Shared

"Oh, you mean the guy with the 70-year-old head and the 20-year-old body-builder body? That picture has got to be Photoshopped." Dr. Jeffry Life smiles when I tell him about the general reaction I get about the famous picture of him with his shirt off, the shot that turned a mild-mannered doctor in his mid-60s into a poster boy for super-fit aging and controversial hormone replacement Appearing in medical-clinic ads in airline magazines and...

WASHINGTON - In the months after the U.S. militarymission that killed Osama bin Laden, Pentagon officials met with Hollywood filmmakers and gave them special access in an effort to influence the creation of a film about the operation, newly released documents show. Emails and meeting transcripts obtained from the Pentagon and CIA through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit by the conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch suggest that officials went out of their way to assist the filmmakers, while trying to keep their cooperation from becoming public.

If you give millions of seriously underwater homeowners a new equity position in their properties by reducing their principal mortgage debt, will they keep paying on their loans and avoid foreclosure? Call it a pipe dream or a significant model for other lenders and investors, but one company says it has found an important combination: Modify underwater borrowers' loans so that their payments are reduced to a manageable amount and cut their principal debt over time, but make the deal dependent on their scrupulous on-time monthly payments of the new amount plus sharing of a portion of any future profit they make on the house sale.

Facebook has made a habit of advancing its interests at the expense of its customers, whether by weakening its privacy policy, tracking users' movements around the Web or radically reconfiguring the way information is displayed on the site's pages. So it probably shouldn't surprise anyone that while the company's initial stock offering was a boon to the company and insiders, it's been a costly disappointment for the general public. Now, some investors are accusing the company and its bankers of playing the public for suckers, sharing pessimistic revenue projections with a few insiders but not average investors.

Re "A Bad Daughter's Dream," by Julie Hilden, Commentary, May 8: I can't imagine not loving my mother. That thought never occurred to me. It wasn't because of all the material things she gave me, because there wasn't a lot there to give. What she did give me was a joy of life. I remember her singing around the house, whether there was something to sing about or not. On her deathbed I remember her saying she couldn't wait to get out in the sunshine that she loved. Even saying I loved her with all my heart seems sort of shallow.

Re "A First-Class CEO's Worth? Whatever the Market Will Bear," Commentary, Sept. 18: With the help of high tax rates for the very wealthy, a strong labor movement and the GI Bill, the 25-plus years following World War II became the greatest economic period in U.S. history by almost every measure. There was another thing: the theory that everyone shared equally in a company's prosperity, or sacrificed equally in its hard times. Whatever happened to that? You don't even hear it anymore.

I think the idea of shared tables is wonderful. It would fill a gap. I've thought of signing up with a dating service or writing an ad in the newspaper in order to meet someone, but I don't want love or marriage or a commitment. I just would like to eat Saturday breakfast or lunch or dinner on the way home from work with someone once in a while. It would also be good for restaurant business. I would eat out much more often if it were an easy social event. Restaurants need to be more user-friendly.

Thanks for the thoughtful Sept. 21 editorial on sharing trails with bicycles. I'd be careful about overestimating the level of user conflict, though. I've been hiking and riding the trails of the Santa Monica Mountains for 20 years. Most of the people on the trails get along just fine. There's an abundance of research that says that perceptions of user conflict are exaggerated by the frequent, multiple complaints of a small number of people. On the bike issue, I've seen this time and time again.

On the traffic-clogged streets surrounding UCLA, Nina Viakhireva, a car-less art student from San Francisco, had learned to navigate the bus routes or rely on friends for rides. Her parents did not buy her a car, afraid Los Angeles traffic would be too dangerous and time-consuming. Then the 21-year-old found the Zipcar program, a car sharing service that provides affordable transportation and gives her a new sense of freedom. "I use it for the grocery store, to go to dinner or to the beach," Viakhireva said.

