All the Background Information Briefs
(in alphabetical order)

So, maybe you read something in one of the interviews that was wasn't linked to more info & you want to know more about it. Try checking this list. If it's not here, or on our Index or Read All About It pages, please email us & we'll try & track down whatever it is & add it here.

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• 15 Criteria for Sustainable Development
  A document prepared by The Land Is Our's Rural Planning Group, composed of land-rights activists, scientists, permaculturalists, legal experts, and development, policy, and planning specialists. It provides various models of the types of rural development which could be considered sustainable in the UK. Factors examined include the ecological soundness of a given project and its permacultural design, local transportation issues, affordable housing, historical and legal issues pertaining to land-trusts and cooperatives, and how members of a community can meet the economic requirements of living in a cash economy. [ top ]
  
  
• Anarchist Teapot
  Started in Brighton in 1996, with the grand idea that serving free tea and providing a place for people to hang out and chat would create positive social relations and overcome the alienated relationships imposed by capitalism. They've squatted a series of spaces, organized an anarchist local history tour, provided food for a direct action conference, and held a Critical Mass on the beach. They've also set up a reading room and info-shop. Their motto is: "To have free minds we must have free tea!" Anarchist Teapots are brewing in other towns around the UK, too. [ top ]
  
  
• Big Issue
  Excellent weekly news magazine sold by the homeless as a means of self-employment. An independent and critical voice focusing on issues of economic and political justice, and on cultural and media commentary. [ top ]
  
  
• CND and Committee of 100
  Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) was founded in January 1958 in response to the escalating nuclear arms race and the British government's decision to test a nuclear warhead in 1952. Its first president was philosopher and scientist Bertrand Russell. CND organized marches against the atomic weapons research lab at Aldermaston, and their circular peace symbol was taken up by activists around the world. Russell was also involved in the more radical Committee of 100. Influenced by the Direct Action Group, which had attempted to disrupt British atomic tests in the Pacific in 1958, the Committee of 100 held a series of high-profile sit-ins in London in 1961. Internal disputes regarding direct action and civil disobedience racked CND. It stagnated until the 1980s, when CND became a significant force in the massive anti-nuclear protests in the UK. [ top ]
  
  
• Crass
  Legendary anarcho-punks. [ top ]
  
  
• Criminal Justice Act
  The Criminal Justic Act was passed in 1994 after extensive protest on the part of the diverse ravers, Travellers, festival-goers, squatters, eco-activists, and other partiers and protesters it was designed to repress. The activities of all these groups were criminalized: gathering in public without a permit, camping outside of designated (pricey) camping areas, dancing to music "characterized by a series of repetitive beats," having a free party without a license. Consequences range from fines to imprisonment. Under the CJA, expanded law-enforcement powers have meant that persons whom police merely suspect of being engaged in, or intending to engage in, such illegal activities are now subject to surveillance and prosecution. In fact, police have the right to search people even if they have no grounds for suspecting a crime. Many legal freedoms which had been taken for granted, such as the right to be set free on bail while awaiting trial and the right to remain silent after an arrest, were overturned. Many activists and partiers agree that, ironically, the draconian threat of the CJA has forced diverse groups of people to organize together, and to acknowledge that they face a common enemy. This has led to creative and novel strategies for protest and partying which otherwise may not have emerged, and contributed to a vibrant and organized oppositional culture in the UK. [ top ]
  
  
• Diggers
  The legendary 1649 peasant movement to reclaim the commons. [ top ]
  
  
• Do or Die
  Radical ecoactivist journal out of Brighton, UK. [ top ]
  
  
• Evading Standards
  A hilarious prank newspaper produced for RTS street parties, spoofing the London newspaper the Evening Standard in format and style. On June 18th 1999, the front-page headline screamed "Global Market Meltdown" (by-line Wat Tyler & Emma Goldman). Inside were a range of articles and photos, from info and opinion on the growing world-wide resistance to globalization, to a 1649 letter from Digger Winstanley to the City of London. Similar to the spoof Seattle Post-Intelligencer on N30 one year later. [ top ]
  
  
• Friends of the Earth
  Founded in 1969 by the former executive director of the Sierra Club, David Brower, FoE employed direct action campaigns to force the media and public policy-makers to attend to environmental issues (in the 1970s largely whaling and nuclear power). In the U.S., FoE became primarily a lobbying organization fairly early on. FoE UK maintained its direct action and grassroots focus into the 1980s. It now combines expert lobbying with local campaigns and is considered so respectable that Prince Charles appears at its fundraisers (much to the dismay of many). [ top ]
  
