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IndymediaPresents uploaded a new video
(2 weeks ago)
Indymedia Presents #374 contains part 5, the final episode of Showdown in Seattle
As the 10th anniversary of the WTO protests in Seattle approach, w...
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Indymedia Presents #374 contains part 5, the final episode of Showdown in Seattle
As the 10th anniversary of the WTO protests in Seattle approach, we have rooted around in our archives to bring you the 5 original episodes of
"Showdown in Seattle" produced at the Seattle Indymedia Center that week.
"What Democracy Looks Like"
Dec 3, 1999
William Kunsler, great American defense attorney describes Michelangelo's Statue of David as unique because it captures the moment of decision, not the moment of victory. The first four episodes of "Showdown in Seattle" were produced while the battle was raging, when each activist and group had to face THEIR moment of decision, the moment when they decided to go up against all odds to really stop the WTO. This, the final episode of "Showdown," proclaims their victory as the WTO talks collapsed in defeat. (Although not shown in this episode, to really rub it in, the city government of Seattle refused to let the WTO conference extend their stay in town by even a day, even though the WTO begged for an extension. Activists in the streets shut down the WTO on the first day, and the City shut them down again on the last day. Double shut-down!
Some people feel that it took 911 and the subsequent development of the US security state to check the people's movement that stopped the WTO. Irregardless of 911, the united front that emerged to stop the WTO in Seattle still is needed, now, more than ever. There have been subsequent losses of liberties, economic collapse, and an ever greater understanding of the importance of taking into consideration the environment. As a species, we are still racing for the bottom when we need to fight for the other world that is possible. (There is not one peep about global warming in ANY of these 5 episodes. That's one example of an issue that has arisen full force since 1999, but that proves the point of the protests.)
These videos serve as a fine example of what can come out of a people's media. The IMC went viral, spreading to countries around the world, playing an important part in keeping the movement alive and well. The PepperSpray Collective, producers of "Indymedia Presents," began as part of the Seattle IMC. We are proud to continue this fine tradition. Like Michelangelo's David we have decided we CAN fight the giant, and we can win.
Please visit our website for more info:
www.peppersprayproductions.org
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IndymediaPresents uploaded a new video
(2 weeks ago)
It was the moment when a great coalition of the future, the people of the world, united together, first became visible. American labor had seen its...
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It was the moment when a great coalition of the future, the people of the world, united together, first became visible. American labor had seen its factories closed down, jobs exported to more exploitative regions of the world. The third world had felt its own pains, and WTO delegates from those countries knew they were committing their homelands to perpetual poverty if they willingly locked on the shackles of the WTO agreements. Farmers of India were committing mass suicide. Environmentalists had recognized the signs of ecological collapse. Nowhere was safe from the reach of global capital and a bleak future of corporate monoculture, all in the name of free trade.
The crack-down intensified, the jails filled up, but demonstrations continued. In the swirling clouds of teargas, the American public got a glimpse of the crossroads of the future: one way was the road of repression and a corporate-dominated race to hell. The other road raised the possibility of world unity and a fight to lift us all, symbolized by the coalition of Teamsters and Turtles. At the least, people the world over, wondering what the fuss was all about, got a quick political education, fulfilling one of the goals of the protests.
This is episode 4 of the 5-part series Showdown in Seattle, 5 days that shook theWTO, produced by the Seattle Indymedia Center during the week of meetings and protests in late 1999. Looking back we know that the Millennium Round of the WTO collapsed that week, but when this episode was produced, the collapse had not yet happened. Like the Berlin Wall, which fell without warning, the demonstrators rage against the machine, not knowing how close to total success they were getting. Students of political process could study these videos and learn profound lessons about going up against the corporate state.
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IndymediaPresents uploaded a new video
(2 weeks ago)
It was Wednesday, day 3 of WTO week in Seattle, and day 2 of the Ministerial meetings. Tuesday had been a disaster for the authorities on every lev...
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It was Wednesday, day 3 of WTO week in Seattle, and day 2 of the Ministerial meetings. Tuesday had been a disaster for the authorities on every level, as wave after wave of activists poured into the town like the Seattle rain that poured from the skies. The WTO had been shut down before it could even open and by Tuesday evening the National Guard had been called out, a large area in downtown Seattle had been designated a political free-fire zone, and public opinion had swung heavily against the WTO. Wednesday morning the world wondered whether things would settle down or what would happen next.
One of the great strengths of the anti-WTO protests in Seattle in late 1999 was what later became known as diversity of tactics. Different groups had taken different parts of the week to stage their activities, so that the movement always had fresh forces and a new focus to keep the pressure up. On Wednesday the Steelworkers held a permitted rally down on the waterfront. Other activists gathered in the Westlake area of downtown to challenge the legitimacy of the hastily declared no-protest zone.
Episode 3 of the 5-part Showdown in Seattle series is entitled Occupied Seattle. It takes up the street battles of the day, but beyond that it brings to the screen a group little mentioned by most documentaries of the protests, the Filipino community. One of the contingents, numbering in the thousands, that marched in its own march into downtown Seattle on Tuesday was organized by a coalition of Filipino groups. They understood and were there to protest the effects of neoliberalism which is the term for what the WTO represents.
Indymedia Presents #372 contains the third of five episodes SHOWDOWN IN SEATTLE produced at the Seattle Indymedia Center during the week of protests. IP #370 was episode 1, IP #371 contained episode 2. We will soon post the final 2 episodes as IP #373 & 374.
