From indie rappers to stadium rockers, here are 10 politically-potent new releases worth a listen. What album, or albums, would you suggest? Comment below, on or Facebook.
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Indonesian authorities are pushing for two French journalists arrested in West Papua to face trial and up to 20 years jail.
Valentine Bourrat and Thomas Dandois, journalists working for French media company Arte TV, were in West Papua filming a documentary about human rights. They were arrested in Wamena on August 6. Indigenous leader Areki Wanimbo, who was interviewed by them, was also arrested.
In a speech to the nation on September 2, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro announced 鈥渇ive revolutions鈥, as part of a campaign to 鈥渋mprove our service to the people鈥, on September 3.
Maduro said the revolutions would be a 鈥渁 new way of functioning鈥 for the government. The five revolutions 鈥渟hould be united, and should define the government policies, giving power to the people, it will be the people who push government policy鈥.
Israel has barred 13 European Parliament MPs from visiting Gaza during a four-day fact-finding visit to Palestine and Israel that started on September 4.
The MEPs were from European United Left/Nordic 麻豆传媒 (GUE/NGL) group in the European parliament. They met members of the Palestinian Legislative Council and the Knesset (the Israeli Parliament), as well as activists from both Palestinian and Israeli human rights and peace groups.
New Zealand goes to the polls on September 20. Amid a big scandal of government 鈥渄irty tricks鈥, the is pushing the interests of the working-class and Maori communities.
Mana was formed when firebrand Maori Party MP Hone Harawira split over the Maori Party's support for a right-wing National Party government in 2011. It brings together militant Maori activists with other working-class and left forces.
In November 2006, leftist candidate Rafael Correa won the second round of the Ecuadorian presidential election with 57% of the vote, compare with his conservative opponent, Alvaro Noboa, who won 43%.
Despite the US鈥檚 failure to undermine Correa鈥檚 candidacy, as shown by diplomatic cables published by WIkiLeaks, further US cables suggest the US Embassy in Quito believed it could hold sway over the new government.
鈥淧addy wagon鈥檚 on its way,鈥 announced a Chicago Police tactical officer over his radio early on the morning of September 4. Shortly after, a crowd of about 300 demonstrators 鈥 including more than 100 striking fast food workers 鈥 began chanting 鈥淭ake the street!鈥 and proceeded to do just that.
Marching between a McDonald鈥檚 on one side and a Burger King on the other, the crowd blocked 87th street traffic on Chicago鈥檚 south side for about 20 minutes.
The bust the budget campaign stands at a crossroads right now. Although the federal government has succeeded in ramming some of its harsh austerity measures through parliament, there are large parts of the budget which are still held up in the Senate 鈥 largely due to the public hostility to these cutbacks.
Every day, Manus Island detainees negotiate rocky ground strewn with coral, rotting shower blocks and 鈥渇ilthy鈥 living conditions.
They do this mostly in rubber thongs. A cut foot is likely, septicemia possible and a heart attack followed by a coma and brain death?
Wait a minute, let鈥檚 go back.
Nauru detention camps鈥 water reserves are close to running dry, leaked emails showed on September 10.
A Transfield operations manager wrote in an email: 鈥淲e are currently nearly out of water 鈥 Due to recent outages at the DIBP RO [immigration department reverse osmosis facility] we have not been able to build up stock so have been slowly going backwards.鈥
Hundreds of Australians endure the ordeal of jail because of unpaid fines. Their poverty is a burden. Disproportionately, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are incarcerated 鈥渢o pay off鈥 their fines.
Ray Jackson, president of the Indigenous Social Justice Association, says this 鈥渄raconian practice criminalises people and destroys families and futures鈥.
Recently, 鈥渦npaid fines鈥 cost the life of a 22-year-old Yamatji woman, Juliecka Dhu. Dhu and her boyfriend, Dion Ruffin, were arrested on August 2 and detained by Western Australia鈥檚 South Hedland police.
A small but growing group of workers in Sydney has been turning the tables on exploitative employers who have cheated staff out of minimum entitlements.
Organised in the Sydney Solidarity Network (SydSol), workers have been using direct action to win wages from bosses who have paid employees less than the minimum wage, or not paid them for their work at all.
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