat a digit in any row or 1 Web and TV broadcast for senior discounts in which a single
box contains column, and so that the digits about celebrities
actress plays multiple 16 17
31 Milk-derived clones
each of the within each heavily outlined box
will produce the target number 8 String of churches? 36 Dweller in the Eastern 55 Shout of support
18 19 20
numbers Himalayas
1 to 9 exactly shown, by using addition, 14 Many an American 56 ___ rights 21 22 23 24
once. subtraction, multiplication or Legion member of the 37 Sticking out 57 Rock and Roll Hall of
division, as indicated in the box. ’50s-’60s
38 Fruit with a yellow rind Fame band named 25 26 27 28
For solving tips A 4x4 grid will use the digits 15 “I wouldn’t do that” after its leader
and more puzzles: 1-4. A 6x6 grid will use 1-6. 39 Evergreens whose
www.nytimes.com/ 16 Hometown of Kamala leaves are used 59 Prey for a jackal 29 30 31 32 33 34 35
sudoku Harris 60 Exceptional athlete
For solving tips and more KenKen culinarily
36 37
puzzles: www.nytimes.com/ 17 Mob rule? 61 Hebrew leaders
40 Tightly packed,
kenken. For Feedback: nytimes@ 18 “Yes, that’s it!” disorderly crowd 62 Celebrity 38 39
kenken.com 19 Best-selling compact 42 What ancient
embarrassment,
S.U.V. introduced in maybe 40 41 42
Egyptians treated with
KenKen® is a registered trademark of Nextoy, LLC. 2007 honey
Copyright © 2018 www.KENKEN.com. All rights reserved. Down 43 44 45 46 47 48 49
21 N.B.A. Western 43 Important word in
Conference team, 1 Wee hour
both physics and 50 51 52 53 54 55
familiarly 2 Villain’s cackle
religion
Answers to Previous Puzzles 23 Blocked from view 3 Mosquito-borne 56 57 58
47 Conjunction in a rebus
24 Captures danger in 2016 news
puzzle
4 Wee wee? 59 60
25 Rushes 48 New contacts,
5 Man’s name that
27 DSL device informally 61 62
spells a fictional
Solution to February 22 Puzzle people backward
PUZZLE BY SAM EZERSKY
6 Start of an old boast
B A H A M A M A M A C A S E 15 Rope, essentially 33 “Riverdale” or “The 46 Spiffy
A L O H A T O W E R H D T V
7 Strong winds may
20 Did a farrier’s job on O.C.”
push them back, in 49 Western on A.F.I.’s
I D L E T H R E A T I D E A 34 Words yawned in the
brief 22 Anatomical dividers “100 Years … 100
T A D A W E S T B L E E D afternoon
D E A N P E D D L E 8 Disappointing news 26 Hard covers Movies” list
A S S P R O M D R E S S at an outdoor sports 35 Price abbr.
27 Dr.’s order 51 Symbol of life
S T O P I T O V E R T U R E event 37 Uncle’s name
28 First-time Winter
P A L E S P A D P A G E R 9 Stink Olympics participant 39 Bump on a log 52 Unchanged
S N A P O P E N F O R A L L 10 Not publicize for now of 2014 41 Capital NNE of 53 Customer ___
R E D D R A G O N R Y E Marrakesh
D E F L E A A R G O 11 Words to live by 29 Multiple choice
choices 43 Parental nickname 54 Name attached to a
R O L E S P L I E H A L E 12 Did a film editing job
Southeastern “-ville”
A S A P D I E T A R Y L A W on 30 Predators of the 44 Red-haired film
M I R E I N N E R P E A C E 13 Sally of the Obama Amazon princess 58 Supply during a
A N E W N E A R M I S S E S administration 32 Around 45 Bender boom?
..
16 | SATURDAY-SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 23-24, 2019 THE NEW YORK TIMES INTERNATIONAL EDITION
Weekend
Decades
in love
with the
kitchen
Nigella Lawson considers her career
and the celebrity that has followed her
since ‘How to Eat’ came out in 1998
BY BESHA RODELL
RICHARD YOUNG JAMES RICHARD GEER FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES
breadth and intensity. As a result, she “What I’ve learned is that a lot people Ms. Lawson has a policy of no longer don’t think I’ve addressed that enough The book was well ahead of its time, Nigella Lawson,
serves as a canvas on which people project onto you something which is a giving interviews that go beyond her to talk about it.” introducing ingredients that have since above, and at left
project their ideas of femininity, celebri function of their own take on the world,” professional life, though she made a cau “Besides,” she said, “I would genuine become ubiquitous in Britain and the with her first
ty and the British upper class. she said. “And once people have that tious exception for this article. Her two ly rather talk about food.” United States but were not popular in husband, John
Diana Henry, the British food writer, view of you, anything can be made to be children are off limits, and she remains In a 2005 article in The Guardian, a 1998: avocado, pomegranate, quinoa. Diamond, at a
explained: “In the U.K. I often think — that thing they’ve already decided.” scarred from the time beginning six friend of Ms. Lawson’s was anony “How to Eat” also marked a step away party in 1998, in a
not with pleasure — that she has Prin In 1998, Ms. Lawson was a freelance years ago when she was in the tabloids mously quoted as saying that all articles from technical, chefwritten cookbooks photo she posted
cess Dianalike status as a celebrity. She journalist with a history as a book critic, constantly, owing to her divorce and a about her were basically the same: and toward a philosophy of cooking that on Instagram last
is that well known, she is that well liked.” a restaurant critic, a columnist and an subsequent court case in which two for “Blah blah tragedy, blah blah sexy, blah was about pleasing oneself rather than year.
