Today, December 9th, we will make ourselves seen and heard at the 3rd Annual Holiday Season
of Conscience Candlelight March to End Child Labor and Sweat Shots.
It starts at 5pm at Nike Town on 57th Street between 5th and Madison Avenues.
Then we'll march down 5th Avenue to the tree.
I'll be there along with thousands of kids, unionists, religious and solidarity activists
and WBAI listeners.
Please join us.
For more information, call 212-242-3002.
That's 212-242-3002.
This has been a public service announcement by WBAI for the National Labor Committee and
People of Faith Network.
And good evening everybody.
It's 8 o'clock on a Tuesday night.
Time for Off the Hook.
Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep.
The telephone keeps ringing, so I ripped it off the wall.
I cut myself while shaving, now I can't make a call.
It couldn't get much worse, but if they could they would.
Von Dilley-Bohm for the best, expect the worst.
I hope that's understood.
Von Dilley-Bohm!
Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep.
Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep.
Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep.
You sit around and you wish you'd hide.
The richest junkie's still alive.
And I won't die on that cross for you.
And I won't do that time for you.
It don't stop.
How are you doing, sir?
All right, Isaac, how's it going?
Oh, just fine.
We actually have Amy on the phone.
It would seem that she's updating us on the fine events in Seattle.
What's new?
Okay, yeah, it was Amy.
Amy is out there in Seattle.
Apparently it's really hitting the fan out there.
We're going to go to her live, actually.
I've got to make a phone call, though.
So let's get ourselves a phone line.
Telephone line?
Okay, great.
We just have to dial a special number here.
In case some of you are living in caves,
there is civil unrest going on in the American city of Seattle.
Thank God.
It took long enough for people to wake up.
The World Trade Organization.
Maybe it will be some inspiration to us.
Let's see if we can find Amy on the phone.
Hopefully the phones are working.
Not a good sign.
No.
Especially since she was just on the phone.
That sounds like it's going to voicemail.
Yes, it does.
Maybe she left some kind of cryptic message in her voicemail.
Welcome to Ballotmanic Mobile.
We can help you find Amy on the phone.
Thank you.
You're very welcome.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
We cannot complete your call at this time.
Please check the number and dial again.
5722.
Announcement 2.
Okay, I hope I have the right number.
That would be very bad if I somehow got the wrong number.
But I'm going to try it again.
Sometimes this phone system doesn't exactly translate the numbers as you dial them.
Unfortunately.
That's just the nature of technology in the 1990s.
Especially WBAI.
There's not much 1990s left.
No, definitely not.
The other phone is ringing again.
Hello?
Hi, this is Amy Goodman of Democracy Now.
If you're trying to reach out...
Okay, it sounds like you're on tape, Amy.
So what we're going to do is answer that other phone.
I was just going to talk some more.
I'm going to talk some more.
And maybe Seraph will join you.
Yes.
He did a little earlier, but we didn't get to say much.
I tried.
Well, we do try.
It's kind of hectic around here with people calling in with live reports from the other side of this fine continent.
And, well, Manuel is getting his last instructions.
There we go.
What's the news?
She's going to call us.
She's going to call us and we'll just answer the phone.
Yes.
On a special secret line.
Well, don't forget we have other callers that tend to be irritating.
So you've got to make sure.
Well, yeah, but they don't know these numbers, unfortunately.
Or fortunately, as the case may be.
Alright, so why don't you continue with your...
We didn't do much, but...
You have something in your hands there, sir.
I do have something in my hands.
There's all kinds of strange stuff showing up in the news about the National Security Agency.
Oh, the NSA?
Yeah, the good old NSA.
And you usually don't hear much from them.
They seem to make a policy of not issuing press releases.
And even in their own employee manual, they generally say that if somebody comes up to you and says,
Oh, is this true or is that true?
You should enforce the policy of total silence and plausible deniability.
We're going to have to enforce total silence right now because we have Amy on the phone.
And we're going to go to her live in Seattle.
Amy, it's Emanuel.
You're live on the air.
What's going on out there?
Hi, this is Amy Goodman.
I'm reporting live from the streets of Seattle where the police have moved in.
They've pushed out all the protesters just down the street.
As you can hear in the background, this is tear gas going off.
There's also been a lot of rubber bullets.
I'm now just down the street.
The police moved in as some fights had broken out.
The vast majority of protesters who are here protesting the World Trade Organization are absolutely peaceful,
trying to prevent any kind of looting.
