Columnists

Dispatches From the Edge:The U.S. & Yemen: A “Lethal Blend”

By Conn Hallinan
Friday August 20, 2010 - 01:23:00 PM

How involved is the U.S. military in Yemen, and is the Obama Administration laying the groundwork for a new foreign adventure? According to several news agencies, including Agence France Presse, UPI and the Washington Post, very involved and likely to be more so in the future, -more-


Dispatches From The Edge: Roma: Europe’s Favorite Scapegoat

By Conn Hallinan
Monday August 23, 2010 - 08:22:00 PM

Peggy Hollinger and Chris Bryant of the Financial Times put their fingers on what’s behind the current uproar over Europe’s Roma population: the group is “an easy target for politicians seeking to distract attention from problems at home by playing on fears over security.” That strategy was stage center in early August when France’s conservative government shipped several hundred Roma back to Romania and French President Nicolas Sarkozy pledged he would bulldoze 300 Roma camps over the next several weeks. -more-


The Public Eye: The 2010 Elections: What’s at Stake?

By Bob Burnett
Friday August 20, 2010 - 03:49:00 PM

With the less than three months before the November 2nd elections, the political parameters are clear. Despite the accomplishments of the 111th Congress, Democrats are on the defensive and Republicans smell victory. Regardless of the outcome, it’s likely little will change in Washington; Congress will spend the next two years avoiding America’s most pressing problems. -more-


Senior Power:Senior Center Month

By Helen Rippier Wheeler
Friday August 20, 2010 - 03:35:00 PM

National Senior Center Month is coming up, in September. It is estimated that there are 10,000-16,000 senior centers in the United States. Of these, more than 6,000 receive some funding support from the Older Americans Act through service contracts awarded by state and Area Agencies on Aging for program activities. -more-


Wild Neighbors: It’s a Bird! It’s a Bee! No…

By Joe Eaton
Monday August 23, 2010 - 08:04:00 PM
Snowberry clearwing, a day-flying sphinx moth.

A couple of weeks ago I ran into an old acquaintance from the South: a dayflying moth variously known as the bumblebee moth or the snowberry clearwing (Hemaris diffinis.) Unfortunately, the moth was in dire straits, having blundered into a spiderweb in some kind of exotic Asian maple. It was intact but not moving. If the web had been within reach, I would have been tempted to free the moth. Its height saved me from violating the Prime Directive. -more-