RED RAG READING'S ONLY NEWSPAPER 7-21 February Volume 4 No 3 Free Contacting Red Rag News 861741 68972 662302 Events 83275 Going Out 662740 Distribution 666681 Write to: 31B Milman Road Reading or via Acorn Books Greenham Common "Heseltown" / City Farm Rape Palestine BANC Unemployment Centre Events Going out ... and more. Red Rag is delivered free to 700 people fortnight. To get yours regularly, call "DISTRIBUTION". Next deadline for the biggest success since Laker is 18 February. - - - RED RAG News GREENHAM COMMON PEACE CAMP In spite of continuing lack of support from BANC and others, the Peace Camp has survived the winter cold only to be sent an eviction notice by Newbury District Council two weeks ago. The date by which they were to leave was February 3 but no action has been taken and none is likely until after the next Newbury Council Committee meeting at the end of this week. Why evict the camp after 5 months of peaceful protest? There are two rumours: That the local residents were fed up with its 'unsightliness' and that the Americans put the council up to it because their patience had worn thin and they wish to put sewers underneath the Peace Camp, to service the new homes for the new servicemen associated with the Cruise Missiles (an MP raised this rumour in the Commons). Why the hesitation to act immediately? There are problems in ascertaining the correct owners of the land - it may not be common land at all, but owned by a government ministry. No eviction can be carried through until the ownership is clarified. Also, the women at the Camp have acted wisely. They trained last weekend in non-violent protest tactics, and they have used the media and the Labour Party to publicise their protest and plight. They have increased their solidarity on the site by requesting the resident men to leave for the 'period of crisis'; this was also done to reduce the risk of violent confrontation. It was hoped that men who supported the women's Camp would set up another around the perimeter of the Greenham base, but it has not yet materialised. But it seems obvious that the more publicity for the women, the better for their cause, and that one eviction from one site will not prohibit resettlement and re-eviction all around the enormous perimeter - a nuisance for the women but totally counterproductive for the base and the Council. If you are interested in visiting the camp and/or supporting it during a time of crisis, contact Jean on 52094 or Penny on 83469. - - - BOROUGH BUDGET For those who wish to keep tabs on Reading Borough's Budget, here are the date of Committee discussions of Rate estimates and Capital Programmes. Feb 11 Policy Committee Feb 25 Policy Management Group March 1 Policy Committee - proposal of Rate levy March 9 Full Council - Rate making. - - - HESELTOWN PROFITEERING County Councillor Lawrence Silverman has told a meeting of Reading District Labour Party that the new 'Heseltown' development being imposed on Berkshire by Tory Environment secretary Michael Heseltine was intended only to increase the profits of property speculators and builders. Intense land speculation had already taken place long before the County Council was forced to publish its options, and there was no doubt that Mr Heseltine could and would over-ride carefully worked out local planning controls to compel the release of land for speculative housing development. All the possible options, which include major developments in Theale, Spencers Wood and Winnersh, would greatly increase traffic on the main roads into Reading, and put an enormous strain on all local services. Ratepayers would be picking up the bill and speculators would be pocketing the profits. The Government, far from helping, had just cut 24 million from Berkshire's rate support grant. Councillor Silverman warned that bringing many thousands of newcomers into 'Greater Reading' could only increase unemployment in the town and that existing workers could be displaced. He added that the County's plans to meet this threat by releasing land for industrial and office development were themselves another license for speculators, rather than a serious attempt to create and maintain new jobs. Labour parties in Berkshire and Reading have always been in favour of a balance being maintained between different types of private and public development, but these arbitrary proposals flew in the face of this and other considerations underlying the previous Berkshire Structure Plan. Councillor Silverman then called for close liaison between Reading and Berkshire