Barry Sheppard

The United States Supreme Court has upheld the core provision of Arizona’s vicious anti-immigrant law.

The part of the law upheld requires police to determine the immigration status of anyone they stop, for whatever reason, if they “suspect” they are undocumented.

Arizona Governor Jan Brewster claims the law would not result in racial profiling. But she is lying through her teeth.

Everyone knows that in Arizona, the only grounds for “suspicion” is having brown skin. No white person will be “suspected” of not having papers.

In a much-watched election on June 5, Republican Scott Walker handily defeated Democrat Tom Barrett in a recall election for governor of Wisconsin.

Walker is on the right wing of the Republican Party and Barrett on the right wing of the Democrats. Walker was first elected in late 2010.

When he took office early last year, Walker launched a drive to smash public worker unions. In response, there were huge mobilisations.

Public sector unions went on strike and organised mass demonstrations in the capital city of Madison, the largest of which mobilised 100,000.

Anti-war soldiers headed a protest against the NATO summit in Chicago on May 20. Thousands poured through the streets in the largest anti-war demonstration seen in the United States for some time.

The turnout was inspired by the Occupy movement that broke out last year, which helped legitimise street protest again.

From conflicting accounts, the march involved about 10,000 people.

See also:
SYRIZA to anti-NATO protesters: 'Bring the war home!'

In a qualitative escalation, the government of President Barack Obama has for the first time used the “war on terror” against socialists in the United States. On September 24, the FBI conducted a series of coordinated early-morning raids at homes and offices in Minneapolis, Chicago, Michigan and North Carolina.

The political police seized computers, passports, books, documents, cell phones, photos, financial records, diaries, maps and other materials. In one case, children’s artwork was confiscated.