Corruption, Cocaine and Murder in Trinidad: This Vice report goes into detail on the problems currently being experienced by the people of Trinidad, which seem to parallel the troubles Jamaica went through in the '70s and '80s. As in Jamaica, the country's status as a major drug trans-shipment point combined with political parties using street gangs as proxies has resulted in an exponential rise in violent crime. The country has a total population about equal to the city of Dallas, yet had over 500 murders in 2013. It was also interesting to learn about the 1990 attempted coup in Trinidad and Tobago, the only such coup carried out by Islamist militants in the Americas, ever.
Is the South China Sea on the brink of war?: This piece from the Australian Broadcasting Company focuses on maritime territorial disputes involving pretty much every nation that touches the South China Sea. Because of the possibility of oil and gas deposits in the Sea, a small chain of islands called the Spratlys on the southern edge of the sea have become a major flashpoint. This video showcases the difficult task a detachment of soldiers from the Philippines faces while stationed on a desolate atoll where they're constantly harassed by the Chinese Coast Guard.
"Banished": Another Australian report, this one tells the story of a community of convicted sex offenders in Florida. Most of them come off very repentant and human in their interviews, and just like the local pastor featured on the video, I was forced to re-examine my own views on these types of offenders. Both as someone who believes punishment should only be one of the goals of our prison system, and as a Christian I don't think it's fair for me to write these individuals off completely. If I believe murderers can re-enter society without hurting anyone, how can I say any different about these guys?
Arkansas: The worst place to be a renter in America: Staying in the US, the short documentary from Vice deals with the ridiculous laws dictating the landlord/renter dynamic in the state of Arkansas. The state has what are by most any measure the most unfair laws on the renter side of the equation of any state in the Union, even their own state legislature thinks so. However, a very influential real estate lobby is in favor of the status quo down there, and it doesn't look like things will change any time soon.
Greece: The Hidden War: This excellent two-parter from the BBC focuses on the largely forgotten Greek Civil War of 1947-49. Occurring even earlier than the Korean War, it was arguably the first "hot" war of the Cold War era. Before watching the video, I was unaware that even back in late 1944 when World War Two was still raging, Greek Communists and British soldiers were killing one another in Greece. After a brief and not always effective cease-fire, conflict between the Communists and supporters of the British-backed King flared up again in 1947, and led to the first battlefield use of napalm, the Truman Doctrine and many other events which would shape the latter half of the 20th century. Part 2 is accessible from the same youtube account.
Football and Fascism: Another BBC production that explores the relationships Hitler, Mussolini and Franco had with national soccer teams and soccer culture in their respective countries. Full of interesting info on things like Mussolini's transparent effort to rig the 1934 World Cup, and the Spanish Civil War roots of the Real Madrid/FC Barcelona rivalry.
In Search Of: This long running series from the '70s and '80s hosted by Leonard Nimoy is one of my favorite programs of all-time. Some of the info they use is dated at this point but pretty much every episode focuses on something both interesting and mysterious. The two above are on the Honey Island Swamp Monster, a Bigfoot-like cryptid reported for years in the wilds of Southern Louisiana, and the infamous skyjacker D.B. Cooper. Some other episodes I'd recommend are the entries on the Lost Dutchman mine, the disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa and Captain Kidd's New England "Money Pit". They should all be accessible from the same channel as the episodes posted here.
Slave labor shrimp: This rather short investigative report aims to expose the prevalence of slave labor in the Thai fishing industry, which is one of the largest suppliers of shrimp to the Western market. Migrants, primarily from Cambodia and Burma, looking for a better life in their more prosperous neighbor are all too often forced into slave labor on Thai fishing trawlers thanks to the close relationship between human traffickers, corrupt Thai authorities, and Thai seafood companies with more regard for their bottom line than human lives. The investigation also looks into the relationship certain large Western retailers like Costco and Tesco have with some of these rather dubious Thai companies. The report does feature some fairly graphic and sad stuff, so be warned.
