After the collapse of the Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc in the early 1990s, Cuba lost access to the oil, fertilizers and virtually all trading partners that the small island nation depended upon to survive. Cuba faced economic collapse virtually overnight.
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Early on January 23 more than 20,000 Palestinians from the besieged Gaza Strip poured into Egyptian territory after Palestinian militants from Hamas and the Popular Resistance Committee (PRC) blew up two sections of the Gaza-Egypt border wall at Rafah.
PM Kevin Rudd used potentially rising inflation and interest rates as the excuse for the federal government's economic plan, announced on January 21. Those hoping that the ALP's pre-election promise of an ``economically conservative’‘ government was just election hype will be disappointed. It could be straight from the former Coalition government's economics bible.
Amid audible gasps of relief, on December 15 the US delegation to the United Nations climate change conference in Bali signalled that Washington would be part of the Bali Roadmap for combatting global warming. With the US on board, a two-year process of discussion would begin hopefully to culminate in the adoption of a new pact to replace the Kyoto Protocol, due to expire in 2012.
In October 2007, with the federal election looming, and global warming generating a lot of tepid air in parliaments around the country, a diverse group of people in Adelaide established the Eco-socialist Network to attempt to generate more serious discussion of environmental issues. Green Left Weeklys Leslie Richmond spoke to John Rice, activist, socialist, Greens member and one of the initiators of the network.
A group of Australian writers, academics, NGO workers and activists have written an open letter to incoming Prime Minister Kevin Rudd calling for Australia to increase its development assistance to East Timor (see above).
Prime Minister of Australia Mr Kevin Rudd, MHR [also to other ministers] January 2008
Dear Prime Minister
Re: Australian and Cuban education assistance to Timor Leste
We the following academics, writers, organisations and NGO workers observe these developments, on education assistance to Timor Leste:
NSW Treasurer Michael Costa passionately claims privatisation of NSW’s electricity generation and distribution is “good economics”. However, there is popular opposition to the proposal — up to 86% in opinion polls.
This is an extract from an inspiring letter from Jim Knight, one of our loyal readers in northern NSW:
Around the country, hundreds of people marked white invasion of Australia on January 26 by attending protests and festivals.
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