WHY THE NAME BLAQPEARL? Back in the day I was part of a hip hop group called Insidious Inc. The three males in the group, including my late brother, Mr Devious, all had stage names – of course I also wanted one! So being rarely aware of myself from a very young age...
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‘Jumping the Queue’, Waiting Lists and other Myths | by Kate Tissington
Senior Research and Advocacy Officer at the Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa (SERI) www.seri-sa.org Since 1994 the South African government, through its National Housing Subsidy Scheme (NHSS), has embarked on the large-scale provision of...
Unfreedom Day Land Occupation: Police assault activists| by Camilla Rose Coutts
On 27 April 2013 Abahlali baseMjondolo (AbM), the largest organisation of the militant poor in post-apartheid South Africa, established in Durban in 2005. Released a press statement entitled "Marikana: A New Land Occupation Founded on UnFreedom Day 2013." The...
The Warning: South Africa Is An Angry And Frustrated Nation And On The Brink | by Danny Schechter
Durban, South Africa: These are not the best of times in South Africa. It seems clear that there is fear and loathing everywhere as the press is packed with fresh allegations of corruption, and a restive mood spreads even as the country prepares to host the economic...
Hugo Chavez, Dream Maker | by Eva Golinger
Most of what you read or hear in mass media about President Hugo Chavez is always negative, his faults exaggerated, his discourse distorted and his achievements ignored. The reality is quite different. Hugo Chavez was beloved by millions around the world. He changed...
Political Economy of Gender and Climate Change
Abstracts Gender Concerns in Climate Change need serious attention of all interested in sustainable development. Women in many developing countries are responsible for climatically sensitive tasks such as securing food, water and energy which ensure the life and...
Rebuilding the Zimbabwean state: an idea whose time has come? | by Thomas Deve
Beginning in 2000, Zimbabwe experienced a decade of unprecedented political and economic crisis that was only temporarily alleviated by the inception of a government of national unity in 2010. Despite the occasional populist and radical pronouncements of the head of...
A tale of two museums | by Andre Marais
Landlocked Timbuktu in Mali and coastal Cape Town are 6,000 kilometres apart from one another but they are both under threat: one museum by a religious fundamentalism, the other by economics. Both museums are preserving important historical and heritage sites. Both...
It’s time for the real fight | by Harmony Goldberg
The re-election of Barack Obama represents one of the most important political opportunities of our time. I know that many people on the left will read that opening line, dismiss me as a hopeless radical-turned-liberal and refuse to read any further. They'll be wrong....