But there are uglier connotations that editor. She is Oxfordeducated, the mer assistants were accused of embez blah cooking.” flexing culinary muscles to impress oth
come along, too. Earlier in the day, while daughter of Nigel Lawson, a conserva zling from Ms. Lawson and Mr. Saatchi. The “sexy” part was not always part ers. “Never worry about what your
waiting for Ms. Lawson to appear on the tive British politician, and his first wife, The tabloid stories were invasive and of the dynamic, at least not in her culi guests will think of you,” Ms. Lawson
festival’s main stage, a woman in the Vanessa Salmon. exposing: Paparazzi photos captured nary life. The only photo of Ms. Lawson wrote. “Just think of the food. What will
V.I.P. tent wondered aloud, “Is Nigella Mr. Diamond’s death in 2001, just as Mr. Saatchi with his hand around Ms. in “How to Eat” was the author photo on taste good?”
going to be carried in through the crowd Ms. Lawson had a career kicking into Lawson’s throat, drawing speculation the back flap of the book jacket. Bee Wilson, the British food writer
by shirtless men, lounging on a silk high gear and two young children to look about abuse. During the trial of her for “How to Eat” was written mainly in and a friend of Ms. Lawson’s, described
draped bed?” after, was not her first experience with mer assistants, she gave testimony re narrative form, in the tone of the news “How to Eat” as revolutionary. “It was
Asked why she might expect such an cancer and loss: The disease took her sponding to accusations of drug abuse, paper columnist Ms. Lawson was at the the first book to make the case so per
entrance, the woman said: “She just mother in 1985 and her sister Thom admitting to isolated incidents of co time, the recipes told like stories. Her suasively that home cooking did not
seems like the epitome of spoiled, beau asina in 1993. caine and marijuana use. voice is intimate and chatty — in the need to apologize for not being restau
tiful British aristocracy. Perfect and un But life does not pause. For Ms. Law “It wasn’t just about being in the pa midst of telling you how to make “soft rant cooking,” Ms. Wilson said. “Sud
touchable.” son, it came quickly. There were televi per all the time,” she said. “It was gener and crispy duck,” Ms. Lawson muses denly, here was someone saying that a
Ms. Lawson’s view of herself and of sion shows; more cookbooks; newspa ally about feeling exposed and under at about the “industrious intimacy” of comforting bowl of stew could be better
why she became successful opposes this per columns (including one in The New tack. In a way, it would have been much cooking with other people, memories of than some cheffy creation designed to
image. When she’s not on the road, she York Times); a second marriage, to better for me to be able to speak openly. doing so with her sister Thomasina, and impress.”
said, she is usually “sitting around my Charles Saatchi, the business magnate It goes against my nature not to. But I do how cooking food ahead of time feels like This attitude has remained a constant
house with no makeup, wearing baggy and art collector; an ugly divorce, one think that becoming a tabloid story, and “the bolstering up of a life.” There are in Ms. Lawson’s career, the idea that
things.” She is the home cook, the anti version of which played out extensively everything I went through then — few cookbooks that might warrant an food should be a joy as much for the cook
expert, the person who cooks for pleas in the British tabloids; more books; shame, various things — in a way gave audiobook version; “How to Eat” was as for the eater, that recipes are malle
ure rather than ego. more TV. me a form of trauma of its own. And I screaming for such treatment. able, that status anxiety and guilt and
..
THE NEW YORK TIMES INTERNATIONAL EDITION SATURDAY-SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 23-24, 2019 | 17
1. In a large, heavybottomed Dutch oven or
pot in which the beef will fit comfortably (the
two pieces mustn’t touch each other, and no
scrunching at the ends), heat 2 tablespoons
butter and 1 tablespoon oil over lowish heat.
Add the shallots, sprinkle with a little salt, and
sauté until soft and transparent but in no way
coloring, about 5 minutes. Add the thyme and
give 2 more minutes, stirring, then add the
garlic and push about the pot.
2. Add the anchovies and cook until they’ve
started fusing with the oniony, buttery, oily
mess in the pot. Transfer this shallot mixture
to a bowl for a minute so you can brown the
meat.
3. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil to the
pot and turn up the heat. Pat the beef dry and
season it all over with salt and pepper. Sear
the beef on all sides, sprinkling with the sugar
as you do so, till you’ve got a good crusty
exterior. Add the brandy, let it bubble up a bit,
then pour in the wine.
FRANCESCA YORKE
4. Return the shallot mixture to the pot. Lower
ferred to “Nigella Bites” as “gastro ver, she has simply encouraged people the heat and turn the meat over. Give
porn,” and said, “When you deal with to cook,” Ms. Henry said. “She links everything a good stir to make sure the
food, aren’t you always showing your good cooking with glamour.” shallots, garlic and so on are not burning or
sensual nature?” (That same article re And, Ms. Henry added, many women sticking. Cover and cook for 10 minutes —
ferred to Ms. Lawson’s “elegantbut embraced her. the meat is braising, frying and steaming all at
earthy, brainybutbasic, sexypeasant “She definitely did make it acceptable the same time; as it cooks it breathes in
withapedigree persona.”) — desirable even — for women to bake flavor.
