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?
Saliem Fakir -
The Western Cape branch of COSATU recently called for protest action in front of parliament to push government to promote localisation in the solar industry, as jobs are being destroyed because of foreign imports. It’s the right kind of noise, but a little late.
The green economy is not only about sustainability; it’s also about the protection of future jobs.
South Africa is not the only country in the world banking on the green economy to increase jobs and uplift the...
Marjorie Cohn -
Last week, Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich was sentenced to a reduction in rank but no jail time for leading his squad in a rampage known as the Haditha Massacre. Wuterich, who was charged with nine counts of manslaughter, pled guilty to dereliction of duty. Six other Marines have had their charges dismissed and another was acquitted for his part in the massacre.
What was the Haditha Massacre?
On November 19, 2005, US Marines from Kilo Company, Third Battalion, First Marine Division killed 24...
We work in a system where errors happen everyday, Every doctor makes mistakes. But, says physician Brian Goldman, medicine's culture of denial (and shame) keeps doctors from ever talking about those mistakes, or using them to learn and improve. Telling stories from his own long practice, he calls on doctors to start talking about being wrong.
We work in a system where errors happen everyday, where one in ten medications given in hospitals are either the wrong medication or the wrong...
Glenn Ashton -
The South African tourism industry has grown tenfold over the past two decades. Tourists appreciate a benchmark to assist them in their choice of accommodation, for two reasons: First to indicate a consistent set of standards and second, to maintain these over time. However there are fundamental problems with the South African national tourism grading process, which require urgent attention.
The body responsible for assessing the quality of tourist establishments in South Africa is the...
On January 11th the Israeli parliament passed an amendment to the so- called “Infiltrators Law”. This revision allows the authorities to automatically imprison asylum seekers for three years. The plan includes constructing a 10,000 person jail to house the refugees. According to Amnesty International, this puts Israel at the top of the Western World for length of imprisonment of refugees. Today Israel is home to nearly 50,000 asylum seekers from Africa, 85% of whom are from...
Liepollo Pheko -
‘The Help’ is a movie that tells the story of black domestic workers who quite literally hold up the economic and social sky of their employers in the early 1960s of Jackson, Mississippi in the United States of America (US). Their lives intersecting with those of the privileged white women whose homes they clean, meals they prepare and whose children they raise.
The Oscar-nominated movie made waves at the recent Golden Globe Awards ceremony when Octavia Spencer, who plays...