  
• Greenham Common
  A pacifist anti-nuclear encampment outside of the Air Force Base at Greenham Common, near Newbury in Berkshire. The camp was set up in September 1981, in response to the United States' 1979 decision to deploy 140 cruise missiles at the base. In February 1982, the camp became women-only space. Many anti-nuclear camps were set up at other military bases around the UK and elsewhere in the world, but Greenham women attracted worldwide attention for their creative and courageous direct actions against the missiles and their sustained commitment to peace. In 1989 the U.S announced plans to withdraw from Greenham, and the last missiles left in 1991. The majority of protesters had left by this time, though a few vowed to continue their vigil until the common returned to civilian use. [ top ]
  
  
• Guy Debord
  Self-appointed leader & one of the main sources of energy & innovation within the Situationist International. Author of the painfully dense yet ultimately insightful sociopolitical critique Society of the Spectacle. Killed himself in 1994. [ top ]
  
  
• Hakim Bey
  Provocative anarchist writer, poet & scholar. His concept of the TAZ (Temporary Autonomous Zone), along with his concept of "poetic terrorism," have been discussed & argued about quite a bit in the anarcho & radical milieu. [ top ]
  
  
• Harry Cleaver
  Autonomist, radical Marxist theorist, economist, teacher, & activist. Currently involved with Acción Zapatista in Austin, Texas. [ top ]
  
  
• hunt sabotage
  Incredibly dangerous form of direct action where activists engage in the interruption of fox hunts and other types of hunting by confusing the hounds, blocking the passage of hunters, scaring off the intended animal victim, and otherwise physically preventing the quarry from being pursued and killed. Dangerous because you can end up being the quarry instead![ top ]
  
  
• Inter-Continental Caravan (ICC)
  500 members of the Karnataka State Farmers Association, and 100 folks from other countries, toured around Europe in the spring and summer of 1999 to publicize the detrimental effects of globalization and free trade on their communities, cultures, and livelihoods. Along the way, they participated in protests at the European Union summit meeting in Cologne in May, and at the G8 summit on June 18th. The Karnataka State Farmers Association (a huge Indian farmers's group) along with other Indian farmers and fisherfolk have engaged in such varied actions as burning genetically engineered crops, fasting, blockading harbors, dismantling multinational corporate factories, occupying dam-construction sites, and marching in crowds 50,000 (in Karnataka) and 200,000 (in Hyderabad) strong against government offices. [ top ]
  
  
• Joseph Beuys
  Innovative & provocative German artist (1921-1986). One of the original founders of the Green Party. Believed that "...creativity isn't the monopoly of artists. This is the crucial fact I've come to realise, and this broader concept of creativity is my concept of art. When I say everybody is an artist, I mean everybody can determine the content of life in his particular sphere, whether in painting, music, engineering, caring for the sick, the economy or whatever. All around us the fundamentals of life are crying out to be shaped or created." [ top ]
  
  
• June 18th (J18)
  The Carnival Against Capital. Huge mass action of summer 1999, organized by RTS & a broad coalition of other groups including EF!, People's Global Action, etc. The significance of this event lies in the organizers' attempt to coordinate a global set of protests all for one date, to reveal & ignite "a resistance as transnational as capital." A number of different countries responded with everything from mass demonstrations to street theater, lockdowns to street parties. [ top ]
  
  
• Justice?
  A Brighton-based group founded in April 1994 to oppose the Criminal Justice Bill. After passage of the Criminal Justice Act, Justice? continued to fight against the provisions of the CJA in their multifarious manifestations. In addition to community actions, squats, etc., Justice? publishes the weekly SchNews, which covers every form of "counter" cultural life targeted by the CJA: squatting and land rights, freedom of public assembly, free parties, travellers, festivals, road protests, organized labor and strikes, hunt-sab and animal rights, welfare benefits and welfare cuts, unemployment and homelessness. Increased awareness and mobilization around these wide-ranging issues has led Justice? and SchNews to a more global perspective on how issues in the UK are related to the world economic, political, and ecological situation. [ top ]
  
