6- North Shore News — Friday, December 3, 1999

“4HIS week’s battle in Seattle
“brought into sharp focus the
- raw power of the Internet as a
ocratic medium of communica-

The‘ 40,000 activists taking it to
the street earlier this week in o

‘méetings in the

‘bewildering array of causes. It was ©

ind common ground with séa tur-
tle'advocatés and anarchists to protest

LETCS HOt
ACS ie

ksh CXAUIN ‘as the:

HiiThis déveloprien
peu

rota ic

forner

puts profit

demonstrating — represented an
international mass of humanity

-informed and organized to a large
‘degree by the lightning speed effi-

ciency and access to. information’
afforded by Web sites and email... .
The coordinated action spilled over -

- to the’ streets elsewhere around the -
‘world. Some critics ‘of the: WTO

rightly point to the fact that such an
organization serves to erode the sov-

ereigaty of individual states. Issues of

fair trade and labour practice and
environmental concern are bigger

_than individual countries. ;
: If the Internet can serve as a vehi-

cle to mobilize grassroots action on‘a.
global scale; it may also have a role in -

” defining .a' new international organi- ~

zation to counterbalance the thrust of.
the -WiO: should it fail to evolve
towards a greater accountability.

Last rmonth’s elections made it glaringly”

ar: ‘The North Shore communities.
Surgently need what just about every village

the Lower Mainland has -— municipal

political parties.
‘Until now I’ve. reject-
ed the notion. How.’
dreadful, I shivered, t

yoral: andidate Barbara Sh:

ied as she is to a firefighter,
president of his firefighters’

: municipal Partisansh
clp to clarify the decp
m

‘to the candidates in West Vai

> migh
rostility North Yan
ist ——'a One-Bime =

Vi EW POIN

Gop NEWS,
MABEL, WE CAN
FINALLY START
FAANNING FOR

_ THe FuTuReE.

Two caught
my cye: 4061. Investments had shelled out
$1,000 for Patricia Boname — and the:

“same to her mayoral opponent, Jim
. Hogan. a : ae

The plot thickened:
4061. Investments...
‘sounded like.a provin:
cially registereat comp:

; proved
RAAT

ited. Surely other,
sical publi bring up the
e¢\ disclosure; or demand. an inguiry.
hip of municipal politic

38 tO Su est that
that: Bak th

A

*“choiée. Clark said Hum

“by his successor,

“viewed Lloyd; after my deadl

> passed. Lloyd contradicted ‘Ct.
- Lloyd's f
We