Kenneth Eades, a Lawyer by Profession, Author of Legal Fiction, And Environmentalist - Speaks to Feeding a Greedy Uninformed Nation

"There was a chemical solution to all of America’s food needs, which had been whittled away for years and years and honed down with precision to train the public that everything they needed to put on the table for their family came in a box, bottle or can.”—Kenneth Eade, An Involuntary Spy

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Conventional farming has contributed, more than anything, to the destruction of biodiversity.  For example, there are only a few strains of conventionally produced fruits and vegetables in existence, and the loss of any of them to disease could eliminate these fruits and vegetables, such as the banana, from the earth.  Genetically engineered foods are simply an extension of the murder of our planet’s biodiversity, by experimenting with combining the DNA of food with DNA from other organisms and contaminating the food supply.  

Why?  GMO foods can be patented.  Large companies and wealthy individuals, such as Bill Gates, will eventually not only own most of the world’s farmland, but also the seeds for the entire world’s food supply.  This is the elite’s idea of how to feed the world, and to make us completely dependent upon them for survival. 

What Makes Genetically Engineered Foods So Bad? According to the World Health Organization, Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) are "organisms in which the genetic material (DNA) has been altered in such a way that does not occur naturally." This technology is also referred to as "genetic engineering", "biotechnology" or "recombinant DNA technology" and consists of randomly inserting genetic fragments of DNA from one organism to another, usually from a different species. For example, an artificial combination of genes that includes a gene to produce the pesticide Cry1Ab protein (commonly known as Bt toxin), originally found in Bacillus thuringiensis, is forcibly inserted into the DNA of corn randomly. Both the location of the transferred gene sequence in the corn DNA and the consequences of the insertion differ with each insertion. The plant cells that have taken up the inserted gene are then grown in a lab using tissue culture and/or nutrient medium that allows them to develop into plants that are used to grow GM food crops. This Bt toxin acts as an insecticide within the plant, killing insects that feed on it, and its lethal effect on bees is the reason that GMO corn has been banned in Poland.

“The more we pour the big machines, the fuel, the pesticides, the herbicides, the fertilizer, and chemicals into farming, the more we knock out the mechanism that made it all work in the first place.”  -- David R. Brower  

As I said before, I am neither a doctor nor a nutritionist.  I am an environmentalist who began my quest for improving the environment around me and my family about ten years ago.  During that quest, I came to realize that, due to the poisoning of our environment, we are actually poisoning ourselves.  And the most amazing  pesticides have become an enduring feature of modern life, as they have been proven to increase yields in commercial agriculture. Insecticides have been very effective in controlling malaria and have saved many lives.  In 2007, the world used more than 5.2 billion pounds of weed killers, insecticides, and fungicides to do everything from protecting crops to warding off malaria.  Worldwide pesticide use has been on a steady increase since then.  

But scientists have discovered that this widespread use of pesticides has also caused some serious problems.  We cannot reasonably expect to introduce massive amounts of poison into the ecosphere without negative environmental effects.  And our inundation of the biosphere with pesticides has eradicated many of the beneficial insects we need to break down wastes and provide a primary food supply for many animals, including birds, amphibians reptiles, and some mammals.

~~~

You know, Folks, we are a greedy nation. For Many of us, it probably is too late, me included. The long list of health issues included in this book have already attacked our bodies and have left us permanently impaired. Kenneth Eade, a lawyer by profession has the expertise and experience to do the research and to present scientific support in a short, but thorough documentary of what he has found. It begins with the basic physical issues that are controlled and/or affected. To many of us, myself included, that first part can be daunting to even consider reading. But, I've taken the time to present perhaps more than I normally would by excerpting the book, to allow you to see that his presentation gets to the point where we personally can understand and relate... Check out the highlighted physical ailments that are affected by these changes to our foods. If you have one of more of these ailments, like I do, you need this book, especially if you are young or middle-age and can choose to make changes to your eating habits. 

With regard to your gut microbiome, simply put, if your microbiome is out of whack, which comes from ingesting food that feeds unhealthy or “bad bacteria” this will lead to fatigue, anxiety, depression, brain fog, headaches, acne, eczema, congestion, frequent headaches, colds and infection, and muscle and joint pain, and could lead to the development of more serious conditions, such as diabetes, obesity, heart disease, autoimmune diseases, metabolic syndrome, cancer, and other disorders.  Balancing your microbiome, by consuming foods that feed your beneficial or “good bacteria” is the key to the prevention and even reversal of these diseases.  Consuming the wrong types of foods, and medications such as antibiotics, on the other hand, contribute to the imbalance of the microbiome, which can put you at risk of a host of unpleasant conditions.

~~~

I found getting this book and having my great-niece, Rachel, who is my health caregiver now, discussing the same issues, to be another God Incident. In fact, I'm finding that most books by established authors are directing their research and subsequent writing to areas of concern that have been and/or are being negatively impacted daily now in America.

Eades presents a silent murder case for us--Our Own! I remember an NCIS program where a marine comes into the NCIS office and wants to report a murder. He had been poisoned and needed help to find an antidote before he succumbed to that poison. 