officials and councillors, and between the two Labour Parties to try to contain the damage that Mr Heseltine's schemes would cause, and to attack the undemocratic means he is using to force them through. A series of meetings is being planned to develop and support Labour's response. More information contact: Graeme St Clair 473644 Pete Ruhemann 23340 Lawrence Silverman 83727 - - - READING CITY FARM A small group of dedicated people have been working for the past two years to make this a reality. What is it? A city farm is a small-scale community project which enables children and adults to experience working with animals and crops, and to manage the venture themselves. There are currently over thirty city farms in Britain, and many have become the focus for a whole range of interesting local ideas and activities. Our efforts to date have been directed at getting outline planning permission for the projects on one corner of the Cowsey (the rough land behind the Merry Maidens, Shinfield Road). This done, we really need people with ideas and energies to help get the project started and growing. It could be really exciting - please help if you can. For more details call 665432 or send an SAE to Reading City Farm, c/o 39 Liverpool Road, Heading RG1 3PW - - - RAPE Over a hundred women marched on Reading Police Station to protest about the treatment of women in rape cases. Most of you will have seen photos and short reports in the local papers, but you may not have seen the demands as formulated by the Women's Centre. Here's a copy of the letter delivered to Chief Superintendent Webb: As a result of the exposure of some of your rape investigation methods, women in Reading met on Wed 20 January and formulated the following list of initial demands: Given that the police role is to take evidence, not to act as judge/jury and/or defence, we require you to do the following in all cases of complaint of rape or sexual assault: 1 Immediately, present to the woman a written list of her rights (to be prepared in consultation with us) to include a) the right to have another person with her when interviewed b) the right to see a doctor of her own choice as soon as she requests c) the right to contact a representative of a Rape Crisis Centre or similar agency d) the right not to be asked personal questions about her sexual history (beyond the medical necessities) e) the right to bring a charge of rape or sexual assault to a court of law 2 The special rape unit that is about to be set up should recognize and utilize the expertise and personnel of Rape Crisis Centres in its training programme. 3 In all complaints of rape and sexual assault the accused man/men should be apprehended and questioned 4 In conclusion, we require the formulation of a consultative group with senior police officers, women from the Women's Centre, and any other women with special expertise/knowledge to ensure the implementation of the above and the monitoring of its operation. Plans are afoot, however to set up a Rape Crisis Centre in Reading - any women interested should contact the Women's Centre, or come to a meeting of a Rape Crisis Collective on Feb 9 at 7.30pm. At that meeting two or three women will be selected to meet with the Thames Valley Chief Constable who has deigned to discuss issues with us. Also at that meeting we hope to begin the work recognized to set up a Rape Crisis Centre and have been already given a sizeable donation from the local MIND charity to assist us. - - - RED RAG PLATFORM A true story ... from the Hold Land As you tucked into your mince pies, turkeys and crates of booze this Christmas and then sat back in your stoned stupour and contemplated on how that Jesus Geezer always has the best parties did you ever stop to locate the place and source of all this activity. I'll give you a clue - it begins with 'P' and is NINE letters long. Actually yon will never find it, unless you have a map which is pre 14 May 1948 - the day on which the Zionist state of 'Israel' was founded. Israel is a state founded on the oppression, dispossession and expulsion of the Palestinian Arab people. It was set up by force in 1948 and has consistently refused to allow the Palestinian Arabs it expelled to return to their homes or practice their rights for self-determination. 