  
• Kemptown Network
  Founded in 1998, this is a Brighton-area bunch of community-oriented people working together make good things happen. Their newsletter, Kemptown Networker, features short informative descriptions of local organizations, postings of meetings and events, calls for ideas and volunteers, and phone numbers for various local services and resources. Groups mentioned in the February 1999 issue included Hindu women's and elders' groups, a youth network, a support and advocacy group for people with learning disabilities, a rehearsal space for bands and studio space for artists, a women's co-op, and a space which provides temporary accommodation for young homeless women. [ top ]
  
  
• Levellers (the band)
  Excellent high-energy UK band, full of radical fire, formed in early 1988. They've become huge in England, headlining some of the largest music festivals. With some of the extra dosh they have on hand due to this fame, they provide free rent to various activist groups, like SchNews. [ top ]
  
  
• Liverpool Dockers
  Dock workers that went on strike protesting inhuman conditions & the privatization of dock work against the Merseyside Docks Co., all without the backing of their official union, who betrayed every principle of solidarity & declared the strike "illegal." Their actions eventually had international consequences as dockworkers from around the world rallied in solidarity with their cause with work stoppages, cargo refusal, strikes & sitdowns. Down side is, they never got hired back on. [ top ]
  
  
• M41 Action
  A momentous RTS street carnival on July 13, 1996, attended by 10,000 people, during which a short stretch of London motorway was occupied. All day and late into the night, people partied, juggled, ate, chatted, danced, and played in a temporary sandbox in the fast-lane Huge colorful banners hung across the six-lane highway, and creativity ran amok, though one creative and transformative action should be noted in particular: Hidden under the skirts of two huge carnivalesque bag-pipe-playing figures in towering wigs, people dug up the tarmac and planted saplings in the road. The message was clear and the transformation tangible: trees not roads. The Highways Agency was forced to close the road for several days afterwards in order to resurface it. This action received an extremely serious response by law enforcement. [ top ]
  
  
• May 1968
  One of the largest & most effective general strikes in modern European history, not to mention the largest wildcat strike ever (far as we know). Thousands of students & workers took to the streets of Paris & effectively shut the authorities out, turning the inner city into a temporary autonomous zone. The Situationists had a lot to do with this, as well as anarchists, commies, trots & other radical groups. [ top ]
  
  
• Miners' Strike
  The Miners' strike (1984-85) was a struggle against Thatcher's imposition of an "efficient" free-market economy and withdrawal of state support from nationalized industries. Led by the world's oldest organized labor movement, the strike was brutally crushed by police forces who beat, intimidated, and even killed striking miners and their supporters. [ top ]
  
  
• Movimiento Sem Terra
  Brazilian Landless Movement - Brazil's largest and most radical social movement. Since 1984, tens of thousands of landless families in Brazil have taken direct action to sieze the land they need to live in safety, to build homes, to grow food, and to survive. In 1997, 50,000 families were squatting 244 areas of unused land. As of February 1998, 150,000 families had won legal title to the lands they had appropriated. In addition to land-squats, the MST has hijacked truck loads of food and other goods and re-distributed these necessities to the poor and landless. The MST has been the target of violence by landowners, the police, and the military. Since 1984, over 1,600 peasants have been killed, but only two of the murderers have been convicted. In April 1997, a massive march from Sao Paulo to Brasilia gained limited governmental response to the MST demands for land re-distribution, despite campaign promises of significant land reform by the president. Despite harsh opposition, the MST is going strong (as of 1999), with 50 new land occupations per month. [ top ]
  
  
• Newbury
  A major anti-road campaign which began in 1994. The government refused to conduct a legally-mandated environmental impact study, and ignored objective environmental reports advising against the scheme. Direct action against the road was most intense in 1995-1996. Strategies included breaking through security fences and occupying land, building well-defended tree-camps, D-locking onto machinery, blocking security and contractors' transport vehicles with tripods and human chains, and damaging property. Each camp required an eviction order to remove, making them a successful stalling strategy, the focus of specific battles with security and police (e.g., Rickety Bridge), as well as a place to live. Over 700 people were arrested during this phase, the Third Battle of Newbury. At a rally in January 1997, which began placidly, protesters' rage at the senseless destruction was expressed through torching a dump truck, port-a-potty, and crane-cab (much to the distress of the staid Friends of the Earth). January 1999 marked the beginning of a new phase of the campaign, and protesters closed the road for a day. Ongoing efforts focus on saving the countryside near the by-pass from the threat of infill development, and highlighting the ecological damage caused by the road. [ top ]
  
