Hypocritical Censorship of book for photos of dead people

I'm writing to let MIM comrades, captive in U.S. prisons and on the outside world, know about the unjust censorship policy here in this California prison.

I ordered a book entitled Muerte! Death in Mexican Culture, from a mail-order catalog. When this book arrived to the prison mailroom my captors didn't allow me to receive it. On the Notification of Disapproval form, the mailroom pig stated reason for disapproval is "Mutilation of Humans." My captors are not allowing this book into the prison because of photos of dead people on the pages of the book. I filled out a grievance form and sent it to the mailroom sergeant. On my grievance form I stated that nowhere in the California Code of Regulations book does it say that we are not allowed to receive books with photos of dead people/cadavers on the pages. I also stated that this book is of literary value and is based on historical events. The mailroom sergeant's response to this was: "Photos of dead people incite violence and therefore the book Muerte is a threat to the safety and security of the prison."

Can you believe this hypocritical statement? Since WW2 the U.S. has given military aid, trained, equipped, and subsidized millions of troops and internal security forces in some 80 countries. Among the recipients have been some of the most notorious military autocracies in history, countries that have tortured or killed their citizens. U.S.-sponsored counter revolutionary campaigns have taken millions of lives. Example: in 1973 the CIA overthrew Chile's democratically elected president, Salvador Allende. The reason for this was because Allende instituted social democratic reforms in his country, altering class power that benefited the poor. After the U.S.-backed military coup the fascist dictator General Augusto Pinochet was installed into power.

In the 1960s the CIA recruited the Meo people to fight against the anti-imperialist, anti-capitalist Pathet Lao in Laos. When the Meo army proved inadequate against the Pathet Lao, the U.S. began an aerial war against Laos in 1969 that lasted for years. U.S. bomber planes destroyed village after village. Rice fields were turned into craters. Tens of thousands of people were slaughtered; many starved.

The prison pigs say photos of dead people incite violence. Yeah, this is a ludicrous statement. The U.S. imperialist regime is the #1 perpetrator of violence in the world.

- a California prisoner, October 2006