As for her selfappointed status as a pies and cupcakes and waft around the
domestic goddess, Ms. Lawson insists kitchen,” Ms. Henry said. “I think for a 5. Uncover, peek in, prod or poke. If the meat
that the title was taken the wrong way. lot of women that was very freeing. We is springy, it’s rare; springy but with some
“It was supposed to be ironic,” she said. were allowed to luxuriate in food, al resistance, mediumrare to medium. Turn the
“It’s bad enough to be called a domestic lowed to be greedy, allowed to be happy meat over, cover again, and leave for another
goddess, but to be seen as a selfstyled in the home.” 5 to 10 minutes, depending on your findings
domestic goddess is just . . . ” she shook After 20 years, 12 cookbooks and hun
and taste. When the meat is almost as you
her head in horror, “ . . . the worst.” dreds of television episodes, the way for
“I’m in no position to complain,” she ward seems as elusive to her as if she like it, transfer it to a cutting board (it will cook
added. But she finds herself not wanting were just starting out. a little more as it rests) and get on with the
to use the book’s full title, she admitted, Asked how she comes up with book af sauce. And you can do all this before you sit
saying she usually refers to it by its ini ter book of recipes, she said: “Who down for the first course.
tials instead. “It does make me cringe a knows? I never thought I’d be a food 6. Fish out the garlic from the pot with a
bit.” writer, so who knows what’s next? I al
spoon. Then turn up the heat and let the
Newspaper columnists at the time ac ways think I’ll never come up with an
cused Ms. Lawson of wanting to send other recipe, but something propels you sauce bubble up a good bit, and taste, adding
women back to the kitchen. While the in forward.” salt, if needed, and pepper. You may want to
sinuation irks her, she understands its Fear is a constant companion and mo add some water. Take off the heat, but warm
roots. “If I were still writing my column tivator. “I feel that people fall into two up before serving, at which time you should
and I saw that title, I’d have accused me categories, goaloriented or feardriv first pour into it the meat juices that have run
of the exact same thing,” she said. “But I en,” she said. “I’m feardriven. So it’s out of the cooked beef as it stands and whisk
also think it’s profoundly antifeminist that terror of filling the empty page, or in the remaining chilled, diced butter.
to disparage something because it has the director saying, ‘Action!’ But every
traditionally been in the female arena.” thing is frightening, isn’t it?” 7. Carve the beef, arrange on a large, warmed
There is no denying that Ms. Law She credits that fear with pushing her platter, and surround with arugula. Drizzle
son’s brand has been built specifically forward. “If I get bored, then I’d have to over some of the sauce, leaving the rest in a
with her beauty as a selling point. She stop. Everything would go slack. And I sauce boat or pitcher for people to pour for
travels without an assistant, but with a suspect if I stop being frightened, that themselves.
makeup artist. “It takes a braver and would be a bad thing, too.”
more secure person than I am to say, Later, though, she wished to retract
‘Don’t put makeup on me and don’t that sentiment.
brush my hair.’ I admire people who are “I felt that I overstated the fear ele
EVENING STANDARD/STRINGER/GETTY IMAGES like that,” she said. “For me, it’s armor.” ment,” she said. “I think I am driven by
Ms. Lawson’s success on television anxiety, I think that I’ve had to learn to
Ms. Lawson at stress are enemies of one of life’s great the fact that they taste wonderful, is in has had its downsides, according to peo accept that. But I also get so much pleas
work, top, in 2005, est gifts: appetite. how she writes, and how she makes us ple who know her well, and the various ure in thinking about food in all its mani
and in the swing, Likewise, she holds neither herself feel in the kitchen,” she said. programs she has done — which include festations. I’d hate to make it look like it
above, with her nor the reader to unattainable stand The voice soon became secondary to her own cooking shows, like “Nigella’s is all a bed of pain. Obviously it is some
father, the conser- ards. “Remember, you are not trying to Ms. Lawson’s looks and demeanor, Kitchen,” and competition shows, like thing that makes me happy.”
vative British produce the definitive Sunday lunch,” largely because of a budding television “The Taste” with Anthony Bourdain — But the ingredient that made “How to
politician Nigel she wrote in the chapter on weekend career. The show “Nigella Bites,” which don’t capture her at her fullest. Eat” so alluring may be gone for good.
Lawson; her lunches. “The idea is to make a lunch premiered in Britain in 1999, and her “It doesn’t allow you to see her intel “When I wrote ‘How to Eat,’ I never
mother, Vanessa which you want to eat and can imagine second book, “How to Be a Domestic lect at all, really,” Ms. Henry said. “It just really imagined it would be read,” she
Salmon; and her sitting down to do so without bursting Goddess,” published the next year, ce shows a good home cook and a beautiful said. “I think there’s an innocence that
sister Thomasina, into tears.” mented her glamorous, flirtatious public woman. That is really the least of what you can’t go back to — a lack of selfcon
in 1965. But it is Ms. Lawson’s voice, Ms. Wil persona. she is.” sciousness. And it so easily could not
son said, that elevates the book. “The In an interview with The New York It did, however, provide a powerful ve have worked. I’m still slightly aston
greatest draw of her recipes, apart from Times Magazine in 2001, Ms. Lawson re hicle for her message. “Like Jamie Oli ished that it did work.” JULIA GARTLAND FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES
Global Headquarters: 49 Charles Street Mayfair London W1J 5EN +44 (0)20 7290 9585
WORLDWIDE
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18 | SATURDAY-SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 23-24, 2019 THE NEW YORK TIMES INTERNATIONAL EDITION
weekend books
mere cuke, conflict arose: “Monkeys
emotions Of course, we recognize ourselves in
such stories. This is why they are
powerful: They evoke our empathy,
perhaps our most cherished emotional
ability (one that we share with ani
mals, as anyone who has lived with a
BOOK REVIEW
dog well knows). But, to our detriment,
researchers who study animal behav
ior have been methodically warned
Mama’s Last Hug: Animal Emotions
and What They Tell Us About Ourselves against exploring empathy as a means
of understanding. Too many illumina
By Frans de Waal. Illustrated. 326 pp.
ting observations have gone unpub
W.W. Norton & Company. $27.95.
lished because suggesting that humans
BY SY MONTGOMERY
share traits with other animals invites
accusations of anthropomorphism.
