The South African Civil Society Information Service
A nonprofit news agency promoting social justice. Seeking answers to the question:
How do we make democracy work for the poor?
A nonprofit news agency promoting social justice. Seeking answers to the question:
How do we make democracy work for the poor?
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Friday, 3 July 2009, was International Day of Support for Victims of Torture. In light of the occasion, the Real News Network asked, "Just how is the Obama administration holding accountable, people who tortured?" Paul Jay interviews Michael Ratner, President of America's Centre for Constitutional Rights, to answer the question. Ratner says that the Obama administration's scorecard on holding people accountable for torture is very bad. The administration has performed poorly on...
According to California Newsreel, this hard-hitting documentary, The Big Sellout, challenges current economic orthodoxy in contending that the dogmatic claims of the international business establishment for neo-liberal development policies are not supported by modern economic science. More importantly, it dramatically demonstrates how the implementation of these policies is having disastrous consequences for millions of ordinary people around the globe. Traveling throughout both the...
Early on Sunday morning, 28 June 2009, 100 soldiers escorted Honduran president Manuel Zelaya, from his bed to an airplane, which flew him to Costa Rica, in a military coup that is supported by the country's powerful political elite. The president wasn't the only victim of the coup. Some of his cabinet members were also kidnapped by the military. Inter Press Service reports that the coup was sparked because Zelaya planned to hold a non-binding popular referendum on Sunday, asking voters...
This Link TV report charges that Arab rulers from the region fear that the protests in Iran will serve as a reminder about democracy to their own populations. "Democracy in Arab countries goes only as far as the election booth. Democracy, however, is based on the education of change, civic institutions and human rights. Do these things exist in Arab countries? Do the Arab masses believe in these democratic principles? The answer is no," contends one commentator in this clip....
US senator, Sam Brownback called the SCO (Shangai Cooperation Organisation), "The most dangerous institution, the American people have never heard of." Founded in 2001, the SCO consists of China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Mongolia, India, Pakistan and Iran have observer status. The organisation aims to promote mutual cooperation and maintain regional peace, security and stability. On 16 June 09, the SCO hosted its annual meeting in the...
Twitter's been around for two years and is currently experiencing explosive growth as an online social networking tool. It is second in popularity only to Facebook. The number of people using Twitter has risen from just two million to 20 million in the past year. These are not just people using the tool to stay in touch with friends (many are), but a key trend that is emerging is Twitter's ability to take citizen journalism to new heights. Due to the format of the tool (short messages...
