This is an archive of the former website of the Maoist Internationalist Movement, which was run by the now defunct Maoist Internationalist Party - Amerika. The MIM now consists of many independent cells, many of which have their own indendendent organs both online and off. MIM(Prisons) serves these documents as a service to and reference for the anti-imperialist movement worldwide.
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THE MAOIST INTERNATIONALIST MOVEMENT
MIM Notes 133 MARCH 1, 1997
MIM Notes speaks to and from the viewpoint of the
world's oppressed majority, and against the
imperialist-patriarchy. Pick it up and wield it in
the service of the people. support it, struggle
with it and write for it.
IN THIS ISSUE:
1. PIG OCCUPYING FORCE GUILTY OF MURDER
2. IMPERIALISTS PLOT TO DIVIDE ALGERIA
3. LETTERS
4. U$ AID TO HAITI STARVES THE PEOPLE
5. HEY, THERE'S BLOOD IN YOUR ICE CREAM!
6. IF AT FIRST YOU DON'T SUCCEED...
DOUBLE JEOPARDY EXISTS IN AMERIKKKAN JUSTICE
7. SMALL LOANS SMOKESCREEN IMPERIALISM
8. IMPERIALISM MAKES THE SEASONS OBSOLETE IN
AMERIKA
9. PERSIAN GULF WAR CONTINUES
10. MARXISM-LENINISM-MAOISM ONLINE
11. "JUSTICE" DEPARTMENT RAPE REPORT IGNORES
PATRIARCHAL REALITY
12. MORE TWISTED LOGIC ON "CRIME"
13. AMERIKA SMASHES LATINO NATIONS INTO THE BOTTOM
14. PATRIARCHAL VIOLENCE CONTINUES IN AMERIKA
15. REVOLUTION AND KULTURE
16. ECUADORIAN PEOPLE PROTEST IMPERIALISM:
ONLY GET CHANGE IN IMPERIALIST LACKEYS
17. FIGHTING THE IMPERIALIST SPONSORED ELECTIONS:
HAWAIIAN SOVEREIGNTY STRUGGLE CONTINUES
18. FIRST NATIONS BLOCKADE ROAD TO DEFEND AGAINST
NUCLEAR WASTE
19. FRENCH ANTI-IMMIGRANT PARTY WINS ANOTHER TOWN
20. UNDER LOCK AND KEY: NEWS FROM PRISONERS AND
PRISONS
* * *
WHAT IS MIM?
The Maoist Internationalist Movement (MIM) is a
revolutionary communist party that upholds Marxism-
Leninism-Maoism, comprising the collection of
existing or emerging Maoist internationalist
parties in the English-speaking imperialist
countries and their English-speaking internal semi-
colonies, as well as the existing or emerging
Spanish-speaking Maoist internationalist parties of
Aztlan, Puerto Rico and other territories of the
U.S. Empire. MIM Notes is the newspaper of MIM.
Notas Rojas is the newspaper of the Spanish-
speaking parties or emerging parties of MIM.
MIM is an internationalist organization that works
from the vantage point of the Third World
proletariat; thus, its members are not Amerikans,
but world citizens.
MIM struggles to end the oppression of all groups
over other groups: classes, genders, nations. MIM
knows this is only possible by building public
opinion to seize power through armed struggle.
Revolution is a reality for North America as the
military becomes over-extended in the government's
attempts to maintain world hegemony.
MIM differs from other communist parties on three
main questions: (1) MIM holds that after the
proletariat seizes power in socialist revolution,
the potential exists for capitalist restoration
under the leadership of a new bourgeoisie within
the communist party itself. In the case of the
USSR, the bourgeoisie seized power after the death
of Stalin in 1953; in China, it was after Mao's
death and the overthrow of the "Gang of Four" in
1976. (2) MIM upholds the Chinese Cultural
Revolution as the farthest advance of communism in
human history. (3) MIM believes the North American
white-working-class is primarily a non-
revolutionary worker-elite at this time; thus, it
is not the principal vehicle to advance Maoism in
this country.
MIM accepts people as members who agree on these
basic principles and accept democratic centralism,
the system of majority rule, on other questions of
party line.
"The theory of Marx, Engels, Lenin and Stalin is
universally applicable. We should regard it not as
dogma, but as a guide to action. Studying it is not
merely a matter of learning terms and phrases, but
of learning Marxism-Leninism as the science of
revolution."
-- Mao Zedong, Selected Works, Vol. II, p. 208
* * *
PIG OCCUPYING FORCE GUILTY OF MURDER
by Otis
In Fort Pierce, Florida, "a black man who swallowed
cocaine when he was arrested died after jailers
ignored his pleas for help and taunted him in a
three-hour ordeal captured by a jail surveillance
camera."(1) This man, Anderson Tate, was arrested
in December for "not having a license plate and
driving without a valid license."(2) In Florida,
this is apparently punishable by death.
This is yet another affirmation that the white
capitalists have no compassion for the oppressed.
Ironically, the state's own system of repression
revealed their racist and murderous nature to the
world.
Clearly, the man was in severe need of medical
attention: "Anderson Tate moaned, thrashed and
chanted prayers for more than three hours while
bound to a chair December 3rd at the St. Lucie
County Jail. Jail employees and deputies walked
past him, one of them making fun of him."(1)
For their complicity, the pigs will receive slaps
on the hand: "Two sheriff's deputies were fired and
five others were disciplined."(1) Why such leniency
for a criminal act that allowed another man to die?
Because the state supports the ignorant actions of
their employees. The guards were 'just doing their
job' -- supporting imperialist interests and
inflicting pain, and/or death on the oppressed
peoples.
Within amerika's war on drugs, the death of a black
drug user is going to mean nothing to the public.
Here we see the absurdity of amerikan
indoctrination: The CIA deals drugs to the poor
Black and Latino communities, then lets them die
for their 'crime'.
Amerikan injustice is commonplace, it is not a
coincidence; capitalism thrives off of inequity and
exploitation. Thus our only hope for justice is the
destruction of the amerikan empire.
NOTES:1. Associated Press in Los Angeles Times, 8
February 1997, p. A1,32. Washington Post, 8
February 1997.
* * *
IMPERIALISTS PLOT TO DIVIDE ALGERIA
by RC68
The Algerian military regime, the United Snakes,
and the empires of France, Spain, and Italy are all
in collusion to exploit Algeria and divide the
wealth amongst themselves. Recently in New York, a
high level Algerian trade delegation addressed a
crowd of bankers, diplomats, oil executives, and
industrialists eager to learn how to get their
piece of the pie.(1)
Since then the United Snakes, France, Spain, and
Italy have been interested in finding a quick and
peaceful resolution to the five year old Algerian
civil war between Islamic led national liberation
forces and the French backed military government of
President Liamine Zeroual. A peaceful solution
right now would mean a continuous flow of Algerian
oil and natural gas to the United Snakes and the
European Union. It would also mean there would not
be any radical shift in the balance of power
thereby protecting all previous trade deals.
Already 95% of Algerian foreign trade is with the
North Amerikan and European imperialists. Only 5%
is with neighboring North African and Middle
Eastern nations.(2) With continuing "market
reform", World Bank loans, and foreign investment,
all of the wealth produced in Algeria will belong
to the imperialists.
Italian foreign minister Lamberto Dini will meet
with his French and Spanish colleagues later this
month to discuss a "peace initiative" for
Algeria.(3) This is alarming. The empires of Italy,
France, and Spain have the same economic goals and
recently, along with the Portuguese empire, formed
a new rapid deployment terrorist invasion force
specifically designed for invasions of North Africa
and the Middle East.(4)
On the surface France appears to be pushing for a
democratic solution to the problem. While France
wants to see parliamentary elections in Algeria,
the French prime minister Alain Juppe would like to
see them happen without the Islamic Liberation
Front (FIS). According to Mr. Juppe" as long as one
uses bombs, booby-trapped cars and knives, one is
not a party which adheres to democratic values."(5)
It was the French backed military regime which
canceled the 1992 elections when it became obvious
the FIS was about to win.(6) According to Mr.
Juppe's own standards, his party in France does not
adhere to democratic principles. The recent French
intervention in the Central African Republic was
not peaceful or democratic. It was bloody and
repressive colonialism.(7)
The real reason France opposes the FIS is because
the FIS is opposed to the corruption and economic
mismanagement that make imperialist plunder so easy
in Algeria. RAIL would like to see the progressive
Algerian national liberation forces become more
organized and united so that they can defeat the
imperialists. As a genuine anti-imperialist force
the FIS is just in its armed resistance to
imperialism and the struggle for national
liberation. But it will take an organized Maoist
struggle in order to build socialism in Algeria and
it is only through socialism that we will begin to
build a society where no nations, classes or
genders have power over others.
NOTES:
1. The Middle East. February 1997.
2. Ibid.
3. Reuters. 4 February 1997
4. MIM Notes #128
5. Agence France Presse. 3 February 1997
6. The Financial Times. 3 February 1997
7. MIM Notes #132
* * *
LETTERS
EBONICS = INTEGRATION?
Your article "School board declared 'Black English'
a language" was good at exposing the chauvinism of
the Amerikan nation and the treachery of Jesse
Jackson. Where the article came up short however,
was in failing to recognize that the Oakland School
board is still following an integrationist
strategy.
Your first paragraph gave this context, but then
failed to hit this important point home. Instead of
being a nationalist program to teach Ebonics to
Black nation youth, the Ebonics as being used as a
more effective way to teach the white man's
English.
I agree with your point regarding the importance of
multi-lingual education. But that's not what the
Oakland School Board is doing. They aren't saying
Black youth need to know both Ebonics and white
English. Instead they ask a more integrationist
question -- albeit with a more radical conclusion
than that preferred by Jesse Jackson: What is the
most effective way to get Black kids to sound
white?
The recognition of Ebonics as a language means that
different techniques will be used to teach white
English. The goal of the Oakland School Board is
not to defend Ebonics as a legitimate language,
rather the Board wants to seize this opportunity to
further white man's English. This fact isn't
changed by the anti-nationalist uproar of the
settlers.
--A comrade 25 January 1997
MIM REPLIES: The letter writer is correct that the
Oakland school board is integrationist. But our
article wasn't wrong. It is worth pointing out that
it was in the firestorm over the school board's
decision to recognize that Ebonics was a language
distinct from standard amerikan english that they
backed down from a somewhate progressive position.
When earlier they had suggested that teachers teach
Ebonics, in the light of sensationalist protest
they said they had merely wanted teachers to be
able to understand it.
The main point of the article was to agree with the
Oakland school board for recognizing Ebonics as a
distinct language. This recognition is a step
forward to recognizing the Black nation as separate
from the white nation and to supporting the
strategy of struggling for Black national
liberation. This is progress in spite of the fact
that the Oakland school will not be implementing a
radical nationalist agenda for education.
Independent schools are going to be essential for
Amerikans to truly recognize the legitimacy of
oppressed nations' languages and to address
oppressed nation students more effectively. Of
course, then we will not only be saying the same
thing in more familiar language, we will be telling
all sorts of truths about Amerikan history and
society that the Oakland school board would never
say. Up with Maoist education!