The two old friends hadn’t seen each To avoid such charges, researchers
other lately. Now one of them was on have invented a glossary of contorted
her deathbed, crippled with arthritis, terms: Animals don’t have friends but
refusing food and drink, dying of old “favorite affiliation partners”; chimps
age. Her friend had come to say good don’t laugh when tickled, but make
bye. At first, she didn’t seem to notice “vocalized panting” sounds.
him. But when she realized he was This isn’t just silly; it’s dangerous.
there, her reaction was unmistakable: Instead of worrying about anthropo
Her face broke into an ecstatic grin. morphizing animals, we should fear
She cried out in delight. She reached making a far worse mistake, what de
for her visitor’s head and stroked his Waal calls “anthropodenial.” When we
hair. As he caressed her face, she deny the facts of evolution, when we
draped her arm around his neck and pretend that only humans think, feel
pulled him closer. and know, “it stands in the way of a
The mutual emotion so evident in frank assessment of who we are as a
this deathbed reunion was especially species,” he writes. An understanding
moving and remarkable because the of evolution demands that we recog
visitor, Dr. Jan Van Hooff, was a Dutch nize continuity across lifeforms. And
biologist, and his friend, Mama, was a even more important, achieving realis
chimpanzee. The event — recorded on tic and compassionate relationships
a cellphone, shown on TV and widely with the rest of the animate world
shared on the internet — provides the requires that we honor these connec
opening story and title for the etholo tions, which extend far and deep.
gist Frans de Waal’s gamechanging FRANS DE WAAL A few years ago, I found myself in a
new book, “Mama’s Last Hug: Animal situation almost identical to the one de
Emotions and What They Tell Us body’s way of ensuring we do what is from predators. A dog who mistakenly But the book succeeds most bril Waal describes at the start of his book.
About Ourselves.” When we best for us.” Unlike instinct — which bites his owner may be so upset over liantly in the stories de Waal relates. My friend Octavia was old, sick and
Other authors have explored animal pretend that leads to preprogrammed, rigid re having broken this taboo that he suf Some are brutal, like the premeditated dying. We hadn’t looked into each
emotion, including Jeffrey Moussaieff only humans sponses — emotions “focus the mind fers a nervous breakdown. murder of Luit, a wouldbe alpha male other’s eyes for a long while — nearly
Masson and Susan McCarthy in “When and prepare the body while leaving And like humans, animals can con at the chimp colony at Burgers Zoo, in a fifth of her life span. I came to say
Elephants Weep” (1995) and Marc
think, feel and room for experience and judgment.” trol their emotions when necessary. A the Netherlands. Luit had recently goodbye. When she caught sight of me,
Bekoff in “The Emotional Lives of know, we are Emotions “may be slippery,” he writes, frightened chimp will contort its face usurped power from two other high Octavia, with great effort, using some
Animals” (2007). Still others have making a “but they are also by far the most into an anxious “fear grin.” De Waal ranking males, and, unwisely, had of the last of her limited strength, rose
concentrated on a specific emotion, grave mistake. salient aspect of our lives. They give recalls watching fearful males abruptly failed to reestablish good relations to greet me and enveloped me in her
such as Jonathan Balcombe in “Pleas meaning to everything.” turn away so rivals don’t see their with his rivals. Overnight, the two arms.
urable Kingdom” (2006) and Barbara J. In this book, de Waal sets the record expression. “I have also seen males chimps ganged up to punish him, There were a few differences be
King in “How Animals Grieve” (2013). straight. Emotions are neither invisible hide their grin behind a hand, or even biting off fingers and toes, and creating tween the opening scene of “Mama’s
“Mama’s Last Hug” takes these nor impossible to study; they can be actively wipe it off their face,” he wounds in his scrotum through which Last Hug” and the one between Octa
seminal works a step further, making measured. Levels of chemicals associ writes. “One male used his fingers to they squeezed out his testes. This via and me. Mama and Van Hooff
this book even bolder and more impor ated with emotional experiences, from push his own lips back into place, over chilling incident was not, de Waal tells shared an ancestor perhaps five mil
tant than its companion volume, “Are the “cuddle hormone” oxytocin to the his teeth, before turning to confront his us, an artifact of captivity: Studies of lion years ago; my friend and I had
We Smart Enough to Know How Smart stress hormone cortisol, can easily be challenger.” Similarly, I’ve seen ner wild chimps also show that the reigns last shared an ancestor in the Precam
Animals Are?,” de Waal’s 2016 best determined. The hormones are virtual vous speakers in greenrooms hold of alphas who bully and cheat are often brian Era — before limbs or eyes had
seller. ly identical across taxa, from humans their faces in their hands and push short and may end badly. (Washington, evolved, back when practically every
For too long, emotion has been cog to birds to invertebrates. their cheeks upward to sculpt a frown take note.) one was a tube. Van Hooff and Mama
nitive researchers’ third rail. In re Emotions are not an affliction we into a smile before taking the podium. Like us, our fellow primates value had almost identical facial muscles and
search on humans, emotions were must strive to keep in check. They are Though emotions are our constant, justice and fairness. De Waal recounts skeletal structure; Octavia’s mouth
deemed irrelevant, impossible to study adaptive: Love, anger, joy, sorrow, fear intimate companions, de Waal sur what happened during experiments was in her armpits, she had no skele
or beneath scientific notice. Animal all help us to find food and safety, prises us on almost every page. This with capuchin monkeys at the Yerkes ton at all and her arms were equipped
emotions were simply ignored. But protect our families, escape danger. book is full of the kind of facts you call National Primate Research Center, with 1,600 suckers. Octavia was a giant
nothing could be more essential to Emotions enable us to survive. up your best friend to share: Botoxed near Atlanta. Two monkeys worked Pacific octopus. Yet she and I cared for
understanding how people and animals So it’s no wonder that animals expe people have trouble making friends side by side in a test chamber with each other — enough for both of us to
behave. By examining emotions in rience and exhibit an array of them. because their frozen faces make others mesh between them. For successfully delight in one last, tender, emotional
both, this book puts these most vivid of Zebrafish can get depressed — and feel rejected. Touchsensitive plants completing a task, they were rewarded embrace.