Q: What problem is shared by Daryl Gates and Saddam Hussein? A: Neither man can take a hint. C. SCOTT MILLER Culver City

When historians of such things seek the moment the U.S. Olympic Committee found a way to forge the agreement Thursday that put the U.S. back in the game as a potential Olympic Games host, they need look no further than Oct. 7, 2009. It was five days after Chicago had suffered a humiliating first-round loss in the International Olympic Committee vote for host of the 2016 Summer Olympics. There quickly followed calls for heads in the USOC leadership to roll. It was the day USOC Chairman Larry Probst got so angry about being called out by some of his constituents, including athletes and the heads of the national sports federations, that he vowed to show them.

Benihana Inc., the Japanese-style and sushi restaurant chain known for slicing, dicing and frying food in front of diners, has accepted an offer to be sold to a private equity group for $296 million. Angelo, Gordon & Co. plans to pay Benihana shareholders $16.30 a share in cash in a transaction that's been approved by the Miami-based chain's board. Benihana shareholders must also approve the acquisition. The price is a premium of 46% over the average closing price for the 30 days before March 13, when Benihana first said it was exploring strategic alternatives for its business.

Mark Zuckerberg on Tuesday completed the transaction of the 30.2 million shares he sold in Facebook's IPO Friday. The shares he disposed of sold for $37.58 a piece, bringing him a cool $1.1 billion. But despite all that money, the Facebook CEO will be spending most of it to cover taxes, according to a document filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Maybe what Facebook really needs is a "buy" button. After a lifeless opening last week, Facebook shares tumbled on their second day of trading, losing about $10 billion in market value Monday as investors questioned the company's revenue prospects. Shares of the Menlo Park, Calif., social network fell to as low as $33 before closing down $4.20, or 11%, to $34.03. It was unclear if Facebook shares got help from traders at the company's lead underwriter, Morgan Stanley, who stepped in Friday to prop up shares just a hair above their $38 offering price.

NEW YORK Shortly after Goldman Sachs Group Inc.'s board learned of famed investor Warren Buffett's $5-billion lifeline at the height of the financial crisis, then-director Rajat Gupta phoned hedge-fund manager Raj Rajaratnam. Rajaratnam, a federal prosecutor said Monday, then used that information when he snapped up Goldman stock before the deal was announced in September 2008. Prosecutors said Gupta helped Rajaratnam make $1 million in just six minutes with the help of illegal inside information.

Robert Redford Before his superstar days, Redford appear in the Oct. 20, 1961, episode, "First-Class Mouliak," directed by William Conrad of "Cannon" fame Sam Peckinpah "The Wild Bunch" director cut his teeth in TV. He directed the "Mon Petit Chou" episode that aired Nov. 24, 1961, with guest Lee Marvin Boris Karloff Karloff joined fellow movie monsters Lon Chaney Jr. and Peter Lorre in the "Lizard's Leg and Owlet's...

I would like to commend NBC for its Dec. 15 program, "Christmas in Washington." It was so great to see something that really shared what Christmas is about. Rev. Ray Diaz, Los Angeles

WHAT a sheer delight, Russ Parsons' article on beans, lamb, cowboys and his own past ["Beans Again? Gussy 'Em Up!" March 1]. Thank you. The article was well received and is being shared with very special foodie friends way beyond L.A. CLAUDIA SHAMBAUGH Irvine

Facebook Inc.shares skidded on their second day of trading on Wall Street, falling below the initial public offering price of $38. The stock plunged more than 13% at several points during the day, and closed just above $34. A number of analysts on Wall Street have criticized the stock's performance, and blamed banks who advised Facebook for pricing the shares too high. There were also complaints that Facebook flooded the market by floating too many shares, and that insiders were cashing out.  However, the broader market moved higher after stocks were punished last week.

Wall Street didn't get the Facebook effect it was hoping for. In a sign that the social networking giant may have already become a bellwether for its sector, shares of virtually every social media company sank Friday with Facebook Inc.'s lackluster debut on the stock market. Anticipating that Facebook would have a big day, investors had loaded up on social media stocks in recent weeks. Many backpedaled when Facebook's shares barely budged, rising just 23 cents, or less than 1%, from the initial public offering price of $38. "They were playing for a pop and didn't get it," said Michael Pachter of Wedbush Securities.