I think this guy has a point. People are looking more and more for some kind of thing to do to better the world. This can be seen a lot in movies lately, Fight Club and American Beauty all deal with people who wish to change society. Although I don't see the WTO thing as the triggering event, it may very well be one of the first signs of the new generation "who haven't had a great war" as Tyler Durden puts it. People want to feel as if they can do something, that they have the power to change things. People want a revolution and will seek for many areas in which this can occur. Quite fascinating.

More power to the people! cant wait to see this feature. WORD!

I'sa only kiddin with that "WORD!" stuff and I agree with the Mr Sinister about this generation not having any thing to get mad about. Or at least I would agree if weren't for the fact that more people have died in wars and conflicts around the world in the last ten years than at any other point in twentieth century history. We just didn't notice cuz we where to busy watching "The REAL World" on MTV. Face it, our generation is the most coddled and deluded in the history of mankind. Of course we only get to see what the media shows us and most of the genocides that have happened haven,t been sexy enough to warrant Dan Rather's attention. But that's no exscuse cuz let's face it who wants to listen to stories of foreign woe when we can concentrate on how great the economy has been in the 90's and pat our selves on the back for a job we didn,t do. Face it we had plenty of things to get mad at, we just weren,t interested. God forbid a real emergency, something really worth getting mad about comes along cuz we'll be fucked, we wont know what to do and we'll just be sitting there, flicking the remote and tryin to figure out why this emergency is the only thing on and where the fuck did "The Real World" go?

could you have said anymore about the film itself. What happened in Seattle was good in that it brought way more attention to the WTO and the policies they are trying to create around the world. Of course the mainstream media only really reported it as a riot by a bunch of kids. They aren't going to report against their source of revenue. And thats why I don't trust shit they tell me. There is always another side that they're not reporting on. The movie sounds cool, and I hope i get to check it out. I'm out

I swear back in November I saw Tyler smashing up that Starbuck's - they were only quick flashes but I'm sure it was him. Anyway, can't wait to see this one. And yeah, there WAS a lot to be angry about in the 90s, but no-one much thought there was anything they could do about it. It was "bitterness without a focus". But every now and again something would work as a focus and it'd all come spilling out - then die again. The difference is that last year tens of thousands in Seattle and many more around the world watching saw that we COULD do something. The WTO failed in their conference! This was a VICTORY. Partial, of course - globalisation is continuing - but something to boost the ole confidence nonetheless. Anyway, to get back to a pop culture mode (drifted away for a sec there), to quote Richard Linklater (via REM) "Withdrawal in disgust is not the same as apathy." GLOBALISE REVOLT!

Who in their right mind would rather protest over some vague concept of "evil Globalisation", as opposed to genuine human sufferring in countless war zones around the planet. If you cant come up with an argument which categorically states "this evil corporation is responsible for X amount of deaths on a horrendous scale", then your poxy protest isn't worth talking about in terms of historical significance. What's more annoying, capitalism and corporate intrusion or Genocide ? First things first.

As a genuine deserter from the Battle of Grant Park, Chicago, August, 1968, I can't begin to express my utter joy and intense gratification about the WTO protests in Seattle. Seeing my generation morph into stockbrokers and lawyers, I often wondered if the revolution was over. The kids in Seattle proved it isn't. There are still people willing to get gassed and hit upside the head with nightsticks for a moral principle. Right on, brothers and sisters!

If it were possible to abolish that ludicrous, meaningles, logic-defying word "generation" the number of stupid ideas in the English-speaking world would be cut by at least half. People are born all the time, one by one. People die all the time, one by one. These things do not happen in vast, simultaneous batches twenty or thirty years apart. There is no such thing as a generation. Any notion or theory based on the idea of generations is consequently flawed form the outset and therefore almost certainly invalid. Got that?

