Leid Stories – 10.19.15

St Louis Nuclear Waste Dump Near Ferguson Threatened by Fire
The Tamir Rice Case: Are Legal Strategies Failing Once Again?
Investigative journalist Paul DeRienzo, who has been reporting on the catastrophic consequences of America’s military and corporate nuclear-development and waste-disposal operations and programs, reports that the City of St. Louis has come up with an evacuation plan, should a “catastrophic event” occur at a landfill, near Ferguson, containing radioactive waste.

“Much has been written about the poverty and deep-seated racism in Ferguson,” DeRienzo says, “but little has been said of the environmental racism” besieging the city.

Samaria Rice—the mother of 12-year-old Tamir Rice, who was shot and killed by a rookie police officer in Cleveland last Nov. 22—and lawyers representing the family on Friday called for an independent special prosecutor to handle the case. Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Timothy McGinty has not yet presented the case to a grand jury, but has released two “expert” reports concurring that the officer’s actions were “reasonable.”

Alton H. Maddox Jr., an expert on police-brutality cases, including cases that set a precedent for the appointment of special prosecutors, raises questions about the lawyers’ strategies.

Black Agenda Radio – 10.19.15

Welcome, to the radio magazine that brings you news, commentary and analysis from a Black Left perspective.

– A broad coalition of activist organizations is gearing up for three days of Rise Up October protests against police lawlessness, in New York City, this weekend. Organizers plan to bring in 100 family members of victims of police violence from around the country. Newark, New Jersey’s People’s Organization for Progress is part of the Rise Up October campaign. Chairman Larry Hamm says POP has been fighting police brutality in northern New Jersey for 35 years. POP sent several busloads to Washington, DC for the recent anniversary of the Million Man March.

– Cynthia McKinney, the former six-term congresswoman from Georgia and 2008 presidential candidate on the Green Party ticket, recently earned her PhD in Leadership and Change from Antioch University. For her dissertation, McKinney explored the challenges faced by the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. She’s now exploring ways to deploy more “non-traditional” Black candidates for Congress. But, that’s easier said than done.

– Mustapha Hefny was born in Egypt and immigrated to the United States more than three decades ago. The U.S. government granted him citizenship, but it refuses to acknowledge that he’s a Black man. Mr. Hefny is a Nubian, an ancient, unmistakably Black people who were part of the Egyptian Empire, sometimes ruling as Pharoahs. Nubians have always lived in what is now southern Egypt and northern Sudan. But the United States classifies Nubian immigrants from southern Egypt as white, and Nubians from northern Sudan as Black, under Directive 15 of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget. So, for almost 30 years, Mostapha Hefny has been demanding that United States recognize him as a Black man.

– Dr. Gerald Horne, the professor of History and African American Studies at the University of Houston, has written yet another book. Horne is one of the most prolific and influential Black political thinkers of our time. His most recent work is titled “Race to Revolution: The U.S. and Cuba During the Slavery and Jim Crow.” His new book, on the Haitian Revolution, should be out this week. And after that, Dr. Horne plans on turning out books on Paul Robeson and Black majority rule in South Africa. He was recently interviewed on WFHB Community Radio, in Bloomington, Indiana.

Resistance Radio – Jaclyn Lopez – 10.18.15

Jaclyn Lopez is the Florida Director for the Center for Biological Diversity. She holds a master of laws degree in environmental and land-use law from the University of Florida and a J.D. from the University of Denver, and coordinates campaigns in the Southeast and Caribbean, focusing on protecting imperiled species and ecosystems. Today we talk about manatees

Expat Files – 10.18.15

-Today we have an unofficial analysis of the present state of the gay/lesbian situation in traditionally macho Latin America. Attitudes have changed immensely in the past five years. People are coming out of the closet in droves and, unlike a few years ago, in most metro areas no one seems to mind. Though you won’t see poor lower-class guys holding hands on a chicken bus (that would be pushing it) you will on occasion see things like that amongst the middle and upper-classes in shopping centers and such.

-What happens when the first-world has its inevitable blowout? The poop will flow downhill (though not nearly as tragically and dramatically as where you are now). When the Latins start feeling the pinch, won’t they naturally want to retaliate against any expat gringos in the vicinity? Won’t the angry masses want to hang us from the highest Jacuzzi?

Let’s Create A Better World – 10.17.15

A new test to indicate how long you might live and secondly which diseases you may get in life. This super test was put together by several noted doctors headed by Dr. Joyce Johnson. Our guest, Dr. Johnson, is a renowned author, speaker and researcher and gives a great description of telomeres and how important they are to our longevity. Telomeres are an essential part of human cells that affect how our cells age. Dr. Johnson also speaks about various issues on aging and overall health.