I started my narrative by talking about the United States being a greedy nation. But there is something very unique in making that statement. We, the people, or a major percentage of us, are not greedy. This can be demonstrated by how easily it is to find a willingness to help in emergencies, disasters, or with personal needs of individuals. So where is the problem?

Well, recently I heard the justification for "something or other" was because we are a capitalist nation. If you wondered exactly how and why this type of statement can be used for declaring that a decision is alright, you need to read this book! It's less than $1 so the author is practically begging us to help solve what has happened in American, perhaps, at first, without intention, but, now...certainly...by intent!

I want to highlight one of my personal observations about living in America... I come from a single-parent household with a mother who seemed to work 24-7 just to keep us fed. We ate lots of flour-based foods which were tasty and filling. We bought chicken backs and necks and cleaned off the little meat on these parts to cook broth and make home-made noodles. We looked forward to our Sunday dinner because my Mom was a great cook... All of us had some type of weight or health issues starting at that early age through no fault of our own...

Now? When I walk into a grocery store, I am amazed... and appalled by the variety--the different types and flavors or what is available. Take just, for instance, cereals. There is one long fully filled row of different types of cereals available for purchase--in just that one store! For other items, for instance, a dish detergent, there are so many choices that we stand in front of another long row, wondering which one to buy. Simply because we have no ability to know what the difference is between each different option. Without extensive research.

In my opinion, this situation has come about because of the decision to permit genetically modified foods to be patented! I am not saying that all of these foods are bad for us; rather, I am saying that, because they have been modified, perhaps insignificantly, they can also be patented! That results in the many slightly different foods or other products, such as pesticides that are now available for sale in our local stores.  Competition is higher than, perhaps, it needs to be?

In our conversation, Rachel showed me a program that she had downloaded that provided an evaluation of the issues related to a product. Cheerios, which I had routinely selected because it was supposed to have heart-health support, showed that there were several additives that made it less of a good choice!

Recently I purchased the product GoLo, for weight reduction assistance. What I found, however, was that this requires an entire diet of non-processed foods. Of course, I think Kenneth Eades would approve of this--but when I studied the foods information, I discovered and believe, that the average person cannot use this product on a sustained basis. Especially at my age, when my physical challenges are considered related to when and how I can buy food products. Can you imagine not being able to eat soups, as just one example because it is processed?! 

What I do know is that, in my opinion, the evolution to where we are was, mostly, unintentional. But, like with the laws on guns, the proliferation of how food products are provided in America is now a costly and perhaps dangerous situation.

If you have many years ahead of you, have children and/or want to ensure longevity for you and your family, free from the diseases caused by some of the problems now in existence. Now is the time for you to read and learn more... Highly recommended!

GABixlerReviews

Freedom of Speech Versus Character Assassination In Kenneth Eade's Killer.Com!

A sub-plot in Unreasonable Force by Kenneth Eade relates to trying to stop the slanderous accusations brought against main character, Brent Marks, by those people, online, who write anonymously to denigrate the professional work of this lawyer. Marks had been attempting to get these removed, even to attempt to sue the online site. He lost...

In the following book, Murder.Com, we find the book beginning with stories about how Brent had been bullied in school. And it seemed that, even after becoming a lawyer and establishing a practice, those who bully, especially ones that do so without having the "guts" to sign their own name, were still winning. Not only did he not win the defamation online case, he was forced to pay all fees--$50,000!!! A sum of money that Marks didn't have!

Matthew Kronenberg (affectionately referred to as “Kronendork” by many attorneys who appeared in his courtroom) had a Napoleon complex, which was typical among many federal judges.  Appointed for life by President George W. Bush through the recommendation of the local Congressman, he, like his brethren, marched his short frame up the stairs and roosted high above the court on his bench every day, passing judgments on strangers he had never met.  Judge Kronenberg had made his mind up today to kill Brent Marks’s libel case and there was nothing that was going to change it, although he did express that his decision was a “tentative ruling” and he invited Brent, whom the tentative decision was against, to exhaust any arguments he had before lowering the boom.  The judge had a permanent grimace, as if he were constantly plagued by constipation. As Brent’s mother always used to say about people like that: “If he smiled, his face would crack.” 

The case was all about defamation on the Internet – and it was all directed against Brent.  It wasn’t the first time he had faced down a pack of bullies, but it was easier before in a way because they couldn’t hide behind an anonymous wall like the Internet.  Through much of his adolescence Brent had faced them down, so much so that his father had to change the family name from Marquez to Marks.  Bullies select a trait or traits that are unique to you to exploit.  In this case, it was Brent’s surname.  His father, Jose Marquez, had emigrated from Spain before he met Brent’s mother. When Brent was born, Jose had never anticipated the future problems that his name would cause his son.  The bullies concentrated on the name, calling Brent a Mexican, and Brent always wondered why that would be such a bad thing.  He could have passed for Mexican himself, with his dark brown hair.  His hazel eyes often looked brown, but he was much taller than most Mexicans.  He was fluent in Spanish, which had helped him in the old days when many of his clients in Santa Barbara happened to be Mexican.

