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 an emotional - and largely symbolic - move, the United Nations cultural organization known as UNESCO overwhelmingly voted to grant membership to the Palestinians, despite opposition from the United States and Israel. Now the United States says it will cancel a $60 million payment due in November to the U.N. body. Membership dues paid by the U.S. account for about a fifth of UNESCO’s annual budget.
The U.S. is also threatening to veto any Palestinian effort to be recognized by...
Saliem Fakir -
Environmental debates never escape the proverbial slip of the tongue about the planet having too many people.
This debate may have some relevance, but high carbon emissions and population size tend to be lumped together in simplistic ways, which do not clearly demonstrate the true relationship between population size and carbon emissions.
This past Monday, October 31, a new historical moment was reached: the world population became home to seven billion people. By 2025 it is expected the...
Chip Ward -
What if rising sea levels are yet another measure of inequality? What if the degradation of our planet’s life-support systems -- its atmosphere, oceans, and biosphere -- goes hand in hand with the accumulation of wealth, power, and control by that corrupt and greedy 1% we are hearing about from Zuccotti Park? What if the assault on America’s middle class and the assault on the environment are one and the same?
Money Rules: It’s not hard for me to understand how...
From the Middle East to the West - a discontent with the status quo. Whether it's with the iron grip of entrenched governments or with the widening economic divide between the rich and those struggling to get by.
Where are those so hungry for change heading and how profound is their long term vision for transformation?
Al Jazeera puts the question to Slovenian-born philosopher, Slavoj Zizej, whose critical examination of both capitalism and socialism has made him an internationally...
Icelandic People Said No -
In Europe, people in many countries are saying no to paying for the crisis and bailing out the banks, and to a large extent, leading the way, are the people of Iceland -- at the ballot box and on the streets.
Michael Hudson, professor of economics at University of Missouri, Kansas City provides some insights into how exactly the Icelandic people have gone about holding their government accountable. "What happened in Iceland is being used as a test case for what is happening in Greece...
Occupy Wall Street received a surprise visit Monday from several leading Egyptian activists, including 26-year-old Asmaa Mahfouz. She is one of the founders of the April 6 Youth Movement, which is the group credited with helping to organize the January 25 protests that eventually toppled the regime of former president Hosni Mubarak.
Prior to the protest in January, Mahfouz recorded a YouTube video urging people to fill Tahrir Square. Democracy Now!'s Amy Goodman spoke to her at Occupy Wall...
