Reviews

In-Sites

Web sites review by Annette Hed

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].

It's always fortifying to know in this age of increasing surveillance that someone is bugging the buggers. STATEWATCH is a hard copy magazine published six times a year, doing just that; keeping abreast of European civil liberties and security service manoeuvres. Its website is less a fountain of colour visuals, more a deep reservoir of accurate information. With the web offering a deluge of information, the accuracy of which you can never be sure of, Statewatch are reliable to the max. Their Textract database means you can find anything they've covered at the drop of a quick word search. Its an essential research site whilst also accessible to the peripherally interested browser.

http://www.statewatch.org * (from Oct 1999)

PRIVACY INTERNATIONAL (PI) was formed in 1990 as a watchdog on surveillance by governments and corporations across the globe. It runs a latest news service on developments in encryption, surveillance, and a multitude of issues relating to our privacy. PI are based in London, although administered by the Electronic Privacy Information Centre in Washington DC. Nevertheless it has members in more than 40 countries and has good global coverage. Simon Davies operates on behalf of the PI in the UK and writes regularly about surveillance in the national press. His articles, like the entire web-site, are seriously on the case and once again accessible. PI also publish a quarterly newsletter and organise conferences. Vital info.

http://www.privacy.org/pi * (from Jan 1998)

UK Free Outdoor Party Network. Despite the prevalence of vomit yellow backgrounds (on our browser anyway!), this is a great site for free party people in the north of England. Acting as a bulletin board they aim to provide a guide to midnight manoeuvres in the summer and happy hideaways in the winter. Where possible, a link to the home pages of the crews concerned is supplied. You can also download homegrown tunes or listen to the tracks that the DJ's themselves rate.

Spawnee Posse and Boom Boom (Manchester), Source (Lancs.) Art Lab (Preston), Top Banana (Sheffield), Ram Raid (Leeds) Children Of Kaos (South West) are among those featured at the moment but if you've got something to shout about the opportunity's there too.

http://www.geocities.com/sunsetstrip/alley *

URBAN 75 have had over 30,000 visitors to their site since the beginning of April '97. With wicked content, design, imagery and graphics, it's not surprising. They strike a superb balance between underground reportage, interactive games, sharp humour, observation and style.

Currently on issue 2.2, Urban 75 are, "...fuelled up... fed up and fucked off with seeing an endless succession of vacuous swanky new magazines purporting to tell us what's happening and where 'the scene' is at... in short, a whole load of vacuous posturing without commitment, conviction or honesty".

After getting in head straight for the face-slapping gallery and 'Belt a Bullshitter'. The aim is to belt, "every blathering bullshitting politician that comes crawling out of their hole". Every time a politician appears on your screen you can give it a resounding virtual slap by pointing your mouse and then click hard! For every hit you score a point. Super Howards earn you a bonus 10 points, but be careful of hitting the spliffed-up 'ecowarrior', you'll lose points (but hey! Who's keeping score here?).

In the news section there's plenty of well-written, information from the underground. In the magazine section you'll find an excellent article on the state of the internet. For those net hedz, 'The Art of Trolling' is a must. Also check out the rave section for a report of rave imagery in corporate advertising and the corporate rave organisations.

Urban 75 may be one of the activist movement's most visible net representatives to 'mainstream' culture. The crew at Urban 75 welcome anyone with a relevant message.

Contact: http://194.112.40.4/urban75/ or if you have trouble try http://www.urban75.demon.co.uk from where you'll be re-directed
[neither of these are retrievable on the Wayback Machine - the earliest version of the Urban75 website available is from January 1998 see here www.urban75.com *

* Present-day Urban75 site - www.urban75.com

Alan Lodge's (aka TASH) home pages have been reviewed before on these pages but, owing to a serious re-vamp and expansion it's necessary to do it again.

Tash has been recording events in the alternative community since the '70s. The site is brimming with photography from the late '70s travelling community, through to events at Stonehenge in 1985, which is accompanied by graphic articles describing events. Late eighties and early nineties rave culture including All Systems Go, the Midlands free party sound system collective allied against the Criminal Justice Bill. Again, photos of that time are accompanied by text describing the gradual erosion of liberties with respect to land-use and freedom to gather.

The activities of police information-gatherers and the massive issue of trespass is covered as well as the drug misuse act originally put forward by Barry Legg (MP-ex).

For a one-man project this site is awesome and whilst some of the images and frames are slow to load, it's well-worth a visit for an all-encompassing view of how public order law has affected 'alternative' culture and the right to protest.

http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/tash_lodge/ *

* Because this copy of Tash's then-website was poorly archived by Wayback Machine, here is another early version of his website, though this one a bit later from May 1999 www.gn.apc.org/tash *

* Tash's current website is a treasure-trove of his amazing photography see here alanlodge.co.uk

A brief mention must be given to both
* SchNEWS, http://www.cbuzz.co.uk/schnews/ *
- and see the current archive of SchNEWS schnews.org

* Stonehenge Campaign, http://www.algroup.co.uk/wpb/stonehen.htm * websites which contain two major contact lists.

* And to the Earth First! http://www.hrc.wmin.ac.uk/campaigns/ef/earthfirst.html site for eco-active news (no archive available) .
- present-day active website for Earth First! UK - www.earthfirst.uk

The final recommendation is UTHER PENDRAGON's site. Activists attending civil/land rights protests over the last few years will be familiar with King Arthur, complete with greying beard, long white robes and Excalibur. He has been arrested several times and, in March, legal papers were filed in the name of King Arthur Pendragon vs the United Kingdom and Ireland over the issue of access rights to Stonehenge and the total exclusion zone that is placed around it. The case, to be heard before the European courts, has yet to receive a hearing date. He has now become the first monarch in history to take his own kingdom to court.

Respects to the once and future king to be paid at http://arthurpendragon.ukonline.co.uk/ *