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JINN MAGAZINE

PACIFIC NEWS SERVICE

Issue No. 5.09

04/26/99 - 05/09/99

CONTENTS


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

    Littleton Signals Death of the "Public" School
    By Richard Rodriguez
    Date: 04-26-99
    America's "public" schools were meant to be places where children, growing up in a highly individuated culture, would learn to regard themselves as people in common. But after Littleton, Colo., the most balkanized region of America may well be the high school. PNS editor Richard Rodriguez, author of "Days of Obligation" and an essayist for the PBS "News Hour with Jim Lehrer," writes regularly for the Los Angeles Sunday Times "Opinion."


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

    Miners Strike Shows the Human Cost of Economic Reform
    By David Bacon
    Date: 04-29-99
    The Cananea copper mine, less than an hour from the U.S. border, was a symbol of the conditions that led to the Mexican Revolution in 1906. This year, the same mine again presents a rich example of unfairness, only this time its owner is operating with blessings of the government. PNS associate editor David Bacon writes widely on immigrant and labor issues. A PHOTO OF STRIKER JAVIER CANIZARES IS AVAILABLE. CALL GEORGE GUNDREY AT 415-438-4755 IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO USE IT.


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

    Gleanings from the Ethnic Media #19
    By Emil Guillermo
    Date: 04-28-99
    What does the world look like as reported on the pages of California's growing ethnic newspapers? PNS monitors the Chinese-, Spanish-, Vietnamese-, Japanese-, Korean-, Arabic-language news media as well as English-language newcomer and native-born ethnic press published and/or distributed widely in California. "Gleanings from the Ethnic Media" is a regular weekly column compiled by Emil Guillermo, host of "NCM: New California Media TV" (seen on PBS station KCSM-TV60 in the Bay Area); assisted by Pacific News Service and the NCM Network. Just as the alternative news media connected the disaffected populations in the 1960s, so in the 1990s the ethnic media connects the new ethnic majority communities of California -- to one another and to the larger public forum.

    Gleanings From the Ethnic Media #20 -- Focus on Littleton
    By Emil Guillermo
    Date: 05-04-99
    The ethnic media covered Littleton, but with a difference. Ethnic writers, familiar with marginalization and intolerance, brought a unique perspective that shed some light on the senselessness. PNS monitors the Chinese-, Spanish-, Vietnamese-, Japanese-, Korean-, Arabic-language news media as well as English-language newcomer and native-born ethnic press published and/or distributed widely in California. "Gleanings from the Ethnic Media" is a regular weekly column compiled by Emil Guillermo, host of "NCM: New California Media TV" (seen on PBS station KCSM-TV60 in the Bay Area); assisted by Pacific News Service and the NCM Network. Just as the alternative news media connected the disaffected populations in the 1960s, so in the 1990s the ethnic media connects the new ethnic majority communities of California -- to one another and to the larger public forum.


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

    Events in Distant Serbia Alter Ethnic Perceptions Here at Home
    By Gregory Rodriguez
    Date: 05-04-99
    The release of the only three U.S. soldiers taken prisoner in the NATO action in Serbia is welcome news everywhere. But the fact that two of the three were Mexican-Americans, writes PNS associate editor Gregory Rodriguez, has given all Americans an unprecedented chance to learn something of neighbors who have often been demonized in recent years. Rodriguez is a Research Fellow at the Pepperdine Institute for Public Policy.


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

    After Kosovo, We Will Probably See More of the Same Without a Dedicated U.N. Standby Force
    By Stanford Gottlieb
    Date: 04-26-99
    The events in Kosovo reflect, among other things, an inadequate system for resolving conflicts among and within nations, and there is little sign of any change. PNS commentator Sanford Gottlieb suggests that thoughtful implementation of a section of the U.N. Charter might be one solution to this problem. 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.

