Bristol & District Anti-Cuts Alliance (BADACA) encourages you to support the 'Celebrating Public Services' march and rally in Southmead on Saturday September 3rd. This event, organised by Unite, Unison & GMB, is aimed at ensuring that Bristol City Council's cuts in general and those to social care in particular are a key factor in voters' minds at the council by-election in the ward on September 8th.

As well as being an opportunity to highlight the cuts to social care in the city it is also important in building the general anti-cuts campaign in the city. BADACA has published the details of the cuts in grants to voluntary organisations providing support to the elderly, vulnerable and their carers across the city, together with the names of care homes and day centres threatened by Councillor Jon Rogers' plans for closure and privatisation. Those voluntary organisations who 'escaped' the main cuts are having a 6% cut in their grant from November 1st. This information can be viewed on our website here. These cuts are taking place at the same time as the privatisation of the council's home care services. These cuts will have an impact across the city & several of the services threatened are in the Southmead area. We look forward to seeing your members in Southmead on 3rd September. If you have a banner please bring it along. Bring friends/colleagues/neighbours. Let's make this a day the LibDems on Bristol City Council can't ignore.

Date - Saturday 3rd September; Time 12.30pm;Assembly At: Greenway Centre, Doncaster Road, BS10 5PY. Map here
Rally At: Glencoyne Square at 2pm Map here

Full details can be found on the BADACA website here. Please make every effort to come along and encourage others to do the same. For more information email admin@bristolanticutsalliance.org.uk

This is the third in a series of articles I have written about my decision to travel to Libya, initially to support the rebels and then what I saw and heard over here (Benghazi and Misrata) that has led me to stay and help the Libyan people on a humanitarian level only.

When I crossed the border from Egypt the war was only 5 weeks old and I didnt have a lot of information about what was happening but i admit I did have a grand preintention of wanting to support a rebel army ousting a dictator. The more time I spent in (east) Libya, talking to and working with locals, living with journalists and reading/heeding comments on Indymedia about articles I have put up already the more my opinion formed.

They say a week is a long time in politics, over here in Misrata it definitely is. Ive been in this country for over 4 months now since about the 24 March and was just about to leave. I have my place booked on the World Food Programme (UN) boat to Malta , its the last one. But then in the last 4 days it all seems to be happening for the rebels Zlitan has fallen, Taurghas been overrun and now Tripoli is crumbling. I'm glad I'm still here to witness what surely must be the end to a bloody civil war.

Full article | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | More Images

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On the afternoon of august 17th, police raided a house in central Bristol where an editor of local newspaper The Autonomist lives.  Riot police kicked down the door of the property without warning, detained the inhabitants for two hours, and seized articles relating to the production of The Autonomist.  Delighted journalists from the Evening Post swarmed around outside, trying to photograph the detainees and remaining in contact with an officer inside by telephone at all times.

The grudgingly-produced warrant for the raid attempts to link the occupants to recent disorder (as did a frankly libellous sign erected outside by the police).  It authorises the seizure of "rocks (may by having glass samples upon)" and "white paint", and refers repeatedly to "domestic extremisim [sic]".  The list rounded out with such incriminating articles as "pedal cycles", "clothing", and "literature".  Several other items not listed, such as passports, were also illegally seized.

| Police Repress Local Paper | BristolAutonomist.Blogspot.com

The Land is Ours & Bristol Housing Action Movement (BHAM) in association with Reclaim the Fields organised a land occupation in St Werburghs, Bristol, on Sunday 7th August. Workshops were held on topics such as the effects of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and the squash campaign against the governments's proposed changes to squatting laws in the UK.The full article includes a detailed report and photos of the convergence and occupation.

The Reclaim the Fields South-West Gathering was held on the weekend of the 6th -7th August in Bristol, venue: The Factory, 2-8 Cave Street, St Pauls, Bristol.

Ref: http://www.reclaimthefields.org/content/rtf-south-west-summer-gathering