Y2K WTO reprise awaits!This week the Seattle Police Department announced. They are beefing up the force for New Years Eve. It was stated that they will not allow a repeat of the WTO PROTESTS Furthermore anyone Gathering in Public(ie the streets) something about a 100 or more people will be considered A MOB. and will use force to disperse any MOB.I personally know more than a hundred people and I find this LUDICROUS, ALARMING and it is offensive to my CIVIL LIBIERTIES, LET ALONE FREE ENTERPRISE and DEMOCRACYNOTHING was mentioned about Vandalisim or Looting which is Illegal. or Y2KSo if your not in a tux or Ball Gown and fancy car or INSIDE attending a Posh event, your considered a CRIMINAL MOB ELEMENT!!!They are basically trying to scare people to not come into the city,stay home,stay inside OR ELSE The Police get to determine this. If I decided To Protest on NEW YEARS EVE it is still my FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHT TO DO SOBeing the Millenium and all Don’t you think Everyone will be in the street. Especially down at the PIKE MARKET CLOCK at 1st and PIKE How about everywhere, CITY HALL, STATE CAPITOL or Pick YOUR FAVORITE PRECINCT.FIGHT FOR YOUR RIGHT TO PARTY!!!!By the Way I LIVE ACCROSS the street from the 12th ave PRECINCT and the have a EMERGENCY GENORATOR parked outside, in case you haven’t noticed. Do they know something that we don’t about Y2K.PAUL SCHELL REMEMBER IN A BATTLE BOTH SIDES ARE ARMED, get over the hype. HURT ONE PEACEFUL PERSON and there will be a CLASS REVOLTWE ARE WATCHINGPROTECT THE PEOPLEYOURS TRULYOTTO WILLISGALLERY OWNERVIA E-MAILWTO FrancoautophileThank you for your column describing the WTO delegates’ experience (“Inside the bunker,” 12/2). I laughed out loud at the image of the delegates, bereft of self-reflection, locked inside the Paramount Theater, smoking illegally, searching in vain for coffee (in Seattle!), and whining about not being greeted appropriately. After a stressful week, I appreciated the comedy.One question: If the people of France get to eat hormone-treated beef, why can’t I drive a Citro뮿TIMOTHY R. HALESEATTLEWTO wasn’t coolIt is admirable that Knute Berger is so happy for the status quo to be questioned, and he has even carefully chosen his words describing the destroyers of property (“Not-so-nice Seattle,” 12/2). Nevertheless, I think that Knute’s wasn’t-it-all-so-cool attitude reveals a shallow response to an important historical event. Civil discourse and justice issues may include dancing and eco-feminists and pagans; is there anything else involved? Knute’s vocabulary reveals his own disdain for civil discourse. Yeah, I know, Knute is just a reporter on the beat. What a cool job!DENNISVIA E-MAILCivil sparkLike Knute Berger (“Not-so-nice Seattle,” 12/2), I’m glad to see there is still a spark of civil disobedience left in some people, especially when the issue is greater than “cop-kills-crack-dealer” etcetera, which usually bring people to the streets.I do wonder what the take would be if it were smokers, gun-owners, or farmers taking to the streets to protect their rights and wallets—would it be looked on in the same light?WILLIAM MURRAYCOLUMBIA, SCViolence works?Thousands of people used nonviolent, direct action techniques to shut down the World Trade Organization, but you couldn’t tell from Rick Anderson’s article “Violence works.”Anderson—was he even on the scene?—maintains that the violence employed by a few dozen youths was effective in calling attention to globalization and shutting down the WTO. “The violent edge kept delegates in their hotel rooms,” Anderson asserts.No, it didn’t. Mass, effective, highly coordinated civil disobedience did. The sporadic window smashing occurred later. I know, Rick, because I was there. I witnessed and participated in the successful efforts to occupy and block the 13 intersections and dozens of streets that surround the convention center.Nonviolent, direct action worked, despite brutal POLICE violence. It’s too bad Anderson, like mainstream “journalists,” chose to lump the actions of a few vigilantes together with the inspiring and courageous efforts of thousands of well-organized and committed activists.If any violence “worked,” it was the police violence that brutalized peaceful demonstrators and ensured WTO delegates could get on with their work on Wednesday. In the long run, however, police-state tactics may have radicalized enough people to start a mass movement.RONI KROUZMANSAN FRANCISCORick Anderson was indeed “on the scene,” being teargassed along with everybody else.