textfiles/magazines/TELETIMES/teletimes-93-12.txt

INTERNATIONAL TELETIMES

What's News to You?

¥ Vol. 2 No. 10                              December 1993 ¥
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CONTENTS
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-- 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


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EDITOR'S NOTE
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-- 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


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MAILBOX
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-- 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


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STAFF & INFO
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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

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FEATURES
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-- 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
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-- 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.


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