Brent faced the judge at the podium.  He was dressed to impress in his best two-piece grey suit with a cobalt blue shirt and button-down collar, but that was not going to protect him from the storm that was about to hail down on him.  Never back down.  Great mantra, he thought as he stood facing judgment from the man who was about to turn him from the plaintiff into a defendant. “Your Honor, for this motion to dismiss to succeed, the defendant has to prove that the statement in issue was protected speech.  That is impossible, because this speech is, per se, defamatory, and defamatory speech is not protected free speech under the Constitution.  Secondly, he has to prove that the speech related to a matter of public interest.       “The defamatory statements were all about me, Your Honor. I’m not a movie star, a president, or Congressman; or even a Federal judge like you.  I'm just a regular person who doesn’t take kindly to my reputation being dragged through the mud by a mob of Internet cyber-stalkers.  Therefore, I am not a person in the public interest, and this case cannot, by definition, be a Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation.  The defendants in this case are trying to seek immunity from liability for defamation, which is an improper use of the SLAPP statute under the Hilton case.” 

Brent’s opposition, Geoffrey Kelley of Noble, Saperstein and Kelley was so anxious to speak, he looked as if he would pop out of his three-piece suit like a brand new tube of toothpaste that had been squeezed too hard.  He kept biting his lip and wiggling in his seat, eager for his turn to spout.  But Brent was determined to use his ten minutes of allotted argument time.  If the motion to dismiss his defamation case was granted, there would be two consequences.  He would have to pay a hell of a lot of fees, and there would be more libelous postings against him on the Internet; this time with impunity.  It would be a libelous free-for-all; an opportunity to throw sticks and stones, and call Brent any names they wished, as well as accuse him of any vile, illegal or immoral conduct they could think of.      

“Further, Your Honor, your tentative ruling states that the anonymous postings that accuse me of stealing money and running scams are non-actionable opinions.  These are not opinions.  They are accusations of a crime, and that is libel per se, which implies malice, and this is a question for the jury.  It cannot be resolved by this motion.” Brent would have liked to have given his opinion of Kronendork, but that would only have earned him a one-way ticket to jail on a contempt of court citation. 

“Mr. Marks, you sued the website in this case.  How is the service provider not immune from the posters’ statements under the Communications Decency Act?” asked the judge.     Communications Decency.  What a name for a law that allows people to smear other people anonymously on the Internet, thought Brent.  There was nothing “decent” about these communications.  Kronendork already knew his answer to that question.  Brent’s was irrelevant to him.      

“Your Honor, I sued the website because they are not just acting as a service provider, giving their users a forum to post their defamatory statements, but because they also moderate and contribute their own material to the conversations, making them a content provider as well; so they have no immunity under the Communications Decency Act, according to the Kruska case that I’ve cited  in my brief. “Moreover, without the defendant's website in this case, I’ll never know who the libelous posters are.  This is a smear site that caters to cyber-stalkers, Your Honor, who are nothing more than grown-up bullies.  They shouldn’t be allowed to publish my address, pictures of my house, and my unlisted home telephone number.  That is a violation of my right to privacy.” Brent was going down in flames.  The slimy cyber-mob was probably enlisting new members and readying another onslaught of slander and libel against him.  'Brent was a crook and a shyster, and should be disbarred':  all these were statements of opinion, protected by the First Amendment. “Mr. Marks, your time is up.  

The Court will now hear from Mr. Kelley.” Judges speak never of themselves in the first person; always the third person, like the Queen of England.  Kelley stood up and almost stumbled over his shoelaces.  He was so excited, he nearly bumped into Brent on his way to the lectern.  Brent resisted the urge to “accidently” put out a foot to trip him.  His gut lopped over his belt and some fat skin showed through where his button had popped open.      “Thank you, Your Honor. The defendant has made a sufficient showing that the statements made were Constitutionally-protected opinion and that, since they concerned matters about Mr. Marks, who is a licensed California lawyer, these are matters which the public may be interested in.  Therefore, under the Nygard v. Uusi-Kerttula case the statements are in the public interest.  “Since we have proven that the statements are Constitutionally-protected speech and in the public interest, the burden now shifts to Mr. Marks to demonstrate that he has a probability of succeeding in his claim.  This is something he has not, and cannot, show.      No shit.  I haven’t even had the chance to do any discovery yet. “Finally, Your Honor, the Communications Decency Act gives immunity to service providers who merely publish user-generated content, like my client.  Mr. Marks is free to sue the third party users who generated the content, but not the interactive computer service which enabled them to put it online.”      Yeah, all I have to do is sue 007, Shyster Crusher, and Attack Dog, who are all hiding behind your client’s skirt, Gee-offrey.    “The Court will adopt the tentative in this case and grant the motion to dismiss,” said the judge.  

“The case is dismissed and Mr. Marks, you are ordered to pay $50,000 in defendant’s attorney’s fees.” Okay.  Let me just run to the car and get my checkbook.  Or do you take American Express? It was official now.  Brent Marks, once a private citizen who happened to be a lawyer, was now a public figure with no right to privacy.  Anyone from now on could say anything about him, whether it was true or not, and there was nothing he could do about it. Instead of shaking his hand like a good sport, after the judge left the bench, Kelley smiled at Brent with a big mouth of jagged teeth and said, “See you in the malicious prosecution case, Marks.” Venus flytrap. The spark had gone out of Brent’s sometimes-green, sometimes-brown hazel eyes.  Brent Marks, once the defender of lost causes and a champion of civil rights, and now officially a crook, a shyster, and a scammer, crawled out of the courtroom a defeated man.

