VICE Videos - The Documentary Network

Peshmerga vs. the Islamic State: The Road to Mosul

Documentary.net staff — Fri, 12 Jun 2015 08:16:19 +0000

A year after the Islamic State's lightning conquest of Iraq's second-largest city of Mosul, the poorly-trained and equipped Kurdish peshmerga forces are the international coalition's only reliable boots on the ground in northern Iraq. The Pentagon's hopes of recapturing the city by spring 2015 have been dashed by the military failures of the Iraqi Army further south, leaving the peshmerga to defend a 600-mile long frontline almost encircling Mosul, fending off constant Islamic State (IS) assaults with insufficient supplies of ammunition and modern weapons. For one month, VICE News embedded with the peshmerga fighters on the Mosul frontline, gaining an insight into the coalition's faltering war against IS through the eyes of the Kurdish volunteers bearing the brunt of the fighting.

California’s Sea Lion Die-Off

Documentary.net staff — Mon, 08 Jun 2015 11:40:30 +0000

Thousands of sick sea lion pups are washing up ashore and dying along the California coast, with over 3,100 pups reportedly becoming stranded in 2015 so far — an amount greater than the reported strandings from 2004 to 2012 combined. Scientists believe that warming ocean temperatures and changes in availability of their prey are likely contributing to this unprecedented spike in deaths. And as sea lion mothers are forced to travel further offshore to find food, many pups are left to fend for themselves. VICE spoke with the California Wildlife Center in Malibu about the challenges of keeping up with the thousands of sick and starving sea lion pups washing up along the coast, as well as what this crisis means for the overall health of the ocean, and the future of the sea lion population.

The Crude Gamble of Oil by Rail: Bomb Trains

Documentary.net staff — Thu, 07 Aug 2014 14:31:23 +0000

It’s estimated that 9 million barrels of crude oil are moving over the rail lines of North America at any given moment. Oil trains charging through Virginia, North Dakota, Alabama, and Canada’s Quebec, New Brunswick, and Alberta provinces have derailed and exploded, resulting in severe environmental damage and, in the case of Quebec, considerable human casualties. A continental oil boom and lack of pipeline infrastructure have forced unprecedented amounts of oil onto US and Canadian railroads. With 43 times more oil being hauled along US rail lines in 2013 than in 2005, communities across North America are bracing for another catastrophe. VICE News traveled to the Pacific Northwest to investigate the rapid expansion of oil-by-rail transport and speak with residents on the frontline of the battle over bomb trains. Follow producer Spencer Chumbley on Twitter: @spencerchumbley

The Gangs That Inherited Pablo Escobar’s Drug Empire: Cooking with Cocaine

Documentary.net staff — Wed, 06 Aug 2014 07:09:14 +0000

In Colombia, the heirs to Pablo Escobar's drug empire are conducting business as usual — though with a somewhat lower profile. Today's Medellin drug cartels are highly structured and run much like multinational corporations. But violent gangs operating in the city's slums provide the muscle; known as combos, they’ve carved Medellin into fiefdoms, imposing invisible borders between gang territory — borders that, when ignored, often get people killed. VICE News travelled to Medellin to meet gang members — along with top cartel leaders and assassins — who revealed the inner workings of the city's modern-day cocaine industry.

The Lake That Burned Down A Forest

Documentary.net staff — Mon, 28 Jul 2014 09:01:54 +0000

We travel to the Dominican Republic, site of a looming environmental and economic crisis many experts believe is the result of climate change. Lake Enriquillo is the largest lake in the Caribbean — and for the past 10 years, it's been getting larger. Having already doubled in area, the lake is destroying everything in its path and displacing local residents who are being forced to take extreme measures to survive.

