Some fret over new `Dodgertown' in L.A.

Next spring, when a city's fancy turns to baseball, the Los Angeles Dodgers will take the field in a neighborhood newly christened Dodgertown. But Rachel Cantu and others who once lived there won't be celebrating.

The area's former residents will be marking the 50th anniversary of when the last families were driven out of a close-knit, largely Hispanic neighborhood they knew as Chavez Ravine. They were tossed out to make way for a new major league ballpark that would be called Dodger Stadium.

For Cantu, who works for a real estate agency, the memories are particularly painful. She was 10 when her mother, Aurora Vargas, was dragged by sheriff's deputies down the …

Christian comment

"The most important thing is not to win but to take part, just asthe most important thing in life is not the triumph but thestruggle.

"The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have foughtwell".

Whose creed? Answer: The Olympic Games.

The founder of the modern games, Baron Pierre de Coubertin, firstheard these words at a sermon given by the Bishop of Pennsylvania,Ethelbert Talbot, to the champions of the 1908 games.

The shorter Latin motto "Citius, Altius, Fortius",(Faster,Higher, Stronger) came from his Dominican educationistfriend Father Henri M Didon.

Dr Arnold of Rugby was also an influence, via Tom Brown'sSchooldays, …

Williams Sisters Earn U.S. Open Quarters

NEW YORK - When you hear about Serena and Venus Williams overpowering opponents, as happened Sunday at the U.S. Open to two recent Grand Slam finalists, it's easy to forget that the sisters are, indeed, individuals.

And as similar as their on-court styles might seem, all stinging serves and gargantuan groundstrokes, they are not quite carbon copies.

That point was driven home by their father and coach, Richard, who sat courtside for the final game of Serena's 6-3, 6-4 victory over Wimbledon runner-up Marion Bartoli, then watched Venus' 6-4, 6-2 win against French Open runner-up Ana Ivanovic.

"Serena reminds me of a pit bull dog and a young Mike Tyson, all in …

Lacombe takes over at Monaco, Antonetti at Rennes

Guy Lacombe took over as coach of French league club Monaco on Tuesday, with Frederic Antonetti replacing him at his old club Rennes.

Lacombe, who is taking over from Ricardo, signed a two-year deal at Monaco and will start his role on June 15, the club said on its Web site.

Meanwhile, Rennes announced that Antonetti would leave Nice to take over the club on a two-year deal.

Lacombe took Rennes to seventh place in the French first division this season, and to the French Cup final _ where it lost to second-division Guingamp. Antonetti's Nice finished 11 points behind Rennes in ninth place.

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ABN Q3 profits fall on bad Greek corporate loans

AMSTERDAM (AP) — ABN Amro, which is owned by the Dutch state, saw its profits fell sharply in the third quarter as it wrote down the value of Greek bonds.

Profit slid to only euro9 million ($12 million) from euro443 million a year ago after it wrote euro500 million off the value of its euro1.4 billion portfolio of Greek corporate bonds guaranteed by Athens.

The company didn't discuss other exposures to bad debt in detail, but noted it holds euro26.4 billion in European government or government-backed bonds — more than half of it in the Netherlands and Germany.

"The macro environment became progressively challenging during the year," said ABN's chief executive Gerrit …

The United States, Israel, and Iran: Defusing an "Existential" Threat

Iran is an existential threat to Israel. This apocalyptic warning call has become a mantra continually repeated by virtually all Israeli leaders and defense officials and has been adopted by much of the U.S. national security establishment. President George W. Bush even warned that Iran's declared intention of destroying Israel could lead to World War III.1

There is no doubt that Iran poses a severe threat to Israel, not only in the nuclear field, but what kind of danger does its nuclear program constitute? Is Israel's future in imminent danger if Iran goes nuclear? The answer is probably not. Although somewhat reassuring, this response is less than satisfying.

First, the …

Parents May Be Jailed Over Vaccinations

As doctors struggle to eradicate polio worldwide, one of their biggest problems is persuading parents to vaccinate their children. In Belgium, authorities are resorting to an extreme measure: prison sentences.

Two sets of parents in Belgium were recently handed five month prison terms for failing to vaccinate their children against polio. Each parent was also fined 4,100 euros ($8,000).

"It's a pretty extraordinary case," said Dr. Ross Upshur, director of the Joint Centre for Bioethics at the University of Toronto.

"The Belgians have a right to take some action against the parents, given the seriousness of polio, but the question …