INTERNATIONAL TELETIMES What's News to You? ¥ Vol. 2 No. 10 December 1993 ¥ ------------------------------------------------------------ CONTENTS ------------------------------------------------------------ -- Features -- American in Denial, by Jon Gould Canada: Post-Election Commentary, by Dr. Euan Taylor Canada: A New Batter in the Box, by Ryan Crocker News from Vienna, by Dr. Michael Schreiber News from Manitoba, by Dr. Euan Taylor Street Kids in Guatemala City, by Brian Quinby -- Departments -- The Keepers of Light, by Kent Barrett Deja Vu, by Johnn Tan The Quill, by Marc A. Volovic The Wine Enthusiast, by Tom Davis ------------------------------------------------------------ EDITOR'S NOTE ------------------------------------------------------------ -- Changes, Changes... -- This issue is full of changes and new announcements, it's hard to decide where to begin. How about the beginning: the Macintosh users should have noticed by now the lovely new cover image designed by Kent Barrett, our faithful photography columnist. Starting last month, each month will have an original full colour. There have also been some changes to our staff. I'd like to welcome our newest batch of writers: Ryan Crocker, Jon Gould, Brian Quinby, Johnn Tan and Marc A. Volvic. Each of them have contributed to this issue and I hope you enjoy their writing. There are several more new writers who will be showing off their creative abilities in the months ahead. This issue also debuts our new column "The Quill". This departments will house creative writing. This month, Marc A. Volvic has written a short story entitled "Flotsam, Jetsam". Now for some really interesting news: Teletimes will soon be available on the World-Wide Web. For those of you who don't know what it is, I'll explain. WWW is a sort of user interface for the Internet, using graphics, sounds, animation and hypertext links. To use the Web, you need special software to connect to WWW servers. NCSA Mosiac is one free software package which is available for Mac, Windows, X Windows. This will be of special interest for those deprived readers who are stuck with the ASCII version of Teletimes. In addition to the graphics which will become available to a wider range of readers, the WWW Teletimes database will also include lots backissues in an interactive form (hypertext). Definitely cool stuff. At the current rate, Teletimes should be on the Web very soon. All readers on our mailing lists will receive an annoucement once on-line Teletimes is ready. Teletimes is now available by Gopher at the WELL in San Fransisco. We have also begun to distribute Teletimes on FidoNet (a huge network of hobby BBSs). FidoNet distribution is being handled by Ian Geldard (igeldard@sound.demon.co.uk) who will be separating Teletimes into individual articles for more efficient transport. Teletimes has definately come a long way since October '92 and fortunately there is still a great deal more room to grow. Ian Wojtowicz Editor-in-ChiefÊ ------------------------------------------------------------ MAILBOX ------------------------------------------------------------ -- Reader Feedback -- Excellent e-magazine! Keep up the good work. How about setting up a recipients mailing-list? It would be easier to get Teletimes by e-mail rather than having to ftp it. - Daniel Salber, Grenoble, France ANYONE CAN RECEIVE TELETIMES BY E-MAIL BY SIMPLY SENDING THEIR E-MAIL ADDRESS, CITY AND COUNTRY OF RESIDENCE AND COMPUTER TYPE TO: IANW@WIMSEY.COM I WILL THEN PUT YOU ON EITHER THE GRAPHICAL MACINTOSH MAILING LIST OR THE PLAIN ASCII TEXT MAILING LIST. I think the magazine is very cool! Of course, I love the fact that you have illustrations and images in the publication. I would like to offer some assistance in getting you electronic images and info related to NASA if you are at all interested. Please contact me via e-mail. Thanks...look forward to hearing from you. - Bill Ingalls, Arlington, USA BILL, I AM INTERESTED IN YOUR OFFER. I WROTE BACK TO YOU TWICE BUT HAVEN'T RECEIVED ANY REPLIES YET. HOPEFULLY YOU WILL READ THIS AND CONTACT ME. Keep up the good work! - Michael Choo, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Thanks for a colourful and insightful publication. The quality of writing could tightened in certain instances, but some of the articles, for example Euan Taylor's "Just do it", are excellent. I look forward to the next edition. On financial contributions, if you could take credit cards (say through a business colleague) soliciting donations would be a much more fruitful exercise. The Info-Mac quest for a new disc proved this overwhelmingly. It's easy for the donor, and bypasses the limitations of national currencies. On another point, have you thought of publishing your periodical on the World Wide Web? Although you couldn't control the view font, you could still enclose the graphics, and with hypertext contents pages have just the same sort of functionality. WWW is multiplatform, and there are now clients for all the major platforms, Unix, W3.1 & Mac. - Matthew Johnson, London, UK I TOOK YOUR ADVICE AND LOOKED INTO WWW. IT LOOKS LIKE TELETIMES WILL BE ON-LINE BY JANUARY. PLEASE READ THE EDITOR'S NOTE FOR MORE ON THIS.Ê ------------------------------------------------------------ STAFF & INFO ------------------------------------------------------------ Editor-in-Chief: Ian Wojtowicz Art Director: Anand Mani Cover Artist: Kent Barrett Correspondents: Biko Agozino, Edinburgh, Scotland Prasad & Surekha Akella, Japan Ryan Crocker, Vancouver, Canada Prasad Dharmasena, Silver Spring, USA Jon Gould, Chicago, USA Paul Gribble, Montreal, Canada Mike Matsunaga, Skokie, USA Satya Prabhakar, Minneapolis, USA Brian Quinby, Aurora, USA Motamarri Saradhi, Singapore Dr. Michael Schreiber, Vienna, Austria Johnn Tann, Ogden, USA Dr. Euan Taylor, Winnipeg, Canada Seth Theriault, Lexington, USA Marc A. Volovic, Jerusalem, Israel Columnists: Kent Barrett, Keepers of the Light Tom Davis, The Wine Enthusiast Andreas Seppelt, Latin American Correspondant Shareware policy: If you enjoy reading Teletimes on a constant basis and would like us to continue bringing you good quality articles, we ask that you send us between $5 and $10 in US or Canadian funds. Checks should be made out to "Global Village Communications Society". Money will be used to pay contributors. Submission policy: Teletimes examines broad topics of interest and concern on a global scale. The magazine strives to showcase the unique differences and similarities in opinions and ideas which are apparent in separate regions of the world. Readers are encouraged to submit informative and interesting articles, using the monthly topic as a guideline if they wish. All articles should be submitted along with a 50 word biography. Everyone submitting must include their real name and the city and country where you live. A Teletimes Writer's Guide and a Teletimes Photographer's & Illustrator's Guide are available upon request. Upcoming themes: January - History Lessons Deadline for articles: November 15th, 1993 E-mail: ianw@wimsey.com Snail mail: International Teletimes 3938 West 30th Ave. Vancouver, B.C. V6S 1X3 Software and hardware credits: Section headers and other internal graphics were done in Fractal Painter 1.2 and Photoshop 2.5 on a Macintosh Quadra 950. The layout and editing was done on a Macintosh IIci using MS Word 5.0 and DocMaker 3.96. Copyright notice: International Teletimes is a publication of the Global Village Communication Society and is copyrighted (c) 1993 by the same. All articles are copyrighted by their respective authors however International Teletimes retains the right to reprint all material unless otherwise expressed by the author. This magazine is free to be copied and distributed UNCHANGED so long as it is not sold for profit. Editors reserve the right to alter articles. Submitting material is a sign that the submitter agrees to all the above terms.