In these end days of peak oil, the Canadian province of Alberta is on a mission to replace Saudi Arabia as the world's major source of petroleum. The once pristine boreal forests of Northern Alberta are being transformed into gigantic pit mines as energy companies rush to extract some of the last of the earth's petroleum reserves. The quest to extract and refine these thick, dirty tar sands that lie beneath what was once a wilderness of wetlands and salmon-rich rivers, threatens the ecology and economy of North America.

The WTO works  to protect large corporations from having to bear the real costs of their production -- forcing the rest of us to pay with our health and the quality of our lives.  Magrete Strand of the Sierra Club and the Blue Green Alliance explains how it works in this conversation with the Old Mole's Bill Resnick.

As part of "Whose Streets? Our Streets!," KBOO's Maggie Starr looks at the history of the Indymedia Network. The Seattle Independent Media Center was put together to bring the streets of the Seattle to the world during the 1999 WTO protests. Ten years later, it's spawned a global network of Independent Media Centers that allow millions of people to post and read independent news.

On the tenth anniversary of the World Trade Organization ministerials in Seattle, six Portland activists recall the dramatic events of November 30, 1999, and discuss the continuing reverberations of the first major street protest of the wireless age.  Featuring stories from Laurie King of Portland Jobs With Justice,  Patricia Rumer of Jubilee Oregon, youth activist Andrea Townsend, and KBOO Radio correspondents Andrew Geller, Rolf Semprebon, and Daniel Flessas.  This hour-long special is hosted by S.W. Conser and edited by Paul Monday.

 As part  of KBOO's special programming for  this day, the Old Mole looks at the WTO and corporate globalization, with pieces on how the WTO protects business from the full costs of doing business, the socialist alternative to the capitalist crisis, issues of race and poverty, and the music of resistance.  Today's host is Clayton Morgareidge.

For information about our theme music and our graphics, go to our main page.   Look for us also on Facebook.

Which tactics were appropriate.  Marches? Ones with permits? Blockading streets with lockdowns? How about breaking windows of corporate buildings. Would the world have heard of the dissent in this country without these tactics? Hear the voices of activists with divergent points of view.

Music by Dave Rovics