Got to say, I love a man who loves cats, even when they have one that is a look-alike for the Cheshire cat in Alice in Wonderland. 

And since she is both demanding of attention especially at meal times, but also an affectionate cat that cheers him up, I just had to recognize Calico as a primary addition to the list of characters in this series!

So Brent, feeling defeated, when he found that his name and reputation could...and probably would...continue to be disparaged by any and all those who use anonymity to be the bullies that they are...plus now owing $50,000 for court fees, he was wondering just what to do... especially since Angela, his love interest, had turned away from him, admittedly with good reason... So, that was solved by Brent using  my favorite flowers, peonies, and a song to seek forgiveness! Cool, right?!

Ironically, Marks gets a new, rich client who has one goal - to gain a perfect credit report. Which, given the things he got himself into, was not an easy task. But it was going well, and the money was coming in routinely for Brent, fortunately.  

So, Brent asked his investigator to begin to try to discover the identities of those who were posting libelous statements about his professional work... But then, his client also began to be stalked online! Those same people who taunted Brend was now claiming that his client was a thief...

And shortly thereafter, his client was dead, supposedly a suicide.

And the Internet stalkers began an online celebration of his death!

It was interesting how speaking anonymously gave people the right to be crass; to bare their ugly inner thoughts to everyone without the responsibility of owning up to them.      Bekker is dead!  LMFAO – Flusher Becker commits suicide – put in your claims now – Truth Seeker.

And as time goes on in the investigation, discoveries of activities from the Dark Web began to pull everything together... Things were happening quickly and suddenly Brent was being accused of...murder!

So Brent Marks, the former defender of lost causes turned public figure with no right to privacy (and soon to be famous murderer) drowned his sorrows on his deck facing the Santa Barbara Harbor with all the available clear liquids from his liquor cabinet. The cool-headed voice of logic became dim and dull and had all but disappeared.  In its place, the illogical beast with only the zest for simple pleasures and thoughts that contradicted all logic began to argue with the impaired, logical one.      It’s not fair!  I didn’t murder Flusher! Fair is irrelevant.  This is the law – it has nothing to do with justice.

There has to be a way – there has to! There’s always a way – but not all of them are always legal. Hmmm.      Saturday was a blur that managed to clear itself up by the evening, when stone cold reality had set back in.  Then, early on Sunday morning, Brent found himself driving north along the coast humming ‘Mrs. Robinson’ to himself.  “Dee dee dee dee dee dee dee dee dee dee dee dee dee, doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo.”

After passing Buellton, he began singing ‘Do You Know the Way to San Jose’ as he kept barreling northward, driven by an unknown force inside him that refused to accept that he was a week away from being convicted of a murder he had nothing to do with.  Do you know the way to San Jose? I’ve been away so long, I may go wrong and lose my way…

I've told you that Eade is my favorite legal beagle...so of course, I recommend you read this one...learning more about the dark web than maybe you wanted to, sorry to say... But all is happy with Brent at the end...at least until his next case!

AFTERWORD This is a fictional story but, as with all my stories, it is based on solid research about real-life issues.  If you care to read on. The Internet has outgrown the common law of defamation, and new regulations to protect the Internet, free speech and the freedom to speak anonymously have been abused by cyber-bullies and cyber-stalkers, who have used this new medium to dispense their bullying in a greater distribution among more people.  I thought it may be interesting to examine the possibility of an Internet bully or cyber mob hiring a hit man anonymously through the Internet.  I thought that this would be a unique idea, but, upon delving into the macabre world of the Dark Net, I realized that it was not. Most of the sites I found while searching for murder-for-hire” were probably scams or were set up by law enforcement to catch would-be conspirators, but the concept is definitely not an original one.

See more with Kenneth G. Eade as Guest Blogger, Next! 

Divorce in America is Spotlighted in Kenneth Eade's Extraordinary Decree of Finality

“My husband and I never considered divorce… 

murder sometimes, but never divorce"

-Joyce Brothers

Aside from Kenneth Eade being one of the most outstanding writers in legal fiction, I admire him so much for taking on major social issues and writing a story surrounding some of the major ones... Like marriage/divorce... One of the old songs of my youth was Love is Lovelier the Second Time Around. Yes, there are sometimes reasons to seek a divorce and it became acceptable... However, as Eade found in his research, today, many people care more about the results of divorce on their financial pockets, than on getting out of a bad marriage. I wanted to share an overview of what he found...