But all at once, this was just after the mayor had announced there would be a curfew at 7 o'clock.
The police started to move down the street en masse.
As you can hear, they are hauling tear gas.
I'm going to run across the street to Nike Town.
Nike Town, FAO Schwartz.
This is the corner that I'm on, Planet Hollywood.
A large site of the demonstrations.
People had chained themselves to a large obstacle in the street.
Yes?
People had chained themselves to a large obstacle in the street.
I'm going to go over and see if any of them are still there.
The police, without notice, had moved in.
They're now looking at a backpack and an object.
But the police have cleared out this whole area, tear gassing everyone.
It's right outside the Sheraton and the Convention Center,
where the WTO was supposed to hold its meetings today.
It's unclear if they were able to conduct any kind of business in the World Trade Organization.
Amy, how many people are there right now?
Thousands and thousands of people.
Again, I'm just in a completely closed-off area.
One of the few people behind this police line,
because I'm pressed, it's just smoke as I look down the street,
because the police are pushing people down the street right now.
I'm running down to see what's happening,
but every time I try to go past a policeman, it pushes me back.
I'm running down the street, as you can hear.
They've been trying to negotiate with the police throughout the day.
They were even negotiating to say they would leave peacefully,
and they would come back tomorrow to stop the World Trade Organization.
There were some rowdy, younger people
who the protesters were trying to control,
and using that as a pretext,
they just moved in and cleared everyone out.
I'm now just moving down two blocks,
where the sight of the police,
they have pushed the crowd back at this point.
One of the things that's happened throughout the day
is that the police have denied that they use rubber bullets,
but I've been talking with police officers who say,
yes, in fact, police rubber bullets are being used,
and they are coming out of one.
How close are you to those...
I'm right here. I'm right on the corner.
They're firing tear gas. That's the noise that the tear gas...
They're firing tear gas, and...
Amy, get yourself away from there, if you have any...
It sounds like you're way too close.
I'm next to an armored vehicle.
Armored vehicles are now...
Sorry, it's just the tear gas.
Are now moving down the street.
Okay, okay, okay.
I'm pressed, I'm pressed.
I don't care. You're moving back?
The press are moving forward.
A policewoman is now just pushing me back with her baton.
The police are moving in.
There are two armored vehicles.
We're now moving past Rite Aid Pharmacy.
As you can hear, the police officer is saying, move back.
Let me just catch my breath.
Amy, what is the general mood over there?
Along the line.
Oh, the press are right there.
Why are you selecting me after? Move me down.
This isn't fair. Let me go up to where the press is.
I have to do my job.
Thank you. The press is all there.
Please, let me go there.
Do you have a press pass that's visible?
Yes, yes, yes. I have a press pass.
Okay, here we go.
What is the general mood there amongst the protesters?
Is it one of panic or...
Yes, at this moment, but I think there's a tremendous feeling of empowerment on this day.
Because Seattle was closed down.
I mean, the Battle of Seattle has definitely taken place.
The world has seen these thousands of protesters.
There were more than 20,000.
Jesus.
There were more than 20,000 in the stadium today.
In a big AFL-CIO protest.
And they marched to join the protest.
Ugh.
Amy, I've heard reports that...
Can you hear me, Amy?
Yeah.
I've heard reports that at least one person was run over by a police vehicle.
Is this true?
Was anyone...
It's very hard to work.
It's definitely adverse working conditions.
Never let it be said.
The AI reporters don't put themselves in the...
Was anyone run over by a police vehicle?
This kind of gas just burns all the way down your throat.
And it's very hard to keep my eyes open.
I believe it's pepper spray they're using.
Is that correct?
It's being said that the gas they're using right now is a lot more powerful than it was earlier.
Earlier this morning, it's a very bad situation.
In one area, there were peaceful protests about 10 o'clock.
It's very hard to keep up here.
There were, at 10 o'clock, peaceful protesters who were going to prevent the WTO from...
Delegates from getting there.
We're sitting.
They would continually chant,
We are non-violent.
And the police shot them at point-blank range with these rubber bullets.
I have many of them in my pocket now.
Small, like little berries.
And larger ones.
And one man, the bullet went right through his...
Under his lower lip.
Let's see how close I can...
My God.
And then they pepper sprayed them right in the face.
And I got continual eyewitness...
Or continual first-hand testimony...
Testimony to that effect.
Just one second.
Oh, God.
Then...
Some person came with a gun.
