Seeking Balance One Tuesday at a Time
Indigenous Rainforest People Win Long Court Battle Against Illegal Loggers
It started in 1980 when mature cedar and mahogany trees were cut down illegally in the Kampa do Rio Amônia Indigenous Reserve of the Amazon. After a decades long court battle, the Ashaninka people of Brazil were given a public apology and awarded three million dollars in compensation. The settlement will be paid over five years and will be used mostly for reforestation projects.
“The case will define hundreds of thousands of cases on massive environmental crimes in Brazil.” ___Antonio Rodrigo, Attorney for the Ashaninka people
For details, visit this article from The Good News Network
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Decrease in Rate of US Imprisonment of African Americans
One of the challenges of doing “Good News Tuesday” is finding a story of interest but with my own, “Yes, buts….” attached to it. My “Yes, buts,” to this story are that African Americans in the US are still imprisoned at clearly disproportionate rates and that African Americans are still in danger as evidenced by continued wrongful deaths. Law enforcement officers still need more training in sensitivity, compassion, and strategic alternatives to firing a weapon or use of unnecessary force. My country still has the highest incarceration rate in the world.
I decided to include this report in GNT because it was surprising to me that the imprisonment rate of African Americans in the US has fallen by a third since 2006. One reason given is that overall, violent crime in the US has decreased. (You couldn’t tell this just by watching your average news show.)
The report from the Pew Research Center provides graphs showing the decrease in overall US crime and the declines in imprisonment rates of African Americans and Hispanics, though they explain, “The increase in Hispanic prisoners…. was slower than the increase in the overall Hispanic population in the U.S., which is why the Hispanic imprisonment rate decreased.” The statistics do not include inmates held in local jails and those sentenced to less than a year. I still think these trends are worth considering as we search for ways to do better.
Here’s the link to the report.
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Captain Tom Update
Captain Thomas Moore who raised over $40 million for health care in England has been given the honorary promotion of colonel. Furthermore, Queen Elizabeth has approved his knighthood. In this article from ABC News, he wonders if the Queen will give him a hand up from kneeling when knighted.
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Art is Her Superpower
Ten-year-old Chelsea Phaire has given away over 1000 boxes of art supplies to kids in shelters, foster care, and those dealing with trauma. For her last birthday, she asked for art supplies to donate and sent these out in her first 40 boxes. Her charity started after a beloved teacher was killed by gun violence and art went from being Chelsea’s hobby to becoming her therapy. You can read more about Chelsea’s Charity in this CNN article, and please watch her short video!
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Anything is Possible! 