'There was no such thing as Palestinians... they did not exist' Golda Meir, Israeli Prime Minister (quoted in Sunday Times 15/6/69) Israel only exists today because Palestine does not. Israel is a racialist state. It allows the right of citizenship to Jews from anywhere in the world whilst refusing that right to the majority of the indigenous Arab people of Palestine. Palestinian Arabs who live inside the state of Israel suffer discrimination in employment opportunities, housing, education, social services and land ownership. The United Nations has condemned Zionism as a form of racism. 'But they are not human beings, they are not people, they are Arabs' David Hacohen, Israeli Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Knesset (18/10/73) Israel is a militaristic and expansionist state. It was allocated around 60% of palestine by the UN in 1947, yet ended 1940 in occupation of 80%. In 1967 its invasion of the West Bank and Gaza Strip left the remainder of Palestine in Zionist hands. At the same time Israel occupied Syrian and Egyptian territory in the Golan heights and Sinai Peninsula. Israel still occupies these land today and encourages European and American Youth to work in fortified settlements called Kibbutzim established there. 'Increased (Jewish) immigration will add to the strengths of our gains in the war; it is not enough to occupy the territories, we must settle them too' Abbu Eban; Israeli Foreign Minister (11/7/67) In March 1977 Israel invaded Southern Lebanon. Each act of Zionist military aggression has meant more bloodshed, more suffering, more refugees. Israel is a terrorist state. Zionist Prime Minister Menachem Begin is responsible for the massacre of 254 Palestinian men and women and children at Deir Yassin in 1948. Amnesty International has repeated the frequent use of torture in Israeli gaols. Under the pretext of 'security' Israel has destroyed at least 400 Arab villages, thousands of homes, suppressed expression of dissent and imprisoned and deported thousands without trial. Zionist propaganda regularly claims that the Palestinian Liberation Organization is no more than a 'bunch of terrorists' whose aim is to drive all Jews living in Israel into the sea. Nothing could be further from the truth. The PLO command the support of the vast majority of Palestinian Arabs whether they live under Israeli occupation, in refugee camps in Jordan, Syria and Lebanon or in exile in other parts of the world. Since 1965, Palestine Liberation movements which today comprise the PLO have been fighting for the restoration of legitimate rights of the Palestinian Arabs, a people robbed of its homeland in 1948 and who continue to suffer under the Zionist rule in Israel. Today the majority of the nations of the world recognize the PLO as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinians and support the right of Palestinians to self-determination. The PLO seek to establish a secular democratic state in all the land of Palestine where people of all religions and the unreligious will live free from racial, religious and cultural discrimination that have been practised by Zionist Israel throughout its history. There now exists at Reading University a group under the banner 'Palestinian Solidarity Campaign' which seeks to build support in the area for the Palestinian cause. The aim of the group is to oppose Zionism and to expose it as an unacceptable form of racism and therefore should be combated. The group provides alternative information from that widely available in the Western media; so far we have had several lectures, films and guest speakers from Israel on different topics. If you arc interested in joining our campaign or would like more information about Palestine, come along and find out about a forgotten people and their attempts to achieve the national recognition they deserve. PALESTINIAN SOLIDARITY CAMPAIGN Clubs Office / Students Union Building Reading University Remember Palestine next Christmas and the 4,390,000 Palestinians who like Joseph and Mary had to flee from the evil forces of oppression. - - - RED RAG LETTERS Dear Robin the Rich I very much enjoyed your report of BANC's annual general meeting - it was a good laugh. The trouble is that people without a sense of humour like what you and I share might be a bit put off peace campaigning by the tone of your article. OK, so three of BANC's officers were elected unopposed, and hardworking members can be co-opted onto the Committee. Yes, constitutions are an absurdity. But the structure of the organization ensures that most things get done, and in time to be effective. When we find a less formal alternative that works, we'll probably use it. If the Campaign lacks internal dissent, could it be that we are all too busy actually pushing leaflets through doors (not very dramatic), talking