Comment by James Lardner. Comment about the lack in interest by Bush in domestic policy. Domestic policy has virtually ceased to exist. In early October, when the effort to reach a budget-deficit agreement with Congress was making large demands on his time, George Bush acknowledged that the task of mobilizing the world's opposition...

The Talk of the Town Induction by Barry Paris. Talk story about an event in Pittsburgh. It was the ninth annual Western Pennsylvania Jewish Sports Hall of Fame awards. Some 600 people showed up at Congregation Beth Shalom synagogue for the affair, which every year raises thousands of dollars for sports causes. The crowd was to honor five living...

The Talk of the Town Pita by David Owen. Talk story about Sotirios Hatziioakimidis, also known as Steve X., the production manager and co-owner of Mediterranean Pita, Inc., a small baking company on 21st Avenue, in Queens. Mediterranean pita, of Greek origin, has no inner pocket, unlike Middle Eastern-style pita. It is similar to the traditional Indian...

The Talk of the Town Time Travel by Nancy Franklin. Talk story about the 70s Preservation Society and attending a big party given by them. People were waiting for the presentation of the first annual Lava Lamp Achievement Awards to be given to people who had defined the decade for the rest of us. Writer did not name the recipients...

Fiction New Country by Anthony Gianera. Horst Luderitz and his wife Bessie are natives of South-West Africa, of German descent. Germany lost possession of the country to South Africa in 1945; the story is set immediately after the Independence Week celebrations marking the country's liberation from South Africa, under the new name, Namibia. Horst reads...

Fiction The Winnowing of Mrs. Schuping by Padgett Powell. Mrs. Schuping lives on an estate so dilapidated that the house is in danger of falling down. She calls herself Mrs. Schuping arbitrarily. She has no husband nor has she ever found in the least logical the idea of having one man whom you so designated. Life is winnowing for...

A Reporter at Large THE HOUSE OF HASHEM by Milton Viorst. A REPORTER AT LARGE about Jordan. Writer went to a congress organized by JANDA-Jordanian Arab National Democratic Alliance. The group emerged out of a dozen left-of-center political parties & groups that have taken root since the 1989 election. The congress was called to express the resentment of...

Musical Events by Andrew Porter.

Letter from London by Julian Barnes. Tells about the fall of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, and the subsequent election between Michael Heseltine, John Major, and Douglas Hurd. Describes the crisis which eventually forced Thatcher out of office. Heseltine has always been a high-profile politician, whose active, warrior stance(and slight absurdity)is reflected in his...

Around City Hall AROUND CITY HALL BRIDGES by Andy Logan. Tells about the holiday party New York's mayor invites local reporters to at Gracie Mansion each year. Dinkins, unlike his predecessors, has hardly ever met with members of the press in his cozy City Hall office, with its large photographs of Paul Robeson and Nelson Mandela... He has made it...

Poetry What the Seer Said by Jane Cooper. She said I would see the future...

Poetry The Mink by Jeffrey Gustavson. A mink ruffles...