LeDuff turns phrases in South L.A.

"LOS ANGELES - It is understood on the streets of gangland that a rivalry can leave you dominant or it can leave you dead. But sometimes it can leave you nowhere at all, and that is why there has so far been no march for jobs and justice through the streets of South-Central Los Angeles." That's Charlie LeDuff's lead in today's New York Times, and it's followed by lines like "a diamond encrusted ring as large as a goiter" and "a barnyard can accommodate only so many roosters." It's a piece on the rivalry between the local Nation of Islam head, Tony Muhammad, and gang peace organizer Daude Sherrills.