Evaluation of the New Times Stories

Spending time with the New York Times

The New York Times has been around for ages, but I have never looked into it. However, sometimes, the links from other websites lead me there for some rather interesting articles. Nonetheless, browsing around the website itself is a first for me.

Taxing Google and Other U.S. Giants is Dividing Europe

Motiqua. "European Union" 12/26/2009 via flickr. Attribution 2.0 Generic

1. Does there seem to be a "main character" or "protagonist" to the story? If so, who is it and how are they the "center" of the story? If not are there any important or central characters  in the story at all? What role do they play?

The main character of this story appears to be Margrethe Vestagor. Ms. Vestagor is a European Commissioner for the European Union. She is the main character in the story because she has been spearheading the move to implement more taxes on Google and other multinational Corporations in Europe. Another important role, yet not a primary one, is that of British Prime Minister, David Cameron.

2. Where do the specific events in your story take place? Is there a specific setting? Describe the settings for the stories and how they influence the plot and characters.

The locations mentioned are Brussels and London, as well as other European Cities. Various countries such as France, Luxembourg, and Germany are also mentioned. The general setting for this story is most of Europe because this debate has been occurring in various European Countries. The countries in which these debates take place affect the stance of the governments on the subject. Countries such as France and Germany want more taxes to be placed on these corporations. On the other hand, countries such as Britain propose leaving the tax rates as they are.

3. Is there any kind of disagreement or debate happening in the story? If so, who is participating, why are people debating, and what seems to be at stake for the different characters in the story?

The main debate in the story is about whether to implement harder tax policies on multinational corporations or leave them as they were. Various politicians from different nations are participating. People that for taxing these companies believe that corporations, such as Google, have been using complex accounting methods to avoid being taxed. They believe that the money that can be acquired from taxing these corporations can help improve their economies and help fill budget deficits. On the other side, people believe that taxing these corporations would have adverse effects on their nations economies. Jobs might be lost and it could put many countries at a competitive disadvantage. 

El Salvador's Advice on Zika Virus: Don't Have Babies

Herbison, Matt. "No Babies" 5/4/2007 via flickr. Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic

1. Does there seem to be a "main character" or "protagonist" to the story? If so, who is it and how are they the "center" of the story? If not are there any important or central characters  in the story at all? What role do they play?

The main character is the government of El Salvador. They are the center of the story because they gave out a controversial alert telling its citizens to not have babies for two years. Other important roles are that of health officials, such as Dr. Ernesto Selva Sutter, and various women of El Salvador, such as Vanessa Iraheta, whom is seven months pregnant at the time of the story. These individuals believe that the alert will not work and that the government should try other methods to protect the people and their children.

2. Where do the specific events in your story take place? Is there a specific setting? Describe the settings for the stories and how they influence the plot and characters.

The specific story for this story is San Salvador, the capitol of El Salvador. This affects the story because San Salvador is a densely populated city that is being plagued with an outbreak of Zika. Zika is a mosquito transmitted virus that causes severe birth defects in infants. Nonetheless, the city and country are also being hit by severe violence outbreaks and economic turmoil. This leads to many people believing that they should not worry much about the virus, but about other things such as the violence.

3. Is there any kind of disagreement or debate happening in the story? If so, who is participating, why are people debating, and what seems to be at stake for the different characters in the story?

The disagreement is over the decision for El Salvador to release that alert for such a lengthy period of time. Most countries have released similar warnings that will only apply for a few months, but El Salvador has made the warning apply for two years. The government says that it is to keep the people safe and to prevent the loss of infants to this virus. However, woman from San Salvador are saying that they will not stop having children due to religious reasons. Many religious groups are also opposing this alert. Some groups have gone as far as as saying that this alert is a conspiracy by the government to control the population.