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 March 18th (scan / txt); the next one is due out on April 1st.

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): A Prison Workshop is planned for those risking imprisonment as a result of taking part in recent Non-Violent Direct Actions and not wishing to be bound over or pay fines; two senior staff at a Social Services Assessment centre in Reading are suspended pending the investigation of financial irregularities (such as the misappropriation of residents' court fines); NHS management use the threat of privatisation to force hospital workers to accept higher work-rates and worse working conditions; a huge new road network will turn Reading into a transport disaster area; Stop The City Mark 2 will focus on "People not Profit: a day of creative protest"; and Acorn's court case is postponed.