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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“By using the simple slogan of the 1% and the 99%, the Occupy dynamic was able to raise questions of inequality. Globally the question often put to people is the issue of poverty. Poverty is quite different to inequality. When you talk about poverty, the reaction could be charity. One feels bad for the poor, you want to have soup kitchens, etc. But inequality doesn't really always give you the sense that the answer is charity, because inequality tells you that whereas some people are...
Anna Majavu -
The “overwhelming adversity” they had to face daily as a result of living in an informal dwelling felt “like a mountain fell on me”, said one Cape Town resident.
Politicians from across the spectrum have lied to the public for years about their plans to “eradicate”, “upgrade” and “transform” informal settlements. They have forced communities out of informal settlements into equally horrible transit camps or temporary relocation...
Gillian Schutte -
It was with utter disbelief that we witnessed, on national television, yet another brutal assault from the police force on the Marikana community who were still reeling from the massacre, which took place less than a month earlier when more than 34 miners were mowed down with live ammunition in what can be described as a snuff movie for public consumption.
This second major assault happened on Saturday, September 15, on the eve of the Cosatu Congress, when police moved into the community...
Pepe Escobar -
Willard "Mitt" Romney comfortably sees himself as the chief executive officer of a US$1 billion enterprise - the Republican Party election campaign that should place him as the next President of the United States (POTUS). Meanwhile, current POTUS Barack Obama is increasingly convinced he just needs to deploy a secret weapon to clinch re-election.
That weapon is Mitt Romney.
USS Romney is like one of those state-of-the art aircraft carriers parked somewhere between the Persian...
Glenn Ashton -
The pesticide industry is the only industry on earth which has, as its primary intention, the dispersal of poisons throughout the environment in order to kill living organisms. Only small amounts of toxins applied actually reach the intended target. The bulk of these chemicals are liberated into our soil, air, water and food, where they can remain active for decades, sometimes for ever.
Fifty years ago this month an eloquent book was published which heralded the birth of the modern...
RT reports that the sexual assault case against embattled WikiLeaks leader, Julian Assange, shows signs of unraveling. "A crucial piece of evidence brought forward by one of the accusers produced no forensic results."
According to RT, "In a 100-page document shown to Assange’s lawyers, it was revealed that the torn prophylactic, having been examined by staff at two forensic laboratories, did not bear conclusive evidence that Assange had ever worn...
