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Author Archives: Belden Fields
Statement From Socialist Forum of Champaign-Urbana
Our Democracy Has Been Replaced By a Plutocracy The present assault on working people and the poor shows us clearly the class warfare inherent in capitalism. The system aims to treat everything, including people, as commodities in order to maximize … Continue reading
Posted in Environment, Labor/Economics, National, Politics
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The Tunisian Revolution: Dignity, Expression, Gender, and Religion
The Tunisian Revolution: Dignity, Expression, Gender, and Religion Dignity The Tunisian uprising that deposed dictator Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali is of enormous historical significance for the entire region of North Africa. A recurring and resounding call during the uprising has … Continue reading
Posted in Human Rights, International, News, Politics, Women, Youth
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What Kind of “Court” Is City Court?
CITY COURT IS AN UNKNOWN ENTITY to most citizens in Champaign County. When people think of courts, they think of the county or federal courts where one has certain constitutional rights. City Court is something altogether different. You might wind … Continue reading
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A Secretive and Destructive Affair: The Academy, The Foundation, and The University
On September 5 and 11, Jim Dey devoted two very favorable News-Gazette columns to the Academy on Capitalism and Limited Government Foundation. On September 5, the News-Gazette also published an editorial contending that the Academy was a “blessing” for the … Continue reading
Posted in Education
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Thoughts on the Professor Howell Controversy
The issues raised by the U of I Professor Kenneth Howell’s initial hiring at the University of Illinois, his e-mail to his students who were preparing to take a final examination in his course on Catholicism, and his subsequent termination … Continue reading
Posted in Education
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The Summer Construction Education Program
There are not many minorities or women in the building trades. The Summer Construction Education Program tries to do something about that by introducing young minority people and women to the skills of the trades in a hands-on way. A … Continue reading
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Urbana Neighborhood Connections, Inc.
On January 19 of this year, Neighborhood Connections Center, Inc opened its doors as a community learning center for African American young people. It is located at 1401 E. Main Street in Urbana. The Center is the creation of Janice … Continue reading
Posted in African Americans, Education
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The Campus Faculty Association at U of I Fights Back: In Springfield and on Campus
In a political climate of incredible irresponsibility, ineptitude, and corruption, the Campus Faculty Association (CFA) at the U of I has been letting our state legislators know that we will not put up with the privation to which public education … Continue reading
Posted in Education, Labor/Economics
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Errata (journalistic Latin for “I goofed”)
In my article, “New York/Champaign: Policing and Race,” in the February issue of the Public i, I made three mistakes. I wrote that blacks drivers were over twice as likely to be stopped as whites by the Champaign police. While … Continue reading
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New York/Champaign: Policing and Race
IN THE NEW YORK TIMES of February 2, columnist Bob Herbert discusses the 2009 statistics on NYPD stops and other police practices in that city. The data are for the first three quarters of that year, when 450,000 pedestrians and … Continue reading
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The French Left and the 2009 European Elections
INTUITIVELY, GIVEN THE ROTTEN STATE of the capitalist economy in this period, one might have predicted that the voters in the 2009 election for the European Parliament, the only institution that is directly elected by popular vote in the highly … Continue reading
Posted in International
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The Terrorist Assault on the People of Gaza
Terrorism is the deliberate violent targeting of civilians for political and/or military ends. Those who use terrorism always try to make it seem legitimate. Hamas sends rockets into southern Israel because Israel has taken former Arab land and homes and … Continue reading
Posted in Human Rights, International
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Secretary-Treasurer Rich Trumka Addresses Local AFL-CIO
On October 15, Rich Trumka, the Secretary-Treasurer of the AFL-CIO spoke to, and answered questions from local AFL-CIO delegates to the Champaign County AFL-CIO. Also present were apprentices from two of the local craft unions. The AFL-CIO had been working … Continue reading
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Project 500 Participants Ask Tribune For Apology and Call For A New Report
Forty years ago, in 1968, Project 500 brought a large number of African American students to this campus for the first time. While this was a welcome response to demands that had been make upon the university by campus and … Continue reading
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Bye, Bye To Freedoms Of Protest And The Press
A MOST REMARKABLE THING happened in St. Paul before and during the Republican National Convention. Prior to the convention, the St. Paul police and federal agents raided locations in which journalists were making preparations to cover the planned demonstrations. One … Continue reading
Posted in Media
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UPTV and the Chief Controversies
The glaring similarities between the controversy surrounding the broadcast of the anti-Semitic videos on Urbana Public Television and the characterization of a Native American during athletic events and in the Homecoming Parade at the U of I are that: (1) … Continue reading
Posted in Human Rights, Indigenous, Media
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Poverty in Champaign County
HEARTLAND ALLIANCE, AN ANTIPOVERTY GROUP based in Chicago, has just released its report on poverty in Illinois and in individual counties. The statewide reporting is based upon 2006 data. The picture is not very pretty. Overall, poverty increased in Illinois … Continue reading
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Young People Can Learn a Trade and Earn a Wage this Summer
This summer, from July 14 to August 8, there will be a construction-training program giving priority to minority and female youth. This is part of a larger attempt to attract more youth to the building trades unions and job sites. … Continue reading
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Strong Anti-War and Pro-Rights Votes Cast In February Primary
In the February 5th primary, the voters of both the City of Champaign Township and Cunningham Township (Urbana) voted on referenda supporting rights of detainees and opposing the actual war in Iraq and the President’s launching of a possible future … Continue reading
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IBEW Local 601 Absolved of Discrimination
IN ITS JUNE/JULY 2007 ISSUE, the Public i published an article on a lawsuit that Henry Bell III brought against the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Union Local 601, the headquarters of which are in Champaign. Bell, an African American … Continue reading
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