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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From Live Aid to Make Poverty History, celebrities have become activists against poverty. Bob Geldof and Bono have been the most prominent voices advocating on behalf of the poor. Their concerts have raised millions on behalf of the poor. But have their concerts and campaigns really lifted millions out of poverty? Geldof, Bono and Bill Gates speak candidly about how to lobby effectively and how to play to politicians' weaknesses for glitz and popularity.
© Why Poverty
Rüschlikon is a village in Switzerland with a very low tax rate and very wealthy residents. But it receives more tax revenue than it can use. This is largely thanks to one resident - Ivan Glasenberg, CEO of Glencore, whose copper mines in Zambia are not generating a large tax bounty for the Zambians -- but feeding a life of luxury for the villagers of Rüschlikon.
Zambia has the 3rd largest copper reserves in the world, but 60% of the population live on less than $1 a day and 80%...
On the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos last week, Al Jazeera spoke to President Jacob Zuma who argued that South Africa's economy cannot grow while linked to Europe and the US. Pressed on the question of mining companies, Zuma argued that mining is one of the anchor sectors of the South African economy and must make a contribution to it -- "and the manner in which you contribute to the economy is how you pay your workers," he continued.
© Al Jazeera
Documentary film, 'Fire in the Blood', examines how millions have died from AIDS because big pharmaceutical companies and the United States have refused to allow developing nations to import life-saving generic drugs. The problem continues today as the World Trade Organization continues to block the importation of generic drugs in many countries because of a trade deal known as the TRIPS Agreement. The movie's director, Dylan Mohan Gray and Ugandan AIDS doctor Peter Mugyenyi, who was arrested...
Premiering this week at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah, the new documentary "Dirty Wars: The World is a Battlefield" follows investigative reporter Jeremy Scahill to Afghanistan, Somalia and Yemen as he chases down the hidden truths behind America’s expanding covert wars. The film's director Rick Rowley says, "One of the things that humbles both of us is that when you arrive in a village in Afghanistan and knock on someone’s door, you’re the first American...
In Washington on Monday, Barack Obama began his second term as president of America with an inauguration speech. John Nichols, Washington correspondent for the Nation Magazine provides some perspective on the speech. Nichols is cautiously optimistic that Obama's next four years will be different. According to Nichols, "I have never seen Barack Obama as a progressive," but Obama does respond to pressure, so progressives should listen to what the president is saying and "raise...
