Nov 20
Stem Cell Research
at UCLA
Dec 11
Christmas Shopping
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Next Week...
November 20
Dr. Owen Witte
Stem Cell Research Chief at UCLA
Upcoming Programs...
November 27
Dark for Thanksgiving
December 4
Dark - Joint Meeting with Santa Monica
Rotary Club on Dec. 5
December 5
Joint Meeting with Santa Monica Rotary Club
Riviera CC
Activities...
December 11
Christmas Shopping Trip - Contact Mike Yousem
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This Week...
MALONZO HILL at WVRC on November 13th.
STEVE LORE led the Pledge. Another STEVE, PP DAY by name, gave the Invocation. Before he officially began, PP STEVE spoke of how he missed the last two meetings, and this piteous tale was interrupted by a voice from the audience, “Fine him!” This timely advice was taken so seriously that PP STEVE did indeed get charged ten bucks. The Invocation: “We honestly believe the purpose of each life is to make a difference…We also are aware nothing does itself…machines, bricks, nails, buildings, lessons, classes, words, food, skills, projects don’t plan themselves…We know the next move is up to us, therefore we pray for your divine guidance in our every thought, intention and action”. Well said, PP STEVE – Thanks. And up came LENNY, to lead us in “Way Down South” (since I forgot the real title). As I remarked to my seatmate, RON KLEPETAR, “We did pretty well, considering what LENNY had to work with.”
There were two Visiting Rotarians. Diedre Martinez is from the Brentwood Club, and as usual, came with ANN SAMSON. Our Speaker, Alonzo Hill, belongs to Santa Monica, and he has been a visitor before. MARK ROGO brought his Mother, Maxine. NIKKOLE VALDEZ asked Robert Ochs to attend with her. LENNY, in addition to SUNNY, brought /Gabrielle and Lydia Tolkowsky, who are diamond dealers – this cost him 25 big ones, since it could be interpreted as sales promotion. I guess I should admit that I looked under their table afterward, but nothing had spilled. And CURT SMITH again brought his neighbor, John Joannes.
As these intros were winding down, President SEAN fined me five bucks for not properly identifying our visitor from LA Five, Joe Mulryan. And it was discovered that even though MARK ROGO remembered to bring his Mother, he forgot his pin, so that cost him five, also. Those seated at the Head Table contributed nothing noteworthy, except PEGGY, who had the good sense to admit that she had nothing to say. You are all aware that PP JIM DOWNIE is having a rough convalescence, and it was suggested that visitors should hold off at this point.
Next, we learned about Father O’Shay. He had the habit of asking people if they wanted to go to heaven, and in the pub that evening, his first subject said, “Oh yes, Father, I do.””Go stand over there.” Then Father O’Shay asked the next man, “Do you want to go to heaven?” and the reply was “Oh, certainly, Father.” “Go stand over there”. However, when he came to Paddy O’Toole, the reply was, “No, I don’t, Father”. The priest said, “I don’t believe this – you mean to tell me that when you die you don’t want to go to heaven?” “Oh, yes, when I die. I thought you were getting a group together to go right now.” And it seems only fair to publish two more facts: 1. Why do they make Irishman jokes so simple? So Englishmen can understand them. And 2. Have you heard about the Irish boomerang? It doesn’t come back, it just sings songs about how much it wants to.
But the meeting was probably saved by the inclusion of some more Irish history. After examining several sources, it developed that the most significant event two hundred twenty seven years ago this week, on this very day in 1775, American forces led by General Richard Montgomery captured the City of Montreal. It was one of the first significant victories in the early stages of the Revolutionary War and did much to lift the spirits of the colonists…So Montgomery pressed on to take the strategic stronghold of Quebec City and there met his end, becoming one of the first fallen heroes of the war. This is appro because, you see, Montgomery was Irish. There is more – but once again, my ever-present sense of fairness and boredom precludes my filling your cup further.
PEGGY BLOOMFIELD did her usual good job in introducing our Speaker, Alonzo Hill. He grew up in Bakersfield, and got a BA in Petroleum Engineering from Cal. His MBA is from Pepperdine. His first two jobs were with Mobil Exploration, and then Arco Western Energy. Five years later, he became interested in the FBI, and he has been an agent for the past eleven years. Mr. Hill has worked in a variety of investigations, including financial crimes, international terrorism, and espionage.
