I N T E R N E T ' S  M A O I S T  BI-M O N T H L Y

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         THE MAOIST INTERNATIONALIST MOVEMENT

     MIM Notes 117                  JULY 1 1996


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.  DON'T VOTE FOR IMPERIALISM
2.  FIRST NATIONS WIN VICTORY AGAINST CANADIAN
    TAXES
3.  LETTERS TO MIM AND RAIL
4.  PRISONER, FOCUS OF RAIL RALLY, IS RETURNED
5.  ST. THOMAS UNIVERSITY: NEW TWIST ON
    ENGLISH-ONLY
6.  TERRORISM AGAINST BLACK COMMUNITIES GOES ON;
    WHITE POWER HAS NO SOLUTIONS
7.  REACTIONARY NATIONALISTS WIN AT INDIAN POLLS
8.  UNDER LOCK AND KEY: NEWS FROM PRISONERS AND
    PRISONS
9.  MARXISM-LENINISM-MAOISM ON-LINE: DEFENDERS OF
    CRIMINAL INJUSTICE ATTACK MUMIA; OPPOSITION
    CRUSHES WHITE POWER NEWSGROUP
10. PENOBSCOTT NATION RESISTS AMERIKKKAN
    DOMINATION: MIM NOTES TALKS TO PENOBSCOTT
    NATION DISSIDENT ON TAXES
11. AMERIKA VIOLATES FIRST NATION FISHING RIGHTS
12. PSYCHOLOGISTS PUSH THEIR WHITE WAYS ON ST.
    MARY'S
13. FATHER OF RAILROADED LATINO YOUTH SPEAKS OUT
14. ALL IN A DAY'S WORK: D.C. COPS KILL TWO

* * *

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

* * *


DON'T VOTE FOR IMPERIALISM

As the imperialists heat up their 1996 electoral 
campaigns, MIM and RAIL are taking them on with a 
campaign of our own. We say to everyone who agrees 
with us that there is something very wrong with 
this system: don't vote, organize! 

All our lives Amerika teaches us that we live in a 
democracy. Part of this so-called democracy 
includes everyone having the right to vote so that 
we can decide who will have the power to make 
decisions about local, state, Federal, and 
international issues. We have been taught that this 
is the greatest and most democratic country on 
earth.

Some of us learn that this democracy does not work 
for kids growing up in the projects where basic 
education is not a right that everyone has. And in 
neighborhoods where people are shot at by the cops 
for being Black or Latino, democracy starts looking 
like it is only for some people. We also need only 
look at the criminal injustice system and see the 
disproportionate conviction of Blacks and Latinos 
to know that this so-called democracy is not for 
everyone.

When we look around the world at all the countries 
that Amerika invades, or countries in which Amerika 
installs puppet dictators, murdering or 
overthrowing popularly elected leaders, this 
democracy doesn't work. And when we look at 
countries where Amerikan corporations use the cheap 
labor of the starving people and steal the natural 
resources because puppet dictators have enacted 
laws saying this is OK, we know that's not 
democracy for the oppressed.

People in these countries did not vote for Amerikan 
imperialism to invade their country. They did not 
vote for Amerikan imperialism to install a puppet 
dictator. They did not vote to allow the CIA in to 
kill off the revolutionaries and keep the dictators 
in line. And they certainly did not vote to starve 
to death, to die from preventable diseases, to die 
in labor because the medical facilities are only 
open to people who can pay, or to die fighting a 
war against the imperialists over whether wealthy 
Amerikans get to exploit their country or whether 
they themselves can take control. When we see all 
of this we know that democracy is only for the few.

We live under an imperialist government. This 
government receives donations from  multinational 
corporations as well as political lobbying groups 
that have lots of money. The corporations, the CIA, 
and the military industrial complex are all very 
powerful parts of the government that don't answer 
to anyone and they force the "elected" officials to 
answer to them. As long as these institutions of 
imperialism exist, an individual elected to 
president, senator, representative or governor is 
not going to make a difference.

In fact, as long as we live under this imperialist 
system the only people who can even run for office 
are the people who already have the support of 
these wealthy, powerful organizations. It takes a 
lot of money to run an electoral campaign. So even 
if you had wonderful ideas and a brilliant plan 
that you thought all of the people of this country 
would support, it would not matter because you 
couldn't get elected unless you were independently 
wealthy (like Ross Perot), and if you were 
independently wealthy it came at the expense of the 
international proletariat and you probably have no 
interest in the oppressed (like Ross Perot).

