Salut rebellions,
It’s one month away from the G8/G20 Summits and three weeks away from the People’s Summit!
First off, for anyone interested in a great backgrounder on the G8/G20 Summits and la resistance against them – the People’s Summit and the Toronto Community Mobilization Network facilitated protests — this is a kick ass article written for rabble.ca by S.K. HUSSAN. Dive in and pass around!
The Toronto Community Mobilization Network is having another fundraiser on Friday June 3, 2010 starting at 9:00 pm at the Silver Dollar Room (486 Spadina Avenue).
Cover is $7 but no one will be denied the right to dance! (Unfortunately, I’ll be back at the sweat lodge that weekend but dance your pretty asses off for me…and yes, I did just say that!)
Its next meeting is this Saturday (May 29, 2010) at 11:00 am at 25 Cecil Street followed by Postering and leafletting in neighbourhoods.
But now let’s get into the security stuff and its impact on Toronto.
1: Cost of G8/G20 policing and security hit $1.1 billion. Remember this is YOUR taxpayer dollars at work!
Quote: “The cost of hosting the G8 and G20 summits next month in Ontario now stands at $1.1 billion and further costs are likely, federal documents show. That’s much higher than the $933 million security bill the Tories revealed earlier this week.”
2: The Council of Canadians planned Shout Out for Global Justice event has NOT been cancelled but will have to be relocated – because the University of Toronto has decided to shut its St. George campus during the Summit protests. The lastest news I got from Jaggi Singh is that the Council plans on contacting Toronto Mayor, David Miller, and the University of Toronto. I’ll update you when more info rolls in.
3: Toronto police get ‘sound cannons’ for G20: Long-range acoustic devices can be used for crowd control
I am not going to use the term “sound cannon.” Let’s be honest here, “cannons” = “weapon” so I’m calling these things what they are: “sound weapons.”
Oh great, this what some of the $1.1 billion was spent on, acquiring four sound weapons for the G8/G20 protests which Toronto police plan on keeping for further protests.
Now, not only do you get to pay the police to not only gas, shoot, arrest, harass and violate your civil rights, they can also make your ears bleed.
Quote: “For University of Toronto adjunct professor Peter Rosenthal, a lawyer who has participated in several trials involving Taser deployments, anything that can stun people or crowds should be considered dangerous.
“Tasers were introduced and said to be totally benign but have now generally been recognized as dangerous weapons,” he said. “To start using experimental weapons on people is really outrageous in my view.”
Yup, your taxpayer dollars at work!
#30#
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