I usually pick an important subject to wrap a story around.  This time, I thought that the subject would be a little lighter, but I was very surprised when I did a little Internet research to find just how common spousal murder was. According to a 2014 article in the Huffington Post, at least 1/3 of all women murdered in the United States are killed by their male partners. Now, with the baby boomer generation approaching retirement, according to an article in Saultstar.com, divorces in the after-55 crowd often involve fat retirement funds and paid-off houses, making alternative solutions (albeit insane insane ones like murder) attractive. Hiring a hitman (or woman) becomes an irresistible and economic alternative for some amoral people who feel that they are trapped in long marriages.  The article cites that 3.2% of murders are done on a commercial basis.  Citing straightdope.com, the article states that “most contract killings are carried out by small-time freelancers hired by ‘schlubs.’ The perpetrators in these arrangements are often caught by undercover policemen and FBI agents posing as hired killers.  The article reports that an Australian Institute of Criminology study estimates the average costs of a hit to be $12,700; which is significantly less than the cost of an attorney in a contested divorce.  According to a 1995 study by the U.S. Department Department of Justice, husbands are convicted more often than wives of spousal murder, and the convicted men are more likely to receive a prison term than convicted women.  In 44% of the cases of husband killing, the husband had assaulted the wife at the time of the killing.  Assaulted wives were convicted 56% of the time, compared to 86% in the case of unprovoked wives and 88% in the case of unprovoked husbands.   Another article in the Journal of Criminal Justice and Popular Culture entitled Monstrous Arrogance: Husbands who Choose Murder Over Divorce, by Cynthia Lewis, PhD, examines a dozen convictions in murders where husbands have murdered their wives to save themselves from some consequences of divorce that they perceive as “too costly.”  How murder could become a viable alternative to divorce is either an indicator of the collapse of moral compass in our society, or an indication of the need for divorce reform, or perhaps both.  The article points out that, instead of the emotional crimes that you expect to see in spousal murders, it was a “practical matter;” so much so that most of the women never had a sense of how much danger they were in. According to the article, this type of murderer often projects confidence and an ability to win the trust of others, yet is “atypically devoid of feeling,” “icy and calculating,” and self-centered to the point of narcissism...

Decree of Finality:

A Lawyer Brent Marks Legal Thriller

By Kenneth Eade

Eade quotes Dr. Joyce Brother in the front of the book... When I first read it, it was funny: that she and her husband never considered divorce, but had murder... Decree of Finality is a perfect response to his research findings! in these chaotic times, it made me happy to have remained single! At the same time, Eade has created a suspenseful legal thriller that readers will quickly be pulled into...And hating the wife, was my first response...

Actually she deserved my hate--don't you just love being allowed to hate book characters?! LOL  Amy Taylor was perfectly happy staying married. She had successfully pulled away from any personal interpersonal relationship with her husband, while still using his money to live the lavish life for which she had first married him. She considered she was earning the money by hosting lavish parties and courting clients for her husband...

Indeed Dr. Robert Taylor had built up his professional career and had become well known as one of the best dermatologist and cosmetic surgeon around... 

So, when Dr. Taylor told his wife he wanted a divorce, she immediately turned the tables, faked a physical abuse charge on her husband, and called the police! Wow! Readers immediately come to attention! And, quite frankly, we will not be surprised when murder comes to mind for these spouses...

Of course, one is murdered; however, by that time, the complexity of the storyline and the investigative results from Lawyer Brent Marks' office has uncovered much--they aren't new situations, but rather the known--hiding money...anything that can be easily done with a good lawyer helping point out all the options!  

Brent Marks had built his reputation so that he had stopped taking divorce cases, which were always messy. But, recently business had slowed, and he knew he needed to consider this case, especially if the client could pay his normal costs, plus investigative services. Sadly, Marks took it, thinking he had a decent client who would work with him...

That had been before, he was called by his client when his wife had staged a physical assault and had been charged and jailed! This was going to get dirty...

Jack Ruder, Marks' investigator, was an outstanding character in this book, in my opinion... It was Ruder, not the police, who was watching Taylor's house 24/7 and saw and documented who had visited on the night Amy was killed... But he went on to think through the case as his FBI training had provided and moved through step-by-step to provide a major portion of the evidence to solve the case.

But, Eade refused to present a straight case...and the climatic finale was a surprise, even to Marks! I love being caught off guard...and Eade is a master of keeping his readers on edge, not knowing how the book will actually end...

I am definitely a fan of the Brent Marks' Series (as well as the Paladine series)... Check out more from this series on this blog:

https://gabixlerreviews-bookreadersheaven.blogspot.com/2018/04/predatory-kill-by-kenneth-eade-second.html

https://gabixlerreviews-bookreadersheaven.blogspot.com/2018/04/kenneth-eade-presents-patriots-act.html

https://gabixlerreviews-bookreadersheaven.blogspot.com/2016/09/freedom-of-information-act-spotlighted.html

https://gabixlerreviews-bookreadersheaven.blogspot.com/2016/08/kenneth-eade-gets-readers-involved-in.html

https://gabixlerreviews-bookreadersheaven.blogspot.com/2016/03/kenneth-eade-produces-another-must-read.html

Let me just say that I have never been disappointed with any book by Kenneth Eade. For legal thrillers, I will think of him first--he speaks to my desires to learn more about the legal ramifications of social issues. Something that is, in my opinion, very much needed today when Truth--in accordance with fact or reality-- has become such an important, but much sought after, attribute for individuals. But I surely do love a thriller I can sink into...Eade provides a most satisfying read and is a favorite author! Do check him out!

And if you are thinking of a divorce, you might want to read this book...first...