PROGRESSIVE PEOPLE VOTING?

Many progressives organize around elections because 
they believe that this is the way to make change. 
These people genuinely want change, both inside and 
outside of this country. But they are convinced 
that there is no alternative for action and they 
believe that democracy works.

Living in this country it is tempting to believe in 
voting. It is easy to ignore the plight of the rest 
of the world and just focus on problems at "home." 
And if you really think narrowly and you are a part 
of the very large white middle class, you might 
vote for the president/senator/representative who 
does not want to cut Medicare so that when you 
retire you will be better off than if the other guy 
wins. 

The fact is that there are differences between 
candidates, but these differences are very minor 
and generally come down to tactical tweaks in 
domestic policy issues that benefit one section of 
the middle class or the other. For all the people 
who believed that Clinton would be better for gays, 
this should be obvious. For all the people who 
thought that Clinton would be better for the poor, 
the imprisoned, the victims of police brutality, a 
quick look at the increase in numbers of cops and 
prisons under Clinton should also make it clear 
that the Democrats are not really different from 
the Republicans. 

WHAT ABOUT LOCAL ELECTIONS?

A lot of people who agree with us that voting for a 
president, representative or senator does not mean 
anything, still organize around state level 
elections. They believe that by working on a more 
local scale, they will be able to exert slow steady 
pressure for change. A recent conversation with a 
woman who is very active in local electoral work 
makes this clear. She kept pointing out the great 
work done by a woman in the state senate. When it 
was pointed out that this state Senator has never 
taken a stand on imperialism and the gross things 
that Amerika does around the world the woman 
responded that "of course she hasn't because that 
would cause her to lose her legitimacy". But we 
don't even have to look so far away at 
international policy, we can see that these same 
officials don't take progressive stands on prisons 
and instead vote to build more prisons and put more 
cops on the streets to put more Blacks and Latinos 
in prison.

It is possible that in elections to city hall, some 
small battles can be won locally that won't mislead 
people into believing that electoralism works 
within the non-democracy of Amerika. For instance, 
if there were several candidates running for city 
hall who supported putting up public bulletin 
boards all over town and making public space 
available for revolutionaries to hold educational 
events, it might be worth supporting them. But we 
should never confuse these potentially winnable 
battles with support for candidates who operate at 
the state or continental level and who support 
imperialism both in words and in practice.

WHAT ARE THE ALTERNATIVES?

Many people believe that the advances made in the 
past century for women, national minorities, and 
others in our society were the result of the 
electoral power of these groups. But in fact, most 
of the progressive reforms won in this country in 
the past century were the result of organizing and 
agitation outside of the electoral arena. Just 
think back to the Black civil rights movement and 
remember the role the Black Panther Party played, 
outside of the ballot box, in forcing the 
government to make concessions out of fear of this 
armed revolutionary organization.

Unfortunately there is no tidy little alternative 
to the bourgeoisie's vote. The vote is so appealing 
because it only takes a few minutes in a ballot box 
once a year (or once every 4 years). But real 
change does not come easy. MIM and RAIL are working 
to educate people about the effects of imperialism 
and to organize people for the only way in which 
progressive change is possible: revolutionary 
struggle. This means that we fight winnable battles 
against things like prison repression, police 
brutality and other reactionary policies. But at 
the same time we organize for a larger movement 
against imperialism. 

Even before winning the revolution there is a lot 
that this movement can achieve. The article in this 
issue (see page 3) about the Massachusetts 
prisoners released from Texas prisons back to MA is 
one example of a battle recently won through 
agitation outside of the ballot box. There are many 
more such battles that need to be taken on by 
progressives. 

We can't let people be brainwashed by the 
imperialist's Vote 96 campaign. We need to get the 
truth out there and make it clear to people that 
voting for one imperialist candidate or the other 
is not the way to make real change. Join us in the 
people's Campaign 96: Don't vote for the 
imperialists! Organize against the imperialists!

BOYCOTT U.S. ELECTIONS!
ROCK THE BOAT, NOT THE VOTE!
DON'T VOTE, ORGANIZE!
DON'T LEGITIMIZE THE SYSTEM, CHANGE THE SYSTEM!
SMASH ELECTORALISM, BUILD
INDEPENDENT POWER!

For more information on how to get involved, write 
to your local distributor or MIM, P.O. Box 3576, 
Ann Arbor, MI 48106.


