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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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...
Michelle Pressend -
Critics argue that leaders at this year’s World Economic Forum (WEF) were unable to provide solutions for the complex problems facing the world at the recent gathering in Davos.
These darlings of Davos are the very cooks that have stirred the awful stew the world finds itself in today. But finding solutions to the world’s woes would bring this group of people face to face with inner demons that they would prefer to keep locked away, along with their millions.
Capitalism is,...
Glenn Ashton -
In 2005 two environmental activists published a provocative paper titled 'The Death of Environmentalism.' It was met with predictable fury from the environmental movement and with support from big business who wished for nothing more than to see the extinction of pesky environmentalists.
Hindsight broadens our historical perspective.
Around the same period as the publication of this paper, I rebutted an article in the local media that echoed these allegations of the lack of direction, of...
Richard Pithouse -
Carl Niehaus was the perfect spokesperson for Jacob Zuma. He had an inside understanding of the world of reckless extravagance under the patronage of dubious businessmen. He must have known, perhaps lying awake wondering who to phone to get the rent for his extraordinarily ugly house, precisely what has happened to elite politics in the ANC.
The idea of politics carries both a debased and an elevated sense. In its debased sense it is the self-serving and often ruthless competition for power...
The clip above is Part One of an Al Jazeera interview conducted by Riz Khan. Watch Part Two of the interview here. On Sunday, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez won a referendum for a constitutional amendment to lift the country's presidential term limit, paving the way for him to run again in 2013. Electoral Authorities say that 54% of the electorate approved the amendment to the constitution to remove the presidential term limit. Chavez's critics, who include former Venezuelan trade...
Kim Nicolini -
It's no wonder Revolutionary Road was shut out of the Oscars. As stated in this article from the New York Times, this year the Academy is looking to stories of the “indomitability of human will” to grace with its little gold statues. All of the nominees for best picture are “films built on individual successes” that provide “a nice, big chunk of uplift.” From Slumdog Millionaire to Milk to Frost/Nixon, these are stories where the little guy can beat the big...