mental experiences in evolutionary respond to the same antidepressant like Venus flytraps stop moving when with cucumbers or, even better, grapes.
context, revealing how their richness, drugs humans do. Crabs not only feel exposed to anesthesia drugs used in If both monkeys got the same reward Sy Montgomery’s latest book, “How to
power and utility stretch across pain but remember it — and will care hospitals. Birds and cats can tell hu for the same task, everything was fine. Be a Good Creature: A Memoir in
species and back into deep time. fully consider how much is worth man males from females merely by But if one monkey received grapes Thirteen Animals,” was published last
Emotions, de Waal writes, “are our enduring in exchange for a lair safe observing their movements. while the other was rewarded with a fall.
theater weekend
weekend music
Fashion
Love and war and ‘Wheel of Fortune’ More persuasive was Jeremy Scott,
MILAN
and his “don’t we all just need a smile
right now? Don’t we all need a little lev
BY VANESSA FRIEDMAN ity in our lives?” explanation backstage
before his laughin of a Moschino game
In the soaring greenwalled auditorium show.
of the Fondation Prada, on the outskirts Part ode to “The Price is Right” and
of Milan, pieces of gray foam packing “Wheel of Fortune” as well as the muse
material with an egg cartonlike surface of the night, Vanna White, and his own
had been laid across the floor in a no 2001 Jeremy Scott show in Paris (his last
man’s land of little peaks and valleys. Il in that city; now his brand is based in
luminating them was the sickly yellow New York) the show Thursday featured
glow of 150 hazard lights. As guests filed models with big (faux) furs and bigger
in, their heels sank into the synthetic hair, channeling the beaded evening
cushion and sent them a little off bal gowns of television hostesses past as
ance. Recognize the feeling? Welcome they vamped in gold and diamanté
to a Prada show. Also your life. around the promise of A New Car! or A
“In another century, there would be New Fridge! or A Trip to Aspen!
already war; all the violent parties, vio Others strutted past in dollar bill
lent situations in Europe, racism,” Miuc miniskirts and pastel crystalstudded
cia Prada said afterward, besieged by prints of detergent pods; foxy stuffed
journalists and wellwishers crowding animal stoles and tiny taffeta cocktail
ever closer. “I feel really afraid.” So she dresses. There was a toothpaste duffel, a
decided to make some clothes to try to cash register handbag, and a complete
resolve her emotions. What else can you TV dinner evening cape, with Salisbury
do? That’s the job. steak and mashed potato as the entrée,
“That’s another big problem for us de diced carrots and peas on the side.
signers,” she said. “We work for rich Winkwink, nudgenudge.
people, do rich clothes but fashion is It was funny, no question, but even
very relevant, so there is a kind of re game show culture has a dark under PRA DA ALESSANDRO GAROFALO/REUTERS
quest to talk about other subjects. How belly; problems, after all, can’t really be
do you find a way that is intelligent but solved by a spin of the wheel. In recent
not too superficial?” shows, Mr. Scott has started to grapple oines and frogwomen, love and war. It’s were big, and tractortreaded. Pumps
It’s a good question at the moment, if a with some of the implications of his pop a perennial story, after all — as human were delicate and sometimes glitterfes
kind of annoyingly existential one, culture oneliners — almost making an as our lust for a getrichquick scheme. tooned. Couture shawl draping mutated
which may be why it’s so hard to handle. art of it — but not this time. The high romance of portraitnecked into Crombie tweeds. Frankenstein and
At Tod’s, for example, there’s no effort to This time he seemed distracted by the 1950s party dresses in black wool and his bride made googoo eyes at each
wrestle with complicated reality; in coming Met Gala, themed around Camp, silk with swagged skirts caught up at other out of the darkness of a plain black
stead there is — leather! As much of it as and its red carpet needs and possibili the hip by Orings, some splashed with sheath. There were a lot of Wednesday
possible: tailored leather shorts and ties. So while there was a lot of sparkle bouquets of roses, alternated with crisp Addams braids and Cousin Itt back
leather shirts and leather blazers; and wit in the clothes (sparkling wit, white shirtdresses dangling threedi packs.
leather shift dresses and leather even), ultimately it was all promise with mensional satin tulips (they were kind On the soundtrack, “My Favorite
puffers; leather trench coats; nappa no real payoff; escape, with little lasting of floppy, like they were on their last Things” from “The Sound of Music”
leather and patent leather. Oh, and some effect. legs) and army green utilitarian suiting. growled out like a threat. It was full of
tweed. It’s perfectly accomplished. But Which doesn’t mean we can’t dream Lace capes were tossed atop periwin foreboding. But tension and the process
not convincing as the answer to every of a happy ending. Mrs. Prada did: One kleblue shirting which was layered un of working through it had rarely looked
thing. that toggled between Hitchcock her der loden Land Girl separates. Boots as good. MOSCHINO VALERIO MEZZANOTTI FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES
weekend living
Going back
to books to
consummate
a romance
Despite their shared love of reading,
she had stopped. Could they last?
Modern Love
BY KARLA MARIEROSE DERUS
During six years of singlehood in my
20s, I became a person I did not know.