to shoppers on Saturday morning (no national publicity in that), making and distributing publicity material, organizing fundraising events, nagging our work mates into THINKING, to have the energy to politick amongst ourselves. Admittedly we haven't actually stopped a Cruise missile with any of this, but we're working on it. I admire someone like you who, without fear of the consequences, can bravely do what the struggle calls for. No silly snowball chucking, eh? By the way, what have you done? Made Marion - - - RED RAG BACKGROUND UNEMPLOYMENT CENTRE On Monday (8 February) Reading's new centre for unemployed people opens in East Street, with as little fuss as its organisers can manage. To its shame, Red Rag has not covered the planning and history of the centre, as it has grown from idea to reality during the past year. Til now, our only substantive mention of the centre merely mused in a provocative way on whether the initiative was a Communist plot to turn the unemployed into revolutionaries, or a reformist 'keep then off the streets' venture. The question remains open, and is important - even if that is a comicbook way of putting it. It will be interesting to see the way that the centre develops during the coming year. But answering that is not the purpose of this, which is to fill in some of the missing history. Our reporter talked to Brian Revel, about that history and the centre's aims. We avoided raising the political questions on the grounds that those who feel strongly about them (including Mr Revel) can more fairly speak for themselves - these pages are open for exactly that type of debate. The idea for a centre in Reading came originally from looking at the setting up of a similar venture in Newcastle (now running for two years). Then, 18 months ago, the TUC started making noises about support for the unemployed. Brian Revel told us: 'It is important to recognise that the TUC has a more progressive attitude to the unemployed than it did in the 1930s - then, its attitude was that it was there to represent its members in work, and you had people like Wal Hannnington having to organise outside the TUC.' On some things, the old carthorse is better now. But in Reading, nothing was done about the centre, 'though the idea had been toyed with in the Trades Council. At the end of March 81 there was a meeting of full-time trade union officers in Berkshire, and from that we wrote to the whole spectrum of community groups - the churches, local authorities, voluntary service bodies, employers. We thought that if we were going to succeed we needed resources, and we had to get resources from somewhere. We felt that if it was just the Trade Unions making the approach there would not be a sympathetic response.' On 11 May last year 50 people, including representatives of the above, met in the civic offices to talk. Even Metal Box sent its personnel officer. The group calling the meeting then had to sell the idea. 'We pointed out some information about unemployment, and that the unemployed section of the community had no voice. This was soon after the riots, and this was obviously at the back of people's minds, though we didn't harp on it. We said that a centre could give advice, counselling, and education, and would allow the unemployed to elect representatives to have an effective voice in the community. I think we did the selling job fairly well. Then a gentleman called Tony Durant (Tory MP Reading North) proposed a working group to do a feasibility study on setting up a centre. Once he had proposed that, the opposition which we had expected evaporated.' The working group, wisely, included officials of local councillors rather than councillors themselves, and reported that it was feasible, and subsequent approval by the local authority was simple. A steering group was set up covering all the above groups plus people like the Manpower Services Commission, Central Club, and Reading Adult College. The county gave premises at 4-6 East Street, together with the 60,000 needed to turn it from a dead factory into a possible centre. It now has two classrooms, two offices, a teabar, a meeting hall to hold 80 or 90 people, two interview rooms and a store. From the MSC's Community Enterprise Scheme, there is funding for four workers. Two counsellors and a caretaker have been appointed but the fourth - an administrative assistant has yet to be found. Surprisingly, it is proving hard to find someone with typing skills who has been out of work for 6 months (if under 25) or a year (if older). There is also