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?
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Society has changed dramatically, says New York Times journalist James Risen, as he comments on the freedoms that have been ceded to national security since 9/11. The great sin of Barack Obama has been to normalise the War on Terror - to take something that was an ad hock series of emergency panicked moves by Dick Cheney and George Bush and normalise them.
Part of that is the approach to the press and the development of false narratives, such as the narrative of Iraqi weapons of mass...
In 2002, investigative journalist and TED Fellow Will Potter decided to take a break from his regular beat, writing about shootings and murders for the Chicago Tribune. He went to help a local group campaigning against animal testing: "I thought it would be a safe way to do something positive," he says. Instead, he was arrested. Potter relates the bizarre tale of how animal rights activists and conservationists have become the FBI’s number one domestic terrorism threat in...
On a single Sunday in May this year, Germany was able to obtain nearly 75 percent of its electricity from renewable resources. By noon that day, electricity prices went negative. Small producers such as small businesses, families and co-ops are producing large amounts of wind and solar energy at near zero marginal cost, which is fed into the grid. Renewable energy technologies have sprung up in tandem with information technology heralding a move away from energy being supplied by large...
Recent research from the World Health Organisation reveals that air pollution is responsible for one in eight deaths globally. For people living on the Highveld in South Africa, these statistics represent a genuine threat. People in the Highveld suffer disproportionately from health problems directly related to pollution from Eskom’s coal-fired power stations in the region. Instead of trying to address the problem, Eskom has applied to the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) for...
At a time when many people are disillusioned with big banks and big business, and growing inequity, employee ownership offers a real solution for workers and communities. Shift Change is a new documentary that features worker-owned enterprises in North America and Mondragon, Spain. Through on-camera interviews and visits to the factory floor, filmmakers Mark Dworkin and Melissa Young capture the spirit of diverse cooperatives - bakeries, fair trade coffee and chocolate wholesalers,...
On June 21, 50,000 people marched through central London from the BBC's New Broadcasting House in central London to Westminster protesting against austerity measures introduced by the UK's coalition government. Comedian Russell Brand addressed the demonstration organised by the People’s Assembly. He argued, "In the week that followed the 9/11 attacks, the bank account of every person that was involved in Al Qaeda was frozen. Their assets were frozen and taken away. Why are these...