  
• No-M11 Campaign and Claremont Road
  The 3.5 mile M11 Link Road in East London destroyed 350 houses, including the home of local celebrity 93 year-old Dolly, who refused to leave the house she was born in. Parks, trees & woodland were also demolished. At an estimated cost of £350 million, the M11 Link Road was expected to cut 7 minutes off the commute of people who didn't even live in the neighborhood, & exemplified the absurdity and injustice of the government's road-building program. Claremont Road & the No-M11 Campaign represented a significant moment in the anti-road protest movement. It involved a powerful alliance of local residents, including children & elderly people, who experienced the M11 plan as not only an ecological threat but a social & economic injustice. Claremont Road became the main focus of the campaign against the M11 Link Road after a sweet chestnut tree was cut down in Dec. '93. In an attempt to save the ancient tree, it had become the first tree in the UK to be accepted as a legal mailing address & thus a residence. The road was squatted, & soon houses along the road were painted, art-work & sculpture filled the street, bands played, & an outdoor living room was set up complete with furniture. During the final eviction of Claremont Road in December 1994, bailiffs & police faced off against 500 protesters who utilized a range of non-violent stalling tactics: a concrete-filled car blocked the road, people locked onto the street, hung in nets across the road, buried themselves under piles of rubble, & crowded onto rooftops & tree houses. A 100-foot-high grease-coated scaffold tower atop one of the buildings was held by twelve people until the end of the eviction. [ top ]
  
  
• Notting Hill Carnival
  The Notting Hill Carnival has been taking place in London, on the last weekend in August, for the past thirty-five years. This great festival began initially from the energies of Black immigrants from the Caribbean, particularly from Trinidad, where the Carnival tradition is very strong, and from people living locally who dreamed of creating a festival to bring together the people of Notting Hill, most of whom were facing racism, lack of working opportunities, and poor housing conditions resulting in a generally frustrating situation. In recent years, it has been, like most good things, relentlessly commodified & commercialized by skeezy capitalists. [ top ]
  
  
• Ontario Coalition Against Poverty
  Canadian coalition engaged in Direct Action Casework to defend and support people suffering the effects of welfare cuts. An OCAP activist says: "At every point Ontario Coalition Against Poverty is looking for the very best way available to engage the enemies of the unemployed, to cause them pain, to hurt their cash flow, or disrupt their workings and, in this way, force concessions out of them." Their tactics have included occupying welfare offices, picketing the homes of irresponsible and unprofessional welfare managers, disrupting business lunches, taking over an empty hospital and demanding that the city council turn it into a homeless hostel, and fighting off police attempts to remove homeless people sleeping in a park. A series of specific, small battles has been won with great success, and the group has been growing in numbers and influence. [ top ]
  
  
• Oxleas Wood
  A high-profile anti-road campaign. The original government plans involved a river-crossing, the destruction of a large portion of Oxleas Wood, and the destruction of Bleak Hill (old haunt of notorious highway-man Dick Turpin). Due to vociferous protest, and to the great expense and negative PR the government faced during the Twyford Down campaign, plans were put on hold. This made it the first road-building project to be postponed, and possibly scrapped, due to public pressure. DoT ownership of a road and fifty houses in the area, and possible road construction plans for a more limited project, still threaten, however. [ top ]
  
  
• Paris Commune
  After watching Napoleon III offer their city up to the Prussian army like a sacrifical lamb, the revolutionary workers of Paris rose up, armed themselves, and established the Commune, a worker-run communist society, on March 18, 1871. It was savagely & brutally crushed a few months later. It has since served as a revolutionary historical touchstone for generations of commies, socialists, anarchists & other radicals. [ top ]
  
  
• Peoples' Global Action (PGA)
  From the 23rd to the 25th of February 1998, peoples' movements from all continents met in Geneva and launched a worldwide coordination of resistance against the global market, a new alliance of struggle and mutual support called the Peoples' Global Action against "Free" Trade and the World Trade Organisation (WTO). The first worldwide co-ordination of local struggles during the WTO ministerial conference in Geneva in May 1998 was a huge success: many different demos, actions and Global Street Parties took place on all five continents from the 16th to the 20th of May. [ top ]
  
  
• permaculture
  Permaculture is about designing sustainable ecological human habitats and food production systems. It is a land use and community building movement which strives for the harmonious integration of human dwellings, microclimate, annual and perennial plants, animals, soils, and water into stable, productive communities. More recently, permaculture has expanded its purview to include economic and social structures that support the evolution and development of more permanent communities, such as co-housing projects and eco-villages. [ top ]
  
