That the hundreds (at last count 900+) of G20 protesters (and random civilians) held in pens at a detention centre in Toronto also happen to be extras in a former movie studio should come as no surprise to those who took part in this summer’s biggest blockbuster hit. This production note is but one piece of a larger spectacle of fascism recently carried out in the streets of Toronto.

On July 4th, Americans are supposed to celebrate their independence. We may no longer have to worry about a greedy, distant monarch. But our country is still held in thrall to powerful interests that prize profit over individuals and their freedom—the energy industry comes to mind. As Jason Mark puts it at AlterNet:

thoughts on World Social Forum, G20, and social media

The police tactics in handling the usually well behaved protesters around the G20 we’re off the chain.

The G20 summit in Toronto cost the public one billion dollars. 900 people were inhumanely arrested, the most ever in Canadian history.

Naomi Klein author of “The Shock Doctrine” reports in from the meeting of the G20 and she actually uses the phrase “new world order”. The G20 was concocted by none other than Larry Summers and his Canadian counterpoint in 1999. The G20 nations want the people to pay for the sins of the bankers and government officials responsible for the crisis.

In the United States, the President’s Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) is being flat-lined, for at least the next two years. That this should happen under President Obama seems inconceivable.

Written by Stephen Lewis for RHRealityCheck.org – News, commentary and community for reproductive health and justice.

The G20 has dropped its support for fiscal expansion. The deficit hawks are prevailing. But why is that? We all either know or should know that operationally Federal spending is not constrained by revenues, as Chairman Bernanke stated last year, when asked on ’60 Minutes’ by Scott Pelley where the funds given to the banks came from:

“…we simply use the computer to mark up the size of the account that they have with the Fed.”

We know that when the Fed spends on behalf of the Treasury it simply credits a member bank or foreign government’s reserve account at the Fed.

The G20 summit in Toronto next month is estimated to cost over one billion dollars. It is a small sign that the police state up north is alive and kicking.

Florida police chief commenting on the police priorities at G20.