Dobbs Town
17-03-2005, 07:57
http://www.cbc.ca/story/world/national/2005/03/16/eichman-050316.html
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I had to laugh when I saw this, as I've been maintaining the same thing myself since September 12th, 2001. Funny to hear any number of my own thoughts echoing back to me. If anybody has a link to an article that discusses Mr. Churchill's thoughts in greater depth or detail, please add them to this thread.
And no, this isn't spam. Link, opinion, article. Not spam.
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DENVER - A University of Colorado professor is struggling to save his job after comparing victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States to a notorious Nazi.
The university's regents said Wednesday that they needed more time to decide whether to fire ethnic studies professor Ward Churchill, whose comments have ignited a national debate over the limits of academic freedom and free speech.
In an essay that was published shortly after the attacks and resurfaced in January, Churchill called the victims "little Eichmanns" – a reference to the notorious Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann, who was the architect and logistics chief of the Holocaust.
Churchill – who is politically active as an American Indian and a Marxist – said many people who died were part of a key elite that finances a murderous U.S. foreign policy.
The U.S. media have developed a Churchill obsession, with outspoken attacks from right-wing commentators such as Fox News host Sean Hannity.
Host Bill Maher managed to get Churchill, 57, into the studio on the more liberal HBO network.
"I think most Americans are just saying, how can anybody in their right mind say that people in the World Trade Center had it coming – which is sort of how that was interpreted," said Maher, asking Churchill to explain his comments.
Churchill replied that many people who worked in the Twin Towers, whether they knew it or not, were the financiers of a U.S. foreign policy that has killed millions from Vietnam to Iraq.
"If you're performing a technical function, a by-product of which is the emiseration and mass death of millions of people, you are not innocent. You are performing a function along the lines of what Adolf Eichmann performed," he said, drawing audience applause.
Faculty defends Churchill
Most of Churchill's colleagues on the faculty of the University of Colorado have rallied to the embattled professor's side.
"This is really a classic example of the academic freedom debate," said law professor Barbara Bintliff, who heads the Faculty Assembly.
"Because this is very pure political speech. It's controversial. It contravenes the prevailing sentiment in this country. And yet it vividly expresses a position that must be heard in order to give us a full and fair debate of the issues."
Others haven't been as interested in the nuances of the debate, including some relatives of the 9-11 victims who have forced Churchill to cancel a number of public appearances.
Some donors to his university are withholding money and politicians such as Colorado Republican Senator Wayne Allard have demanded he be fired.
"I think he's had an easy enough ride on taxpayers' dollars and hasn't appreciated it, and I think he needs to go," Allard said.
The university's regents have been struggling to decide whether Churchill should stay, be fired or be offered a buyout – a possibility that's also drawn outcries.
Meanwhile, he continues to teach.
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Nice bit about him being 'unappreciative', eh? Where in all of this does this Senator Allard figure professors aren't entitled to contrary positions, or to be outspoken about their beliefs?
-DT.
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I had to laugh when I saw this, as I've been maintaining the same thing myself since September 12th, 2001. Funny to hear any number of my own thoughts echoing back to me. If anybody has a link to an article that discusses Mr. Churchill's thoughts in greater depth or detail, please add them to this thread.
And no, this isn't spam. Link, opinion, article. Not spam.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
DENVER - A University of Colorado professor is struggling to save his job after comparing victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States to a notorious Nazi.
The university's regents said Wednesday that they needed more time to decide whether to fire ethnic studies professor Ward Churchill, whose comments have ignited a national debate over the limits of academic freedom and free speech.
In an essay that was published shortly after the attacks and resurfaced in January, Churchill called the victims "little Eichmanns" – a reference to the notorious Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann, who was the architect and logistics chief of the Holocaust.
Churchill – who is politically active as an American Indian and a Marxist – said many people who died were part of a key elite that finances a murderous U.S. foreign policy.
The U.S. media have developed a Churchill obsession, with outspoken attacks from right-wing commentators such as Fox News host Sean Hannity.
Host Bill Maher managed to get Churchill, 57, into the studio on the more liberal HBO network.
"I think most Americans are just saying, how can anybody in their right mind say that people in the World Trade Center had it coming – which is sort of how that was interpreted," said Maher, asking Churchill to explain his comments.
Churchill replied that many people who worked in the Twin Towers, whether they knew it or not, were the financiers of a U.S. foreign policy that has killed millions from Vietnam to Iraq.
"If you're performing a technical function, a by-product of which is the emiseration and mass death of millions of people, you are not innocent. You are performing a function along the lines of what Adolf Eichmann performed," he said, drawing audience applause.
Faculty defends Churchill
Most of Churchill's colleagues on the faculty of the University of Colorado have rallied to the embattled professor's side.
"This is really a classic example of the academic freedom debate," said law professor Barbara Bintliff, who heads the Faculty Assembly.
"Because this is very pure political speech. It's controversial. It contravenes the prevailing sentiment in this country. And yet it vividly expresses a position that must be heard in order to give us a full and fair debate of the issues."
Others haven't been as interested in the nuances of the debate, including some relatives of the 9-11 victims who have forced Churchill to cancel a number of public appearances.
Some donors to his university are withholding money and politicians such as Colorado Republican Senator Wayne Allard have demanded he be fired.
"I think he's had an easy enough ride on taxpayers' dollars and hasn't appreciated it, and I think he needs to go," Allard said.
The university's regents have been struggling to decide whether Churchill should stay, be fired or be offered a buyout – a possibility that's also drawn outcries.
Meanwhile, he continues to teach.
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Nice bit about him being 'unappreciative', eh? Where in all of this does this Senator Allard figure professors aren't entitled to contrary positions, or to be outspoken about their beliefs?
-DT.