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?
In 2006, Rick Falkvinge, a Swedish software entrepreneur, founded a new political party centred around the subjects of file sharing, copyright and patents. He called it the Pirate Party and it rose to prominence after a government crackdown on the file-sharing site, the Pirate Bay. Since then, the Pirate Party has swept Europe and beyond to become an international political movement, active in 40 different countries with representation in the European parliament.
The Pirate Party fights...
Richard Pithouse -
Taking over a mode of rule is not the same thing as transforming it. Barack Obama is not George Bush but that fact makes little difference to the bankers looking for a public subsidy or a wedding party in Pakistan at the moment when a drone rushes out of the sky.
Time and again governments that have come to power on the tide of popular resistance to oppressive systems have ended up reinscribing central aspects of the systems they had opposed. It's easy enough to imagine that on the...
Is clicktivism a real game changer? Or does it simply create the illusion that people are part of some revolutionary force for change? Can clicktivism replace real social activism? Is the role of facebook and twitter overestimated when it comes to revolutionary changes? These are some of the questions put to a panel of Internet experts by Russia Today's Peter Lavelle.
Geert Lovink author of "Networks Without a Cause" says clicking and sharing in and of itself is not very...
Charlene Houston -
Last month South Africans marked Human Rights Day and although most critics of government say that poverty is worse than ever, the day was a rather staid affair.
Many of the holidays we observe in post-apartheid South Africa emerged out of a struggle culture where activists took advantage of the opportunity to raise awareness about socio-political issues, engaged in protest action and in some cases, even celebration.
These public holidays were once important dates on NGO calendars...
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,...
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...