* * *


FIRST NATIONS WIN VICTORY AGAINST CANADIAN TAXES

On May 29, the First Nations enclosed within 
Canadian borders won a victory when "the New 
Brunswick Court of Appeal ruled 1993 tax notices 
forcing status Indians to pay the 11 percent 
provincial sales tax on off-reserve purchases 
contravened the Federal Indian Act."

The First Nation peoples blocked roads in Red Bank 
and Kingsclear when the New Brunswick province 
first imposed the tax. They ended their blockades 
through negotiations. The First Nation peoples' 
struggle over taxes parallels the struggle between 
New York State and the Iroqois people MIM reported 
on in the February 1996 MIM Notes (#109). The First 
Nations people are now rightly asking the 
government to reimburse them for the tax money they 
paid over the last three years.

A Micmac nation trader MIM spoke with said that the 
First Nations still pay the "G.S.T." (Government 
Sales Tax), which is another heavy sales tax levied 
all over Canada. Total sale taxes for the First 
Nations in New Brunswick amount to almost 30 
percent when the provincial sales tax is added in. 
MIM's position is that First Nations should not 
have to pay the G.S.T. to Canada anymore than 
Belgium should have to. The autonomous First 
Nations should not be under Canadian jurisdiction 
any more than any country outside Canadian borders 
would be. For those First Nations people who want 
to integrate into Canada, they can pay Canadian 
taxes. But for those seeking to maintain what 
national sovereignty they have left, there is no 
reason they should pay Canadian taxes.

Writers wishing to cover topics related to the 
rights of First Nations within Amerikan and 
Canadian borders should send their articles to MIM. 
There is a need for those who believe in the 
alliance of First Nations with other oppressed 
nations and anti-imperialist whites to step forward 
and work in this multinational organization.

NOTE: The Times-Transcript (Moncton, New Brunswick) 
May 30, 1996, p. 1.


* * *

LETTERS TO MIM AND RAIL

"ALL SEX IS RAPE" MASKS POWER DIFFERENCES WITHIN 
SEX

Dear MIM/RAIL,

Jen and Laura disagree with "MIM Comrades" 
proclamation that all sex is rape and all rape is 
sex (MIM Notes, May 15, 1996, "Pseudo-feminism 
supports oppression"). If this statement is based 
on the oppression of all women by all men, then now 
does MIM account for people in same sex 
relationships? Jen and Laura ask MIM what about 
other kinds of power relations, i.e. inter-racial 
relationships?

Jen and Laura question if MIM is implying that no 
women can enjoy any form of sex. Jen and Laura 
wonder if MIM thinks masturbation is a form of 
internalized oppression. Jen and Laura feel it is 
important that women don't have to feel guilty 
about enjoying healthy sexual relationships.

Sexual abuse is an act of violence. To say that all 
sex is rape is to trivialize real survivors of 
sexual abuse.

Jen and Laura agree that police have no place at 
Take Back the Night rallies. Jen and Laura would 
like to point out that many Sexual Assault Centres 
have integrated an analysis of all forms of 
oppression including colonialism, racism, sexism, 
homophobia.

Implying that women can't handle criticism because 
they found your views inappropriate has offended 
Jen and Laura. We don't need MIM's forgiveness and 
RAIL didn't die for our sins.

Signed,
Jen and Laura
Anti-Colonial Action Alliance

MIM RESPONDS: As we said in the article, "Pseudo-
feminism supports oppression" (MIM Notes 114) rape 
is defined as coerced sex. MIM contends that in a 
patriarchal society in which men as a group have 
power over women as a group, there can be no sex 
free from coercion. Women do not consent to lack of 
political power, or to lack of control over their 
sexuality and reproductive labor. Given that, how 
can we speak of their meaningful consent to sex? 
There is a material basis for women's oppression 
that cannot be wished away by the ideal of 
subjective "consent." So we are working for the 
liberation of women through the overthrow of 
imperialism and patriarchy, and we criticize 
supposedly feminist activism which calls for 
anything less. (And, in the case of Take Back the 
Night, actively promotes the repression of 
oppressed nations by the police in the process!)

Imperialism conditions gender relations to change 
the correlation between biological sex and gender. 
We say that First World women and men have class, 
nation and gender privilege relative to Third World 
women and men. So when we talk about rape, or 
gender oppression--the appropriation of sexuality 
and the exploitation of reproductive labor--we are 
not always talking about a biological male exerting 
power over a biological female.