AUSTRALIAN VOICES UNITY WITH MIM
Dear MIM members,
I am an unemployed person who has some sympathy
with the People's War in Peru.
In Australia, people are totally anti-Maoist.
Conservatives are so many. Trotskyists, anarchists,
environmentalists and all sort of reactionaries
have many followers here. They don't like to
debate.
They are "rednecks" or reactionaries.
Please, if you can, send me some information on
your organization.
Warm greetings,
--a comrade in Australia, 8 January 1997
MIM REPLIES: Thanks for writing. It is MIM's
position that MIM is currently the vanguard in
Australia. In the imperialist countries, it is
especially necessary to regard as vanguard those
organizations that put forward the most advanced
thoughts in a society. Any other formulation of the
question has proved to be objectively
liquidationist.
MIM has written extensively, if not sufficiently,
on Australia's role as an imperialist nation. While
many activists who focus on East Timor, Indonesia,
and other oppressed nations of the Pacific rim do
so in a way that suggests the terrible governments
there exist in isolation, MIM is always careful to
point to the specific imperialist interventions
that prop up those governments. Australia is
Amerika's comrade in that regard. We would
encourage you to contribute to MIM notes more news
and analysis on Australia's imperialist role.
Specifically, we are interested in investigating
the basis for Asian-descended nationalism in
Australia in light of the anti-immigrant fervor
that so parallels the U$ situation.
In Australia, the Committee for a Revolutionary
Communist Party has thus far failed to study
Australia's own conditions, though it wrote a
fairly lengthy magazine on Peru. Like some comrades
in Quebec and Europe, the CRCPA is mired in
internationalist social-democracy. It has failed to
take up MIM's position that the majority of
imperialist-country workers are part of the non-
exploited, property-holding labor aristocracy, not
the propertyless, exploited proletariat, a cardinal
question for activists in the imperialist
countries. When confronted with statistics about
the classes of Australia, CRCPA had nothing to say
to MIM, but has proved quite willing to nitpick MIM
about Peru; even though MIM proceeds by choosing
Peruvian leaders to follow, not by trying to form a
guiding thought for Peru from Australia or
Michigan.
We agree with your observation about Australia's
settler majority. Because the majorities in the
imperialist countries are non-exploited property-
holders, these majorities tend to have a
reactionary political outlook, typified by anti-
communism and by racism. This problem is
particularly pronounced in settler-empires such as
the U.S. empire, the Canadian empire and the
Australian empire. We agree with you that
Trotskyism and anarchism are reactionary
ideologies. MIM Theory #6 defends Stalin's legacy
as 70% correct. MIM Theory #8 reviews the best
efforts of anarchist practice and theory. Each is
available to international readers for $10 U.S.
While we agree that the majority of those calling
themselves "environmentalist" have a reactionary
ideology, we believe these reactionaries are in
fact pseudo-environmentalists. Most people claiming
the label of environmentalist are first worlders,
and are serving their interests alone.
Revolutionary communists are the real
environmentalists. Only by overthrowing capitalism
can the people protect the planet's inhabitants and
natural resources. MIM Theory #12, which is
forthcoming, will focus on this question. It will
be available to international readers for $10 U.S.
* * *
U$ AID TO HAITI STARVES THE PEOPLE
Grassroots International, an independent
organization that sends aid to the people in Third
World countries, released a report entitled
"Feeding Dependency, Starving Democracy: USAID
Policies in Haiti" in mid-February that concluded
that Amerikan aid to Haiti is increasing hunger,
interfering with the country's food production and
creating "an unsustainable dependence on U.S. food
imports."(1)
Tim Wise, the director of Grassroots International,
summarized the findings saying "The principal
finding outlined in the report is that food aid is
undermining prices for basic grains and shifting
consumption patterns in Haiti away from locally
produced food in favor of imported goods."(2)
The U$ sends $28 million in food assistance and
programs to Haiti each year, this adds up to 100
million metric tons of food aid each year.(2)
In his response to this report, the USAID "acting
assistant administrator for humanitarian response"
said "Food aid programs have made more food
available in Haiti at a lower price than otherwise
would be the case and, as a result, have led to
significant improvements in food security.'' He
also claimed that free market policies are helping
Haitians.
The Grassroots International report points out that
the U$ programs force Haiti's agrarian economy to
shift to production for export and export-based
assembly work. Haitian markets are being flooded
with cheap foreign food, a strategy used by
imperialist countries around the world to undercut
locally grown products and force a change in the
agricultural economy away from self-sufficiency
under the guise of "aid".
Imports of rice have risen from 7,000 metric tons
in 1983 to 140,000 in 1993. In 30 years, with "aid"
from the U$ Haiti went from near self-sufficiency
in food production to depending on imports for half
of its needs.(2)
The United Snakes, along with the USAID and the
World Bank, is also attempting to force Haiti to
lower tariffs on U$ food imports to help the
imperialist "aid" get in cheaper.(1) Already
Haiti's president, Rene Preval, agreed to cut
tariffs in return for foreign aid: tariffs on rice
imports alone have shrunk from 50% in 1991 to about
5% in 1997.(2)
What Grassroots International misses in its report
is the fact that Amerikan imperialism has been
working to undermine democracy in Haiti all along.
Wise said "Three years after the U.S. sent troops
to Haiti with the stated intention of restoring
democracy, its current aid policies are chipping
away at the community structures and initiatives
that are the cornerstones of national
sovereignty."(1) But in fact the U.$. sent troops
to Haiti to maintain control over the country, not
to restore democracy. With recent reports of the
abuses of U$ trained military police in Haiti, the
story of this country's dependence on Amerikan
imperialism and suffering as a result of this
dependence is all too similar to those of many
other Third World nations.
Amerikan imperialism has a long history of taking
interest in counties for their potential to provide
cheap labor and raw materials or as strategic
military bases, but never to help the people of a
country live a better life.
What is unusual about this Grassroots International
report is its recognition that not only is Amerikan
aid hurting Haiti but non-government organizations
like CARE are also hurting small-scale Haitian
farmers by excluding them from their programs. In
fact, many of these NGOs (as they are called) in
Third World countries end up working hand in hand
with imperialism, even while some intend to help
the people. The reason for this is that these NGOs
work within the assumption that helping capitalism
is the best thing they can do for the people. And
this makes the NGOs useful pawns of imperialism,
helping to preserve a system that exploits and
oppresses the people.
The Grassroots International report correctly
stated: "It is U.S. foreign policy, not lack of
human or natural resources, that is blocking
Haiti's capacity to feed itself."(1) It is clear
that the only solution to the suffering of the
Haitian people is national liberation from Amerikan
imperialism. We call on all people to support the
Haitian peoples right to self-determination and
oppose Amerikan imperialism.
NOTES:
1. AP, Wednesday, 12 February 1997.
2. Boston Globe, 13 February 1997. P. A12.
* * *
HEY, THERE'S BLOOD IN YOUR ICE CREAM!
WORKERS OF MAGNOLIA-NESTLE PHILS ON STRIKE
WE NEED YOUR URGENT SUPPORT!
22 January 1997, in the searing heat of the sun,
the striking workers of Magnolia-Nestle stood pat
on their grounds, vowing to protect their own
ranks. Around 100 combined forces of the Special
Weapons and Tactics(SWAT), the Central Police
District(CPD), and Anti-bomb squad and security
guards hired by Magnolia-Nestle from the Matrix
Corporate Security and Gen. Services, Inc.
surrounded the vicinity of the company, ready to
implement the temporary restraining order issued by
the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE). At
around 2:30 in the afternoon, workers did a die-in
to prevent company vans, carrying goods and scabs,
in entering the compound. Police responded by
hitting the workers either with their clubs or
their fists. At least two workers were injured and
five were arrested but released few hours later
pending management's case against them. Police tore
down the barricades and secured the gates, ensuring
free ingress and egress for the company."
Workers of the MN Philippines Inc. -- Ice Cream and
Chilled Products Division (NPI-ICCPD) have been on
strike since 13 January 1997. Led by the militant
220-strong Ilaw at Buklod ng Manggagawa -- Kilusang
Mayo Uno (IBM-KMU) -- NPI-ICCD Chapter, the strike
totally paralyzed the company's production since it
started its protest action.
The strikers demands the reinstatement of 10
illegally dismissed workers, eight of whom are
union officers, and the lifting of the suspension
of 200 others.
The management said the workers have violated the
good manufacturing procedure stipulated in their
Code of Conduct when they had an armband wearing
last 18-23 November last year. The armband wearing
was meant to pressure the management to act on the
demands of the workers, which have accumulated to
23 due to management's inaction. Their demand
includes discrepancies in economic benefits, work
transfer, work schedule and flexible labor policy,
with workers having no definite job assignment and
thus can be given any work deemed necessary by the
management.
Armando "Ding" Meneses, union president of the IBM-
KMU (NPI-ICCPD Chapter), said the management
violated the memorandum of agreement which both
parties signed a day after the said protest was
done. The MOA stipulates that the management will
form an administrative body to study the demands of
the workers, many of which were promised by the
Nestle management itself when it took over the
company in February of last year.
"We will not be cowed by the management. What
happened in the picketline all the more strengthens
our resolve to continue our struggle until all our
demands are met," said Ding Meneses. Earlier, the
management has resorted to house hopping, talking
to the wives of union members and prodding them to
convince their husbands not to join the strike.
NPI-ICCPD is a joint venture of the San Miguel
Corporation and the Nestle Philippines Inc., with
the latter holding a 60% controlling share. The
company has a total workforce of 370, with regular
workers numbering 220.
KMU calls on fellow unions and workers
organizations to support the striking workers of
Magnolia-Nestle, especially its call to boycott all
Nestle products. Letters of solidarity can be
addressed to:
Armando MenesesPresident,
IBM-KMU (NPI-ICCPD Chapter)
c/o KMU-International DepartmentRm.
301 Phil. Herald Bldg.60-61
Muralla St.Intramuros,
Manila, Philippines
fax: (632) 928-4036
e-mail: kmuid@mnl.cyberspace.com.ph
WE ALSO URGE TO SEND URGENT LETTERS OF PROTEST TO:
Mr. J.B. Santos
President
Nestle Philippines, Inc.
Ice Cream and Chilled Products Division
710 Aurora Blvd.1100
Quezon City, Metro Manila
* * *
IF AT FIRST YOU DON'T SUCCEED...
DOUBLE JEOPARDY EXISTS IN AMERIKKKAN JUSTICE
by MC234
On 10 February, a Federal Court in New York City
found two Black men guilty of violating the civil
rights of Hasidic Jew Yankel Rosenbaum by fatally
stabbing him in 1991. Five years ago, one of the
defendants, Lemrick Nelson was found not guilty on
NY state murder charges. Now in 1997, Nelson is
being sent to prison by the Federal courts.
Compared to most defendants, the government has
infinite resources to allocate in order to ensure a
conviction. This is why the prohibition against
double jeopardy - trying a defendant twice for the
same crime - is so important to the oppressed. MIM
doesn't care about the konstitution, except when
the oppressed can use it to expose Amerika's
hypocrisy and defend themselves against unfair
repression.
