Under fluorescent lights at the U.S./Canada border, south of Montreal, questions on the war in Iraq and the Palestinian Intifada were fired towards me by officials from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

It quickly became clear after arriving at the border and presenting my passport to U.S. customs officials that crossing into the U.S. would include an unwanted inquiry. After scanning my Canadian passport, gruff American officials hastily directed me to sit in the waiting area. Shortly after, an armed U.S. official called my name, directing me toward another section of the border crossing station.

It would be nice -- polite -- to consider the aftermath of the G20 Summit protests as simply a harmless endnote to a hard-won political victory, an epilogue filled with a counter-balanced peace to the previous frenetic resistance on the streets.

But a government that actively engaged in a pre-emptive campaign against activists has not stopped. A government bent on control can be active in its intervention into activism just as surely as it can be inactive in addressing the critical issue of climate change before, during, and after the G20 Summit.

The criminalization of dissent

- "Those not busy being born are busy dying" Bobby Dylan 

On the weekend of June 26th, Toronto underwent a transformation. A new generation of activists were politicized, and in many cases radicalized. Also, a new generation of journalists were born, products of a long-awaited fusion of traditional and new media. For me, it was a return to days of old, going back a decade to when I was young and radical. 

Activists protesting the G20 are claiming that numerous visits by police in recent weeks have involved intimidation and harassment.

According to multiple sources, in the last month police have visited university groups, political meetings, union offices and individuals involved in protesting the G20.

Police began visiting groups like the Toronto Community Mobilization Network (TCMN) on February 21, 2010 when they held a meeting for 'G8/20 Resistance in Toronto.'

An Arab member of the Israeli parliament, who was on board the international flotilla that was attacked on Monday as it tried to take humanitarian aid to Gaza, accused Israel yesterday of intending to kill peace activists as a way to deter future convoys.

Haneen Zoubi said Israeli naval vessels had surrounded the flotilla's flagship, the Mavi Marmara, and fired on it a few minutes before commandos abseiled from a helicopter directly above them.

Terrified passengers had been forced off the deck when water was sprayed at them. She said she was not aware of any provocation or resistance by the passengers, who were all unarmed.