Same sex relationships, similarly, do not disprove 
our position. Imperialist patriarchy socializes 
people to eroticize power or their lack of it. This 
socialization is present in same sex relationships, 
and manifests in the same ugly ways it does in 
heterosexual ones -- including battering and power 
struggles. As for other hierarchies between people, 
including nation, income, and age, these 
differences exacerbate a dynamic which is already 
inherent in gender relations under patriarchy, and 
often further eroticize that power dynamic.

MIM has never made the subjective claim that women 
do not enjoy sex. It is only our critics who ever 
bring this up. We do say that subjective experience 
in the context of material oppression--and 
powerful, imperialist patriarchal ideology--does 
not negate women's oppression. We are not 
principally concerned with the enjoyment of sex, 
but the abolition of power. Similarly, MIM is not 
about getting women to feel guilty about sex or 
masturbation--but rather to seize real power over 
their lives to create a new society free of group 
oppression.

MIM has also never claimed that all sex is equally 
violent or traumatic. Clearly there are different 
levels of violence. But neither will we ever 
trivialize the everyday oppression of women that 
gets passed off as romance culture or so-called 
healthy relationships.

We're glad to have anti-police presence at Take 
Back the Night rallies as a point of unity with 
you. But we argue that the best practice for a 
genuine analysis of class, nation, and gender 
oppression means working for proletarian feminist-
led national liberation and the overthrow of 
imperialism.

That's what we are organizing to do, and that's the 
message with which we are struggling with feminists 
who dedicate their activism to stopping one kind of 
rape.

Finally, MIM never implied that women can't handle 
criticism. That's what we accuse our critics of 
arguing, when they attempt to censor us from events 
by calling our presence or our political line 
"inappropriate." We think women, youth and other 
groups socialized to feel powerless can engage our 
ideas and argue with us if they disagree.

We thank you for writing with your criticism, and 
would be interested in struggling with you about 
other aspects of your and our work and political 
line.

In struggle,
MIM


ISRAELI MASSACRES ARE NO ACCIDENT

Dear MIM Comrades,
I read the article on the Israeli massacres of 
Lebanese civilians in MIM Notes 114. MIM's analysis 
of the situation and the facts that back it up are 
all true and correct. However, there is more to the 
story. I would especially like to give some 
background information regarding the origins of the 
Israeli invasion of Lebanon and the heroic 
resistance put up by Hezbollah. Since MIM already 
has a correct analysis of the current Lebanese 
crisis, this is more for the readers of MIM Notes 
than the MIM Comrades themselves.

The Revolutionary Anti-Imperialist League (RAIL), 
has organized a new current events discussion group 
in Ann Arbor. Our first topic was the war between 
Israel and Hezbollah. We thoroughly researched the 
topic and, although I am sure there is still much 
we do not know, we found out a lot more than what 
was on the news during the most recent rounds of 
fighting and negotiations. Anybody interested in 
coming to future current events discussions can 
meet us at Angel Hall at 6pm every Monday.

First of all, after the Israelis shelled a UN base 
in Qana, Lebanon which the Israelis knew was a 
shelter for Lebanese civilians already forced from 
their homes by Israeli bombs, the Israelis claimed 
to have shelled the base accidentally. UN 
investigations, however, proved that an Israeli 
reconnaissance drone had been spotted over the 
refugee camp shortly before the shelling incident. 
Upon further investigations, the UN stated that it 
was doubtful that the Israeli military had made any 
mistake.(1)

Making Israel's official story even less 
believable, RAIL found out that in August 1995, a 
similar incident occurred. Israel shelled a 
Lebanese town, killing two young girls, one 11 and 
the other 16. It was also discovered that Israel 
was using anti-personnel weapons which has been 
prohibited under international conventions 
pertaining to warfare. Israel denied using the 
weapons and once against claimed that the shelling 
was a mistake.(2) Any sensible person has to wonder 
how the Israeli Defense [sic] Forces can one day 
brag about their abilities to do precision strikes 
with extremely destructive high tech weaponry 
supplied by the United Snakes and then on the next 
day claim that everybody that they murdered was 
killed accidentally.

