In 2005, Mariela Castro proposed a project, which became law three years later, to allow transgender individuals to receive free, legal sex reassignment surgery and change their legal gender.

Major World Issues You Should Know About

With my angry post hitting 10k notes already, I wanted to bring together a list of some of the events people have added. I guarantee things will be missed, and I apologize ahead of time. But without further ado:

Australia -Their PM Tony Abbott is sexist, doesn’t believe in climate change, is against same sex marriage, and continually makes it harder for indigenous Australians in the country, among other things

Brazil -The government is insanely corrupt and people have been protesting to no avail, and some protests against education cuts (’austerity measure’) are met with violence

Canada -PM Stephan Harper has cheated in the last three elections, pulled Canada from the Kyoto protocol, doesn’t support same sex marriage, has passed racist and Orwellian bills, and has driven the economy to recession -Forest fires in western Canada (and Alaska) have driven over 13000 from their homes, with approximately 45.4% of Canada on fire. (Here’s a map of active fires)

China -The Chinese stock market is in the third week of crashing, having lost $3.25 million since June 12, and Beijing is unable to stop it

Chile -June 19; Hit by a magnitude 6.4 earthquake just off the coast

Cuba -People are starving under a modern dictatorship (source?)

Greece -Unemployment is at 25.6% -The fate of Greece as a member of the EU is still uncertain as they are rapidly running out of money, and opinion appears split as to whether they should remain with the euro or return to the drachma

Israel/Palestine (I apologize for being woefully uneducated on this at the moment) -Huffington Post has list of things to consider surrounding the conflict -This website has a timeline of the events leading up to the conflict -Regardless of the history, people (civilians) are being killed

Mexico -The Iguala Massacre: 43 missing students have been confirmed(?) murdered by drug cartels

Russia -Sweden is being threatened to stay out of NATO, and it seems as though the Baltic nations may be annexed soon -Putin’s party has released pro-heterosexuality propaganda

Ukraine -Russia is heavily censoring the airwaves, and has cut electricity to the land that has been annexed

United Kingdom -The governing Tories appear to be obsessed with pulling out of Europe as much as possible

United States -Police killings are headed towards 1100 by the end of the year -Alaska is dealing with the same forest fire Canada is, and smoke from the fires has begun affecting the air quality in the USA as well -California is suffering a deadly drought, and Nestle refuses to stop bottling water from the state (British Columbia (Canada) is also facing the same problem due to Nestle)

Also here’s a (probably incomplete) list of countries currently in a recession: Belgium, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, and Taiwan. 

Venezuela:

- People are in long queues for basic foods, often restricted purchases.

- Basic medicines including diabetic and hypertension treatment are missing.

- Violent repression from the government to those who would protest.

- Inflation - prices rice, sometimes dramatically or double, within months or weeks.

- Minimum wage is under $20 a month

- Crime rate that takes over 24000 lives per year. 

Cuba Holds Its First Natural Hair Competition To Promote Black Pride

BGLH writes:

Havana performance artist, Susana Delahante held a black hair competition in Cuba this past weekend. Black and mixed-race women were invited to compete in three hair categories – natural, braided and dreadlocked.

The two hour competition which had over 70 contestants was described as an effort to bolster pride within the Afro-Cuban community.

Delahante states:

“I wanted to do something that legitimized my hair, this undervalued type of hair.”

According to the 2012 census, 64% of Cubans identified themselves as white, 23% as biracial and only 9.3% as black. Sociologists have stated the reason only a small amount of the Cuban population willingly identify as black is due to lingering prejudice.

From the Wall Street Journal;

“2009 estimates place the black or mixed population between 60% and 70% of Cuba’s citizens, but there are no officials of color in the upper echelons of Cuban leadership. The torture and humiliation Afro-Cuban dissidents face upon being arrested is often exacerbated by their skin color.”

Take a look at some of the beautiful photos from the day.

Source