The United States will soon turn over three Navy warships to the Philippine government to help it patrol disputed islands in the South China Sea. The Chinese are building islands on low-lying reefs and shoals and using them to bolster China’s claim to a vast area of ocean.
The fifth annual Chinese New Year celebration was held on January 31 at the Saban Theatre on Wilshire Blvd. in Beverly Hills. Participating hotels throughout that city are offering packages during the month of February and also have Mandarin-speaking staff to make their guests feel welcome. Our super-duper rich cousins are going all out with Chinese newspapers delivered to their hotel rooms daily, Chinese tea, slippers, in-room Chinese breakfast dining options, almond and sesame cookies, etc.
Well, well, well, a federal judge in Los Angeles ruled the people have a broad right to use copyrighted material without permission for purposes such as criticism, news reporting or teaching. Judge Michael Fitzgerald, in his ruling against the City of Inglewood and its mayor, James Butts, said, “This lawsuit posed a serious threat to critical political expression.”
It’s hard to believe it was on September 27, 2013 that Holly Mitchell was sworn in as California State Senator for the 26th District.
There have been 160 school shootings since December 2012. Because there have been no incidents in New York City schools in the past two decades many parents are suggesting metal detectors are no longer necessary; however, the union representing unarmed safety agents (4,915 members) claims more than 300 weapons, including knives and BB guns, have been recovered since July 2015.
I wonder when the City of Culver City will tell us about CalPERS increasing the amount they charge cities by 50 percent. Because the board of California’s largest public pension fund approved its estimate of future investment returns from 7 ½ percent to an annual 6 ½ percent, this is a move that will require taxpayers to pay billions of dollars more than expected over the next 20 years. Under the plan approved on November 18, 2015, workers hired in 2013 or later will also pay more for their pensions, but the vast majority of government employees are exempt. The new policy also requires CalPERS to gradually move more of its $300 billion fund to safer investments such as bonds, which earn lower returns.
A little known Chinese real estate developer says it is scooping up oil assets in West Texas as part of a billion dollar deal that underscores China’s keen interest in the U.S. energy patch.
As of October 1, 2015 the United States Army has 491,365 soldiers on active duty, 350,023 in the National Guard and 198,552 in the Army Reserve for a total of 1.03 million. Troops are in Afghanistan, Arizona, Arctic Circle, Canada, Iran, Italy, Kuwait, Lithuania, Slovenia, and Ukraine. In Arizona, National Guardsmen from seven states are competing in the best Gunfighter Fly-in helicopter competition.
The Army is looking for hundreds of drill sergeants to serve on active duty and in the Army Reserve. The search is two-pronged: The Army needs more female drill sergeants as it prepares to open more jobs to women and tries to recruit more women into the service, while the Army Reserve has only 60 percent of the drill sergeants it needs. As many as 1,274 authorized positions, active and reserve, are unfilled. Those who graduate from the U.S. Army Drill Sergeant Academy will receive special duty pay worth $300 per month and extra consideration when they are up for that next promotion.
Our government has finally authorized the shipment of 36 F-16s to Iraq. The first batch of four, along with Iraqi pilots and support personnel, completed a three-year training course near Tucson, Arizona. First ordered in 2011, the United States had repeatedly delayed delivery of the jets, citing safety issues. Presently 20 Iraqis are learning to fly the Lockheed Martin war machine capable of speeds of 1,500 miles per hour.
IT’S WORTH REPEATING. The Culver City Council won’t tell you, upper city management won’t tell you, but I will: Culver City and other cities have been notified by CalPERS that they will increase the pension costs by 50 percent, and according to news sources it’s going to be for approximately 20 years. Before long the Cuban cigar city hall types with their gold toothpicks will say I’m all wet, but when will they release the pension documents from upstate? And please don’t forget the teachers’ retirement system is so far below water that an American nuclear submarine couldn’t get there. I’m waiting patiently for the Board of Education to give us more bad news. It’s coming, maybe not tomorrow or next month but before long . . .
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