Fownhope’s Heart of Oak Society traces its roots to the age of friendly societies, when communities provided their own safety net. Its anniversary celebrations reveal a tradition still very much alive, says MARK SEDDON
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Why Holyrood should oppose the EU’s Fourth Rail Package
by Mick Cash
ANGUS REID explains the significance of Cuba’s egalitarian in letter and spirit Family Code and the pertinent lessons it holds for democracies anywhere in the world
Special report by PEOPLE’S WORLD
NICK WRIGHT considers how the isolation of Israel and a new film on the controversial Italian communist leader are creating new reference points for Italy’s left
CARLOS MARTINEZ says Cuba’s achievements in the face of a criminal blockade are startling, but the island’s future if the United States succeeds in crushing it looks bleak
AMNON BROWNFIELD STEIN reports that far-right MPs who mobbed the event organised by Hadash may have helped raise awareness of the brutality of the Israeli right
R AIL privatisation in Scotland has, like everywhere else, been a disaster delivering the highest fares in Europe, enormous subsidies for the privateers and continual attacks on services, jobs and pay.
Yet the European Union is imposing the Fourth Rail Package which is specifically designed to further break up and privatise national rail networks across Europe.
Some EU member states have used this as a business opportunity to grab foreign franchises, particularly Germany, France and the Netherlands. ScotRail itself is run by the Dutch state-owned company Abellio.
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