—Eds.WTO copMr. Scigliano’s article is the most accurate account of the “riot” on Capitol Hill Wednesday evening (Web-only article). I was one of the officers there the entire evening, on the front line. Many of the larger, mainstream media could learn a lot from your paper and Eric—accuracy and neutrality. I thank you for that!There were some things that I would have included in the article, such as the seven audible warnings announced by the Sergeant prior to our gas deployment, the man who urinated at our line from the front of the protesters, the fact that only three people were physically touched by the police throughout the entire incident, two of which were arrested and the other that was pushed away from the line and disappeared. These are all important points I witnessed that evening.That said, Mr. Scigliano did a better job than all other accounts I read or watched, and I commend him for that. I hope it doesn’t need to be said, but I will anyway—I was only there to protect life and property, I was not looking for any confrontations, I respect the freedom of speech and right to peaceably assemble, I embrace our community’s great amount of diversity, and I would’ve rather been home with my family than being ridiculed, spit at, urinated at, assaulted with bottles, and threatened by unruly, misguided “protesters.”BRYAN KLOPFENSTEINVIA E-MAILThe young and the chinlessI would like to respond to James Bush’s article “Hit ’em again!” (4th and James) in the December 2nd edition of your fine publication. As a devout Heidi Wills supporter and an ex-Charlie Chong advocate, I was honored to be part of the mentioned campaign flyer from Ms. Wills’ camp. However, I do take exception to being described as young, chinless, and looking “warily” into the camera. I would like to note that 48 years old is not likely to be construed as “young,” and as to “chinless,” I probably have more chins than Mr. Chong’s rolodex. But, I will take the agist compliment, left-handed though it may be, in the spirit in which it was offered.Yours—warily,GEORGE WILLIAMSVIA E-MAILGnome: writes unobjectively, looks small and gnarledIt isn’t often that I’ve felt compelled to respond to the ambivalent, if not somewhat negative, responses I’ve gotten regarding my music. Perhaps it’s because I’ve found that people in the business of reviewing generally use a modicum of restraint or objectivity, thereby lending integrity to what it is they are trying to express. In this case, however, I feel it is necessary for me to defend myself.I resent being painted as someone who “sings songs, looks gooood” (The Metro Gnome, 12/2). The degree to which I “look gooood” is something I cannot necessarily hinder or help. It is not, however, anything I as a person esteem as very important with regard to someone’s talent or artistry. Furthermore, if the fact that our live act was “polished” (I’m not disputing that point; if anything, it’s a relief considering it was our first show) is what prompted you to make the leap to Madonna, I can only say that perhaps we would do well to make a few mistakes so that you consider us worthy of comparison to acts of substance as opposed to pop fodder. I spent a great deal of time and energy writing that album and do not appreciate being lumped in with another “singer” who allows everyone else around her to do the composing. Finally, to say that “other attendee’s reactions ranged from rapture to disgust” seems egregiously heavy-handed to me, as if to serve the writer’s own sense of melodrama and pomp. This is not what I understood to be the intended purpose of journalistic reviews.HEATHER DUBYVIA E-MAILchalloooooonge!The one thing that bothers me the most about this ongoing ‘MC’s are lazy’ topic (“Seattle’s hip-hop riddle,” 12/2) is that no one is really saying anything about the lack of decent production in the area. Shit, the MC can be lazy all day long cuz he’s got nothing to motivate his thoughts and words, music-wise. MC’s are hustling out in this camp—it’s the producers that are on the DL—I feel—and this is coming straight to you from a producer. I’ve been here for four years—and I’m only in my second season of making trax with Bay Root Productions (www.bayroot.com) and I try to hear as much as I can from the area . . . but basically I feel like most of the beats coming from Seattle are stale—straight up in the dayz of way back. Let’s get the other side of the track—no one is pushing the right buttons here—y’all could be more objective in your articles.Let’s see an article on local beats now . . . challoooooonge! Peece.STURDY KNUCKSVIA E-MAILAppetizer, 1987Because of an unfortunate (perhaps trivial in your opinion) incident, I cannot share your enthusiasm for Adriatica (“Step