JINN MAGAZINE

PACIFIC NEWS SERVICE

Issue No. 6.22

10/30/00 - 11/13/00

CONTENTS

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

Mexicans Are Quesy Over U.S. Election Suspense

Mexicans can't believe that their thoroughly modern, clockwork-efficient Northern neighbor is in turmoil over an inconclusive presidential election. They are also nervous as to what the cliffhanger could mean to their own political transition to a Fox government. PNS commentator Martin Espinoza reports from Guanajuato, Mexico.

Election Deja Vu -- Haven't I Seen This In Peru?

Election snafus in Florida have outraged segments of the electorate who feel disenfranchised. This is nothing new to PNS correspondent Andres Tapia, who grew up in Lima, Peru and still votes in elections there. Tapia sees the U.S. electorate's encounter with the unfamiliar "vulnerabilities" of their electoral process as a bracing, and ultimately positive, experience. Tapia writes on Latin America and Latino immigrant issues.

Are Americans Becoming More Tolerant Of The Candidates And Their Chemicals?

Reports of marijuana smoking, DUI arrests and other past chemical indiscretions didn't seem to have an impact on the last presidential election. Is there a sea change in the American public's attitude towards candidates' past drug use? PNS associate editor Walter Truett Anderson is the author of "The Future of the Self" (Tarcher Putnam, 1997).

Unpaid Filipino Seaman Has No Choice But To Sail Again

An elegant cruise ship requires many serving hands, and they are more likely to come from the Philippines than from any other country. Conditions at home can require extraordinary sacrifices from a jobseeker; even the experience of working for months and not getting paid is not enough to deter people from the work. PNS associate editor David Bacon writes widely on immigrant and labor issues.

South Asian Activism Shatters Image Of Affluence

Immigrants from India and Pakistan have played a very important role as innovators and engineers in the growth of the computer industry, and many have enjoyed considerable rewards. But a far less prominent image of South Asians is beginning to make itself known as a force to be reckoned with. PNS correspondent Raj Jayadev is the Silicon Valley/Digital Divide editor for YO! Youth Outlook, a monthly newspaper

U.S. Presidential Election -- Views From Abroad

U.S. presidential elections are closely watched by foreign governments and media for the obvious reason that the change of top leadership in the world's number one power has global implications. The following reactions were gleaned by Pacific News Service staffers Leticia Hernandez, Hoseung Terry Lee and Raj Vayadev and correspondent Andrew Reding.

Arabic Press Reflects The Intifada's Rage

From the Middle East to the U.S. Midwest Arabic-language newspapers are reporting on the events in the Occupied Territories of the Holy Land as a turning point -- in relations among Arabs as a whole as well as between Palestinians and Israelis. Most Arabs see the current uprising as the work of a growing youth movement. The movement not only resists Israel but sees it as a chance to clean out the corruption in the Palestine Authority. Franz Schurmann, emeritus professor at UC Berkeley, writes extensively on West Asia as well as East Asia.

Only Support For Teachers At Every Level Will Improve Education

Education is the topic of the year almost everywhere, especially in California, where voters will decide whether to ease the requirements for school bonds and start a statewide voucher system. The strains on the system are most clear in the classroom, especially in cities. Donal Brown taught in California public schools for 35 years and is currently a reporter for the Pacific News Service covering Africa.

Fear Of Supreme Court Changes Are Unfounded

Recent efforts in the presidential campaign from both sides have focused on the president's power to appoint justices to the Supreme Court. But a look at the history of appointments to the court, and its true role in our lives, makes it clear that these efforts are more aimed at stirring emotion than reflecting reality. PNS commentator Jeff Milchen is the director of ReclaimDemocracy.org.

A Likable President's Unlikable Deeds

Charm, good looks, a "common" touch, especially in his occasional misuse of English, brought Joseph Estrada a landslide victory in the Philippines two years ago. But troubles began from the day he took office, and suspicion and criticism have now given way to widespread unrest. PNS editor Rene Ciria-Cruz is also the longtime editor of Filipinas Magazine in San Francisco.

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

Once Again, Democrats Owe Blacks Big Time

In Florida particularly, but also in other key states, black voters turned out in force, and 80 percent or more voted Democratic, despite the fact that vice president Gore generally stayed away from black communities. This voting pattern goes back at least 35 years, and it's time for the party to show it deserves such loyalty. PNS commentator Earl Ofari Hutchinson is the president of the National Alliance for Positive Action. e-mail: ehutchinson@natalliance.org. Website: www.natalliance.org

For Youngest Voters, The Issue Is Education And Victory Is Sweet

An initiative measure on the California ballot this year (Prop. 38), establishing a school voucher system, was resoundingly defeated (70 percent voted no). The youngest voters, those most familiar with the public schools, suggest some compelling -- and somewhat optimistic -- reasons for this. Liz Gonzalez, while admitting some self-interest, shows genuine concern for those in the public schools; Russell Morse sees the defeat of this measure and the victory of Prop. 36. mandating treatment rather than prison for some drug offenders, as indications of a change of heart on both issues. Both are contributors to YO! Youth Outlook, a monthly news magazine by and about Bay Area youth published by Pacific News Service.

Bush's DUI -- Is It That Easy To Forget?

Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush expects voters to forgive the "past mistakes" he has vaguely admitted. Indeed, his campaign expects the exposure of his arrest for drunken driving 20 years ago to blow over. Not so fast, says PNS commentator Joe Loya. Loya is a California writer currently writing a memoir on his experience in prison. His e-mail address is buddhalobo@aol.com.

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