Mines and Communities has made a rather useful resource guide available on their website. Among other things, it provides a database on mining companies, their projects, and the names of the funders…

Now I imagine I don’t have to tell you the significance of having such a resource, so let me just ask you to help spread the word that this guide exists. At the moment it’s only mentioned on one other website.

Published by Nostromo Research, the guide is called From Money to Metals, and it can be downloaded in English and Spanish on this page at the Mines and Communities website.

Report Overview

“The need for a campaigner’s guide to mine-related finance has grown more and more urgent, as communities at the receiving end of dubious or dangerous projects – and others - become increasingly bewildered at the different types of funding available and …

Mines and Communities reports that “one of the most vilified mining proposals of recent years has hit a major stumbling block, as its key financial backer suspends support. Early this month, in a statement to opponents of the Phulbari coal mine in Bangladesh, the director general of Asia Development Bank (ADB)’s Private Sector Operations Department declared that his agency would ‘decline the opportunity’ of investing in the project.”

Noted here in January, the Asian Development Bank was considering a plan to give a $100 million loan to GCM Resources, the UK company behind the massive coal mine scheme. GCM had also asked the bank for a $200 million “political risk insurance package” to help protect them from any losses they would incur through local resistance… In 2006, over 50,000 people gathered to protest the mine, subsequently forcing GCM to shut down the …

On April 11 Puerto Rico’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR) informed the General Council of Tainos Borincanos that they would NOT be allowed to clean the Bucana river in Jacanas.

As part of an effort to promote conservation and respect for the environment, the Council proposed the clean-up more than two months ago, to “mend the damage caused to the sacred site of Jacanas, Ponce, PR and to renew its integrity,” writes UCTP Taino News.

At that point they decided to contact the DNR, among other governmental agencies, to learn the proper procedures for the clean up. They sent faxes and letters, made phone calls, and even went to their offices in person — but their request was always ignored; that is, until just recently.

The DNR finally wrote back. But to the Tainos dismay, the letter was confusing and contained “no …

Following up last week’s announcement by the Canadian House of Commons which called on the Federal Government to implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, an announcement that had me believing pigs could fly, on Monday the (minority) government of Canada was kind enough to set the record straight.

During the first day of the OAS 11th negotiating session for the Draft American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, they reaffirmed their opposition to the UN declaration — even going so far as to say they will no longer take part in any negotiations regarding the Draft American Declaration.

Courtesy of Ben Powless, below you will find Canada’s official statement, followed by a response delivered the next day by Beverly Jacobs, President of NWAC, on behalf of the Indigenous Peoples Caucus of the Americas.

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Produced by Wholesome Goodness, FED UP! is an open source documentary film that sets out to inform people about Genetic Engineering, Industrial Agriculture and Sustainable Alternatives. Below you can find the first of four 20 minute segments to Fed Up! and a link to download a high quality version of the film.

From the Producer’s website: “About 70% of the food we eat contains genetically modified ingredients and is not labeled. The biotechnology industry is spending $50 million a year to convince us that this technology is our only hope for feeding the world and saving the environment. Family farmers are disappearing at an astonishing rate as people continue to go hungry both here and abroad. Toxic agricultural chemicals continue to poison our air, food and water and put farm workers in serious danger. What’s a person to do?

Using hilarious and disturbing archival footage (from archive.org) and featuring interviews with …

Some say California is where the American Dream was defined. That an accidental discovery near some river went on to inspire a new kind of lifestyle, one said to be entrepreneurial, wide-open, free.

“Gold Cletus, look I found me some gold! YEEEEEEEEEE HAWWWWWWW!”

It wasn’t long before the rumors started, back in 1849, and not long before they were confirmed by President James K. Polk in his state of the union address later that year. Let the California Gold Rush begin…

At first it was like you see in the movies, you know, where you kneel by a riverside and pan for gold… but then a new process was adopted, one that seemed harmless enough. I mean, it got the job done so it couldn’t have been all that bad, right? Sure, it tasted kinda funny but the kids had a great time with it.

“What’s this …

The Brazilian Supreme Court has suspended the police operation that sought to evict a group of rice farmers illegally occupying Raposa Serra do Sol indigenous territory in the Brazilian state of Roraima.

The decision came last Wednesday (April 9), after the farmers began threatening and attacking the regions indigenous people, destroying bridges, and setting up roadblocks to resist their eviction.

According to the Associated Press,

The court blocked the eviction of farmers from the Raposa Serra do Sol reservation late Wednesday, saying protests by the settlers… could erupt into “a veritable civil war.”

Roraima state Gov. Jose de Anchieta Filho, who backs the farmers, hailed the Supreme Court decision as ‘a victory for Roraima’s people.’

But Dionito Jose de Sousa, a Macuxi Indian chief and coordinator of the Roraima Indigenous Council, said the ruling rewarded violence and disrespect for the law.

“This is very bad …