Ê ------------------------------------------------------------ FEATURES ------------------------------------------------------------ -- American In Denial -- The United States is a violent society. We own more handguns than any other western country, and we use them. Blood flows through the streets of our ghettos, oftentimes reaching our more tranquil suburbs. We settle our disputes not with words but with guns, knives and fists. We don't argue, we fight. Perhaps it's our history. The country was born out of an armed rebellion. Guns have always been a part of our heritage. Back in the days when a Smith & Wesson was a man's best friend, guns were insurance. Later, these pioneer days served as our entertainment. Western movies, with Cowboys and Indians, horses and guns, kept us entertained and on the edge of our seats. But our violent ways have caught up with us. A boy growing up in the US today is more likely to die from a violent confrontation than from almost any known disease. Our favorite shows glorify violence, to the point that shootings become the centerpiece of many movies. We live our lives to a soundtrack of rap music, its lyrics reinforcing a culture of violence. The National Rifle Association has even started pitching its ads at young women, encouraging them to purchase handguns for peace of mind. If we're falling over the edge, some are trying to catch us. Congress has recently made noise about regulating American television, perhaps setting time slots in which violent shows can be shown. It has also pushed through the Brady Bill, requiring that handguns be sold only after a five-day waiting period. Both are admirable proposals, but neither is destined to succeed alone. The problem is that each focuses on the symptoms of our disease and not on the disease itself. Guns do indeed kill people, but there's something else driving us to buy them. We aren't robots. Network executives can't produce violent shows and force us to watch them. Somewhere out there is a market for violent entertainment -- a large market -- and it likely includes us. Somewhere out there, we have grown accustomed to violence, we have welcomed it. It should seem clear that a society cannot long endure if its citizens are prone to violent conflict. But how do you pull back when children are shot for wearing the wrong clothes, eyeing another's girlfriend, daring to disagree? What do you do when drivers are threatened for changing lanes, when disgruntled employees murder their co-workers? The answer is that there isn't a simple answer. Violence occurs in many forms with as many pulsepoints. Tougher sentencing, more prisons, urban development, they all have their place. Certainly, gun control and media monitoring are part of the package, but the real change must come in our psyches. Like any other addict, we're in denial. We don't want to see a connection between our actions and the pathology of our culture. We cheer Rambo when he shoots up a crowd, but we draw back in disgust when a young boy is slain for his jacket. We won't acknowledge the relation. Yes, one is fiction and the other reality, but if it's fun to watch a shooting spree on the screen, why not in real life too? We've become enablers. I don't suggest government censorship. Government prohibition here allows us to abdicate responsibility, a responsibility we owe not only to ourselves but to our families and communities as well. It's time that we re- learned what it means to set limits. Not an easy task in a society that encourages us each to do our own thing. Nor when it has unpleasant overtones to the religious right. But the fact remains, we have it in our power to stem the rise of a more violent culture. We must be willing to confront our own addiction, to treat it now before the disease envelops us. We're running out of time. That tunnel we're looking down is the barrel of a gun. - Jon Gould, Chicago, USA -- Canada: Post-Election Commentary -- It is only a few months ago that the then Prime Minister Brian Mulroney - the man Canadians loved to hate, stepped down as the leader of the incumbent Progressive Conservative government and Kim Campbell took his place. Subsequently on October 25th Canadian voters went to the polls to elect a new government, decimate an old one, and produce a completely new combination of parliamentary forces. Conventionally the election race has been between the Progressive Conservatives, and the Liberals. But this year after a campaign dominated by the massive federal deficit, health care, a helicopter deal, and serious blunders in the Conservative campaign, the political landscape of this country has changed dramatically. In brief the main parties and their policies were and are as follows: Progressive Conservative (PC) Eliminate deficit in 5 years, reform social programs. Encourage private sector, removal of trade barriers (via the North American Free Trade Agreement -NAFTA). Liberals Job creation, public works programme, maintenance of social programmes, support nationally regulated health care system. Renegotiation of some parts of NAFTA. New Democratic Party (NDP) Larger scale job creation, scrap current sales tax, investment in formative businesses. Fund raising by 14% corporate tax. National child care programme. Maintain universal health care. Oppose NAFTA. Reform Party of Canada Eliminate federal deficit in 3 years, cut taxes, halve immigration. $19 billion spending cuts. Declared intention to cut some social programmes. Increase provincial autonomy on health care. No candidates in Quebec. Bloc Quebecois (BQ) Main policy, separation of Quebec from Canada. Support more provincial autonomy over health care. New income support programmes, transfer of funds to job creation. Candidates only in Quebec. The seats held in the House of Commons by each party both before and after the election were as follows (excluding a few independent candidates): BEFORE AFTER CHANGE PC 157 2 -175 Liberal 80 177 + 97 NDP 44 9 - 35 Reform 1 52 + 51 BQ 8 54 + 46 The total collapse in the Conservative vote has been attributed to several factors, including general disillusionment with their performance in office, the introduction of a new sales tax, and continuing constitutional wranglings over the last few years. But there seems to be little doubt that in large part the final magnitude of the damage has been due to a disastrous election campaign. There were two really memorable screw ups in the PC campaign which are likely to be remembered for a long time, and made a massive impact in the media. Number one was Ms. Campbell's promise to "completely re-think Canada's Social Security", although the 47 day election campaign was "not the time to get involved in very, very serious discussions" on the subject. It was a disastrous statement, leaving many voters both shocked and insulted, and was seized on immediately by the Liberals, the PC fell 12 points in the polls. The other miscalculation came very close to the election as the PC campaign became increasingly desperate. A TV advertising campaign showed very unflattering pictures of Liberal leader Jean Chretien, showing off the paralysis in one side of his face. On the soundtrack people declared how they would be "embarrassed" if he were to become Prime Minister. There was immediate media outrage, the adverts were stopped, but it was close to the election, and it was too late. (Interestingly some media reports have suggested that the strategy was starting to show positive results in the polls). I was intrigued to see that both of these events were ignored in an editorial in the October 27th Financial Times. It pointed instead to Ms. Campbell's warning that unemployment was unlikely to improve before the end of the century as the decisive feature in the campaign. This also allowed it's editorial writer to conclude that the major Conservative error was telling the truth. The results of the election are especially bewildering because of the geographical distribution of the different groups, with the opposition split almost equally between two largely regional parties. The BQ is based only in Quebec whereas Reform got practically all its support in the two western provinces (British Columbia and Alberta), and ran no candidates in Quebec. Half the Liberal seats came from Ontario, the rest being fairly evenly distributed across the country. Some observers are predicting that the changes to come