VERSION|0.5.1|SUBJECT|Rev Dr Giles Fraser - Grumpy Ex-Canon Chancellor of St Paul's Cathedral |CONTENT|[b]Rating[/b] 1 out of 5 (Not platitudinous)

[url=http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap130624.html][img=images/2013/06/pic130624.jpg popup=false float=right][/url]I'm supposed to say something about Christianity. OK, "Salvation," "Exodus" and the "Promised Land." There, that's that necessity out of the way.

Last December I visited the [url=http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2012/04/maroon-people/mann-hecht-text]Quilombola[/url]. These are descendants of African slaves who found refuge in the Amazon rainforest. There they hunt, fish, grow crops and raise their children in their own promised land.

Now economic growth in Brazil is again threatening the Quilombola. As the rainforest is cut down to create farm land, their traditional lands are disappearing. Attempts to register their land in law have backfired as they receive tax demands intended to promote maximum agricultural productivity.

As the [url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-23012547]riots in Brazil[/url] have shown, many are not happy with a policy that targets only economic growth. Although millions have been delivered from poverty, prestige projects like the World Cup and the Olympics are stark reminders to those who have not shared in that growth.

[url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01btkhc]Listen/Read[/url]|CATEGORIES|37|IP-ADDRESS|94.168.119.214|DATE|1372058133|CREATEDBY|admin
