The threat from Iran; the Occupy movement; California as a place to live and work

Beware Iran

Re “Britain closes its Tehran embassy after attacks,” Dec. 1

The attack on the British Embassy in Tehran occurred not just with the tacit approval of the Iranian government but also with its encouragement.

This is the same as Iran’s 1979 assault on the U.S. Embassy, in which Americans were kidnapped and held hostage for 444 days. The only difference today is that this rogue nation is more extreme; it openly supports terrorism, making it ridiculous to demand that the U.S. or any Western democracy apply the Geneva Convention when dealing with it.

It’s also a wake-up call to anyone foolish enough to think that an outfit like Iran would act rationally if it had nuclear weapons.

Pat Murphy

Pacific Palisades

Taking sides on Occupy

Re “No easy fix,” Opinion, Nov. 30

Nick Schulz shifts the blame for grotesque income inequality to three “realities”: technology, immigration and the collapse of intact families.

I suggest it’s uncaring corporate greed that drives good-paying jobs overseas and middle-class incomes down.

As for keeping families intact, it doesn’t help when hedge funds buy the companies we’ve worked for our entire lives, lay everyone off, sell the pieces for a profit, then simply move on to the next acquisition. To what end, I ask?

The answer is always “the bottom line.” Greed, plain and simple, is the culprit for this upward distribution of wealth.

Gregg Peterson

Corona del Mar

I commend Schulz for spelling out the obvious. I am getting tired of the dreary, ragtag crowd of the entitled chanting for the downfall of the financial sector.

The banks are not the problem; rather, government that taxes, spends and regulates too much has pushed our economy over the brink. Income inequality is the result of an expanding economy in the face of contracting opportunities for advancement in a culture stuck in comfort and entitlement.

The Occupy movement has done its job — hardly a moral one — of drumming up outrage. Yelling and screaming, however, will not undo the cultural barriers that have made our young people unable to enter the world capable of fending for themselves.

Arthur Christopher Schaper

Torrance

As Schulz points out, there are reasons for the accumulation of wealth. What he doesn’t address, and what the Occupy movement does, is that the economy is being forced to its knees by the increasing imbalance.

Because consumer spending makes up most of this country’s economy, the increasing disparity in income results in decreased demand even as technology helps to increase supply.

Whether you’re a member of the 1% or the 99%, wealth redistribution is the only solution.

I’d like to see Schulz address the real issue instead of berating the Occupy movement for not coming up with a solution.

Mickey Oskey

Big Bear Lake

To be, or not to be, in California

Re “Waving California goodbye,” Nov. 26

So more people are moving out than moving into California. Will we experience less-congested freeways and less-crowded schools?

California, with its

37.3 million people, is by far the most populous state, with Texas (25.1 million inhabitants) a distant second. And during the last decade, when out-migration became a trend, California actually gained 3.4 million people, according to the 2010 Census. That’s equivalent to moving Connecticut to the Golden State.

Why is it so important that California keep growing?

The real issue is that California attracts low-skilled workers who add little to the economy. Instead, we need to entice those with traits that would grow the economy without just growing the population.

Lewis Polin

Laguna Niguel

My mother’s family was living in San Francisco during the 1906 earthquake. In 1920, my grandfather said Los Angeles would be New York City with palm trees. My father’s family moved here in the 1930s. This state had everything.

Of my 10 first cousins, six have moved out of state. All that glitters is not gold, if I may coin a phrase.

David Goodwin

Los Angeles

I read with interest the reasons why California is losing its allure as a place to settle down and why more people are moving out than in.

It is interesting that the state’s liberal and anti-business policies, which have driven so many companies out of California, were never mentioned. It is therefore reassuring that the problem is not caused in part by our elected officials failing to create the necessary business climate to attract corporations.

Our guys up in Sacramento must be doing a tremendous job.

Earl Yessman

Hermosa Beach

Dog days

Re “Surf, sand and — yes — dogs,” Editorial, Nov. 30

Your editorial advocating a relaxation of laws forbidding dogs on beaches is misguided.

Have you taken a walk recently? Sidewalks and lawns are pockmarked with dog feces left behind by people who refuse to assume the responsibilities of dog ownership. Perhaps these individuals are in the minority, but that is an abstract point to anyone who has stepped in the matter and dragged it into his car or home.

Maintain the laws as they exist. Before we give dog owners the opportunity to police each other on our beaches, let’s see them do it on our streets.

Patric Kuh

Los Angeles

Energy’s role in the big picture

Re “Smart exploitation,” Opinion, Nov. 28

How can an article about energy development totally ignore climate change? Charles K. Ebinger writes, “Shale gas reserves may leave us gas independent for up to a century.” It is likely that before another century is up, our industrial civilization will be struggling to survive.

Unless we come to our senses and make repairing the climate our No. 1 priority, we can look forward to ever-increasing havoc in weather patterns, putting at risk our ability to feed the billions of people on Earth, much less maintain the amenities of life. We should apply our imaginations to an all-out search for sustainable energy systems that can scale up to the level needed.

I have no doubt our scientists are up to the challenge, if only the rest of us can pull our heads out of the tar sands.

Grace Bertalot

Anaheim

Ebinger professes to be a Democrat but also votes his conscience, whatever that means. I will not belabor the many points that would refute most of his arguments and certainly question his conscience.

But according to a recent issue of the New Yorker magazine, James Hansen, one of the country’s foremost climate scientists, was asked by environmentalist Bill McKibben what the effect on the climate would be if the Keystone XL pipeline were built and the dirty Canadian tar sands further exploited. Hansen’s reply: “Essentially the game is over for the planet.”

Enough said.

David Coulson

Huntington Beach

Technology isn’t a cure-all

Re “When droids take your job,” Editorial, Nov. 28

Sadly, the benefits of technological advances have contributed to gross economic inequities,

allowing a few innovators to capitalize mightily on the existing economic and labor systems.

Correcting this inequity may mean looking at our expectations of work and compensation. The next new thing that creates a demand for 40-hour workweeks may never emerge.

With improved pay and reduced work hours, the benefits of technology would be more fairly distributed.

Michael Llach

Porter Ranch

Your editorial is right on the money.

However, you state that the next generation of computers will allow an animator to create scenes 50 to 70 times faster. Though this will be good for DreamWorks, it will not be good for its animators. DreamWorks will simply use fewer animators.

Bradley Sick

Culver City