Regarding the mirror protests here in London, I found myself, at a basic level supporting the general cause that the protests were all about. Generally, corporation just don't care about global problems, socio-economics, the destruction of the environment, cultural imperialism and the 'restructuring' of local economies to their own advantage. Oh sure, suddenly CEO's start appearing in PR events, giving money to the third world, but only when the slothful ratings-hungry mainstream media gets off it's fat ass and decides it's trendy to really care about issues for a few weeks, in between reporting on the latest person some 'celebrity' is fucking, or how much Calista Flockhart's weight is. Then the attention goes away again, and the CEO's go back to their usual practices. But my support became severely tempered by the behavious of a LARGE section of the crowd defacing the Centotaph (memorial to English war dead) near Westminster. You fucking bastards. If I had been there and seen the fucker doing this, I would have put my foot three feet up your ass, you son of a bitch. "Why Glorify War?" was one of the slogans these scumbags scrawled on it. IT'S NOT. THAT'S THE WHOLE GODDAMN POINT. IT'S A MONUMENT TO HOW THE LITTLE PEOPLE PAY FOR THE BIG'S PEOPLES FUCKUPS. And not one of these ganja-injecting turds fronted up to apologise afterwards for it. If you expect to get society to support your cause, get the facts right, control or exclude the violence-for-the-sake-of-it, smash-the-state-but-gimme-my-welfare-first, people-in-uniforms-are-just-warmongers factions, or all you'll ever be is a bunch of criminals smashing up a McDonalds and terrorising the staff you only earn about £4 an hour.

ol' painless, I generally agree with you... but "ganja-injecting?"

Ok, fair-enough, bad turn of phrase - rage overtook brain. Maybe if they had toked up on ganja, it might have slowed them down some. Instead, they got busy with the spray cans, and desecrated the memories of the war dead.

you are on the money. i almost went to those riots.... i am a photographer, and fancied getting some pictures of an actual historical event. Instead I went to a picnic.... probably wise. Defacing Winston Churchil, fair enough: he was a pretty racist guy and his Irish policy was fucked, so maybe making people think about that and form a more balanced view is worthwhile, but then they did the centotaph.. god, you can honour the conscripted dead whatever your views on the war in question. Dumb fucks. On the other hand, of course, the police only weighed in when it was precious PRIVATE property being attacked, ie MacDonalds. God I am angry thinking about this. Fellow AICNers, I urge you not to shop at the Gap, or buy Nike. Thankyou and goodnight, xx.

I live in Seattle and I have one thing to say to all the "protestors", QUIT WHINING! If you block entrance to public buildings and block streets, you're going to get your ass kicked by the cops. I was disappointed that the cops didn't start cracking skulls. The "protestors" of course all got off with a slap on the wrist. You have the right to protest, but don't complain about the consequences. You should have heard the things these losers said at some of the "investigation" meetings held afterwards. What a bunch of jerks.

I'm from Tacoma. Or abouts.

when the city of seattle held a town meeting to allow the protesters a platform to talk about what went wrong during wto, the hall was packed and it resulted in additional meetings. when the city held a meeting asking the protesters and the people what can be done to prevent future problems, you could count the # of attendees on one hand. it seems that right from the beginning, the protesters were only interested in bitching. and when it came time to offer solutions, they were mysteriously silent.

