Spindrift November 7, 2019
We had a good turnout for Ladies Day, with 12 significant others in attendance: Jolie Gertner, Lorrie Levin (Ken DuFour), Lore Kinton, Paula Kruse, Gina Lesley, Janie Major, Jean Naughton, Mary Romeo, Barbara Ryan, Dennie Schapiro, Jody Swinney, and Lynda Wood.
Lynda jump-started the festivities with a joke, followed by an invocation which included a request for prayers and assistance for the victims of the fires which have been ravaging all of California. Deane Bottorf then led the group in the flag salute, followed by a call to the buffet.
Deane Bottorf then led the group in the flag salute, followed by a call to the buffet. that Ladies Day was the appropriate venue for “taking Jeannie out to dinner”…..Dr. Bob Wood introduced his Honored Guest, Steve Kosch….Shirley Lashmett submitted an application for a new member to be submitted for Board approval…..Remember that next week’s featured speaker is our own Senator John Moorlach, and it would be a good time and place for you to invite any Honored Guests.
PROGRAM- President Ken Dufour introduced our speaker, Fred Simon, who is a Special Agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Office of Public and Congressional Affairs, Los Angeles Division. Fred presented a very entertaining and informative program focusing on what the FBI is and does, and, more importantly, what we need to know in order to protect ourselves. Fred is responsible for responding to all congressional inquiries regarding FBI affairs within his division. Operational Activities… The current functional modalities of the FBI are split into “Criminal” and “National Security”. Prior to 9/11, it was mostly criminal; since that time, the focus has been more on domestic and international terrorism. The FBI works closely with local law enforcement agencies when necessary.
About 1/3 of the over 30,000 employees of the FBI are special agents, who are the ones who do the work in the trenches; the remainder are supportive personnel. These include linguists, auto mechanics, office personnel, etc. When engaging in an operation overseas, the agency almost always works overtly in conjunction with the host country to solve problems; in that respect, it differs from the CIA, which, for the most part, acts covertly. Situational and Vulnerability Awareness… Anyone and everyone who attends classes at a local school; shops at grocery stores; visits a hospital; goes to a church, mosque or synagogue; or attends concerts, sporting events, etc. are placing themselves in target locations, i.e., places where large numbers of people congregate. Today these venues are more dangerous than in past years, where, nowadays, innocent people are being attacked and killed.
We need to adopt a degree of paranoia: we need to be continuously aware of our surroundings. Look for things that are out of place (anomalies), unusual or aberrant behavior. Always know where the exits are and think about a plan for escape, etc. rather than waiting to respond when an event occurs. For example, try taking a seat at the end of a row rather than the middle of one. If you are pumping gas, look around for strange people, etc. Avoid potential problems and be somewhat prepared, and if the danger is imminent, dial 9-1-1. For less emergent problems, contact the non-emergency number of your local police department. Cyber and Internet Security…Most of us are aware of all the scams that are perpetrated via emails and telephone messages, and yet, enough people still fall for them. The IRS (or any government agency, for that matter) will never email or phone you; they will always either send you a letter or come to your door. Similarly, if you get an email from a friend or relative asking for money, first call that person to confirm. The current MO of the FBI is to act in preventative mode to mitigate problems rather than to act in response to an event.
RAFFLE
RAFFLES…Dr. Bob announced that the club was the winner of the most recent Football Book Pool….Mike Gertner identified the winners of the Week 8 “Other Football Pool” as Bill DeMeulle and Ron Lashmett, with Seymour Beek taking second place. Both “low (wo)man” and high (wo)man winners of the Week 9 pool ballots were cast by Shirley Lash-mett, who submitted two ballots and collected on both of them!.... Winners of the weekly raffle were Don Smith ($10) and Jeff Yeargain ($20).
GREETER(S)…Oops! You didn’t see yours truly, Dave Schapiro, at the greeting table. You saw instead Roy Shlemon, our resident geologist and longtime member.
Dave Schapiro, Editor