right up,” 12/2). In August of 1987, eight people in Seattle who all served together in Turkey in the Peace Corps arranged a 20-year reunion, to which came 65 people from all over the US and from three foreign countries. We had a wonderful weekend which included a Friday picnic, a Saturday banquet, and a Sunday brunch: lots of time to renew friendships.Some earlybirds wanted to get together on Thursday, and one of the locals suggested Adriatica. Six of us arrived, dressed so as to suggest a special event, and we were graciously seated at a small table: We were crowded, but not at all uncomfortable. We were there to have a good time! We ordered drinks, several appetizers, and six dinners, complete with several bottles of wine. We obviously were not afraid to spend some bucks. I regretfully admit that I cannot remember what I ordered or how it tasted. I do remember, however, that one of the appetizers we selected was something similar to ravioli—and it arrived with exactly five of them on the plate.Classic, you may find Adriatica; but for me, a place with real class would spring for one extra raviolo in a case such as ours. (Larger parties, I presume, are advised to have two orders of an appetizer of this sort.) Fault me, if you will, for being petty; or fault the waiter for not alerting the preparer. It seems it was not general policy to allow for a slight variance in the size of portions. Had there been an extra bite on the plate, we would never have been aware of the courtesy. The lack of both, however, was conspicuous.I had intended, of course, to bring this to the attention of Adriatica 12 years ago; I just never got around to it. Your glowing article this week, I felt, deserved a slight rebuttal: Hence my late letter of complaint. A small offense, I realize, a peccadillo—but big enough to keep me from eating there again, which might be of interest to any restaurateur.PHILIP KONKELSEATTLEKiss the cookI couldn’t agree more with Kathryn Robinson’s assessment of Adriatica (“Step right up,” 12/2). My husband and I have been enjoying meals there for years, but never more so than in the last year, especially. And that brings me to my disappointment about her article . . . nowhere does she mention the reason for Adriatica’s sensational fare—the chef, Jay Knickerbocker. She makes references to “the chef” and that “these people really know flavor,” but I was frankly mad that she did not mention him by name. I think Jay deserves an apology for this horrendous oversight. He is a talented young chef, and we look forward to following his success in the years to come.MAGGIE STENSON PEHRSONVIA E-MAILThe world ends tomorrowThe fact is, this letter will have its skeptics. But since skepticism and the unknown are at an all-time high—as we await Y2K—I deem it the most appropriate time to inform the people.I am perfectly qualified to answer questions about what will happen. Will Jesus walk? Not a chance, he died just short of 2000 years ago. Will total pandemonium strike. Hellooo, a few unexpected numbers will change. But that doesn’t mean average citizens will suddenly become lunatics, ravaging and throttling what we struggle to perceive a civil society.Here, the important thing to consider is that I am making a prophesy, not merely an educated guess. That’s right. I’ve died, toured the one, real Afterworld, and I’m here to tell exactly what will happen come the stroke of midnight Y2K. What about April 20, when Jesus is to walk the earth? The most significant event, having anything to do with Y2K, will be that the various forms of media, including this one right here, will squeeze out the remains of what is left of doomsday hysteria. But that’s not significant.What is? That depends on what you want to know. How many cults will commit mass suicide? Where will the riots and chaos be most prevalent? Will people lose everything they own because the numbers on computers are in a different order? I know the answers to these and other vital questions because I have died and I have come back with knowledge. If you must know, go to www.thebigworld.net, and I’ll answer each and every question to a tee.ALLAN C. BULLFINCHBREMERTONWe welcome succinct letters commenting on articles in Seattle Weekly. Letters may be edited for length, clarity, and legal considerations. Please include name and daytime telephone number for verification. Write to Letters Editor, Seattle Weekly, 1008 Western Avenue, Suite 300, Seattle, WA 98104; fax to 206-467-4377; or e-mail to letters@seattleweekly.comCorrectionThe freighter Sealand Kodiak mentioned in “War of tugs” (12/23) lost power 24 hours, not miles, off the Washingon coast.