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?
The Real News Network (TRNN) reports that protests are on the increase as a result of economic hardship emanating from the global financial meltdown. TRNN reports that there is a growing consensus that global elites are not qualified to handle the world's problems, leading to massive demonstrations against elites. On 1 February 2009, government representatives and corporate executives returned from the World Economic Forum in Davos. The Associated Press reported "The world's...
The 2009 Sundance Film Festival took place from 15-25 January in the United States. The festival profiles independent film makers and alternative issues. This year the festival honoured Howard Zinn, political scientist and co-author of "Voices of a People's History of the United States." Robert Redford, Marissa Tomei, Josh Brolin and Woody Harrelson read excerpts from his book at the festival. To view their recitals, watch the clip on this page. The book constructs the lives...
Glenn Ashton -
Major retailers like Pick n Pay have asked suppliers for explanations as to why the food costs have remained high, while transport and input costs have fallen. This is indicative of fundamental problems in the food marketplace.
The cynical world view of many, that food producers are all too quick to raise prices when margins are threatened but loath to reduce them when increased profits are locked in, appears valid.
There is usually a lag for input costs to affect prices of grocery items;...
There are 312 km's of road in the West Bank that Palestinians are forbidden to use. The roads are strictly reserved for use by Israeli's. The most prominent apartheid road is a 15km stretch of Highway 443 from Modi'in to Jerusalem, which cuts through an area of the West Bank creating serious challenges for Palestinians wishing to travel to the city of Ramallah, their main social and economic hub. 35,000 Palestinians live alongside the road. all entrances to Palestinian villages are blocked....
Colette Francis -
The army is to be deployed in hot spots across South Africa to prevent an outbreak of political violence ahead of this year’s elections, says Minister of Defence Charles Nqqakula. This in the wake of a spate of attacks in Kwazulu-Natal (KZN) that has seen tensions between Mangosuthu Buthelezi’s Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) and the ruling ANC resurface. On Sunday a stand-off between the IFP and ANC became so tense that the army was called in to support hundreds of police officers...
Ira Chernus -
Editor's Note: The U.S. mainstream media has featured several stories recently alleging that Hamas broke the fragile ceasefire that ended the Israeli assault on Gaza.Below, Ira Chernus notes that the Israeli media is telling a different story. Also, see Eva Bartlett's piece, "Israel Broke "Ceasefire" Hours After it Went Into Effect"
In the last few days, while the U.S. mass media offered up only sensational headlines like “Gaza militants fire rockets into...
