JINN - THE GENIE OF THE CULTURE
Jinn Home Page | About Jinn | Search | Net-Links
Voices | Heresies | Vectors | Pacific Pulse | The Americas | California | Movements | Civil Conflicts | YO!

JINN MAGAZINE

PACIFIC NEWS SERVICE

Issue No. 4.15

07/20/98 - 08/02/98

CONTENTS


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

    Caught in the Web of Punishment
    By Hector Gallegos
    Date: 07-23-98
    Hector Gallegos is locked up in the Security Housing Unit (SHU), the maximum security cell block at Pelican Bay State Prison, California's most punitive prison. He offered this excerpt from a larger piece he is working on to "The Beat Within," a publication directed at young people in juvenile halls, with the comment "I thought it would be something that would give them a bit to chew on -- where it all ends for the lot of us when we continue to lead that 'Careless, reckless, thug lifestyle."'


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

    The Real Dazzler in Cloning Experiments-- Possibility of Replacement Organs
    By Walter Truett Anderson
    Date: 07-27-98
    The ballyhoo that has greeted the recent work on cloning animals tends to focus on the possibility -- and fear -- of cloning human beings. But the real payoff of present work may be much less dramatic, and make much more difference in terms of health care. PNS associate editor Walter Truett Anderson, author of "Evolution Isn't What It Used To Be" (W.H. Freeman), is a political scientist who writes widely on technology and global governance.


* THE AMERICAS: The Growing Enmeshment of the U.S. and Latin Worlds

    For Zapatistas, Autonomy Means Strengthening Indian Control
    By Mary Jo McConahay
    Date: 07-22-98
    For those who live and work in the "autonomous" village of Polho, in country identified as supporting the Zapatistas, questions of who governs and how are not at all abstract. Although they have been accused of wanting to separate themselves from the nation, their true interest is in genuine equal status within their own country. Second of two parts. PNS Central America editor Mary Jo McConahay has reported from Latin America for the National Catholic Reporter, Choices, Mother Jones and other publications for over a decade. This article is the second of two parts.

    Zapatista's Struggle to Maintain Everydayness of Life
    By Mary Jo McConahay
    Date: 07-22-98
    Mexico's southern states are once again drawing international attention, with an upcoming visit by U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan and a proposal for talks from the mysterious Commandante Marcos. But the essence of the Zapatista "rebellion" is far from communiques and the world stage -- it is in the gritty business of surviving day to day. PNS Central America editor Mary Jo McConahay has reported from Latin America for the National Catholic Reporter, Choices, Mother Jones and other publications for over a decade. This article is the first of two parts.

    Signs of Blooming Democracy in the Southern Cone
    By Andrew Reding
    Date: 07-28-98
    Recent reports from Argentina and Chile indicate a distinct shift toward a more democratic atmosphere, in both spirit and practice. The resignation of Argentina's president and public opposition to Chile's former ruler are clear signs of a new freedom. Pacific News Service associate editor Andrew Reding is senior fellow for hemispheric affairs at the World Policy Institute.


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

    Wind Power May Receive a Breath of Fresh Air
    BY Yuriko Nagano
    Date: 07-31-98
    The everyday miracle of electricity comes at a cost not always revealed by the monthly utility bill -- costs involving dammed rivers, smog, the risks of nuclear power. Wind power seems to offer a way to avoid these costs, but it has run into difficulties on its own. Now new technology may revive hopes for this "clean" energy source. PNS correspondent Yuriko Nagano is a Japanese journalist studying at U.C. Berkeley.


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

    Despite $2 Million Inquiry, China's "Nuclear Threet" More Fantasy Than Reality
    By Sanford Gottlieb
    Date: 07-20-98
    In their effort to discredit the Clinton administration, Republicans are still pushing the question of whether China was allowed to acquire advanced weapons technology. However, even a cursory comparison of the two countries in terms of nuclear forces shows that China poses no threat to the United States. 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.

    U.S. Keeps Silent About Persecution of Ethnic Chinese in Indonesia
    By Peter Dale Scott
    Date: 07-30-98
    The U.S. government has spoken freely about human rights violations in Asia, especially in China and Burma (Myanmar). Yet extremely serious violations in Indonesia have gone un-remarked, notes PNS commentator Peter Dale Scott, despite the fact that the U.S. plays a significant role in that region. Scott, a former Canadian diplomat is a professor at the University of California, Berkeley.


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

Pacific News Service, 660 Market Street, Room 210, San Francisco, CA 94104, tel: (415) 438-4755.
Jinn Magazine: <http://www.pacificnews.org/jinn/>
Email: <pacificnews@pacificnews.org>

Copyright © 1997 Pacific News Service. All Rights Reserved.
Please do not reprint our stories without our permission.
Our articles are available for reprint. For rates and information, call (415) 438-4755 or send e-mail to <pacificnews@pacificnews.org>