Just as an infinite number of monkeys with an
infinite number of typewriters and an infinite
amount of time could eventually type the complete
works of Mao, the government could eventually win
any legal battle if given enough chances. The
people need to stand up and make the pigs follow
their own rules towards the treatment of the
accused.
When prisoners uncover new evidence which could
overturn their convictions, it is difficult for
them to get new trials. If your lawyer simply made
mistakes or was incompetent, it's a little easier
but still quite hard to get a new trial. But here
we have the government giving itself one extra
chance. MIM is interested in this case as another
example of the fact that there are no rights, only
power struggles. Ultimately the masses will wage a
revolutionary war against the capitalist government
to install proletarian power and justice.
In 1991, a Hasidic motorist struck and killed a
Black child. Later that day, Rosenbaum was stabbed
and died the next day. Nelson was charged with the
murder of Rosenbaum. The jury found him not guilty
because of doubts raised during the trial
pertaining to the police investigation. In
addition, the jury doubted the charges against
Nelson because Rosenbaum's death could have been
from hospital negligence. Rosenbaum bled to death
from an undetected wound in the emergency room.
Since the 1920s, the Supreme Court has held that
state and federal prosecutions are not cases of
"double jeopardy" because the state and federal
governments are distinct entities. This standard
made it possible to try Nelson twice.
Civil rights trials have looser standards for
prosecution. The prosecution merely had to show
that "Nelson intended to kill Mr. Rosenbaum because
he was Jewish." The prosecution used a "Federal
civil rights statute that was drafted in the
Reconstruction era to pursue crimes that Congress
believed that states would ignore." The federal
prosecutor used the law, which makes it a crime to
interfere with the civil rights of a person who is
engaged in a federally protected activity -- Mr.
Rosenbaum was crossing the street - to prosecute
Nelson the second time.
In the 1960s, the selective use of this law allowed
the Federal government to prosecute white
supremacists--acquitted in state court--for the
murder of civil rights workers. Such prosecutions
stop overt national oppression but do nothing to
change the state's overall approach to crime:
prosecute oppressed nationals and lock them up. In
this case, we see that a law established to satisfy
civil rights winds up putting another black man in
prison. This is what happens when the bourgeoisie
pretends to protect the oppressed.
In Nelson's second trial, the federal government
was able to use the experience of the first trial
to get its conviction. In particular, the Feds
avoided calling a transit cop whose testimony
conflicted with that of the arresting cop to the
stand. More significantly, the Federal prosecutors
had the advantage of a 1993 report that included
interviews with jurors "about what they say as the
problems in the trial." As the New York Times
summarized, this was the "ultimate focus group."
Rather than use a mock jury to predict the outcome
of a second prosecution, the feds were able to
build their case in response to comments by jurors
who had sat through the first trial.
Both the states and the federal government have the
same interest in preserving bourgeois class rule.
There really isn't a difference between how the
federal governments wants to oppress the people and
how the states want to do it. MIM opposes all
measures which increase the power of the state
because of cases like this one.
NOTE: New York Times 11 February 1997, p. A1, B5.
* * *
SMALL LOANS SMOKESCREEN IMPERIALISM
by MC53
The Klinton administration and the United Nations
want to launch "a global campaign to help poor
people." This so-called global campaign against
poverty consists of a plan to send $21.6 billion to
100 million poor people over the next eight years
to "encourage them to start small businesses."(1)
Uneven development between nations from the massive
accumulation of wealth and concentration of
production in the imperialist nations is inevitable
under the capitalist system. Amerika and other
imperialist nations have long benefited from this
uneven development. Are the imperialists now making
amends for causing poverty and death across the
Third World?
The plan to export capital through small loans is a
furtherance of the imperialists' general strategy
to export capital to perpetuate inequities between
nations and to increase the imperialists' ability
to extract super-profits from the Third World. As
Lenin pointed out "... Both uneven development and
semi-starvation level of existence of the masses
are fundamental and inevitable conditions and
premises of [capitalism]. ... As long as capitalism
remains what it is, surplus capital will be
utilized not for the purpose of raising the
standard of living of the masses in a given
country, for this would mean a decline in profits
for the capitalists, but for the purpose of
increasing profits by exporting capital abroad to
the backward countries."(2)
"In these backward countries profits are usually
high, for capital is scarce, the price of land is
relatively low, wages are low, raw materials are
cheap."(2) Through loans to Third World countries,
imperialists have been able to ensure imperialist
country corporations the benefit of cheap land,
labor and resources. "The countries which export
capital are nearly always able to obtain certain
'advantages,' the character of which throw light on
the peculiarity of the epoch of finance capital and
monopoly."(2)
These super-profits provide the wealth of the
bourgeoisie and are also the basis for the
imperialist nation masses maintaining a high
standard of living. Large scale loans have also
made it possible for imperialist nations to seek
out and develop comprador classes helping to ensure
the flow of super-profits to the imperialist
nations.
Small loans are part of the liberal rhetoric which
says that equality can happen under an imperialist
system by lending charity to the poor. For the
imperialists, this is a smokescreen to cover the
fact that new and larger markets are being created
for the continued export of commodities to new
areas. "The export of capital abroad thus becomes a
means for encouraging the export of
commodities."(2)
It also covers the fact that these small businesses
created can then serve as contracting businesses
for large multi-national corporations. "The export
of capital affects and greatly accelerates the
development of capitalism in those countries to
which it is exported."(2) Imperialist nation
corporations would rather see local businesses
contract the piece work and home work from Third
World labor and then sell the products to the
multi-national corporation at cheap rates, rather
than having to set up a small factory in the rural
areas of underdeveloped nations.
Having conquered the nations of the Third World
through military, political and economic domination
with the help of the Third World comprador
bourgeoisie, the imperialists need to continue
capital export to deepen imperialist penetration.
The plan to send small loans to jump start small
scale farming and businesses will not eradicate the
abject poverty of 2.5 billion humans. This plan is
merely a continuation of capital export which daily
causes the death of Third World people.
The eradication of poverty will only happen through
Third World nations achieving national liberation
and developing national industrialization. The
imperialist suggestion that small loans will
alleviate poverty contradicts the fact that the
export of capital in the first place is a major
cause of Third World poverty.
NOTES:
1. The New York Times. 26 January 1997 p. A5.
2. Lenin, V.I. Imperialism, The Highest Stage of
Capitalism. Chapter Four.
* * *
IMPERIALISM MAKES THE SEASONS OBSOLETE IN AMERIKA
by MC234
In the Third World, peasants are lucky to have food
at all year-round. It will be a different food each
season, but if it lasts until the next harvest,
that's good. In Amerika, thanks to an economy
subsidized by imperialism, the seasons have become
irrelevant to the actual choices of food. A new
study by the Boston Globe has shown the extent of
this transformation in Amerikan consumerism.
In the last 20 years, Amerikan's per capita
consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables has
grown from 110 pounds to 147 pounds. According to
the Globe, this change can be attributed to the
technological advances that make more produce
available. Culturally, Amerikans have come to
expect and demand that fruits be shipped in from
around the world regardless of seasons, and are
spending their share of imperialist super-profits
in order to support this habit.
While technology has increased the quality of food
storage methods, the greatest gain has been in the
air freight industry. It costs about 35 cents a
pound "to ship tomatoes or peppers from Holland to
Boston in the cargo hold of a passenger plane --
barely a tenth of the ultimate retail price."
In Boston, a half-pint of raspberries costs $2.99.
According to bourgeois accountants, 50 cents of
this represents the cost of air freight from Chile
to Miami and 18 cents for trucking costs to Boston.
Ships with climate controlled storage areas to
control ripening are the transportation method of
choice for bananas, peaches pineapples, and grapes.
Producing crops for export weakens Third World
economies by weakening the country's ability to
feed itself while increasing dependence on foreign
companies and markets for cash income with which to
buy expensive imported food. Additionally, the
multinational food companies find it more
profitable to grow the goods themselves on
plantations and hire only a small number of workers
who get paid very low wages. These agro-businesses
set up comprador governments to force the peasants
off of their land and give control or outright
ownership of the land to the agro-business.
This food is then shipped around the world to feed,
and often be wasted by, First World peoples.
Transportation, with its heavy use of fossil fuels,
is a subsidized industry that passes this subsidy
along to its final products. Gasoline and oil
products are cheap, especially in the United
Snakes, because of government policies (including
military intervention) that keep the price of oil
down.
If the price of commodities, especially food, in
the First World represented their true value in
terms of labor required for production, a trip to
the supermarket when the food was in season would
be a bank-breaking experience. And in the off
seasons, especially in the northern half of North
America, the shelves would likely be bare, since
almost no one could afford to buy food at its true
cost and then pay to have it jetted around the
world.
NOTE: Boston Globe 10 February 1997, pp. A1, A5.
* * *
PERSIAN GULF WAR CONTINUES
Amerika continues its war against all Persian Gulf
countries who won't fall into line and behave
exactly as their imperialist master would like. The
Pentagon recently sent 30 warplanes to Quatar (in
the Persian Gulf) to enforce the "no-fly" zone over
southern Iraq.
The Pentagon did not say how long the planes will
stay but did say this move will bolster US forces
in the region and permit training with "friendly"
military forces in the area.
Last summer similar airforces were sent to Quatar
and to Jordan in 1996 and to Bahrain in 1995. This
war is being carried out by the imperialist UN as
well which is restricting air travel by Libya and
Iraq and which is expected to decide to implement a
resolution passed in August banning foreign air
travel by Sudanese aircraft.
NOTE: Los Angeles Times, 7 February 1997, p. A4&5
* * *
MLM ONLINE
WORLD WIDE WEB REVIEWS
Chicano Press Association
http://burn.ucsd.edu/~cpa
Despite the uncritical inclusion of a speech by the
revisionist ex-Soviet puppet Fidel Castro, the
Chicano Press Association Web site is a good
collection of news and culture articles and contact
information for various anti-imperialist
organizations, and an important information
resource about the struggles for Chicano self-
determination. The main thrust of the Association
is to create an independent Raza media, recognizing
the importance of independent organizing tools in
the face of the white oppressor nation and its
corporate-government press.
EarthWins
http://www.geocities.com/~earthwins
"When Earth Wins, Everybody Wins!" is the slogan of
this reformist environmentalist web site.
Representing the best and worst of the pseudo-
environmentalist movement, EarthWINS is an
organizing tool for people who believe
environmental destruction is the principal
contradiction. The best part of the site is that it
is international in focus and puts upfront the
struggles of First Nations peoples -- and the worst
part is that EarthWINS is rooted in the liberal
ideology of citizens rights and pro-capitalism.
Their homepage reads: "EarthWINS is dedicated to
supporting activism for the environment, peace,
justice, human rights, Native Americans, and
Indigenous peoples with a special emphasis on
unsafe mining and reform of corporate law and
business practices."
EarthWINS hopes to provide "an effective tool to
help people reclaim their lives, homes,
communities, environment and freedom through
restoration of citizen control over multinational
corporations." But Maoists know that the majority
of the world cannot "reclaim their communities"
until they seize control of the means of
production, until the needs of the people rather
than the profits of huge corporations and
imperialist nations dictate production.
