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AFRICANS SHOULD BOYCOTT AT&T!!!!

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Kiggundu Mukasa

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Sep 20, 1993, 10:28:16 AM9/20/93
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I saw an article about a recent AT&T newsletter sent to its employees
about its wold wide network. This newsletter went out to thousands of
AT&T employees and showed different people on different continents talking
to each other using AT&T. The only non-human characature was on the
african continent and depited as a MONKEY!!!!
God knows how many levels of management the newsletter went through
(getting approved) before hitting the desks of thousands of people.
This Bigotry is at the core of AT&T and I for one will stick to any other
carrier but AT&T come hell or high water!!
The insult of depicting Africans as Monkeys cannot be swept away with
appologies!! If you are blak (for we all know that famous saying "THEY
ALL LOOK ALIKE") I say, DROP AT&T AS YOUR LONG DISTANCE CARRIER
IMMEDIATELY AND TELL THEM EXACTLY WHY!!
Remember money talks, so vote with your wallet. Unless I hear them say
they are going to spend as much on Africa as they did on that buyout of
McGraw (sp?) [i.e BIliions of Dollars] fuck them.

Kiggundu (pissed off as hell....will now trumpet the benefits of MCI)

P. Ialamanna

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Sep 20, 1993, 8:47:47 PM9/20/93
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You missed the boat, dude. ATandT immediately apologized for their
ignorance as soon as it came out.
--
Bulls Superfan "Men will lie on their backs, talking about the
P. Ialamanna - fall of man, and never make an effort to get up"
pa5...@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu - Henry David Thoreau

ogu...@edison.usask.ca

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Sep 20, 1993, 9:57:30 PM9/20/93
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In a previous article, pa5...@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (P. Ialamanna) wrote:
>You missed the boat, dude. ATandT immediately apologized for their
>ignorance as soon as it came out.

Put the other way, it's you who missed the boat. The issue is not whether
AT&T(whatever else that stands for if not racism and Afrohatism) apologized
or not, the misbehaviour for which every right-thinking African should demand an
unequivocal explanation is: why the monkey symbol in the first instance? AT&T
is not just a one-man or one-room outfit where anything happens. It's an organ-
ization built on defined structures of command and communication . So, for them
to just allow such an obvious symbol of racism and hatred to mature from egg to
imago, makes their apology useless. AT&T should institute a high-level investig-
ation into this faceless act and ensure that all KKK's in their ranks and files
are removed, forthwith. Otherwise, any African with sense of dignity should say
bye bye to all AT&T products and services. Period!

oguocha.

Local Genius

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Sep 20, 1993, 11:25:12 PM9/20/93
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In article <27livj$b...@vixen.cso.uiuc.edu>,

P. Ialamanna <pa5...@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu> wrote:
>You missed the boat, dude. ATandT immediately apologized for their
>ignorance as soon as it came out.
>--

Methinks you *are* the one who missed the boat. You should read the first
post and/or the others that have come up since. People are *not* satisfied
with the AT&T apology or at least that is what seems to be the general
flavor of the posts I have seen so far.

And do you really believe AT&T put the ad out out of ignorance?


--

lk(with the man in the yellow hat) | The value of a definite integral does
--Math Dept, UNH, Durham, NH03824 | not depend on political or religious
--FAX: (603) 862 - 4096 | beliefs. -- Reznick
--e-mail: l...@unh.edu | Quantum Particles: The dreams that
| stuff is made of.


Mohammed Elabdellaoui

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Sep 21, 1993, 12:12:31 AM9/21/93
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Hi everybody,

I boycotted AT&T a long time ago when they had the "Reach out world plan".
This plan included every continent but Africa. After useless complaints,
I decided to move to another company. I guess for them, Africa is not in
this world, that's why they can do stupid stuff as depicting us as monkies,
then they turn around and appologize.
LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD THROUGH YOUR WALLET.

Mohammed

Mark Robert Thorson

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Sep 20, 1993, 9:29:02 PM9/20/93
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Before you go after AT&T, I should remind you that in the area
of race relations, AT&T has been far out in front of the vast
majority of corporate America. If you were to visit AT&T Bell
Laboratories in Murray Hill, New Jersey (I have, several times),
you would see many more scientists, engineers, and technicians of
African ancestry than almost anywhere else in the U.S. AT&T makes
a great effort to recruit minority employees.

