Wto Outline

1999 Seatlle WTO riots.
  On November 30th of 1999, Protesters began to fill the streets     outside of the Washington State Convention and Trade Center.     As liberals and others against economic globalization arrived-     the number of protester rose to at least 40,000 people.
      Planning for the demonstrations began months in advance     and included local, national, and international organizations.     Among the most notable participants were national and international   NGOs     -especially those concerned with labor issues, the environment,     and consumer protection, labor unions     -including the AFL-CIO,     student groups, religiously-based groups (Jubilee 2000),     and anarchists.
      On the morning of November 30, 1999, the Direct Action Network's     plan was put into action. Several hundred activists arrived     in the deserted streets near the convention center and began     to take control of key intersections. Over the next few hours,     a number of marchers began to converge on the area from different     directions. These included a student march from the north     and a march of citizens of the developing world who marched     in from the south. Some demonstrators held rallies, others     held teach-ins and at least one group staged an early-morning     street party. Meanwhile, a number of protesters still controlled     the intersections using lockdown formations.- That morning,     the King County Sheriff's Office     and Seattle Police Department     fired pepper spray,   tear gas     canisters, stun grenades,     and eventually rubber bullets     at protesters at several intersections in an attempt to reopen     the blocked streets. This would spark a battle that would     continue for 3 days
      The police were eventually overwhelmed by the mass of protesters     downtown, including many who had chained themselves together     and were blocking intersections. Meanwhile, the late-morning     labor-organized rally and march dreww tens of thousands,...