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?
Glenn is a multidisciplinarian with a background in geography. Besides being a published author, he also edited "A Patented World? The Privatisation of Life and Knowledge," published by Jacana in South Africa. He currently is on the editorial board of the SA Journal of Natural Medicine.
Additionally, Glenn has written many commentaries and analyses of wide ranging issues including waste management, water use, food security, genetic engineering, nanotechnology, health, agricultural fuels, marine resources, climate and many other environmental and socially relevant issues.
He has also presented many papers and talks to a wide range of audiences. He specialises in communicating complex scientific issues in an accessible manner. He is a freelance writer and researcher.
Glenn Ashton -
The recent sharp increases in food prices around the world have resulted in a siren call from the pro-biotech cheer-leaders that genetically modified (GM) crops must be more widely adopted if we are to reduce food prices and increase the availability of food for a burgeoning global population.
News stories have abounded since food prices spiked hailing the benefits of GM technology being able to feed us all. Although most of these stories emanate directly from public relations sources, they...
Glenn Ashton -
South Africans are by and large religious people, with deep spiritual commitment. According to the 2006 annual report released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labour of the US State department, over 80 percent of South Africans identify themselves as Christian, with four percent from other religions – Hindu, Muslim, Jewish. It is interesting to note that 15% of South Africans decline to list any religious affiliation. It is amongst this group that the atheists, those who...
Glenn Ashton -
The time has come to shift towards a more equitable society.
The present disruption in the marketplace will continue to rock the global financial system for years. This economic shake-out signals many things, perhaps even the end of capitalism as we know it. After all, free market capitalism is meant to stand on its own two feet, independent of state interference. It was never meant to have been rescued by taxpayers funds, as is now the case. The average citizen was never consulted about...
Glenn Ashton -
So we have had a change in the guard in South Africa, engineered on shaky precepts but carried out smoothly and seamlessly, at least from a political perspective. However, the real issues have been obscured by the haste of the transition and the relentless blather of the chattering classes. Perhaps the time is ripe to draft some perspective on what really happened.
It was common knowledge Thabo Mbeki was toast. As John Carlin pointed out a week after his departure, Mbeki should never...
Glenn Ashton -
Looking at the annual gathering of G8 leaders, one could be forgiven for believing that the real reason behind these meetings is to address global concerns. But it is not. The G8 is nothing more than a meeting where a great deal of political posturing takes place to present the image of a sympathetic west.
Phantom aid is a neat concept coined by Action Aid to describe the kind of aid given to the developing world by Western powers. Action Aid’s clarification of the flow of...
Glenn Ashton -
At Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Governance, a study group is arguing that the media in Africa doesn’t foster good governance, contending that Africa's Fourth Estate doesn't function.
The global nature of the problem raises some questions about why the Kennedy School of Governance has chosen to make an example of Africa.
After all, the American media practically signed, sealed and delivered the public consensus needed for President George W. Bush to invade...
