JINN MAGAZINE

PACIFIC NEWS SERVICE

Issue No. 6.23

11/13/00 - 11/27/00

CONTENTS

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

Chronicling The Death And Birth Of A 'Hood

Neighborhoods change -- get older, poorer, even dissapper, then rise again. Historically, this process has been slow and piecemeal, but now, especially in desirable places like San Francisco, there are pressures to move very quickly. This is generally welcomed as a sign of growth and progress, but to people in and of the neighborhood, the effects are sad, even painful -- the loss of a homeplace. PNS commentator Charles Jones is a 24-year-old father of three who writes for YO! Youth Outlook, a publication of Pacific News Service.

"Living Dangerously" All Over Again

"The Year of Living Dangerously" was a big movie, and a big success, though there were many who thought it slighted history. But 16 years later, a young reporter started to live the same story and was maimed and killed. PNS contributor Eve Pell is a longtime writer for Pacific News Service.

Texas Execution Incites Passions, Cynicism, In Mexico

News of the Texas execution of a Mexican citizen was greeted with distress by the people of Mexico, where the death penalty was abolished in 1928. But some of those responses seem suspect, including statements by the country's president-elect. PNS commentator Martin Espinoza reports from Guanajuato, Mexico.

U.S.-Backed U.N. Troops In Holy Land -- A Better Option Than Slaughter Or Separation

The kill rate is still rising in the Holy Land, and Jews and Arabs are separating themselves even more from each other. Is there any viable option beyond continuing slaughter and separation that modern history suggests won't work? One possible solution is sending in UN troops, but with a strong American peace-making warranty serving both Israel and Palestine. PNS editor Franz Schurmann, emeritus professor at UC-Berkeley, has long written on both West and East Asia.

Viet-Americans Shed Old Passions Against The Homeland War

While President Clinton makes an historic visit to Vietnam, where tens of thousands fled after the war ended in l975, Vietnamese Americans realize their relationship to the homeland has changed dramatically in 25 years. PNS editor Andrew Lam, born and raised in Vietnam, is a San Francisco-based journalist and short story writer.

Florida Fandango Deserves More Serious Treatment From Both Sides

The nearly dead heat outcome of presidential voting in Florida has produced the narrowest sort of partisan bickering. Instead, this is an opportunity on all sides to proceed in an orderly fashion and begin to address some lasting questions about the fairness of voting in the United States. Pacific News Service associate editor Andrew Reding is a senior fellow of the World Policy Institute, and is completing a four-year term as city councilmember in Sanibel, Florida.

A Tale Of Two Elections -- Promising Democracy Is Risky

Making a democracy work takes the effort of many hands and minds--it won't keep going by itself. A very young veteran of two apparently very different elections finds it may also take at least a modest amount of deceit. PNS correspondent Raj Jayadev is the Silicon Valley/Digital Divide editor for YO! Youth Outlook, a monthly newspaper by and about Bay Area youth published by Pacific News Service.

U.S. Has A Chance To Help Remedy Ugly Legacy Of The Vietnam War

One element of the war between the United States and Vietnam that continues to do harm in both countries is the lasting effect of "Agent Orange." High exposure in certain areas in Vietnam provide a unique laboratory for studying this chemical, but that work cannot proceed without U.S. assistance. PNS correspondent Rick Mercier is a freelance journalist based in Taipei.

Clinton Will See A Vietnam That Longs For America

President Clinton may not find the Vietnam he expects during his visit. The population is young and looks to the U.S. in many ways, not as an enemy but as an ideal. PNS editor Andrew Lam, born and raised in Vietnam, is a San Francisco-based journalist and short story writer.

Whoever Wins, Drug Policy Probably Loses

Candidates for office now routinely admit use of illegal substances, albeit very limited use and long ago. Despite signs of a shift in the public's attitude, there has been no hint of a change in a drug policy based on prohibition and punishment. PNS commentator Craig Reinarman is Professor of Sociology at the University of California, Santa Cruz and author of "Crack In America: Demon Drugs and Social Justice."

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

Democrats Risk Future By Ignoring The Disenfranchised

Amid the confusions of the election, it is easy to overlook the fact that the percentage of eligible voters showing up at the polls was the lowest ever recorded. This both explains and reflects choices made by the Democratic Party and there is little sign those choices will change. PNS associate editor David Bacon writes widely on immigrant and labor issues.

Bush's Court Action Conceals A Killing Irony

The picture of states' rights champion George W. Bush asking the federal courts to interfere with a state following its own laws is ironic, even amusing. But his argument involves a serious contradiction with the position he has taken as governor with respect to judges' actions in the continuing stream of executions in his state. PNS associate editor Michael Kroll is a veteran death penalty abolitionist and founder of the Death Penalty Information Center in Washington, D.C.

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