Through prayer, citizens action groups, a
newsletter and petitions, advocating less
consumption and the use of "green products,"
EarthWINS attempts to get imperialist multinational
corporations to recycle more, to mine less (or not
at all) and to generally be more responsive to the
environmentalist agenda.
To suggest that environmentalist destruction can
end with imperialism intact, and that "everybody
wins" with anything less than the destruction of
imperialism, is pure First World chauvinism. We
expect the imperialists to lose and we will fight
alongside the oppressed of the world to make sure
this happens. At the same time, MIM recognizes that
a socialist economy alone won't automatically stop
environmental destruction. The latest MIM Theory
(No. 12), "Environment, Society, Revolution," makes
the case for revolutionary environmentalism. Order
yours today for $6 postpaid.
MIM'S E-MAIL BAG
***On MIM's homepage, and in several places on our
site, it is written "send questions, comments or
challenges to ." We print the
following letters as examples of those challenges,
and to make a point about political struggle in
general. The first letter is a challenge to Marxism
itself, its only argument with us is that we're
communists at all. The second raises a point within
Marxism-Leninism-Maoism that we're happy to take
up.***
Dear MIM:
...you say you accept all challenges. Well, I
challenge you to provide a logically sound argument
for communism.
All arguments for communism, including Marx, Engels
and Mao, are chock full of logical fallacies. I
challenge you to supersede them and provide a
complete, logically incontrovertible argument for
communism. This means avoiding rants on capitalism,
imperialism, police brutality. As advocates of
communism, it is your place to prove the
feasibility of communism, not the inconsistency of
capitalism. (Logically, proving capitalism to be
false does not prove communism true.)
If you accept my challenge under these terms (and
using common dictionary definitions for every word,
no Marxian idea of value will fly), then I will
join MIM. If you see my terms as problematic and
choose to criticize them instead of accept them, I
will continue to label your movement as fringe and
basically resting on a theory that knows nothing
except how to criticize others.
--an Internet Reader, January 1997
MIM RESPONDS: We will not waste the peoples time
rewriting the Marxist-Leninist-Maoist classics,
which, from the Communist Manifesto though the
Selected Works of Mao Zedong, constitute a
scientific explanation for historical processes and
political economy and a "logical, incontrovertible
argument for communism."
What the reader is saying, without realizing it, is
that Maoism has a different world view than
capitalism. S/he also does not understand that
Marxism is a science. Like all sciences, it has a
specialized vocabulary which sometimes contradicts
everyday usage. Botanists, for example, recognize
the tomato as a fruit, whereas it is commonly
considered a vegetable. Marxists often need to
speak in plain, proletarian language, but we also
need our specialized terminology, e.g., "exploit"
as used by Marxists to explain the way that the
capitalist profits at the expense of the worker, as
opposed to the common usage. But the reader errs in
assuming that "common dictionary useages" are
apolitical or value-free.
This reader also sees communists as nihilists with
no coherent vision for a better society. In fact,
communists are not just critical of capitalism, we
also have a historical practice to uphold and
improve upon. In China, we look toward the Great
Proletarian Cultural Revolution as the most
advanced era of human equality. We see that in less
than 40 years, socialist China (1949-1976) doubled
the life expectancy of its people and broke
centuries-old traditions of gender oppression. Our
vision is production for human need, not profit,
and the end of oppression of groups over groups.
Dear MIM:
... in the kritiks of the american system of
imperialism you constantly refer to lesser
developed countries as "third world" implying that
america is the first world that all other countries
should aspire to, isn't this a performative
contradiction? i am not trying to be a semantic
asshole i was just curious because in most of the
marxist/maoist texts i read the use of "third
world" is denounced because it has culturally
arrogant connotations.
--Internet Reader, February 1997
MIM RESPONDS: Thanks for writing to MIM. As
Maoists, we are very concerned that our language
reflect our politics -- MIM has gone to at times
unpopular lengths to create or uphold different
definitions for revolutionary vocabulary --
including our definitions of "pseudo- feminist;"
"labor aristocracy;" "Black nation," e.g. So we
have no problem with you challenging our use of
language.
However, MIM has never said that "lesser developed
countries" (itself an incredible euphemism for
superexploited nations, wouldn't you agree?) should
aspire to be culturally like Amerika. Although, of
course, they should and do aspire to greater
economic development -- through socialism. But in
the process of defeating imperialism there will be
no United Snakes to aspire to -- there will instead
be a dictatorship of the proletariat over the
majority of Amerika, and national liberation for
Amerika's internal colonies. It is not, in other
words, a linear march toward greater economic
development for the oppressed nations of the world
while Amerika stays the same. So the terms imply a
relationship, not a simple comparison.
MIM also uses the more scientific language of
"imperialist countries" and "neocolonies." But the
terms First and Third World are popular discourse
and widely understood to mean the above. We are
more willing at this time to explain our use of
this language
* * *
"JUSTICE" DEPARTMENT RAPE REPORT IGNORES
PATRIARCHAL REALITY
by MC44
There were fewer rapes reported to the police in
1995 than any other year since 1989, said a new
report issued by the "Justice" Department, and 1995
had the lowest rate of reported rapes in a decade.
Heading off the criticism that the rate of reported
crimes does not necessarily reflect the rate of
actual crimes committed, the New York Times also
reported data from a survey "designed to include
people who did not report" that the number of rape
victims older than 12 fell 44% between 1993 and
1995.
The Justice Department report promotes the lie that
the rate of actual rape or rape reporting is due to
increased awareness, and tougher attitudes toward
sex crimes resulting in longer prison time for sex
offenders. It is true, as the report says, that
people imprisoned for rape are staying longer, as
length of time served increased by 39% in the last
10 years, even while sentences remained the same.
Longer sentences are the result of new "truth-in-
sentencing" laws in many states -- under which
prisoners must server a longer portion of their
sentences. But if that accounted for the rate of
rape dropping, then there should have been very
little rape in the 20 years that prisons expanded
and the prison population skyrocketed in the United
Snakes. We are not fooled.
Amerika is a patriarchal, capitalist society rife
with rape and violence against wimmin. MIM has been
saying for years that no sex can be consensual
under conditions of violent inequality and gender
oppression, and so when we define rape as non-
consensual sex, all sex under patriarchy is rape.
That the numbers of reported sex "crimes" fluctuate
at times reflects nothing about these fundamental
conditions. Actual drops in reported rape can be
the result of a wide variety of factors affecting
the likelihood that wimmin will report non-
consensual sex as rape, and this report, like many
others sponsored by the "Justice" Department,
serves the pro-incarceration agenda more than it
serves the interests of wimmin. So we disagree with
the narrow, bourgeois legal definition of rape in
the first place, and we also disagree with the
strategy of reporting to the police, which only
strengthens the patriarchal imperialist state.
And the Justice Department's numbers are also
skewed. One critic of these studies pointed out
that although some types of rape are decreasing
(those in the 16-24 age bracket) that doesn't
reflect a genuine decrease in rape, because the
number of people in that age group is decreasing
with baby-boomers getting older. "That doesn't mean
rape is happening less, just that there are fewer
people for it to happen to," the critic said.
The report apparently has no explanation for the
continued rape of wimmin under 12. The report found
that for rapes of children under 12, which account
for 15% of total rapes, 90% knew their rapists, 43%
of whom were family members. Overall, according to
the report, rape victims are disproportionately
young wimmin and children. Data from a study in
North Dakota, Alabama and South Carolina, indicated
that half of all rape victims are under 18, and
that 29% of rape victims were between 12 and 17.
But we can't take these numbers at face value
either. The only reason the bourgeoisie recognizes
rape of young wimmin and children is that it is so
obviously unequal and nonconsensual. The myth of
equality and equal control over sexuality that men
and wimmin are supposed to have is impossible to
apply while at the same time claiming patriarchal
ownership of children.
Also within the young rape victims, we are
skeptical that only 43% of rapes of wimmin under 15
occurred within the patriarchal family. This is a
sphere protected by the right to "privacy" and less
likely to be investigated than other situations.
But this is where the prison-building craze meets
the contradiction of the sanctity of the bourgeois
family. Neither institution so revered by the
bourgeoisie will protect wimmin from rape -- only
by seizing power in an anti-imperialist, anti-
patriarchal revolution will wimmin see rape
(coerced sex) genuinely decrease.
NOTE:
"1995 Data Show Sharp Drop in Nation's Reported
Rape" New York Times, 3 February 1997, p. A1 and
A14.
* * *
MORE TWISTED LOGIC ON "CRIME"
by MC12
Lately there has been more news than usual about
crimes committed by people who have already been in
prison. Incredibly, these events are always used to
argue that Amerika needs even more incarceration.
In contrast, MIM has two arguments: First and most
important, remember that the worst direct violent
crimes are committed by the state and its military
and police. That plus the violence of poverty and
death that the imperialist system brings upon
hundreds of millions of people. Second, if people
get out of Amerikan prisons and then do terrible
things - which we do not deny does happen
sometimes -- then MIM's first suspect is the
dehumanization and brutality of the prison system
itself, followed by the poverty, unemployment and
stigmatization that comes before and after prison
sentences. So the conclusion to both of these
arguments is: Who is the real criminal?
The reactionary organization Crime-Free America,
which publishes a "Crime Watch" on the Internet,
offers some good examples.
In the article "Five Murdered by Pair Out on Early
Release," they describe some murders allegedly
committed by two people who were on early release
for cocaine dealing and robbery charges. If we are
to believe that they committed these crimes before
prison, and then five murders when they got out, it
appears that prison made them more violent and
destructive, not less.
In another article, they repeat the popular news
story about a man out of prison on a murder charge,
who was on parole and supposedly not complying with
the parole, when he was accused of murdering a
white womyn lawyer at a bank money machine in
Washington D.C. According to the articles, he was
failing to show up for mandatory drug tests but
they decided not to revoke his parole. So the media
was outraged that he was not in jail when the
murder happened.
MIM doesn't give the specifics here because we
don't know if the individuals involved committed
the acts for which they are charged (the first ones
or the later ones). But the fact that some people
who get out of prison do terrible things,
demonstrates this point:
Imperialism is a violent, dehumanizing and
brutalizing society, especially for the members of
the nations it oppresses. One reaction to this
oppression is violent and destructive in a negative
way: that is, violence directed not for legitimate
political purposes. When the injustice system gets
its hands on people, its actions increase rather
than decrease the likelihood of this reaction
predominating: if people hated the state and
economic system before they went in, they will hate
it more when they get out. If they did not feel a
productive connection to their communities before
they went in, why would they when they get out?
In prison they see all around them the unfairness
of the system, which is compounded by the
difficulty of getting job, etc., with a prison
record. Many prisoners turn their hatred of the
system into revolutionary political theory and
action while in prison. Others do not. Nowhere in
this pattern of events is there justification for
an increase in incarceration.
Under socialism, communists believe that crimes
against the people should be dealt with through
criticism and self-criticism, through struggling
with people to reform themselves and allowing them
to have a meaningful and productive role in society
and relationship to the state and public. The
punitive, alienating and dehumanizing approach to
"crime" has proven itself a failure at reducing the
behaviors it claims to want to reduce. But it is
successful in other ways with the help of the
bourgeois media: it increases the justification
for more and more prisons, and it diverts attention
from the real crimes of imperialism.