Some said it was a delegate.
It was a delegate who wanted to get through.
And as the protesters tried to put his arm up,
They maced the protesters.
This happened just about an hour ago.
You're saying a delegate had a gun?
Well, it's not clear that he was a delegate.
They said that he was.
The protesters said he was.
I didn't personally see him, so I can't vouch for that.
I'm now standing here.
There are only police around me.
And they are all, as you can imagine, wearing tear gas.
Helmets and riot gear.
The protesters right now...
The protesters right now...
What is it that they are trying to do?
The protesters are now...
These police, where I am right now,
Have riot shields.
And they have sealed off this area.
Let me see.
Is it much in the way of damage?
Or any kind of violence breaking out?
Oh!
Just a second.
Someone just threw something from the building.
There is some damage, but
I don't know what the mainstream papers are reporting.
Or the mainstream media is reporting
In terms of looting.
And if they are saying that this is just violence.
It is very clear.
And the police absolutely understand
That this is a non-violent protest.
There are some who have broken glass.
There was a story earlier
Of a Starbucks, the glass being broken
And someone opening the door and saying
This place is now open for business.
But the protesters said
That's not the case.
And they locked arms and they prevented anyone
From going through.
That's the kind of protest this is.
This is the kind of protesting
The benefits that these multinational corporations get.
This is the largest export city
In the country
With Microsoft, with Starbucks
With Boeing
The head of Boeing
Here we go.
Just a second.
Moving into a serious area here.
There is Errol Maitland.
You hear Errol speaking.
He is asking what time is the curfew.
We are moving now
To the independent
Independent media center.
And Errol is asking
What time is the curfew?
The police have
Cleared everyone out
Just forcing people down the street
With their armed vehicles
It's a total force
It's interesting that the police chief
Is denying that rubber bullets were used
When rubber bullets are all over the streets
In fact I just talked to
One of the sergeants in charge
And I asked him what is in that gun
And he said
Well I can't tell you
If it's chemicals
Or if it's rubber bullets
And then I said
Will you ask
And he said
The use of rubber bullets
As well as the tear gas
I just wasn't clear
That they were coming out together
From these guns
They also use smoke bomb type tear gas
That they throw at protesters
Again they have
Either the shields they hold in their hands
Or the shields they have over their helmets
Have very many of the protesters
Been injured or taken to hospitals?
It's hard to say
Right now
One person
I see one person
A number of people
Are sitting in the street right now
Nothing like the number before
But the tear gas has made it very difficult
For people to
Just remain
Amy what is planned
For tomorrow when President Clinton
Is going to attempt to
Maybe you can tell me
If President Clinton is going to attend
It would be
You know
He saw the protests in Greece
He cut his trip short because of them
Greece doesn't compare
To what we're looking at right now
In the streets of Seattle
This is his own country
These are his own policies
As he talks about trying to push
The WTO towards labor rights
And human rights
And environmental rights
The fact is that the US
Is the most powerful force
The WTO and the WTO
Do get pushed through
At the WTO
And the WTO
Has very much
Gone in the other direction
When it comes to all of these issues
Not including labor
Or human rights
In their policies
But instead forcing countries
To open up their markets
To western products
And when they don't
They take their grievances to the WTO
Which overwhelmingly rules in its favor
And then the US
Sanctions countries like France
And their products that they want to export
Into the United States
Because the French will not accept
Hormone injected beef
That is the story of the World Trade Organization
I heard a report earlier
Where someone from France
Was actually giving cheese out to people
Saying that you're not allowed to have this
Because of the sanctions
That's right
In fact he took a hammer
To a McDonald's
That was being built in France
And he has become a national hero
His name is Jose Bovet
We have him on Democracy Now!
