January 2012

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Adding Insult to Injury: The Impacts of Coal Extraction

Picture: www.freefoto.com Glenn Ashton - Significant developments in the energy sector are underway in western Limpopo because of the extensive coal resources in that region. Besides Eskom’s massive Medupi power station, near the existing Matimba power station, there are several other mega-projects in the pipeline. The question is whether these are sustainable or in some cases, even viable. Other developments in the area include expanding the massive Exxaro Grootgeluk mine, which supplies Matimba and Medupi, as well...

Jane Fonda: Life's Third Act

Video There have been many revolutions over the last century, but perhaps none as significant as the longevity revolution. We are living on average today 34 years longer than our great-grandparents did. That's an entire second adult lifespan that's been added to our lifetime. And yet for the most part, our culture has not come to terms with what this means, says actor and activist, Jane Fonda. We're still living with the old paradigm of age as an arch: You are born, you peak at midlife and decline...

Decade of Detention: Most Gitmo Prisoners Innocent

Video On 11 January 2012, protests marked 10 years since the first prisoners were sent to America's most controversial prison, Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. Barack Obama's promise on his first day in office to close it, remains unfulfilled. As long as the infamous prison in Guantanamo Bay is open, it remains a symbol of lawlessness and harms the US’ reputation, says Human Rights Watch Counter-Terrorism Counsel, Andrea Prasow. © RT Editor's Note: You might also be interested in this...

New Chapter for Occupy Wall Street Movement: Housing as a Human Right - Occupying Vacant Homes

Video In New York, Occupy Wass Street (OWS) is shifting its focus away from occupying parks and squares to other actions, such as occupying homes, and has specifically launched an "Occupy Our Homes" campaign.  In December 2011, activists carried out a nationwide day of action to reclaim foreclosed homes from bailed-out banks and move homeless families into them. In Brooklyn, New York, an occupation of a home has entered its second month. Members of the OWS movement defend the...

From Feast to Famine: Will the ANC Survive Another Hundred Years under Rampant Food Inflation?

Picture: www.thegrocer.co.uk Saliem Fakir - The ANC’s next hundred years depends quite distinctly on what happens at its July 2012 policy conference in Mangaung and more importantly, on its implications for the South African economy as a whole. The Achilles heel of the ANC has always been the economy with the last 17 years proving to be a mixed blessing for the party, which has not been convincing in its ability to make the economy work for the country’s majority who remain economically disenfranchised -- also...

Press Self-regulation: Dead or Alive?

Picture: www.theihs.org Jane Duncan - In the next few weeks, the Press Freedom Commission will be holding public hearings into the adequacy of the self regulatory system for the press. In terms of this system, complaints of unethical reporting are handled by the Press Council of South Africa (PCSA), which was set up and is run by the press and members of the public. The Commission was established by the press industry representative body, Print Media South Africa and the South African National Editors’ Forum in the wake of...