will not match the campaign rhetoric, because of the financial restrictions the new government must face. Skepticism has been expressed about Chretien's ability and desire to renegotiate NAFTA, partly because of a strong free trade wing in the Liberal party. As to constitutional fallout from the new picture, outsiders apparently see the Quebec vote as protest rather than a victory for separatism. Some see Reform as the greater threat to Canadian unity, forcing a more rigid development of the federation, and giving the BQ new grievances to exploit. Certainly now that Chretien has appointed his cabinet and canceled a controversial helicopter deal begun under the Tories, the pundits have more to work on. Native leaders are disappointed that there is no aboriginal representation in the cabinet and it has also been noted that the main cabinet figures are all white. Chretien's appointments to offices dealing with finance and development are generally seen as on the right of the party, but his other appointments in areas such as Human Resources, are more to the left. The new parliament will also provide a platform for the two opposition parties to show their mettle, voters will soon start to find out how the behaviour of their elected representatives relates to the campaign rhetoric. As to the Tories, they may not have much of a voice in Commons now, but they retain their majority in the Senate (a non-elected body), a base which maintains their influence and gives them a foundation from which to rebuild. Despite their poor showing in the house, a lot of Canadians voted for them, and many observers believe they remain the only national, rather than regionally based party that is a credible alternative to the Liberals. Only time will tell. - Dr. Euan Taylor, Winnipeg, Canada Sources: Macleans Magazine, September - October 1993. Globe and Mail (Toronto), October issues 1993. Financial Times (London), October 27th 1993. CBC Radio. -- Canada: A New Batter in the Box -- Hello sports fans, and welcome to the 1993 Parliamentary Election draft choice. The ballots are counted, the people have spoken, and here is the line-up. The Liberal Party of Canadian -Governing Party- One of the venerable parties in Canadian politics. Voted out of office in 1984, under the leadership of the West Coast's "Great White Hope", John Turner. Since then, Mr. Turner lost the leadership of the party, and the respect of his parliamentary colleagues by being conspicuously absent from almost all important votes in Parliament. He was replaced by Jean Chretien, who recently led his party to a massive landslide victory over the Progressive Conservative Party, led by Kim Campbell. (More on her further on.) Outlook The Liberals will institute massive government spending to help stimulate job growth in Canada. They have a tough row to hoe on the subject of taxation. The middle class in Canada pays the majority of taxes, and are at the limit of what they can pay. The Liberals have promised to repeal the Goods and Services Tax (7% on just about everything). However, they may be in trouble when they follow through, and try to replace the tax with something "easier to administer" (their words). In the long run, it looks like it will be business as usual. The Bloc Quebecois -Official Opposition- An offshoot of the Progressive Conservative Party, the Bloc's policy boils down to "Quebec first" (For those who don't know, Quebec is a predominately French speaking province in the East, that suffers from a persecution complex.) The Bloc, led by Lucien Bouchard, believes that Quebec is a distinct society, and should be responsible for it's own destiny. If necessary, that means that Quebec should secede from the Confederation. Due to the high population in Quebec, this party won enough seats to become the official opposition, after a close race with the Reform Party. Outlook The next few years will be quite interesting, as the Bloc tries to reconcile its separatist charter with its duties for all of Canada. Unless a separatist party is elected to the Quebec provincial government, the Bloc stands to lose a lot of credibility. One way or the other, this will probably be the last time they'll have this many seats in Canada's government. The Reform Party A regional, western based party, whose platform is based upon "grassroots" policies. Deficit slashing, and better fiscal management are the priorities of Reform, led by Preston Manning. This party narrowly lost opposition status to the Bloc Quebecois after a closely watched race in the West. Tied with the Bloc for most improved position, leaping from less than 5 seats in the previous parliament, to 52 after the recent election. This is the party that really killed the Progressive Conservative party in the West. Many conservative voters became disenchanted with the PC's, and jumped ship to Reform. Outlook The Reform could be the real voice of opposition in the Parliament, if the Bloc decides to concentrate only on Quebec issues. Like the Bloc, most of the members elected to Parliament are new, and are likely to be a source of comedy, as they find their way. Could be a real player next time around. The New Democratic Party The "progressive" voice in Canadian politics, advocating better social programs. They were a power, with over thirty seats in the last Parliament, but got nailed to wall in the recent election as voters looked for new alternatives. They now have nine seats in the new Parliament, short of the twelve needed for official party status. This means the NDP no longer get a research budget, and are not guaranteed a voice in the question period. Led by Audrey McLaughlin, the NDP are in a deep hole and they will have to do a lot of rebuilding to become a force again. Outlook Needs CPR and mouth to mouth, but still has a chance. The Progressive Conservative Party Oh, how the mighty have fallen. The PC's led the country for the past 8 years, through recessions, a ballooning deficit, and pork barrel politics. Led by Brian Mulroney for most of that time, they cut spending and increased taxes in an effort to get the national debt down. Mulroney stepped down in the summer of '93, as it became apparent that his popularity had slipped to the level of athlete's foot. Kim Campbell, former Justice Minister and Defense Minister, took over as party leader after a leadership convention. Her chances seemed good at the start, but a poorly run campaign, coupled with some bad gaffes on Kim's part, and a commercial targeting Jean Chretien's unfortunate facial disabilities that inflamed the country, led to the biggest political defeat in recent Canadian history. Formerly holding over 145 seats, they have lost all but 2 seats in the Parliament. The party, over one hundred years old, is now in danger of disappearing completely. Outlook Start playing "Taps", and send flowers. If it does die, look for a new party to spring from the ashes in it's place. So there it is, sports fans. The political map has been completely redrawn. I'm looking forward to 4 years of comedy from entirely new sources. Comments? Inflamed opinions? Write me care of Teletimes. - Ryan Crocker, Vancouver, Canada -- News From Vienna -- Ànew w!th U .the CT of V!E pla2ned an EXPO .wanted 2 do !t w!th BudapesT .A tw!n CT EXPO @ the danubE .1 bought !n the 2nd D. of V!E .1 Started 2 MT the bu!ld!ngS .the CT started 2 bu!ld alreadY .a 50!es-dream turned 90!es-truE .borders opened surpr!s!nglY .V!E started 2 grow aga!n theN .m!grat!on !ncreased over n!ghT .a major!ty vote aga!nst EXPO .budapest w!2l do !t alone noW .speculat!on hangs on a cl!2F Àwho w!2l f2ot the bi2l noW - Dr. Michael Schreiber, Vienna, Austria -- News From Manitoba -- The real local stories here in Manitoba are a pretty diverse bunch. Budget cuts in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police have led to the end of a programme to help native candidates train meet the minimum qualifications to join the force. The Manitoba Grand Chief Phil Fontaine expressed dismay and anger at the cutting of the programme, which he says has been successful at both increasing the recruitment of native officers and improving RCMP-native relations. After