25 really smart movie villains
Long before Hannibal Lecter ate that poor census taker's liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti in "The Silence of the Lambs," there was Professor Moriarty. Long before Hans Gruber posed as a...
View ArticleTibor Machan: Forget austerity. Just loot the rich
Portugal is broke but austerity measures there are protested persistently. Greece is in the same fix. And, indeed, in America, the Occupy Wall Street crowd appears to believe that, if even a few folks...
View ArticleEditorial: Boeing double-teamed by union, NLRB
A key to American prosperity is the freedom of companies to run their operations how they see fit, wherever they decide is best for them. That freedom took a hit this week in a case involving Boeing,...
View ArticleWoman and son struggle to meet needs
ANAHEIM – Julie Anderson has spent the last 5½ years making life work with a hot plate and an electric skillet. Her kitchen is not a kitchen at all but an Anaheim motel room that she shares with her...
View ArticleKids Who Care club helps spread joy
LADERA RANCH – More than 100 kids and parents from the Kids Who Care club in Ladera Ranch filled Joy Jars with toys, coloring books, stuffed animals and play dough Saturday."I love seeing how capable...
View ArticleTimothy Spangler: Britain stays an island
Britain's Prime Minister, David Cameron, has exercised his country's European Union veto for the first time in history, in order to derail an ambitious treaty that hoped to stop the continuing...
View ArticleMorning letters: Fed makes U.S. an easy mark for fiscal failure
-CAPISTRANO BEACH, David Rowe: Mark Landsbaum's article, “Enough to give you the blues,” [Commentary, Dec. 11] is right on but you are preaching to choir members, not to the leaders who are listening...
View ArticleNational Charity League holds fashion show, luncheon
The Orange/Villa Park Chapter of the National Charity League held its Fashion Show and Luncheon on Sunday, Nov. 13 at the Doubletree Hotel in Orange. This year's fashion show, themed "La Dolce Vita"...
View ArticleGeorge Will: Gingrich’s capital crime
Newt Gingrich – the friend of his detractors, to whom he offers serial vindications – provided on Monday redundant evidence for the proposition that he is the least conservative candidate seeking the...
View ArticleDec. 14 celebrity birthdays
See some of the people celebrating birthdays today. Notable personalities of the past who were born on this date can be found at the end of this slide show. Also see notable deaths of 2011. SEE...
View ArticleShow off with simple dishes
Sometimes the simplicity of a dish and the key ingredients can showcase a cook's talents. Take the sweet potato, for example. An oddly shaped root vegetable with a somewhat grimy exterior. But shave...
View ArticlePlease help our aching heads
The dictionary defines it as "something remaining from a previous time or state" and as "a survival." Boy, and how, when it comes to a hangover. Is there anything like the state produced after too much...
View ArticleEditorial: Climate confab ends with little harm done
The 17th worldwide conference intended to whip 190-plus nations into a fighting mood to combat global warming concluded in Durban, South Africa, this week, thankfully, without doing much harm. Global...
View ArticlePayroll tax bill would cut jobless benefits
The current 99 weeks of unemployment benefits could be cut to 59 weeks under the payroll tax reduction bill approved Tuesday by the House of Representatives. The Republican-sponsored bill, H.R. 3630,...
View ArticleNew albums: Anthony Hamilton, Rammstein, Snoop Dogg and more
The year is winding down, and as usual the number of significant new releases each week is dwindling. Not many obvious standouts this time beyond Anthony Hamilton's excellent fifth disc, Back to Love,...
View ArticleIrvine listings: A third are distressed homes
One analysis of real estate for sale in Irvine shows the market speedier in its last tabulation. Every two weeks, Steve Thomas of ReportsOnHousing.com publishes a study of the supply of local homes for...
View ArticleO.C. chip maker may pay $340 million for Israeli firm
Irvine chip maker Broadcom Corp. is negotiating to buy another Israeli technology company, according to Israeli business reports. According to Globes, an Israel publication, Broadcom first invested in...
View ArticlePresidential candidate comparison: Taxes
This is the fourth in a series of Associated Press comparisons of the Republican presidential contenders and looks at the issue of taxes. Among the other subjects to covered: immigration, environment,...
View ArticleIn trade limbo, Gasol teaches a life lesson
What is the picture of mental toughness? Kobe's on-court jutting jaw is too angry. Rodin's sculpture "The Thinker" is too withdrawn. The big eyes on the blue whistle of "The Little Engine that Could"...
View Article‘White Christmas’ musical smartly parts ways with film
Anybody who wants to stage "White Christmas" has to deal with two formidable ghosts: Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye. Their complementary talents were perfectly suited to the 1954 film about a...
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