This crisis is nothing new to the Lebanese people 
either. Israel first invaded Lebanon in 1970 under 
the pretext of pursuing PLO freedom fighters. 
Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon has been a 
reality since 1978, when Israel seized part of 
southern Lebanon in retaliation for PLO raids. 
Though the "security zone", as it is now called by 
Israel and its imperialist partner the United 
Snakes, was originally much smaller than it is now, 
Israel was not timid about pursuing its 
expansionist ambitions. Violently and savagely 
attacking the Lebanese, Israel was able to occupy 
almost the whole south of Lebanon by 1985. At one 
point Israeli occupation came to within 30 miles of 
Beirut, the Lebanese capitol. The combination of 
international pressure and the guerrilla war waged 
by Hezbollah are what turned the IDF back south 
towards Israel. Currently, Israel still occupies a 
9 mile deep strip along the entire border of 
southern Lebanon. This strip is 850 square 
kilometers total which is 8% of the entire land 
mass of Lebanon. In 1978, UN resolution 454 
demanded the complete withdrawal of all Israeli 
troops from Lebanon. Israel never did comply but 
waited until 1985 before they had the audacity to 
claim to have a right to occupy southern 
Lebanon.(3)

Israel's murder of Lebanese civilians is 
deliberate. The Israelis have no intention of 
giving up the Lebanese territory they have occupied 
since 1978. The armed Israeli terror aimed directly 
at Lebanese villages rather than military targets 
is designed to force a massive exodus of Lebanese 
civilians to accommodate Israeli imperialist 
expansion.

In April 1996, it was Operation Grapes of Wrath. In 
August 1993 it was called Operation Accountability. 
In both cases, Israel intentionally targeted 
villages, ambulances, hospitals, water towers and 
other civilian targets. During Operation 
Accountability, Israel murdered at least 130 
people, maimed almost 500 more and forced 250,000 
people to flee their homes. Operation Grapes of 
Wrath has similar and even more devastating 
results. In just six days, 1000 Israeli air raids 
(using Amerikan supplied F-16s) and 11,000 Israeli 
shells killed over 160 and maimed another 1000 
Lebanese. More than 450,000 Lebanese were forced to 
run from their homes in more than 50 Lebanese 
villages just to save their lives. In both of these 
"operations", almost all of the victims of this 
barbaric slaughter were innocent Lebanese 
civilians.(4)

Another force in the Lebanese crisis is the South 
Lebanese Army (SLA). The SLA is a pro-Israeli 
Lebanese militia armed, trained and financed by 
Israel.(5) These mercenaries are regularly used by 
Israel to combat Hezbollah freedom fighters north 
of the "security zone" and also frequently 
reinforce IDF troops both in and out of Israeli 
occupied Lebanon. Using native mercenaries to fight 
against native freedom fighters is exactly the same 
thing the US did (and is still doing) in Vietnam, 
Guatemala, El Salvador, the Philippines and 
elsewhere. Apparently Israel has learned a lot from 
big brother imperialist partner Amerika.

Hezbollah, on the other hand, is quite a different 
story. Over the years, Hezbollah has matured and 
grown in several ways. Hezbollah is now a major 
threat to Israel and Israeli plans to annex Lebanon 
will probably never be realized because of the 
Hezbollah resistance. Hezbollah has stopped doing 
random suicide attacks and has begun using very 
sophisticated military maneuvers to slowly decimate 
Israeli and SLA forces. Using the strategies of 
protracted guerrilla warfare will allow the 
Hezbollah to continue to gradually build strength, 
mass support and momentum until they can completely 
eliminate Israel's presence in Lebanon. Scarcely a 
week goes by without the IDF murderers or the 
treacherous mercenaries in the SLA taking 
casualties as a result of Hezbollah attacks.

Hezbollah is not just a military force either. 
While the US-backed Israelis destroy hospitals, the 
Hezbollah have managed to build them instead. 
Besides providing large modern hospitals, the 
Hezbollah has also provided social programs for the 
Lebanese people.(6) It is no wonder the US and 
Israel find it necessary to stop these 'terrorists' 
before it is too late. Who knows how many Lebanese 
were victimized by the Hezbollah's vicious free 
health care system. Besides if the Lebanese people 
were liberated from US-backed Israeli imperialism, 
who would defend free enterprise in Lebanon?

