Culver City Observer -

On October 14 Representative Karen Bass (D-Calif.), Ranking Member of the House Subcommittee on Africa, issued the following statement after twin explosives were detonated in Mogadishu, the capital city of Somalia.

“Saturday’s attack has left more than 300 people dead, 400 people injured, and many more still missing.

“The explosion was the worst single attack in the country’s history and the Somali government believes the al-Qaida-linked group al-Shabaab is responsible for the attack.

“Our thoughts are with the Somali people as they resiliently move forward from this devastating bombing.

“I am deeply disappointed by the lack of U.S. media attention to this attack given the massive and largely unprecedented loss of African lives. Should this have happened in any other part of the world this would’ve been a top news story.

“Just because these were African lives doesn’t mean we can look the other way. We cannot afford to ignore the largest Continent on Earth.

“The U.S. will continue to stand with the Somali government, its people, and our international allies to combat terrorism and support efforts to achieve peace, security, and prosperity.”

According to Transparent California, in 2013 there were 21 teachers whose wages and benefits added up to over $100,000. In 2014, the website showed there were then 44 such teachers. In 2015 there were 71 teachers. After five years of very generous raises there were 151 such teachers costing the Culver City Unified School district over $100,000 to employ them. That’s over a seven-fold increase.

Annual district-paid employee benefits by fiscal year (FY)

FY 2011-12 $8,979,547

FY 2012-13 $9,301.701

FY 2013-14 $9,489,308

FY 2014-15 $11,887,395

FY 2015-16 $14,225,815

Percent of district paid employee benefits increase for noted fiscal year (FY)

FY 2011-12 to 2012-13 103.6 %

FY 2012-13 to 2013-14 102.0 %

FY 2013-14 to 2014-15 125.3 %

FY 2014-15 to 2015-16 119.7 %

Spy tech that reads your mind, leaks, theft and sabotage by employees have become a major cybersecurity problem. One company says it can stop “insider threats” before they happen by reading all your workers email and by using a software developed for Stroz Friedberg Company. The software combs through an organization emails and text messages looking for high usage of words and phrases language psychologists associate with certain mental states and personality profiles.

Tired of paying these super high taxes, so why not retire in Nashua, New Hampshire they have no sales tax and their income tax is limited to 5 percent on dividends and interest. Residents over 65 get a $1200 exemption and there is no Social Security or pension tax. Money Magazine.

A ban on menthol favored cigarettes is beginning to sweep our nation. This if successful will have unintended negative consequences; especially for African Americans according to a coalition that advocates for equity in the implementation of policies. Part of the coalition is the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives whose members say the ban will open additional avenues to police abuse toward blacks. They are trying to urge legislators to focus more on health solutions rather than criminalization.

Los Angeles City Council recently voted 13-0 to ban at public demonstrations protestors using.

1. Pepper spray

2. Metal signs

3. Stun guns

4. Drones

5. Combustible liquids

6. Spray paint

7. Gas masks

8. Improvised shields

I as a Los Angeles County Commissioner labored long and hard to have the government remove our social security number from the Medicare card. Beginning in April 2018 new cards will be issued but what about active duty, reservists, and veterans whose military ID numbers were changed to -you guessed it-social security numbers – when will those millions get their new cards?

In downtown Los Angeles you will enjoy the self-guided tours, exhibits, silent auction and reenactments covering more than 100 years of African-American Fire Fighter Museum (213) 744-1730; aaffmuseum.org

Stacey Abrams, the Georgia state house minority leader who holds degrees from Spelman College and Yale School of Law is seeking to become American’s first Black female governor.

Breast cancer is about 100 times less common among men than among women. Male breast cancer risk factors are:

Heavy alcohol use Gene mutation Aging

Chronic liver disorder Heredity Excess body weight approximately 90 Americans die each and every day from overdosing on Opioids

The highest scoring restaurants on 2nd Vote.com

Waffle House 5 of 5

Chick-fil-A 4

White Castle 3.5

Krispy Crème 3.3

BJ 3.1

For those who missed an article all my commentaries can be found at http://www.culvercityobserver.com; scrolling down the page and underneath Opinion look for Rubenstein.