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JINN MAGAZINE

PACIFIC NEWS SERVICE

Issue No. 3.15

07/14/97 - 07/27/97

CONTENTS


* VOICES: First-Person Essays Linking the Private to the Public

    An American in Haiti
    By Sara Lechtenberg
    Date: 07-18-97
    Young Americans go out into the world with a powerful idealism -- and are often brought up short by a reality sadder and more complex than they anticipated. Finding one's balance in such a situation can be difficult. PNS commentator Sara Lechtenberg is a Fulbright Scholar who has been in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti, working on human rights and justice issues for the past year.

    When Punishment Breeds Sadism -- Juvenile Crime Bill at Cross Purposes With Megan's Law
    By Joe Loya
    Date: 07-24-97
    A law now working its way through the Congress provides funds to fight juvenile crime -- but only to states that change their laws so that offenders as young as 13 can be sent to prison. Given the reality of life in prison, and the public's extraordinary concern with sex offenders, this legislation represents a rather biting irony in the view of one knowledgeable observer. PNS associate editor Joe Loya, a Los Angeles-based writer, frequently covers prison issues.

    Versace Spoke to Generation X-ers Desperately Seeking Fun
    By Colleen O'Connor and Louis Nevaer
    Date: 07-25-97
    When Versace was gunned down two weeks ago, a new generation of twenty-somethings and Generation X-ers -- most of them unable to afford his clothes -- knew they had lost an icon. The reasons why tell us a lot about why you are what you wear for so many young people today. PNS reporter Colleen O'Connor writes widely on lifestyle issues. Louis Nevaer, an author and economist, provided additional reporting for this story from Miami Beach.


* HERESIES: Thinking the Unthinkable About the Future

    The Fire Next Time --- Lessons of the Shabazz Tragedy
    By Mae Jackson
    Date: 07-11-97
    One lesson to be learned from the tragic story of Malcolm X's 12-year-old grandson setting fire to his grandmother's apartment is that violence unleashed against one generation will continue to play itself out in succeeding generations. Survivors must deal with the consequences, or risk being consumed by "the fire next time." PNS commentator Mae Jackson is a New York-based poet and director of "Children Without Walls," a program teaching art to the children of women in prison.

    New Defense Megacorporations Will Change Domestic Power Equation
    By Sanford Gottlieb
    Date: 07-15-97
    New mergers will make the world's largest defense contractors even larger, leaving three behemoth corporations dominating the field. Although the mergers have proceeded with the blessings of the Clinton administration, the giant firms -- with subcontractors spread all across the country -- will be able to exert extraordinary pressure on members of Congress. PNS commentator Sanford Gottlieb is author of "Defense Addiction: Can America Kick the Habit?" published by Westview Press, and has worked for over 30 years for private organizations in the field of international arms control.


* VECTORS: A Regular Column on the Ideas and Directions Behind Today's News

    Containment Is Alive and Well on Two Widely Separated Fronts
    By Thi Lam
    Date: 00-00-92
    Although the word "containment" is no longer used in diplomatic circles, recent moves by multinational defense organizations in both Europe and Asia indicate the idea is far from dead. This may help explain, according to PNS analyst Thi Lam, why both NATO and ASEAN have decided to add new members despite considerable evidence that expansion in any direction entails considerable risk. Lam, a former general in the Republic of South Vietnam, is the author of "Autopsy: The Death of South Vietnam" (1985).


* CALIFORNIA COLLAGE: California as Trendsetter for the Country and the World

    Tommy Thompson Is the Wrong Guy -- But only the Governor Can Save His Life
    By Michael Kroll
    Date: 07-21-97
    The state of California plans to execute Thomas Thompson on August 5 for a crime he says he did not commit -- and he is not alone. Among those who have formally declared their belief in his innocence are seven pro-death penalty prosecutors. Only a grant of clemency from Governor Pete Wilson can stop the execution. Taking such an action would mean bucking a powerful trend, but the convincing proof that Thompson is not guilty and was poorly represented at trial should make it possible to take this unusual action. Michael Kroll, an associate editor of Pacific News Service, specializes in criminal justice and death penalty issues.


* MOVEMENTS OF THE DISPOSSESSED: Strategies For Survival, Identity and Direction by People on the Margins

    Untouchable Workers May Lead the Way
    By David Bacon
    Date: 07-10-97
    Organized labor's pledge to bring a significant portion of the work force into union ranks has come up against some hard realities -- including workers' mistrust of unions. But this can be overcome as organizing drives led by and focused on asbestos strippers in Los Angeles and New York have shown, and these successes may serve as a model for other efforts across the country. PNS associate editor David Bacon writes widely on immigration and labor issues.

    A Spiritual Leader for New Generation of Individualists
    By Michael Blanding
    Date: 07-14-97
    With ease and humor, the Dalai Lama moves through the world in a way which brings extraordinary respect from young people. Even those who feel his message falls short as a call to action find value in the concept of personal responsibility. PNS correspondent Michael Blanding is a freelance journalist living in San Francisco. He recently returned from teaching English in Dharamsala.


* CIVIL CONFLICTS: Interpretive Reports on Ethnic, Religious, and Inter-National Conflicts Worldwide

    Islamophobia on the Golf Course -- Turkish Secularists May Be Pushing Anti-Islamist Line Too Hard
    By Thomas Goltz
    Date: 07-09-97
    The struggle between secular and Islamic forces, very much in evidence throughout the middle east, has taken some unusual turns in Turkey -- including a golf course that excludes Muslims and a cookie boycott. At the level of national politics, however, these efforts seem to have benefited the party most closely associated with an Islamist position. Thomas Goltz was a finalist for the Rory Peck Prize for independent camera work for his documentary on the town of Samashki in Chechnya, and is author of an upcoming book on Azerbaijan ("Requiem for a Would-Be Republic," to be published by ME Sharpe in the U.S.)

    History of Popular Engagement Offers Hope for Troubled Kenya
    By Steven Were Omamo
    Date: 07-23-97
    Kenya, generally considered one of Africa's most steady and peaceful countries, has been rocked by disturbances in recent weeks. Protesters are intent on constitutional changes which the government of Daniel Arap Moi, president for 19 years, has steadfastly resisted. For PNS commentator Steven Were Omamo, the situation is very much a product of economic modernization, and the solution is very much dependent on the country's history. Omamo is a writer and agricultural economist based in Nairobi, and a Rockefeller Foundation Social Science Research Fellow at the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute.


* YOUTH OUTLOOK: The World Through Young People's Eyes

    From the Hall -- A Better Deal, A Fairer Deal -- What Would an Ideal Society Look Like?
    By PNS Youth Writers in Juvenile Hall
    Date: 07-16-97
    What would an ideal society look like? Normally this question is left to philosophers, priests and kings. But incarcerated young people think a lot about the kind of world they live in versus the kind of world they wish was there. One thing almost all seem to want is a society that is more ordered and safe, one in which everyone has a place and everyone matters. These responses are excepted from "The Beat Within," a weekly newsletter by and about incarcerated youth in San Francisco and Oakland, California, published by Pacific News Service.

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