[Tim Rutten] Again, the danger posed by hate-laced propaganda

Sixteen years ago, I was one of the Los Angeles Times writers assigned to cover the Oklahoma City bombing. It was one of those wrenching stories that stand out in a reportorial memory that now extends back more than four decades, partly because my assignment was to each day write about the children

Aug. 1, 2011

[Karl Friedhoff] Taking a crowbar to the ‘Baseball Three’

Throughout the six-party talks, the “Baseball Three” ― a term reportedly coined by Ambassador Christopher Hill to describe the baseball-playing democracies of Japan, South Korea and the United States ― have banded together in an attempt to denuclearize North Korea. However, maintaining unity among t

Aug. 1, 2011

[Gregory Rodriguez] White flight, to the city

For nearly half a century, the term “inner city” has been code for poor and minority. But now white flight ― the decades-long trend of affluent Anglos leaving the urban core for leafier suburban cul-de-sacs ― has run its course. And “inner city” is about to take on a whole new meaning.New census dat

Aug. 1, 2011

[Daniel Akst] Casualties of the digital age of information

It’s hard to resist contrasting the liquidation of the Borders bookstore chain, which commenced this week, with the latest outburst of worry over the fate of the U.S. Postal Service.Both Borders and the Postal Service are basically broke, and both are victims of a technological revolution that incre

Aug. 1, 2011

[Diana Wagman] A request, but no more, for summer dress modesty

Every summer when the temperature goes up, people start stripping down. At the risk of sounding like a prude, I find it unseemly. Toddlers look cute in just a pair of shorts. Middle-age men do not. Most women don’t look good in shorts, period.Yes, there are starlets strutting down Sunset Boulevard beautiful in little short-shorts, but they’re the exception. I don’t see them at my local grocery sto

July 31, 2011

[Kathy Gosnell Seiler] No refuge from the mortgage crisis

From the front door of the house to the back is a straight shot unbroken by walls, handy for pacing, 24 steps each way.It is a small house on a small lot in Highland Park, a Los Angeles neighborhood that was on its way up until the recession. The house has not always been well tended: It’s old and a bit shabby, but it stands pretty much foursquare.I bought it in 2005 for $503,000, most of it borro

July 31, 2011

[Peter Goldmark] News Corp. intrigue grows

Seismic tremors have shaken the media empire of Rupert Murdoch.Empire is the right word. The collection of newspapers, TV stations and news outlets that constitute a large part of News Corp. have been run in very imperial style. And the emperor, 80 years old and going strong, is Rupert Murdoch.The news part of the empire has not been marked by distinguished journalism. But the trigger incident for

July 31, 2011

[Tim Rutten] Threat of Nancy Grace

The sensational result in the O.J. Simpson murder case notwithstanding, it’s an article of faith among criminal defense attorneys that sequestered jurors are more prone to convict than those who go home when the trial recesses for the day.That’s why more notice should have been paid when J. Michael Flanagan, who is defending Conrad Murray ― the physician charged with causing the death of pop super

July 31, 2011

[Editorial] Fundamentalism is the enemy behind terrorists

When news broke of a bomb detonation in downtown Oslo, Norway, many initially assumed it was the work of Islamic terrorists. When later reports came in that a shooting rampage had also occurred on an island just off the coast of Norway’s capital, some believed Europe was witnessing a Mumbai-style attack. Later, however, the world discovered that these atrocities, which have claimed the lives of at

July 29, 2011

[Editorial] Ensure food safety in post-tsunami Japan

On July 8, radioactive cesium in excess of the provisional government limit was detected in beef from a cow shipped from Minami Soma, Fukushima Prefecture, to a Tokyo slaughterhouse. Later beef from 10 other cows from the city was found to have been contaminated with such cesium.As of Monday, at least 2,600 cows suspected of having been fed with rice straw contaminated with radioactive cesium were

July 29, 2011

[Editorial] Singapore Embassy: Close shave in Jakarta

It is a relief that Indonesia arrested 11 would-be terrorists recently before they could go ahead with their intention of attacking the Singapore Embassy in Jakarta, but disquietude remains. Singaporeans owe gratitude to the Indonesian anti-terrorism agency for its vigilance and timely action. It has prevented what could have been a horrific loss of innocent lives. Captured together with small arm

July 29, 2011

[Editorial] Three nations must act to get action from N. Korea

Resuming the six-party talks on North Korea’s nuclear development programs will be meaningless if it is done with no conditions attached.It is vital to continue to press Pyongyang to take concrete action so that substantive progress is made toward denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula. Foreign Minister Takeaki Matsumoto, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and South Korean Foreign Affairs and Tr

July 29, 2011

[Susan Crawford] Cyberwar hysteria aids consultants, hurts U.S.

On Feb. 3, President Barack Obama and the entire West Wing lost access to e-mail for more than seven hours. A tree-trimmer had accidentally cut the lines running out of the White House data center. White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer sent a bulletin via Twitter ― the only way he could get the news out, he said ― letting the world know that “Verizon is working to solve the problem.” A

July 28, 2011