Culver City Observer -

By Neil Rubenstein

Observer Columnist

Doctor Oz said, “Taking 162 milligrams of aspirin a day (that’s two baby aspirins or half a regular aspirin, taken with a half glass of warm water before and after) can decrease the risk of getting colon cancer, esophageal cancer, prostate cancer, ovarian cancer and breast cancer by 40 percent.” Aspirin has side effects, so talk to your internist.

Maria, AKA “the Wild Gypsy Lady,” and I were sitting in our favorite German beer garden, you know the one. It’s sandwiched between a former Yugo car dealership and an Alpha Beta market across the street from the Mohawk gas station that gives triple Blue Chip stamps on Tuesday.

Marie was saying how our mainland Chinese friends are making inroads all over the world buying real estate, farm land, mines, natural resources, etc., etc., etc. By far their biggest project will be the Grand Nicaragua Canal. Located in Central America and costing a mere $40 or so billion and taking five plus years to build, it will be 90 feet deep, 1,700 feet wide and will accommodate the newest cargo supertankers. These massive ships will be longer than the Empire State Building is tall and will carry up to 18,000 shipping containers.

New research recently printed in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found adults who eat two or more servings per week of any type of fish lower their risk of hearing loss by 20 percent. Experts suspect the omega 3 fatty acids in fish help to maintain blood flow in the inner ear.

If you want to get rid of a cold in record time (and who doesn’t?), suck on a zinc lozenge for the 24-hour period following the first sign of the flu or cold.

A while back I was told that to reduce high blood pressure one should increase potassium intake. Added potassium may also reduce your risk of heart disease. Foods such as oranges and orange juice, avocado, bananas, cantaloupe, honeydew melons, kiwi, lima beans and apricots also are loaded with potassium.

As with medical claims, always check with your doctor. Many with diabetes discovered 1/2 teaspoon once a day of cinnamon may reduce blood sugar levels by up to 25 percent.

According to recent news reports from the Mount Alfaf region in Iran, Christians are facing execution if they don’t convert to Islam. Ten years ago Mosul, the second largest city in Iran, had 60,000 Christians. Nine and one-half years later Muslim extremists captured the city and ordered all Christians to convert to Islam or pay a tax or face execution. Soon thereafter Muslims blew up a tomb thought to be that of Jonah. The French government is offering asylum to the fleeing Christians.

In DeKalb County, Georgia (Atlanta area) their leading natural gas provider, Gas South, is providing a $100,000 death benefit for all city police, all school police and all county deputy sheriffs. Approximately 1,000 employees will be affected.

I just took a gander at the City of Los Angeles budget for 2015-2016 that was signed by Mayor Garcetti. The budget increases the fire department’s money by $55 million to hire a total of 270 firefighter recruits, $70 million for police overtime, $4.5 million for police body cameras. $31 million a year to fix sidewalks and $300 million for a “rainy day” reserve fund. The budget totals $8.6 billion.

Speaking of money, do you remember the 2014 election? The people passed Prop. 1 which allowed Sacramento to issue $7.2 billion in bonds for California’s water system. Perhaps you all remember my commentary regarding the water purification plant in Orange County where in just 45 minutes dirty toilet water is cleaned and tastes better than from the tap or from plastic bottles. So much could have been done, but it’s apparent they just don’t have the will or desire.

One must be almost in shock upon hearing of the excavation of a fifth century synagogue in Israel near the Sea of Galilee. The archaeologist found a mosaic depicting Samson and, in another, two elephants ready to do battle.

From 1990 to 2008 Oklahoma had only two earthquakes with a magnitude 3.0 or higher; by 2014 that number rose to 584. Scientists cannot say for sure, but many feel fracking could be the culprit.

As I write this, Governor Jerry Brown is trying to get Democrats and Republicans at State Capitol to agree to suck additional money out of our wallet to fix California’s roads and bridges. Forget the 18 cents increase to the price of gasoline that went into effect in February or the increase the federal government will soon put on us. Please don’t remember the new ideas floating around the back offices to charge us either a flat fee or a fee based on the number of miles we drive. Personally, I feel the government at all levels let the roads go to hell so the public would be coerced into repairing not only the pot holes but the fox holes. I haven’t heard from the Board of Education about the extra millions we will receive ($3,000 per student over and above).

For those who missed an article, all my commentaries can be found at http://www.culvercityobserver.com by placing Rubenstein in that website’s search box.