► (from AFL/CIO) -- Ten years ago today, Seattle protesters put globalization on center stage -- The protests succeeded in delaying the WTO summit’s opening day and contributed to the collapse of plans for a new round of trade negotiations.
► In Sunday' Seattle Times -- Historians should remember Seattle 1999. It is a hinge between eras, a shift long in the making and now heavily upon us with downsides and unintended consequences that can't be easily undone. The protesters can say, correctly, "You were warned."
Local News | Five days that jolted Seattle | Seattle Times Newspaper
nice summary
Today I took the bus downtown. The Macy's Christmas star was up and the big tree near Westlake Center, and the WTO commemorators shared Westlake Mall with the carousel.
Did not see the YES men, but there were some Billionaires for Wealthcare and environmental activists. On the second anniversary of the WTO riots, there were a couple hundred cops for a couple hundred protesters - an overreaction. Today there were about 4 cops for maybe 100-200 people (not even really protesters) - either they didn't engage in "overkill" or they were too busy looking for the killer on the loose.
The guy with the wonderful hat and beard I recognize from Vets for Peace but many of the "usual suspects" were not there and some of the earnest anarchists or Greens were probably 8-9 years old at the time of the WTO - which does not diminish their concern.
Note the guy with the huge Philippines' flag - not that the whole world isn't connected via globalization and that there hasn't been horrific turmoil in the Philippines recently.
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