Jonathan Fletcher

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Sep 21, 1993, 1:17:42 PM9/21/93
to

I disagree. AT&T was wrong to do what they did, but at least they apologized
for it. How many other companies make such offensive adds and not only refuse
to apologize, but proudly claim that they like their and will not change it!
(Benneton and Chrysler come to mind). AT&T does at least support minorities in
a way most companies flat-out refuse to. They aren't perfect but at least they
try. Most other corporations could give a damn and will tell you so to your
face! I say express your outrage, but be reasonable.

J. D. Fletcher

--<< Generic Disclaimer >>--

Stephen R. Schach

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Sep 21, 1993, 8:05:34 PM9/21/93
to
If anyone wishes to see the actual AT&T cartoon, it is reproduced
in the current (September 27) issue of TIME magazine, together
with a brief explanation of what happened.

Steve

Ed Brown

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Sep 20, 1993, 11:56:19 PM9/20/93
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>DATE: 21 Sep 1993 00:47:47 GMT
>FROM: P. Ialamanna <pa5...@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu>

The point is *it came out.* They are suppposed to have reviews, and it
"fell through the cracks." A gorilla in Africa, and everyone else is White
and it falls through the cracks. No one is saying, "It's my fault it got
through." No one.

Yo dude, if you believe what they state, can I interest you in some swamp
land in Florida?

----------------------- Signature goes here -----------------------------

Generic witty saying goes here...

Ed Brown INTERNET: .
p00...@psilink.com <-- I speak for me!
COMPUSERVE: 71613,1327


Ed Brown

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Sep 20, 1993, 11:59:07 PM9/20/93
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>DATE: Mon, 20 Sep 93 18:29:02 PDT
>FROM: Mark Robert Thorson <m...@cup.portal.com>


Which is why I'm *shocked* that this happened at AT&T.

Chizoba Ogbuefi

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Sep 22, 1993, 12:05:24 AM9/22/93
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In article <CDqAx...@vuse.vanderbilt.edu>,

Stephen R. Schach <s...@vuse.vanderbilt.edu> wrote:
>If anyone wishes to see the actual AT&T cartoon, it is reproduced
>in the current (September 27) issue of TIME magazine, together
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
What year ???????? 1992????? (today is just the 21st)


--
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- NORTHEASTERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
l8r ZOBY OGBUEFI :-)
ucog...@uxa.ecn.edu (or ucog...@bgu.edu)
ucog...@ecnuxa.bitnet

P. Ialamanna

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Sep 22, 1993, 2:08:40 AM9/22/93
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In article <27ls6o$l...@mozz.unh.edu> l...@kepler.unh.edu (Local Genius) writes:
>In article <27livj$b...@vixen.cso.uiuc.edu>,
>P. Ialamanna <pa5...@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu> wrote:
>>You missed the boat, dude. ATandT immediately apologized for their
>>ignorance as soon as it came out.
>>--
>
>And do you really believe AT&T put the ad out out of ignorance?

Do you think AT&T put the cartoon with malicious intent to degrade and
insult African-Americasn?

P. Ialamanna

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Sep 22, 1993, 2:18:46 AM9/22/93
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In article <2957669617...@psilink.com> "Ed Brown" <p00...@psilink.com> writes:
>>
>>You missed the boat, dude. ATandT immediately apologized for their
>>ignorance as soon as it came out.
>
>The point is *it came out.* They are suppposed to have reviews, and it
>"fell through the cracks." A gorilla in Africa, and everyone else is White
>and it falls through the cracks. No one is saying, "It's my fault it got
>through." No one.
>
No it didn't come out publically until AT&T apologized for their mistake. The cartoon
was published in an employee publication and the apology came out as
soon as the publication was sent out to employees. Some art-director or somebody
got the shaft I beleive.

Mohammed Elabdellaoui

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Sep 21, 1993, 12:20:25 AM9/21/93
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^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Then redicule them and probably pay them less than their white counter-parts.
Last time I looked in history books, I saw Hitler recruiting Jews to do some
sort of jobs in concetration camps. The result we all know now.
Employing somebody does not mean a damn thing. Shit man the whites crossed
the whole Atlantic to recruit the African population. Should we thank them
for that?

GET REAL


Mohammed

Nathaniel Hekman

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Sep 21, 1993, 1:06:08 PM9/21/93
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GET REAL

Hey, now look who is reacting against racism with racism... I don't
like the AT&T pamphlet any more than the rest of you, but just as it
is wrong to be racist against any "minority" group, so it is wrong to
hate all AT&T employees because of the mistakes (however despicable)
of a few, let alone getting angry at all whites for the racism of
some.

