RED RAG

Back Issues

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Established 1979
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These are the back issues of Red Rag. They'll be posted here every (usually) two weeks on or around the anniversary of their original publication. We're currently reissuing 1984; the latest issue is dated February 5th (scan / txt); the next one is due out on the 19th.

Red Rag, or Reading's only newspaper, had a noble tradition of misspelling, mixed metaphors, wrong facts, confused political judgements and a print run by now of 1300. It printed pretty well everything it got sent ("unless the Collective judged it racist, sexist, right wing, or supportive of oppressive religions"). It aimed to provide a decent alternative coverage of local news and issues from a radical non-aligned position; to promote subversive and creative initiatives; to provide a forum for unorthodox views; to allow some sort of co-existence between a huge variety of interests. And in four years it had never sold a single copy.

In this issue (scan / txt): Reading Health Watch produces a leaflet to counter propaganda about "more money for the NHS", "exciting new strategies" and "care in the community": the facts are that there are more people and less money, the new strategies put a burden on local authorities that the Government won't let them meet, and care in the community means more women having to stay at home to look after their parents and in-laws. Ten months after Acorn was raided under the Obscene Publications Act, test prosecutions against Knockabout and Airlift bookshops are set for later this year. Only 21 women turned up for the recent Reclaim the Night march; after the success of September's "Stop the City" in London, a second demonstration is planned for next month; and the Ecology Party puts forward a ten-point programme for "Real Democracy", featuring Proportional Representation, a Freedom of Information Act, and the right to inspect or correct information held about you on computers.