Some time ago I began to seriously ponder what I was doing. What was this magazine for, was it of any use, and did all of my other activities have any effect on anything? Well, angst like this must be a known friend to all of us, but there was an added emergency to it. These worries were triggered by many events.

First of all there was the long lull in activism here in Finland, that only now seems to be ending (I hope). There seemed to be only a few people willing and committed to long-term work. Also I happened to see an old favourite tv-series of mine, that depicted a group of environmental activists who decide to effect revolution by taking all participants in a climate convention hostage, demanding the closing of many major industrial installations. The attempt ended in a disaster and the hostage-takers were left wondering: What next? This question has always fascinated and worried me, and dimmed my enthusiasm over seemingly successful campaigns.

But what now struck me were the all too familiar basis the characters had for their action: "The facts are on our side". This belief in the justness of one´s cause is the usual reaction in front of the perceived destruction in rain forests, seas, our communities, in the air… Well, I say the old me in that line.

But the strong feelings this carnage arouses doesn´t mean that we know the truth (or even "facts"). One persisting theme in this paper has been to pierce the surface of "facts", an attempt to find the tangle of cultural factors behind them. Even if we wish for it, there are seldom if ever singular causes or solutions. Mere pictures of destruction don't dictate ways of action or goals. The characters in the story face this dilemma, as their ultimatum is replaced with football: you can't take real power or the complex reasons hostage.

Then again mere analysis doesn't lead to solutions. As one friend remarked, the best arguments an analyses never seem to win. But if we look at, say the environmental philosophy or the theories of environmental movements, they are mainly an attempt to make the best arguments. The connection to practice is virtually non-existent. It is easy to see why straightforward ideas and action are preferable to the paralysis of forever thinking again.

In this crossfire of dilemmas it is easy to feel frustrated. My dear friend succeeded in adding to my angst by pointing out that the problem mentioned before, lull of action, is often related to this tendency to over-analysis. The belief in the power of argument may show belief in fellow humans, but it usually lacks the appeal that advertisers and propagandists have perfected over decades. An sadly, resources to that are usually in the hands of the bad guys… Global capitalism can no doubt proudly present the best PR-campaign ever.

Sure, there are excepitons, such as the pie slingers and adbusters, who occasionally succeed in turning the teeth of media into itself. And the new anti-globalisation campaigns have vreated new forms of counter-culture. They however risk drifting into a familiar news-mascot, part of the whole spectacle. Then again we have examples of individuals and campaigns who have beaten the big money in PR-game and even generated lots of good action. But as with Greenpeace, too much professionalism can alienate people. Or too charismatic individuals risk developing hero-worship. Should we choose ideological correctness or media effectiveness?

I sure as hell don't know. And it baffles me, whether we actually know which problems to address, ore are we fighting shadows. But what I am pretty sure is that solitude isn't the answer. One prerequisite for a successful political movement is a living, fertile relationship between action and thinking, an, organic process of learning. The two alternatives of "I am right" and "Let's analyse this" can't be the only ones.

This issue includes:

On page 4 we have articles on two recent actions in Finland. One is the international action camp "Ekotopia" and the other one is a major fur demonstration that was held recently. Both actions might signal the revival of action here. Then on page 5 Heta Leino writes about an alternative urban conference in Germany, and Carlo Jochems writes about the problems with alternatives to vivisection.

On page 6 Saara Henriksson recounts the latest developments at the global climate conventions. Then we have two interviews by Henri Myrttinen, one from Serbia, the other from Columbia.

On pages 8 and 9 we have some assorted news plus a long article about an community project on Mancester. Hullo there, Hulme sounds amazing! Remember to send us some news if something important goes on.

On page 10 we have an interview of the band Oi Polloi by Mia Muhonen. Then we have some stuff on alternative media in Finland, and antimilitarism news on page 12.

Pages 13 - 16 are the domain of the magazine "Megafoni", which has become our enduring partner. They brighten our day with articles on the environmental movement, self organisation and self-control, plus "a blast from the past"-article about anarchism and emancipation from the magazine "Kaurapuuro", rest in peace.

Then we have several pages about gene technology. There are articles about a new organization here in Finland, about the growing sabotage of field trials and labs, about a visit to Finland by Drucker, and a long article on the illusion of the benefits gm-free soya in Brazil. The on page 21 we have a long article about drugs.

After some news articles we have a long analysis of IMF & WB translated from the EYFA paper "Verge". Thank you! Then we have news about the Mayday - day of action against capitalism, plus preview of the upcoming events in Praque. On page 26 is a long article about the recent uses of the grand jury system in USA. Our greetings and solidarity to Graig Rosenbaugh, Josh Herper and Anita Carswell.

On the prisoner page we try to remember as many people as we can, but unfortunately information doesn´t always reach us. If you notice errors or omissions, please inform us.