The Marikana massacre and unrest on South Africa's mines in 2012 elicited a flurry of analysis, much of it superficial and too hastily produced to be of any real use. One of the more authoritative accounts, however, came from former trade unionist Gavin Hartford, now...
homes
Houses for all! Now! | by Martin Legassick
Women and children have been forced to endure the Cape's lashing winter winds and rain sleeping in the open in the Marikana area of Philippi. This is the result of illegal actions by the Democratic-Alliance-sponsored Anti Land Invasion Unit (ALIU), demolishing their...
The Antinomies of Democracy in Durban | by Richard Pithouse
Originally published at The South African Civil Society Information Service (SACSIS) In the last days of June, Nkululeko Gwala was assassinated in Cato Crest - a shack settlement in Durban that is in the process of being upgraded with formal housing. Just over three...
The View From Gezi Park | by Olivia Walton
Over a month has passed since police first attacked peaceful protestors in Istanbul's Gezi Park in June 2013. Already analysts are trying to explain, predict, and measure the protests that were triggered across Turkey by that moment. The international press suggested...
City of Cape Town makes up law to justify eviction of the poor by Jared Sacks
The City of Cape Town has been caught red-handed using a fraudulent legal pretext to justify the eviction of shack dwellers who had occupied a vacant piece of City-owned land, by citing a non-existent law they claim is called the "Protection of the Possession of...
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...
Social and environmental impact of mining
A Mining company can uproot an entire community for the meager sum of R600: a prospecting permit from the Department of Mineral Resources costs only R500 and a mining permit is R100. In contrast, tribal, cultural and community structures in rural areas have been...
Social and environmental impact of mining
A Mining company can uproot an entire community for the meager sum of R600: a prospecting permit from the Department of Mineral Resources costs only R500 and a mining permit is R100. In contrast, tribal, cultural and community structures in rural areas have been...
Solidarity for beginners: Palestine/Israel conflict PART 2
Why is Jerusalem a problem? For millennia, Jerusalem has seen three major religions – Judaism, Christianity and Islam – settle in this area, the centre of the 'Holy Land'. Issues abound but all revolve around the historical settlement patterns for these religious and...




