Wednesday morning roundup

Wen Jiabao is trying out the role of reformer, but the level of substance is unclear.

Dr. Rice on Egypt's future.

For our reading list: "A Thousand Rooms of Dream and Fear."

Pearlstein makes a compelling case for raising the gas tax.

Room for Debate takes on the food crisis. It kind of makes me feel bad about having switched to wheat-based kitty litter, even though it is more sustainable.

Sarah Palin is birthers' candidate of choice.

This is why I don't complain about customer service unless it's really, really warranted. I nearly complained about Trader Joe's the other day--I had a few things, including sweet potatoes and heirloom tomatoes, and the cashier put them out of my reach but didn't start bagging them--waited for the bag guy to get back. Then the bag guy *put the tomatoes in first* and was about to put the potatoes in over them. Is not putting tomatoes in a bag first not the first thing they teach you in bag training, and even if it isn't, isn't it common sense?

Computerized Monopoly?? Why mess with a classic?

Only the Post would recommend some local area living blogs without linking to them or providing URLs.