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"Those glitches aside, "Battle in Seattle" makes a case for the way the WTO punishes Third World nations, allows the dumping of surpluses that drive workers away from jobs and is managed for the benefit of fat-cat nations. Some of the disagreement about the big Wall Street bailout reflects anger about the way money protects itself; should there be even a question that the executives who steered their companies into bankruptcy should be stripped of their multimillion-dollar bonuses?"

-- Roger Ebert in his review of "Battle in Seattle"


If you want a cinematic introduction into the "feel" of the massive (50,000 or more anti-WTO activists) 1999 Seattle World Trade Organization protests, the just released (March 2009) "Battle in Seattle" (which came out in theaters in 2008) is a great starter.

Let's be clear: it's a Hollywood film in terms of being a drama (with a Robert Altman sort of chance intersection of characters) script, but the combination of spliced-in documentary shots and recreations of the protests and the eventual "police riot" are worth the view.

The WTO protests nearly shut down the meeting that Bill Clinton was so proud to be hosting in the U.S., and almost kept Clinton from attending. In fact, it is the film's contention that pressure from the Clintonn White House upon the Washington State Governor ultimately led to the police violating the Constitutional rights of hundreds of non-violent dissenters (although there were some vandalizing anarchists who should have been justifiably arrested).

The sheer number of people and broad range of organizations (including the labor movement) involved in protesting globalization polices that shaft less-developed nations and pay scant regard to human rights and environmental issues was an insprirational moment. Unfortunately, the mainstream media loves conflict and its "news" legacy was the violence committed by an extremely small percentage of the protestors (the hardcore anarchists) and a police force out of control.

But, in reality, the Seattle WTO protests showed that large-scale mobilization can have an impact in making sure that the "whole world is watching," and that a light can be focussed upon -- as the lead organizer of the shutdown of downtown Seattle says -- those who are so powerful and wealthy that they are "untouchable and unaccountable."

Because this is a dramatic recreation -- and the issues surrounding the injustices and inequities of the WTO are complex -- it's important to view "Battle in Seattle" with an understanding that it is more inspirational than didactic.

After the Seattle debacle for the WTO, they moved meetings to more remote locations and created no-protest zones for miles around wherever they have met.

But 40,000 - 50,000 committed, courageous people concerned about justice showed in Seattle that the high and the mighty can be exposed.

Unfortunately, 9/11 and the Iraq War diverted attention from the predatory trade policies of the WTO (as well as the neo-Colonial agenda of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund). But "Battle in Seattle" reminds us that it is time to start protesting again about NAFTA, the WTO, the World Bank and the corporate control over "globalization," which is just another way of the "Masters of the Universe" telling us -- and particularly Third World nations -- that "We profit at your expense."



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