And he is a French farmer
Who lives in the area
Where Roquefort cheese is made
The only place in the world
He is a farmer who raises the animals
That produce that cheese
And he says
That the area gets wiped out
When the Roquefort cheese
Can't come into this country
As tariffed
At rates of 100%
Picking up the prices to $30 and $60
In this country
So that people can't afford it
That's the way it works
If the US imposes sanctions
If they say they won't accept
Hormone injected beef
There's a much more advanced policy
In Europe around biotechnology
I think that these protests
Of tens of thousands of people
In Seattle
Are going to wake up people
In this country
And also show that people
Have woken up in this country
Because people have come
From all over the United States
Not to mention the world
To make their views known
To this really completely secret
Yet extremely powerful
Organization
There are a number of people
Sitting down right now
In the street
And they are drawing the line
Once again
The way they have
But the police moved in
So fast
With such force
All along the way
That they were forced out
Of one part of downtown Seattle
Just now
The protesters
Amy you've seen many demonstrations
From East Timor to New York
How does this rank
As far as demonstrations in America
In terms of demonstrations
In America
I think this is
Not only very rare
For Seattle
But quite rare for this country
In 1999
I mean certainly Seattle
Has seen nothing like this protest
I think in many years
There are police from all over Washington
Here
Supposedly the governor offered
The National Guard
But the mayor said he's rejected this
At this point
But a total curfew on the city
For 7 o'clock tonight
And that's just about an hour and a half away
From now
So I imagine we'll be hearing from you again
Later as the curfew takes effect
Well yeah
I will certainly report
I'm standing at a significant place
Which is the Independent Media Center
People can go to that site
On the web
Indymedia.org
And hear hundreds of media activists
From around the country
Have come together
Actually from around the world
And are putting up video and audio
And reports directly
So it is not mediated
By the corporate media
Because the corporate media
They couldn't trust
That what was happening here
On the streets of Seattle
Would get out
There's more tear gas right now
And so this media center
Has been operating
And it's remarkable
Unmediated
People just put in their video
Put in their audio
And you can go to that site
And you can see all sorts
And hear and watch and read
A man with a gun
Is coming toward me
Here we go
Uh oh
Just one second
Well
Vans are moving in
The armored vehicles
Are moving in
More police are moving in right here
And people have come out
Of the Independent Media Center
What's remarkable about this place
Seattle and this event
Is that the number of video cameras
The number of cameras
The number of grassroots
People who have become
Reporters, chronicles of what's happening
Because of lack of trust of the corporate media
And so you're getting it
All different ways
The media here
For example KOMO4
Which is a local channel
The big TV station
Says they will not cover any protests
That are illegal
And they won't name organizations
So as not to encourage
Or anything that discourages commerce
They won't cover it?
No that's what they said
And they won't name organizations
Alright the police
I am in a very unusual vantage point
I am here alone with the police
And the protesters are all
I'm behind the police line
And they're getting their
Guns of gas
Together
Dozens of police officers
The people are half a block away
There are six people
Who are sitting in front of them
About 20 yards ahead of them
They have their gas masks on
They haven't taken them off
And they've lined up once again
The kind of line we've seen throughout the day
People are moving in
Right now a protester with a bandana
A black bandana on his face
Stepping forward
Errol Maitland
Who is here with the Democracy Now team
Is standing right in front of the police line
And he is speaking into his tape recorder
Amy tell us something
About the demonstrators
Are they from a wide variety of backgrounds
Are they young people?
Old people?
It is a true cross section
Many thousands
Of young people
Have come from all over
In addition
There are all kinds of people
There are thousands of
Labor leaders
Down the street here
I see many people running
There's tear gas
That has just been launched
About a block away
In the other direction
People are shouting
I'll head down there
But
The question is what will happen
Also tomorrow
The World Trade Organization meetings
Are supposed to go on
For a number of days
Of course President Clinton
Was supposed to meet
They've just fired into the crowd
They're firing directly into the crowd
They're firing off
The tear gas canisters right now
And as to whether
They're beating people right in front of the center
Just one second
They're
Moving into the
They're blockading
The independent media center right now
They've put a table up in front of it
Which means people will not be able to get out
And the police are moving in
Now why they're blockading the center
Is unclear
The policewoman
Who is standing in front of me
Has the plastic handcuff
That she has hanging
There are more than a hundred people
Who are inside the media center right now
The police are moving down
The Humvees are moving down
People are shouting
Whoa
Ah
Amy?
