L.A.’s academic decathlon winners; Iran, Israel and the U.S.; the end of HBO’s ‘Luck”

The wrong equation

Re “Granada Hills is again the brainiest in state,” March 19

Wonderful story for those kids. But a tragedy for this state and country.

We can raise millions of dollars for campaigning to

get candidates elected, but we cannot fund education programs so important to all. As your article says: “A preliminary worst-case budget approved by the Board of Education last week would slash the decathlon’s funding.”

What have we become?

Milt Halsted

San Juan Capistrano

What an interesting contrast on your second front page: L.A. Unified may cut the budget for the academic decathlon next year, while private donors gave money so San Diego could retain its fire pits.

Any volunteer donors for the academic decathlon?

Linda Nelson

Chatsworth

Incredible. Some taxpayers believe we can’t afford education. Actually, we can’t afford ignorance.

Schools absolutely need funds. College students need expertise in areas like economics and geometry, not just basketball.

George Feinstein

Altadena

Dealing with Iran isn’t easy

Re “Iran, then and now,” Opinion, March 18

In the event of a strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities, the U.S. Navy would need to occupy certain strategic Persian Gulf locations to ensure the flow of oil.

Stephen Schlesinger’s article explains how this action could easily escalate into a land war between the United States and Iran, and what kind of war this could be.

Another Persian Gulf war and a disruption of oil supplies would harm economic recovery in the West and possibly result in a new recession. Europeans would resent Israel and the United States. The positions of China and Russia in such a conflict would be determined according to their national needs and benefits.

A military strike on Iranian nuclear facilities is a risky multibillion-dollar option that the United States does not need at this time.

Ergun Kunter

Irvine

Contrary to the authors’ assertion, Israel is not a “religiously defined nation.” It has no state religion. It is the nation-state of the Jewish people, not of the religious Jews.

We all hope that diplomatic pressure and sanctions will prevent the Iranian government from getting nuclear weapons. But if that fails, the Israeli government should take immediate measures to stop Iran, as it will represent an existential threat to Israel and its people.

Jacob Amir

Jerusalem

Missing from the discussion of the nuclear standoff between Iran and Israel is how much the United States stands to lose from its involvement.

Israeli threats to attack Iran have been a leading factor in the recent increase in oil prices that threaten to derail our fragile economic recovery.

An attack by Israel is sure to embroil us in yet another debilitating war, with even graver economic consequences.

And the double standard with which the United States has been taking a tough stance against Iran’s nuclear program while ignoring Israel’s own possession of nuclear weapons breeds further resentment against us and undermines world order.

Far from encouraging peace and democracy in the region, our government’s unconditional backing of Israel has enabled it to continue violating Palestinian rights and international law while jeopardizing America’s credibility, economic well-being and security.

Ken Galal

San Francisco

Sarah Chayes and Amir Soltani think an Iranian boogeyman is drawing attention from the Palestinian issue. The real boogeyman is the authors’ issue of Israeli democracy. If Israel does not surrender on the issue of the West Bank, they say, it will lose its democracy.

Well, here’s some news for them: Many countries have territorial possessions where democracy exists happily. Try American Samoa, Puerto Rico, Guam and Britain’s Falkland Islands. Possessed territories are not incompatible with democracy.

Israel should not fear ending the idea of establishing another adjacent, unstable, violent, anti-Semitic Arab state. Rather, Israel should annex the West Bank now, give any Arab resident who does not want to pledge allegiance to Israel rights similar to a U.S. green card, and tell the United Nations that the world’s only permanent “refugees” are its problem to solve.

That would be the beginning of peace.

Gary Dalin

Venice

Many ways to view ‘Luck’

Re “The right ending to ‘Luck’” Editorial, March 19

I hope I’m not the only one that sees the cruel irony in the cancellation of HBO’s “Luck.” An ardent animal rights group can effectively rally to force HBO’s hand with the death of three horses.

The U.S. military has been bankrolling a show in Afghanistan for about a decade with decidedly lower ratings and a human death tally exponentially greater. Grotesquely absent is an advocate to demand an end to this folly.

Of course, one could argue that the horses didn’t voluntarily enlist.

Greg Hilfman

Topanga

Since HBO’s precipitous cancellation of “Luck,” there have been thousands of words written over what a great thing this is for the animals.

Now, I love animals, but no one has mentioned the real tragedy here: the hundreds of people who are now unemployed.

Do the deaths of three animals trump the needs of several hundred humans?

In the current economy, a show like “Luck” brings millions into local coffers and provides work for hundreds of L.A.-based people.

Carol Gwenn

Los Angeles

If the ratings had been higher, “Luck” would not have been canceled, no matter what. All one needs to do is see the comments on Facebook to know that those of us who did watch found it to be one of the finest dramas to date.

Maybe now that it’s gotten publicity, the last show may bring in enough viewers to prompt a reconsideration of the decision.

Nicole Levin

Irvine

Phishing for some solutions

Re “It can be tough spotting a Web phisher’s bait,” March 16

David Lazarus is right to alert us to the problem of phishing. When I sense a phishing expedition, I try to find a site I can direct it to for research into possible abuse.

It would help us all if there were one central site where we could report phishing. We need a base to fight this type of invasion, and the sooner the better.

David A. W. Young

Newport Beach

How many email messages does the average person send in a day? Would it be worth it to pay a penny per each message sent? Would such a plan deter the spammers?

I receive hundreds of unsolicited emails each day, including both legitimate ads and spam. Imagine the amount of time we could save if we didn’t have so much junk mail. Would you pay a penny per message sent if it meant the spammers could no longer afford to send millions of emails to us all?

Stan Coutant

Sierra Madre

I think the best advice is, instead of clicking on the link in the email, just open your browser and type in the address yourself. That way you don’t have to carefully examine the website to make sure you haven’t been phished.

Philip Tesler

Sherman Oaks