a year in which the province opened a new bingo and slot machine hall in Winnipeg and licensed 1800 new video lottery terminals (VLT's), it has now declared a moratorium on further gambling halls, although it will continue to license new VLT's. Four native teenagers on their way through Winnipeg to New Zealand to take part in the Native Run for Indigenous People were left stranded when their coach disappeared with the money for their trip. When their situation made the papers, voluntary donations came in to pay for their trip, at a cost of over $15,000. Finally, in an attempt to cut down on youth crime over Halloween, police in Gimli, Manitoba hid behind their cars and let children throw eggs at them. In return the kids had to sign a form promising not to get into trouble when they went out to "Trick or Treat", and if after all that they did get into trouble... then nobody would be pulling any punches. - Dr. Euan Taylor, Winnipeg, Canada Sources: Winnipeg Free Press 1st to 4th November -- Street Kids in Guatemala City -- The capital of this Central American nation, where a civil war has raged for more than 30 years and human rights are routinely violated, is overrun with tourists and street children. The perfectly cone shaped volcanic mountains, the magnificent ruins of the Mayan civilization and one of the poorest economies in the region are like catnip to North Americans and Europeans whose dollars go a long way here. Hotels ranging from basic and dirt cheap all the way to posh cater to their whims and for those unwilling to trust their tummies to the local food, there is the familiar McDonalds, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut. In the same place but in a seemingly different world are some 5000 to 10 000 children who live on the street (no reliable figures exist). They are runaways and throwaways. They don't go to school, they don't eat three well balanced meals a day and they don't get tucked into comfortable beds at night by loving parents. Their beds are the concrete of the streets and their pillows are each other. Blankets are a rarity. The lucky ones might have a piece of cardboard but for most street kids, the only warmth at night comes from the cluster of their bodies pressed closely together. Food comes from garbage or what they can steal or purchase with money they beg. But more important than spending what little money they acquire on food is using it to buy glue which is usually manufactured in the United States. The glue, inhaled from a plastic bag, transports them to an oblivion where the hunger and the daily misery of their lives no longer exists - at least for a few hours. Rarely do the worlds of the tourists and the street children collide and when they do it is usually by way of a light tapping on the tourist's arm and the mumbled words "por comer", "for food" which may or may not be true. It is easy to give a kid a few Quetzals (1 Quetzal is worth 20 - 25 cents depending on where you change your money) but glue only costs four and a half Quetzals for an afternoon's high. Many in Guatemala City have little compassion or concern for the street children. They are nuisances, pests and sometimes even dangerous. Until recently, they were the victims of extra-judicial execution by members of the National Police. The Murder of Nahaman Lopez In 1991, Amnesty International released an Urgent Action Bulletin documenting the death of Nahaman Carmona Lopez. Published reports and court testimony from witnesses indicate that four policemen found 13 year old Nahaman and nine other children -- ages 6 to 14 -- sniffing glue. The officers seized the glue and poured it over the children's heads. Nahaman resisted and the officers, according to the witnesses, viciously kicked Nahaman rupturing his liver, breaking six ribs and two fingers and left him with open wounds on his face. It was said that Nahaman's screams could be heard for three blocks. Unconscious, Nahaman was taken to a state run hospital where surgery was performed to repair his liver. Nahaman died ten days later. No police report was ever filed. It was through the efforts of Casa Alianza, an agency which provides services to street children, that the world learned of Nahaman's murder. Executive Director Bruce Harris led an investigation into the incident and brought formal charges against the four policemen. The first trial resulted in a conviction but on appeal, the conviction was thrown out. A second trial also resulted in a conviction and an appeal but, this time much to everyone's surprise, the conviction was upheld. Nahaman's killers will be in jail for 18 to 20 years. Nahaman's last recorded words were "I only wanted to be a child and they wouldn't let me." His coffin was paid for by other street children. Nahaman was not the first to be murdered by the police or by their friends in the Death Squads. In 1990 when Casa Alianza started counting, fourteen children were murdered; in 1991 there were four. So far, there have been no reports of street children murdered in 1992. Founded 11 years ago as part of the New York based Covenant House, Casa Alianza is the only ray of hope for many of the street children in Guatemala City and several other Central American cities. Its extensive network of services includes "Street Educators" who befriend the children while they are on the streets, offer counseling and provide basic first aid for their cuts and bruises, real or imaginary. In a backpack, art supplies are carried so the kids can draw or paint. And then there is "Where's Waldo". The book fascinates the kids to the point that they will put aside their bags of glue and pour methodically through the pages of the book. For children who want to leave the street, there is the "Refugio", a crisis center open twenty four hours a day seven days a week which offers a place to live, eat, shower, clean clothes, and receive counseling and adult support to begin the process of re-socialization. "Leaving the street is difficult" says Eugenia Montorroso, Casa Alianza's Guatemala Director. "Children have total freedom on the street and in the Refugio there are rules and structure and expectations and," she added, "the longer a child has been on the street, the harder it is to leave it." According to Montorroso, only about half of the children who enter the Refugio will stay for the several months it takes to get ready for the next level -- the Transition Home where the groups of children are smaller and expectations, which include school attendance, are higher. Once successful in the Transition Home, the child moves into a Group Home -- an even smaller group of children who live in ordinary houses scattered throughout the city. Currently, Casa Alianza has two Transition Homes and twenty-eight Group Homes. They also operate a drug rehabilitation center. Some 550 children reside in these various facilities. "Poverty and family factors" says Montorroso, drive kids out of families or cause them to be thrown out. "Sometimes it is alcoholism or physical or sexual abuse which causes a child to run away. Sometimes it is poverty, sometimes it is cultural. In our society men do not accept the children of another man in a family. Step children become slaves. Sometimes they are just abandoned to the streets because there is no food to feed them." On The Street With the Street Educators It is early in the morning and 24 year old Mary (it has been requested that, for security purposes, last names not be used), a volunteer from Vancouver, and Wellington, a 23 year old Guatemalan economics major at San Carlos University, are checking the contents of their backpacks and refilling the first aid kit. Wellington checks the battery on the walkie- talkie which is carried by all Casa Alianza staff when they are away from the facilities or offices. Harassment or worse actions by the police and death squads has been a problem. We leave the Refugio and head south on a city bus that costs about a dime. We are going to a street nicknamed "El Hoyo", The Hole. It is an apt description. Garbage litters the street and the sweet smell of chocolate from a nearby factory mixes with the odor of urine and feces. Plastic