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?
Soon after Israel's war on Gaza ended. Israeli's went to the polls to vote for a new government. During the war on Gaza, many commentators argued that the so-called centrist Kadima government launched the offensive to win Israel's right wing vote in the upcoming elections. It seems that the suffering of the Gazan's may have been in vain. Despite the fact that Kadmia, led by Tzipi Livni won the Israeli election, her party is currently the largest party in the Israeli parliament, but joins 12...
There are 312 km's of road in the West Bank that Palestinians are forbidden to use. The roads are strictly reserved for use by Israeli's. The most prominent apartheid road is a 15km stretch of Highway 443 from Modi'in to Jerusalem, which cuts through an area of the West Bank creating serious challenges for Palestinians wishing to travel to the city of Ramallah, their main social and economic hub. 35,000 Palestinians live alongside the road. all entrances to Palestinian villages are blocked....
Ira Chernus -
Editor's Note: The U.S. mainstream media has featured several stories recently alleging that Hamas broke the fragile ceasefire that ended the Israeli assault on Gaza.Below, Ira Chernus notes that the Israeli media is telling a different story. Also, see Eva Bartlett's piece, "Israel Broke "Ceasefire" Hours After it Went Into Effect"
In the last few days, while the U.S. mass media offered up only sensational headlines like “Gaza militants fire rockets into...
Democracy Now -
JUAN GONZALEZ: President Obama has made his first substantive remarks on the crisis in Gaza since being elected. Obama was speaking at the State Department, flanked by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, as he named two key envoys. Retired Senate majority leader George Mitchell, who negotiated a lasting agreement in Northern Ireland, will be Middle East envoy. And Richard Holbrooke, who brokered a deal in the Balkans in the mid-1990s, will be envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan.
In his...
Author of the book, "American Raj," Eric Margolis argues that Hamas is regarded by US-backed governments in the Middle East as a threat. These states tend to be monarchies, dictatorships and oligarchies that do very little for their people, while Hamas delivers a revolutionary message against corruption, he says. Margolis contends that there was a collusion between the United States, israel, Egypt and Britain to lock up Gaza, put it under siege and try and crush the life out...
Democracy Now -
American President George W. Bush held his final news conference this past week. Bush fervently defended his record, saying he made the nation safer following the 9/11 attacks, rejected the idea that the nation’s moral standing has been damaged over the past eight years and defended the government’s response to Hurricane Katrina.
Amy Goodman speaks with veteran White House correspondent Helen Thomas. She’s the most senior member of the White House press corps and has...
