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JINN MAGAZINE
PACIFIC NEWS SERVICE
Issue No. 6.16
08/05/00 - 08/19/00
VOICES: First-Person Essays Linking the Private to the Public
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Charged With Being Ethnic Chinese
By Theodore Hsien Wang And Victor Hwang
Date: 08-18-00
In the eight months since Dr. Wen Ho Lee was first arrested and imprisoned, what was presented as a case of "Chinese espionage" has fallen apart. Instead, there is mounting evidence that the government singled out Dr. Lee as a suspect because of his Chinese ethnicity, making his case of paramount importance to all Americans concerned about racial profiling. Theodore Hsien Wang is the Policy Director of Chinese for Affirmative Action and Victor Hwang is the Managing Attorney for the Asian Law Caucus.
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Convention Wisdom: Day Two -- More Television Than Vision , Les Pep Than Sausage
By Rene Ciria-Cruz
Date: 08-16-00
As the Democratic convention continues, our keen eyed observer, a newly naturalized U.S. citizen from the Philippines, finds himself looking for things that may not be there. And in the midst of the hullabaloo he recalls an intimate political experience in his homeland. PNS correspondent Rene Ciria-Cruz is an editor of New California Media (www.NCMonline.com) and an associate editor of the San Francisco-based Filipinas magazine. His e-mail address is reneccruz@pacificnews.org.
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Presidential Debates Should Serve -- Not Subvert -- Democracy
By Jeff Milchen
Date: 08-14-00
Perhaps the most significant, if least noted, takeover in recent years involves the presidential debates -- now run by a corporation which is "nonpartisan" but has rigged the rules so only members of the two major parties are eligible. This is a disservice to the idea and practice of democracy. PNS commentator Jeff Milchen is the founder of ReclaimDemocracy.org, a non-profit group dedicated to reviving American democracy and revoking illegitimate corporate power over civic society. His e-mail address is jeff@ReclaimDemocracy.org.
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A New Citizen Views The Convention -- an Only-In-America Experience
By Rene Ciria-Cruz
Date: 08-14-00
Party conventions these days seem to combine utter predictability and a complete departure from normal reality to those of us who watch from a distance. Close up, a sharp-eyed observer, especially a newly naturalized citizen from the Philippines, can see that at heart the Democratic Convention is an only-in-America experience. PNS correspondent Rene Ciria-Cruz is an editor of New California Media (www.NCMonline.com) and an associate editor of the San Francisco-based Filipinas magazine. His e-mail address is reneccruz@pacificnews.org.
VECTORS: A Regular Column on the Ideas and Directions Behind Today's News
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The Evolution Of American Political Conventions -- From Political Reform To Global Non-Event
By Walter Truett Anderson
Date: 08-15-00
As our political system changes -- as any system must change -- some elements may seem to lose their reason for being. But, at least in the case of the political conventions, this may simply mark a shift into a new role.says PNS associate editor Walter Truett Anderson. Anderson is the author of "The Future of the Self" (Tarcher Putnam, 1997).
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For Greens, The Lesser Of Two Evils Is Not Good Enough
By Steven Zak
Date: 08-11-00
The Sierra Club has joined many other groups concerned with the environment in backing Al Gore. But Gore, through his writings and actions, has demonstrated that he's not the green he pretends to be. PNS commentator Steven Zak is an attorney and writer whose work on ethics, animals and the environment has appeared in many publications including The Atlantic Monthly and The New York Times.
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Backlash Over Philly Protest Crackdown
By Linn Washington Jr.
Date: 08-10-00
In their determination to keep the streets open for the Republican Convention, Philadelphia police arrested a great many people and charged them with thinking or talking about doing something that might get them arrested. Many eyewitness accounts have surfaced saying that those arrested were treated in an extremely harsh way. PNS commentator Linn Washington Jr. is an award-winning, veteran journalist in Philadelphia who specializes in coverage of race related issues. Washington is a journalism professor at Temple University in Philadelphia.
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Credit Globalization -- Rulilng That Pinochet Must Stand Trial Marks New Era In Human Rights
By Roger Burbach
Date: 08-09-00
More than 25 years after he took power in Chile, Augusto Pinochet will stand trial for the most serious of offenses in a criminal court. Reaching this point has taken much extraordinary effort, but it is important to note that it is not an isolated event. PNS commentator Roger Burbach is the director of the Center for the Study of the Americas and author of "Globalization and Postmodern Politics: From Zapatistas to Hightech Robber Barons" (Pluto Press).
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A View From Jordan: Arabs Can Find A Lesson In Lieberman's Nomination
By Rami G. Khouri
Date: 08-08-00
As candidate for vice president, Sen. Joseph Lieberman, an Orthodox Jew, will no doubt be asked about his relations with pro-Israel groups. But at least one commentator in the Arab world thinks Lieberman represents not special interests but the strengths of a democratic system -- strengths the Arab world might well emulate. PNS commentator Rami G. Khouri, former editor of the Jordan Times, writes a regular column from Amman.
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Many Blacks Still Encounter Politics Of Exclusion At GOP Fest
By Linn Washington
Date: 08-07-00
Perhaps the most remarkable change at this year's Republican Convention was the visibility of people of color. But PNS correspondent Linn Washington Jr. found that for black businesses, local black politicians -- even black churches -- the policy of exclusion was still the name of the game. Linn Washington Jr. is an award-winning, veteran journalist in Philadelphia who specializes in coverage of race related issues. Washington is a journalism professor at Temple University in Philadelphia.
THE AMERICAS: The Growing Enmeshment of the U.S. and Latin Worlds
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Native American's New Clout Catches Some Off guard
By Koren Capozza
Date: 08-18-00
The Democratic National Convention showcased the growing political clout of Native Americans. But it also demonstrated just how far they still have to go to gain real acceptance by white political power brokers. PNS correspondent Koren Capozza writes regularly on Native American issues for New California Media, a collaboration of ethnic news organizations founded by Pacific News Service (www.ncmonline.com).
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Just South Of Texas, Democracy Faces Its Hardest Test
By David Bacon
Date: 08-17-00
This year's presidential campaign has so far ignored foreign policy altogether, with a few exceptions, like President Clinton's triumphant announcement of his new Colombian aid package. But a close look at commentators in the region shows more concern than cheering. Political scientist and World Policy Institute fellow Andrew Reding sampled opinion in influential journals in Colombia, Venezuela and Mexico for New California Media which monitors international and ethnic news for Pacific News Service (www.ncmonline.com).
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Survey Of Latin American Press -- The Closer You Are To Columbia, The Worse The New Aid Plan Looks
By Andrew Reding
Date: 08-16-00
This year's presidential campaign has so far ignored foreign policy altogether, with a few exceptions, like President Clinton's triumphant announcement of his new Colombian aid package. But a close look at commentators in the region shows more concern than cheering. Political scientist and World Policy Institute fellow Andrew Reding sampled opinion in influential journals in Colombia, Venezuela and Mexico for New California Media which monitors international and ethnic news for Pacific News Service (www.ncmonline.com).
CALIFORNIA COLLAGE: California as Trendsetter for the Country and the World
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All Politics Is Global -- The GOP Convention Through The Ethnic Media Lens
By Harrison Chastang, Julian Do, Andrew Reding, and Franz Schurmann
Date: 08-07-00
The presidential nominating conventions are, these days, matters of pressing interest to many people whose primary information sources are the ethnic media. Pacific News Service offers a summary glance at a dozen or so accounts and analyses available in Chinese, Spanish, Vietnamese and African American news media. The reports were gathered by editors of New California Media, a collaboration of ethnic news organizations founded by PNS.
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