Columnists

Column: Dispatches From the Edge: Notes from the Southern Cone

By Conn Hallinan
Friday February 29, 2008
Getting it right is what the government of Brazilian Lula da Silva seems to be doing these days. The country’s National Survey of Sample Households has just pulled together the results of his government’s economic policies, which indicate that women and the poor are doing considerably better than they did under previous governments. -more-

Column: Undercurrents: The Oakland Police Department’s Mixed Message

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor
Friday February 29, 2008
In one of the more hilarious scenes from Tim Burton’s 1996 parody film Mars Attacks, a group of invading Martians send a decidedly mixed message on an American street, broadcasting a recorded message shouting, “Don’t run; we are your friends” while simultaneously disintegrating with ray-gun blasts all humans within range. -more-

About the House: What to Look For When Looking Under the House

By Matt Cantor
Friday February 29, 2008
I spend a lot of time under houses. This isn't glamorous but it's what I have to do in order to do my job. Actually I don't mind it much. -more-

Wild Neighbors: Globetrotting Rodents: The Odyssey of the Black Rat

By Joe Eaton
Tuesday February 26, 2008
It’s the Year of the Rat again‚—but which rat? For most of us “rat” signifies Rattus norwegicus, the Norway, brown, sewer, or wharf rat, progenitor of all those rats in all those labs, whose original homeland was northern China. But a case could be made for a less-well-known relative with roots in Asia: Rattus rattus, the black, roof, house, or ship rat. -more-