Catering For Change To begin with, the kitchen at St Paul’s served up surprisingly good food, but as the occupation rumbled on, various ingredients were omitted in an attempt to cater for everybody. First went the meat so that vegetarians were not excluded, then the use of spices was curtailed […]
Bankers’ bonuses, MPs’ expenses and police-media corruption grab headlines, but these are only the most visible of the injustices that the existing political and economic system is built upon. Every day is filled with smaller injustices. These can be economic: pay cuts, unpaid overtime, benefits cuts or rent hikes; or […]
September was billed as a turning point in the eurozone crisis, but after a week of mass anti-austerity protests in Spain, Portugal and Greece, the only thing I can take from this month is that politicians are still unable to stop the continent’s unrelenting decline into social turmoil. Despite the efforts […]
With the aim of providing a demonstration of the efficiency and cost effectiveness market forces can provide, in a humbling display of tri-partisanship, the three main Westminster political parties decided to hold their entire conference season in an alternate universe – built for them by Capita and G4S. The decision was […]
When a local community loses its heart, it’s inevitable that it will die. Local communities can be built around many things; a church, a pub, a cricket club. In Friern Barnet, it is the local library which is the focus of the community. It is situated on the village green, and […]
A year has passed since the violent eviction of Dale Farm, a Traveller site in Essex. The eviction cost £4.8m, resulted in 35 arrests and left 80 families homeless. On the anniversary of the eviction, the OT speaks to some of those whose lives have been changed by the challenges […]
“Shut Down Wall Street” still has a certain ring to it, even one year on. But #S17 was never going to succeed in matching the occupation that came to define last year’s movement, despite a four-figure turnout and a well publicised, wide-reaching plan of action. (Transparency in planning may be […]
When we arrived at 7.30am, the NYPD had already locked down much of the centre of New York’s financial district. This prevented some of the more set-piece actions from taking place, such as the “human wall” to block off access to the New York Stock Exchange. Many of us were kettled […]
In the 39th episode of “Star Trek: The Next Generation”, Jean-Luc Picard, the captain of the starship Enterprise, finds himself in the unique situation of having to confront his future self. Through a recovered video log, this future Picard is shown to have arrived from a few hours ahead in time, […]
COP You’ve thrown your fair share of sticks and stones, and broken plenty of bones where necessary. But it really is the words that hurt, isn’t it? You’re out there everyday pounding the streets (as well as political dissent) and what kind of appreciation do you get from your lords […]