RAIL studies this and all anti-imperialist 
struggles because we believe that defeating 
imperialism is the first step towards revolution, 
liberation, socialism, and communism. For this 
reason we strive to build public opinion in favor 
of all progressive anti-imperialist struggles from 
Mexico to the Philippines and any place in between. 
As part of putting theory into practice we made a 
poster supporting the Hezbollah freedom fighters 
and denouncing US/Israeli imperialism. If you would 
like a copy of this poster to use in your area or 
to find out more about RAIL and other ways you can 
help, write to RAIL c/o MIM at P.O. Box 3576 Ann 
Arbor, MI 48106-3576

In struggle,
a RAIL comrade

NOTES:
1. National Public Radio
2. Facts on File 1995 p.591
3. A to Z of the Middle East p. 176
4. TIME and Newsweek both 8/9/93, New Statesman & 
Society 4/19/96, Global Relief Foundation, Holy 
Land Foundation
5. A to Z of the Middle East p. 176
6. TIME 8/9/93 p.33 June 1, 1996


* * *


PRISONER, FOCUS OF RAIL RALLY, IS RETURNED

Bob Lena, a Massachusetts prisoner with poor health 
and subjected to appalling lack of medical care in 
Dallas Texas, has been returned to Massachusetts. 
His story was highlighted on the cover of MIM Notes 
114. His return is a victory for the activists who 
gathered in the rain to mark the six month 
anniversary of the transfer of 299 Massachusetts 
prisoners to Texas and all who have taken action 
around this issue.

Bob Lena wrote a letter to Jill Brotman, head of 
the Criminal Justice program at the American 
Friends Service Committee (AFSC). AFSC cosponsored 
the May 4 rally and has led many other actions to 
protest the transfer: "If possible, please thank 
all of the men and women who attend meetings; 
protest in front of Gov. Weld's house; make phone 
calls; and, write letters for their support. I am 
proof that such efforts can be successful."(1)

Of the 299 originally transferred, 278 remain in 
Texas.(2) No one seems to know all the numbers, but 
one prisoner died of AIDS, a few finished their 
sentences and were deported directly, a few 
finished their sentences and were returned to 
Massachusetts, and a few have returned apparently 
for health reasons.

Lena closed his letter with the imperative: "Let's 
bring all the men back soon."(1) RAIL will continue 
to struggle for this success as we confront the 
criminal injustice system.

Notes:
1. Letter from Bob Lena to Jill Brotman, dated May 
25, 1996.
2. Jill Brotman, speaking at the June 5 meeting of 
the Coalition of Prisoner Family and Friends. For 
more information about the meetings, call Jill at 
(617)661-6130.


* * *


ST. THOMAS UNIVERSITY: NEW TWIST ON ENGLISH-ONLY

Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada -- On Sunday 
June 2nd, students from a program studying English 
at St. Thomas University were sitting in the 
courtyard relaxing between classes--reading MIM 
Notes and Maoist Sojourner--when junior 
administrators pounced. Administrators of the 
English-language program said that MIM could not 
hand out MIM Notes and Maoist Sojourner "to our 
students."

The reason given--the students are "not allowed to 
have anything but English." When MIM objected, 
saying that the publications MIM Notes and Maoist 
Sojourner were in English, the junior pig 
administrators pointed to a photo on the cover of 
Maoist Sojourner and said, "then what's that?" 
There was a slogan on a banner written in Filipino. 
MIM replied, "you're trying to tell me that none of 
your literature at this university has a picture 
from a foreign country? Right!"

The junior pig administrators tried to surround the 
MIM distributor to stop her/him from handing out 
papers to eager students. Then MIM started yelling, 
"get the newspaper they don't want you to read!" 
Even more students started taking the newspaper and 
paying attention. Then the junior pig administrator 
acting in charge said, "we're not trying to have a 
confrontation!"

Next, a woman junior pig administrator kept nodding 
her head in goose-step with the Aryan pig 
administrator. As the students approached MIM for 
more papers, she said "Go directly to your 
classrooms, now!"

The students ignored this administrative order and 
continued to approach the MIM distributor and get 
copies of the newspapers. The administrators were 
around college age themselves. The fact that such 
young administrators learned so quickly to regard 
students' non-academic lives as their property 
shows how readily fascism and conformity come to 
the culture. MIM targets youth within the oppressor 
white-nation as the most likely potential white 
nation allies of the international proletariat. 
Youth, who have not yet secured a place within 
parasitic settler society, are more likely to work 
against their own material interest and in the 
interest of the majority of the world's people. 
These young administrators demonstrated how quickly 
white people grow up and take their place among 
their fellow oppressors; propping up national 
oppression for their own material benefit. 