an application in for funding for four more workers under the Urban Aid programme. Of the counselling service, Brian Revel says: 'Both appointed counsellors have been unemployed themselves for over six months, so they know personally the effects of unemployment. They will assist in welfare rights work, but the main emphasis will be to get people to help themselves - progress must be made on this. A lot of unemployed people have no money and tend to sit at home and watch TV. We must bring them out of their isolation, and get them to discuss their problems. Only by doing that cab they have a voice in the community. Rather than defusing the anger of the unemployed we will be harnessing it in a direction which will be determined by them.' The educational component of the centre will start as provision. 'We have got to start by providing an educational package, including advice on money, social security, and some other things including silk screen printing. We want, as the centre starts to function, to say what do you want, so that the unemployed will look at the courses critically and be selecting courses to fill their requirements. These courses could be on anything, but he gives as an example the experience of South Wales, where people have asked for courses on trees and allotment cultivation. 'People have been locked in a factory all their working lives, they come out and they want to know something about the world outside. If a group of people is interested in a particular thing, we will try and set up a course on that.' Now the centre is launched, Brian Revel hopes his involvement will fade as the people who use it take control. What remains is to launch a financial appeal in the Trade Union movement - already local unions have donated several hundred pounds. 'We want it to be well-equipped, maybe even with TV and video. It's got to be a good centre. We have to set our sights high.' - - - RED RAG EVENTS DIARY Things to do that aren't exactly entertainment: talks, meetings etc. TUESDAY 9 FEBRUARY o Berkshire Anti-Nuclear Campaign. Ian Saddler talking on the organisation in Bristol of CND and neighbourhood groups. 7.30, Friends Meeting House, off London Street o Rape crisis meeting. For all women interested in setting up a collective to start/run a rape crisis centre. 7.30, old Shire Hall o Reading Gay Youth Group. Cheese and wine party. Phone John on 662740 WEDNESDAY 10 FEBRUARY o Poland: What now for Solidarity? A public meeting hosted by the Socialist Workers Party. AUEW Hall, 121 Oxford Road, 8pm o Killing time: There will be all-time picket outside the University Careers Advisory Service, organised by the University CND. Reason: Ministry of Defence is having a recruitment session. CND protests against this because of deployment of nuclear weapons and the University giving MoD permission to recruit on campus. From 9am, main bit from 1pm. Behind Whiteknights House. THURSDAY 11 FEBRUARY o Computertown UK: an educational project to promote computer literacy at all levels. Milestone Centre, Northbrook Road, Caversham. 7.30. Free FRIDAY 12 FEBRUARY o Berkshire Humanists: a seminar on contemporary religion. Every other week, four meetings in all. Friends Meeting House, off London Street. 8pm. SATURDAY 13 FEBRUARY o Women's Centre open meeting. Hopefully a creche. Old Shire Hall, 10am o Meeting to organise for International Womens Day. Old Shire Hall, 1.30-1pm MONDAY 15 FEBRUARY o Anarchists meet tonight. Call 666681 for venue, time, etc. o An open meeting on Berufsverbot. Speaking: Fritz Tieman, a teacher from Stade in Lower Saxony. At the Kennet Room, Civic Centre, 7.30pm TUESDAY 16 FEBRUARY o 'Blake's lock maintenance depot - prospective waterways industrial museum', a talk by C A Sizer at the Museum of English Rural Life, on the University campus. 7.30pm WEDNESDAY 17 FEBRUARY o Socialist Workers Party meeting, 7.30, Red Lion PH, Southampton Street, sympathisers welcome. o 'Observing the sun', talk by H Hatfield, Anderson Church Hall, Amherst Road. Reading Astronomical Society. 7pm. THURSDAY 18 FEBRUARY o Reading Peace Association AGM. This local group has been gamely working for many years - worth visiting. 