Recently, some of us at Now or Never! were saddened to learn of the death of an old friend from our animal rights days.  Speaking to comrades from long ago times at her funeral reminded us of just how relevant hunt sabbing still is to challenging blood sports and encourage you to find out more and look into contacting your local hunt sab group

In more uplifting news, we've been dazzled and impressed by Oswald Repents; a local website for local people, focused on issues in the Bawdewsell area. Covering topics truly relevant to local people, like the parish football club, social events, the need for volunteers at the village hall, but with a radical commentary throughout , it's an example of a really excellent grass-root anarchist enterprise. It's not often you see a quote by Buenaventura Durruti next to a report on a Tractor Run to raise money for a village hall! It bought to mind another favourite local website of ours, Bedford Bypass who also mix local issues and anarchist politics in an accessible and engaging manner. If only anarchists in every village, town and city were engaging and participating in local issues in this way. If only we at Now or Never! weren't too busy drinking our own urine , watching zombie porn and making prison hooch to do something worthwhile. If only, if only....

Now or Never!: Briefly, can you explain who you are and your history within Starbucks?

Daniel Gross: I’m a worker and a Wobbly.  I got started in corporate retail at Borders Books and Music. In 2003, I began working as a barista at Starbucks in New York City.  The IWW Starbucks Workers Union [www.StarbucksUnion.org] was founded on May 17, 2004.  In the summer of 2006, Starbucks fired me in retaliation for union activity and I’m currently fighting for my job back along with five other wrongfully discharged IWW baristas.

NoN!: Why did you feel you needed to unionise?

DG: First, there’s bread and butter.  6, 7, or 8 dollars an hour is a poverty wage and disgraceful from a $23 billion company showing record profits quarter after quarter.  Starbucks Chairman Howard Schultz, already a billionaire, took in over $102 million in compensation last year while baristas hover at or below the poverty line.  Many Starbucks workers depend on government benefits to survive. 

We were, as ever, delighted when the latest issue of The Cunningham Amendment hit our doormat. Hand letter pressed on salvaged  antique machinery by the dashing Dr Peter Good, each issue is a thing of beauty - crammed full of little gems to delight and enthrall.  It's restricted circulation means those understood to be "Anarcrisps" do get priority, but if you wish to acquire yourself a copy sending your details with a donation of cash or stamps to TCA, Room 6, Tangleford House, The Street, Bawdeswell, Norfolk, NR20 4RT should get results. Just proves that when anarchists aren't banging on about the Spanish Civil War or drinking our own piss, we're also capable of making the world a little bit more pretty too.

A first hand account of a Serbian illegal immigrant inside Basel, the Swiss deportation prison

First I would like to say that I didn’t experience any kind of torture from the police in Basel. They arrested me in a lawful manner (on the basis of accusations from one of their citizens that I threatened him in order to obtain money). The only abuse of position by the police was when they pressurised me to sign a form (which would allow a court to make a judgment on my case without my attendance in court). I refused to sign it. During 7 lonely days of custody I took the opportunity to rest from the hard travelling conditions I had encountered crossing the border.  The Cell was more than 15 square metres, with a radio and 72 TV channels and a free shaving kit …in Serbia it would be unbelievable, but I’ll write about Serbian custody another time.  I was only disturbed by prison guards calling me to exercise and by another one who brought us food (he tried to keep/steal cake from me during the weekend; idiot). Swiss people have high living standards but they’ll take any opportunity for more money.  They are taught to think so.

A very quick post to point out that, if you haven't noticed, the site's had a bit of an overhaul and we now have some new regular blogs - Rice Serbic will be commenting on politics and current affairs, Tug Wilson will mainly be regaling you tales of rancid films, Charlie Cody will be discussing all things artistic and Paul Knight will be enthralling you with celebrity bullshit. In between having nervous breakdowns whilst pulling the new site together, we've managed to scrape together a new issue of the magazine - yes, Now or Never! issue 21 is hot of the presses and it's a corker. And we've finally entered the modern world and made it possible for you to buy digital copies of the latest issue. Not only that but we're updating our audio files collection for those of you who want to listen to our bullshit. We have new books for sale in our shop,  plenty of new articles for you to enjoy and we've put some of our more popular regular columns online including History in a Nutshell, Old Whinger's Corner, the first few installments of Harry K's brilliant Bible Reviews and Rick's Rants .