    NATO'S Achilles Heel-- In Greece, Anti-NATOism and History Make a Volatile Blend
    By Thomas Goltz
    Date: 04-28-99
    In northern Greece -- which was to be the staging area for NATO military action -- anti-NATO and anti-U.S. feeling is running high. Graffiti, protest marches, and some odd alliances reflect widespread suspicion firmly grounded in the history of this century. PNS correspondent Thomas Goltz is the author of "Azerbaijan Diary: A Rogue Reporter's Adventures in an Oil-rich, War-torn, Post-Soviet Republic" (M.E. Sharpe, 1998). THIS IS THE SECOND OF A TWO PART SERIES BY GOLTZ.

    Threatened By Flood of Refugees, Fragile Macedonia Does Its Best to Ignore the War Next Door
    By Thomas Goltz
    Date: 04-28-99
    Only about half of the two million people living in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia are "true" Macedonians, and the arrival of hundreds of thousands of Albanian refugees threatens to change the demographic landscape radically. The need to survive in close relation to Serbia on one side and Greece on the other has created extraordinary tensions. PNS correspondent Thomas Goltz is the author of "Azerbaijan Diary: A Rogue Reporter's Adventures in an Oil-rich, War-torn, Post-Soviet Republic" (M.E. Sharpe, 1998). THIS IS THE FIRST OF A TWO PART SERIES BY GOLTZ.

    Imprisoning A Million Nonviolent Offenders -- Expanding Use of Prisons Serves Neither Justice Nor Society
    By Vincent Schiraldi
    Date: 04-30-99
    With a million people in prison for nonviolent offenses -- a new record -- it may be time for a good look at the idea that imprisonment cuts crime. In reality, we've filled our prisons with less violent offenders and the state most vigorously imprisoning its citizens, California, has seen a much smaller fall in the crime rate than states with less punitive policies. PNS commentator, Vincent Schiraldi, is the executive director of the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice, a non-profit public policy organization based in San Francisco and Washington, D.C.

    Nervous Neighbor -- NATO Newcomer Hungary Looks Fearfully Over Its Shoulder at Troubles Next Door
    By Thomas Goltz
    Date: 05-05-99
    The only NATO member country that actually borders Yugoslavia is Hungary, which is also the organization's newest member. The combination of proximity and uncertainty about the requirements of membership have some Hungarians very worried indeed. PNS correspondent Thomas Goltz has been traveling through eastern Europe covering the effects of the NATA action. He is the author of "Azerbaijan Diary: A Rogue Reporter's Adventures in an Oil-rich, War-torn, Post-Soviet Republic" (M.E. Sharpe, 1998).

    Belgrade Diary -- A Word From Beneath the Bombs
    By Terence Sheridan
    Date: 05-06-99
    What is it like to live under the NATO bombs and missiles, especially if you are an American? PNS correspondent Terence Sheridan, who has lived in Belgrade since 1992, shares some pages from his diary recorded at the end of April. Sheridan is a former reporter for the Cleveland Plain Dealer.


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

    For Teens, Unbearable Pressures Build in Nice Towns With No Place to be Different
    By Caille Millner
    Date: 04-26-99
    For someone who has attended a nice school in a nice town, the explosive events at Littleton come as no surprise. With no space for individuality, few outlets for anger, everyday pressures can become unbearable. PNS commentator Caille Millner is a sophomore at Harvard University, and on the staff of YO! (Youth Outlook), a newspaper by and about young people published by Pacific News Service.

    View From the City -- City Kids See LIttleton Shooting As Symptom of Suburban Life
    By Katherine Cowy Kim
    Date: 04-27-99
    Asked for their view of the killings in a suburban Colorado high school, San Francisco teens agree on a diagnosis that places much of the blame on the suburban setting. Without claiming any particular virtue for themselves, they do think that the city offers outlets and opportunities that might ease the pressure of being young. PNS commentator Katherine Cowy Kim, a 27 year old writer in San Francisco, is an editor of YO! (Youth Outlook), a monthly newspaper by and about young people published by Pacific News Service.

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