Yeah
People
I'm moving into the tear gas area
And the only other people here are police
And they're all wearing their gas masks
They're trying
To
People
Here say
The protesters
That they are in the streets
For people
Around the world
Who can't afford to come to Seattle right now
The police are moving in
In all directions now
With their riot shields
Their batons
That are about four feet long
Wooden batons
Sorry
Okay
Yeah but I can't go into the tear gas
The police
Forcing me to move
Into the tear gas
I'm trying to move
People are shouting now
Hey hey
Ho ho
The WTO
Has got to go
It's hard to believe
This is the street of an American city
In 1999
As we move into the year 2000
Well of course Amy you were involved
In covering the East Timor
Massacres of the past
Do you see similarities between
The mood of the people versus the police
People are very determined here
Ah
Ah
Is it clear what the police are trying to do right now
Are they trying to round everybody up
And make mass arrests
They're trying to push them out of the city
They're trying to push them out of the downtown
Area
Trying to stop these protests
Again we're talking about
Thousands of union members
Of the AFL-CIO
And all of the different unions
Steel workers and the teamsters
Are here in force
Part of the rapid response team
Young people are here
From the anti-sweatshop coalition
Whoa
Here's the tear gas right here
Just one second
What happens is
They're shooting
They're shooting tear gas into the
Crowd
People are very angry
Because
They have been peaceful
They have been actually
In many cases working
With the police
Explaining what they're doing
I can't go right into the tear gas sir
I'm a reporter
Yes
Right here
That got me off this time
I imagine sometimes a pacifica
Passes me off
With protesters
It's hard to
Keep my eyes open
The police are pushing me back
You see these guys down here
These reporters
Hook up with those guys and they'll take care of you
You don't need to be down here
Alright
Let me just stand here
For a second
Amy
What do you think is going to happen
In just over an hour when this curfew
Takes effect
I don't think these people are going to just comply
The police are coming over to me right now
I don't know what it's going to be
They're going to push me out of this whole area
I'm just watching
I know I know
But you're hurt
It's ok
I'm used to the tear gas
I'm ok
I won't get hurt
But I can't see from here
Thanks
I would stay near that guy
He has a
Four foot wooden baton
He has
Eye shield of course
He is wearing a gas mask
He's a police officer
Along with the hundreds that are here right now
There are a few protesters
Who have gas masks
I've been quite amazed
At how organized they are
There are a lot of people here
Long time training in civil disobedience
Or first comers to it
Just deeply believe
But are very organized
Like in the 1970s
The anti-nuclear affinity groups
That we saw going up to Seabrook
That's what we see here
People consulting on a consensus basis
As they sat in front of the police lines
Everywhere in the city
Some chaining themselves
To obstructions
And the reason they put in those obstructions
Is to stop the markets
From getting into the world trade organization
I do believe they stopped
The WTO
From having any kind of meaningful discussion
Today
There's no question about that
What will happen tomorrow
Is another story
Because today was a massive day of protest
By the way tonight
Ralph Nader
And Indian anti-globalization act
Will be debating
That's a certainly more organized forum
Than this is
But this is what they are arguing about
And this is the streets folks
Okay we have the police lining up
Too deep
And I know that they are just about to tear gas
The people again
As the people are shouting
I'm going to put up the phone to them
The whole world is watching
And some are sitting down in front of the police
The whole world is watching
The whole world is watching
The whole world is watching
The whole world is watching
The whole world is watching
Can you hear them saying the whole world is watching
Yeah and it's rather bizarre
Because just as you're playing that
We're watching CNN down here
And President Clinton is getting off an airplane
As chance of the whole world is watching
Can be heard
The other police officer said
If I can handle it I can handle it
But in order to report I have to be here
How come that guy sounded like
One of the storm troopers from Star Wars
Was he talking through a gas mask or something
Okay the people
Are chanting the whole world is watching
The whole world is watching
One of the things that the protesters wanted to do
Around the city
Is prevent any delegate from moving
To the convention center
Whether by car or by walking
And many times
They would have
Heated discussions with the delegates
Absolutely preventing them from crossing the lines
Of people who would lock their arms
By telling them also why they oppose
The WTO
Heated discussions by representatives
Of the chambers of commerce
Around the world
Because the corporations are so heavily represented
The World Trade Organization
As one sign said
That I repeatedly saw
Global
Corporate gain
Global pain
And you know the way cities
Vie for large conferences
Like these of thousands
Well I don't think anyone
Is ready for the next WTO ministerial meeting
The question is whether
The World Trade Organization will survive
Because
No matter the slant of the corporate media
The word is getting out
I haven't been able to watch
Because I've been in the streets
What the media coverage is
I assume it's pictures of people dressed as