bags from yesterdays or last weeks glue are all over. On one side of one block more than two hundred discarded bags were counted. Flies are everywhere. Children live here. On this street. Soon, one by one, a dozen boys ages ten to fifteen gather around us. They are wary of the gringo with the cameras and some exclaim "no foto, no foto" and wave their arms as if to make the gringo go away. But the gringo doesn't go away and soon the lure of the cameras is too much. They all want their photograph taken and want to take photographs themselves. The camera is handled almost reverently. All of the boys have bags of glue and when they are asked to put their glue in their pockets when they are handling the camera, they respond immediately and without question. No one tries to steal the camera and they all patiently wait their turn. They also want to be close to the adults, to have an arm around their shoulder and, for some kids, cuddled. For, in truth, despite the grime that covers them and the rags they are dressed in, despite their aggression and youthful bravado, despite the glue that has blitzed them to oblivion, they are very needy little boys. Out of the back packs come paper, colored pencils and water color paints. A small boy is sent off with plastic cups to get some water. One boy has a cut that needs cleaning and dressing. As they quiet down and begin to work on their drawings or paintings, Mary and Wellington quietly circulate among them, spending a few minutes with each boy. Mary says that the boys are subdued, almost depressed today. A couple of the older boys talk about how miserable their lives on the street are. They are not, however, willing to give up the street. This is their home, their family. It is where they feel they belong. And so amid the garbage, they stay. There is one new boy, Jose. He came to the city from the highlands because there was no food. But El Hoyo is not what he thought the city would be like and he wants to get out. The resources available at the Refugio are explained to him and he elects to return with Mary and Wellington. After about an hour and a half, it is time to leave. The boy's drawings are labeled with their name and date and collected -- the boys themselves have no place to keep them -- and will be saved at the Refugio for future study. The boys are unhappy with the ending of the visit by Mary and Wellington but they dare not show sadness. They play becomes aggressive - the older ones intimidating the younger ones. Jose leaves the street, maybe for good, maybe not; but at least it is a start. There are seven Street Educators and they work in only three zones, a very small portion of the city. Yet in the average week, they will visit with and provide a measure of comfort to more than 500 street children Out For A Drink At The Bar El Ray "Come have a drink with us" Bruce Harris said. "We are going out at 7:30." The bar we visited, Bar El Ray, wasn't much but, in some circles, it is well known and, if Harris gets his way, it will soon have a worldwide reputation. Not very large, the decor consisted of a few colored lights and dozen or so mirrors on one wall. About twenty tables were scattered around and only half of the chairs were filled. The beer and Pepsi were over priced and all of the records in the juke box were scratchy. But this was of little concern to the customers - all men except for one boy about sixteen who was barely able to contain his excitement. The customers did not come the El Ray for the ambiance or the drinks. They came for the girls and not one of the eight young women working the place tonight appeared to be over thirteen years old. The youngest looked about ten and they all knew the ropes. They were real pros. "Kimberly" -- at least that is what she said her name was, and only Kimberly as she would not divulge her last name -- was dressed in a semi-clean t-shirt and a short, red frilly skirt. Her physical development suggested that, at best, she was twelve or thirteen. She came over to our table and flirted with us before taking our order of four Pepsis. When she returned with our drinks she subtly checked out if we seemed interested in anything more and when she realized that we didn't, she was quickly off to another table. Other girls came by and left as soon as it was apparent that we were tourists not interested in purchasing a few moments of cheap sex... According to Harris, the girls cost ten Quetzals - about $2.00 depending on where you changed your money. He said "the girls are expected to turn ten tricks a night" to pay for room and board at the bar. If they don't, he added "then they are charged and must make it up another night." Harris explained that the girls are not being paid for their work and contends that this is slavery. He plans on going after the bar owners -- yes, there are many more places like this -- using Guatemala's labor laws. "All of the evidence was turned over to the government months ago" he said, adding "they have done nothing." Harris would prefer that Casa Alianza not play a major role in closing down the bars where the girls sell their bodies. Rather, he would like the government of Guatemala to take the lead but so far that doesn't seem to be the case. Nor does it seem to be the case that the girls at the Bar El Ray will be making their quota tonight. Business is very slow. But there is tomorrow and there will be more men. Bar El Ray is not unique. On the street nicknamed "El Hoyo" there are many like it. Most don't have names but they all have little girls turning tricks in order to survive. The Boy the US Didn't Want Dressed in a ragged red t-shirt and pants held tight around his thin waist by string, he was covered with grime and his hair was matted with filth. His blue Nike rip-off sneakers were falling apart. Maybe he was fourteen, maybe he was twelve. He stood there and said in perfectly fluent English: "Excuse me sir, could you please buy me something to eat?" Meet Michael Valasquez, now fourteen years old. His real first name is Mynor but he prefers Michael. There is no reason why his English shouldn't be fluent because he lived in Arizona and Florida for ten years before the United States threw him away.. Michael got a pizza and told a little of his story. He was a year old when his father, Mynor Valasquez Sr., brought him to the US illegally. Valasquez Sr., said to be a machinist by trade, was working in the United States -- legally -- in order to save enough money and return to his native Guatemala. Having a one year old must have been difficult for Valasquez because, as the records of the Real Life Children's Ranch indicate, Michael was immediately given to his grandmother in Phoenix, Arizona, where he lived for the next eight or nine years. Of his natural mother, Michael only says "She is lost." For unexplained reasons, when Michael was about nine or ten, he was returned to a father he did not know and became a chronic runaway. "My Dad kept beating me," Michael says though this never came out in court records. Michael came to the attention of the Juvenile Court, was made a ward of the court and placed in the Real Life Children's Ranch where the records reveal that he was a couple of grade levels behind in reading and math. The psychologist who evaluated him, however, was optimistic in his appraisal. "Michael was no angel but he was a warm, loving boy who actively sought out father figures and related well with them" said the Ranch's director, Scott Fraser. After a year of making slow but steady progress at the Ranch, Michael's father petitioned the Court for a return of custody. He had saved $40 000 while working in the US. and now wanted to return to Guatemala. The father who had never really been a father wanted to take his son back with him. "The hearing took about fifteen minutes" said Mr. Fraser, "and the Judge ruled that Mike's dad could take Mike back to Guatemala." Fraser says that he and his wife were devastated. On June 1, 1991, Michael was forced onto an airplane at Miami International Airport and was brought, against his will, to a country he did not know. Once in Guatemala City, Michael says "my Dad left me at the airport" though