We thought marriage equality was in the bag after Prime Minister Tony Abbott hinted he鈥檇 support a cross-party bill and conscience vote in the Liberal Party room in June. We thought we were closer when opposition leader Bill Shorten put forward a marriage equality bill. Victories overseas 鈥 Ireland and the US 鈥 in May and June propelled momentum here. But both Abbott and Shorten are now backtracking.
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YPJ resistance fighter, Rojava. Picture: The Rojava Report.
Here's this month's radical record round-up, with an emphasis on Guantanamo Bay. What album, or albums, would you suggest? Comment below, on or .
The Greek parliament passed a second bill on July 23 including measures needed for Greece to open negotiations over the eurozone's bailout package of 86 billion euros, TeleSUR English said that day.
Protests took place in 14 cities in Germany on July 16 against the German government鈥檚 aggressive treatment of the Greek crisis and in solidarity with their European Mediterranean neighbours.
An event of profound importance took place in Brussels on July 12. The significance of the European summit negotiations extends well beyond the immediate 鈥 and devastating 鈥 consequences for the people of Greece.
The fallout will not just affect the stability of the Greek government and the political future of SYRIZA and Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.
United States: Death of Black activist to be 'treated like murder'
After a public outcry, a district attorney in Texas announced on July 20 that the death of African American activist Sandra Bland in a police cell will be investigated as thoroughly as a murder, said.
Battlers & Billionaires: The Story of Inequality in Australia
Andrew Leigh
Black Inc. Books, 2013
210 pages, $19.99 (pb)
In Australia, notes economist and Labor MP Andrew Leigh, the poorest 20% of the population own just 1% of total household wealth. The top 20%, however, hog a fat 62%.
Guatemala: UN says corporate positioning of river 'ecocide'
The United Nations said 23 species of fish and 21 species of birds, reptiles and mammals in Guatemala's Pasion River have been affected by contamination caused by industrial African oil palm production, said.
Three huge free trade deals are being negotiated right now, that will sacrifice workers' rights, health care and the environment across much of the world on the altar of corporate profits.
The Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP), Trade in Services Agreement (TISA) and Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) are being negotiated in secret, with privileged access for selected corporations.
The world has been focused on the spectacle of the 鈥淭roika鈥 of the International Monetary Fund, European Union and the European Central Bank crushing the Greek people, but it is far from the only example of strong nations using a 鈥渄ebt crisis鈥 to extract more wealth from those that are weaker.
A case in point is the US colony of Puerto Rico. In a June 28 New York Times interview, the governor of the Caribbean archipelago nation declared its debt of US$73 billion 鈥渋s not payable. There is no other option. I would love to have an easier option. This is not politics. This is math.鈥
There has been a huge rise in asylum seekers in Bulgaria as a direct result of instability in North Africa and the Middle East. They use Bulgaria as a land entry into the European Union. The Bulgarian tabloid press has coined the phrase 鈥渨ave鈥, which has now entered political and popular language. In 2009, the newly-elected government greatly changed the way the law was interpreted and enforced. Before 2010, there was not a single 鈥渋llegal immigrant鈥 convicted and jailed in the criminal prisons.
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