News Bulletin

Alyn Smith - 12th February,
Meeting Rooms Level 4 DUSA at 5:30pm.

“The SNP and myself are pro-European. We want to see Scotland, as an independent country, take her seat at the top table in Europe as a full member state.”
Alyn Smith MEP

Scotland and the EU: how independence would affect Scotland’s relationship with Brussels.

Alyn Smith is Scotland’s youngest MEP and Honorary President of both youth wings of the SNP. He is an inspiring young politician who is passionate about Scotland and Europe.

Alyn will discuss how Scotland’s position in Europe will be altered if the Scottish people were to vote yes in an independence referendum. Beyond that Alyn has set the challenge, “everything you ever wanted to ask about Europe but were too afraid to ask”. He is a brave guy.

He will also speak about the Allan Macartney Internship which he has set up in honour of his predecessor. The internship is open to anyone with an interest in politics, the EU, languages and of course Scotland. Interns work with Alyn, with members of his team and on their own European projects and will be based in the European Parliament in Brussels for three months.

The event promises to be relaxed, informative and inspiring. This is the first event of the second semester for the Year of Democracy and is a nice way to kick it off.

For more information contact: yearofdemocracy@dusa.co.uk
Also check out Alyn’s website at: www.alynsmith.eu

Moazzam Begg - 18th February

Charles Logan: A man will say anything under torture, this won't mean a thing.

Jack Bauer: Mr. Logan, I'm not here to torture you, but you are gonna tell what I want to know, or so help me god, I will kill you.

Can torture be justified? The death of one to save the lives of hundreds. Or is it an abhorrent practice with no place in a civilised society?

This is this question that we have had to confront in recent years. Basic human rights were flaunted in a war with ‘no boundaries’ and apparently no rules.

Moazzam Begg was collateral damage in this dilemma as one of nine British citizens held at Guantanamo Bay. In 2001 Begg and his family went to Afghanistan to start a school for deprived children which provided basic education, water pumps and other necessities. When the coalition attack on Afghanistan began in October 2001, Begg fled with his family to Pakistan. It was from Pakistan that Begg was seized and held in extrajudicial detention at Bagram Airbase awaiting transportation to Guantanamo Bay.

Moazzam Begg never faced charges or a trial. A letter written by him to his US Attorney claimed that in Guantanamo there was “threats of torture, actual torture, death threats, racial and religious abuse", "cruel and unusual treatment" and that "documents... were signed under duress".

Moazzam Begg will be here at DUSA on 18th February to discuss the future of Guantanamo, secret, military and proxy detention sites; the use and justification of torture during the Bush era and the effects of all this on the UK.

Get your free tickets from DUSA offices floor 4 and from the Premier Store.
via email: yearofdemocracy@dundee.ac.uk
or online at: www.dundee.ac.uk/tickets

Martin Kelner - 4th March.

Mainstream media can suck my c*ck!

So it pays the bills to do the odd story for the Guardian or the Independent… but Martin’s courageous crusade against the battalions of the mainstream media from his bedroom in North Leeds is where the fight is at.

What has blogging and the internet done for freedom of speech?

Are we free to say what they want or has the internet liberated us to say what we want?

Generally amusing chap, star of Piss Poor Podcast and author of ‘When will I be famous’, Martin Kelner will be at DUSA on 4th March.


Get your free tickets from DUSA offices floor 4 and from the Premier Store.
via email: yearofdemocracy@dundee.ac.uk
or online at: www.dundee.ac.uk/tickets

Tariq Ali

Tariq Ali is a well known veteran British- Pakistani historian and political analyst. He is a regular contributor to the Guardian and has written a number of respected books and essays on both British and International politics. Ali was politicised as a teenager, having organised a number of political protests and demonstrations against the military dictatorship. Having been elected President of the Oxford Union in 1965 his public profile grew as he became a central figure in the global peace movement and protests against the Vietnam War. Since then Ali has written extensively against the ‘War on Terror’ and the nature of neo- liberal economics and the history and evolution of political Islam.

    Also a writer of prose and poetry, Ali’s best known works include ‘Clash of Fundamentalisms’,’ Bush in Babylon’ and ‘Street-fighting Years: An Autobiography of the Sixties’

Katharine Gun

Katharine Gun is a former translator for the Government Communications Headquarters. In 2003 she entered the public arena by leaking details of an alleged plot to bug UN delegates ahead of the Iraq war. Admitting that she had leaked the relevant emails to the Observer she said she did so “with a clear conscience”. Having sacrificed her job Gun was charged under the Official Secrets Act, having been kept overnight in prison her trial date was set for February 2004. The trial was over within an hour as the prosecution declined the chance to prevent any evidence. In 2006 Gun urged other members of the intelligence community to leak information that could stop plans for a potential war against Iran

*All dates and times are subject. Please continue to consult the website for updates.