Genetically mutated
You know cobs of corn
But if there are serious debates
And discussions that are going on
For the first time on issues like these
Bioengineered foods
Etc
This is something that affects everybody
It's the food we eat
It's democracy
It's cities and town councils
Being able to decide
Whether or not they want to support
Companies like Unocal
That do business in Burma
You know under the World Trade Organization
They are WTO illegal
Because they are creating
And this is something that particularly
Developing countries have found around the world
The U.S. brings objection
To their wanting to protect their own industry
Another thing
Is when I
Registered as a
Reporter here
I was given a box of best of Seattle products
Like salmon
And Starbucks coffee
Like
Certain kinds of Seattle truffle
Chocolate
And I saw the Seattle host organization
Showing off what is best about Seattle
And yet
What you have around the world
Is in some cases governments wanting to support
Local farmers
You know buying crops from local farmers
And the WTO
Will then
United States government
For example will go after
Countries that want to buy locally
Because they say you are creating an obstacle
To trade
How did it grow its industry
By protecting them
And this is what in some cases
Countries around the world
Want to do or people are demanding
Of their governments to do
And now with these more and more
Powerful international organizations
They are not able to do that
That's what these people are standing
And sitting in the streets for
I'm going to try to walk a little closer
Which means a group of police officers
Are certainly going to come over to me
One police officer
Is taking one of the signs
He said if I
Come any closer to him
He's going to assume I just don't want to play
But what he did is he just took a sign back
It says and it's the sign that
People from the AFL-CIO have been carrying
By the tens of thousands
If it doesn't work for working families
It doesn't work and that's the poster
That they are moving
This is the last warning
You need to stay behind the van
Keep going
Behind the van
For your safety
I'm safe
I understand that
But they don't like guys walking up from behind them either
Stay behind the van
Amy are you clearly marked as a press person
Can they tell from a distance
I'm not a press person
Which is probably why they don't want me coming forward
Because the closer I come
The more I can hear the police talking to each other
But we're still in downtown Seattle
Again thousands of people
Are standing confronting the police
A number of them are sitting down
The police are deciding
What to do
They clearly have been
To say the least
Thrown by these protests
These are massive protests
To show the city of Seattle
But to show the world
That's why farmers have come from France
That's why unionists have come from India
And Pakistan
It's why human rights activists have come from China
It's why
We've seen
Scientists and doctors
Come to talk about
How public health has been impaired
By the World Trade Organization
Ensuring that western pharmaceutical companies
Will be protected
With their high prices
While countries
Particularly for example in Africa
Are forced to buy
These pharmaceutical products
And the people who need them most
Cannot afford them
This is what people all over the city have been talking about
This is particularly true in the case of AIDS
Where I think it's something like
Countries can produce drugs for 5%
Of what's being charged them
By US pharmaceutical companies
Is that correct?
It's not just the grassroots mobilization
Around that issue alone
Gore was forced
To back down the vice president
Because he was running for president
And everywhere he went in this country
There were AIDS activists there
Saying that he was killing
People in South Africa
Because he was pushing South Africa
To not to
Allow their own pharmaceutical companies
To develop drugs
But to buy expensive drugs from the United States
Because everywhere he went
There were signs that would go up
That say Gore greed kills
And he's obviously trying to get good PR
He was forced to negotiate with AIDS activists
This is the kind of activism
From the bottom
That has been percolating up
That even the mainstream has had to deal with
And especially in this election year
They've had to deal with it
Okay people are coming closer to the police right now
I am again behind the police line
I'm going to try to move forward
Which will mean I'll go in front of
The police line
Go ahead
It was about a week ago that AIDS activists
Occupied the office of the US Trade Representative
In Washington DC
That's kind of a prelude to this I suppose
That's right
Interesting you should raise Charlene Barashevsky
The US Trade Representative
Because I understand
And again I don't know because I wasn't in their rooms
That the US Trade Representative
As well as the Secretary of State
But I heard this from people in the street
Were forced to remain in their rooms today
And were not able to get to the World Trade Organization
Meetings
Now there were some people who got in
For example Medea Benjamin of Global Exchange
And Kevin Danaher
One of the founders of Global Exchange
They were able to get into the meeting
After protesting in the streets
Somehow they got in
And they took the microphone
And they talked about what corporate globalization
Has meant for tens of millions of people
Medea was arrested
The others were evicted
And the National
The Lawyers Guild
The National Lawyers Guild
In San Francisco
Is trying to get an injunction
Against the
Seattle Police