GABixlerReviews

Kenneth Eade splits most of his time between Russia, France, and the United States. His background as a Wall Street and corporate attorney along with his ability to see the world from multiple perspectives has helped catapult him into one of the top thriller writers of his generation

http://sarahwestall.com/russian-views-with-kenneth-eade/

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Nuclear War is such a serous subject that using it to promote a political agenda and scaring people is irresponsible, stupid and simply unacceptable. But, somehow our current politicians find it ok to actively promote Nuclear War through propaganda. This increases tensions between countries and fringe crazies and unstable leaders to seriously think about Nuclear Weapons as a legitimate option to solve their concerns whether imaginary or real.

Listen to the Podcast! 

Predatory Kill by Kenneth Eade - Second in Book Set...Spotlights Bank Fraud...

He had made it to his State Street office just in time to check messages and make sure everything was in order for the big weekend.  No work, only play and relaxation for the next 48 hours.  

As he entered the office, Melinda Powers, his secretary, looked worried.  It was unusual for her to be there past quitting time on a Friday. “Hey Mimi, what’s wrong?” Brent asked her.

“You’ve got a call waiting.  I told him you weren’t in, but he said he’d wait.” 

“Who is it?” 

“I don’t know, he won’t say.  He’s really weird, Mr. Marks.” 

“Why don’t we let him just die on hold then?”

“I think you should answer.” 

Brent entered his office, sat down behind his plush mahogany desk, and picked up the phone. 

“Hello, this is Brent Marks.” 

The eerie voice on the other end was cold and inhuman.  “Do you know how fast a bullet goes, Counselor?” it asked.

“Who is this?” 

“Seventeen hundred feet per second.  At that velocity, it will crack open your skull and splatter your brains all over your wall like a watermelon being hit by a sledge hammer.”  The caller cackled like a wounded chicken. 

Brent quickly switched on the recording device to the receiver.  He had bought that baby to record threats from ex-husbands whose wives had obtained restraining orders against them, but which Brent had always refused to dismiss, even in cases of so called “reconciliation.”  

“I don’t think I got your name, mister?”      

The voice responded with a maniacal chuckle, which turned into a full blown belly laugh, like Vincent Price in the final stanza of Michael Jackson’s Thriller. 

“No judge in the world can stop a bullet, Counselor.  No piece of paper can do that.”

“This conversation is really interesting, but if I don’t have your name, I…” 

“Think hard.” 

“I’m not going to play games with you.” 

“Oh, this is not a game.  I assure you.  I’m just giving you a little preview.  Wherever you go, I’ll be there.  When you’re at the corner at Starbucks, having your mocha grande in the morning before going to court, I’ll be there.  You won’t see me, but I’ll be there.  All it takes is one shot – one shot in the head.”  The phone vibrated from the eerie laughter. 

“And why would you want to shoot me?” 

“I am a servant of the Lord, Counselor.  I do His work.” 

“You’re saying that you’re going to kill me, because God told you so?”  

Without answering, the caller went into a sermon, like an evangelist preacher trying to convert a world full of infidels. “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord!  When justice is done, it is a joy to the righteous but terror to evildoers.  I am your terror, Counselor.  I am the hand of the Lord and I will strike you down!” 

Suddenly, Brent realized who this character could be.  Last year, he took on a case for Felipe Sanchez, who had rented a house from a crazy religious fanatic named Joshua Banks.  When Banks found out that Sanchez had moved in his girlfriend, all hell broke loose.   “I won’t have fornication in my house!” Banks decreed.  

Sanchez ignored him and three days later, came home to find himself locked out of his house and all his furniture thrown out on the street.  When Brent succeeded in getting the police to open the house, Banks turned off the utilities, and Sanchez sued.  

Thanks to a little known provision in the Civil Code, daily damages were awarded to Sanchez at trial which allowed him to take his judgment, levy it against the house, and become the owner of it.  Justice can be hell for some people.  

Threatening my life is a felony, Mr. Banks,” said Brent, “Do you really want to go to prison?” 

“Do you think I care about your court?  Your prison?  There is only one lawgiver and judge, and that is the Lord God!  Judge not, that you not be judged, saith the Lord.  Man does not have the right to sit in judgment of his fellow man.” 

“You’re not God, Mr. Banks.”  Ignoring him, Banks pressed on. “Your judgment has been pronounced, Counselor.  And I’m afraid there is no chance for a pardon.  The punishment is death.”

~~~

The upcoming client had Brent intrigued.  Her matter was a potential wrongful predatory lending case against one of the largest New York banks, which had taken over one of the nation’s largest mortgage banks, rumored to have committed more fraud than Charles Ponzi and Bernie Madoff put together...

“I looked at the materials you sent over to me.  Of course, I would have to review all of the files, but its looks like when the bank bought the assets of Tentane Mutual after the FDIC seizure, your father’s mortgage was not properly assigned to the mortgage backed securities trust that was supposed to be one of the assets.”

Before the 2008 mortgage crisis, thousands of subprime real estate loans on over-appraised real estate were assigned to mortgage pools and then resold to investors as mortgage backed securities.  When U.S. home prices declined sharply after peaking in 2006, it became difficult for borrowers to refinance their loans.  As adjustable rate mortgages began to increase in monthly payments, mortgage delinquencies soared, causing mortgage backed securities to lose most of their value.  This, in turn, led to what is known as the financial crisis of 2008; the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. “Yes, they tried to slip it in with a forged assignment three years after the closing date of the Trust...”