Before, I had always been a reader. I
walked to the library several times a
week as a kid and stayed up late into
the night reading under my blankets
with a flashlight. I checked out so
many books and returned them so
quickly the librarian once snapped, BRIAN REA
“Don’t take home so many books if
you’re not going to read them all.” David was my first OkCupid date — some of Linda Pastan’s verse. He Surrounding the bookshelf are stacks time I’d pulled an allnighter to read I
“But I did read them all,” I said, my first online date of any kind. He “I’ve only read listened, his head tilted down, chin containing different categories of was 12 and the book was “Little Wom
unloading them into her arms. was tall and nice, if awkward. I asked one book this pressed into his chest, and then he books. There are: Books I Have Read. en.”
I was an English major in college him question after question to keep year,” I said. asked, “What is it you like about that Books I Want to Read. Books I Started It was not a competition, but there
and went on to get a master’s in litera him at ease and the conversation flow one?” but Did Not Finish Because I Did Not was a push. I felt him pushing me to be
ture. But shortly after the spiralbound ing, but also to deflect his attention (a
“I’ve started That spring, as we picnicked outside, Like Them. Books I Started and Loved more of the person I used to be and
thesis took its place on my shelf next to classic introvert trick). three others I said, “If I tell you something, will you but Could Not Justify Reading Given more of who I wanted to be. Whenever
the degree, I stopped reading. It hap His profile said he liked to read, so I but just haven’t not judge me?” Their Graphic Sexual or Violent Con he turned to discussing his current
pened gradually, the way one heals or asked him about his last book. His face finished them.” David paused from listing the titles tent. That category contains two nonfiction book about the rise of Sili
dies. lit up and his fingers danced. I realized he planned to read over summer and books by Philip Roth. con Valley or environmental philoso
When I created my OkCupid profile within the first several weeks that raised his eyebrows. The last time I visited a dollar book phers, I would tell him of fiction, of
(screen name: missbibliophile52598), I David read much more than I did, “I’ve only read one book this year,” I store, I bought five titles for myself men who left their countries by hiding
filled out the “favorite books” section, about a book or two a week. We said. “I’ve started three others but just and two for David. His charge to “read in boxes only to climb out and turn into
letting my taste in literature speak for seemed an unlikely couple: me, a haven’t finished them.” a book” echoed in my head. One after birds. I would remind him that some
me: “100 Years of Solitude,” “A Move 5foot3 black woman born to a Carib “But it’s June,” he said. noon I picked up one of the dollar times the only way to explain the
able Feast,” “White Teeth,” “The bean mother, and him, a 6foot4 white “I know.” hardbacks I bought solely for its poet world we live in is to make it all up.
Namesake,” “The Known World,” “The guy from Ohio. But as we got to know “One book?” ic title. I asked David once what he liked
God of Small Things,” “How to Read each other, our shared faith and mutual “I know.” I had a hard time getting into it. The about me.
the Air.” But a twinge of panic surged love of books bridged our gaps. “But you like books,” he said. “You narrator was supposed to be an old He paused, then said, “You make me
through me when I realized it had been The first time David visited my like bookstores. You like libraries.” man but sounded more like what a less cynical. I see the world as a more
more than two years since I had read house, we compared libraries. We only “Is it a deal breaker?” young woman thought an old man wonderfilled place with you.”
most of those titles, and more than five had four titles in common, two of which “No, but still. Read a book!” might sound like. Whenever I was A little over a year after our date at
years for some. were C. S. Lewis collections. David I was painfully aware of the glaring tempted to give up on it, I thought of the library, David suggested we visit
Despite my track record, I tried to preferred history and nonfiction, hypocrisy in my life. I defended the David. He had just started reading again. As we walked along the shelves,
maintain my bookish persona. I joined whereas I gravitated toward fiction virtues of bookstores in the age of “Infinite Jest.” he asked if I remembered the game we
book clubs on Meetup.com that I never writers of color and immigrant narra online retailing and bought books I pushed through the first two chap played on our first visit, when we put
attended. I requested the library copy tives. whenever I got the chance, but I ters and discovered a new narrator in Postit note reviews in our favorite
of Kazuo Ishiguro’s “Never Let Me Go” Months later, when we began to hardly read them. They sat on every the third. I loved the alternating points books.
because everyone else was reading it, discuss the possibility of getting mar surface until my house appeared to of view. I carried the book to work and “I remember,” I said.
only to return it a week late, unread, ried one day, I didn’t broach the subject wear books the way one wears clothes. read at lunch. I read on my walk He pulled a book from the shelf,
with fines. of combining our libraries — not be They piled up on chairs and draped home, occasionally lifting my eyes to dropped to one knee and opened it.
I still loved the idea of reading. I cause I feared having to untangle them across sofa arms. make sure I avoided strangers and Inside, his Postit read: “Karla, it has
treasured books and bookstores. someday but because I liked having The Japanese language has a word uneven concrete. always been you. Will you marry me?”
Whenever I found one, I would linger my own stories to share. for this: tsundoku. The act of acquiring I felt smug that while most of my His proposal had rested between the
between the shelves for hours as if On our seventh date, David and I books that go unread. millennial peers also walked with their pages of “The Rebel Princess” for over
catching up with old friends, picking visited the Central Library downtown. The shelves of my bookcase sag in heads down, eyes hovering just above a year.
out volumes I had read and buying “I have a game,” he said, pulling two the middle, and not just because it’s their palms, I was not merely scrolling “Yes,” I said. “I’ll marry you.”
new ones I hadn’t. pens and pads of sticky notes out of his made of cheap plywood. It’s because through Instagram. I was reading. We embraced in the middle of the
When my father’s girlfriend gave me bag. “Let’s find books we’ve read and each shelf holds two rows of books, an Reading a book. fiction aisle, surrounded by other
a book by Joel Osteen for Christmas, I leave reviews in them for the next inner and an outer. “How’s your day?” he texted. people’s stories and about to begin our
returned it for Toni Morrison’s “A person.” If I want to find a book from college “Good. A little tired,” I replied. “I own.