it also has been reported but not confirmed that Michael was deposited in Rafael Ayau - a government run children's home from which Michael escaped. Whichever the case, Michael's father continued the pattern of abandoning him. Now Michael lives on the street near a market in Guatemala City's central zone. It is not a nice neighborhood. He spends his days sniffing glue to starve off the hunger and the memories. At night he sleeps on the streets with the other boys he hangs with. He begs for food and money. It is how he eats and how he buys his glue. He is distrustful of adults yet at the same time still seeks them out for affection. He is small for his age and is often picked on by older or bigger kids. Recently all of his clothes were stolen. He tries to be aggressive and obnoxious but he isn't very good at it. He is as out of place as a fish would be on a bicycle and he is struggling to survive in a place where the police kill, torture and routinely harass kids like him. And he is not being successful. As for Michael's father, it is said that he is back in the United States and his specific whereabouts are unknown. Michael says he would like to return to the US and more specifically to Scott and Doris Fraser. The Frasers would like to have him back. What stands in the way is the US government and Michael himself. Eugenia Montorroso is familiar with Michael's plight and says "Before anyone can help Michael, Michael has to help himself. He must decide that he is worth helping, he needs to get off the street." Those who know Michael concur but Michael has been effectively taught not to trust nor to take risks. So until Michael decides to help Michael, he is slowly dying on the streets of Guatemala City. What will happen to Kimberly? Will Jose stay in the Refugio? Will Michael get off the street? What will happen to the kids who live in El Hoyo? Their future is very dim. Many will die, many will wind up in jail, some will eventually get marginal employment. "Kids," says Harris, "are on the lowest rung of the ladder. Nobody gives a damn." Even Casa Alianza has had its difficulties. Harris said "one of our workers was murdered and three others have been moved to Canada for their own safety. We have had bomb threats, death threats and the Refugio has been machine gunned. They have tried to get rid of us, kill us and shut us down and all that we want to do his help kids. We are not against the army, the police or the government (but) we are sick and tired of burying kids (and) we are not about to be patient. These things happen because no one is there to say 'this should not be.'" - Brian Quinby, Aurora (Illinois), USA Casa Alianza works with street kids in Mexico City, Guatemala City, Tegucigaipa, Honduras and in Panama City. Readers wishing to support their work with street children may do so by sending a tax deductable contribution to: Covenant House/Casa Alianza, P. O. Box 731, Times Square Station, New York City, NY 10108-0731 ------------------------------------------------------------ DEPARTMENTS ------------------------------------------------------------ -- The Keepers Of Light: No Exit -- (Photos only appear in the Macintosh version.) Greetings Cyberspace, and welcome to another "Keepers Of Light". This month I thought I'd do something a little different, and take this opportunity to share some of my own kept light with you. We'll be looking at some of the images from "No Exit", an exhibition first mounted at the L.S.P.U. Hall in St. John's Newfoundland in 1982. The L.S.P.U. Hall Located on beautiful Victoria Street in downtown St. John's the L.S.P.U. Hall is an artist-run performance and exhibition space. At one time the building was one of the largest in town, and was the meeting hall for the Long Shoreman's Protective Union from which it gets the name. The Hall, as it's called, remained in the union's hands until the late seventies when it was purchased by the Resource Foundation for the Arts, and became home to the Mummer's Troupe, a professional theatre group led by Chris Brookes. The building was renovated and upgraded in the mid-80's, and now lives on as the Resource Centre for the Arts. There are dozens of plays and special events at the hall throughout the year. There is theatre, dance, musical events, and in the gallery, exhibitions by local artists and photographers. It was for one such event, a Michael Wade production of Sartre's "No Exit", that I was approached to do a poster. I had had several ideas for the poster, none very exciting, and the deadline was fast approaching. I decided to escape work for the afternoon and go on a picnic with a friend of mine and her young son. We packed up into my disintegrating Volkswagen and drove around to the south side of the harbour. At the mouth of the harbour, overlooking the famous narrows is a well known, but seldom visited souvenir from World War II. The Americans took an interest in the strategic value of St. John's during the war and, apparently expecting U-boats or some other sort of floating trouble, the US Naval Engineers were called on to build huge reinforced gun emplacements and ammo dumps at the entrance to the harbour. These strange concrete bunkers and boxes have weathered and crumbled in a most interesting way, and the incomparable north Atlantic light turns the scene into a spooky alien landscape. I puttered around in the ruins for hours, in amazement at the quality of the light and totally forgetting lunch until my young companion began to complain of boredom and hunger. I looked up and he had curled up into a ball in the square window opening in a thick concrete wall. The light from outside streamed in around him. I snapped a picture. Then another and another. I began to see where I would get the No Exit poster shot, and what my next photography project would be. I returned to my home and rushed straight into the darkroom to develop the negatives. They were all I'd hoped for and more. They were brilliant negatives, impossible negatives. I immediately started to print them. They were very difficult to interpret. The highlights were incandescent where direct sunlight played on the lime formations that seeped from the cracks in the walls, and in the same negative there would be a window into another room with detail in shadows that were black with age and gloom. I printed the bulk of the show on Agfa Portriga paper, and naturally made extensive use of dodging and burning to bring out the details in a number of the images, but most of them required surprisingly little manipulation. Others, such as the poster shot, I decided to alter with a printing-out- posterization technique. The range of lighting and the strangeness of the location made for exciting posterizations, and yet it also meant that the altered images coexisted with their less exotic neighbors in the exhibition without seeming loud or gratuitous. The overall effect is one of harmony. As soon as practical, I returned to the site, this time with three models. It was the first experience they had had with modeling (aside from birthday pictures and so on) and they were terrific sports, I must say. They all worked hard to give me whatever feeling I would ask for, and never complained if I made them crawl up walls or jump up in the air thirty times in a row. And they worked for cheeseburgers, something today's models might not consider. All in all, I'm extremely pleased with the way the shoots worked out, and the prints are some of my most prized. I hope you enjoy them. - Kent Barrett, Vancouver, Canada -- Deja Vu: A Talk With Thabo Mzilikazi -- The Deja Vu article this month centres around the theme of Human Rights (see October '93 issue). Q: Could you tell us a little bit about yourself? A: Yes. My name is Thabo Mzilikazi. I am from South Africa. I was born in a city called Johannesburg. I am a member of the African National Congress (ANC). The ANC is a political organization currently fighting for the struggles of the South Africans today, and is guaranteed to have 80% of the vote sometime next year in April. I have been an activist all of my life, and I have been to prison for some time. Right now, I feel very strongly