  
• Poll Tax
  A poll tax is an anti-democratic per-capita tax. Institution of a poll tax by Thatcher was greeted by massive popular opposition & riots in Trafalgar Square in early 1990. Many feel that outrage over state brutality against the miners coupled with the nationwide uprising against the Poll Tax helped kick-start the new wave of direct action in the UK during the 1990s. [ top ]
  
  
• Provos
  Dutch group of activist-artists operating in the early '60s. They set the stage for the creation of the Merry Pranksters, Diggers, and Yippies. They were the first to combine non-violence and absurd humor to create social change. They created the first "Happenings" and "Be-Ins." Also the first to actively campaign against marijuana prohibition. [ top ]
  
  
• Situationist International
  Avant-garde group of revolutionary artists that coalesced around 1957 in France. Their incisive theories (especially that of "the spectacle") & imaginative tactics have had a powerful & lasting effect on radical culture & politics. They are best known for their instrumental role in the May 1968 uprisings in Paris. [ top ]
  
  
• Socialist Workers Party (SWP)
  Borg-like commie group. The bane of many a protest or organizing attempt. While no doubt many a good soul is involved in the various SWPs around the world, their cult-like & often histrionic adherence to Trotskyist ideology makes them damn near impossible to talk to about anything coherent. [ top ]
  
  
• Square Mile (& Squaring Up to the Square Mile)
  Refers to the area of the City of London, defined by the medieval walls of the city, which is the world's most important financial center. London handles more foreign exchange, has more foreign banks, and deals with more foreign stocks than any other city in the world. While a large percentage of London's financial business occurs outside this concentrated area, the Square Mile is both a tangible and symbolic focus of the staggering wealth and power being manipulated by global capitalists. Squaring Up to the Square Mile is a pamphlet prepared by Corporate Watch and London Reclaim the Streets for the June 18th Carnival Against Capital. Detailed maps of the City of London pin-point the location of many institutions, banks, corporate headquarters, and watering holes wherein the fate of the world is bandied about every day. The pamphlet includes clear, concise definitions of key financial and economic terms (stocks, futures, loans, currency exchange, investments, commodities), bringing the abstract concepts and esoteric vocabulary of global finance down to a concrete, intelligible level. An invaluable educational tool for critics and opponents of globalization. [ top ]
  
  
• Squatters' Agency
  A 1996 action by Justice? in Brighton, as part of a nationwide Homeless Week organized by anti-homelessness organization SHELTER. The Squatters' Estate Agency posted listings of empty properties around Brighton, complete with descriptions, photos, & free info on the legal aspects of sqatting. The idea drew on the history of sqatting experience Justice? had accumulated since the Courthouse squat. Unexpectedly, the Squatters' Estate Agency became a national & international media extravaganza. Plans for the location of the Agency had to be changed, Operation Argus was born, & a building was secured by a crack team of Direct Action commandos. The eviction order came within 24 hours, but the Agency managed to stay open for ten days, fighting off the bailiffs' attempts to evict them. A few folks were successfully housed through the Agency's efforts, meetings were held, SchNews was produced, interviews were granted, documentaries filmed, & all in all it was a productive action highlighting homelessness, the lack of affordable housing, and the legality & effectiveness of squatting. [ top ]
  
  
• Stanworth Valley tree camp
  The main focus of the anti-M65 campaign in Lancashire after police succeeded in evicting protesters from squatted row-houses in Blackburn. Deep in the rainy woods, hundreds of rope walkways linked trees & treehouses 60 feet & more up in the air. Deep gucky mud & the steep sides of the valley protected the trees & protesters from police in cherry pickers until their eventual eviction in 1995. [ top ]
  
  
• Stonehenge
  In 1985, an annual free festival celebrating the summer solstice at Stonehenge was violently repressed by police. At the infamous Battle of the Beanfield, police attacked a group of non-violent Travellers and festival-goers, known as the Peace Convoy, on their way to the festival. The unprovoked violence of police, who viciously beat people and smashed up the Convoy's caravans, received national exposure and provoked widespread outrage. Despite extreme police misconduct, the festival, along with any unauthorized pagan or festive presence at the stones on the summer solstice, has been prohibited. On the solstice in 1999, after announcing that Stonehenge was open to visitors, police again attacked & arrested people coming to celebrate the festival holiday. [ top ]
  
