Category: Politics
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Taxation
Tax is back on the agenda at Holyrood. This is a good thing. I’ve never understood why taxation is looked upon as a great evil which must be avoided at all costs. Taxes are the only way that a society can meaningfully function. It is the price we pay to live in a society worth a damn:…
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COMRADE – a brief explanation
Right. I’ve developed a functioning web tool to make canvassing and organisation a bit easier – and would welcome any and all help to improve it. I’ve created a stack of fake data – so anyone can jump in and improve its functionality, without exposing any of the real people’s names and addresses in the SSP…
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COMRADE
I’ve been working on a software project. It’s a system to ease preparation of canvass lists, store the data therein, and use the voting and information data later on. At the RISE conference yesterday, I did a short talk on it, and how it can be used. The slides are here. I’ll also be writing some training…
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Referendum Night
I don’t think I’ve managed to get over that night. I’ve really tried to, by diving into political work – and trying to develop the tools and the means of organising, and fighting future elections.
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Letter to local councillors on TTIP
Dear Councillors McVey and Munro, I note that Councillor Booth has a motion for council decrying the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). Most of our active intelligence on TTIP is piecemeal, the process has been secretive and undemocratic. This secrecy is on-going, with nearly all information on negotiations coming from leaked documents and Freedom…
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Objection to Robin McAlpine speaking with Sheridan
Robin, I’ve got a great deal of time for you. You make an unconscionable case for a better way of doing politics and agitating for social and economic equality. But I protest your appearance at Tommy Sheridan’s Hope Over Fear rally tomorrow. You doubtless already know Sheridan is a convicted perjurer, misogynist and abuser. His…
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One in Five campaign launch
I’m pleased to be asked to support the One in Five campaign – a campaign to encourage, empower and increase political participation amongst disabled people in Scotland. The Scottish Socialist Party’s policy platform is a remarkably progressive and inclusive one with respect to disabled rights, therefore the One in Five campaign is a good fit…
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Welcoming our revitalised networks
In our pursuit of equality for all, we recognise the importance of rejecting discrimination other than from class. We reject the patriarchy, we reject discrimination of age, homophobia and race. We see the need to confront these actively in wider society, including vigilance inside our own party where they manifest or as individuals. Therefore we…
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A year in review – Part 2 – April
I’m mostly going to be writing this as stream of consciousness – as I recall it happening, and my thoughts around the time. Straight into April! None of the April Fools were funny. The Scottish Greens came closest – A sneaky wee press-release on their website, entitled. “Independence is our opportunity to protect outer space.”…
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A year in review – Part 1
This was the year I became a political activist worth a damn. It was also the year the paranoid proved to be prophets. I found both Scottish political year in review programmes exhausting. Rather than revisiting the past, I was reliving it. And it hurt terribly.