October 17, 2018 - Wednesday

Breakfast Meeting at 9:00 AM

Speaker: Mr. Shlomi Vayzer

Mr. Shlomi Vayzer is a native-born Israeli who began his professional career in politics and government affairs in Israel. He has worked for several Knesset members and Israeli Ministers, and was very active in the Labor Party. He was instrumental in the planning and implementation to rehabilitate the Israel Broadcasting Authority, and led the revitalization of the Labor Party in 2006. Mr. Vayzer then went on to head the Labor faction's Communications and Media Outreach programming. He joined Jewish National Fund (JNF) Israel in 2011, and has been the Senior Israeli Emissary in the United States since 2015.

Mr. Vayzer attended The University of Tel Aviv, and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Government Relations. He served in the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) in the Ordnance Corps, working in the Intelligence Unit.

The cost of the breakfast is $15 for members. It is free for our first-time guests and prospective members.

Click here for more information

November 21, 2018 - Wednesday

Breakfast Meeting at 9:00 AM

Speaker: Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer

Mr. Mike Feuer has been serving as  Los Angeles City Attorney since July, 2013. Prior to this, from 2006 - 2012, he served three terms in the California State Assembly as the Representative for the 42nd Assembly District.

Mr. Feuer has also served as a member of the  Los Angeles City Council  (1995 - 2001), representing the  5th Council District currently held by Councilmember Paul Koretz . In 2001, Mr. Feuer was a candidate for Los Angeles City Attorney, placing first in general election, but losing in a run-off.

Prior to seeking office, Feuer served as executive director of  Bet Tzedek (House of Justice ), Legal Services and was a lawyer in private practice.

The cost of breakfast is $15 for members. It is free for first-time guests and prospective members.

Click here for more information

OCTOBER 26, 2018

FRIDAY, 11:00am

Wende Museum - Exhibitions of the Cold War

10808 Culver Blvd, Culver City

A fascinating tour of museum exhibits and artifacts that are intimately associated with life behind the "Iron Curtain" during the height of the Cold War!!!

Cost of the tour is $12.00. Please endorse checks to BMG, and send to:

Myron Forst

11939 Gorham Ave, Unit 307,

Los Angeles, CA 90049.

Lunch to follow at Cafè Laurent, 44243 Overland Blvd, Culver City

POC: Myron Forst

email: myronvending@yahoo.com

phone: 310.558.8622

The Brandeis Men's Group has many "Special Interest Groups" (SIG) which meet on a regular basis. To find out more about the various groups, or to suggest adding new ones, contact Marv Alperin (1-323-931-7172), or the individual group chairman. click here.

Legal Cases SIG

On September 27th, nine members of the Legal Cases SIG were convened by constitutional law expert, Harold Orchid, to discuss and consider several notable legal decisions.

The first discussion concerned "Joseph H.", a California case of a 10-year old minor who, in May 2011, shot and killed his severely abusive, neo-Nazi father. The police interviewed the child, and informed him that he had the right to remain silent (i.e., Miranda rights). When asked if he understood the right to remain silent, the boy replied that it meant the right to remain "calm". The step-mother was present during the interview, and continually instructed the boy to tell everything. He confessed to the killing, and in 2013 was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 10 years in a juvenile facility. The verdict was appealed and ultimately went to the U.S. Supreme Court due to the question of when a juvenile can voluntarily and intelligently waive his/her rights to self-incrimination. The Supreme Court, in 2016, declined to hear the case. That same year, SB1052, which would have required juveniles under 18 years old to first consult with legal counsel before waiving Miranda rights, was vetoed by Governor Jerry Brown. The defendant will remain in juvenile custody until the age of 23.

The second case involved Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, a naturalized U.S. citizen, who, along with his older brother, planted two bombs at the finish line of the 2013 Boston Marathon. Both men then fled, though the older sibling was soon shot and killed by law enforcement personnel. The younger brother was subsequently found and apprehended, but during the course of the arrest was not read his Miranda rights. The question presented to the Legal Cases SIG was whether or not this omission was legal. The answer in this instance is that the subject was essentially a terrorist and therefore considered to be an enemy combatant. As such, it became a national security issue and President Obama determined that Miranda rights were not required.

The third case involved an 84-year old female doctor practicing medicine in New Hampshire, and whose licence was revoked by the state medical board in late 2017. She appealed claiming that the revocation was discriminatory and based primarily on her refusal to use a computer for entering a patient's prescription and medical information. The state required such information as part of its overall drug monitoring program, but the doctor was averse to discarding her way of treatment in favor of having to learn what she regarded as a disruptive state-mandated electronic system for keeping records. The New Hampshire State Superior Court judge ruled that the doctor could not continue to practice while at the same time she was ignoring legislation designed to regulate harmful medical concerns. Her license remained revoked.

The final case concerned a female secretary/receptionist who was hired in April 1997, by an architectural design group in Chester, Connecticut. She was one of only three employees, and in December 1997 notified the firm that she was pregnant. Four months later she was fired, ostensibly for poor job performance. Following the birth of her child, the woman sued the firm for wrongful dismissal based on sex discrimination. The defendant's lawyer argued that the state's law against sex discrimination did not apply for companies with three or less employees, which was indeed the situation. The Connecticut State Supreme Court ruled 3-2 in June 2002, in favor of the company.