* * *
AMERIKA SMASHES LATINO NATIONS INTO THE BOTTOM
by MC17
In 1995, the median household income rose for every
group in the United Snakes except the 27 million
"hispanics". For these "hispanics," which MIM takes
as an approximation of the Latino population
(unfortunately defined based on language spoken
rather than nationality), median household income
dropped 5.1%. For Latinos the poverty rate is also
higher than any other group: Latinos make up 24% of
the "country's poor", an increase of 8% since 1985
while overall income for "hispanic" households
dropped 14% since 1989.
Part of this increase in poverty among Latinos is
likely due to low wages earned by immigrants, but
because these statistics only include legal
residents, the actual poverty of Latinos within US
borders is underreported. Illegal immigrants are
much poorer than legal immigrants, commonly working
jobs that pay less than minimum wage. But it is not
just the illegal status of immigrants that forces
them to take the really low paying jobs. Legal
immigrants are also likely to earn very low wages
because of language barriers, and discrimination as
well as their lack of knowledge of the way to get
better jobs in this country.
But language barriers and discrimination against
recent immigrants don't explain everything because
even among u.s. born Latinos poverty is increasing,
according to these statistics. This helps
demonstrate MIM's point that there is more than one
nation of people within US borders. In fact, we
believe that there is more than one Latino nation,
but for the purposes of this article we will talk
about Latinos as a group and demonstrate the fact
that Latinos clearly are not a part of the white
nation and that the white nation has drastically
different material interests that the oppressed
nations.
According to the New York Times "Of all Hispanic
residents, 30% were considered poor in 1995,
meaning they earned less than $15,569 for a family
of four. That is almost three times the percentage
of non-Hispanic white people in poverty." If we
look at the poorest people in this kountry,
arbitrarily defined as those who earn $7500 or
less, 24% of this group were "hispanic".
These differences in income have their root in
larger differences in our society. Young Latinos
face difficulties in school that contribute to vast
inequalities in opportunity. In 1994 9% of Latinos
over 24 held college degrees compared with 24% of
"non-hispanics." In 1994 12.7% whites didn't finish
high school compared with 34.7% of Latinos.
Recently, MIM reported on a study of Texas youth
which showed that Latino youth were receiving far
less help and support in school compared with
whites. Similarly, in Los Angeles, shortfalls in
funding for education led to program cuts in
predominantly Latino schools so that there is now
an average of one counselor for 500 students. These
differences in academic achievement are not the
result of lack of intelligence, they are part of
systematic national oppression.
Looking at the geographic concentration of Latinos,
recent figures report 90% of Latinos are
concentrated in urban areas, where the rest of the
population within US borders has only 75% living in
urban areas.
The increase in poverty among Latinos within US
borders that is not being counted results from
illegal immigration of poor people from Latin
America who are fleeing the imperialist sponsored
poverty and oppression, in search of a better life.
In spite of the outcry against immigrants among
Amerikans, corporations are all too happy to employ
these people illegally, paying less than minimum
wage. Companies have been busted recruiting illegal
immigrants, getting them to pay huge sums of money
for illegal transport into Amerika only to then
hold them as virtual slaves. (movie was source for
this...234 knows the name).
Both legal and illegal immigrants and their
descendants make up the Latino nations who have
distinct languages, cultures, geography and
history. And it is because of the dominance of the
white nation within US borders and the dominance of
Amerikan imperialism world-wide that Latinos within
US borders face national oppression as a group. It
is this national oppression that explains the
differences in poverty, education, and job
opportunities. Professor Cornelius wrote, in
summarizing a UCLA study, "Clearly, the traditional
ethnic saga of hard labor followed by rewards does
not apply to Latino immigrants."
MIM would argue that traditionally we have had
national oppression in this country and around the
world in the era of imperialism. And it is
important to distinguish between the system of
national oppression, the power of one group over
another group, and racism, the attitude that one
group is inferior to another. If racism was the
only problem that Latinos faced, we could simply
hold a bunch of awareness raising educational
events to explain to people why Latinos are not
inferior and racism then would go away. But if we
are facing the systematic oppression of a nation of
people by another nation of people, the only way to
eradicate this, and to rid ourselves of the
attitudes of racism that come along with it, is to
overthrow the system.
MIM fights for the national liberation of oppressed
nations around the world and within US borders. We
don't buy the bullshit that this is all one happy
nation beset by a few attitude problems of racism
which divide us from our true unity as one people.
Instead we see that one nation clearly has hegemony
in this country: the white nation. And as a result
of that hegemony, the interests of the white nation
have been bought onto the side of imperialism and
the white nation has a material interest in
perpetuating the national oppression of peoples
around the world and right here within US borders.
Join the struggle against imperialism on the side
of national liberation struggles for self-
determination for all people!
NOTE: The New York Times, 30 January 1997. p. A1
&A12
* * *
PATRIARCHAL VIOLENCE CONTINUES IN AMERIKA
by an RC
Once again, the patriarchal big brother rears its
head, this time bombing three abortion clinics in
the one week. Two bombs rocked the Sandy Springs,
Georgia Planned Parenthood clinic on January 16th,
a Tulsa, Oklahoma Reproductive services building
was fire bombed, and a grenade exploded outside of
an abortion clinic in Washington, D.C. Each event
magnifies the patriarchal repression in Amerika.
And to top it off, a Federal District court in
Manhattan ruled in favor of two men who repeatedly
obstructed entry into the Women's Medical Pavilion.
In each of the explosions, no one was killed,
although many were injured. The Sandy Springs
Planned Parenthood building is located just outside
of Atlanta. The first bombed exploded, apparently
inside the building. One hour later, another bomb
exploded where the police had set up their
temporary headquarters. Both bombs were made out of
dynamite which is unusual for homemade bombs in
Amerika.(1)
Only four days later, the Tulsa Reproductive
Services building was fire-bombed, receiving far
less media coverage. On New Years day, the building
had been attacked by two Malotov cocktails. The
reactionary pro-"lifers" seemed to get what they
wanted this time, as the police claimed it would
step up protection of the clinic; obviously this
didn't happen. Had the workers of the clinic been
given the right to protect themselves, instead of
having to rely on the police for this protection,
this second fire-bombing would probably not have
taken place.
In Washington, a man "found" a grenade on the
ground, while walking to work. He pulled out the
pin "and... wow, boom."(2) What is more explanatory
than this apparent "unintentional explosion" is
that all the witnesses claim they say a "Hispanic
man" fleeing the scene. In their rush to judgment,
they saw a Hispanic man and condemned him; typical
Amerikan justice.
Abortion clinic violence has been on the decline,
recently, but that decline in events has been
offset by an escalation in violence. "The first
shooting of a doctor was just of the doctor. Then
they said if you are assisting the doctor, then you
area problem, too. The next time, they shot the
doctor and his escort. Then they started talking
about a war zone. Anybody in the war zone could be
shot and anybody protecting the war zone."(3)
These events reaffirm MIM's position as stated over
a year ago. "Even under capitalism, the pro-life
ideology is out-of-date and in its obvious death
throes."(4) With the newly rejuvenated violence by
the reactionary "pro-life" movement, the movement
itself is in the midst of a crisis. The violence
has showed the splits within the "pro-life"
movement. After the bombing, activist Michael Bray
who has signed the petition endorsing "justifiable
homicide," said he was "relieved" by the bombings:
"There's been somewhat of a lull out there; this is
a sign of a revival. People are not just rolling
over."(5) And yet, Patrick Mahoney, the director of
the Christian Defense Coalition said "The pro-life
movement is the only movement that is guilty first
and has to prove itself innocent later." When asked
what the Washington Bomb was, before evidence was
found, Mahoney said "It could have been a
prank."(6)
The "pro-life" reactionaries do not care about life
at all, instead they are more interested in keeping
women in a secondary and subservient role in
society. These pro-life hypocrites do not care
about the life of a child. If they had, they would
work against the companies and countries the
withhold food and necessities from the poor -- most
young children.
What is, perhaps, more disturbing is the court case
in Manhattan by Judge John E. Sprizzo. Two men, one
a Bishop, were arrested over 20 times for blocking
the entrance to an abortion clinic. Under the
Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act of 1994,
the two men were arrested again for sitting in the
driveway of the clinic and shouting insults and
threats at the workers. Judge Sprizzo then issued a
restraining order against the two. When they were
arrested again, for the same crime and brought to
the same judge, they were exonerated because they
had acted out of "religious conviction." Judge
Sprizzo wrote that he "has the prerogative to
acquit the men, even if they are guilty."(7) Once
again, proving the point that there are no rights
in Amerika; only the select few have them afforded
to them. As is increasingly obvious, the
(in)justice system is not on the side of women in
Amerika. The courts, the police, all merely try to
keep women submissive to the patriarchal system
that they benefit from. Fighting these pro-"lifers"
through this system of repression goes nowhere, and
in the end benefits the repressor more. Wimmin of
Amerika need to fight for their place in society as
a whole; need to assert their equality outside the
boundaries of the system that is there to repress
them. Wimmin need to tear away from their
repressors and fight against this patriarchal
tyranny, as MIM has asserted since its inception,
and need to overthrow the chains that bind them.
NOTES:
1. The New York Times, January 23, 1997 page A14.
2. The Washington Post, January 23, 1997 page A1
3. The New York Times, January 18, 1997. P. A7.
4. MIM Notes #97, Feb 1995.
5. Abortion Report, January 17, 1997
6. The Washington Post, January 23, 1997 page A1.
7. The New York Times, January 22, 1997 page A20.
* * *
REVOLUTION AND KULTURE
SET IT OFF
This ghetto life, fast paced, bank robing, cop
chasing, with a little sex thrown in, movie is not
your run of the mill action adventure flick. For
starters, it's about wimmin, four Black wimmin.
Stony (Jada Pinkett), Cleo (Queen Latifah), Frankie
(Vivica Fox), and Tisean (Kmberly Elise) are doing
all they can to survive and better their material
conditions when they finally realize that they
can't make it within a system where the deck is
stacked against poor Black wimmin like themselves.
These wimmin are fucked by patriarchy, and robbed
by capitalists. Their relatives are murdered by
imperialist occupying pigs, and their children are
kidnapped by lackeys. So they decide to stop
playing by the imperialists rules and rob a bank.
The message in this movie about the situation of
oppressed nation wimmin within US borders is right
on. And the message that wimmin can do things on
their own without men is a real life attack on the
patriarchy without becoming preachy. The fact that
the wimmin didn't get away with it all and have a
happy ending was much more realistic than the
typical action adventure movie where the good guys
(and they are pretty much always guys) win in the
end. Under imperialism there are no easy solutions
to oppression and robbing a bank is not going to
solve poverty, in fact the robbers are more likely
to get caught or killed.
In addition there isn't a Hollywood fabricated
happy romantic ending either. No wimmin are rescued
by men in shining armor. In fact the opposite is
true when Stormy, Jada Pinkett, protects her love
interest played by Blair Underwood from the robbery
at his bank. For the most part the wimmin protect
and rescue each other as best they can. In the end,
one womyn survives alone and she gave up the
opportunity for romance with a wealthy man in order
to attempt to fight with her friends for a better
life for all of them. Since most wimmin from
oppressed nations do not have the opportunity hook
up with wealthy men as a way out, the lack of an
"and they lived happily ever after" ending here is
refreshingly realistic.