~~~

It was interesting to go back and pick up the earlier books by Kenneth Eade, who has become my favorite legal author. Of course, there are the thrills of the "kill" where murder provides tension and suspense--in this book, Brent Marks, the main character even has a stalker to deal with while he works on his main case...

The reason for the stalker, as an aside, is one of those issues that really irks me--when an individual quotes God in explaining why he is going to kill somebody. The sad truth, however, is that there really are some who become fanatics in their religion...

But the main case covers fraud by major powerful, banks, using a sample to explore the 2008 crash that resulted in many banks being bailed out by the government. When I found a video where Bernie Sanders in 1998 expressed concern about what proved to later happen, I was gratified that Eade had also taken the opportunity to use his novel to help his readers understand what might (probably?) had happened! And could very well happen again...

It is scary to consider that banking institutions, especially large ones, could, and possibly already has, become the predator who turns to murder to cover-up their crimes...Eade presents an intriguing fictional account, which is, of course, as always backed up with research of real-time events... which is why he rose to my top legal writer...

April Marsh had found her mother murdered, and her father close to death... She was already named to legally act on their behalf and after her research had come to Marks, believing he was the lawyer she needed, even though he was a single-lawyer office and with no experience in this area. She cited a case from Marks' experience and had used it to explain why she had selected him. She was fairly certain who was behind what had happened...

She provided all documentation to illustrate how her parents had been swindled. Essentially because of a buy-out, the larger bank had taken over, and falsified information to show that it was not their fault... Her parents had already lost much and now they were coming after their home...

Although not versed in financial law, per se, I was easily able to follow the case put together by Marks  and his investigator. He began to worry, however, when he was personally attacked and his investigator disappeared, later presumably dead!

I had my small local bank bought out by a larger one...and I have been unhappy ever since. A large bank will soon use bureaucracy as the primary power control for their business. This was certainly the case in this situation. But can one lawyer succeed in a fight with the power of a company with all the legal advisers they could ever need? I think Eade did an exceptional job in allowing readers to learn as well as enjoy the reality of a story that all of us wish we will never face. Highly recommended...


GABixlerReviews

Described by critics as "one of our strongest thriller writers on the scene," author Kenneth Eade, best known for his legal and political thrillers, practiced International law, Intellectual Property law and E-Commerce law for 30 years before publishing his first novel, "An Involuntary Spy." Eade, an award-winning, best-selling Top 100 thriller author, has been described by his peers as "one of the up-and-coming legal thriller writers of this generation." He is the 2015 winner of Best Legal Thriller from Beverly Hills Book Awards and the 2016 winner of a bronze medal in the category of Fiction, Mystery and Murder from the Reader's Favorite International Book Awards. His latest novel, "Paladine," a quarter-finalist in Publisher's Weekly's 2016 BookLife Prize for Fiction and finalist in the 2017 RONE Awards. Eade has authored three fiction series: The "Brent Marks Legal Thriller Series", the "Involuntary Spy Espionage Series" and the "Paladine Anti-Terrorism Series." He has written eighteen novels which have been translated into French, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese. 

"I've been writing all my life, but began publishing my work out of a passion for the environment. My wife, Valentina, is a professional photographer, who worked for two years on an environmental exhibition called, "Bee Cause I Care" which was exhibited by the Prince Albert II Foundation and is now touring cities in France to bring awareness to the importance of pollinators and the dangers facing them. I penned a few articles on the subject for the Los Angeles Daily Journal and turned my research into my first book, "Bless the Bees." That passion continued with the publication of my novel, "An Involuntary Spy," which is an action thriller that also points to the dangers of genetically engineered food. Then I began publishing the "Brent Marks Legal Thriller Series," which, in part, is based on actual experiences during my long career in law.

"Now I divide most of my time between France, where I have resided for the better part of 10 years, and Russia. I try to put as much realism in my novels as possible, and they all revolve around important social issues. I treasure all of my readers and love to hear from them, whether it's good or bad. Sometimes I make changes based on their suggestions and one reader has inspired a character that has appeared in my latest three novels. Everyone who signs up on my mailing list at www.kennetheade.com gets a free ebook and I give away a Kindle Fire every month to a lucky winner on the list. I love this new adventure and hope you enjoy taking it with me."

Email: info@kennetheade.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KennethGEadeBestsellingauthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/KennethEade1
ECommerce site: http://www.amazonsellers.attorney

Note: The last book in this set, I had already reviewed...

Kenneth Eade Presents A Patriot's Act - An American Citizen at Guantanamo...

