Early Headlines: Greek Bailout Referendum 05 July, Tunisia Government Closes 80 Mosques, Is Justice Roberts Liberal or Conservative? and More

Early Bird Headlines 27 June 2015

Econintersect: Here are some of the headlines we found to help you start your day. For more headlines see our afternoon feature for GEI members, What We Read Today, which has many more headlines and a number of article discussions to keep you abreast of what we have found interesting.

Global

• If everyone lived in an ‘ecovillage’, the Earth would still be in trouble (The Conversation) How can we live within the means of our planet? When we delve seriously into this question it becomes clear that almost all environmental literature grossly underestimates what is needed for our civilisation to become sustainable. The author advises only the brave should read on.
  

U.S.

• Same-sex marriage still on hold in Louisiana, Mississippi (Reuters, MSN News) In Louisiana, Republican Attorney General Buddy Caldwell’s office issued a statement saying that it had “found nothing in today’s decision that makes the Court’s order effective immediately.” Mississippi planned to wait until a lower court lifted a stay to start issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, said state Attorney General Jim Hood, a Democrat. However, Hood said his office would not stand in the way of the ruling.
• Living Apart: How the Government Betrayed a Landmark Civil Rights Law (ProPublica) Notwithstanding the SCOTUS ruling that the 1968 Fair Housing Act is constitutional, it has really never been enforced. The authors of the act wanted to reverse decades of government-fostered segregation. But presidents from both parties have declined to enforce a law that stirred vehement opposition.
• Why John Roberts Upheld Obamacare but Dissented on Gay Marriage (Bloomberg) He sides with liberals one day, conservatives the next. What gives? This article argues that the Chief Justice tries to side with legislative intent rather than with his own ideology. In the case of gay marriage there is no law to interpret and there is no clause about the nature of marriage in the Constitution. By this reasoning the definition of marriage is to be determined by the individual states. In the Obamacare case Roberts wrote:

“Congress passed the Affordable Care Act to improve health insurance markets, not to to destroy them. If at all possible, we must interpret the act in a way that is consistent with the former and avoids the latter.”

UK

• Q&A: Why have rail upgrade plans been delayed? (BBC News) The government announces shelving of some rail improvements in the north while Labor charges false campaign promises were made.
  

Greece

• Greece debt crisis: Tsipras announces bailout referendum (BBC News) Greece will hold a referendum on 05 July on a controversial bailout deal with foreign creditors, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has announced. In a televised address, he described the plan as “humiliation” and condemned “unbearable” austerity measures demanded by creditors which have been rejected by the Greek government. Greece has to make a €1.5bn ($1.7bn; £1.06bn) IMF debt repayment on 30 June. In the speech, Mr Tsipras said:

“These proposals, which clearly violate the European rules and the basic rights to work, equality and dignity show that the purpose of some of the partners and institutions was not a viable agreement for all parties, but possibly the humiliation of an entire people. The people must decide free of any blackmail.”

Tunisia

• Tunisia beach attack: 80 ‘propagandist’ mosques to be closed (BBC News) Tunisia will shut down about 80 mosques accused of inciting violence, Prime Minister Habib Essid has said, after a beach attack that left 39 people dead. The mosques, which operate outside state control, are spreading “venom” and will close within a week, he said.

Ukraine

• Finding truth amidst the lies about Russia & the Ukrainian civil war (Fabius Maximus) FM has contributed to GEI. FM provides examples of just how misleading some of the news about Ukraine from “fringe” sources can be.

Japan

• Work conditions for Japanese women may be affecting marriage, birth rates (Al Jazeera) Experts say that workplace harassment and other social pressures make marriage and birth less attractive to Japanese women.
  

Australia

• The case for Australian coal in India is weakening (The Conversation) Solar is changing the calculus.
  

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