that the ANC has done a lot. And it is about time that the people in America should know about what is happening in South Africa. Q: How do you feel about what is happening in South Africa today? A: As much as I say a lot has been done, I also feel that we shouldn't just relax and say the apartheid system is going out the window or the apartheid system is dying, because it hasn't. It is still alive and kicking. And we need people to march with us in this last mile of our struggle. So it will be very important for people to come and listen to what I have to say. Also I think they will be in a position to gain a lot in terms of other struggles happening in other countries like Somalia and Haiti. I feel that those who are so-called "minorities" in this country have a lot to gain from our struggle because they, too, have their own struggles; they're all making waves and they have always supported us in our struggle. However, I'm not quite sure if I will be talking directly about amnesty...I shouldn't speak for the ANC itself, but my feeling is that we are not going to simply allow general amnesty because we are changing the system...There has been a lot of damage since this regime has been in power (from 1948). And I don't think it is fair for us to just let everything go and call for general amnesty. Q: You have heard of Amnesty International, the organization? A: Yes, I have. Q: What have they done in South Africa, to your knowledge? A: To my knowledge, they haven't done much -- yet. I think they also want to drive for general amnesty in South Africa, of which I say again, in many ways, it is not going to work...Some kind of pardoning has to be done, but on the other hand, it has to come with a lot of work. Q: So, not a blanket amnesty? A: Yes. Q: What do you see in the future of South Africa, both in the short term and the long term? A: In the short term, I would say, things are going to get worse before they get better. And in the long term, of course, we are guaranteed to become the most powerful country. A lot of African countries look up to South Africa, and they have supported our struggles. So the liberation of the South African people is the liberation of the African people at large. It is also an example for other countries working for democracy. Q: What do you think that the youth of today, both here in the US and in other countries, what can they do to help facilitate peace and democracy in South Africa? A: We are not specifically calling for the youth to help facilitate democracy in South Africa. It is difficult for people to facilitate peace and democracy right here [in the US], but the little that they can do, we appreciate. For example, I would urge them to call upon their representatives to speed up the process in South Africa because, as it is right now, there has been a lot of violence in our country, and none of it ever comes up on the news. Only when there is one specific issue that they have a vested interest in, then you will see it on the news. Other than that, nothing ever comes up. Yet, I feel that this country especially has a lot to benefit from my country. So it is important then that the youth of this country -- they should be in a position to know about not only South Africa, okay, but other struggles in other countries. That will help because I feel that people have been shut out for too long and, yet, they have a role to play. ... So they should try and minimize ignorance and start sharing with each other. My favourite quote, one which is usually used in the African National Congress, is: "Each one, teach one." *** Thabo Mzilikazi, a representative of the Youth League of the African National Congress and also a student currently attending Weber State University, spoke on 16 November 1993 at 10:30 am in the Social Science building at Weber State University in room 235. His talk was sponsored by the WSU chapter of Amnesty International. Renew your interest in preserving human rights: attend your local Amnesty International meetings!! - Johnn Tan, Ogden (Utah), USA -- The Quill: Flotsam, Jetsam -- To Ray Bradbury There was once a little girl who did not speak or smile. She was like that for a very long while, but no one noticed that she was strange. Oh, you mustn't think that she did not speak at all or smile at all, she did. But as some people who are considered wise and learned say -- her smiles and speech were not significant, they appeared only when required by external stimuli. That is to say, of course, that she smiled and spoke only when she was expected to do so. Her parents were at first worried, but not overly so -- a quiet child, after all, is a welcome novelty in our days and times. And, since she threw no tantrums, they were satisfied in their child. After a while they became convinced that they were singled out by Lady Luck, and given a quiet child to succour them as they grew old. And, as you know, proud parents nowadays always share their pride with their children, so the little girl soon knew what was expected of her. The child grew and lived out her quiet life, serene and silent. No one, not the other children in kindergarten, nor her school-mates knew her to speak or smile out of turn. But when she smiled, she did so at the clouds or at birds or at people on the street. Sometimes she smiled at the air. But these smiles were rare. Yet this child had another, secret life. Sometimes, when no one who knew her could see, when no one who did not know her could tell to those who did, she took to the air and flew. At first, her flights were very brief and close to the ground, for she did not wish to be noticed. But, as the time passed, the flights became longer and their height became greater. And as her flights became longer and higher, she allowed herself to smile for no other reason than to smile, to sing for no other reason than to hear her own voice, to look down at the hills only to see their rolling greenness. But whenever she came back to her home or school, she again assumed her quiet, serene life, with no one the wiser. During her flights she might meet people like her, or slightly like her. As you all know, not all that flies is a swan, and some are very far from what those people who obfuscate call Cygnus Olor or Cygnus Atrata. To her fellow fliers she gave a brief, shy smile and banked away, to remain alone above the sand dunes of the beach or alongside the stumpy olive trees of the mountains. When she was very certain of her ability to fly, she sometimes ventured into city suburbs, though only during the late evening, and flew around, looking into windows and onto balconies. She especially liked the summer nights, when many people's inhibitions disappear and some of them, those that might have been like the girl had they an opportunity, danced naked on the roofs and let moonlight cast fleeting shadows around them. If these people, if these might-have- been fliers had children she would sometimes alight on their window, and whisper of the flight, of the hidden meetings with the hawks and the albatross. And if, visiting one of the lonely spots where she first practiced her flights, she met one of these children, she would sit awhile and watch them or even fly a short while with them. You mustn't assume that this girl or young woman lived only in her flights. In her mundane, her regular life she painted nature-morts in browns and greens and yellows. When she was somewhat older, these sold modestly enough to put some red wine and goulash soup on her table, and a small Piaggio scooter near her apartment. If she chanced to meet one of the fellow fliers on the street, she would smile at him or her, or even wave her hand, and continue on her business. The other flier would also smile, and also wave, and, sometimes, follow her with his eyes. And when they would meet during one of their flights, they would, laughing, tell each other how they excused knowing someone very alien and strange to their parents or acquaintances or spouses. But one day, when she was on her way home, there was a traffic accident and the young woman was killed. And as she died, she screamed. It is now no longer known whether this scream