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?
Mandisi Majavu -
Notwithstanding the violent and aggressive behaviour he exhibited in his personal life, the product of a historically heavily subsidised racial group in South Africa, Oscar Pistorius’ life demonstrates how white privilege protected his masculinity from being constructed as uncivil, criminal, threatening and dangerous.
In a New York Times article, Michael Sokolove described Pistorius as a “great deal of fun”, but “more than a little crazy”. It is white...
Author and lecturer Charles Eisenstein speaks to Earth Focus about transitioning to a new kind of economics that privileges sustainability and penalizes pollution. He traces the history of money from ancient gift economies to modern capitalism revealing how the money system contributed to alienation, competition and scarcity destroying communities and the planet through endless growth. Eisenstein says today’s conventional economic growth trends have reached their extreme. But, in the...
Antibiotic drugs save lives. But we simply use them too much - and often for non-lifesaving purposes, like treating the flu and even raising cheaper chickens. The result, says researcher Ramanan Laxminarayan, is that the drugs will stop working for everyone, as the bacteria they target grow more and more resistant. He calls on all of us (patients and doctors alike) to think of antibiotics - and their ongoing effectiveness - as a finite resource, and to think twice before we tap into it....
Dale T. McKinley -
It is arguably the most important political development of South Africa’s post-1994 era. On Friday, South Africa’s largest union, the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) was expelled by the majority of the leadership belonging to South Africa’s largest union federation, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU).
The political significance of NUMSA’s expulsion derives from three key, inter-related areas of impact.
On the ANC-Led...
Grammy Award-winning singer and songwriter Angélique Kidjo gave an interview earlier this week about headlining the Carnegie Hall’s tribute to Miriam Makeba, the legendary South African singer and activist who died in 2008. Numerous international artists as well as South Africa’s Vusi Mahlasela joined Kidjo in performing, "Mama Africa: A Tribute to Miriam Makeba", on Wednesday, 5 November at Carnegie Hall in New York City. The concert was presented as the...
Anna Majavu -
Could humans become extinct within 40 years as a result of climate change? A body of evidence to support this theory is gaining ground. American climate scientist and professor emeritus Guy McPherson is one of a few climate scientists who believe that the governments and corporations of the world have no real intention of combating climate change, and that it will be up to communities to radically alter their lifestyles if we want some species, perhaps not including ourselves, to survive past...
