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?
Visit the archives.
"Where is democracy today and where is it likely to go tomorrow?" asks Marwan Bishara of Al Jazeera. He argues that democracy, together with capitalism, has brought astonishing levels of prosperity. So why is it in trouble, not only in the West, but in all regions of the world? Is the concentration of wealth a threat to democracy? Are we seeing the return of a more radical right based on ethnic nationalism with xenophobia and racism thrown into the mix? Is there a renewed desire...
On Monday, US judge Thomas Griesa, said Argentina was in contempt of court for bypassing his ruling that the country should pay all its debtors under conditions stipulated by him. Argentina says it will pay its debtors under its own conditions.
The US court ruling previously blocked Argentina from making $539m in interest payments to the majority of bondholders until a deal with hedge fund creditors was reached. The hedge funds reject the restructuring accepted by 93 percent of...
Common Dreams -
Global income inequality has returned to levels recorded in the 1820s—when the Industrial Revolution produced sizable wealth gaps between the rich and poor—according to a new report released Thursday by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
The sweeping study, "How Was Life? Global Well-Being Since 1820," uses historical data from eight world regions to present for the first time "systematic evidence" of trends in areas such as...
Alexander O'Riordan -
In 1995 the World Bank took the rare step of commissioning a documentary on its negotiations of a structural adjustment programme in Uganda. The documentary crew followed negotiations for six months in Uganda and at the Bank headquarters in Washington D.C., having access to meetings at the highest level such as between the presidents of Uganda and the World Bank. The documentary demonstrates that that there is never really any doubt about whether the World Bank will provide funding to Uganda...
Alana de Hinojosa -
Just before I left to study in Havana, Cuba for three months, a Cuban friend of mine pulled me aside and whispered in my ear: “Any ideas you had about race are going to be totally blown out of the water.” I had no idea what she meant, and was skeptical considering Cuba’s high praise from the progressive left, but my friend turned out to be right.
From the first day at the airport in Miami and throughout the three months I lived there, it seemed race was all around me. In...