Nathaniel "Ali" Hekman

___
_/ --\ ******************************************************************
/ \__
| / "...and he walked the length of Nathaniel "Ali" Hekman
\__^-, | his days under African skies..." Calvin College
\ | 616.957.6144
( / || Paul Simon, Graceland hek...@calvin.edu
\_/
A F R I Q U E *************************************************************

Mark Robert Thorson

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Sep 21, 1993, 2:46:25 AM9/21/93
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> If your claim is true, one would think they would have been more sensitive
> than what they seem to have shown. This means that whatever they had done
> re race relations, they may have just succeeded in moving several steps
> backwards with this stupidity and they may need to do a lot to regain their
> credibility.

AT&T is a big company. It's hard to staff a big company without hiring
a few idiots. And I'm sure this incident is costing them credibility
which took a lot of time and effort to earn. But I think you should look
more closely at the situation before running off half-cocked. AT&T
has been a leader, not a straggler, in the area of race.

If someone knows of a magazine or newspaper where this memo is going
to be reproduced, please post the information to the net. I'd like
to see what this thing actually is. (Which is not to imply any doubt

Local Genius

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Sep 20, 1993, 11:31:22 PM9/20/93
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In article <91...@cup.portal.com>,

If your claim is true, one would think they would have been more sensitive


than what they seem to have shown. This means that whatever they had done
re race relations, they may have just succeeded in moving several steps
backwards with this stupidity and they may need to do a lot to regain their
credibility.

Windsor A. Morgan

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Sep 21, 1993, 11:17:15 AM9/21/93
to
In article <91...@cup.portal.com>, m...@cup.portal.com (Mark Robert Thorson) writes:
> If someone knows of a magazine or newspaper where this memo is going
> to be reproduced, please post the information to the net. I'd like
> to see what this thing actually is. (Which is not to imply any doubt
> of its insensitivity, or worse yet, racism.)

It's unlikely. The graphic in question appeared in an AT&T in-house
magazine.

--
'Verily, there be no leader as wise as the Vision!'
Windsor Morgan (mor...@astro.psu.edu OR N...@PSUVM.BITNET)
Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics
The Pennsylvania State University
University Park, PA 16802

Stephen R. Schach

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Sep 22, 1993, 8:39:49 AM9/22/93
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In article <27oiu4$i...@uxa.ecn.bgu.edu> ucog...@uxa.ecn.bgu.edu (Chizoba Ogbuefi) writes:
>Stephen R. Schach <s...@vuse.vanderbilt.edu> wrote:
>>If anyone wishes to see the actual AT&T cartoon, it is reproduced
>>in the current (September 27) issue of TIME magazine, together
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>What year ???????? 1992????? (today is just the 21st)

No, 1993! Magazines are almost always postdated, so that people
will continue to buy them at the newsstand until the next issue
is published. _This_ week's issue is therefore dated September 27,
1993, which is the date that _next_ week's issue appears.

Steve

Unknown

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Sep 22, 1993, 1:58:37 PM9/22/93
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In article <27kem0$a...@panix.com>, muk...@panix.com (Kiggundu Mukasa)
wrote:

>
> DROP AT&T AS YOUR LONG DISTANCE CARRIER
> IMMEDIATELY AND TELL THEM EXACTLY WHY!!
>

I might add: US European-Americans should also boycott AT&T!

Ken

Abdirashid Jabane

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Sep 22, 1993, 2:19:29 PM9/22/93
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In <27livj$b...@vixen.cso.uiuc.edu> pa5...@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (P. Ialamanna) writes:

>You missed the boat, dude. ATandT immediately apologized for their
>ignorance as soon as it came out.
>--

So everything is alright by your reckoning.Let us turn the other cheek
and be gratefull that an apology has been made.Your smugness is
apalling.We are as mad as hell and everybody should know it.We are
gonna tell the motherfuckers a piece of our mind,apology or not.Dont
pull this close-our-eyes-and-let-us-pray shit on us.Just goes to show
the persistance of white America in streotyping Africans.And we are
supposed to shut up.And yet all hell breaks loose when Farakhan talks
about whites and Jews.What a load of crap!

Rashid Jabane

cnwd...@uctvax.uct.ac.za

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Sep 22, 1993, 3:33:40 PM9/22/93
to
In article <21SEP93....@edison.usask.ca>, ogu...@edison.usask.ca writes:
> In a previous article, pa5...@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (P. Ialamanna) wrote:
>>You missed the boat, dude. ATandT immediately apologized for their
>>ignorance as soon as it came out.
>
> Put the other way, it's you who missed the boat. The issue is not whether
> AT&T(whatever else that stands for if not racism and Afrohatism) apologized
> or not, the misbehaviour for which every right-thinking African should demand an
> unequivocal explanation is: why the monkey symbol in the first instance?
> oguocha.