Young and Gay: Jamaica’s Gully Queens

Documentary.net staff — Mon, 28 Jul 2014 08:53:31 +0000

In Jamaica, attacks, murder, and rape are common occurrences against LGBTI people, with little to no retribution or justice brought against those responsible. After being forced from shacks, derelict buildings, and their own families, many homeless LGBTI Jamaicans have found refuge in the storm drainage systems of Kingston — known locally as the gully. For trans girls and gay men unable or unwilling to hide their sexuality, the sense of community and relative safety the gully provides acts as a welcome sanctuary, and for many, a hope of change to come. VICE News travelled to the New Kingston area to see what LGBTI life is like in Jamaica — where just being who you are can mean living a life underground.

Undercover Cop Tricks Autistic Student into Selling Him Weed

Documentary.net staff — Mon, 21 Jul 2014 04:49:28 +0000

This is the story of Jesse Snodgrass, a kid with Aspergers Syndrome who was entrapped by an undercover cop posing as a student at Jesse's high school. This is the story of how the war on drugs preys on the most vulnerable.

The Afghan Interpreters

Documentary.net staff — Tue, 15 Jul 2014 00:53:04 +0000

The interpreters who worked alongside American and NATO forces in Afghanistan are among our bravest and most loyal allies. They played an essential role in sourcing intelligence and educating Western troops about the local culture. Now they're in danger of being abandoned. ... As well as translating for American troops attempting to build relationships with Afghans, the interpreters played an essential role educating foreign forces about the local culture they so badly needed to understand. They were also key sources of intelligence, able to keep an ear out not just for information about the Taliban, but also about the Afghan army and police, who sometimes posed as much of a threat as the insurgents they were supposed to be fighting. The interpreters, or “terps” as they became affectionately known, did this for years on end, going out on every patrol and operation with American forces. It’s no exaggeration to say that the interpreters saw far more combat than the vast majority of American veterans... Download the full eBook from Ben Anderson's "The Interpreters" PDF Download (Free)

Losing Millions on the Homie Vending Machine Empire

Documentary.net staff — Mon, 09 Jun 2014 17:42:24 +0000

In 1996 Bradley Ellison, a.k.a. Sugarman, started Sugar Daddies vending company in Staten Island. He placed thousands of machines throughout New York City in pizza parlors, supermarkets, and corner shops. Due largely in part to a cash economy, his business flourished, shaking down every neighborhood kid for their milk money in exchange for a sticky hand, bouncy ball, or a handful of candies. In 2004, he finally made it big with the "Homies" series (arguably the most popular vending toy of all time), grossing over $1 million in sales. We traveled to New York City's forgotten borough, Staten Island, to find out how Sugarman created a small vending empire—and how he subsequently lost it—one quarter at a time.

PTSD From Gang Violence in LA

Documentary.net staff — Fri, 06 Jun 2014 17:12:50 +0000

There's an epidemic of PTSD in American cities, and it has nothing to do with the wars being fought abroad. Homegrown violence and a sense of impunity in America's urban war zones are leaving thousands of teenagers with severe psychological trauma that stunts their emotional and cognitive development. We travels to the front line of this epidemic in Los Angeles with the kids who are suffering, and the adults trying to save them from being destined for the fringes of society.

Racial Injustice in Milwaukee

Documentary.net staff — Tue, 15 Apr 2014 17:03:49 +0000

On December 14, 2012, a young black high school student named Corey Stingley was aggressively restrained after he tried to shoplift alcohol from a neighborhood store. Three white men held Corey to the ground, "squeezing the hell out of him," according to an eyewitness. When the police arrived, he was no longer breathing. He died two weeks later from brain injuries resulting from asphyxiation. The men who restrained him were never charged. Corey's story is painfully similar to those of young black men across the country. Did his skin color preemptively decide his fate in the American justice system? The film follows Corey's father, Craig, as he seeks justice in the hyper-segregated Wisconsin city of West Allis, and mourns the death of his son.

