Veronika Wild

  Stoppress Tuesday, 31 May 2022 The Australian Labor Party has just gained a majority in Parliament and will be governing in its own right We hope that in Australia’s case a new era of justice, reason and integrity has begun. The first signs are promising. The Sri Lankan family which has been in detention for four years has finally been allowed back into the community which has fought so hard for their release. We hope that this mercy will soon extend to the many less publicly known detainees who remain incarcerated, including our whistleblowers and particularly Julian Assange, who not only deserves to be restored to his place in society, but elevated beyond the status we accord to sports people in this country. There is a lot of work to be done by our new government, whatever form it takes, to restore the sense of justice and fair play and to plan for an uncertain future, which we hope will see us move away from reliance on fossil fuels. The good news on that front is...

The U.S. incarcerates more people than any other place in the world. Warehousing people in prison is costly and unsustainable. Shutterstock Jodi Viljoen , Simon Fraser University and Gina Vincent , UMass Chan Medical School Each day in the United States and Canada, it seems like the news media reports another shooting or act of violence that ends in tragedy. As a result, politicians and the public often leap to the conclusion that violence is on the rise and that the answer is to throw more people behind bars. However, this conclusion flies in the face of research. Crime statistics demonstrate that since the 1990s, rates of violence have fallen in the U.S. and Canada . And although some people are dangerous and need to be in prison, in other cases, locking people up is a waste of taxpayer dollars that may do more harm than good . Rather than getting tough on crime, justice agencies need to get smart on crime . For instance, rather t...

  This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND A National Network In Australia Good Karma Networks are flourishing in some 90 communities. According to Amy, who began the first one in the Melbourne suburb of Kensington six years ago, “They are suburb specific Facebook groups which are designed to help neighbours with whatever challenges they face. They are for people to connect and solve each other’s problems and bring care and value back into their communities.” The important thing is that they must be non -transactional – in other words, you can’t sell goods or services on them and there should be no expectation of reward given for anything which you do. It’s just about spreading kindness and positivity. You can find out if there’s a network in your neighbourhood by clicking here . Click here too if there isn’t and you want to start one. International neighbourhood networks  Though not as personal, many suburbs and towns also have dedicated ...