Voices | Heresies | Vectors | Pacific Pulse | The Americas | California | Movements | Civil Conflicts | YO!
JINN MAGAZINE
PACIFIC NEWS SERVICE
Issue No. 5.20
10/04/99 - 10/15/99
VOICES: First-Person Essays Linking the Private to the Public
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Charlie's Eyes -- New Laws On Juvenile Crime Show Willful Blindness To Needs Of Children
By Amy Clay
Date: 10-05-99
Two bills calling for harsh treatment of juvenile offenders, including incarceration with adults, are now being considered by the US Congress. They represent a complete abdication of responsibility, according to PNS commentator Amy Clay, who draws on her own life experience to show what's wrong with this approach. Clay is a student at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. and an intern with the Child Welfare League of America.
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A Letter To A New Inmate -- Prison Hate Is Contagious
By Joe Loya
Date: 10-08-99
How is it that prisons have become such powerful incubators of hate -- not only racial hate but all kinds of hate? PNS associate editor Joe Loya served seven years in federal prison where he became, in his words, a racist. In a letter to a younger friend about to serve two years in prison, he explains how hatred permeates life behind bars. Loya is working on a book about his prison experiences.
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Is There A Role For Literacy In The Information Age?
By Richard Rodriguez
Date: 10-12-99
The extraordinary amount of attention being paid to new forms of communication -- "the information superhighway" -- seems inconsistent with a general disappearance of literacy in this society. But the two may in fact be interconnected, writes PNS editor Richard Rodriguez, and driving us toward a world where everyone can communicate but no one has anything to say. 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."
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Kashmir, Fundamentalism: Post-Coup Thinking Must Include The View From Pakistan
By Ras H. Siddiqui
Date: 10-15-99
In Pakistan, Washington's views have always been decisive -- perhaps until this week. Now, argues Ras H. Siddiqui, post-coup thinking in Washington must include the view from Pakistan to ensure the region's stability. PNS correspondent Ras H. Siddiqui is the publisher of California-based Pakistan Link.
VECTORS: A Regular Column on the Ideas and Directions Behind Today's News
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Possibility Of Terrorism Looms In Japan's Nuclear Accident
By Yoichi Clark Shimatsu
Date: 10-04-99
The accident at a nuclear fuel factory in Japan was considered a relatively minor event, and the product of human error. But some observers, including PNS commentator Yoichi Clark Shimatsu, think there is legitimate reason to consider the possibility that the terrorist group Aum Shinrikyo is involved. Shimatsu is a former editor of the English-language Japan Times Weekly in Tokyo.
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A New Strategic Quadrangle Between Russia, India, China -- And The U.S.?
By Franz Schurmann
The idea of a strategic triangle between China, Russia and India sounds like a sci-fi thriller from the Cold War days. But given the strategic partnerships being forged among these powers -- and between each of them and the United States -- it may also be an idea for promoting global peace, prosperity and freedom. Franz Schurmann, professor emeritus of history and sociology at UC Berkeley and author of numerous books on foreign politics, writes a weekly column called "Predictions". His email address is fschurmann@pacificnews.org.
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Despite Divisions, Indian Immigrants Take Pride In Democracy At Home
By Sarita Sarvate
Date: 10-13-99
While democracy in Pakistan takes a back seat to a military coup, Indian immigrants here rejoice in the BJP election victory at home -- mainly because it protects their pocketbooks and makes them look best abroad. PNS correspondent Sarita Sarvate is a nuclear physicist and writer for India Currents and other publications.
PACIFIC PULSE: The Pacific Century and Its Impact on the Americas
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The "Asian Way" Thesis Bows To The Inevitable -- Human Rights Gaining Global Clout
By Andrew Reding
Date: 10-14-99
In an increasingly globalized economy, nations that once fiercely resisted the concept of international human rights -- notably China, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore -- are gradually yielding ground, even at the cost of their sovereign rights. Pacific News Service associate editor Andrew Reding directs the Americas Project of the World Policy Institute in New York.
CIVIL CONFLICTS: Interpretive Reports on Ethnic, Religious, and Inter-National Conflicts Worldwide
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Reactions Divided -- Many Korean Americans Fear No Gun Li Just Tip Of Iceberg
By Terry Lee
Date: 10-01-99
If there is one aspect of the No Gun Li massacre story on which Korean Americans across the age spectrum agree, it is that the U.S. government should launch a formal investigation into rumors of other mass killings of civilians by U.S. forces during and after the Korean War. Terry Lee reports on reactions within the Korean American community of northern California. Lee is an editor of New California Media, a collaboration of 100-plus ethnic news organizations founded by PNS whose web site address is www. NCMonline.com.
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India Looks Across The Border -- With Some Envy
By Andrew Robinson
Date: 10-13-99
Fresh from their nastiest election in years, some Indians are openly questioning the merits of democracy - and concluding that there are more pressing issues in South Asia than whether or not people have the right to vote. PNS correspondent Andrew Robinson speaks several Indian languages and has been writing about South Asian affairs for over a decade.
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Coup Welcomed -- With Reservations -- In Pakistan
By Muddasir Rizui
Date: 10-13-99
Both political parties and individual citizens seem to support the military takeover in Pakistan -- with the important proviso that their stay should be temporary. All seem to have been unhappy with the regime of Nawaz Sharif, who withdrew troops from Kashmir and seemed to be tilting away from support of the Taliban in neighboring Afghanistan. PNS commentator Muddassir Rizvi is a Pakistani journalist specializing in development issues whose work appears in several weekly and monthly publications.
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