The Karlton Hines Story: Karlton Hines was one of the most celebrated high school basketball stars in late '80s New York City, part of a group of street ballers turned pro and college stars that also included guys like Kenny Anderson and Lloyd "Sweet Pea" Daniels. Sadly, he went the route of many a blacktop legend before him, got into the drug game, and threw away a scholarship to play for Jim Boeheim at Syracuse and a likely NBA career. The footage of Karlton in his glory days included here is still something any fan of basketball will enjoy, and while his story is tragic it's a great look into the era when playground courts, rather than AAU teams, were where the next generation of basketball stars were discovered.
Inside ISIS and the Iraq Caliphate: It seems as if recent events in Iraq have quickly taken over from the crisis in The Ukraine as the primary fuel for fear-mongering about our uncertain world from US news outlets. This fairly brief report goes into the short history of the group known as ISIS, how they operate and why they've had recent battlefield success against the Iraqi Army. Vice News also, as usual, has a very good series of ongoing reports on the current situation in Iraq on their youtube channel.
Swaziland: Gold Mine of Marijuana: When one thinks of the world's major weed producing countries, Swaziland is likely a name that doesn't come to many people's minds right off the bat. This two-parter from Vice focuses on the tiny nation's largely Mom and Pop-dominated network of marijuana growers, and how they go about trying to smuggle their product into neighboring South Africa and elsewhere.
The Wedtech Scandal: This vintage C-SPAN broadcast from 1990 is centered on an interview with journalist and author James Traub, writer of a book on disgraced defense contractor Wedtech, and the politicians they took down with them. The best thing about old C-SPAN broadcasts, beyond the usually interesting material are the incoherent ranters who occasionally call in and get cut off. This episode definitely has one of those. This channel has a wealth of old stuff recorded from C-SPAN if you're at all interested. Some info on Wedtech:
The Wedtech Scandal was the name of an American political scandal that came to light in 1986 involving the Wedtech Corporation.
The company had been founded in Bronx County, New York by a Puerto Rican named John Mariotta, and originally manufactured baby carriages. But after a number of years, Mariotta brought in a partner, Fred Neuberger, and began focusing on winning small business set-aside contracts for the Department of Defense...Wedtech had won many of its defense contracts without competitive bidding under a Small Business Administration program that gave preference to minority-owned businesses, despite the fact that Fred Neuberger, not a member of any minority, owned a majority of the company's stock, thus disqualifying Wedtech as a minority-owned business. To keep Neuberger's controlling ownership secret, the company committed fraud, forging papers that claimed Mariotta was still the primary owner of the company.
When Wedtech went public, it gave shares of stock to law firms (as payment for legal services), including Squadron, Ellenoff, Plesent & Sheinfeld. Some of the law firms employed members or relatives of members of the U.S. House of Representatives, including Bronx Congressmen Mario Biaggi and Robert Garcia. Both would later be forced to resign their seats due to their roles in the scandal and were subsequently jailed, as were State Senators Clarence Mitchell III and Michael Mitchell of Maryland. With undisclosed holdings in Wedtech, they used their positions to help Wedtech win federal work.
The Wedtech Scandal was the name of an American political scandal that came to light in 1986 involving the Wedtech Corporation.
The company had been founded in Bronx County, New York by a Puerto Rican named John Mariotta, and originally manufactured baby carriages. But after a number of years, Mariotta brought in a partner, Fred Neuberger, and began focusing on winning small business set-aside contracts for the Department of Defense...Wedtech had won many of its defense contracts without competitive bidding under a Small Business Administration program that gave preference to minority-owned businesses, despite the fact that Fred Neuberger, not a member of any minority, owned a majority of the company's stock, thus disqualifying Wedtech as a minority-owned business. To keep Neuberger's controlling ownership secret, the company committed fraud, forging papers that claimed Mariotta was still the primary owner of the company.
When Wedtech went public, it gave shares of stock to law firms (as payment for legal services), including Squadron, Ellenoff, Plesent & Sheinfeld. Some of the law firms employed members or relatives of members of the U.S. House of Representatives, including Bronx Congressmen Mario Biaggi and Robert Garcia. Both would later be forced to resign their seats due to their roles in the scandal and were subsequently jailed, as were State Senators Clarence Mitchell III and Michael Mitchell of Maryland. With undisclosed holdings in Wedtech, they used their positions to help Wedtech win federal work.
