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?
Richard Pithouse -
The National Union of Mineworkers has informed us that workers organising their own strikes are being covertly 'manipulated' and their strikes and protests 'orchestrated' by 'dark forces' and other 'elements' that amount, of course, to another manifestation of the infamous 'third force'. 'Backward' and even 'sinister' beliefs in magic consequent to the rural origin of many of the workers are, we've been told by an array of elite actors, including the Communist Party, central to this...
David Bruce -
During apartheid some of the most notorious instances of police brutality were the killings of demonstrators involved in peaceful protests. It therefore made sense that one of the issues that received concerted attention during the police reform process of the 1990s was public order policing.
An important initial step in this regard was the introduction of new legislation. The Regulation of Gatherings Act, in fact, came into force in January 1994 prior to the formal transition to...
Comedian, Ruby Wax knows knows depression well. Throughout the '80s and '90s, during a flourishing career as a brash comedian and interviewer in the UK, it trotted at her heels, even while she was interviewing the Duchess of York and sorting through Imelda Marcos' shoes. Diseases of the body garner sympathy, but the same can't be said for diseases of the brain - why is that? With dazzling energy and humor, Wax, diagnosed a decade ago with clinical depression, urges us to put an end to the...
Tomas Moniz -
The other day I found myself telling my two daughters, 16 and 14, “Don’t have sex until you’re in your 20s—but here are some condoms!”
I’m not sure if there is a better example of sending mixed messages.
Let me explain. I had just discovered that my eldest daughter spent the night with her boyfriend. And though I believe that sex is powerful and beautiful and a profound ritual for entering adulthood, I am still a dad, worried about her well-being. I...
It was the toughest electoral challenge Hugo Chavez has faced since he came to power 14 years ago. But the opposition simply could not overcome his enormous popularity. Voters re-elected Chavez by a 10 per cent margin on Sunday. And it was a historic turnout with more than 80 per cent of the country's 19 million registered voters coming out to vote. Its his Bolivarian revolution that won him the support of millions. Al Jazeera's Inside Story speaks to a panel of experts about the meaning of...
Dale T. McKinley -
Another bombshell is about to be dropped onto South Africa’s raging political and legal battlefield and it involves one of the most highly contentious and emotive issues in our country - land. This week legal papers are set to be filed in the Constitutional Court seeking an order to compel President Zuma to appoint a Commission of Inquiry into “allegations of corruption and mismanagement” covering both the Badplaas area and the Mpumalanga Province as a whole.
The pending...