For the way that they have been treating protesters
I mean the fact that rubber bullets are being used
And the police have denied this
Until this point
Is extremely significant
I think there is something wrong with this
Even though they're rubber
And I've got both kinds in my pocket
The little ones and the larger ones
They to say the least
Can be very dangerous when fired at point blank range
Not to mention the mace
The pepper spray and the tear gas
I'm sure anyone in Northern Ireland will attest to that fact
Now what's very important is that this evidence
Get out to the public
To the mass media
That they are in fact using rubber bullets there
Because I have not heard any reports of that in the mass media
I mean you just have to reach down
And you just pick them up
I know CNN was reporting this
I didn't see CNN reporters in the street
In the corner where I was
But of course each corner becomes an entire world
The confrontation becomes
You know your world is that corner
Now I'm trying to look at what's happening
Whether someone is hurt in the street
Or whether people are simply
Sitting down
But the police line
We are right by
The symphony hall of Seattle
Interesting oddly enough
Also the protesters have
Taken the newspaper stands
And they line them up
In the street
But they turn them over on their side
Okay I'm going back
I know
People are extremely angry
They are shouting
You gassed us
We were peaceful
What did we do
They are asking
And you gassed us
You've hit us
I know that there was a reporter
With the national radio project
Laura Livoti
Who was hit in the back of her head
With these batons
Extremely serious batons
About four
Like clubs
They are used as clubs
By the police
About four feet long
Amy could you tell us
Why this year
Don't they have these meetings every year
Not in the United States
The World Trade Organization
Was set up in 1995
It is now 1999
I believe
This is the first time
In the United States
I also think
The level of awareness
Of what the World Trade Organization
Has been doing
Has grown
Since it was established
More and more people
Have gotten active
It is the kind of issue
That seems abstract
No one even knows
What the World Trade Organization
Is or does
It is the courts
Where decisions are made
But because of the hard work
Of activists
And it has been
A remarkable networking
And I think a lot of that networking
Has taken place
And this is very relevant to your show
On the internet
At sites like
Seattle99.org
At sites like
Indymedia.org
We have a new website
For our program
That also links to a number of these sites
And people can get a serious sense
I think especially the
Indymedia.org page
Of exactly what is happening all the time
The police are now moving
People forward
In front of the line
Behind me
There is more and more
Tear gas
I can hear the explosions
Again tonight
Also another event
That is much tamer
But is taking place
Inside
A debate between representatives
Of the World Trade Organization
We are getting reports
That the Independent Media Center
Is being tear gassed
Right now
And there are some people
That are going straight to voicemail
How close are you to this Independent Media Center
And who is in there
I just passed it
And they did
The thing is
If I go back
It will be hard to go forward
Let's see
No
Let's see
I'll take a quick look
The Independent Media Center
Is the site of a lot of grassroots activism
This weekend
At the same time that the forums are taking place
The workshops are taking place
There have been a number of civil disobediences
Leading up to today
Two young women
Repelled down to Highway 5
And unfurled a large banner
Against the WTO
They were arrested at the same time
That one of these women's brothers
Was doing a similar protest in Paris
I hear that in London
There are major protests
Hundreds of people
Just in the last days
Let's see
Hundreds of people
In the last days
Did you mention New York?
There was something in New York today
Today there was
I know that Reclaim the Streets
Was last weekend
On what?
Black Friday
I think there were something like
200 or so protesters at the World Trade Center today
And I would expect
That there will be more protests
Especially given what has happened
I've moved now
To the Independent Media Center
Again I saw that the police
Had blockaded them in
And yes
They are blockaded in right now
The police moved a table
Turned it on its side
There are not many police here
But they blocked them in
And everyone is
Moving against
The windows
And there's a desk
Let me ask
Why are they blockaded inside?
Sorry
Consider to keep them inside
But why prevent them from coming out?
The police are moving a table right now
Did I hear them say
That they're trying to keep them contained?
They're trying to keep them contained
Aren't these media people?
These are media activists
I see
Okay I'll go back to where I was
They're forcing me
To go across
The street
It looks like they're going to make some arrests here
They're bringing in
Two buses
That's probably a sign of that
Well let's see
If this is just a public bus
Or a bus being brought in for this purpose
Oh it's not a public bus
Or public buses
Are commandeered
Alright
Take a look at who's driving it
If it's a cop
That's a good clue there
Alright
There are
About
Two police officers here
In front of the independent media center
They've locked all the people in
There are dozens of people inside
And they have a bus here
And a Humvee is now coming
To
The center
And it's passed it
Moving to where the protesters are
Have the protesters shown any sign of dispersing?
