Vanguard Weekly Special
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Destination Anywhere
Poverty and underemployment drive much of the population out of the Philippines, where the number one export is people. There are about 11 million overseas Filipino workers around the world who send back over $20 billion in remittances a year, which keeps the Philippine economy afloat sort of. This is a look at those families left behind and those longing to leave. Their destination? Anywhere. Poverty and underemployment drive much of the population out of the Philippines, where the number one export is people. There are abou... more
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Pollution to Protest
Chinas rapid economic growth has stunned the world, making it a global power in a short span of years. It has also produced a staggering amount of environmental damage, which the world is also beginning to note. But it has also done something elsespurred ordinary Chinese citizens to start organizing, sometimes in defiance of the government. In the process, theyve created the beginnings of a civil society that could bring greater freedom overall inside the worlds largest dictatorship. Chinas rapid economic growth has stunned the world, making it a global power in a short span of years. It has also produced a stagge... more
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Toxic Villages
Take a trip to an electronic wasteland in Southern China. Here, much the world's electronic waste ends up. The crude process of recycling this e-waste can have serious health and environmental consequences. Take a trip to an electronic wasteland in Southern China. Here, much the world's electronic waste ends up. The crude process of recy... more
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End of the Road
The Pan-American Highway goes from Alaska to Argentina--except for a 60 mile gap in the lawless jungles of southern Panama. Jael travels to the end of the road and beyond to see what stops South America from entering North America. The Pan-American Highway goes from Alaska to Argentina--except for a 60 mile gap in the lawless jungles of southern Panama. Jael trav... more
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The Bomb People
What puts the "mass" in Weapons of Mass Destruction? Nuclear Weapons. Adam Yamaguchi visits the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, Austria, the world's nuclear detective agency, and learns about the state of nuclear proliferation today, and what the UN's nuclear watchdogs are doing to keep tabs on it. What puts the "mass" in Weapons of Mass Destruction? Nuclear Weapons. Adam Yamaguchi visits the International Atomic Energy Agency i... more
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Breast Ironing and Beyond
Women around the world are gaining greater rights and freedoms, but theres still a long way to go. This special looks at the challenges that groups of women still face. In Cameroon, mothers are ironing their daughters breasts in an effort to make them seem less attractive to men so they do no become sexually active at an early age. We look at why Iran is considered the rhinoplasty capital of the world. In China, the economic boom has produced wide disparities in the economic conditions of its people and huge differences in the status of Chinese women, from middle class urban dwellers who, thanks to Chinas One Child Policy, enjoy some of the highest levels of equality in the world, to tens of millions of rural women who have among the lowest status. Women around the world are gaining greater rights and freedoms, but theres still a long way to go. This special looks at the challen... more
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Breast Ironing
The UN says that 3.8 million West and Central African girls are at risk of a painful form of body mutilation know as 'breast ironing'.
In Cameroon where the practice is most widespread, 50% of adolescent girls in cities and a quarter of all girls nationwide have their breasts 'ironed,' often by their mothers.
The 'ritual' is performed by massaging the girls' chests with heated objects like stones, in order to reverse their pubescent development. The mums say it's driven by fear of unwanted male attention, rape and pre-marital pregnancies.
According to UNFPA, breast ironing exposes girls to numerous health problems such as abscesses, infections, dissymmetry of the breasts, cysts, and even the complete disappearance of one or both breasts.
Nevertheless breast ironing is widespread and interestingly, the high prevalence in cities attributed to the effects of urbanization.
In Cameroon, the Network of Aunties Association, RENATA, made up of members who have undergone the practice, is trying to stop breast ironing by drawing public attention to its dangers in radio and television spots and by disseminating leaflets. The UN says that 3.8 million West and Central African girls are at risk of a painful form of body mutilation know as 'breast ironing'.... more -
City on Steroids
China is building megacities like this at a pace and scale the
world has never seen before. Chongqing has 12 million people and counting.
It's part of the central government's plan to bring some of China's economic
boom to its impoverished interior province where three out of four Chinese
live. Vanguard takes you on a whirlwind tour of the city---from inside a
cramped boarding house where migrant workers to inside a starter apartment
of China's new class of yuppies; from inside ancient, crumbling teahouses to
gleaming new car factories. China is building megacities like this at a pace and scale the ... more -
Machine Gun Shootout
Kaj Larsen visits Knob Creek, KY to take part in the largest machine gun shoot out in the world.
Produced By: Adam Fox & Evan B. Stone Kaj Larsen visits Knob Creek, KY to take part in the largest machine gun shoot out in the world. ... more -
Penis Restaurant
Calluses, cocks and coffins! Vanguard correspondents share some hair-raising travel stories.
