The Independent  Global warming is melting sea ice so fast that more than half of Antarctica’s population of Emperor penguins are set to be wiped out by the end of the century, according to alarming new research saying they should be listed as an endangered species. Details here.

National Geographic Magazine She never saw the big tractor coming. First it plowed up her banana trees. Then her corn. Then her beans, sweet potatoes, cassava. Within a few, dusty minutes the one-acre plot near Xai-Xai, Mozambique, which had fed Flora Chirime and her five children for years, was consumed by a Chinese corporation building a 50,000-acre farm, a green-and-brown checkerboard of fields covering a broad stretch of the Limpopo River Delta. Details here.

by Larry Powell THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld Menzies (above) was a Conservative MP for about 10 years before being appointed early this year as President and CEO (AKA CBK) of Croplife Canada, an industry organization representing chemical giants like Bayer. Bayer makes "Neonicotinoids," the world's worst family of bee-killing pesticides.  CropLife is in the midst of a major lobbying and public relations campaign to prevent Canada from adopting a ban on the pesticides, action the European Union took more than a year ago. Dear old Ted will be based in Ottawa, where lobbying his old government buddies will come easy. This will help ensure that both the already fat bottom lines of the "Agri-Biz" corporations he now represents and the slaughter of our precious pollinators will continue!  Meanwhile, the Sierra Club Canada Foundation has asked the Ethics Commissioner to examine Menzies' appointment under the Conflict of Interest Act . According

Friends of the Earth Washington, D.C. – Many “bee-friendly” home garden plants sold at Home Depot, Lowe’s and Walmart have been pre-treated with pesticides shown to kill bees, according to a study released today by Friends of the Earth and allies. Details here. PLT photo. Related: Meet Canada's Chief Bee-Killer (CBK) - Ted Menzies

Dear Editor, Crooked bankers of the world, rejoice!  Wikileaks has revealed that negotiators from 50 countries, including Canada, have been meeting in back rooms, cooking up ways of making it even easier for these financial titans to fleece their customers, everywhere! It's all part of the ('til now) super-secretive "Trade in Services Agreement" (TISA), a massive deal that would affect the way the big banks are allowed to do business, world-wide. According to the confidential draft text, TISA would "further deregulate global financial services markets."  Not only that, it would prevent these nations, including Canada, from ensuring that sensitive customer data remains in the country of origin! I'm no financial whiz. But, if we want to keep our precious banking records secure, this can't be good! Why is all of this happening? According to the text, "To assist the expansion of financial multi-nationals – mainly headquar

CBC News Neonicotinoids, fipronil linked to ecosystem damage in new report. Full story here. PLT photo.

Winnipeg Free Press Good weather for ducks. PLT photo. MELITA, Man. - Up to 400,000 hectares of farmland could go unseeded in Manitoba this year because soggy conditions and relentless rain are making it impossible for farmers to get on their fields. Details here.

New York Times: The White House announced new initiatives on Friday to promote the health of honeybees and other pollinators, which have suffered enormous losses in recent years. Details here.

Care2 When people discuss immediate victims of climate change, they list endangered species and island dwellers… yet never cartographers. WON’T SOMEBODY THINK OF THE CARTOGRAPHERS? Full story here.

Wikileaks A leak of documents from the Trade in Services Agreement negotiations show Australia and other negotiating parties (including Canada) would be prevented from ensuring sensitive customer data remains in the country of origin. Full story here. Please also read:  " WikiLeaked Doc Reveals Wall Street Plan for Global Financial Deregulation " Is Ottawa Bedding Down With Crooked Bankers? "Free Trade - Road to prosperity or back road to corporatism?"

Amnesty International Amnesty International calls on federal government to reverse decision. Full story here.

The Council of Canadians opposes the Northern Gateway pipeline and stands in solidarity with the many First Nations and frontline communities opposed to this destructive project. The Harper cabinet approved the pipeline, but Indigenous, environmental and citizens’ organizations in B.C. are vowing to do everything they can to stop the project. Full story here.

The Sierra Club The federal government has just approved Canada's Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline, subject to the 209 conditions set out by the Joint Review Panel last year. Details here.

Larry, By now I’m sure you’ve heard the federal cabinet has approved Enbridge’s Northern Gateway proposal for B.C.’s north coast. Yes, the news is saddening and far from surprising, but  you and  I both know this fight is far from over.

by Larry Powell As its name implies, the conference promised a lot.  "Holding Power to Account. Investigative Journalism, Democracy and Human Rights."   Big concepts. Big ideas.  And it delivered.  I am thankful to have been part of it. More than three hundred people from 15 countries attended the event this past weekend, sponsored by the CBC and University of Winnipeg. They heard Adrienne Arsenault, a foreign correspondent with CBC TV's flagship newscast, The National, tell a terrifying tale about an assignment she was on in an African nation.

by Larry Powell Manitoba's Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, Ron Kostychyn, (r.)  is a liar. Way back in September of 2012  (over 1  1/2  years ago) , Kostyshyn   promised me he would read a peer-reviewed article I had written.  Entitled  "Field of Nightmares ."   It appeared in the well-respected Canadian journal "Alternatives - Canada's Environmental Voice." It documented much of the research which has been done, linking the popular herbicide "Roundup" to adverse effects on the health of  livestock, wildlife, crops and even  humans .  It also placed the official position of the Government of Canada on the record, which was , it was " aware of the research, but,  i t did not raise immediate risk concerns that would have triggered regulatory action.”

CBC News A multimillion-dollar plan to help save Lake Winnipeg by reducing the blue-green algae poisoning the lake was announced Wednesday by the Manitoba government. Details here. Related: Dangerous Ditches.  Manitoba’s “war on weeds” comes complete with powerful herbicides, questionable spraying practices and collateral damage. Scum on Lake Winnipeg. PLT photo.

Manitoba Co-Operator Forty miles of RM of Edwards roadways are closed due to water. Details here.

The  Manitoba Co-Operator Honeybee on flower. Larry Powell P in P photo. Manitoba’s beekeepers are feeling the sting of high winter losses, coupled with the pain and expense of overseas bee imports. Details here. Related:  Are Canada's Pesticide Regulators on the Take?  Canadian Authorities Refuse to Protect Precious Pollinators From Known Toxins. Is Something Crooked Going on Here?

Manitoba Co-Operator Corn harvester in Manitoba.                                                      Beekeepers at the Fort Whyte Centre in  Winnipeg, MB.  PLT photos. Keeping bees at bay when it comes to corn planting isn’t always possible,  but good communication goes a long way. Details here.

Globe and Mail A letter signed by hundreds of scientists from around the world is urging Prime Minister Stephen Harper to reject a federal panel report recommending approval of the Northern Gateway pipeline. Details here.

Organic Consumer's Association Hell hath no fury . . . like a mother whose child has been sickened by a toxin that’s almost impossible to avoid. Details here. Related: Field of Nightmares. Canada embraces the widespread use of Roundup by letting corporate seduction trump scientific evidence. PLT photo.