Members attending the discussion group were Stan Epstein, Marty Jaffee, Harold Igdaloff, Marv Alperin, Bernie Schneier, Steve Silvers, Henry Gass, Randy Barnes, and John Harris.

Members interested in joining this group should contact Marvin Alperin, 1-323-931-7172.



Current Events #1 SIG

Three members of the Current Events #1 SIG showed up on Tuesday, September 18th, to discuss a variety of topical issues. Among the many subjects opined on were upcoming elections in South Dakota, the political impact of witnesses alleging sexual harassment by Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh, the ongoing Hurricane Florence relief operations, and the controversy surrounding the slow recovery of Puerto Rico from last year's Hurricane Maria. Members attending were Bob Bienenfeld, Randy Barnes, and host Lou Bernstein.

To join this group, or for more information, contact Louis Bernstein, 1-310-275-7736

Bob Bienenfeld and Lou Bernstein

Sporting Event: Fight Night

On Saturday, September 15th, six Brandeis Men's Group sports fans met at the home of Louis Bernstein, and watched as Kazakhstani boxer, Gennady Gennadyevich Golovkin (aka, GGG), and his Mexican opponent, Saul "Canelo" Alvarez, duked it out for the full 12 rounds in a pay-for-view sports broadcast main event fight. The two titans of the ring were in top physical condition and the contest was extremely close, but in the end the judges decided that the Mexican boxer, Canelo Alvarez, deserved the split decision. Thus, he became the new undisputed champion of both the WBA and WBC middleweight boxing titles.

Attendees were Lou Bernstein, Bob Bienenfeld, Randy Barnes, Yuri Brodyansky, Ted Slavin, and a guy whose name we don't remember.

Compliments and special appreciation to Lou for not only volunteering his residence and providing ringside seats for this much anticipated contest, but also for arranging to have the food catered. It was an excellent evening.

For more information about this group contact John Harris, 1-323-650-0664.

Ted Slavin, Lou Bernstein, and Yuri Brodyansky

Illustrative of the fact that Life sometimes moves faster than we can keep up is this recent story from BMG president Stan Epstein.

In late August, as a result of complications involving his pacemaker, Stan found himself admitted to UCLA hospital in Westwood. While providing medical history to a noticeably younger technician, Stan was asked if he smoked and he replied, "No, I quit when Edward R. Murrow died of lung cancer...when (Murrow) was on television he always had a cigarette in his hand." The famous CBS war correspondent and newsman died of lung cancer in 1965 at the age of 57, but sensing some uncertainty in the technician, Stan followed up his response with, "You know who Edward R. Murrow is, don't you?" There was a noticeable pause, then came a reply of "No!" For all those reformed non-filtered Camel smokers out there (Murrow's favorite brand), this was surely a "Good night, and good luck" moment!

In that same vein, Stan also had opportunity to school UCLA medical staff on the proper pronunciation of his surname. He explained it's pronounced as "Epstine", not "Epsteen", and to drive home this point he mentioned that Leonard Bernstein always insisted on being called "Leonard Bernstine"! Much to Stan's amazement, most of the hospital staff he spoke with didn't know who the great conductor was! Giving credit where credit was due, however, Stan acknowledged that they at least had heard of "West Side Story".

It don't mean a thing, if it ain't got that swing

Swing was definitely the operative word on Wednesday, September 26th, as BMG members, guests, and first-time attendees gathered at 11:00am for brunch and to hear USC professor emeritus Dr. Thom Mason present the history of a musical style that has defined a generation of Americans, and which continues to be immensely popular today.

Beginning in the 1920's with its origins in jazz, Swing as a musical genre blossomed in Chicago and spread across the land. Factors influencing its popularity were radio, phonograph records, ballrooms/social centers, dance crazes like the Lindy Hop (named for Charles Lindberg's 1927 solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean), the repeal of Prohibition, and the emergence of club centers in major cities (e.g., 52nd Street in New York City, and South Central in Los Angeles). Swing was an era that lasted well into the 1940's, and it spawned a legion of musical giants such as Count Basie, Fletcher Henderson, Duke Ellington, the Dorsey Brothers (Tommy and Jimmy), Benny Goodman, Coleman Hawkins, Art Tatum, Billie Holiday, Gene Krupa, Glenn Miller, Ella Fitzgerald, Buddy Rich, Chick Webb, Harry James (in 1939 James hired the first so-called "boy singer"...a skinny Italian kid named Frank Sinatra who later left and joined the Tommy Dorsey band)...on and on and on! And if you were ever fortunate to hear The International Sweethearts of Rhythm, then you likely witnessed what is considered the best all-woman jazz band of the swing era (from Piney Woods, Mississippi no less)!

This was a terrific event and the BMG is grateful for Dr. Mason's knowledge and presence.

DUES...DUES...DUES

July was that time again - LA Brandeis Men's dues were due !



Send or bring check made out to BMG for $30 to:

Bernie Schneier

311 Bora Bora Way, #204

Marina del Rey, CA 90292

And not just Local Dues, but Brandeis National Committee too !

Send check made out to BNC for $60 to :

Brandeis University

MS132

415 South Street

Wlatham, MA 02453

And for each SIG, it's $10, paid to the appropriate SIG chairman!