November 29, 1999 – Dodging Teargas – Dodging Shoppers

November 29, 1999 – CBS World News Roundup – Gordon Skene Sound Collection –

November 29, 1999 – While Christmas Season officially got underway – and malls bulged at the seams with shoppers and retailers dreamed of cash piled up like snowdrifts, the scene in Seattle was painted in a mist of a different kind – the mist of teargas as thousands of protestors took to the streets, in what later became known as The Battle Of Seattle. Demonstrations against the WTO Summit, getting underway on November 30. The intention was to shut down the summit – but the methods varied – the response from police however, was the same; charging into crowds of protestors, laying down clouds of teargas – arresting everyone and everything in sight. Holiday season was upon us.

Retailers were gleeful as the holiday shopping season got started with a bang – Black Friday shopping hysteria exceeded expectations, due in no small part to consumer confidence which was at an all-time high and consumer unemployment, which was at a all-time low and the Wall Street boom all combining to paint a rosy picture. Online retailers were ecstatic, with Amazon.com sales up 150% over the previous year.

Holiday anticipation also created a Movie box office record – Toy Story 2 opened the three day weekend with nearly $81 million, outpace the previous record the year before with the release of A Bugs Life. The latest James Bond installment, The World Is Not Enough caught the Number 2 spot with $35 million in ticket sales, and Arnold Schwarzenegger’s End Of Day premiered with $31 million in sales.

Sad news from the National Zoo – the Giant Panda Shing-Shing was put to sleep after battling Kidney failure. His mate Ling-Ling died several years earlier – they were gifts and goodwill ambassadors from The Peoples Republic Of China.

And that’s just a small portion of what went on, this November 29th in 1999 as presented by the CBS World News Roundup.

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