GLOBAL ACTION AGAINST THE RULERS OF THE WORLD!

* Down with the G8!
The Group of Eight (G8) is an informal organisation that unites some of the world's biggest capitalist states - US, UK, Japan, Germany, France, Canada, Italy, and Russia. Its decisions are made outside of any sort of democratic control. It's an important "meeting spot" for the world's most powerful leaders to reach consensus amongst themselves which is later imposed on the entire world. Quite naturally that leads to the precedence of private and corporate interests over democratic and collective ones, leading to privatisation, deregulation, increased capital mobility and erosion of the populations' control over local economies. It makes the G8 one of the most powerful instruments of the capitalist globalisation and of neoliberal agenda. The G8 countries control the International Monetary Fund, World Bank and World Trade Organisation. They manipulate debts and dictate international rules of trade, keeping the resource-rich countries in neo-colonial dependency.

* No to nuclear power!
This year's G8 summit takes place between July 15 and 17 in St. Petersburg, Russia. Its main focus will be on world energy policies. G8 leaders call for increased investments in oil, gas and coal industries, and more disturbingly for development of nuclear industry. That is despite the fact that there are no reliable long-term solutions for getting rid of the nuclear waste, and the mortal peril of the nuclear power plant disasters such as the Chenobyl catastrophe in Ukraine in 1986. Nuclear energy is nowhere near as "clean" as they claim. Russia plans to construct a total of 40 new nuclear reactors by 2030. Some of them are to float in the Arctic ocean: Chernobyl and Kursk rolled into one! Locally, just a few weeks ago John Howard stated that the Australian government may reconsider the policy of having no nuclear power plants in the country.

* Stop political repressions in Russia!
Russian Federation since late 1990s has successfully introduced the Orwellian model that combines eternal anti-terrorist war with encroachment on democratic freedoms. The war in Chechnya is used as a mechanism to pump up racist sentiments in the society. Any and all opposition to the regime of the former KGB spy Vladimir Putin is closely monitored by the state which controls the local governments, political parties and the NGOs. Opposition members are under constant surveillance; whenever the police can't be used, fascist thugs and football hooligans organised in pro-Kremlin militias step up. The G8 summit has led to worsening conditions in St. Petersburg and increased police surveillance over opposition activists, environmentalists and potential protesters all over the country. There were already several cases of arrests and even disappearances.

Educate yourself and get involved! The power of the elites crosses many lines, but our solidarity goes beyond any borders!
More info: www.jura.org.au/g8 and www.spb8.net
Global action day against the G8: Friday July 14, 12 p.m. outside the Russian consulate in Sydney, 7-9 Fullerton St., Woollahra. Tea and vodka provided :)