July 10 , 2000 The End Is Near BY RICK ROCKWELL Can the Mexican opposition topple the PRI? Temp Slave Revolt BY DAVID MOBERG Contingent workers of the world unite. Locked Down BY KRISTIN ELIASBERG Prison cutbacks leave inmates hopeless. News & Views Editorial BY SALIM MUWAKKIL Just say no to the war on drugs. Forgotten America BY JUAN GONZALEZ Enemies of the state. Appall-O-Meter BY DAVID FUTRELLE A Terry Laban Cartoon Bully Culprit BY JAMES B. GOODNO Estrada is leading the Philippines into crisis. Three's Company BY JOHN NICHOLS Third parties strategize for the November elections Don't Drink the Water BY ERIK MARCUS Did a factory farm cause a deadly E. coli outbreak? Eight Is Enough BY DAVE LINDORFF Judge restricts freedom of anti-death penalty activists Pass the Petition BY TED KLEINE In Michigan, a Republican leads a campaign to legalize marijuana Profile BY TRAVIS LOLLER Irina Arellano: on strike and in style. Culture Botched Burbs BY SANDY ZIPP BOOKS: How the suburbs happened. Harrington's Way BY KIM PHILLIPS-FEIN BOOKS: The Other American. Slaughterhouse Live BY JEFF SHARLET BOOKS: Absolute oral history Shakespeare Inc. BY BEN WINTERS FILM: Something is definitely rotten in Denmark. Post-Feminist Smackdown! BY JANE SLAUGHTER

Bully Culprit By James B. Goodno Manila's massive malls usually provide respite from the city's heat and pollution, especially during the hot, dry spring. These days, however, the crowds stay away, afraid of being the next victims of a series of bombings that has swept the Philippines. Phillippine President Joseph Estrada (center). Credit: Romeo Gacad/AFP. The sparsely populated shopping centers have become a symbol of a deepening political crisis. After years of inching toward stability, the Philippines' fragile democracy is in danger. Bombs have exploded in malls, airports and bus terminals. Kidnappings and warfare are ripping apart the south. Complaints of corruption and cronyism at the highest levels of government have resurfaced. And confidence in the government of former actor Joseph Estrada has collapsed. "He is the worst calamity that ever hit the nation," says Popoy Lagman, leader of a militant labor federation.   TOP HOME SUBSCRIBE MAIL   In These Times © 2000 Vol. 24, No. 16