Rice Farmer: News Links, April 25, 2015

Work Tensions Rise in China, Despite Calls for Harmony
Labor disputes continued to swell in China over the first three months of this year, government data showed Friday, as slowing growth in the world's second-largest economy puts more pressure on workers.
Tensions Boil Over After Baltimore Police Call Protesters 'Lynch Mob'
Demonstrators still seeking answers over the mysterious and troubling death of Freddie Gray, who died of a spinal injury while in the custody of the Baltimore Police Department, circled City Hall on Thursday after Maryland Governor Larry Hogan announced that he had called in state troopers to help quell the protests.
Huge American Flag Protest Shuts Down Valdosta State University

## Energy/resources ##
Overview of Our Energy Modeling Problem

Russia deepens energy cooperation with Argentina

Big Hit For U.S. Oil Production In January

Half Of US Frackers Will Be Dead By Year End, Weatherford Warns

US Shale Fracklog Triples As Drillers Keep Oil From Market

Oil Patch Unemployment Is Challenge For Industry's Future

CNOOC revenue off nearly 40 percent

The uranium trade is about to go nuclear

Outlook for drilling dim amid low oil prices; Wyoming working rig count lowest since 1999

## Got food? ##
Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams voluntarily recalls all frozen desserts

## Lifestyle Solutions ##
The Old Models of Work Are Broken
The only sustainable way to avoid being commoditized is to learn to create value in ways that cannot be commoditized.

## Environment/health ##

Oil And Gas Drilling Is Consuming Millions Of Acres Of US Farmland: Study
As oil and gas drilling ramps up in the central U.S. and Canada, the region is losing an increasing amount of cropland, ranches and forests to industrial activities. In recent years, huge swaths of the Great Plains have given way to well sites, oil pads, parking lots and gravel roads that service the energy industry, researchers say.

Are Oklahoma's Quakes Caused By Wastewater Disposal?
Air pollution could increase risk of dementia

North Carolina Residents Warned Not to Drink Water Near Coal Ash Dumps

Duke Energy's Coal Ash Problems Mount As North Carolina Residents Raise Fresh Concerns

New Studies Add to Growing Evidence That Notorious Pesticides Harm Bees

Bees may get hooked on nicotine-linked pesticides
Minnesota declares state of emergency over bird flu in poultry

Health of World's Ocean 'Collapsing Before Our Eyes'
Exercise Can't Save Us From Too Much Sugar In Our Diets, Say Experts

## Intelligence/security/internet/cyberwar ##
How Tor is building a new Dark Net with help from the U.S. military

Cybersecurity A Growing Safety Issue for Oil, Gas Industrial Plants

## Propaganda ##
Lawsuit against rigged presidential debates

The Key War on Terror Propaganda Tool: Only Western Victims Are Acknowledged

Citing Iran to Justify Yemen Slaughter

## Systemic breakdown/collapse/unsustainability ##

A Field Guide to Negative Progress (The Archdruid Report)
Emergency room visits for mental health skyrocket in Chicago

The Crash of 2015: Vultures vs. Jackals

Ford recalls 390K newer cars for faulty door latches

Suzuki to recall record 1.87 million vehicles to fix smoking ignitions

"Greece Can No Longer Withstand The Waves Of Desperate People Arriving From War Zones"

On the Commodification of Human Discovery

## Japan ##
Japan Begins National Security Space Buildup

Remember I have said that national space programs will increasingly lean toward military/security purposes. -- RF

Potemkin on the Pacific—–Abenomics Is Still Failing

Tokyo finds high levels of radiation in children's park

Man turns himself in to Fukui police, saying he landed drone at Abe's office
Banks face huge losses on bonds if interest rates rise: BOJ

Loyalty to 1960s machine shows risk from Japan's aging factories

The aging of Japan's industries threatens to worsen the hollowing-out of domestic manufacturing experienced in recent decades, undermining Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's efforts to stoke an economic recovery from a recession last year. The latest signals underscore the concern: a central bank survey of companies this month indicated they plan to cut investment this year, even amid near-record holdings of cash.

Labor shortages may hamper growth of smaller businesses, government warns

Disaster-hit Tohoku areas to be asked to partially shoulder recovery costs from '16

The government is short on cash and the recovery effort is faltering, as predicted. As I've said from the start, what was destroyed will never be rebuilt. -- RF

Vanishing communities find themselves facing shortage of leaders

6 times more small debris in open ocean than coastal areas: Environment Ministry

## China ##
China April Flash HSBC PMI Contracts To One-Year Low

China's factory activity contracted at its fastest pace in a year in April, a private survey showed, suggesting that economic conditions are still deteriorating despite increasingly aggressive policy easing by the central bank.

Urban employment declines, raising hopes for stimulus
The job market in China's big cities is showing signs of worsening, raising the likelihood the government will boost spending on infrastructure and roll out other stimulus measures.

China to scrap duties on rare earth exports

## UK ##
Tony Blair, a Walking, Talking, Grinning Conflict of Interest

## US ##
Automakers to gearheads: Stop repairing cars
Automakers are supporting provisions in copyright law that could prohibit home mechanics and car enthusiasts from repairing and modifying their own vehicles.

Alert readers will recall this article, showing that much the same thing is happening with farm tractors. (And here's another, newer article Definitely read it.) It appears that the idea is to control everything but the steering wheel. Here's an example where complexity works for the corporations and against the people. Vehicles are now so complex that you need expensive specialized diagnostic equipment to read and interpret the data stored in a vehicle's chips. And now manufacturers are trying legal means to keep vehicle owners totally dependent on corporate maintenance regimes. For more on the implications of this, see this week's Archdruid Report, above. -- RF

Chris Christie proposes entitlement cuts

Nine to Five, After 65: The number of senior citizens in the workforce has nearly tripled since the 1970s.

New Home Sales Down 11.4% Overall, 15.8% in South; Median Price Declines

U.S. business investment plans fall for seventh straight month

Paved roads to gravel

Two-thirds of Americans don't understand how credit cards work: The debt addiction in your pocket.

The Federal Reserve Refuses to Provide Names Requested by Congress in Probe

$100 Million Taxpayer Dollars Missing in Afghanistan
America Ranks Below Israel In World Happiness Index
Mind The Inflection Points: Unemployment Claims Up 17% In Texas And 69% In North Dakota
Houston Cop and Former "Officer of the Year" Indicted for Trafficking Weapons for Los Zetas Drug Cartel

Google Inc, General Electric Company Among Top 10 Lobbyists So Far In 2015

Ford to cut 700 making small cars, compact hybrids
Electric Car Sales Plunge To 4 Year Lows

Gen. Petraeus: Too Big to Jail

## Hillary Clinton ##