was short or long, but it was hoarse and demanding, quite unlike her life. It quivered and rose, very unlike her polite smile. It was savage and raw, so unlike her quiet speech. It was and was gone. - Marc A. Volovic, Jerusalem, Israel -- The Wine Enthusiast: Gamays -- A few columns ago, I talked about a class of wines that seem to get no respect, that most light of red wines, rosees. Well, another class of light red wines also receives little attention from consumers and producers alike, Gamays. Gamay is the grape variety used exclusively in Beaujolais, it was once one of the most popular red wines in the world, long before Cabernet became synonymous to consumers with red wine. (Beaujolais Nouveau has increased in popularity, but this most overrated wine won't be discussed here.) Over the last few decades, tastes have shifted to darker, more potent red wines for everyday drinking, and Beaujolais and Gamay wines have lost some of their appeal. Gamay wines are simple wines. They ideally are rather one dimensional, in the sense that the are not structured around a tannic core, or layered with tannins and flavors of oak. They are not vinified to extract maximum color and flavors from the skins. They simply must express first and foremost the brilliant fruit flavors and delicate aromas of the grape itself. Gamay wines should typically exude fresh cherry and strawberry flavors, and soft floral aromas. The ideal in Gamay wines is to be homogeneous and pure, like the coherent light from a ruby laser, rather than opalescence expected from Cabernet wines. Oak aging, extended fermentations, even low yielding vines are not necessary, or even preferred, to make good wines. The Gamay vine is a prodigious yielder -- wine quality does not suffer with yields up to five tons per acre, its basal buds are extremely fruitful -- which allows for mechanical pruning and harvesting, and it is tolerant of warmer and cooler growing sites, since it is has naturally high acidity, and is an early ripener. For New World wineries situated in moderate climates, Gamay can be a quality wine that can be produced at a very reasonable cost. Gamays do benefit from a unique kind of fermentation however, called carbonic maceration. This is a different kind of fermentation than ordinary yeast or bacterial fermentation. In carbonic maceration the grapes are left uncrushed under a blanket of carbon dioxide, where enzymes within each grape berry break sugars down into alcohol and carbon dioxide. Delicate volatile flavors and aromas are produced and preserved through this technique, and few tannins are extracted from the skins. By varying the amounts of must fermented through carbonic maceration and ordinary fermentation, the winemaker has a wide spectrum of wine styles from which to choose. Last year I tasted three '91 Willamette Valley, Oregon Gamays. They were some of the finest Northwest wines I've ever had, even though they cost under ten dollars a bottle and were made for immediate consumption. California tried to break into Beaujolais' monopoly on Gamay wine years back, by making similarly styled wines with the inaptly named varieties of Gamay Beaujolais and Napa Gamay. Both are merely inferior Pinot Noir clones that make light, dull, and tasteless wines. Only the true Gamay grape it seems, known as the Gamay Noir (confusingly) in the Northwest, can pull off the impossible task of becoming delicious, and inexpensive light styled red wine. I hope Gamays from the New World can achieve the levels of popularity and reputation that Beaujolais has enjoyed of the years, because the potential is enormous for the growing number of consumers interested in quality wine at a reasonable price. - Tom Davis, Vancouver, Canada ------------------------------------------------------------ NEXT MONTH ------------------------------------------------------------ History Lessons: tune in next month when we examine the historical backgrounds of several cities around the world. Readers, please feel free to contribute. Also next month, Kent Barrett will be bringing you The Photo Based Gallery in his regular column, The Keepers of Light.Ê ------------------------------------------------------------ BIOGRAPHIES ------------------------------------------------------------ Kent Barrett Kent is a Vancouver artist with over twenty years experience in photography. His work has been exhibited in galleries across Canada from Vancouver to St. John's, Newfoundland. He is currently working on his first nonfiction book "Bitumen to Bitmap", a history of photographic processes. Ryan Crocker Ryan is a Vancouver actor, writer, director, and general mouthpiece. He has worked in Vancouver, Victoria, and Los Angeles. His resume looks like a parts list for an aircraft carrier -- long and varied. He enjoys good friends, conversation, and playing with his pet iguana, Isis. Tom Davis Tom is a wine maker who lives and works in Vancouver, Canada. A former brewmaster, a painter and amateur (in the truest sense) film maker. Currently a Philosophy undergraduate at Simon Fraser University, Tom seeks to start his own vineyard. Jon Gould Jon teaches law and political science at both DePaul University's International Human Rights Law Institute and Beloit College. He is a former counsel to the Dukakis- Bentsen Campaign and has served as General Counsel to the College Democrats of America and Vote for a Change. Anand Mani Anand is a Vancouver, Canada-based corporate communications consultant serving an international clientele. Originally an airbrush artist, his painting equipment has been languishing in a closet, replaced by the Mac. It waits for the day when "that idea" grips him by the throat, breathily says, "Paint Me" and drags him into the studioÑ not to be seen for months. Brian Quinby Brian is a Counselor the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy in Aurora, Illinois who has been utilizing his free time to document the lives of street children in Guatemala. His photographs have appeared in NACLA, The Boston Globe and on the AP wire and in other publications. Dr. Michael Schreiber 32 years ago, born near Salzburg, Gemini Michael reconstructs social and business realities as self-similar competitive environments at the Department of Marketing at the Vienna University for economics and business administration. Johnn Tan Johnn is a Mathematics major at Weber State University in Ogden, Utah, USA. He is one of the founders of Wasatch Area Voices Express (WAVE), an alternative Ogden paper. When he isn't eating vegan food, cooking, hiking, or philosophizing, he is active in politics, socialism, and feminism. Dr. Euan R. Taylor Euan grew up in England where he did a degree in Biochemistry and a Ph.D. Before moving to Canada, Euan spent 6 months traveling in Asia. Now living in Winnipeg, he is doing research in plant molecular biology, and waiting to start Law School. Interests include writing, travel, studying Spanish and Chinese, career changing and good coffee. Pet peeves: weak coffee, wet socks and ironing. Marc A. Volovic Marc was born in 1967 in Ekatirenburg and was emmigrated perforce to Israel in 1976. Now resigned to his fate he lives in Jerusalem and studies Structural Linguistics, after a brief and inconclusive romance with Computer Science. Likes to cook and shoot. Ian Wojtowicz Ian is currently enrolled in the International Baccalaurate program at a Vancouver high school. His interests include fencing, running big projects (like Teletimes) and sleeping in. He was born in 1977 in Halifax. He has since lived in Nigeria, Hong Kong and Ottawa and travelled with his parents to numerous other locations. ------------------------------------------------------------ Reader Response Card ------------------------------------------------------------ If you enjoy reading Teletimes and would like to see it continue to bring you great electronic articles, please fill out this card, print it and mail it to: Teletimes Response Card 3938 West 30th Ave. Vancouver, BC, V6S 1X3 Canada You may also e-mail it to: ianw@wimsey.com or post it in the Onenet conference "International Teletimes". 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