海角大神

A zero-sum negotiating posture 鈥� one side wins, the other loses 鈥� is counterproductive in Washington, where the two parties ultimately have to work with one another. Experts say probing underlying interests could reveal ways to satisfy both President Trump and House Democrats.

Russia faces a looming question: What follows Putin's current, likely final presidential term? An answer is beginning to take shape 鈥� and may involve a new position for Putin and a reshaped political landscape.

In the wake of terror, communities often draw together to mourn and heal. But fear can prompt scapegoating, too. After last week鈥檚 brutal attack in Nairobi, can Kenyans pull back from deepening divides?

While projections of climate change consequences are dire, the international community has shown it can cooperate to achieve results on ecological issues, as seen in the reduction of the hole in the ozone layer.

Self-presentation can make all the difference in life 鈥� especially during formal occasions like job interviews. That's why Christopher Schafer has made it his mission to help men in need find the perfect suit.

Sometimes the battle against corruption is driven by more than righteous indignation at the guilty. On Jan. 22, for example, Mexico鈥檚 new president, Andr茅s Manuel L贸pez Obrador, began a tour of municipalities where theft from gasoline pipelines is high. Just four days earlier, at least 90 people had been killed in a massive explosion while stealing fuel from an illegally tapped pipeline in the state of Hidalgo.

Instead of cracking down on such local thieves 鈥� most of them impoverished farmers 鈥� Mr. L贸pez Obrador, or AMLO as he is known, plans to offer them an alternative. 鈥淭he most humble people are going to have incomes,鈥� he promised. 鈥淭hey are going to have a way to work honorably without a need for these activities.鈥�

His new welfare plan is aimed at the 80 municipalities known for their huachicoleros, or bands of thieves who clandestinely siphon fuel from state-owned pipelines. In Mexico, the price for just 1.3 gallons of gasoline is equivalent to the daily minimum wage.

鈥淲e have the conviction that the people are good, that they are honest, that if they arrived at these extremes, these practices, it鈥檚 because they were completely abandoned鈥� by the rest of society, he said.

AMLO also reacted in other affirmative ways. Compared with previous presidents, he was unusually transparent about the details of the fiery tragedy. 鈥淲e must put honesty first as a way of life and as a form of government,鈥� he said. He also promised accountability for officials of the state-owned petroleum company, Pemex, and any soldiers who may have been slow or negligent in preventing the incident. Mexicans are eager for government accountability.

Fuel theft costs Mexico about $3 billion a year. Worldwide, an estimated $130 billion or more is lost to hydrocarbons crime, such as smuggling, according to a 2017 study by the Atlantic Council. In Nigeria, some 30 percent of refined petroleum product is lost to some form of theft.

In December, as part of his overall campaign for honest governance, AMLO began to demand more tanker trucks be used to transport gasoline in order to stop pipeline theft. He also deployed security forces to guard pipelines. Yet key to his anti-corruption campaign is offering opportunities, such as scholarships and internships, to assist people in rejecting the lure of criminal activity. 鈥淲e鈥檒l find a way to face the violence problem without using force,鈥� he says.

The persistence of corruption in the world may indeed require such an approach. 鈥淭he fight against corruption mobilizes all of us because we want to do away with evil and injustice. But we should remember that casting the bad into the sea does not imply the sudden appearance on our shores of the good that we need,鈥� writes Ricardo Hausmann, professor of the practice of economic development at Harvard University.

AMLO鈥檚 tour of municipalities after the Jan. 18 tragedy should serve as an example of how creating good for others can help vanquish evil better than merely attacking it.