Reviews

Alt.Mags

Reviews by Jelly Bean

Squall 15, Summer 1997, pg. 55.

[* The websites listed here have been linked to Wayback Machine archived snapshots of the sites where available, so they can be viewed as they appeared in 1997, or thereabouts].

Corporate Watch

Focussing on industry's driving of the economic machine, issue 3 of CORPORATE WATCH investigates and exposes corporate connivance and coercion

Kicking off with a trawl through the mainstream media's recent findings, this A4, 28-page magazine leads with the story of the Sea Empress, grounded off the coast of South Wales in Spring, 1996, concluding that business considerations were valued over those of the environment.

Following articles focus on the arms trade and Nirex. A guide to cross-industry lobby groups, the Confederation of British Industry and the roads lobby give insights to cross-corporate interests. News of campaign updates let you know of activists working in your most despised arena.

Whilst not as polished as the Ethical Consumer this magazine has a similar feel, albeit aimed not so much at reducing consumption but more at direct action.

£1.50 from: Corporate Watch, Box E, 111 Magdalen Road, Oxford, OX4 1RQ. Tel/fax: 01865 791 391.
e-mail: mail@corporatewatch.i-way.co.uk
http://www.oneworld.org/cw * (from Feb 1999)

* Present-day website https://corporatewatch.org

Frontline

One of the better-presented magazines on the alt.market at the moment is FRONTLINE. Costing £1.80, Spring '97's edition is a stylish, shiny, A4, pink, 48-pager that zaps you through alt.culture's subcultures with grace.

Coming, essentially, from a traveller angle, this magazine is celebratory and has articles on the Harvest Fayre, Czech technivals, "Full on '96" and traveller culture in Germany. Respects are paid to land activists in an obituary for the Wandsworth eco-village and a spokesperson for the Green Party endorses NVDA. A section on 'real women' adds a certain style to the content while a feature on Mamalocous circus continues that vein.

You can get a copy of Frontline from selected bookshops all over the country. If you have trouble getting a copy try:
Frontline Advertising & Distribution,
Victoria Road, Yarmouth, IoW, PO41 0QW.
Tel: 0973 328640.
http://www.c-comm.demon.co.uk/frontline/frontline.html *

The Law

"Progressive but interesting" is how THE LAW describes itself. An odd choice, you think, until you get inside. This tabloid paper is put together by activists on the inside of the law.

The April/May issue's cover story features Rob Christopher, of the Cannabis Hemp Information Club (CHIC), who tried to hand himself to the police after distributing hash cakes in Hyde Park. Below-the-belt legal gossip, miscarriages of justice and prisoners, JSA madness, arrests at Stonehenge, immigration & refugees all feature in a 32page, quarterly.

Towards the back of the paper is a deft analysis tying in refusal of legal status to refugees with British foreign policy, the media and corporate interests. Interspersed with news, ads, reviews and letters, The Law is indeed progressive, and certainly very interesting.

The Law,
PO Box 3837, London SW12 9ZE.
Tel/fax: 0181 673 0062.
Subscriptions are £4 per year.

Faslania

To compensate for the lamentable lack of coverage within Squall of the Faslane peace camp, check out FASLANIA the regular news-zine from Faslane protestors against Trident submarines and their Clyde nuclear base.

The Spring/Equinox edition of FASLANIA tells of actions against warhead convoys, information on nuclear dumping, frontline reports of direct action, poetry and personal accounts. Twelve A4 pages are available from
Faslane Peace Camp, Shandon, Helensburgh, Dunbartonshire, Scotland.

Be sure to enclose a healthy donation to support postage, and activity.