Bank of Ideas to inspire London revolt

ANTI-CAPITALIST protesters in London have upped the ante by squatting a massive disused building owned by Swiss bank UBS.

This is the message on the welcome page of its website at http://www.bankofideas.org.uk/ 

The Bank of Ideas is situated on Sun Street, Hackney in an abandoned office block purchased several years ago by the bank UBS. It is an enormous space complete with a 500-seater lecture hall.

It has been opened to the public for the non-monetary trade of ideas to help solve the pressing economic, social and envionmental problems of our time.

There is also room for community groups, youth clubs, nursuries and other public services that have lost their space due to Government spending cuts.

Artists, performers and creatives are welcome to come entertain and to help transform the space. We also encourage games, workshops and skillshares on anything from yoga to yahtzee.

The only prerequisite is that this space is not for financial transactions. Trade in ideas or skills, but no one should need to pay to take part in the Bank’s activities.

Everyone should feel safe and welcome in the Bank.  Our Safer Spaces Policy asks people to be mindful and respectful of how their ideas or actions might effect others, and there is a No Drugs and Alcohol Policy. As this is a public space any damage or disrespect to the property would be an act of disrespect and violence towards your own community, a community trying to come together to find positive solutions to our current crises. We ask all people who come into the space to come in with respect.

Everyone is warmly welcome and encouraged to come and be part of creating the Bank of Ideas. Email us with your ideas, suggestions and requests at bankofideaslondon@gmail.com.

Resistance targets phone masts and hubs

 
RESISTANCE fighters in Afghanistan are declaring war on a key element in any system of oppression - its communciations system.

Reports The Guardian: "The Taliban began attacking transmission masts in 2007, but the damage was limited and the attacks were often aimed only at extorting money from companies.

"But since mid-summer attacks have soared, with up to 30 towers being destroyed or damaged in one 20-day period. Previously a loss of five would be considered a bad month.

"Insurgents have also become much more destructive. 'They used to just blow up our fuel tanks,' a senior executive of an Afghan telecoms company said. ''Now they put fuel inside the control room with all the equipment, absolutely destroying everything'.

"Some masts have even been blown completely out of the ground by insurgents wiring them up with huge quantities of explosives.

"And they have focused many attacks on critical hub relay towers, which has the effect of bringing down services in many other locations. In some cases entire provinces have lost all phone services for days on end."

Baghdad battle exposes US lie

AMERICA'S claim to have 'ended combat operations' in occupied Iraq has quickly been exposed as a lie.

Some of the 50,000 US troops still in the country were involved in defending an Iraqi army base in Baghdad from an attack by resistance fighters on Sunday.

Reports The Washington Post: "The assailants detonated a car bomb outside an army division headquarters housed in the former defense ministry building, killing at least 12 people, most of them Iraqi soldiers, authorities said.

"The blast wounded at least 20 people at the complex, where a bombing last month targeting recruits killed more than 60 people.

"A gun battle raged for more than two hours after the explosion as Iraqi soldiers tried to corral the two bombers who managed to get inside the base, Iraqi officials at the scene said. A small contingent of U.S. soldiers is based at the facility.

"The assailants, who wore vests rigged with explosives, threw grenades as Iraqi soldiers shot at them from a distance, fearing that their bullets could detonate the bombs.

"American soldiers backed them up with 'suppressive fire', said Lt. Col. Eric Bloom, the U.S. military spokesman. U.S. helicopters, drones and explosives experts also responded."