Tuesday 24 March 2009

Summit for the weekend - roll up! Roll up for the G-20 circus!


Next week, the leaders of the world’s richest 19 countries, plus delegates from all EU states, will be meeting in London to discuss deepening the global recession. And as it is getting more and more obvious that it is them and their fatcat and banker buddies who have got us into this mess, we’ll be there to meet them! The week of action kicks off with the ‘Put People First’ march on Saturday the 28th. Meeting at 11am at the Embankment, it calls for “jobs, justice and climate” and is shaping up to be pretty huge. The demo will consist of thousands of people who’ve had just enough of ‘business as usual’, as well as the usual suspects: socialists, environmentalists, trade unionists and anarchists. This will be followed up by several midweek events, starting with ‘Storm The Banks’: starting at 11am on Wednesday the 1st of April, four simultaneous protests will make their way into the heart of London’s financial districts, where some will party, some will protest and some will be a little bit naughtier! There’s room enough for all forms of dissent - peaceful protesters, direct action enthusiasts, experienced and inexperienced protestors alike. Towards the end of the event, the Network for Climate Action have called for a camp to be set up in the financial district to oppose the carbon-driven economy that led to this recession – bring a sleeping bag, food, and sense of adventure, ‘cos this one’s not to be missed! The following day will see a series of protests around the venue of the G20 summit (the ExCeL Centre), during which some will attempt to block the delegates out, some will try to get in, and others will hold a rally. The actions are looking to be pretty dynamic, so if you’re feeling pissed of at the state we’re in, then this is the event for you. People will be travelling to all of the events from Bath, so to find someone to travel down with, drop Bath Activist Network an email to the usual address. What will you tell your grandkids when they ask you where you were when the revolution started? full info and timeline of events at www.g-20meltdown.org

Thursday 5 March 2009

BAN launch local radical lending library!


We are pleased to announce the setting up of another free, local resource - the radical lending library. Books in the library cover a huge range of topics, from anarchism to the environment and cooking, both fiction and non-fiction. Follow this link - http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2009/03/423520.html (or check out the BAN myspace)for a full book listing, or to find out what we have, or borrow a book, email us at bathactivistnet@yahoo.co.uk. The library will hopefully soon have a physical home at Twertons soon-to-be social centre 'Off the Map' (the old Twerton railway station). Happy reading folks!

P.s - we have also recently uploaded a mass (yet far from complete) bank of info about BAN activities over the last couple of years. To view it, follow this link - http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2009/03/423519.html

Wednesday 4 March 2009

Update on the Twerton squat


Following on from recent events at the Twerton squat, things seem to have calmed down a little bit. With more residents moving in, and interior structural work well and truly underway, the building seems to be back in our hands. It has been over a week since the authorities last attempted to threaten eviction and, after a 16 strong solidarity demo, the only interaction the residents have had with the law has been frequent chats with Twetons beat manager. The transport police seem to have realised that they cannot act with impunity and have not yet acted on their clearly illegal eviction warning. With any luck the building will soon be open to the public as a space to hang out, meet, read, plot and organise and a number of ideas for workshops etc are already being developed. Oh, and the building now has a name. Borne from the fact that it doesn't appear on land registry maps, the squat has provisionally beejn christened 'Off the map'. More info as it arrives.