AT&T not only apologised without reservation for the thoughtlessness of the
error, they also sacked the artist and the design company. Their explanation
that the editors simply didn't spot it sounds quite reasonable considering how
much they stand to lose just in the way of PR by the whole episode. I doubt
they specifically set out to insult their clients and staff.

D.C.

Ed Brown

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Sep 22, 1993, 9:09:20 PM9/22/93
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>DATE: 22 Sep 1993 06:18:46 GMT
>FROM: P. Ialamanna <pa5...@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu>
>

>In article <2957669617...@psilink.com> "Ed Brown" <p00...@psilink.com> writes:
>>>
>>>You missed the boat, dude. ATandT immediately apologized for their
>>>ignorance as soon as it came out.
>>
>>The point is *it came out.* They are suppposed to have reviews, and it
>>"fell through the cracks." A gorilla in Africa, and everyone else is White
>>and it falls through the cracks. No one is saying, "It's my fault it got
>>through." No one.
>>
>No it didn't come out publically until AT&T apologized for their mistake. The cartoon
>was published in an employee publication and the apology came out as
>soon as the publication was sent out to employees. Some art-director or somebody
>got the shaft I beleive.

Sorry to waste bandwidth, but when I stated "it came out," I was
referring to teh company wide distribution. The fact that it became known
outside of the company is a non-issue. The cartoon was "published" with the
gorilla in Africa.


>
>--
>Bulls Superfan "Men will lie on their backs, talking about the
>P. Ialamanna - fall of man, and never make an effort to get up"
>pa5...@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu - Henry David Thoreau

Mohammed Elabdellaoui

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Sep 23, 1993, 12:00:15 AM9/23/93
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In article <johno-220...@johno-mac.synopsys.com> jo...@synopsys.com (John O'Farrell) writes:
>
>
>Well, if we are going to play the blame game, maybe you should also thank
>all those other black Africans that helped the white man "recruit".
>
>
I blame whom I want in this issue and I don't have to let you know of all
the parties to be blamed. I only mentioned it as an analogy of how
recruiting somebody does not reflect the true attitude toward that person.
Are you trying to justify slavery as good and OK act since some other parties
were involved in it? I hope not.

Mohammed

John O'Farrell

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Sep 22, 1993, 2:19:38 PM9/22/93
to

> Employing somebody does not mean a damn thing. Shit man the whites crossed
> the whole Atlantic to recruit the African population. Should we thank them
> for that?

Well, if we are going to play the blame game, maybe you should also thank


all those other black Africans that helped the white man "recruit".

Windsor A. Morgan

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Sep 23, 1993, 9:57:35 AM9/23/93
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>In article <27n5tr$f...@genesis.ait.psu.edu> mor...@astro.psu.edu (Windsor A.
>Morgan) writes:
>> It's unlikely. The graphic in question appeared in an AT&T in-house
>> magazine. ^^^^^^^?!

In article <1993Sep22.1...@gmuvax.gmu.edu>, sgeb...@gmuvax.gmu.edu writes:
>Excccuuuuuuse me?! The magazine, known as Focus, gets distributed
>to over 300,000 AT&T employees all over the world. fyi, the ad is
>also on TIME magazine now. Still, you (conviniently?) tried
>to question the merits of the magazine instead of the motives
>behind the ad.

(+ several lines which have *nothing* to do with my post)

>Sam G.

Interesting. What I posted dealt with a question which was
(paraphrased): What are the chances of seeing the ad?

My answer appears above. Some comments:

(1) My answer was intended to serve as an indication that I thought it
was unlikely we would see the ad.

(2) My answer was posted before I heard that Time magazine published
the ad.

(3) My answer has *nothing* to do with the merits of the ad or the
magazine.

(4) If Mr. "G." wants to get on a soapbox to state his views he is
most welcome, as long as he doesn't do it at my expense by reading
between the lines of something I did not write.

Tim Smith

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Sep 23, 1993, 4:52:56 PM9/23/93
to
P. Ialamanna <pa5...@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu> wrote:
>Do you think AT&T put the cartoon with malicious intent to degrade and
>insult African-Americans?

Apparently, some people do think that. They actually seem to think that
high level management at a giant company actually keeps track of what goes
in an employee newsletter.

