John McAllion on the resignation of Wendy Alexander

John McAllion has written an article about the resignation of Wendy Alexander as leader of the Labour MSP’s.

It can be found on the SSP site here

Oaxaca Mexico Meeting Dundee

We have just managed to arrange a meeting with a representative of the indigenous Oaxaca communities in Mexico.

DVA 10 Constitution Road
Dundee

Tuesday 1st July, 2008. 7pm.

Annual walk up the Law Hill to commemorate Hiroshima

Make a note in your diaries: the annual walk up the Law is being organised for Sunday 6th August. More information on times etc will be posted once we get full details.

Keep Josie in the UK

Josie Pasane, a woman who lives in Brought Ferry, is being threatened with deportation due to the Home Office giving her shit advice on her application.

Please sign the petition

Some articles from the local press on the issue

Saturday 14th June
Family face being torn apart after visa mix-up

Monday 16th June
MP fights visa case with Home Office

Tuesday 17th June
Community rallies round to keep Josie in Scotland

‘No Fare’ day of action on Public Transport

Today in Dundee and around the country SSP members and supporters took part in street campaigning on the issue of Free Public Transport.

Tonight’s Eveneing Telegraph contained an article about the activity in Dundee

For more information on the issue visit www.freepublictransport.org/

When the policy was introduced in Hasselt in Belgium there was a massive uptake in the use of public transport. Massive numbers of people started cycling after encouragement from the local council (contrast with Dundee where the Council stopped a local bike recycling charityselling their cheap affordable bikes in the city centre!).

If you would like some stickers, posters or leaflets about the campaign, contact us.

Legalise Cannabis Demo in Glasgow

Legalise Demo information

LEGALISE IT – 2008 – MARCH TO LEGALISE CANNABIS

GLASGOW – SATURDAY JULY 26th

ASSEMBLE 11.30am – George Square, Glasgow

March to Kelvingrove Park for bands, DJs and more!

FEATURING:

ARGONAUT SOUNDS, THE BEING, LOKI, RESPEK-DA, MARRICK LAYDEN DEFT, TAZ BUCKFASTER, HENDY RUNS TINGS, PHILLYBLUNTZ, DARYL and more!

How local councils use anti-terror laws to spy on people

Given the recent new anti-terror laws it is worth highlighting the flaw in the government’s “if you have nothing to hide you have nothing to fear” argument. The main one of course being that the laws are used against everyone, not only those they suspect of being terrorists*

*terrorists not being the dictionary definition of course, but New Labours makey upey definition.

A local political activist, Alan Hinnrichs had submitted a request to every Scottish Council about their use of the “Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act” to spy on members of the public and has compiled his results. These have now been printed today by the Sunday Herald today.

SACC article detailing his investigation

Sunday Herald Article detailing his investigation

SACC claims councils are abusing the civil liberties of the Scottish public and says civil servants and bureaucrats should not have such wide-ranging powers. The watchdog believes that spying on ordinary citizens should only be a power granted to the police or the security and intelligence services in cases of extreme danger such as threats to national security or to prevent major crime.

Of the councils which replied to the FoI requests, Edinburgh was found to be using the Ripa laws the most excessively, authorising spying actions 1252 times.

Free Public Transport Week

The SSP is launching a week of action highlighting our radical Free Public Transport Policy.

There is a website with all the details here.

In the Belgian city of Hasselt, which covers an area double the size of Dundee, congestion was eliminated in the late 1980s after the introduction of a totally free public transport system.

How It worked in Belgium

The site also contains details of how the policy would be funded and the wide ranging benefits it provides in the other places it has been implemented.

Post Office closures in the Local Press: week 2 of 6

Tuesday 3rd June

Article in the Courier Urging people to lodge objections to the closures

Article in the Courier About a Post Office moving in Broughty Ferry

Letter in the Evening Telegraph Defending the closures

Saturday 7th June

Article in the Courier about Glamis Post Office

According to the article about Glamis Post Office, the Post Office are only considering a petition to be equal to one letter of objection. This is absurd and shows how detached from reality the high heid yins at the Post Office are. Remember these are the same people that wasted millions rebranding the Post Office as Consignia whilst attacking their employees working conditions. It also shows the importance of lodging letters of complaint. Signing petitions is fine and can help publicise the quantity of local objections but letters detailing objections are extremely important.

The contact details to object, as posted previously are:

Sally Buchanan
Network Development Manager
C/o National Consultation Team
FREEPOST CONSULTATION TEAM
Email: consultation@postoffice.co.uk
Customer Helpline: 08457 22 33 44

Post Office closures in the Local press 29 and 30 June 2008

The courier printed an article on 29 May about the closures. In it Postwatch urged people to take part in the consultation process.

On the 30th May there was a Letter in the Courier from an independent councillor in Angus detailling what a Post Office closure means to a rural village. Because of the isolation and lack of transport the effect of a closure or service reduction is far greater than in a city.