First we take Manhatten.

[mattd]

The protests against the World Economic Forum will occur from
January 30th through February 5th, 2002 in New York City. Also,
join others in resisting the winter Olympics in Utah February
8th-24th (http://www.burntheolympics.org/). Picking Up Where We Left Off 
The North American Anti-Capitalist Struggle Must Advance It is now 2002 and 
it has been many months since the last large
anti-capitalist protest in North America. Our situation was looking
incredible for the late September protests against the World Bank
and International Monetary Fund. We had the many televised
press conferences on C-SPAN, and we were coming back to
D.C. learning from our past mistakes and successes. The
mainstream media was already beginning to pre-hype the
protests (or the potential for "violence" more specifically). As it
got closer they had already decided to shorten the meeting time.
I was helping organize people in the area interested in going (as
were others all across the United States), and it looked like we
were going to have the greatest number of people from this area
to attend a major protest yet. I was gathering my gear, marking
my maps, making my phonecalls and sending emails. It was
going to be unbelievable. (It was in au as well,pre chogm,pr)
Then one day we woke up or were at work or whatever, and our
TV screens were filled with images of collapsing buildings,
thousands died, thousands of others were running in terror, no
one had a clue as to what the hell just happened. For the time it
changed everything. As much as we wanted it not to, it severely
affected the protests. It changed the focus of the protest
(anti-war, anti-racist), the turnout, the tactical choices, the
energy, and the attention we received. On the upside (or not), it
also caused the IMF and World Bank to cancel that meeting. It has been 
nearly 4 months now since that day and the "war"
has become increasingly futile. That "war," of course, is what has
almost killed (no pun intended) the momentum of the
anti-capitalist protests and overall resistance in the United
States, not to mention thousands of innocent people. That
movement or collection of movements has almost been hijacked
by the liberal and (state) socialist left due to their stronghold over
the anti-war movements. Anti-war protesters are more likely
following the calls to action made by socialist parties or affiliated
groups, or liberal groups, than calls (or lack thereof) made by
anti-authoritarian collectives/groups. The authoritarian left has
long sought to gain control over the anti-(corporate)-globalization
movement and are in a position of greater power to do so when
they use their power from the anti-war movement. This is why it is crucial 
that we make a presence in New York
City (and subsequent gatherings) and show the so-called
leaders (politicians and activists) that we have not been swept
under the rug or converted to single-issue reformist struggles.
We must show the state that we are not going to run and hide
when it starts to hint at openly engaging in "war" against us. We
must not forget why we are fighting. We must not forget the death
of Carlo Guiliano (remember him? Genoa?) or hundreds and
thousands of others who have needlessly lost their lives resisting
conditions decided upon by the IMF, World Bank, WTO, NAFTA,
and the leaders of the Northern industrial nations. We cannot let
the state nor the authoritarian left (liberal and socialist) decide the
fate of our struggle or how we choose to resist. And do not
mistake this as another call for a "black bloc," but rather it is a call
for anti-authoritarian resistance in all possible manifestations. 
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