You know what, I covered the WTO "riots" too, and I was at nearby Portland's MayDay semi-riot. At BOTH, there were about 2 people I saw that had could clearly explain what they thought the problem they were protesting was. 99.9 percent of everybody I interviewed there were Reed (read weed)college students who were a semester and an inheritance away from losing their fashionable granola look and turning as whitewashed as their parents. Because that's what the majority of these protesters are: silver-spoon suburbanites who can't even articulate whatever angst they wish they had. I was actually pleasantly surprised the local stations could find even a couple people to interview who could fairly succintly explain why they were there. There is a lot of things I think most reasonable folks would want on the table about the WTO and the way the world is being groomed for globalization. I think in a republic like ours that espouses democracy, free discussion, and activism, we can do a lot better than a bunch of bored college student fuckers who start fights with the cops. On that note....yes, I remember the first actual violence was by the police. And it was insane. I saw a guy kicked pretty hard in the nuts, and he was walking rather timidly away from the cops. But before the violence itself, I saw several young fuckos trying to intimidate or even rushing at the cops. I can't belive they tolerated it as long as they did, though they went way too nucking futs when they did finally use force. Fine, you want to pretend it was peaceful, it was those damn mean cops who started curb stomping hippies...pretend all you want. But from somebody who was there....those hippies were trying pretty hard to be badass, and when it didn't work, they picked a fight. And trying to excuse looting by pointing out the cops blinked first...jesus. No wonder a bunch of old white guys want to run the world. I'd rather it be them than a bunch of retarded scenesters who are doing the fashionable thing by NOT KNOWING WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON. I asked several dozen people simple questions like: Which third-world countries do you think is most manipulated or ignored by the international elite ie China, the US, France, etc., and why aren't you there right now? Most of these longhairs looked at me like I was a fucking alien and asked if i wanted to buy a pipe. The only people who answered the questions intelligently generally answered all of them correctly, giving me the feeling there were a few people there with legitimate concerns, and the rest were that generation Tyler Durden was talking about. And I think the earlier poster was correct-there is some sort of generation-gap thing going on now. Between zero-tolerance types and the hippie wannabes at the WTO and MayDay riots...there's going to be problems unless communication exists, and both sides feel like they're not getting their soapbox time. Siding with either is pretty stupid...perhaps it's best to just try to answer their questions as best you can, and debunk their dogmatic crap twice as hard. And the Northwest, long the bastion of laid-back white suburban activism is going to be a testing ground, and soon. In Portland, they've got a new chief of police who cut his teeth in LA for the past decade. And if that's any indication where the boiling point is going to be, maybe joining a militia isn't such a bad idea. Let's all head to Montana, let's all head to Montana, let's all head to Montaaaaanaaaa...and try not to get smacked...doo de doo de doo doo doo...

I was at the Filmmakers Forum when the film's writer/producer spoke about how they made Trade Off. For some behind-the-scenes info (and a link to a cool poster image), visit http://www.fromscript2screen.com/vault/tradeoff_2000.html I'm a little behind on my film festival diary, but when I get it all written up (this week, I hope!) I may have some more about this documentary, including some photos. The film's director also spoke during one the sessions I attended. Best, Dave K. http://www.fromscript2screen.com/

The protesters at this event could be divided into 2 catagories the gardeners that planted stuff all around the area including tearing up paving slabs to do it. This was an organised peacefull protest. Then there are the angry mob that turn up to any and all events to shout slogans that they can't explain and have a pop at any police they can see. It was these that turned the event from a protest into a mini riot and forced police intervention. At least the old hippys could explain there causes and not realy on bored, no brain thugs to gain attention

What a bunch of whinning malcontents! Most of those idiots didn't even know what they were rioting - yes, rioting - against! They were just a bunch of Marxist/Anarchists that can't stand the fact that CAPITALISM WORKS, and COMMUNISM/ SOCIALISM FAILS! Get a fucking job! The ones who aren't commie are just bored kids who don't have anything else to do because they never had to work a day in their life... Whew!..need...to...breathe...slow...down. Sorry, I just started to lose it there...