* * *


TERRORISM AGAINST BLACK COMMUNITIES GOES ON; WHITE 
POWER HAS NO SOLUTIONS


Last issue, MIM Notes reported on the rash of 
terrorist attacks on Black churches across the 
South. A total of thirty-two cases of arson have 
been documented in the past 18 months. Since the 
article two weeks ago, several more churches have 
been burned, including one in Charlotte, NC and two 
in Greenville, TX.(1)

In response to the arsons and to complaints from 
pastors about Federal investigation tactics, a 
meeting was held June 10 in Washington. About 30 
pastors met with Attorney General Janet Reno and 
other pig officials. The pastors voiced their 
discontent with Federal harassment of church 
members, but also asked for continued help in 
solving the crimes. In defense of Federal tactics, 
one Justice Department spokesperson said they were 
committed to solving the arsons, "even if that 
means giving church members lie-detector tests and 
searching church records"(2)

And these are just the kinds of things 
investigators did. The head of a non-profit group 
that researches racism said that after a fire in 
Knoxville, TN, Federal agents "polygraphed pastors, 
fingerprinted church members, showed up unannounced 
at job sites and homes, and implied that church 
members burned their church."

Such contradictions are inevitable when the 
oppressors are asked to stop crimes against the 
oppressed. There is a certain amount of protection, 
aid and equality the oppressors will lend to 
national minorities to prevent them from demanding 
real equality. But there will never be complete 
legal or economic equality for Blacks and other 
oppressed nations under the jurisdiction of 
Amerikkka. Only national liberation will give 
oppressed nation people a chance at true justice. 

Some liberals will cheer for the efforts of whites 
in aiding the arson victims, like the white man in 
North Carolina who wrote a check to the pastor of a 
burned church there. The man stated that he and his 
wife "just want to show their support, both moral 
and financial. This can't be allowed to tear the 
community apart."(1) MIM knows nothing of the 
motives or politics of this individual, but we do 
not support any such conciliatory measures 
unconditionally. Concessions are a way to curb the 
revolutionary potential of the oppressed nations, 
not an attempt to bring about real equality and an 
end to national oppression. Money from white people 
is great, as long as it is recognized for what it 
is. Unless the money is in support of national 
liberation for oppressed nations, those working for 
justice must be sure not to confuse pacification 
tactics with genuine demonstrations of friendship 
toward the nationally oppressed.

The Macedonia Baptist Church in Georgia is filing a 
civil law suit against the Christian Knights of the 
Ku Klux Klan for the burning of their church. The 
Center for Constitutional Rights is one of the 
organizations working on the civil suit. Appealing 
to the courts will not stop attacks on oppressed 
nation people. Vice president of the Center for 
Constitutional Rights stated "if the Klansmen and 
the Nazis find their property tied up in litigation 
they will be less likely to engage in these acts. 
The American way is that if you want people to 
change their conduct, then make them pay for 
it."(4) While MIM would prefer that the Klan be 
bankrupt, and does sometimes support legal tactics 
on the part of prisoners seeking meager 
amelioration, there is little historical precedent 
for the white-nation criminal injustice system to 
be on the side of the oppressed. The law is on the 
side of the Klan.

Both liberals who call for "better" investigations 
and those who think they will stop the attacks by 
tying up the assets of white-supremacist 
organizations are ignoring the nature of the white-
nations institutions. They are designed to maintain 
the oppression of the Blacks and will never bring 
about national liberation for oppressed nation 
people. 

Federal Investigators claim they are looking for 
evidence of a national conspiracy, but thus far 
state there is no evidence proving one. MIM does 
not need to investigate to know there is a 
"national conspiracy" behind the burnings. That 
conspiracy is national oppression, implemented and 
maintained by every facet of the government, 
including the FBI, the courts and the extralegal 
KKK. The reality of national oppression produces 
and tolerates violence against oppressed nation 
people. Whether individual whites, KKK members, or 
other terrorist groups collaborated on the 
burnings, the perpetrators are most likely united 
by their oppressor-nation status. They will also be 
shielded, directly or indirectly, from paying for 
their crimes by both the investigators who 
supposedly look for them and the court which tries 
them if they are found. If it were white churches 
which had been burned, there would be oppressed 
nations people paying, whether or not they were 
guilty.

NOTES:
1. NYT 6/10/96 p. A10.
2. NYT 6/10/96 p. A12.
4. NYT 6/8/96 p. 6.


* * *


REACTIONARY NATIONALISTS WIN AT INDIAN POLLS

Elections in India seem at first glance to mark a 
stark change from the past. The Congress(I) party 
has ruled for most of India's independence from 
Britain, and it suffered a quite resounding defeat. 
While bourgeois elections never make a long term 
difference, the medium-run meaning of this election 
is still unclear.

