While police departments across the country have used the protests against the World Trade Organization that took place in Seattle of 1999 as a reason to clamp down on dissent, the "global war on terror" has provided further cover for the state repression. Recent protests in the United States against the biotech industry, in St. Louis in May and Sacramento this week have been met with new levels of repression. Preemptive arrests, inflated charges, using new "non-lethal" weapons on innocent bystanders, and the militarization of entire cities has been common place this year.
Z Net: The Biotech Industry And Repression In St. Louis
Common Dreams: Activists Say U.S. Manipulating Meeting to Promote GM Food
Sacramento Bee: Massive Protest Roils Downtown
BiotechIMC: Features Independent Coverage of the Protests in Sacramento