South Africa’s Illegal Gold Mines

Documentary.net staff — Mon, 31 Mar 2014 17:43:42 +0000

In the 1970s, South Africa was the world's most prolific exporter of gold. Over the years, industrial decline has seen widespread closures of the mines across the country. However, Johannesburg sits on the biggest gold basin ever discovered. It's perhaps not surprising that many of these abandoned mines have seen a recent boom in illegal mining activity. Everyday, hundreds of illegal gold miners, known as Zama Zamas, descend kilometers deep beneath the surface. The miners often spend weeks underground, toiling away at the country's untapped gold reserves. Observers have suggested that illegal mining is now so widespread, black-market gold arguably supports the communities once subsistent on the very same mines they worked in before they shut down. The lack of policing in the mines has seen the practice go on largely unabated. However, in the absence of law enforcement, the extensive network of abandoned mines beneath the region has become an arena to deadly gang warfare between rival factions. VICE News visited illegal mines near Johannesburg, to meet the Zama Zamas risking life and limb everyday in the violent struggle for South Africa's illegal gold.

Snake Island

Documentary.net staff — Sun, 23 Mar 2014 17:35:48 +0000

The highest concentration of one of the most venomous snakes in the world is located about 90 miles off the coast of Santos, Brazil, on a small, craggy chunk of otherwise uninhabitable land. It’s known as Ilha da Queimada Grande, or Snake Island, and it’s the only place you will find 2,000 or so of the wholly unique golden lancehead viper, or Bothrops insularis. When you step ashore, with a keen eye you spot one of these snakes roughly every 10 to 15 minutes after clearing the base of the island, and as many as one every six square yards in other parts of the island. This means, as you are walking through the waist-high brush, even with some good boots on, it’s like walking through a minefield that moves and, instead of blowing you into chunks, slowly paralyzes you and liquefies your insides, as the golden lancehead does to the migrating birds it feeds on in the treetops. Well, “liquefying your insides” may be a stretch, but no one knows for sure because no one bitten has lived long enough even to be admitted to a hospital, or at least none of the researchers who accompanied VICE on their journey to Snake Island owned up to that fact. Nor did the Brazilian Navy, who allowed VICE exclusive access to document their annual maintenance inspection of Snake Island’s lighthouse—which has been automated ever since the 1920s, after the old lighthouse keeper ran out of food and disappeared while picking wild bananas in a small grove near the shore. According to legend, he and the members of his rescue party died one by one, all alone and in search of one another after each had been missing for some time. The golden lancehead is so unique and its venom so potent that specimens procured by snake-smuggling “biopirates” can fetch up to $30,000 apiece on the black market (with prices going much higher depending on the location of the rich weirdo snake collector or, some have speculated, the black-market biopharmaceutical chemists attempting to beat Brazil on a patent).

Permanently Temporary: The Truth About Temp Labor

Documentary.net staff — Sat, 15 Mar 2014 18:29:27 +0000

Temp labor is one of the fastest growing industries in the US. Increasingly, temp workers are part of a business strategy to keep costs down and profits high. From mega-retailers to mom-and-pop shops, temps are hired to do some of the hardest and most dangerous jobs. While more and more of the American workforce is comprised of temporary workers, they're largely hidden from public view. Many of these workers stay silent, often having their livelihoods threatened if they speak out. Wanting to get a glimpse of this invisible workforce, VICE News traveled across the country, scouring warehouses, temp agencies, and temp towns in search of the people, who make our world of same day delivery possible.

Jamaican Bud Business

Documentary.net staff — Mon, 10 Mar 2014 17:24:38 +0000

Jamaica's first medicinal marijuana company, Medicanja, launched this year against a backdrop of reinvigorated debate around ganja law reform among leading policymakers. The renowned Jamaican scientist Dr. Henry Lowe, a leader in THC studies for medical purposes, is running the company with the University of West Indies and the University of Technology jointly funding the facility. In addition to studying the scientific benefits of marijuana, Dr. Lowe says the company will produce CBD-based medical products, which fall under legally accepted medicinal use of the ganja plant. Lowe says the plant extract can be used to treat psychosis and severe pain, as well as mid-life crises in men.