EVENTS

Mulling the Future: Political, technology, financial and legal leaders will gather in Pasadena on Thursday to discuss the impact of innovations and technology on society.

Intellectual property rights, encryption and the global marketplace are among the topics to be discussed at the sixth annual Futurist Conference on Building a Global Gateway Through Wireless Technology.

Scheduled to attend are Earthlink Network Chief Executive Charles G. Betty; Jet Propulsion Laboratory Director Edward Stone; and John Grabowsky, vice president of Teledyne Electronic Technologies.

The event begins at 7:30 a.m. at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. For more information, call (310) 826-3364.

Just Chatting: Matt Drudge, editor of the Drudge Report, Michael Kinsley, editor of the online magazine Slate, and Todd Purdum of the New York Times will discuss new media and journalistic standards, at a free forum at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at USC’s Annenberg School of Communication. For more information, call (213) 740-9945. The Tuesdays@

Annenberg events are on America Online (keyword: DCLA).

In the Hot Seat: The Justice Department’s recent charges that Microsoft violated terms of a 1995 consent decree is sure to be the focus of “Appraising Microsoft and its Global Strategy” on Thursday and Friday in Washington. Consumer advocate Ralph Nader, Sun Microsystems CEO Scott McNealy and Christine Varney, a former member of the Federal Trade Commission, will participate. For more information, call (202) 387-8030.

CYBERSPACE

* Armistice Day: Tuesday is the day reserved for honoring the men and women who have served in our nation’s armed services. If you want to know how Veterans Day got started and what it means, head to https://www.usis.usemb.se/Holidays/celebrate/Veterans.htm. At https://www.vfw.com/amesm/origins.shtml, you’ll get the VFW’s account of the day’s origins.

* More for Veterans: Also this week in memory of veterans is the 15th anniversary of the Vietnam War Memorial dedication. Vietnam War Stories (https://www.war-stories.com/WallSrch

.htm) has pictures of the memorial and a feature that allows you to search a list of names on the wall. For links to veteran and military Vietnam War sites, check out https://members.aol.com/veterans/warlib6v.htm. At the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund site (https://www.vvmf.org), you’ll find pages about the wall and statues.

* Not Just for Kids: In November 1895, Dr. John Harvey Kellogg (yes, the cereal guy) first applied for a patent for peanut butter. And 102 years later, we mark November as Peanut Butter Lovers Month. The Adult Peanut Butter Lovers’ Fan Club (https://www.peanutbutterlovers.com)makes its online debut this month in honor of Kellogg and his creation. The site has an extensive history of peanut butter, along with recipes and nutritional information.

* Village Voice: The Westwood Village Community Alliance is now online with information and news about the area’s entertainment, dining, retail and cultural attractions. You can also check out movie times in the village, plus places to eat before or after the show. Head for https://www.westwoodonline.com

* Cartoon Figures: Former Los Angeles Times editorial cartoonist and Pulitzer Prize winner Paul Conrad recently launched a Web site where you can look at some of his recent work. The site also has photos of bronze sculptures of political figures and a detailed biography of Conrad. It’s at https://www.conradprojects.com

*

Please send site suggestions to cutting.edge@latimes.com