September 2014

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Feminists Fight Back: The Woman's Body as a Site of Political Struggle in Iran

Picture: Cinema for Peace Video From Sharia law to women's rights, how have women managed to fight back in the theocratic state of Iran? Who are these women? What are their stories? The documentary Women on the Front Line tries to answer these questions by talking to women’s rights activists who have been in the thick of the struggle for gender equality in Iran. Produced by Sheema Kalbasi and directed by Hossein Fazelli, Women on the Front Line is a beautifully filmed documentary that provides a spellbinding picture...

The Tax Free Tour

Picture: Tax Justice Blog Video Building on its notoriety following the Marikana massacre, mining company Lonmin’s disrepute is growing further with the Alternative Information and Development Centre’s revelation that the company transferred R1.2 billion to a tax haven in Bermuda. If you’ve ever wondered how tax havens work, Backlight director, Marije Meerman documentary The Tax Free Tour will take you on a fascinating journey through the inner workings of tax avoidance. She exposes a financial world...

Ramping Up Trade Relations, South Africa Ignores Indonesia's Human Rights Violations in West Papua

Picture: Nichollas Harrison/Wikimedia Commons Anna Majavu - The visit by the South African government and 17 unnamed South African companies to Indonesia last week has thrown into stark relief the ANC government’s hypocrisy in its international relations with countries that are guilty of human rights abuses. Indonesia ended its brutal military occupation of East Timor in 2002 but continues an equally merciless military occupation of West Papua. Somehow this doesn’t appear to have pricked the consciences of our government officials or...

Save Our Seed: The Battle for African Seed Independence, Food Security and Sovereignty

Picture: Myles Power Glenn Ashton - In order to address Africa’s poor agricultural productivity international players are intent on criminalising traditional seed saving practices. This thrust is directed by a triumvirate of corporate interests, actively assisted by first world governments and front organisations parading as non-governmental organisations. Africa lies at the frontier of international agricultural intervention for several reasons. Firstly the continent lags badly in agricultural productivity. This is...

300,000 March for Climate Action in New York Ahead of UN Summit

Picture: New York City, Sunday September 21, 2014. In an historic show of strength more than 300,000 climate activists marched through the streets of Manhattan (courtesy Stephen Melkisethian) Cliff Weathers - Organizers claim that more than 310,000 people attended the People’s Climate March in New York City on Sunday. And while it might not have been that big, it certainly was immense and easily the largest climate action in world history with people attending from across the United States and around the world, with 2,808 other climate rallies held today in more than 150 countries. The New York march was attended by notable figures in politics, entertainment, science and the environmental...

What Makes Art Valuable?

Picture: Gallery Intell Video Art critic and journalist, Alastair Sooke, goes inside the glittering world of the super-rich to explore the remarkable stories behind the top ten most valuable paintings in the world sold at auction. The documentary tells the stories behind the astronomical prices of art and why the world's richest people want to spend their millions on it. This BBC documentary bears witness to the shocking wealth of the world's super-rich. A somewhat disturbing phenomenon revealed by the film is the...