The future of the federal government鈥檚 anti-union, kangaroo court 鈥 the Royal Commission into Trade Union Governance and Corruption 鈥 is in doubt, following media revelations that the commissioner, retired High Court Justice John Dyson Heydon, accepted an invitation 鈥 not once, but twice 鈥 to speak at a Liberal Party fundraiser while serving on the body. The commission first sat on April 9 last year and media reports say Heydon received the invitation to speak via email just one day later, on April 10. He was approached again in March.
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Marines join protesting German workers in Berlin during the November 1918 revolution.
The German Left & the Weimar Republic
By Ben Fowkes
Haymarket Books, 2015
399 pages, US$28.
Socialist historian Ben Fowkes has given us a unique and vivid text documentary of the German workers鈥 movement during the tumultuous years of its greatest influence 鈥 from November 1918 to its defeat by Nazism 15 years later.
When it comes to elections in Venezuela, there are at least three things you can usually count on. The upcoming December 6 elections for the National Assembly are no different 鈥 even if the result is far from certain.
The first is that much is at stake.
In a country where the poor majority has sought to advance radical change through popular mobilisations and votes, every election since Hugo Chavez鈥檚 successful 1998 bid for president has been transformed into a referendum on the future of the country鈥檚 鈥淏olivarian revolution鈥.
The federal Coalition鈥檚 plan to repeal a section of a 16-year-old environmental law can only be for one reason 鈥 to support mining companies at the expense of communities and the environment.
Attorney General George Brandis announced on August 19the government planned to repeal section 487 of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (the EPBC Act) which gives the community the right to enforce Australia鈥檚 environmental laws and hold decision makers and corporations to account.
Kumanjayi Langdon, 59, from Yuendumu in Central Australia, died of heart failure in Darwin Police Watch House on May 21 鈥 鈥渙n a concrete bench with two strangers鈥 鈥 three hours after being taken into custody following a paperless arrest 鈥渇or drinking in a regulated place鈥.
At the inquest into Langdon鈥檚 death, Northern Territory Coroner Greg Cavenagh found he died from natural causes but should have been able to die in freedom, with his family and friends.
"In my view Kumanjayi Langdon had the right to die as a free man," Cavanagh said.
African American singer-songwriter Janelle Monae, who is seeking to use her popularity to speak out against police brutality and racism, had her comments in support of the #BlackLivesMatter movement cut from a performance on the NBC's Today show on August 14.
Son of Nun
Son of Nun
Firebrand Records
www.firebrandrecords.com
For Baltimore-based rapper Son of Nun, the forming of Ryan Harvey and Tom Morello's new rebel music record label Firebrand Records offered an opportunity to redeem his rhymes.
Born Kevin James, the 37-year-old emcee took a lengthy hiatus from hip hop until Harvey, who he met through activist circles years back, approached him to become part of his experiment.
Since Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's new wave of attacks on North Kurdistan within the Turkish state in the wake of Turkey's June election, people of all ages have joined the effort to defend and govern themselves in the area.
Since the 1990s, the Turkish state has used tactics of denial, assimilation and annihilation in the North Kurdistan. Although the promises of peace that the Erdogan's Justice and Development Party (AKP) made when it first came to power awakened hope for many, 13 years later the promises remain unfulfilled.
There were huge protests against the Trans-Pacific Partnership held across New Zealand on August 15. About 10,000 protesters marched in Auckland, 5000 in Wellington, 4000 in Christchurch and thousands more in other parts of the country.
About 7000 people marched for equal marriage rights in Melbourne on August 15. It was the largest such rally in years. Contingents of teachers, nurses and other unions were out in force.
The march featured a portable rainbow and ended with a mass illegal wedding outside the registry office. Rally chair Anthony Wallace rejected PM Tony Abbott's call for a referendum and said "Just pass the bloody bill!".
New polls show that had an election been held in mid-August, Tony Abbott's federal Coalition would have suffered a 7.5% swing against it. The Prime Minister鈥檚 prevarication on marriage equality and the scandal over entitlements are fueling the dissent.
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