Another aspect of this movie that made it different
was the inclusion of a lesbian as the main
character in an action film: Cleo, played by Queen
Latifa. This womyn was accepted as a close friend
of the other three straight wimmin even though they
would turn away when she kissed her girlfriend.
This aversion was also voiced by some in the
audience during the scenes of lesbian intimacy.
The girlfriend (who really never even got a name)
was a quiet, obedient femme who was mostly there to
look pretty. Queen Latifa played the butch and
there was little development of this part of the
characters. It was unclear if this was meant to
represent the "typical" lesbian relationship. It
certainly represents a relatively common lesbian
relationship, but not one that MIM would uphold as
any more progressive than other relationships
The take home message of this movie was that Black
wimmin from the inner cities don't have
opportunities to make it in Amerika. Unfortunately
the second half of this message was that trying to
find a way out will get you killed. It is true that
going against the system can get you killed, locked
up, harassed and/or legally executed. Members of
the oppressed nations within Amerikan borders are
considered a threat by imperialists and are
disproportionately killed and jailed in Amerikkka.
So going against the system is serious business and
should be gone about following a careful and Maoist
line and strategy.
What this movie really lacked was a Maoist analysis
that says we won't get rich over night, but we will
build a movement that will overthrow imperialism
and create a society where everyone is equal. And
this means we can address every day problems like
these women faced in a revolutionary context.
Helping a woman deal with problems concerning child
care, work, money, and/or police brutality is a
part of the larger struggle for revolution.
MIM uses the Black Panther Party to demonstrate
this. They educated themselves and organized their
power to serve the problems of their community. The
BPP started a breakfast program for kids and fought
against police brutality. Their Maoist analysis was
better than the analysis of the wimmin in Set it
Off and still many BPP members were killed and
jailed. We have the history of the BPP to learn
from and so we should not make focoist mistakes
because we see what COINTELPRO and the FBI does to
imprison Black nationalist revolutionaries and
would certainly do to any revolutionary Black
groups seeking power.
Revolution is not quick or easy, but it is the only
solution for the oppression that the majority of
the world's people face daily. The picture of day
to day survival in countries like the Philippines
where the poorest people are waging a revolution
should be inspiration for our struggles here.
MIM AND RAIL SHOW "FBI'S WAR ON BLACK AMERICA"
Santa Barbara, CA--Approximately 40 people recently
attended a presentation of the film "The FBI's War
on Black America" organized by the Maoist
Internationalist Movement (MIM) and Revolutionary
Anti-Imperialist League (RAIL) on the University of
California at Santa Barbara campus. This film is
one of several MIM regularly shows documenting the
fascist repression of the Black Panther Party and
other Black nationalists, such as Malcolm X.
Many of those in attendance were unaware of the
FBI's COINTELPRO (counter-intelligence program)
against the Black Panther Party and were eager to
learn more. COINTELPRO used infiltrators,
intimidation, and assassination tactics to wreck
the party. A MIM supporter took the opportunity to
explain that the state continues to use these
tactics against revolutionaries, and pointed to the
former Panthers Mumia Abu Jamal and Geronimo Pratt
as examples of this. Both are sitting in Amerikan
prisons on trumped-up charges and have consistently
been denied retrials. Mumia is on death row and
faces the threat of legal assassination.
The MIM supporter also explained why the state
resorts to violence against the masses by
paraphrasing Black Panther Party leader Huey
Newton. During the early years of the Party, Huey
said, "The police cannot be here to protect [the
Black community's] property for the simple fact
that we have no property. They are not here to
ensure due process of law because they are the very
ones denying us due process of law. So we see that
the police are not here to protect us, but rather
the business owners and the oppressive status quo."
Ultimately, MIM believes it will take armed
struggle to overthrow the capitalist oppressors,
who are the first to resort to violence in order to
defend their loot. At this point in time, MIM and
RAIL focus their energies on building public
opinion against imperialism. Films like "The FBI's
War on Black America" are ways to concretely
explain imperialism's crimes and inner workings.
For more information on events in your area or to
get involved, contact your local distributor or one
of the addresses on page two.
NOTES: For detailed information on the COINTELPRO
against the Black Panther Party and the American
Indian Movement (AIM), check out Ward Churchill and
Jim Vander Wall's book, Agents of Repression: The
FBI's Secret Wars Against the Black Panther Party
and the American Indian Movement. This book is
available from MIM for $16.
FILM REVIEW:
ALL POWER TO THE PEOPLE!
Directed by Lee-Lew Lee
Director and former Black Panther Lee-Lew Lee
screened and discussed his Academy Award nominated
documentary "All Power to the People!" as part of
the Pan-African Film Festival held at the Magic
Johnson Theaters in Los Angeles. This film is
another example of the kind of good work
progressives and revolutionaries can do with
independent media.
"All Power to the People!" tells the story of the
FBI's bloody COINTELPRO campaign against the Black
Panther Party and other Black nationalist
organizations. The film consists almost entirely of
contemporary footage and interviews with former
Black Panther Party members, such as Bobby Seale
and Kathleen Cleaver. Much of the old footage used
is extremely rare. Mr. Lee has done a great service
preserving it in this film.
One of the film's strong points is its ability to
recognize political degeneration when it sees it.
In one interview Huey Newton spouts some backwards
trash like, "Well, the masses aren't down with
socialism right now so we aren't talking about
socialism with them--when they pick up socialism we
will too." This contradicts the correct stance of
the early Panthers, who openly espoused socialism
and patiently educated the people on what that
meant. Lee-Lew Lee uses this interview to show that
reactionaries do not necessarily have to physically
blow the head off the movement. They can also
intimidate or co-opt its leaders.
Despite the fact that "All Power to the People!"
has been nominated for an Academy Award, no major
Hollywood distributor has picked it up. There have
only been a few screenings of the film so far --
all of them using the director's own copy of the
film. Lee-Lew Lee said that the film had
effectively been banned in the United States.
Of course, revolutionaries and progressives can't
count on the imperialist bourgeoisie to fund media
which exposes their crimes. At a discussion
following the film, Lee-Lew Lee urged audience
members to learn to use new inexpensive multi-media
tools like cam-corders to make their own
documentaries. For its part, MIM builds its own
independent media for the oppressed with MIM Notes
and MIM Theory. MIM also sponsors showings of
"banned" films, such as "The FBI's War on Black
America." For more information on local events or
how to start a film revolutionary series in your
area, contact your local MIM Notes distributor or
one of the addresses on page two.
* * *
ECUADORIAN PEOPLE PROTEST IMPERIALISM:
ONLY GET CHANGE IN IMPERIALIST LACKEYS
by MC17
In early February, the people of Ecuador held a 48
hour general strike to protest the presidency of
Abdala' Bucaram whose work as a lackey of
imperialism has led to economic austerity programs,
nepotism and corruption at the expense of the
people. In June, Bucaram won a landslide election
victory in a "democratic" election. But now in the
face of widespread economic and social suffering,
even those who supported his election are in the
streets protesting.(1)
The president of the Organization of American
States (OAS), an imperialist mouthpiece, flew to
Ecuador to show his support for Bucaram as they
both called on people to preserve the so-called
democracy of Ecuador.(1) The stability of this
country which provides a source of cheap labor and
raw materials is important to the imperialists.
Bucaram was elected on a populist platform but once
elected he quickly gave up any pretense of serving
the people and instead turned to the strict
austerity measures encouraged by imperialist
agencies like the World Bank so that these
countries can focus on paying off foreign debt. It
is this same debt that has led to the
impoverishment of the countries as they serve their
imperialist masters rather than developing self-
sufficient economies. And any claims that this debt
is the result of generous giving on the part of the
imperialists whose only interest is in helping poor
countries better themselves are quickly dispelled
with an examination of the economic structure of
these poor countries and their relationship to
imperialist countries. The imperialists always get
more out of Third World countries like Ecuador than
they put in.
Many people called on the congress to impeach
Bucaram and in response to these calls, Bucaram
announced plans to replace 60% of his cabinet and
his administration accused the president of the
congress of planning a coup. All this maneuvering
at the high levels of government will not
accomplish anything but a new face on the same old
imperialist rule. The congressional leader Fabian
Alarcon and the vice president Rosalia Arteaga both
initially claimed the right to seize power and
Alarcon led thousands of supporters in an attempt
to storm the presidential palace on February
7th.(2) But on February 9th the Ecuadorian congress
named Vice President Arteaga as the legitimate
successor to Bucaram.(3)
On February 8th, the army withdrew its support for
Bucaram and agreed to the vice president taking
over. Many of his cabinet members resigned in the
first week of February, clearly anticipating the
failure of Bucaram's rule. On February 6th the
congress voted to depose him on grounds of mental
incompetence and on February 9th it appeared that
he was ready to step down.(2)
The United States is the main imperialist power
exploiting Ecuador. 42% of it's exports go to the
US and 28% of its imports come from the US. While
the people's protest against Bucaram, a lackey of
imperialism, was justified, the change in faces in
the government will not produce any real
improvements for the people. The system of
imperialism still remains in place and until
countries like Ecuador develop self-sufficient
economies that are not devoted to enriching a few
imperialists and their national and corporate
lackeys, the people will continue to be exploited
and oppressed. Bucaram was right when he suggested
that anyone taking his place will not be able to
satisfy the demands of the people:
``Unfortunately, I couldn't finish my term, but
let's see if the next government will be able to
fulfill the promises I made to increase the
salaries of workers and the military by 25
percent.''(3)
Only a national liberation struggle will end the
imperialist stranglehold on Ecuador. And only a
liberation struggle led by Maoism will be able to
build socialism and develop a system where the
people of Ecuador are not being exploited by
capitalists and where equality between people is
not an ideal but a reality.
NOTES:
1. New York Times, 6 February 1997. p. A10.
2. Boston Globe, 9 February 1997. p.A2
3. AP, 9 February 1997.
* * *
FIGHTING THE IMPERIALIST SPONSORED ELECTIONS:
HAWAIIAN SOVEREIGNTY STRUGGLE CONTINUES
The Hawaiian Sovereignty Elections Council (HSEC),
a state-formed organization that ran the recent
"sovereignty vote" in Hawai'i, held a conference on
December 14th to present the results of this state-
sponsored pseudo-independence vote. As MIM Notes
reported in the past, a state-sponsored vote which
only gives the Hawaiian people the choice of one
form of imperialist imposed government or another
is not an opportunity to vote for sovereignty. A
majority (over 60%) of the Hawaiian people
boycotted this vote, led by activists who are
fighting for genuine self-determination for the
indigenous people of Hawai'i.
At the December 14th conference 800 participants
attended but little substantive discussion took
place and time ran out before many people who were
signed up could speak. Opponents of the HSEC
process, Ka Lahui members, attended and held up
bright cards protesting state control of Native
Hawaiians while a representative of their
organization spoke, calling on Hawaiians to reject
the HSEC proposal, which she said does not apply
principles of self-determination as defined under
international law.