well, its kinda funny, the way all these people are saying the same thing and getting angry about it... cops shoulda busted some heads my ass... what the fuck were they doing? rubber bullets hurt like a mutherfucker one of my friends got shot in the mouth... not cool, the cops are there to protect, they're using non leathals and stuff, they're aiming at the kids heads? well anyway, its the mayors fault... i hope thats in the movie. he totally fucked that up. was too leanient right off the bat, then way too harsh once he realized that everyone was winning... he called off the newyears2000 shit too, cause he expected a riot there (actually there was a bomb threat) he is a jackass... so, you have hundreds of kids in a street blocking the confrence, and 1 out of 10 or fuck, 1 outa a 100 can tell you exactly what they're protesting, i don't really get whats so bad about that. they're doing something. they listened to a guy say, "hey, lets fight bad guys!" and they went with it... every tyler durden needs spacemonkeys... thats all... and shit, i doubt you could find 1 out of a 100 people in seattle who could tell you who all is running for president... after the fact, we, the kids who had no idea what we were doing, heard how they misrepresented us in the news, and started asking what the fuck really happened. we went to a bar (in teargas choked capitolhill) and asked that tyler durden-esq guy what we were there for. he told us and now you can read it on the posts at the top, globalization and shit, its not that everyone is against capitolism, its that american companys are taking over every developing contry before they can (thru capitolism) create their own companies... coke and nike and the gap and microsoft and phillip morris and all that, they own us and they're crushing everyone else... sorry that was so long... all that pent up aggression... how cool is a talkback that isn't about ash or neo...? or janet jackson's sweet cleavage...? pretty damn cool...

Basically, if you weren't in Seattle on Nov 30, or if you just watched the events unfold on TV, you don't know what really happened. I was there, knew why I was there, and "Trade Off" is the closest media I've seen to what I experienced in the streets on that day. No matter what your opinion of WTO Seattle... be brave and watch "Trade Off" when you get a chance. ABC, NBC, CBS, et al... they all missed the real story: labor unions, environmentalists, and even religious institutions are now all working together to redefine the world's political scenario. The tired old Left vs. Right / Liberal vs. Conservative paradigm has been replaced by a simpler notion: the Bottom 90% vs. Top 10%. Seabird may be "rah, rah capitalism!" at the moment but soon he/she will realize that just as capitalism helped erode totalitarian communism it is now eroding democracy as well. I don't know about y'all, but I'll take democracy over capitalism any day (and YES there is a difference: China now invites capitalism but allows no democracy). The WTO is an un-democratic institution made of representatives of the rich all across the planet. Reps from Third World countries want into the WTO so that their millionaires can become billionaires as America's did over the past decade. No one is asking: How does any person born on Earth today actually DESERVE to be a billionaire? What next Trillionaires? This present day wealth addiction is out of control and wrecking the only planet we have. Anyway, Trade Off is the 3rd or 4th WTO documentary I've seen (visit www.raptorial.com/Zine/WTO/WTOvidz.htm for a complete list). The info is out there. There's no need for anyone to pretend all this fuss is about nothing. --Mattro

I live in Seattle, and the night of Nov 30 was shot in the leg with rubber bullets, tackled by police in black body armour and dragged down the sidewalk and arrested, all a block from my house, outside any curfew zone, doing nothing illegal at all. I also spent the day videotaping events on the street and witnessing the largest and most effective display of civil disobedience in a good long time. In the months before November I attended meetings, where hundreds of my fellow citizens learned the truth about global institutions like the WTO, WB (World Bank, not Warner Bros) and IMF (International Monetary Fund, not the one from M:I 2). I heard a quote from the previous head of the WTO, Renato Ruggeri: "we're writing a new constitution for the world" do you think that constitution will include a bill of rights, or will it grant all fundamental power to corporate powers? With citizens of the nation most likely to have some influence on events (U$) believing the problem is all elsewhere, some vague somewhere, where all the genocide is going on, or alternately shouting 'rah rah capitali$m rocks' its not likely the new "constitution" will reflect interests of any but the money power corporate interests. Its no coincidence genocide has gone on in massive amounts around the world with the U$ govt aiding and abetting criminals (teaching them at the School of Americas - better known as School of Assasins here in this country, funding them with "drug war funds" in Colombia and throughout latin America, arming them throughout Asia, such as in Indonesia where Suharto our ally brutally repressed his people so our corporations could safely do business there, etc) we the people support genocide, but then say, oh, why bother opposing corporate nastiness, nobodies dying from it: bullshit. When Maxxam, parent company of Pacific Lumber and the Gap, goes about chopping down the last of the old growth redwood (do you know what that means?? last of these trees which have stood for literally thousands of years!! Oh, Gaps gotta great deal on khakis, what was that about trees) Yes, it was illegal to block access of the power brokers to the Wash St Convention center. Was it illegal of students to sit in Tienamen Square for months in an effort to effect change? Hell yes. Did you cheer when tanks ran over bodies? Was it legal for Gandhi to lead a march to the sea to collect salt? Did you cheer at the thought of troops gunning them down? Some of you spoiled ingrates have no conception of direct action, nor of the stakes at issue in the world right now, and just want your cheap consumer goods and plentiful entertainment so you can block out the misery which results from excessive lifestyles by a small percentage at the expense of the remaining billons. Learn a little, watch the movie, wake up, get angry, take action.