7.30, St Mary's Church (by the Butts), 8pm SATURDAY 20 FEBRUARY o 'Why women and racist awareness day' conference (sic). From 10am. Womens Centre, creche. Bring lunch and donation if you can. Info and registration, Edwina & Mavis, Bulmershe College community and youth course (it is not clear from this whether this is open to men of any colour, so check before going - typists) o KEEPFIT NOTE: the first men & women's anti-sexist netball group holds its first practice in the Alfred Sutton Girls School gym at 7.30 on 25 Feb. NOTE FROM COMPILER: the current compiler of this section has been doing it for a year now and feels it is time to stop for a while. So if anyone wants to take over, please get in touch with Mike on Reading 83275. It involves a trip round libraries, student unions, and 20-odd telephone calls once a fortnight. - - - RED RAG GOING OUT GUIDE MONDAY 8 FEBRUARY JAZZ: Swing guitars, 40s jazz a la Django Reinhardt. v good. 8.30-10.30, University students Union. Free. FILM: Play it again Sam. Brilliant, Palmer Building G10, 7.30 TUESDAY 9 FEBRUARY DISCO: Usual crud with bar extension til one, drunken children etc. University students union, 8pm, 50p. Be early to get signed in. DANCE: Extemporary Dance Company. Excellent modern dance. Hexagon, 7.30, 2.50up runs til Saturday. DRAMA: Exodus. Temba Theatre Company, about racism and Rastas and alcohol. Sounds pretty good. Central Club, London Street, 7pm, 1.50 WEDNESDAY 10 FEBRUARY DRAMA: Exodus, see above. JAZZ: (trad). Tudor Tavern, Friar Street, Free. DANCE: As Tuesday but also 2pm matinee, 1 PHOTOGRAPHY: Still life photography show. Methodist school hall, Church Road, Tilehurst, 30p FILM: Ceddo. Made in Senegal, about colonialism and religious persecution. RFT, 8pm, 90p up THURSDAY 11 FEBRUARY FILM: La Belle et la Bete. One of Cocteau's most famous films. RFT, 7.30, 90p up FOLK: Cap and Gown, opp Reading Tech, 50p? Spm FRIDAY 12 FEBRUARY DISCO: Students Union, bar extension, as Tuesday. FOLK: Folk/Rock etc. Beowulf, Spreadthick (wonderful), Tudor Lodge, and others. Cap & Gown, Kings Road, 8pm, 1. An Ecology party presentation. Should be a good night they say - worth it for a rare appearance of Spreadthick. SATURDAY 13 FEBRUARY MIDDAY MUSIC: Acoustic groups, floor singers, etc. If you want to join in, contact the Hexagon PR officer. Hexagon, from 12.15. free. HANDEL'S MESSIAH: Pangbourne College, 7.30. 1? also tomorrow, 2.30 SUNDAY 14 FEBRUARY FILM: High Plains Drifter. Spaghetti Western with the gorgeous Clint Eastwood. University students union, 4pm, 7pm, ? MUSIC: Valentines Concert. No programme to hand but good performers, Reading School, Earley Road, 3pm, ? NONDAY 15 FEBRUARY JAZZ: University Students Union as last Monday. OPERA: The Bat? Die Fledermaus in English. Hexagon, 7.30, 3up TUESDAY 16 FEBRUARY OPERA: Marriage of Figaro in English. Hexagon, 7.30, 3up GIG: Mori Wilson and the Imaginations, University students Union, 8-1 ? WEDNESDAY 17 FEBRUARY CONCERT: Philharmonia orchestra playing Mozart and Strauss Hexagon 7.30 3.50up CONCERT: Penta brass, quintet. Palmer building, Uni campus, 2.15, 15p JAZZ: Tudor Tavern, as last week. FILM: All that Jazz. Bob Fosse of Cabaret fame, semi-autobiographical, about a choreographer. Exciting dance sequences. RFT 8pm, 90p up THURSDAY 18 FEBRUAY FOLK: Cap & Gown, something... CONCERT: Hexagon at lunchtime. 1.10. something... free FOLK: The Spinners. Bland and boring middle of the road. Hexagon. FRIDAY 19 FEBRUARY THEATRE: Four fringe plays performed by Reading University Drama Society. Hexagon, 7.30, 1.50up DISCO: Students Union as last week SATURDAY 20 FEBRUARY GAYBOP: Reading Gay Youth trip to London to avant garde gay disco. Phone Phil on Reading 582143. MIDDAY MUSIC: Folk, Waterfall, Hexagon, 12.15, free MUSIC: Mozart requiem, Reading Mozart Choir, Leighton Park School, Shinfield Road, 8pm, 1.50 up SUNDAY 21 FEBRUARY FOLK: Irish folk at the Hexagon, 7.30, 3up FILM: Assault on Precinct 13. Uni students Union, 4pm, 7pm, ? - - - ANOTHER LETTER: 'Dear Red Rag typist...' The back page of the last Red Rag had an article 'The Lost Crusade' written by an obvious activist; who one presumes to have been on the last few Torness occupations, been on the Luxulyan occupation, been outside the gates of USA base Greenham Common - if not actually on the march - perhaps even helping to set up another peace camp at Molesworth USAF base, as well as doing all the mundane tasks such as door-to-door leafletting, petitioning, organising events, street theatre, protesting and giving the general support to events that the average sedentary anti nuclear protester does. If that person has done half as much activising then perhaps that wasn't quite so hypocritical - we all know we should do more. But enough negative criticism, what I think was wrong with the content was: 1 There is a lot of nonviolent direct action going on in Great Britain all the time and has been for a long time. Most of it is locally initiated as some people believe it should be, as a result of the local community reacting to a threat rather than summer crowds of out-of-work students, hippies, vagrants, 'activists' etc moving into a foreign locality, causing a lot of disturbance and ill-feeling. 