BRASIL: $5.7 Billion In Amazon Destruction Fines Suspended For 2 Years.

AP/ MIAMI HERALD/
President Lula has suspended an estimated $5.7 billion in fines and given landowners two years to comply with environmental regulations to stop razing Brasil's rain forest. The suspension will allow time to educate farmers and ranchers on how to increase production without cutting down the forest. "We think this is a Christmas gift that Lula has given to the farming bloc in Congress and to illegality in Brazil," said Marcio Astrini of Greenpeace.