There's a
Standoff
Just a block away where I was
Right now as I'm at the independent media center
I see that people are
Walking down
The street
On the other street
Right now
Let me take a look at what's happening there
It's trying to
Keep tabs on
These
Different confrontations around the city
It seems that on every corner
There's another situation that is
Taking place
Seattle has become a battleground
A battleground around
Corporate globalization
Not only in this country
But really for the world
As the protesters
Keep shouting and chanting
The whole world is watching
The whole world is watching
Did you say President Clinton
Actually landed in Seattle?
No that was actually a taped
Broadcast of him landing someplace
What's interesting is we have CNN on here
There's mostly commercials
In fact several for some pharmaceutical companies
The only report we've seen
Is something on tape from previously
I've gone through some of the other channels
Nothing there
I know when I watch BBC
Surprisingly little on the mass media
But maybe it's not so surprising
No it's not surprising
Because the very
Corporations
That
People are talking about
Benefiting from globalization
Are the ones that
Own the media
Or the media
The media is corporations
That's what it's all about
Right now
Are you a part of these protests?
Not everyone is part
All of Seattle is protesting
All of Seattle is protesting
The world is protesting
The WTO
Which is an arrangement
By the rich corporations
The transnationals
To open the very last market
The very last crevice in this world
Destroy communities
Destroy the working men and women
Destroy families
With a transgenic agenda
Of seed production
That try to
Drive the peasants from the land
And tie the farmers
To the multinationals
Like Monsanto
And imbue the consumers
With products
And with foodstuff
That is unregulated
And unhealthy
And unpredictable
What is your name sir?
I work for the city and county of San Francisco
What is your name?
J.T. Reebok
Reebok?
And what do you think of these protests?
And how did you manage?
I think it's about time that we speak out
Against the WTO
And this corporate takeover
Of our daily lives
And as working men and women
We have to stand up
And the whole world is watching Seattle
At this moment
And I will watch if the police is coming here
The whole world is watching
And we are
I think we are the consciousness
Of the world working class
And environmental movement
And peasants and farmers
All over
And it's our duty to shut this WTO
Down
And replace it
With some agenda that is people oriented
Protects third world countries
Avoids
Big countries bully
The small countries
In trade relationships
Keeps people on the land
In organic production
Replaces agrochemical production
With organic production
And
And gets us off this mad trip
Of consumerism
These corporations just produce
Things that we don't need
And you have seen that the young people
Understand that very well
Of irrational consumerism
Here in Brook
Did the material damage
In a very selected way
And that means that they understand perfectly well
What's happening
You're wearing a
Poncho because it's been raining
Throughout the day
That says Seattle 99 protests of the century
And I've seen hundreds of people wearing this
Right
We are one month before the millennia
And this is a watershed event
In the sense that it's the first time
In history
As I know it
That organized labor
From all rungs and files
Throughout the United States
Came here to Seattle
And throughout the world actually came to Seattle
Met this morning at the big labor rally
And they were joined by
Environmentalists
By human right activists
By organic farmers
Sustainable farmer movements
The United Farm Workers
Peace activists
Religious people
And we all marched together
In one cause
And with one agenda
And I think that is great
I've never seen that
That's the first
And it has created
So thanks to the WTO
And thanks to Seattle for hosting that
That we were able to forge this new alliance
And it's a global response
Of the working men and women
To what is happening
At the corporate level
If they're globalized
We can globalize certainly too
Thank you
Amy can you hear me?
We're going to have to cut away
Because the next program is here
And they've got a late breaking story
It is quite amazing
As usual to have a place like WBAI
I know in San Francisco they have KPFA
All part of this grassroots radio network
Because where else can you hear
The coverage on the street
Through the tear gas
Hear the people themselves
Talking about why they've come to Seattle
And we'll continue to keep people updated
Of course tomorrow
We will try to report in on wake up call
I will be doing a show live
With Juan Gonzalez
Errol Maitland our technical director
And Maria Carreon and David Love
Somewhere in the streets tonight
I'm told Errol wants to know
Where you are, he's on 6th Avenue
Where is Errol?
On 6th Avenue
6th and what?
It just says 6th Avenue here
So I guess it's not very specific
Well you can call me on the cell phone
We'll work it out
Thanks very much
And we will certainly keep the listeners posted
That's our responsibility
Thank you
6th and South 9th
That's where he is
That's it for Off The Hook tonight
It's not really an edition of Off The Hook
We'll be back again next week
With a regularly scheduled show
Until then this is Emanuel Goldstein
Stay tuned to WBAI for the latest breaking news
As far as the events in Seattle
We'll be breaking in throughout the night
If anything else happens
Good night