Lawyer Brent Marks Legal Thriller Series Books 1-3: A legal thriller and courtroom drama collection (Brent Marks Legal Thrillers Series Book 10)Kindle Edition

Patriotism is a kind of religion; it is the egg from which wars are hatched. -Guy de Maupassant 

Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the peacemakers for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.  – Hermann Goering

  Democracy is not freedom.  Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch.  Freedom comes from the recognition of certain rights, which may not be taken, even by a 99% vote. - Marvin Simkin

~~~

After reading A Higher Loyalty by James Comey, I decided to continue my legal reading via my favorite fiction legal author, Kenneth Eade. While reading from a book set, I will be doing an individual review for each of the books as I normally do...

A Patriot's Act is the first book in the set.

Patriotism is a kind of religion;
it is the egg from which wars
are hatched.
~~~

Exploring the Patriot's Act within a legal thriller would be difficult, I am sure. The author chose to formulate a fictional case which spotlighted Guantanamo, with the capture of an American citizen who was jailed as a terrorist and immediately placed in prison in that secret location outside of the United States.

This is an historical book to some extent but there are still prisoners being kept at Guantanamo. Included in the book's extra materials is a list of the congressional and presidential actions which support what was happening...

I was immediately struck by the quotes that were included on the first page, the first of which struck me the most--noting that patriotism is a kind of religion and that wars are the result. This quote caught me and my first thought was an internal question--how did patriotism come to be before God? And yet this quote provided what could be an explanation to what I have wondered about all my life. Why was patriotism spoken of and responded to more than God in our lives? I've always given God the glory for my life and and the country in which I lived was the luck of the draw...I happened to be in America, which was called the land of the Free...

And then 9/11 happened...

“What do we do?”  Catherine started to cry.  “It seems to be impossible.” “Of course, you have no obligation to hire me, but what you could do is file a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in Federal Court here in the States.  If that’s granted, he will have a hearing in a U.S. Court on U.S. soil instead of being held indefinitely in Cuba.” 
“Indefinitely?”
“Yes, some suspected terrorists have been there since 2003.  If they are accused of being ‘enemy combatants’ they can be held as long as it is deemed fit, without a trial.  But they do have a right to challenge whether they are enemy combatants or not.” 
“Ahmed is not an enemy of the United States.  He loves America.  And he’s not a terrorist!” 
“The Government thinks he is, and they
think that gives them the ability to foreclose all his rights.” 
“Is this expensive, this habeas corpus?” 
“Yes, it is.  I can give you a very good hourly rate, but I can’t work for free.  We’ll be fighting the Government, and they’ll throw everything at us to crush our petition.  It’s going to take a lot of hours.” 
“I’ll do whatever it takes to save Ahmed. I’ve got some savings, and I’ll borrow money if I have to.” 
“I’ll see if I can get the Government to admit they have him, and the next step will be to go down there to talk to him.” 
“I’ll go with you.” 
“Let me see what I can do first, then we’ll try to set up visitation for you, okay?” 
“You’re my last hope, Mr. Marks.  I’ve tried everything and every door closes in my face.  The only ones who even tried to help me were that FBI agent and Mr. Penn. 
Brent was accustomed to the way tribal bias and prejudice gave way to mistreatment in his native America, his Hispanic looks being mistaken for Mexican more than once. 
Brent left Catherine with the assignment of digging up every piece of paper she could on Ahmed: a copy of his passport, his naturalization papers, his work history, even his banking records.  Brent would have to present on paper the picture of a good American citizen.  
George W. Bush said, “It will take time to restore chaos.”  Brent was about to confront Bush’s creation head on.

~~~

President Bush and apparently many who lived in America seemed to think that an attack on America was totally unexpected and unwarranted, yet we had traveled all over the world, fighting many wars in other countries. I was not even surprised when 9/11, a most horrible event, occurred. Thereafter I watched as the Patriot's Act almost immediately was put into effect and "potential" terrorists were arrested and acted on under a special military court rather than through our standard system. Torture was implemented, although nothing they were doing was placed under the definition, which was created for torture... Water Boarding, Dry Boarding, physical abuse of all kinds, mental abuse of various kinds were implemented routinely and handled by the officers at Guantanamo with oversight only by the military.

Ahmed, an American citizen, had gone to his home country when his brother called him and told him he needed help. He knew nothing about his brother's involvement in terrorism, if indeed he had been... Ahmed never knew what happened to him. Ahmed was stripped naked and taken to Guantanamo and immediately placed in isolation for weeks...then moved to another location where he was in bright lights all the time and rock music blared 24/7... and much more. This book is not easy to read for those who care about God's people... The video below is an illustration, but it was during this process that Ahmed was most affected...

Catherine, Ahmed's wife, had found Brent Marks after going to many different offices to seek help in finding her husband. Brent Marks is a wonderful fictional lawyer that you would want to have if you needed help. Readers will watch as each legal process was handled, together with much investigation by a private investigator, who was also a personal friend of Brent. What happens is unbelievable, and extremely upsetting since this American citizen had had nobody to act on his behalf until Marks took his case. How, I thought, can Americans talk about other countries who are routinely doing acts against humanity, yet, do the same, in secret, by direction of the President.

Was it at that point when things started to get really bad, and the division started? For those who seek peace versus those who follow leaders into immoral acts have surely initiated actions that by now are beyond secrecy and out in the open... While a disgusting book, if you care about what is happening in America, I recommend this as a must-read...Each of us need to "feel" emotionally what happens to the individual who is caught in acts of our government that have been authorized--but never explained to us what would really be happening.


GABixlerReviews

Now Reading Predatory Kill, the Second in Set

Review Coming