For a good but short definition of neoliberalism see www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=376
Heres theshort course:
Economic liberalism is different from the political liberalism most Americans associate with the left. Conservative politicians who say they hate "liberals" -- meaning the political type -- have no real problem with economic liberalism, including neoliberalism.
The main points of neo-liberalism include:
1.THE RULE OF THE MARKET. Liberating "free" enterprise or private enterprise from any bonds imposed by the government (the state) no matter how much social damage this causes. Greater openness to international trade and investment, as in NAFTA. Reduce wages by de-unionizing workers and eliminating workers' rights. No more price controls. All in all, total freedom of movement for capital, goods and services.
2.CUTTING PUBLIC EXPENDITURE FOR SOCIAL SERVICES like education and health care. REDUCING THE SAFETY-NET FOR THE POOR, and even maintenance of roads, bridges, water supply -- again in the name of reducing government's role. Of course, they don't oppose government subsidies and tax benefits for business.
3.DEREGULATION. Reduce government regulation of everything that could diminish profits, including protecting the environment and safety on the job.
4.PRIVATIZATION. Sell state-owned enterprises, goods and services to private investors. This includes banks, key industries, railroads, toll highways, electricity, schools, hospitals and even fresh water.
5.ELIMINATING THE CONCEPT OF "THE PUBLIC GOOD" or "COMMUNITY" and replacing it with "individual responsibility." Pressuring the poorest people in a society to find solutions to their lack of health care, education and social security all by themselves -- then blaming them, if they fail, as "lazy."
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IndymediaPresents uploaded a new video
(2 weeks ago)
It was the opening day of the official proceedings. Activists were way better organized, and got up earlier than authorities had expected. Using mu...
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It was the opening day of the official proceedings. Activists were way better organized, and got up earlier than authorities had expected. Using multiple tactics, including the blockading of the streets leading to the meetings, activists managed to do what they had promised to do, which is keep the meetings from happening. Longshoremen shut down every port on the west coast, Seattle cab drivers went on strike, activists held their blockades and barricades, and 50,000 union members marched into the city center, hard hats, steel toed boots and all. Beyond physically stopping the meetings, the coalition which formed to stop the millennium round of the WTO scored a BIG political victory by putting the WTO and the problems with it in the minds of people and by really boosting and linking movements around the world.
Watching this footage, which was captured and edited in the thick of the Battle of Seattle is fascinating, because 10 years later we know how the story turned out, and that the effort was way more successful than even the activists understood at the moment. The stories of how US Secretary of State Madaline Albright was stuck in her hotel room and couldnt get to the sites of the WTO meetings were not known to demonstrators on the ground. The stories of how the protests outside embolded Third World delegates inside the Ministerial meetings only came out later. The video coverage of that day, contained in part two of the 5 segments is remarkable for how similar it is to ANY large demonstration, and shows, in a way, how mountaintop moments are made.
Indymedia Presents #371 features part 2 of the 5 parts series made 10 years ago in occupied Seattle. Part 3 will be in our next episode, #372, and so on.
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IndymediaPresents uploaded a new video
(3 weeks ago)
Part 1 of SHOWDOWN IN SEATTLE, 5 Days That Shook the WTO
(Nov 29, 1999 banner drop, debt drop, rain drop; the big show)
Ten years ago the WTO came to...
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Part 1 of SHOWDOWN IN SEATTLE, 5 Days That Shook the WTO
(Nov 29, 1999 banner drop, debt drop, rain drop; the big show)
Ten years ago the WTO came to Seattle, the only American city with a statue of Lenin, and got run out of town. It was one of those moments legends are made of, but it was real life. Sixty thousand protesters, all in one way or another saying shut it down, para-trouped in behind corporate lines, regrouping into alliances and affinity groups. They formed the legions of a political army, with all the division of labor any other army would have. It was People, United, and they would not be defeated. They DID shut it down, physically and politically, internally, and perhaps eternally. The people stood up, not in some Obama music video, but in real life. Diversity of tactics and timing allowed the action to go on all week, and our side—peoples army that it was—didnt abandon our casualties. In the end, the WTO, in disarray, asked the City of Seattle if they could please extend their stay by a day or so. The City said No, leave as scheduled, and firmly ran them out of town.
One good thing that came out of those times was the birth of the Seattle Indymedia Center (IMC). Before 1999 there was much less thought about going to the Internet to follow an event like a political uprising. The IMC had servers galore and a phat pipeline to the web. Even if Corporate America had wanted to cover the story of the opponents to the WTO, they couldnt have done so well. CBS or NBC might have one camera on the ground, and that most likely in with the dignitaries, But every gang and gaggle of activists likely included somebody who recorded it or reported it. Citizen journalism was alive, and even Corporate News turned to the IMC website for accurate reporting.
An ad-hoc collaboration of some pre-existing video groups under the auspices of the IMC, gathered the footage and produced a daily video in a series called 5 Days that Shook the WTO. Indymedia Presents #370, is Part 1 of that original series, Nov 29, 1999, a day of banner drops, debt drop, and raindrops, with a big show that night in the Seattle Center.
Episode #371 of Indymedia Presents will be the second part in the 5-part series, and so on.
We hope these original episodes can be useful in providing some deeper understanding of the issues, many of which have become mainstream, hidden in a sound-bite mention of the 10th anniversary of those days of action. In these 5 shows we can see that it was a victory for the people and for peoples media. The WTO is still in shambles, while the IMC, with its collaborative model, went viral.
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