March 2012

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What are the Future Scenarios for Syria?

Picture: Al Jazeera Video A year ago, Syrians took to the streets in peaceful protest demanding democratic change, however, the regime ruthlessly crushed the uprising. Syria is described as the most complicated and dangerous case in the Arab revolution and global powers have been divided on how to deal with it. While the UN Security Council called for sanctions against the country, China and Russia vetoed the resolution. Al Jazeera's Empire discusses the situation and future scenarios for Syria with three experts,...

The Root of All Evil? The Dollar, the BRICS and South Africa

Picture: Deccan Chronicle Leonard Gentle - South Africa (SA) is attending its second meeting of the BRICS group of countries: Brazil, Russia, India, China and SA. The summit, which took place today March 29 2012, in India, is themed "BRICS Partnership for Global Stability, Security and Prosperity". In his address to the BRICS summit, India’s Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh said, “We have agreed to examine in greater detail a proposal to set up a BRICS-led South-South Development Bank…” A...

Worker Owned Co-ops: Putting Democracy to Work

Picture: www.shiftchange.org Video At a time when many are disillusioned with big banks and big business, and growing inequity…employee ownership offers a real solution for workers and communities. Shift Change: Putting Democracy to Work is a new documentary (to be released in July, 2012) that highlights worker-owned enterprises in North America and in Mondragon, Spain. The film couldn’t be more timely, as 2012 has been declared by the United Nations as the "International Year of the Cooperative."...

Wasted Wealth - Leveraging the Property of the Poor

Picture: No Lands Too Foreign/Flickr Glenn Ashton - Land ownership is a prickly problem in South Africa, which has not yet been properly addressed, despite its prioritisation in 1994. The primary focus on land redistribution has understandably, but perhaps unwisely, centred on the issue of agricultural land holdings. Given increased rates of urbanisation, it can be argued that urban land tenure demands similar, if not higher levels of attention. Land is at the foundation of conventional - and informal - economic wealth, in both developed...

Justice for Trayvon Martin Begins With Killer's Arrest

Picture: Democratic Underground Video The parents of Trayvon Martin, the unarmed African-American teenager shot dead a month ago, addressed thousands at a "million hoodie" march in New York City calling for the arrest of his killer. Meanwhile in the Florida town where the murder took place, the Sanford City Commission cast a 3-to-2 no-confidence vote in the police chief. Legislators are talking about changing the state's gun laws as George Zimmerman, Trayvon Martin's killer, remains free. Democracy Now! speak with...

Fear Wears A Black Man's Face

Picture: www.newsone.com Gillian Schutte - The black man has become the signifier for a host of unconscious fears that lurk within the white psyche My 12-year-old son has a taste for hoodies, rap and hip hop clothing. He carries a blackberry in his pocket which he reaches for every so often to text one of his friends. He has a friendly face and temperament but has also learnt at a young age to stand up for his own rights and speak out against the injustices of the world. Someone once suggested to me that his face is so sweet no one...