Factions

Los Angeles, the city of perpetual ambivalence, is questioning itself again. The home of Spanglish rap and Italian-Thai restaurants and more than 100 languages and dialects is wondering whether its "multicultural" self is still viable.The alternative is, of course, nationalism, and there are plenty of examples of that, too, from black vs. Latino race riots on inner-city high school campuses to increasing numbers of suburban hate crimes. There's also talk of dividing the Los Angeles School District -- this move being led by residents in the mostly white San Fernando Valley who wish to distance themselves from a black and Latino inner-city.

Before Ric Flair and Mick Foley departed from WWE, they participated in a round-table discussion about wrestling factions on WWE 24/7's Legends of Wrestling . The show is worth watching because Flair holds nothing back. He had some interesting things to say about the nWo, Shane Douglas and some former members of the Four Horsemen. (For more, go to baltimoresun.com/ringposts)

"What is our purpose?'' Senate Minority Leader Robert Dole asked of the latest U.S. commitment of troops to Somalia. ''What is the cost? How long will they stay?''U.N. Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali addresses these questions in his most recent report to the Security Council on Somalia. But his answers would not please Mr. Dole or a growing number of senators and representatives concerned about the increasing U.S. commitment to the U.N. operation in Somalia.Mr. Boutros-Ghali explains that what began as an effort to prevent mass starvation has become a campaign ''to reconstruct [Somalia's]

JERUSALEM -- Renewed violence between rival Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip left at least six people dead yesterday, despite a three-day-old cease-fire agreement. Clashes broke out around the coastal strip after gunmen from the ruling Hamas movement ambushed a convoy of trucks they said were carrying arms from Egypt destined for its main rival, Fatah. Four members of Palestinian security forces and two bystanders died in the fighting and more than 40 people were injured. Egyptian officials in Gaza and a spokesman for the presidential guard of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who belongs to Fatah, denied the trucks were carrying arms.

I had to respond to Peter Jensen 's vituperative diatribe "Don't Save the Planet" about conservatives supposedly going out of their way to avoid protecting the planet (May 3). Since when did a question limited to specially marked light bulbs measure anyone's environmental consciousness? Based on our voting record, I guess you could label us conservatives. Like most people I know, we use both tubular and CFL fluorescent bulbs (where practical - show me one that works in freezers, variable intensity lamps, outdoor flood lights, desk lamps that take small bulbs, garage trouble light, etc.)

AMMAN, Jordan -- At first, the short statement by George Habash about his meeting with Jordan's King Hussein might have sounded like little more than the obligatory thanks a guest offers his host.But Mr. Habash, leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, was talking amiably about the head of state he once sought to overthrow. In the process, he provided more evidence that Iraq's takeover of Kuwait has produced a radical reordering of the Arab world.Mr. Habash, who had been barred for years from entering Jordan, said yesterday that on the subject of Kuwait he and King Hussein "shared the same ground."

LONDON -- Unionist political leaders in Northern Ireland yesterday agreed to overt, face-to-face talks with nationalists -- the first in 15 years -- in a new effort to solve the bloody conflict in the province.They announced that they had "responded positively" to a proposal by Peter Brooke, Britain's secretary for Northern Ireland, for all-party talks that will eventually involve the government of the Irish Republic.Mr. Brooke, who is expected to make a parliamentary statement today or tomorrow, had set an Easter deadline for agreement on the talks.

Residents of Turf Valley Overlook in Ellicott City learned yesterday afternoon that their fight to keep the St. Mary's Cemetery property in the heart of their neighborhood free from development is over.The county wants to designate the heavily wooded, 3.2-acre property as open space and allow the owner to develop open space of equal value elsewhere in the community.Residents, who formed the group Friends of St. Mary's Cemetery and Preservation Society, would maintain the cemetery. A preservationist group, such as the Maryland Historical Trust, would hold the deed.

TOKYO -- Within hours of the sudden resignation of Japan's government yesterday, political factions began maneuvering to gain control.But with no group holding a decisive hand and deep-seated animosities spread throughout parliament, there was little certainty about who might emerge on top or how long the process might take. The formal business of choosing a leader will begin tomorrow and end -- whenever.In the meantime, there appears to be little interest or will on the part of the Japanese politicians to confront the problems facing the country.

Only good could come from people of all faiths speaking wit one voice against the hostilities in Bosnia, a local Muslim leader believes.But it is not happening -- not in Baltimore, not anywhere.The failure of the different religions to present a united front TTC against the war in the Balkans is being traced to a variety of causes: summer vacations, preoccupation with other problems, the escalation of ethnic fears and hostility, denials of responsibility.Imam Mohammad Bashar Arafat of the Islamic Society of Baltimore thinks it's time to overcome those obstacles.