The Freedom bookshop in London was firebombed in the early morning hours of February 1st. Fortunately nobody was hurt, but there’s quite a lot of damage from both the fire and the water used to douse the flames.

If you’d like to help us sort out some of the mess, please come down to the shop on Saturday 2nd February from 1pm and give us a helping hand.

We are writing to you and your committee about our grave concern regarding the failure of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and Homeland Security to protect the United States against potential terrorist attacks and random dam or gas transmission pipeline failures. The potential energy released in a gas line rupture at Indian Point is equivalent to that from a massive conventional bomb; the 2010 explosion and fire in San Bruno, CA is an example of the destructive force, which a pipeline rupture can unleash.

King County prosecutor Dan Satterberg has filed charges against five individuals for participating in the May Day smashup. Charging documents accuse five of riot, fourth-degree assault, and malicious mischief "against the peace and dignity of the state of Washington."

On Thursday, three days after Hurricane Sandy swept across the Eastern Seaboard, darkening power grids, flooding neighborhoods, and killing at least 74 people, former Star Trek actor and social-media dynamo George Takei posted a lovely photo to his Facebook timeline. It showed two power strips draped over the gratework of a fence, phone cords tendrilling from each one. A sign said, “We have power. Please feel free to charge your phone!”

New York’s inequality is not a secret to anyone who walks its streets, let alone struggles to pay its rents. Our billionaire mayor seemed to be out to prove a point this week, acting like a petulant child when public opinion pushed him to cancel the New York City Marathon this weekend, while people still have no power, food, and in too many cases lost everything in floods or fires.

Hurricane Sandy has plowed through the Northeast United States, killing dozens of people and causing billions of dollars in damage. People are working together to pick up the pieces through mutual aid and solidarity. We list here some of the ways you can get involved with relief and rebuilding. The hard works starts after the hurricane parties and disaster porn.

Hurricane Sandy was also an example of the "new normal" of life during rapid climate change. We also share some links to people writing about that crisis.

Relief Efforts - Friday, November 9

Occupy Sandy Relief NYC

Occupy Sandy Relief - New Jersey

Occupy Sandy Relief - South Jersey

Food Not Bombs Hurricane Sandy Relief Program

CAAAV - "Organizing Asian Communities

Occupy Judaism

Occupy gets rolling in Sandy disaster relief; Far Rockaway & Staten Island in a messy situation; #hurricanehackers Sandy Crisis Camps this weekend

Occupy Sandy relief steps up: OWS continues anarchist tradition of mutual aid efforts in the storm's wake

• Occupy needs volunteer coordinators - anyone who think they will be with us for 2-3 days - but also those with less time over long haul. (source: Facebook)

Neighborhoods

Lower East Side - (646) 580-7473

Astoria - (347) 669-4394

Red Hook - (347) 464-9269

Staten Island - (347) 934-9927

Technology Response and Infrastructure

Twitter hashtags: #HurricaneHackers

Brooklyn Tech is again taking volunteers (South Elliot b/t Lafayette and Dekalb). (source: Occupy Judaism)

Sandy CrisisCamp

Caitria and Morgan O’Neill: How to step up in the face of disaster - Excellent TED talk about managing information after a natural disaster.

News

After Sandy, thousands left to freeze in public housing

Occupy Wall Street Leading Massive, Volunteer-Powered Recovery Efforts in New York

Sandy’s Devastating Impact to Hudson River Includes Widespread Toxic Spills

The Hideous Inequality Exposed by Hurricane Sandy

Goldman Sachs Building Is Bright, but Occupy Shines

Opinion and Analysis

Shock Doctrine, American-Style: Hurricane Sandy Devastation Used to Push for Sale of Public Infrastructure to Investors

There’s no such thing as a natural disaster

As the effects of Hurricane Sandy left much of lower Manhattan (and elsewhere) in the dark, I couldn’t help but recall the events -- and lessons -- of Aug. 14, 2003: the day/night of the Eastern seaboard’s most recent major blackout. When the blackout of '03 dimmed the mighty skyline, I could suddenly see stars... zillions of them blinking at me from beyond the unlit skyscrapers. Traffic lights were out of commission, but to the southeast, Mars provided the only red light we really needed.

On 10/12/2012, Tepco measured radiation level in retained water of PCV1. The cesium level was lower than water retained outside of PCV,

New information has emerged about the grand jury targeting Pacific Northwest anarchists. Documents provided to Eugene, Oregon’s Civil Liberties Defense Center (CLDC) indicate that the grand jury, which many had guessed had been convened as a result of May Day protests in Seattle this year, actually began on March 2. This would suggest that the scope of the grand jury is larger than previously thought.

(Reuters) - Two members of Russia's anti-Kremlin punk band Pussy Riot have fled the country to avoid prosecution for staging a protest against President Vladimir Putin at a church altar, the band said on Sunday.