Columnists

Earthquakes, like the recent Haitian and Chilean monsters, are not subtle events: They flatten buildings, crush houses, and turn infrastructures into concrete and steel confetti. But earthquakes can also generate a power that remains largely unseen until a huge tsunami rises out of the sea and obliterates a coastline. -more-

At first glance, the recent assassination of a mid-level Hamas operative in Dubai by the Israeli intelligence organization, Mossad, was a comedy of errors, as if the Three Stooges has suddenly been put in charge of one of the fabled agency’s hit squads: Easily traced passports and credit cards were used; team members put on fake mustaches and beards, sometimes so clumsily they could clearly be identified; and a female agent slipped on a disguising wig, only to walk back and forth in front of a surveillance camera for half an hour. -more-

This past week I was reminded of a Winston Churchill speech where he lamented, "these are the years that the locust hath eaten." Speaking before the House of Commons, Churchill chronicled Hitler's rise to power, Germany's rearmament, and England's failure to respond. He used the locust metaphor to refer to the multiple opportunities England had to prevent war. -more-

“In youth we learn; In age we understand.” -more-

Berkeley prides itself on being at the forefront of national trends. This was already the case a hundred years ago, when newfangled inventions like the automobile and the movies found receptive local entrepreneurs ready to help them along. -more-

A few days ago, Ron and I were walking down San Pablo Avenue near Hearst when we heard a familiar screeching noise. We located the source in a leafless tree: a midsized green parrot with a long tail and a red face. It appeared to be a mitred conure, also known as mitred parakeet, the species that’s frequented West Berkeley for at least a couple of decades. And there was only one. -more-