[CIMC-work] IMO, this would have been worthy of a center panel

Tue Apr 13 19:08:58 PDT 2004

> Good article, and if the authors had been contacted, they might have agreed
> to edit it a bit.  IMO, very important as far as local news.  Sorry it escaped
> me: 

Dorina, CIMC,

As a CIMC co-editor, I agree with Dorina.

I recall that in past discussions there have been concerns raised about
highlighting, or in any way showing preference to one political group's news
coverage. 

I would urge those who hold this position to re-consider, and hopefully to
expedite the center-panelling of this news story from the PWW, as it is a
community and city concern of tremendous importance -- assuming that it is
okay with the PWW.

Chris K.

______

44 percent of the American people want US troops brought home now.
wsws.org/articles/2004/apr2004/iraq-a10.shtml

"I call upon the American people to stand beside their brethren, the Iraqi
people, who are suffering an injustice by your rulers and the occupying
army, to help them in the transfer of power to honest Iraqis."  Muqtada Sadr

The press constantly harps on the theme of the danger of civil war (between
Sunnis and Shiites). The reason for this is clear: it is meant to justify
the continued occupation of Iraq. "If we withdraw, there will be civil war!"
they say. What they do not say is that they have been constantly playing up
the differences between different religious and national groups in order to
increase their own power and present themselves as the arbiter between them.
www.marxist.com/MiddleEast/insurrection_in_iraq.html

On 4/13/04 7:09 PM, "DCPGolightly at aol.com" <DCPGolightly at aol.com> wrote:

> Good article, and if the authors had been contacted, they might have agreed
> to edit it a bit.  IMO, very important as far as local news.  Sorry it escaped
> me:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> News :: Labor 
> Protests shake up Chicago Fire Dept.
> by Lance Cohn and Curly Cohen
> Email: pww (nospam) pww.org (unverified!)
> Phone: 773-446-9920
> Address: 3339 S Halsted St., Chicago, IL 60608
> 09 Apr 2004 
> The city¹s first African American fire commissioner in the 150-year history
> of the Chicago Fire Department (CFD) was appointed April 1 after weeks of
> mounting protest against a series of racist slurs on the CFD¹s radio
> frequency. 
> CHICAGO  The city¹s first African American fire commissioner in the
> 150-year history of the Chicago Fire Department (CFD) was appointed April 1
> after 
> weeks of mounting protest against a series of racist slurs on the CFD¹s radio
> frequency. 
> 
> ³We¹re entering a new era,² said Cortez Trotter, who assumes office May 1
> and who pledged to increase efforts to diversify the work force. Presently, 68
> percent of firefighters are white in a city that is 63 percent African
> American 
> and Latino. 
> 
> Mayor Richard Daley and outgoing CFD Commissioner James Joyce were facing
> increasing public criticism for allowing the situation to fester. In addition,
> over 200 people, including firefighters, clergy and elected officials rallied
> March 23 at the Chicago Fire Fighters Union offices to denounce union
> President 
> James McNally, who blamed African American firefighters for the use of the
> racist slurs. 
> 
> ³McNally is unable to represent all firefighters and should resign,² said
> Father Michael Pfleger from St. Sabina¹s Church.
> 
> McNally has a history of making such comments. Pfleger urged white
> firefighters to step forward and denounce the racism. Many believe a majority
> of white 
> firefighters are also embarrassed by the remarks.
> 
> The multiracial crowd carried signs that read ³We condemn all forms of racism,
> ² ³We are united in love not hate,² ³Extinguish the racial slurs,² and ³
> McNally, stop blaming the victims.²
> 
> ³We are working on a petition asking the 5,000 union members for a vote of Œ
> no confidence,¹² Battalion Chief Nicholas Russell, representing the African
> American Fire Fighters Association, told the World. Russell has been the
> object 
> of death threats in the past few weeks. He concluded the best way to unite
> the firefighters is for McNally to resign.
> 
> Disunity in the union, an early endorser of Democratic presidential candidate
> Sen. John Kerry, only hurts the effort to defeat Bush. Registered nurse
> Elissa Curry told the World ³when Bush opposes affirmative action he is
> encouraging 
> those who feel that they can openly express their racist views.² She said
> Bush must be defeated in November.
> 
> Alderman Rey Colon of the city¹s 35th Ward connected the war in Iraq and
> racism when he said, ³We are looking for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
> But, 
> the WMDs (racism) are right here at home. This problem has to be resolved.²
> 
> Affordable Power to the People (APP), a group fighting gas shutoffs, was
> present. Maria Majic vowed to fight the transfer of one firefighter caught
> using 
> racial slurs to her Bridgeport neighborhood after he completes a 30-day
> suspension. ³This is disrespectful to the people in our neighborhood. We won¹t
> tolerate it,² she said.
> 
> APP is part of a coalition, Bridgeport Against Racism, that wrote a letter to
> Daley demanding the dismissal of Joyce and asking that the suspended
> firefighter not be reassigned to a Bridgeport fire station. Bridgeport is a
> predominantly white community with a history of racist assaults and the home
> of the 
> Daley machine. The group held a press conference at the site where Lenard
> Clark, a 
> 12-year-old African American, was savagely beaten in 1997.
> 
> The authors can be reached at pww (at) pww.org.
> See also:
> http://www.pww.org
> 
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