Canadian G20 protests
A new high of hysteria and aggression by the Canadian state marked the G20 meeting held in Toronto June 26-27. Reportedly US$1.2 billion was spent by the Integrated Security Unit (ISU) (a trumped up name for police) to protect the ruling class together with the bourgeois media.
They deployed 20,000 police and security officers, a 5-metre fence, and new weapons designed to stifle dissent and silence public opposition.
Despite this, over 25,000 people peacefully marched to question the legitimacy of the G20 and call on Canada to take action on the economy, jobs, public services, global poverty, climate change, Indigenous rights, migrant and undocumented workers’ rights, women’s rights, human rights, peace, inequality and social justice.
In total, more than 1,000 people were detained based on dubious charges, in the largest mass arrest in Canadian history.
PSUV organises for Venezuelan elections
The United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) has begun the organisation of 1,870,150 cadres, divided into 36, 603 patrols, who will mobilise throughout the country to contact the more than 17 million Venezuelan voters before the election on September 26.
The PSUV will cover the country in the first “door to door” deployment phase going until August 25, when the campaign itself will begin, running until two days before election day. The election mobilisation also includes classes and political discussion.
The Campaign Command Bolivar 200 chief, Aristobulo Isturiz, said the strategic objective of the PSUV is to ensure a qualified majority in the National Assembly. However, he warned that this organisation could be triggered to defend the revolutionary process.
Lynne Stewart sentenced to 10 years in prison
The full force of the US criminal “justice” system came down on innocent political prisoner, 30-year veteran human rights attorney and radical political activist Lynne Stewart on July 15.
In an obviously pre-prepared one hour and 20 minute technical tour de force designed to give legitimacy to a reactionary ruling Federal District Court John Koeltl, who in 2005 sentenced Stewart to 28 months in prison following her frame-up trial and jury conviction on four counts of “conspiracy to aid and abet terrorism,” re-sentenced Stewart to 120 months or 10 years.
For the full report by Jeff Mackler, the US West Coast Director of the Lynne Stewart Defense Committee, see the Socialist Action News blog.
Mauritius conference
LALIT, the socialist organisation in Mauritius, is organising an “International Conference for Action to Close the Diego Garcia Military Base and to end the Illegal Occupation of the Chagos Islands,” to be held in Port Louis, on October 30 – November 2.
Detroit Social Forum
The US Social Forum was attended by 15,000 on June 22-26, organised into more than 1000 workshops, and dozens of major plenaries. The event began with a massive march of thousands through the streets of Detroit.