--Tim Smith

isab...@nauvax.ucc.nau.edu

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Sep 23, 1993, 9:29:43 PM9/23/93
to
Steve,
In your response to Stephen R. Schach's message, you suggested that the
cartoon had appeared in the September 27 1993 issue (current) of Time magazine.
Well I carefully combed the magazine and the ad was not there. Do you know
which page it was on if at all it did appear. Maybe the Time authorities
managed to get rid of the ad before it reached the West and thus diffuse a
very explosive situation.
Isabirye

P. Ialamanna

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Sep 23, 1993, 11:56:00 PM9/23/93
to

Let me guess, these are the same people who still think that James Jordan
was murdered by white people in a conspiracy to kill black role models.

Stephen R. Schach

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Sep 24, 1993, 9:55:16 AM9/24/93
to

>you suggested that the
>cartoon had appeared in the September 27 1993 issue (current) of Time magazine

>Well I carefully combed the magazine and the ad was not there.

I never said it was an ad. As you correctly pointed out, I stated that it
was a cartoon, and that is how it appears.

>Do you know which page it was on
>if at all it did appear.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Instead of gratuitous insults, why didn't you send me e-mail offline,
so that I could have sent you a copy of the page bearing the cartoon
(not ad) by fax or U.S. Mail.

The cartoon is on page 17, in the THE WEEK section.

>Maybe the Time authorities
>managed to get rid of the ad before it reached the West and thus diffuse a
>very explosive situation.

Maybe. But if the cartoon is not in your copy, here is a more
likely explanation:

Magazines like TIME try to maximize advertising revenues by
publishing many different regional editions, each with their own
editorial and advertising content. This is particularly true of
the international editions of TIME. Thus it is possible that the
cartoon appeared in my edition but not in yours simply because your
local editor, needing space for yet another ad, decided to cut
the cartoon because it was the right size and appropriately
placed in the magazine.

Incidentally, that is why I did not give the page number in my
original posting--it will not be on the same page in every edition.

Please would you let me know whether the cartoon is in your edition
and, if so, on what page. Thank you.

Steve

P.S.: You posting began as follows:

>Steve,
> In your response to Stephen R. Schach's message,

If you look at that message, you will see my full name Stephen R. Schach
at the top, and the shortened form of my first name, Steve, at the bottom.
In other words, Steve and Stephen R. Schach are the same person. I was _not_
replying to my own message :)

Tim Smith

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Sep 24, 1993, 2:31:43 PM9/24/93
to

Page 17. You probably missed it because you were looking for an ad. It's
not an ad. It was an illustration in an internal AT&T publication, for
employees only. It's in _Time_ because they are reporting on the incident.

Does anyone here know anything about this publication? From the few
companies I've worked at with internal publications, they are usually
*NOT* tightly controlled by management. I would guess that this illustration
came as a big surprise to them, too, and that they probably first saw it
the same time everyone else first saw it.

--Tim Smith

Wilfred Tchaka Owen

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Sep 24, 1993, 12:10:24 PM9/24/93
to
Being half African and an MCI stockholder, I invite everyone
over to my company. Akwaaba!
Tchaka
--
W. Tchaka Owen

isab...@nauvax.ucc.nau.edu

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Sep 24, 1993, 10:00:04 PM9/24/93
to
Stephen
I thank you for having pointed out the page in Time.
This time I looked at Page 17 and there it. My apologies for
misunderstanding a cartoon for an ad. I was not at least
intentionally to question the truth of its having appeared
in Time but I wanted to know where exactly I would find it.
Both you and Time, I am most thankful for your assistance.
Isabirye

cnwd...@uctvax.uct.ac.za

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Sep 25, 1993, 10:21:57 PM9/25/93
to
In article <27veef$o...@news.u.washington.edu>, t...@hardy.u.washington.edu (Tim Smith) writes:
> <isab...@nauvax.ucc.nau.edu> wrote:
>> In your response to Stephen R. Schach's message, you suggested that the
>>cartoon had appeared in the September 27 1993 issue (current) of Time magazine.
>>Well I carefully combed the magazine and the ad was not there. Do you know
>>which page it was on if at all it did appear. Maybe the Time authorities
>>managed to get rid of the ad before it reached the West and thus diffuse a
>>very explosive situation.
>
> Page 17. You probably missed it because you were looking for an ad. It's
> not an ad. It was an illustration in an internal AT&T publication, for
> employees only. It's in _Time_ because they are reporting on the incident.
>
> --Tim Smith

Next question - which edition of Time is it in? I couldn't find it in the
International Edition, but it might well only have been printed in the US
edition or something.

D.C.

isab...@nauvax.ucc.nau.edu

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Sep 27, 1993, 12:50:49 PM9/27/93
to
It was in Time, dated September 27, 1993. You shoild look at p.17. I
do not think there is that much difference between the local and international
editions with regard to many stories.
SI
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