Katherine Paul – Six Questions for Monsanto

Monsanto may not be the largest company in the world. Or the worst. But the St. Louis, Mo. biotech giant has become the poster child for all that’s wrong with our industrial food and farming system. With 21,000 employees in 66 countries and $15 billion in revenue, Monsanto is a biotech industry heavyweight. The St. Louis, Mo.-based monopolizer of seeds …

Dr. Gary G. Kohls and Dr. Peter R. Breggin – Electroconvulsant Shock Therapy (ECT): Is it Safe or Even Effective?

In my practice of holistic mental health care, I encountered a number of unfortunate patients that had had one or more series of electroconvulsant (shock) “therapies” (ECT) , where a series of sub-lethal electrical shocks are administered directly to one or both hemispheres of the brain. To be regarded as “therapeutic”, enough electricity in this still very controversial procedure (often …

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.

Joseph Mercola – The Health Benefits of Drinking Coffee and Tea

If you’re thirsty, pure water is always a good bet for a healthy beverage. But if you’re looking for a beverage to sip and savor while you start your day, take a work break, or relax in the evening, water doesn’t always hit the spot. Fortunately, while there is no substitute for water (your body needs a healthy amount each …

Leid Stories – 08.20.15

Police Killings: The Problem That Won’t Go Away

Election 2016: Leid Stories Measures the Political Temperature

Leid Stories discusses the fatal shooting yesterday of a black teenager by white police officers in St. Louis, Missouri, which once again has ignited a firestorm over police use of force and the racial dynamic that persists in the policing of communities of color throughout the United States.

Eighteen-year-old Mansur Ball-Bey was shot and killed after fleeing a house where two white police officers were conducting a search, St. Louis Police Chief Sam Dotson said yesterday. Ball-Bey pointed a gun at them as he fled, Dotson said, of the killing, which prompted local protests that recalled the police killings a year ago of Kajieme Powell in St. Louis and Michael Brown in Ferguson.

A “poll” of Leid Stories listeners registers the political temperature of the 2016 presidential campaign.

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.

CHANGES LINKED TO ALZHEIMER’S MAY START BY AGE 45

Changes in key biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease during midlife may help identify those who will develop dementia years later, new research suggests. The study focused on data gathered over 10 years and involved 169 cognitively normal research participants ages 45 to 75 when they entered the study. Each participant received a complete clinical, cognitive imaging, and cerebrospinal fluid biomarker analysis …

Monsanto Off the Hook for Cancers From PCBs It Produced – Andrea Germanos

Monsanto emerged victorious on Tuesday at the end of a nearly month-long trial in which plaintiffs had alleged the former manufacturer of PCBs showed “a reckless disregard for human life.” PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, were manufactured in the U.S. from 1929 until being banned in 1979, and, according to reporting by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Monsanto was the primary manufacturer of them. The …

US Catholics ready to follow Pope’s ‘marching orders’ on climate change – Suzanne Goldenberg

Leaders of the Catholic church in America took their “marching orders” from the pope’s encyclical on Thursday, fanning out to Congress and the White House to push for action on climate change. The high-level meetings offered a first glimpse of a vast and highly organised effort by the leadership of America’s nearly 80 million Catholics to turn the pope’s moral …

Neoliberalism Has Created New System of Dual Citizenship for the Poor and the 1% By Bill Fletcher Jr.

I In a lecture at Harvard during my freshman year, a professor—who may have been Martin Peretz—offered an insight that left a profound impact upon me. “Citizen,” the professor noted, was a unique and quite revolutionary concept. Different from many other terms, e.g., “comrade,” the notion of citizen implied a specific relationship between an individual and the polity. It specifically …