Mercy.” I also bought a collection of We wandered through the aisles for or before, I know to reach back to the stayed up late reading and finished
short stories by Dostoyevsky. But I over an hour. In the end, we sat on the inner row. If I want to find a more my book.” I tried to slip it in casually, Karla Marie-Rose Derus is a writer in
didn’t read either of them. floor among the poetry, and I read him recent addition, I look along the edge. but I was proud of myself. The last Los Angeles.
travel weekend
A laid-back attitude,
paired with fiery food
11.11; mirrorwork bags and acces
The area once was ruled by Portugal, sories; and apricot kernel oils and
and its influence still shows in the culture, scrubs from the skin care brand Pahadi
Local.
cuisine and architecture of the seaside state
Local eating 7:30 p.m.
Kokni Kanteen might not look like much
36 Hours from the outside, but this restaurant,
in Goa, India modeled after Portugueseera khana
vats, or taverns, is warm and inviting in
BY SARAH A. KHAN
side: Old photos, spice racks and clus
ters of chiles, garlic and onions are hung
Think of it as India’s happy place: The on the walls. Order the fish thali, a seem
state of Goa, which occupies a sliver on ingly neverending platter of seafood fa
the country’s western coast, is where vorites like kingfish, mackerel curry, tis
residents of Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore ryo (clams), prawns and more. If that’s
and other cities converge for long week not enough, add a corianderheavy
ends and lazy holidays filled with sun, chicken cafreal or mutton xacuti to the
sand and revelry. These days, the be mix. Don’t miss the cumindusted fries,
guiling beaches might look as if they’ve either. Dinner for two is around 1,500 ru
been colonized by foreign hippies and pees, or about $21.
ravegoers by the thousands, but the re
gion’s European connection dates back Classy cocktails 10 p.m.
centuries. The Portuguese defeated the There’s more to Goan night life than rau
Adil Shahi dynasty of Bijapur in 1510, be cous beach raves. In central Panaji, the
ginning a fourandahalfcentury reign. Black Sheep Bistro is a chic spot for a
Goa didn’t become part of India until nightcap. Try the housemade gins, in
1961, 14 years after the rest of the coun fused with spices like turmeric, corian
PHOTOGRAPHS BY ATUL LOKE FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES
try won its independence from Britain. der and star anise, in cocktails like the
The result of this commingling of cul Paan (betelnut leaf, star anise gin,
tures is one of the most fascinating pock vodka, sugar, and lime, 290 rupees) or Home cooking 7 p.m. — waffles, Greek scrambled eggs, from Bombay Perfumery, books and Above, Baga Beach
ets of India, defined by a leisurely pace April Phool (vodka, gin, elderflower, cit Not far from Miramar Beach, a popular scrambled tofu with sweet potato chips more. Browse and enjoy the chic space, in North Goa is a
and laidback attitude. rus, 300 rupees). For an elevated take on hangout for local families who descend and chiles — as well as German fare like then grab a cocktail before you head out. popular destina-
a local favorite, try Goan feni cocktails en masse to watch the sun set, the spot imported Black Forest ham (a nod to the tion.
like the Señorita, made with cashew less Mum’s Kitchen serves fiery Goan German owner), and lots of vegan and South Indian lunch 1:30 p.m.
Friday feni, triple sec and lime (290 rupees). fare. For more than two decades, the glutenfree options. But the main week Also in Assagao, Gunpowder is the
owners have tapped into the recipes of end draw is the decadent Sunday restaurant credited with putting the qui
Church crawl 2 p.m. Hindu and Catholic mothers of Goa to brunch buffet. Enjoy it in a cheery patio et hamlet on the map. This perennially
Hire a car and driver and get your his Saturday create an authentic menu of sung with tiled tables and mismatched throw packed spot draws crowds to an outdoor
torical bearings in Goa Velha (Old Goa), tachem periperi (prawns), pamphlet pillows. dining platform draped in colorful, pet
the original walled Portuguese city once Bohemian breakfast 9 a.m. recheiado (pomfret stuffed with red allike cloth panels for its South Indian
hailed as the Rome of the East. Goan Before heading to the beaches of North masala) and beef pepper garlic. Soothe Indian design 11 a.m. fare — you’ll probably need to wait if you
Catholics make up about a third of the Goa, stop for breakfast at Baba Au the fire with an order of chourico pao, a Just up the road from Villa Blanche — in don’t have a reservation, or if you’re
state’s population today, and their influ Rhum in Anjuna, a bohemian cafe you’ll local bread studded with sausage. Din an easytomiss, restored, 130yearold lucky, maybe another group will let you
ence is palpable in every corner. You can find en route. Grab a seat on the leafy ner for two is around 2,200 rupees. Portuguese house — you’ll find the squeeze in for a communal meal. The
see where it all began in Old Goa, at patio and order the shakshouka (250 ru Project Café. A satellite of a design ini Toddy Shop Meen Curry, a sour Kerala
places like the 17thcentury Basilica of pees) or Leo Special (fried eggs, tiative based in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, style curry with coconut sauce (350 ru
Bom Jesus; the Se Cathedral, the largest chicken, cheese and a chile plum sauce Sunday this multipurpose spread opened in late pees), is the dish to get, but other con
Roman Catholic church built by the Por on a flaky croissant or fresh baguette, 2017 with an intimate guesthouse (each tenders are the royyalu pulusu (Andhra
tuguese in Asia, with its distinctive sin 300 rupees) and a Vietnamese coffee Bistro brunch 9:30 a.m. room was designed by a different Indian style prawn curry, 450 rupees); mango
gle belfry (the other one was struck (130 rupees). The oncesleepy, suddenly trendy vil designer), gallery, cafe, events area and pineapple pachadi (fruits in a coconut
down by lightning in 1776 and never re lage of Assagao is home to Villa Blanche a concept shop featuring handmade cot yogurt sauce, 250 rupees); and Kerala
built); and the Church of the Lady of the Beach-hopping 10:30 a.m. Bistro, which serves allday breakfasts ton dresses from Khara Kapas, scents mutton curry (400 rupees).