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Y Vote?
With all of the attention on this upcoming presidential election, it's hard to ignore one huge difference this time around--youth involvement. Here's a look at how young people have been such a big force in this election and how our generation has brought a new sense of excitement to the political process. With all of the attention on this upcoming presidential election, it's hard to ignore one huge difference this time around--youth invo... more
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Cannabis Country
Laura Ling goes to Morocco--the largest exporter of cannabis in the world.
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The Price of Vice
Vanguard looks at how criminal activity has become industrialized and in many cases has reached an "almost legal" status. Like most conventional industries, it's the workers at the bottom of the ladder that take on the brunt of the labor, and get remunerated the least. Vanguard gives a face to these everyday people who make up the foundation of these illegal enterprises so big that they amount to major industries. Vanguard looks at how criminal activity has become industrialized and in many cases has reached an "almost legal" status. Like most co... more
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Lost in Democracy
Hidden near the Himalayas between India and Tibet, the kingdom of Bhutan has long been shrouded in mystery. Sometimes called the last Shangri-La, its a lushly forested land where people wear traditional robes, where policy is guided by Gross National Happiness, and where Tantric Buddhist saints are celebrated with paintings of gigantic penises. But Bhutan is on the verge of change. This year, it will transform itself from an absolute monarchy to a parliamentary democracy a move that leaves many young Bhutanese puzzled and uneasy. When His Majesty first informed us he was going to change the government, there were lots of people who couldnt speak, says one activist. They wished it was just a dream. Current Correspondent Christof Putzel travels to Bhutan to find out how young people are dealing with democracy, westernization, and other challenges to their unique national culture. Hidden near the Himalayas between India and Tibet, the kingdom of Bhutan has long been shrouded in mystery. Sometimes called the last... more
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The Art of War
Thirty years of warfare, then what? As Americans wonder how long the U.S. will be in Iraq, Vanguard Producer Tracey Chang travels across the island of Mindanao in the southern Philippines, where 30 years of warfare between the U.S--backed Philippine Army and various Islamic insurgent, terrorist, and criminal groups have yielded a plan for peace that is neither surge nor withdrawal: Giving the largest and hardest-to-defeat insurgent group some of what it's demanding, while trying to eliminate the nastiest of the smaller terrorist and criminal groups. Thirty years of warfare, then what? As Americans wonder how long the U.S. will be in Iraq, Vanguard Producer Tracey Chang travels acr... more
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Smugglers' Paradise
The Triple Frontier in South America has been called a key fundraising center for criminal and terror groups. Adam Yamaguchi travels to the notorious region. The Triple Frontier in South America has been called a key fundraising center for criminal and terror groups. Adam Yamaguchi travels t... more
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Cocaine and Lobster
As the number of lobsters decline, divers on the Miskito Coast are forced to dive deeper. Many have been crippled or killed. And as the region's traditional economy begins to run dry, some are turning to an even riskier shadow economy, known locally as the "white lobster".
Current TV's Mariana van Zeller travels to this remote corner of Nicaragua to examine some very visible effects of overfishing and dwindling ocean resources. As the number of lobsters decline, divers on the Miskito Coast are forced to dive deeper. Many have been crippled or killed. And as t... more -
Scarf Wars
Turkey, with 70 million people, the majority of them being Muslim, has long been seen as a leading example of western values co-existing with Islam. To achieve that, Turkey has enforced an extreme separation of religion and government, even to the point of banning the wearing of the traditional Muslim headscarf by government employees and university students. But Turkeys new ruling party is headed by men whose wives wear headscarves and who are trying to roll back the ban on headscarves. Although they arent proposing any other changes to Turkeys enforced secularism, the issue of the scarf has touched off a cultural war inside Turkey, one that could have a larger impact on how Islam and the West co-exist. Turkey, with 70 million people, the majority of them being Muslim, has long been seen as a leading example of western values co-existi... more
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4 Days in Kenya
More than a month after elections and the announcement that incumbent president Mwai Kibaki had been elected, The Republic of Kenya faces struggles with displacement, protests and violence that has been described as "tribal warfare". Current Correspondent Adrian Baschuk travels to Kenya to investigate the ongoing dilemma. More than a month after elections and the announcement that incumbent president Mwai Kibaki had been elected, The Republic of Kenya fa... more
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Blood Roses and Diamonds
What's the true price of love? Current Vanguard Journalists head to Colombia and Sierra Leone to explore the unromantic stories behind two symbols of love.
Produced by: Evan B. Stone, Kaj Larsen, Jael de Pardo, Darren Foster & Mariana van Zeller What's the true price of love? Current Vanguard Journalists head to Colombia and Sierra Leone to explore the unromantic stories behind... more
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