In spite of the widespread boycott of the vote,
HSEC considers the 73% majority for "yes" in
response to the question "Shall the Hawaiian people
elect delegates to propose a Native Hawaiian
government" to be the valid vote results. HSEC's
final report is due out any day and this will lay
out the time line for the election of delegates and
convention. They are expecting a November 1997
election of 200 delegates and a four-part
convention in 1998 of delegates. It is important to
note that this process is being controlled by HSEC,
an organization set up by the imperialist
government to carry out this bogus pseudo-
plebiscite process. All HSEC members are appointees
of the ex-State Governor.
As one Hawaiian quoted in the MIM Notes 119 (August
1, 1996) front page article about this vote pointed
out "This vote will bind us to a State-controlled
process and the U.S. government can use it to block
us from pursuing our own process of self-
determination." This state-sponsored pseudo-
plebiscite is no vote for sovereignty. MIM supports
the continuing struggle for self-determination of
the Native Hawaiian people and all other indigenous
nations fighting imperialist rule.
NOTE: Ka Wai Ola o OHA, Volume 14, number 1, Jan
1997, p.2.
* * *
FIRST NATIONS BLOCKADE ROAD TO DEFEND AGAINST
NUCLEAR WASTE
by MCB52
On January 29, First Nations from the Fort Mojave,
Chemehuevi, Quechan, Cocopah and Colorado River
tribes, which comprise the Colorado River Native
Nations Alliance, blockaded a road to secure their
land and defend it from nuclear waste. Though the
settler government of California does not recognize
the proposed site in Ward Valley as First Nation
land, it is culturally important to First Nations
and is located dangerously near an aquifer they
rely on.
Essentially declaring the area off limits to the
settler state, the First Nation activists blocked a
Department of Energy tour of the Ward Valley. The
First Nations were joined by supporters from
Greenpeace, environmental justice activists, the
United Farm Workers, the Arizona American Indian
Movement.
Steve Lopez, Fort Mojave Ward Valley director,
said: "We object to the radioactive waste dump
proposed for our traditional territory. Fort Mojave
will never allow a nuclear dump so close to our
people and our river. The tribes are united to
fight against this dump no matter what it takes."
"I hope Mr. Clinton helps us. He talks a lot, but
I'm ready for some action," said Nathan Levi
Esquerra, chairman of the Chemehuevi Tribe. Clinton
does not only talk a lot, he takes action - against
environmental concerns and the needs of First
Nations.
But the First Nation activists do not seem to be
fooled. They are clear that this is an issue of
sovereignty and self-defense. In reference to
meeting a government commission on toxic waste
after the blockade, Esquerra said "The main issue
for the meeting is that we want them to recognize
and respect us as a government. They have to stop
ignoring us."
This proposed nuclear waste dump is part of a long
tradition of settlers using the resources of First
Nation land and then trying to dump oppressed
nations with the consequences. The blockade is part
of a long tradition of resistance. Though saving
this spot of land will not topple imperialist
domination of First Nation land and resources, it
is a progressive struggle.
NOTE: Indian Country Today February 10-17, 1997
* * *
FRENCH ANTI-IMMIGRANT PARTY WINS ANOTHER TOWN
by MC234
On 9 February in France, the anti-immigration
National Party led by Jean-Marie Le Pen won control
of the municipal government in the city of
Vitrolles. This is the fourth southern city where
Le Pen's party has taken control of local
government. According to the Boston Globe, French
youth rioted against the victory of the National
Party.(1)
Le Pen's rise to popularity has been fueled by
immigrant bashing. Like in Amerika, there is a
considerable current within the bought-off working
classes that sees foreigners as a threat.
In France, the rise in nationalist opposition to
immigration is not a result in the increase in non-
French people living in France. This has stayed
constant for 10 years at 6%. But 25 years ago, 75%
of the foreigners in France were European. Now
Arabs and Africans make up almost half.(2)
The nationalist bourgeoisie in France has a
difficult task for itself. It needs enough
foreigners to clean its toilets for low wages, but
it doesn't want there to be so many that long term
stability of the French system is threatened.
It is encouraging that in France like elsewhere, it
is the youth of the imperialist countries who are
willing to struggle against chauvinist polices. We
encourage the youth of France to build a Maoist
party to defeat French imperialism right in its
home.
NOTES:
1. Boston Globe 10 February 1997, p. A5.
2. The Economist 12 June 1993.
UNDER LOCK AND KEY: NEWS FROM PRISONERS AND PRISONS
VICTORY AGAINST CENSORSHIP
Dear Comrade,
I'm pleased to share with you that Pelican Bay
State Prison has allowed MIM Notes into the prison.
But Pelican Bay did not give us anything. If we can
consider this situation a victory, it was because
we struggled. Malcolm X said that never in history
have you ever heard of the oppressor laying down
the whip. It was always the oppressed who stopped
their oppression.
That is a fact, we must prepare ourselves now,
because we must face the inevitable. The only
question is, will we face inevitable on our knees
as a coward and die, spiritually and physically; or
will we stand as women and men and fight for our
Liberation?
Yesterday, Pelican Bay gave me the MIM Notes #121
and #122. Which were issued in September [1996]. In
MIM Notes #122 on page 11, I read my letter which
you titled "Prisoner Not Discouraged by
Censorship". I enjoy MIM Notes, and I want you to
please start back to sending me MIM Notes again now
that MIM has been cleared....
--A California Prisoner, 31 December 1996
WASHINGTON STATE CONTINUES TO CENSOR MIM NOTES
MIM has received several mail rejection notices
from the State of Washington Department of
Corrections, and most recently from Clallam Bay
Correctional Center. Each notice claims that the
issues of MIM Notes were rejected because they are
a "threat to legitimate penological objectives."
Letters of protest can be sent to directly to
Sergeant J. McGimpsey, Clallam Bay Corrections
Center, 1830 Eagle Crest Way, Clallam Bay, WA
98326-9723, or to the Director, Division of Prisons
or Community Corrections, P.O. Box 41100, Olympia,
WA 98504-1100.
PENNSYLVANIA PRISONER FIGHTS CENSORSHIP
...I am writing concerning the prison officials'
decision to censor your publication in absence of
any legitimate security concerns. As you know,
prison officials can not censor a publication
merely because they disagree with its political
content or the philosophy of the group that
publishes it. They also may not censor a
publication because it contains views which are
unfavorable to the prison system.
They are authorized to ban publications that impede
institutional security. Based on this criteria, I
believe that we have grounds to sue officials here
at the institution. In order to do this, I am going
to need your full support and cooperation. First,
it would be helpful if you would promptly send a
letter of complaint to officials at this
institution as well as the DOC's headquarters....
I have appealed the prison's decision to censor MIM
through the grievance procedure. As can be
expected, the warden affirmed the decision of his
subordinates...
You may send letters of complaint to:
Mr. Harry E Wilson, Superintendent, State
Correctional Institution at Retreat, R.P.#3, Box
500, Hunlock Creek, PA 18621-9580
Mr. Martin F. Horn, Commissioner, Pennsylvania
Department of Corrections, P.O. Box 598, Camp Hill,
PA 17001-0598.
--A Pennsylvania Prisoner, 19 November 1996
IS REVOLUTION JUST A PRISONER PASTIME?
...I read about the struggles behind the walls in
Under Lock and Key, but I have not read about these
struggles being continued once prisoners are freed
and their state of struggle. Maybe only those of us
with a lot of time on our hands write. Once the
knowledge is acquired, the will to create change
and to free the chains of the oppressor is ignited.
It must be more than something to use to pass time
(prison time). It should and must be a life-long
commitment to overthrow these fascist oppressors.
Many prisoners gain political consciousness under
these conditions, that may never have been acquired
under other circumstances. Once this happens, the
prisoner has a duty to continue his struggle
against the oppressor (imperialism), and stand by
those under lock and key, expose the oppression and
work to overthrow the present system.
It would be encouraging to read of prisoners who
continue in this struggle, as a prisoner and a
prisoner of war (war on drugs is a war on the
Amerikan people). For many years I have been
awakened to the realities of the current fascist-
imperialist government. I am trying to educate
myself and others. I don't want to just be a "cell
soldier", but I want to be an effective
Revolutionary and help effectuate a change from
within and eventually without, when my chains are
released...
If you have or receive news of any comrades that
have been freed that have continued in the
struggle, I would be glad to see stories written
about their struggle...
--A Colorado Prisoner, 3 December 1996
A NEW YORK PRISONER STRUGGLES FOR EDUCATION
To the people,
Back during slavery times, Black people were
forbidden to pick up a book and read. Education for
Black folks was a crime. One of the policies of
colonialism is that the victor seeks to keep the
vanquished stooped in ignorance and superstition.
In these days and times the New York State prison
colony carries out such a policy, although it be in
a different form. According to the education law of
the U.S. it is supposed to be a violation of our
"rights" to deny a person the pursuit of an
education based on such a person's race, religion,
national origin, social position or creed. This is
supposed to be applicable to all "Americans". But
despite the fact that "my people" have been in this
country just as long as white people, that "my
people" have fought and died in all of Amerika's
wars and still foolishly do so, despite the fact
that the first martyr in the Amerikan revolution
was a Black man (Crispus Attucks), despite the fact
that a Black man laid down the blueprint for the
nation's capital (Benjiman Banneker), I'm still not
an Amerikan because I'm Black.
In NY State, prisoners are denied access to pursue
a college education. We're only allowed to obtain a
GED. After that, you're done, especially if you do
not have family and/or friends on the outside that
can pay for a college correspondence course or
supply you with textbooks and/or workbooks on a
regular basis. But then again, according to the
13th Amendment, prisoners are slaves so I guess
that's why I'm denied an education on top of me
being Black.
MIM has an excellent book for prisoners program and
I'm greatly indebted to them and those of you who
helped out and donated money and books. However,
along with my revolutionary education I'm trying to
pursue an academic education for I plan on going to
college when I get out of prison. I already have 3
strikes against me: I'm 1) Black, 2) Poor and 3)
an ex-convict. I don't need a fourth, lacking an
advanced academic education.
With the help of you and MIM I'm most sure that I
could overcome this obstacle. I sent a book list to
MIM of books that I could use to advance myself....
It matters not if they're beat up, photocopied or
brand new as long as all the pages are there and
it's legible.... Whatever books you could send
(workbook, textbooks, etc.) pertaining to the
natural/physical sciences, life sciences, language
arts and/or mathematics will also be greatly
appreciated.... Thank you for your time, assistance
and concern.
Revolution!
--A New York Prisoner
PS. Even science magazines (no matter how dated)
will be appreciated.
MIM ADDS: Our books for prisoners program
prioritizes political texts, but we recognize the
utility in other education and wish to expand our
work and unleash the potential of the masses to
fill this need. In particular, we are quite aware
of that each year college students across the
United Snakes spend hundreds of dollars on
textbooks that at the end of the semester they no
longer need or want and cannot sell for a good
price or at all. We encourage these students and
others to send us their old books along with enough
postage to send them to a prisoner. Educational
materials of all grade levels will be forwarded to
prisoners. Please make sure postage is included
with the books.
