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 .
Internationally renowned US intellectual Noam Chomsky told Mexican newspaper La Jornada on July 20 that it was because Washington was becoming increasingly isolated from 鈥渢heir own backyard鈥 of Latin America, that the US decided to normalise relations with Cuba.
Chomsky said the fourth Summit of the Americas of 2012 in Colombia was a major turning point for the US. It saw itself, along with Canada, completely marginalised from all the crucial issues being debated 鈥 including Cuba.
Showers off Lake Xolotlan sprinkled the huge crowds massed on July 19 for the 36th anniversary of the triumph of Nicaragua's popular revolution over the murderous tyranny of the Anastasio Somoza dictatorship in 1979. The revolution was led by the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN).
When Bolivian President Evo Morales announced in May that his government was allowing oil and gas drilling in national parks, mainstream and progressive media outlets alike were quick to condemn his supposed hypocrisy on environmental issues.
Writing for the Associated Press, Frank Bajak argued that although Morales is known internationally for his outspoken campaigning on climate change, at home he faces constant criticism from conservationists 鈥渨ho say he puts extraction ahead of clean water and forests鈥.
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.
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