Columnists

Dispatches From the Edge:Kyrgyzstan: Tinderboxes & Tangled Webs

By Conn Hallinan
Friday May 21, 2010 - 11:31:00 AM

Trying to sort out the tides and cross currents sweeping across Central Asia in the aftermath of the March revolution in Kyrgyzstan is to revisit the politics of 6th Century Constantinople that led to the adjective “Byzantine.” -more-


The Public Eye: Obama Foreign Policy: The Return of Third Way

By Bob Burnett
Friday May 21, 2010 - 11:43:00 AM

It’s fortunate for President Obama that domestic events swamp international concerns because most voters don’t care about what happens in countries other than Iraq and Afghanistan. For those of us who do, Obama’s foreign policy stances often bewilder both the left and right – they are the international equivalent of the Third Way domestic policies of the Clinton Administration. -more-


Senior Power: “What’s a taxi script?”

By Helen Rippier Wheeler
Friday May 21, 2010 - 12:07:00 PM

The word "scrip" may be unfamiliar; it is sometimes heard as "script". The noun scrip refers to a temporary substitute for currency. Scrips originated as payment of employees and where regular money was unavailable, such as remote coal towns and occupied countries in war time. Some communities provide discounted coupons or vouchers, referred to as taxi scrip, for registered persons who are unable to access regular transit. -more-


Blogbeat:Genes, Tuna, Water

By Thomas Lord
Tuesday May 25, 2010 - 11:48:00 AM

Pay your last respects.Say your farewells. A strange gem yet dog yet gem of a building is departing downtown Berkeley, once and for all.Demolition is well under way. -more-


Reader's Recommendation: High Tea at Buttercream Bakery and Cafe

By Dorothy Snodgrass
Tuesday May 25, 2010 - 03:11:00 PM

If you've lived in London for extended periods of time, as I have, you know that the British are slavishly addicted to tea. How they do love their tea! It starts at breakfast (God forbid you should ask for coffee!) and continues throughout the day -- midmorning, lunch, early afternoon and then high tea. Now high tea, if you don't know, is something special, one you might enjoy at Harrod's or Selfridges Department Stores. There you're served from a two-tiered tray with dainty cucumber and watercress sandwiches, scones with clotted cream and jam, and, of course, a large pot of tea. Servings are small, mind you, so one often goes away a bit hungry. (At this point I think longingly of a Carl's Jr. Whopper.) -more-