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?
Jane Duncan -
As South Africa commemorates another World Press Freedom Day, this day will no doubt focus minds on Parliament’s decision to pass the controversial Protection of State Information Bill, or the Secrecy Bill. It will now be forwarded to the President for signing.
There are still many fundamental problems with the Bill, but it is greatly improved from previous versions. These improvements have shown that the most secretive sphere of government – the security cluster – is...
Humans invented the idea of hospitals in the 1780's, and it is time to update our thinking, argues Eric Dishman. "We have got to untether clinicians and patients from the notion of traveling to a special bricks and mortar place for all of our care, because these places are often the wrong tool and the most expensive tool for the job. And, these are sometimes unsafe places to send our sickest patients, especially in an era of super bugs and hospital acquired infections," he contends....
Alexander O'Riordan -
On April 30th 2013, the Mail and Guardian reported that the United Kingdom will phase out aid to South Africa. While the press has implied that the cuts are due to budget reasons, this is not at all the case.
When David Cameron was elected to power he was elected partly on the promise that he would cut spending in every government department except aid, education and health care. In keeping with his commitments, just over six months ago Prime Minister Cameron pledged to increase the...
Richard Pithouse -
The deep roots of May Day lie in the ancient forests of Europe. Long before the idea of one God, one stern God, had made its way across the Mediterranean Spring was marked by planting trees, adorning people and homes with sprigs, blossoms and garlands, the erection of Maypoles, lighting bonfires on hilltops, dancing, drinking and general revelry. This celebration of the shared bounty of the natural world was incorporated, along with many other ideas and festivals, into European Christianity...
Widespread protests have erupted in Bangladesh after the collapse of the Rana garment factory complex claimed more than 370 lives, mostly of young women who were forced to work in a factory that was illegally constructed and known to be unsafe. The tragedy is considered to be the deadliest accident in the history of the garment industry.
The working conditions of Bangladeshi garment workers are among the worst in the world. Garments are produced for Western retailers, who, it...
The U.S. military has acknowledged for the first time the number of prisoners on hunger strike at the military prison has topped 100. About a fifth of the hunger strikers are now being force-fed. Lawyers for the prisoners say more than 130 men are taking part in the hunger strike, which began in February.
One of the hunger strikers is a Yemeni man named Samir Naji al Hasan Moqbel. In a letter published in The New York Times, he wrote: "Denying ourselves food and risking death every...