  
• Strawberry Fair
  One of the oldest & largest free festivals in England, dating back to the Middle Ages. Rocking music, tons of food, dancing, crafts, crazy people, performances & much more. Definitely worth a visit if you're in or about Cambridge on or about the first or second Saturday in June. Completely independent & non-profit, all volunteer-run. [ top ]
  
  
• St. George's Hill & the Diggers 350th anniversary
  In 1659, the Diggers took up spades and dug up the common land on "George-hill" in Surrey. Here, as with the other sites they claimed for the common good, they sought to cultivate the land for the collective benefit of the poor and landless. The Diggers are a central inspiration for the land-rights campaign conducted by The Land Is Ours. The 1649 George Hill action was commemorated by TLIO's Diggers 350 celebrations. Events throughout the months of March and April 1999 included a working and planning week, discussions and entertainment, and a conference. The April 1999 St. George's Hill action included a march and a temporary land-occupation with an eco-village and gardens planted. Today, St. George's Hill is an exclusive gated community with its own security force and two golf courses. [ top ]
  
  
• Twyford Down
  South-east of Winchester in Hampshire, amidst the chalk hills of the South Downs, Twyford Down marked the culmination of the anti-M3 campaign. For many years, the M3 motorway from London to the southern port town of Southampton had been opposed through conventional methods by a wide coalition of locals (the Twyford Down Association) and Friends of the Earth. The road-building project involved a shady trade of public lands between Winchester College, an exclusive school for privileged students, and the Department of Transport. In addition to class issues, ecological and cultural destruction were also central issues in the campaign. Construction work began in February 1992, and was met by creative direct action from the Dongas Tribe and others, who squatted the land and set up camps along the route of the road. During a key battle on December 9, 1992 (Yellow Wednesday), the private security forces hired to remove the protesters used such extreme violence that twenty-two security guards subsequently quit. Publicity following this overt state-sanctioned violence fueled further protests. Tactics shifted from squatting the land to actively disrupting and delaying construction work. Massive trespass actions to break through security forces and razor-wire fences were organized by Road Alert!, the Dongas, and Earth First! The road was finally completed in 1994, but the repercussions of Twyford Down were positive, powerful and far-reaching. The size, creativity, and intensity of protests led to national scrutiny of the road-building program, and encouraged other anti-road protests around the countr. [ top ]
  
  
• Wandsworth (Guinness site)
  In May 1996, 500 TLIO activists occupied 13 acres of derelict land along the banks of the River Thames in Wandsworth. The land, owned by Guinness, had been vacant for six years, but was scheduled to be the site of a superstore (the ninth within a 1.5 mile radius) and luxury apartments. Raised-bed veggie gardens were planted and a village was constructed of recycled materials. Locals were involved in building and running the eco-community, and thousands of folks came to visit. After holding the "Pure Genius" occupation for almost six months, 150 people on site were ousted by bailiffs acting for Guinness. The eco-village was destroyed. Incredibly, Guinness won an Ecology Sponsorship Award in Geneva the same week that they ordered the eviction. [ top ]
  
  
• Winstanley & his Watchword to the City of London
  Gerrard Winstanley was a leader of the radical Diggers movement during the English Revolution/Civil War. The Diggers took over areas of public land, living and laboring cooperatively, sharing the produce and resources of the land, with a respect for the equality and dignity of each person, regardless of status, wealth, class or gender. They rejected private property and the laws which protected private ownership of resources which by rights should belong to all. In his 1649 open letter to the City of London, Winstanley wrote that "the earth shall be made a common Treasury of livelihood to whole mankind (Everie man, both Male and Female) without respect of persons," and proclaimed that, even though he had written about and publicized his beliefs to great effect, he came to believe that "words and writings were all nothing, and must die, for action is the life of all, and if thou dost not act thou dost nothing." The issues of enclosure of common land for private use and economic injustice resonate across the centuries, and Winstanley's values, vision, and actions remain relevant today. [ top ]
  
  
• Zapatistas
  Rebel guerrilla organization in Mexico focussed upon (re)claiming land & freedom for the indigenous & poor peoples of Mexico. First came to world attention on January 1st, 1994 when over 100,000 people marched on Mexico City shouting "First World Ha, Ha, Ha!" One of the first grassroots organizations to utilize the Internet as a powerful & effective tool for media exposure & rallying international support.

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