Mount, which has expansive views over Goa is incredibly spread out, so if you’re
the Mandovi River. When plague deci short for time, you’ll need to choose be
mated Old Goa in the 19th century, the tween spending your time in North or
capital was moved a few miles west to South Goa. Generally speaking, South
Goa is more secluded, serene and not as
developed, making it good for a relaxed
long weekend. If you want buzzing
beaches, night life and restaurants
aplenty, head north. You’ll find options
here: Arambol beach has a hippie vibe,
complete with the occasional drum cir
cle; Ashwem and Morjem are trendy; 40+ Itineraries | 100+ Countries | 5 Continents Book Now +1 202-349-0670
Vagator is known for its cliffs and rocky
coves; and beautiful Mandrem is en
tered by a rickety walkway over a creek.
Spend your day beachhopping through
North Goa, or commit to one sandy
stretch and settle in.
International Homes
In our premiere issue: The latest on real estate in London, Moscow, New York and more
INTERNATIONAL HOMES
Selling a flat
in Moscow?
Are you crazy?
RUSSIA, FROM PAGE S1
mate the risk in a market with weak
property rights. The International Mon
etary Fund, for example, has cited im
proper risk assessment of mortgages as
a threat to the banking system.
Sanctions are roundly blamed in the
media for Russia’s economic problems,
but economists point to corruption and
bureaucracy — with demand for sanity
certificates for what should be routine
home sales one example — as a notable
drag. “The price of oil and sanctions are
not the main reasons for lack of growth,”
Yevgeny S. Gontmakher, a professor at
the Higher School of Economics, said in
an interview. “For economic growth, we
need to reform the courts, the state com
panies and regulatory agencies.”
Last fall, one group of real estate
agents, as all agents do, followed a cardi
nal rule of the property market: loca
tion, location, location. They were look
ing for a quiet spot with few neighbors
and good waterfront access — to dis
pose of the bodies of customers who had
gotten in the way of their making, well, a
killing in the market.
Over a span of five years ending in Au
gust 2018, the group killed nine
customers and dumped some bodies in a
lake in the woods outside Moscow, the
Russian police said in a statement.
The murderous sales agents found
JAMES HILL FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES
older or alcoholic customers who
wanted to sell their apartments and
move to small towns in the Tver region Buyer beware “I waited about 10 minutes, and if from Soviet practices that guaranteed for a twobedroom home — though both like about yourself,” she asks as part of
north of Moscow, where real estate is Above, an apart there were no signs of life, I left,” said the housing to all citizens, tend to rule in work full time and neither shows visible the exam. Applicants must perform sim
cheaper. The sellers planned to pocket ment project in ringleader, Roman Shugaibev, who was their favor. A seller can claim fraud and signs of mental disturbance. ple tasks like drawing a clock with its
the profit from their Moscow homes and Moscow that went a licensed real estate agent, in a confes say that the deal wrongly left them Sellers turn up at hospitals including hands indicating a certain time. They
live in communities described as quiet bankrupt. Russians sion recorded on video and released by homeless. Moscow’s Psychiatric Clinical Hospital answer questions of logic, such as what
retreats. may hesitate to the police that explained how he To unwind a sale, it is often enough for No. 1, in the Clear Ponds neighborhood, a chair and a table have in common. (An
After the Moscow apartments sold, move for job oppor drowned his clients. sellers to argue they were drunk or tem home to some of the city’s most expen acceptable answer: Both are furniture.)
the agents deposited the proceeds in a tunities because of There are people who lived to tell of porarily insane at the time of signing. sive real estate. Psychologists escort Doctors do not, Dr. Parivova said, as
type of escrow account they controlled. the difficulties in harrowing Moscow real estate transac These rulings are seen as a bulwark those who are planning real estate deals sess whether the person is crazy for
They then invited the customers on buying and selling tions. In 2017, state television reported against homelessness but have down a corridor to an examination wanting to get into Moscow’s apartment
househunting trips near the lake, an old homes. that a gang of brokers kidnapped about spawned another vast enterprise of room. The test lasts about 20 minutes. market in the first place.
rock quarry. 30 Moscow apartment sellers over eight fraud. So, reputable agents require a Antonina V. Parivova, a psychologist, A negative assessment results in a
The gang drowned customers in the years and then kept their properties. certificate of sanity and sometimes a said the test does not yield a medical di document saying, “Real estate trade is
lake or smothered them with plastic The former owners, mostly alcoholic nurse at a closing to take a breath sam agnosis, but gauges whether a person is contraindicated,” Dr. Parivova said.
bags while driving around the country single men, were put to work as slave la ple to detect alcohol. thinking rationally or has suffered brain “This is selfdefense,” said Mikhail
side, to prevent them from complaining borers on a remote farm. Ms. Kotova and her husband were damage. Pak, a real estate agent working with
to the police that there were no new While sellers are indeed often asked to obtain the certificates before “Tell me three things you appreciate Metrium, a Moscow realty company. “In
homes for sale in the small towns. cheated, Russian courts, in a holdover trading their onebedroom apartment about yourself, and three things you dis Russia, fraud happens.”
..
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