Mr. Hill’s talk was aided by a power-point presentation, which PEGGY ran. He began by reporting that the total number of FBI agents was 12,000, worldwide. New York has 1,400, with Washington D.C. at 800, and LA is 3rd with about 750. He left the oil industry when the price was $10 a barrel – it didn’t look like petroleum was going anywhere! There are a wide variety of career opportunities in the FBI, including management, investigations, instructing in bomb disposal, as a pilot, forensics expert, dog handler – really, an incredible variety of positions. The FBI overall is responsible for 218 different violations of federal law.
His most recent assignment was in what is called the Domain. That means the great variety of defense contractors, in and around LA, and his responsibility was to alert and train them about the dangers of espionage. He reminded them they are targets – that is, any number of countries would like to obtain the secrets of their production. This is why they now employ a number of engineers and technically trained personnel. As an example, if your company has a $500 million dollar product, and those who want it can get it for, say, a mere million, that’s attractive, and worth a lot of effort. Customers for this information are not only foreign governments, but also foreign companies, of course. You could call this industrial espionage – but whatever it is called, the threat is out there.
Mr Hill started out working on financial crime, in the late 90’s. Then, after 9/11, he switched to counter-terrorism. As an overview, there are about 120 different agencies around the world that specialize in intelligence gathering. Since we have the best technology, we, of course, are the number one target of this group. In terms of where this technology is located, we in Southern California are a prime area. If you look at the history of the aerospace industry, it is still mostly right here.
The number one priority for the FBI is to protect our citizens. And number two is counter-intelligence! Cyber crime is number three. The fourth priority is public corruption. And looking at overall personnel, there are now considerably more engineers and technical people than the former mix of accountants and attorneys, although of course they are still active. In their cyber division, they get hundreds of calls daily – and each one has to be evaluated. When a seemingly reliable entity asks you for all your information – name, address, telephone, Social Security #, credit card number – it’s time to be very careful in your response. All such information can be reached by a hacker, even though it all seems straightforward at the time.
Today, our agencies can and do share information – this wasn’t done in the past, and that provided an opportunity that was followed up. This present sharing goes on on a daily basis. When the FBI Director spoke at the recent International Convention of Police Chiefs, held in San Diego, the first thing he said was about Partnerships! These are not only with government agencies, but with many private firms - all of which greatly increases our outreach.
But there are limits to what the FBI can do. Compare their 12,000 to the LAPD – with 9,000 all by itself. New York has over 40,000 police. When you add in perhaps thirty embassies around the world, you can see the FBI is stretched pretty thin. These problems have always been around – a quote from George Washington appeared – Spies were his biggest worry! Spies piece together whatever information they have gathered, and then try to project or imagine what may be missing.
At this point, two photos appeared – and again, my seatmate RON KLEPETAR blurted out, “I went to school with him,” referring to Robert Hansen, a major double agent! We must realize that the spy business is extremely dangerous – as a result of one double agent, we can trace the death of ten of our undercover agents, as discovered by Russia. The motivation to be a spy is usually money, but with Hansen, for example, he felt he had not received the promotions he was entitled to, and becoming a double agent was his way of payback.
He gave some local examples. One was an engineer in Orange County, who worked on underwater propulsion for the Navy. The investigation took about three years, and he was convicted. His sentence was forty years – and since he is now seventy, that’s the end for him. His wife got twenty years. A related example was France – in their Constitution, espionage is noted. It is a part of the stated outline of city councils there!
A brief Q&A: What are local targets here? LA in general, LAX and the Harbor are all under surveillance. Is the FBI working with UCLA on these matters? Yes, we have excellent relationships with both UCLA and USC. He is aware of several professors who have been threatened. Are you doing anything with Gangs? Yes, this is considered to be a coming priority.
Alonzo Hill, we thank you for an excellent and most informative program.
While we are visiting, a short look ahead, if I may. Because of Jennifer’s wedding, I will miss both Friday the 5th of December at Riviera with the Santa Monica Club, and the following Thursday, December 11th back at UCLA. I’d sure like a couple of volunteers to write the Windmill for me. Lemme know if you are interested, please. Thanks, EWJr.
Words of Wisdom: If it is true what Samuel Johnson said, “A second marriage is the triumph of hope over experience”, I have to wonder, what is a third marriage?
