By Neil Rubenstein
Observer Columnist
Many of the members of the Brandeis Men’s Group are proud to be associated with such a fantastic bunch of guys whose main focus is raising money for Brandeis University. They meet on the third Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. at Veterans’ Memorial Complex for a lox breakfast prior to the speaker’s presentation. Unfortunately for those who are not knowledgeable, it’s easy to put the wrong address on their material. My friends are using 4117 Culver Blvd (no such address exists), so if you plan to attend it’s 4117 Overland. You will be glad you came.
From Jerry King, the Poet Laureate of the Jewish War Veterans and Commander, Culver City Post 617, in honor of Armistice Day or, as it’s been known since 1954, Veterans Day:
Poppy Time
The graves are scattered over the world,
From Timbuktu to South Pacific,
From Australia to Russia,
The cemeteries with the stars and stripes unfurled.
For those who shed a tear, then and now,
And remember when they went to war.
How young they were,
How handsome they were
In their uniforms; their faces shone
As their country sent them afar.
Do not forget them for they remembered you.
When they were alive, away from home
Each day they wrote, even in their dreams
They never left your side.
On this day, this Poppy Day, I hope
You’ll remember them too.
Jerry King
August 20, 2013
There has been a surge of defections among the North Korean diplomatic corps posted overseas, UP1 reports. The increase in defections is largely a function of the bloody purges underway in North Korea, according to the South Korean government. Pyongyang executed three senior government officials in 2012, 30 in 2013, 31 in 2014 and 15 as of July 2015, but those official tallies could be low. One recent defector told CNN, “Hundreds of the elite have been executed by Kim Jong-un.” The BBC reported 25,000 people have fled North Korea in the past 20 years.
Did you know every bill Senator Holly Mitchell introduced was signed into law by Governor Brown, including banning Grand Juries in police shootings?
The December 2015 Kiplinger’s was recently pushed through our mail slot by Jay, the world’s best postman, and after reading, “Put IRA Payouts To Work” we realized we had an IRS problem that was easily rectified. Once one turns 70 ½ you must take annual distribution based on the value of your IRA account and your life expectancy. We are considering reinvesting in municipal bonds or municipal funds that are exempt from federal taxes and also, in some cases, state taxes. Check with your tax preparer or CPA.
December is the best month to get a deal on a new car. Customers can expect to save, on average, 7.5% off the sticker price, the biggest savings of any month according to TrueCar, an automotive data company.
On September 20 the Eli Broad museum opened in downtown Los Angeles. Mr. Broad made his fortune in real estate and the insurance industry. Presently he is working to expand charter schools in L.A. as noted in The Progressive: “Broad also backed California’s Proposition 30, a ballot initiative that restored funding to schools after the devastation of the Great Recession, but in private donated money to defeat Prop 30, and impose a separate union-busting initiative.”
The color of the desert in Israel is not brown but green from all the vegetation planted there and all the water conservation projects by the Jewish National Fund. The National Water Summit Series will be held in Los Angeles on March 1-3, 2016; call to get additional information or to register, (212) 879-9305 ext. 262. Visit http://www.jnf.org/watersummit.
Hopefully the Los Angeles Times or some other newspaper will write an expose on the amount of money the City and County of Los Angeles have awarded to the victims of misconduct by the L.A.P.D. and Sheriff’s Department. While we are at it, what about innocent (but convicted) people getting jail time? Frankly, it wouldn’t surprise me if the amount exceeded $30 million a year.
California currently charges 87 cents a pack in cigarette taxes. By contrast New York taxes cigarettes $4.35 a pack. If I remember correctly, I used to go to the Indian reservation in Las Vegas some 40 years ago and bought tobacco products that were tax free for members of the family.
Women who eat a Mediterranean style diet or plenty of fruit have lower odds of experiencing hot flashes and night sweats, recent research from Australia finds.
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