2 I believe that a rocket attack on a nuclear power station construction site is no greater a gesture than a protest march. True, it attacks a symptom, and no doubt delays construction, but stops there. To bring about any change we need to get down to the root causes which govern our 'society' and question and change those values. Not solely make gestures, however sincere and dramatic, of defiance which do nothing constructive to help change those values - the system - which I guess you want to do. 3 An ultra-aggressive act - like a rocket attack - immediately casts doubts on the sincerity of the movement as a non-violent, non-aggressive, peace and love loving movement which many people are fighting very hard for. The very blunt aggressiveness of it is symptomatic of the patriarchal society we are trying to change (note the cartoon of the french Man beside the flaming reactor). It also brands the movement as criminals - they are outside the law - unreasonable - extremists and for many unconvinced people, ie the vast majority this is an image that will stick for a long time, will be very hard to get away from, and to many 'average decent people' completely unacceptable. Also in the face of a worse public image, a harsh gendarme backlash may drive the fringe activists of the movement further outside (underground) - into a more violent more paramilitary stance - with more alienation and polarisation within and without the movement. 4 Without the support of the vast majority of people _ ie 'the working / out of work class' we will NEVER, change anything for the better. The only support a rocket attack will win will be from a few other converts vis-a-vis the writer of the last article - therefore it is unproductive insofar as it is counter change. Remember France in 68 - we have nothing like that strength or depth of support and only risk losing credibility. 5 Most activists (I think) in GB are in favour of NON VIOLENT direct action eg Greenham Common, Luxulyan etc. It forms the basis of what we are fighting for and against. Any rocket attack is scarcely nonviolent - by any definition - the article failed to say what damage was done and whether there were any injuries or fatalities inflicted on people (there probably weren't, I don't know). Whilst I appreciate that the English have a peculiarly puritanical and very deep rooted respect for other people's (and their own) property, I still believe that a rocket attack even on an out of use outhouse violates the principle of nonviolence and if you show such a complete lack of respect to them and their property, then don't complain when the police, 'using reasonable force' rip your coat or fracture your skull. 6 Because you believe that time is running out - it doesn't necessarily mean that it is - it may be, I don't know but if it isn't then we should not be indulging in negative, destructive, last minute sabotage efforts and should be concentrating on a peaceful positive approach. It's all in the mind and if you are trying to make your mind up make it as LOVING PEACEFUL as possible and if you are going to do anything then have respect for the objectives of other people in the movement and don't thoughtlessly jeopardise what they are working for. Direct action in GB is blossoming on a broader scale but it still needs to be positive and peaceful - no-one wants a few aggressive activists screwing everybody's hopes up. 'If we don't learn to love one another then surely we must all die and in your hearts you know this to be true'. Love, Polonius - - - BUSINESS NEWS If you want Red Rag to continue its noble tradition of misspelling, mixed metaphors, wrong facts, and confused political judgements, send all your money (cheques to 'Red Rag') to the treasurer c/o 181 Shinfield Road Reading. We think we have about 50 in the bank, having spent 16 on paper etc this week, and have received donations from the Labour History Group (5), and Oliver (1). Thanks. Also our bankers orders continue to feed in some useful money. A Rag this size costs about 25 to make. We are looking for a reliable second hand electric duplicator now, for which we will pay a reasonable amount - so if you have one, let us know. - - - $Id: //info.ravenbrook.com/user/ndl/readings-only-newspaper/issue/1982/1982-02-07.txt#3 $