Proving that the walking cane may be mightier than the sword, a group known as the Raging Grannies of Seattle took to the streets yesterday to add their voices to the chorus of anti-WTO protesters. Urging fellow demonstrators to, "get off their fannies," the singing group proved that activism knows no age limits.

Founded in 1995, Seattle’s Raging Grannies are a group of 15 elderly women who, as Granny Carolyn Hale puts it, are "singing for peace, justice, and the environment." After giving a brief concert at the First United Methodist Church, the grannies joined hundreds of other protesters in a silent march that wound it’s way from the Church to the intersection of 5th and Spring.

Before joining other protesters in covering her mouth with blue tape, Granny Shirley Morrison, age 77, explained why the Raging Grannies were marching against the WTO. "Our most valuable possession all over the world is our children," she said, "we’ve got the make the world a better place for them."

The Grannies retreated with much of the rest of the crowd when police facing off against them donned their gas masks. Perhaps fearing the Grannies’ rage, however, the police never advanced upon the remainder of the march.

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