The Los Angeles Times willfully failed to make any mention of Nelson Mandela's criticism of GWB and Tony Blair. Write them at letters@latimes.com and let them know that, regardless of their stance on the war, Mandela's comments are an important contribution to the debate over this coming conflict.

I encourage everyone to write the Times. They will only fix their mistake if they get a load of mail. There's no excuse for this.

Dear Mr. Olson,

Thanks for your interesting email, which was forwarded to the readers' representative office.

The Times has run detailed stories on criticisms of Bush's Iraq policy by heads of state, especially when their support or opposition ran counter to expectations.

Mandela is not a head of state, and his opposition was predictable.

Nonetheless, the denunciation was strongly worded, and thus required a decision by editors: Was it important enough to replace another foreign news story? I took a quick survey of the nation's leading newspapers. The Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal and the Chicago Tribune mentioned Mandela's speech. The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, the Boston Globe and the Los Angeles Times did not.

I'll let the editors know you feel it should have appeared.

Thanks again.

Very truly yours,

Barry Zwick
Assistant Readers' Representative