Who are you mad at? why get pissed off at starbuck's when it's the crazy dictators/regimes/psycho's in the congo or whatever who are actually doing the damage and pulling the triggers. This is the 90's, the world is now a tiny place. The corporations are here to stay and that is that. Change can only be effected by putting pressure on the Govt who may be susceptible to special interests but are also beholden to the people. Lumping them all in together is the worst way of mounting an effective attack cuz they will just fudge the issue and blame their respective corp/govt counterparts. Why where the protest movements of the 60's so succesfull? Cuz they were all aimed at the same target. If you've got a beef about about something in todays atmosphere you will only be an effective presence if you pick the most effective conduit through which to channel your pressure. The sad thing is that the *Real* Seattle protesters had some fine points to make but the whole thing got fucked up by a bunch of fuckwits who would be the first ones to hit the freeways (or the toilets) if one of the above poster's "real emergency" theory ever got played out. This generation's level of boredom is reaching dangerous levels when people heads are too far up their own arses to see when they are as much a part of the problem as senator John T.Corporation and his foreign counterparts.

after which the corporation promptly tripled and quadrupled the water bill to peasants who can barely afford life as it is, much less with a U$ corp owning their water and upping their rates; and how about Union carbide in Bhopal (or does that not count when the body count results from gross criminal negligence rather than bullets to the head?) I could go on. You could to, if you got your head out of your CNN/mTV bubble and realized the real news about corporate misdeeds isn't going to be brought to you by Coke and GM and go find the truth on your own. But its easier to deny it and gripe about those who block traffic in Seattle to make a point which you don't want to hear because its uncomfortable.

I live on Capitol Hill, the tragically trendy area of Seattle. Immersing myself in with the mob, I noticed that few knew much about, or had very simplistic views of WTO. Mostly the roar of Police Helicopters drew them out, and they were curious. Hours of pointless cat and mouse polite 'rioting'. Even the Broadway STARBUCKS was untouched. This bunch of losers could have been rounded up and shipped off the concentration camps as quickly as you can say "I want my MTV"ª. The few passionate, the few curious, the many 1960's 'wanna-be's' had a good time......the police got some long deserved 'population manipulation' practice, and the kids kept the riot on the front pages, thereby obscuring the real reason for the event: The downsizing of Amerika.-Your life, home or job may be next on the chopping block!

Why haven't we then? And why all the negativity toward those who try? Another good thought rose from the angry mumblings: "Face it we had plenty of things to get mad at, we just weren,t interested." Still do have plenty of things to get mad at: mad yet? Why not? Still blaming the messengers (activists/protestors/anarcho-vandalists) for the message? Another good quote: "last year tens of thousands in Seattle and many more around the world watching saw that we COULD do something. The WTO failed in their conference! This was a VICTORY" Damn straight it was - now see the movie, pay attention, find out how to get involved, and channel that anger somewhere more productive than a shoot-em-up video game or cathartic violent revenge hero flick. Last good quote: "Never doubt that a small group of committed individuals can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing which ever has." Margaret Mead. Now get busy changing the world. (Assuming your attention span hasn't already been exhausted on this topic. Sigh.)