101 East – China’s African Gold Rush

Al Jazeera English

Published on Dec 15, 2016

101 East travels into Ghana’s tropical rainforest where 30,000 Chinese miners hunt for gold.

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Website – http://aljazeera.com/101east

Chris Hedges: There Will Be Rebels…

Occupy.com

Published on Dec 15, 2016

There will be rebels. They will live in the shadows. They will be the renegade painters, sculptors, poets, writers, journalists, musicians, actors, dancers, organizers, activists, mystics, intellectuals and other outcasts….

Trump’s Anti-Regulatory Agenda Will Cost Economy Billions

Ignition! NASA CYGNSS Hurricane Satellites Launched | Video

Where did your help go in 2016? | Oxfam GB

Oxfam GB

Published on Dec 15, 2016

2016 has been characterised by some significant events, the long-term impacts of which are still uncertain. But what we do know is that there remains a critical challenge for us in improving the lives of those living in poverty: from life-saving responses in humanitarian emergencies; to supporting individuals and communities to find work and build livelihoods; to challenging the systems and structures that keep people poor and drive inequality.

Over the last year Oxfam, working closely with local, national and global partners, has been at the forefront of enabling positive change – thanks to the commitment and generosity of supporters like you. Bringing hope to some of the bleakest situations, empowering women and men to create their own futures, and holding governments to account for the decisions that affect the most vulnerable.

Thank you for your support this year. Thank you for playing a part in improving the lives of millions of women, men and children around the world. And thank you for continuing to believe in a world without poverty.

Guy McPherson: Green Planet FM Radio Interview

Edward Snowden on Snowden Movie ACLU Award 14 Dec 2016

Scientists are frantically copying U.S. climate data, fearing it might vanish under Trump – The Washington Post

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/12/13/scientists-are-frantically-copying-u-s-climate-data-fearing-it-might-vanish-under-trump/

GRAIN — Grow-ing disaster: the Fortune 500 goes farming

Mr. Vinh Xuan Toa grows vegetables under contract with the Metro supermarket in Ho Chi Minh City, as part of a project coordinated by Grow Asia member company Fresh Studio and funded by the Dutch Government.
GRAIN | 15 December 2016 | Reports
https://www.grain.org/article/entries/5622-grow-ing-disaster-the-fortune-500-goes-farming

The world’s largest agribusiness corporations are rolling out a public-private partnership programme to take control of food and farming in the Global South.

(Spanish and French translations coming soon)

Thousands of greenhouses cluster along the valleys of Lam Dong province in the central highlands of Vietnam. At night, the strong glow from their lights illuminates a flow of trucks carrying fruit, vegetables, flowers and herbs to Ho Chi Minh City or to nearby ports for export. Competition among traders here is intense. The climate is ideal for the production of a number of high-value cash crops, and companies fight to secure their supply of farmers’ products or for a share of the lucrative market in chemical inputs, seeds and farm equipment such as plastic greenhouse covers or drip irrigation piping.

Farming in the highlands is a high-stakes business. Each season, farmers gamble on which crop will pay the highest price or which new seed variety will reach the yields promised by dealers. Sometimes the payoffs are big. But losses resulting from crop failures, a sudden drop in prices or scams by traders are just as frequent. Debt weighs heavily on the area’s farmers.

Money is not the only problem. There’s a looming water crisis from the depletion of water tables and the pollution caused by pesticides and fertiliser run-off, which is generating a public health crisis. Land conflicts are escalating too, especially in the hills where indigenous communities live. Finally, there is a potential threat to food security from producing so many crops that local people don’t eat. Most farmers seem to agree that the government is doing little to address these challenges.

…(read more).

Full Report