ONE YEAR LATER, STILL IN TEXAS
To Whom it May Concern,
I am a Massachusetts prisoner! One of two hundred
and ninety-nine sent here to Texas because of
overcrowding....
Talk about control units, Sensory Deprivation like
a mother fucker. No Due process, Stripped of
Liberty interest. Food's fucked, cops are
illiterates. I'm locked down 24-7. Only 3 hours of
recreation a week. Wearing somebody else's boxers,
socks. Rats and snitches wall to wall - Unit?
What's the hell is that?
I hate this government system. It wasn't made to
work for us.
If you want to know more about the 299 guys sent
here by Massachusetts, who claim overcrowding to
get more money for prisons, you let me know. I got
a lot of news for you.
--A Massachusetts Prisoner in Texas, 14 December
1996
P.S. We are in seg. for one year now. Massachusetts
just renewed the contract for 2 more years. Guess
where me and X will be. Right here in Seg. No
ticket. NADA! Because we are nonconformists.
AMERIKAN PRISON BRIEFS
READING MATERIALS LIMITED ...I lost your address
and a few of the newsletters you sent me, due to
shakedowns this past month by these Colonialist and
Neo Colonial Pigs. We were locked down from
Halloween to November 20th on the DS (Disciplinary
Segregation) unit here. Because my bed frame had a
big piece of metal missing from it. So of course
these cowards locked down the whole unit. They have
also devised a way of limiting and taking away our
reading material by only allowing any prisoner 10
pieces of reading material at any one time. If we
receive a book, or magazine, etc. in the mail, we
must turn it in, so it can be: 1. Sent home (at
your expense), 2. Destroyed, 3. Gate released, or
4. Given to charity. They do not consider MIM Notes
and most times, political books, educational. So
now if we can't get them to be recognized they will
be sent home or destroyed. I am thinking of
starting a "class action" grievance by all the New
Afrikan and conscious brothers to try to get this
done....
--An Illinois Prisoner, 24 November 1996
NEW DRUG TEST ...Well something new, the Michigan
snakes have invented. It is a thing for drug
testing, it's brand new. They came up with this
about a year ago. It looks like a small dime. It is
a little plastic circle. The nurse puts this new
invention in our arms for 24 hours to see if we are
smoking drugs. And then take this shit to the
laboratory. The point is the Michigan snakes always
want to test something in inmates. I don't trust
the Michigan Department of KKKoruptions with my
life....
--A Michigan Prisoner, 2 December 1996
EXPOSE PIG SEXUAL HARASSMENT On 23 November 1996, I
was set up and beaten by 4 officers. Burkhalter C/O
#R, Haverd C/O K., Lourie C/O A., Dueose C/O III M.
These are the officers who beat me in the hallway.
These are the ranking officers who plotted this
cruel attack upon me. Sergeant Bly, Lieutenant
James Nixon, Lieutenant Lee, Captain Baker, and
Warden McNight.
Now I am being sexually harassed by Sergeant
Ludwig, Sargent Williams, Officer Sorrels. Everyday
these people pull me out of my cell, [They] know I
don't have a thing in here, every hour on the hour.
I can't get any sleep. I am on container
restriction, food loaf, paper gown. They know I
don't have nothing in this cell, this is just to
harass me. Sargent Ludwig always tells me, "Open
your ass cheeks.", Then [he] puts me on the run
with nothing on so the other inmates can look at my
butt. Please help stop this sexual harassment.
--A Texas Prisoner, 4 January 1997
UNSANITARY CONDITIONS CONTINUED
...I like your topic in Under Lock and Key, Nov.
15th issue #126, page 8 about unsanitary living
conditions in Illinois. I, myself am an Illinois
prisoner in the Menard Correctional Center. Right
now I'm in the North Segregation Unit and it's just
like you put it in the paper. The birds still fly
through the cell house, the mice and roaches still
come into our cells. And the administration in
Menard do not try to do anything to get rid of the
mice or birds in the cell house. Everything that
you put about this topic is 100% true.
I hope that somebody out there notified the Health
Department about the conditions in the Menard
Correctional Center, North Segregation Unit. Most
of the officers are KKK members and they do not
like Blacks and Latinos. They play with people's
food. The other day an inmate here in the North
Segregation Unit found a mouse in his food.
Sincere in the Struggle,
-- An Illinois Prisoner, 15 December 1996
MISSOURI PRISONER SERVES AS JAILHOUSE LAWYER TO
FIGHT OPPRESSION
Dear Movement,
...I would like to inform you that I have been in
solitary confinement since May 13, 1996, for
refusing to submit to statutorily-required DNA
testing. At present, I am challenging this state
law in court. Even though the law supports my
position, I understand the political and public
ramifications of my resistance and struggle against
big government. If I win in court, I will pass this
information on to your organization in hopes it
will assist similarly-situated comrades or
prisoners.
I have been incarcerated for 16 years... During my
confinement I obtained a paralegal diploma and have
been a jailhouse lawyer. I have been such a thorn
to the attorney general's office, that they lied to
a federal judge who issued an order enjoining me
from filing lawsuits and prohibiting me from
assisting other prisoners or be subject to
disciplinary punishments and sanctions. I've been
confined a couple of times already in the hole. I
can not permit myself to bow to my oppressors,
otherwise I would be living without dignity and
pride. I understand that the consequence of my non-
violent civil disobedience and rebellion is
continued imprisonment despite parole release
eligibility. Self-preservation ignores me because I
would rather live as a principled man than as a
spineless inmate. My integrity means the world to
me even if freedom continues to escape me.
--A Missouri Prisoner, 18 December 1996
SOUTH CAROLINA PRISONER COLLECTS EVIDENCE ON
INJUSTICE SYSTEM
...A friend recently forwarded to me a copy of MIM
Notes from September 15, 1996. With great
correlation, I read the letters, Under Lock and
Key, from prisoners in the South Carolina
Department of Corrections. These letters made me
ponder whether or not there might be prisoners out
there who could assist me in gathering inculpative
evidence, to be used against Michael Moore,
(Director of the South Carolina Department of
Corrections (SCDC)).
I am currently incarcerated at McCormick
Correctional Institution. For the past two years I
have been involved in a mass assault to shutdown
Michael Moore's unconstitutional "policies and
customs". I have assisted some 85 inmates at this
institution also, to file actions totaling over one
hundred, thirty million dollars....
Because our documents and attitudes are polite,
resolved and amicable, my law partner and I have
had a 100% success rate. However, we have been
continually harassed, threatened and retaliated
against for our giving "inmate to inmate
assistance." We filed an action on the reprisal for
the constitutionally protected right, and the state
agreed to compromise.
Additionally, we moved for arrest warrants pursuant
to Title 18 U.S.C. 241 and 242; against Director
Michael Moore and the Attorney General of South
Carolina, Charles Condon, because they had acted in
concert to deprive inmates of a Constitutional
Right, by going public and declaring that they were
going to "pack inmates in prison like sardines."
When the smoke had cleared, following this massive
attack, my roommate was removed from my cell. We
were not asked whether or not we consented to such
a room change. A new inmate was moved into my cell.
At first, I thought it might just be more
retaliation. A few days later my reality changed,
when this inmate informed me that Michael Moore,
(Director of SCDC), had approached him at Kirkland
Correctional Institution and requested that he be
transferred to McCormick Correctional Institution;
placed in the cell with me; to kill me in exchange
for $25,000 dollars and parole. The inmate informed
me and several other witnesses that Michael Moore
and Attorney General, Charles Condon, "wanted me
killed because of all the Legal cases I was filing
against him and the Attorney General."
The following day, after securing affidavits from
this inmate and the witnesses, all of our cells
were searched. The affidavits were seized and we
were placed in administrative segregation, without
a charge, on Oct 28, 1996. We have all been placed
on "No Communications". Which means: we cannot
call our attorneys, family; we cannot go out for
exercise; we cannot go to the law library and we
are refused any type of assistance; and we cannot
send or receive mail.
Following these events,... the host of a weekly
patriotic radio show ..., and numerous concerned
citizens of South Carolina started investigating
Michael Moore and his activities. The radio host
went on world wide radio, as well as a local radio
show in ... South Carolina. Looking for
information, the radio host contacted ex-inmates
and former officers of the Texas Department of
Corrections. He also spoke with a doctor in
California who had a great deal of information
concerning Michael Moore's previous activities
while employed in Texas.
....The radio host learned that while in Texas,
Michael Moore had maintained "hit groups" in at
least three separate institutions. These "hit
groups" were inmates that had been solicited by
Moore to threaten, intimidate and in some cases
even kill inmates who helped other inmates file
civil actions...
The inculpative evidence this writer is attempting
to gather from readers in or out of prison, is
simply this: If you have ever been a part of, or
been asked to be a part of any Michael Moore "hit
groups" and have first hand knowledge of the same,
I would appreciate a summary or affidavit
concerning those instances. If you have ever been
threatened by Michael Moore, or one of his "hit
groups" for you legal activities, I would
appreciate a letter, summary, or affidavit
concerning those facts. If you are employed or were
employed at one time, by the Texas Department of
Corrections and you have first hand knowledge of
Michael Moore's "polices and customs" to threaten
intimidate or kill inmates for their legal
activities, this information would be of great use
to us.
If you wish to keep your name and information
Confidential, Please state to that effect in your
correspondence. Additionally, keep in mind that any
affidavits sent from out of state, must also be
stamped when being notarized. If you are unable to
send an affidavit because of a privacy issue or for
lack of access to a notary, please write informing
us of your information. In connection, if you would
be willing to testify, under oath, at the trial,
against Mr. Moore concerning any or all of the
first hand information you send us, please specify
this fact. Send all correspondence to: The Anti-
Federalist Research Group, 1004 Welcome Rd.,
Greenville, SC 29611.
...Fighting tyrants in South Carolina.
--A South Carolina Prisoner, 19 November 1996
***WHAT NON-PRISONERS CAN DO TO SUPPORT
PRISONERS***
*1. Struggle with, work with, finance and join MIM.
The best way to support prisoners is to overthrow
the system under which capitalists profit from the
exploitation of prisoners. History shows that the
best way to do this is to build a Marxist-Leninist-
Maoist party. The oppressors will not give up their
power without a fight.
*2. Finance MIM's prison work. Our biggest bill
each month is postage. Most of the prison comrades
who read MIM Notes have no way of paying for it. So
if you have money, send what you can afford. Every
cent helps, and stamps are as good as cash to us.
*3. Distribute MIM Notes and Notas Rojas. Bring the
voices of prisoners and their supporters to as
large and wide an audience of people as possible.
Contact MIM for bulk rates and distribution tips.
*4. Start or join a prison support group. MIM can
provide advice and resources to help you build
public opinion for prisoners and their struggles.
*5. Fight censorship, beatings, torture and other
fascist outrages. Under Lock and Key often features
the addresses of prisoners' friends and enemies.
Work with the friends and let the enemies know
you're watching. (Don't expect to win the fascists
to the side of humanity, however. See #1 in this
list).
*6. Stay in touch. Keep us informed of pro-prisoner
work you do. Our readers might find it educational
or inspirational.
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