Leid Stories – 11.10.15

At the University of Missouri, Truly A ‘Teachable Moment’ About Power

Ferguson, Missouri, Looks to Restore Trust with ‘Old-Style’ Policing

A weeklong hunger strike by University of Missouri graduate student Jonathan Butler was the catalyst for broader action against an administration that repeatedly failed to address complaints of racism and discrimination at the flagship Columbia campus. The students’ demands were met yesterday with the resignations of President Tim Wolfe and Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin. It’s a teachable moment, says Leid Stories.

Meanwhile, about 120 miles away, the City of Ferguson says it’s trying to bridge longstanding rifts between the community and police that exploded after 18-year-old Michael Brown was shot dead on Aug. 9 last year by Officer Darren Wilson. Interim Police Chief Andre Anderson began making the rounds to community groups last weekend with the good news of “old-style” policing.

A Just Cause – Remembering The Victims, Whose Lives Mattered – 11.08.15

The host Cliff Stewart, Lisa Stewart and Lamont Banks talks to Advocates for Justice: Sybrina Fulton, Mother of Trayvon Martin, Gwen Carr, Mother of Eric Garner, Lucia Davis McBath, Mother of Jordan Davis, and Wanda Johnson, Mother of Oscar Grant. All of these Mothers, lost their children at the hands of a grave American injustice! Join us to hear their individual stories and how their lives have been forever impacted!

Arsenic found in many US red wines, but health risks depend on total diet

A new University of Washington study that tested 65 wines from America’s top four wine-producing states — California, Washington, New York and Oregon — found all but one have arsenic levels that exceed what’s allowed in drinking water. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency allows drinking water to contain no more than 10 parts per billion of arsenic. The wine samples …

Catey Hill – Report: 43% of U.S. homes are at high risk of natural disaster

Four hurricanes are currently brewing in the Pacific and Atlantic. Wildfires have ravaged more than 8 million acres in the U.S. in 2015 alone. And in just the first two weeks of May this year, nearly 150 tornadoes touched down in the U.S. Many American homeowners might still be surprised at the risk their home faces of getting hit by …

Leid Stories – 09.16.15

The Ferguson Commission Report: An Exercise in Futility?
CNN Takes Its Turn As Carnival Barker At Two-Ring Circus
The Ferguson Commission—a 16-member blue-ribbon panel appointed last November by Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon to look into underlying causes of the rebellion that enveloped the city three months earlier, after the police shooting of Michael Brown—concluded its task two days ago with a 198-page report.
Titled “Forward Through Ferguson: A Path Toward Racial Equity,” the report makes 169 recommendations in four areas it identified as requiring urgent attention— the law-enforcement/criminal-justice system, issues uniquely related to local youth, economic development, and entrenched racism.
Our guest, Al Gerhardstein, a Cincinnati-based civil-rights attorney with a long history of successfully litigating police-brutality cases and forcing court-ordered reforms in the criminal-justice system, discusses the Ferguson Commission’s report.
CNN takes its turn tonight as carnival barker at the two-ring circus it’s calling a presidential debate. Leid Stories in a commentary explains how CNN is merely filling its role as one of “The 3 M’s” in this political season.

Expat Files – 08.16.15

-There are many potential problems with Latina/Gringo love matches… let me count the ways: Gringo/Latin romantic relationships face many cultural clashes(i.e. religion, language, music, family, friends, Exes, etc.) Even so, long term gringos will freely admit the mistakes they’ve made in that regard seem to start early- often they were a bit desperate and lonely upon arrival in Latin America, looking for love in all the wrong place

-How about the countless cases where a good and generous gringo boyfriend and/or husband ends up as a perpetual meal ticket for his Latin lady’s extended family? That common situation often causes much friction and eventual breakup

-What happens when a Gringo ends up in Latin family court?
Just lately, Latin family courts have been stacked with female judges. Thus, after decades of all male macho rule and edict Latin women are finally getting a shot at ending, or at least limiting, centuries of cart blanche “testosterone” rule of law. So these days, as far as family court, for men the pendulum often swings the other way. Women are now capable of getting a sort of legal revenge… and men are yelling foul. Sound familiar?

-A clueless, stupid Gringo gets nailed in Latin Family Court: a true story

-CONSULT WITH JOHNNY- SCHEDULE A CELL OR SKYPE CALL:

Follow the consult link on the main page at www.ExpatWisdom.com and Johnny will help you sort out your Latin American plans.

Leid Stories – 08.11.15

Past Is Present: 50 Years After the Watts Rebellion, Ferguson’s Crisis Confirms Delusions of ‘Progress’ and ‘Change’

Fifty years ago today, the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles, a tinderbox smoldering for decades under the yoke of poverty, disfranchisement, governmental indifference, and militarized police oppression, exploded in a cathartic rage. The heavy-handed arrest of a black motorist by white cops for drunk driving was the spark that set Watts aflame for six days and transformed it into a war zone—claiming 34 lives; causing more than $40 million in property damage; adding 4,000 National Guards, 934 city cops and 71 sheriffs to the city’s police force; causing about 3,500 arrests.

Half a century later, Ferguson, Missouri, is under its second state of emergency as the mostly black town of 21,000 observes the anniversary of the killing of 18-year-old Michael Brown by former police officer Darren Wilson on Aug. 9 last year.

Mainstream media, until yesterday, were touting headlines and news stories about “change.” But our guest, Dr. Gerald Horne, a diplomatic scholar, historian, attorney and prolific author, draws stark parallels between Watts and Ferguson.

Horne is the John J. and Rebecca Moores chair of history and African American studies at the University of Houston. He has written more than 30 books, and more than 100 scholarly papers and reviews, on struggles against imperialism, colonialism, fascism and racism. Pertinent to our discussion today is his authoritative account and analysis of the Watts Rebellion, Fire This Time, The Watts Uprising and the 1960s.

Sylvia Booth Hubbard – RFK Jr: Money Is Why Congress Is Stalling Autism Coverup Hearings

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. tells Newsmax Health that money is the reason Congress is delaying hearings on accusations that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention hid a link between the mumps, measles, and rubella (MMR) vaccine and autism.”The pharmaceutical industry is a trillion dollar industry,” Kennedy said in an exclusive interview. “There are other trillion dollar industries, but not …

Jill Suttie – Study Shows Mindful Meditation Helps Reduce Racial Bias

The shooting death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and the choking death of Eric Garner in New York City have shaken American society to its core, triggering waves of protests. Most Americans seem to feel that racism played a role in these deaths—that they never would have happened if the victims had been white. While we struggle to make …

Cole Mellino – 40 Earthquakes Hit Frack-Happy Oklahoma in Last 7 Days

Yesterday Oklahoma recorded five earthquakes centered near Crescent, Oklahoma, some of which were felt in at least five states—Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, Missouri and Arkansas. Three of the quakes measured above 4.0-magnitude and the biggest of these was a 4.5-magnitude earthquake, the strongest earthquake in the region since a magnitude-4.9 near Conway Springs, Kansas, on Nov. 12, 2014. The strongest magnitude earthquake …