The winner of the plurality of votes, the Hindu 
nationalist BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party, or Indian 
People's Party), decided not to face a vote of no 
confidence and stepped down before even assigning a 
cabinet. The Congress(I), the logical second-choice 
for the government because it had the second-most 
votes, decided it was also too weak to take power, 
and decided instead to support the alliance of 
phony leftists to form a government. This 
maneuvering was smart on the part of the BJP and 
Congress(I), because the phony leftist government 
is a shaky alliance of diverse parties and is sure 
to fall shortly for lack of cohesion. Then there 
has to be an election within six months. The BJP 
can then rally for a mandate, and the Congress(I) 
for a return to its corrupt stability.

Whether the BJP does return from the turbulence 
with a majority to institute a stable government or 
whether the Congress(I) returns to power, 
imperialism will not be threatened. Though the BJP 
does try to rally the people's support by preaching 
economic nationalism, whenever it goes abroad it 
changes its stripes and assures everyone that 
investments are safe in India. This is not far from 
what the Congress(I) did when it rose to power in 
the course of the national liberation struggle. But 
Indians weaving their own cotton at home will not 
end imperialist domination, nor will some 
celebration of Indian commodities. Unless the 
imperialists are really booted out, it is all the 
more neo-colonialism. If the BJP is not yet as 
corrupted as the Congress(I), imperialists dollars 
should secure that in no time. Meanwhile, the BJP 
will make a great show out of celebrating Indian 
commodities while ignoring the intrusion of 
multinationals in infrastructure and dirty, 
hazardous for-export industries such as chemicals 
manufacturing.

The BJP's main importance is its role in what in 
India is called communalism. Communalism is the 
fanning the flames of rivalries between different 
oppressed groups within India diverting them from 
the principal struggle against imperialism. For 
example, supporters of the BJP destroyed a 500-year 
old mosque at Ayodhya because it claimed that a 
Hindu temple had been there prior spurred riots 
across India in 1993.

This Hindu nationalism is reactionary nationalism, 
because it is nationalism in opposition to 
oppressed groups. Its supporting allies, regional 
Hindu nationalist parties, are even more 
communalistic. For example, the Shiv Sena (named 
for the Hindu god, Shiva,) which rules the highly 
industrialized state of Maharashtra fanned much of 
the 1993 rioting, making Bombay's death toll 
several hundred.

Even though the BJP claims that its nationalism is 
pan-ethnic, and is fundamentally "Indian," that is 
a lie. The word it uses for the culture it 
celebrates is "Hindutva," and the presence of the 
word Hindu is no accident. It has a reified concept 
of culture that denies the ever-changing nature of 
all living cultures as it denounces traditions 
thriving in India for centuries as "foreign," and 
that includes those of Muslims and other religious 
minorities. It's a sort of back-to-the-turn-of-the-
millennium notion of cultural growth. This is 
untenable, however, as all cultures change in a 
global context that changes. So only those 
reactionary elements that the BJP likes, such as 
dowries and self-sacrifice of widows, are part of 
Hindutva. Meanwhile huge oppressive multinational 
intrusions, such as the World Bank baby the Narmada 
dam near Bombay which will displace hundreds of 
thousands of indigenous people if their activism 
does not prevent it, are not relevant to the BJP's 
understanding of culture.

The rise of the BJP as a new fascist movement in 
India should not be used as an excuse for 
supporting the Congress(I). Congress(I) is not 
without its fascist side. During Indira Gandhi's 
"Emergency" in the 1970s, all democracy was 
suspended as the Congress(I) used terroristic 
secret police to squelch opposition to its rule. 
After she was assassinated by Punjabi Sikhs, more 
terror was unleashed. It was also the Congress(I) 
that presided over inaction over the Bhopal 
genocide and countless other wrongs against the 
Indian people by the imperialists.

The parliamentary left including the Communist 
Party of India and the Communist Party of India 
(Marxist) are no respite from imperialism. They are 
built on the model of Soviet revisionism, and 
though they may be a little more critical of the 
economic liberalism rage their policies cannot be 
much better as state capitalism is unsustainable. 
The only thing that could save them would be 
colonies, which India is not in the position of 
acquiring. and so they are weak and trembling 
before the imperialists, ever toning down any hint 
of progressive measures.

The fact is, there is no good alternative within 
the mainstream of Indian politics. The Indian 
people should not allow the very bad reality that 
is the BJP to distract them from the need for 
alternatives beyond the mainstream parties. MIM 
supports revolutionary politics in India by 
printing articles from Maoist Indian comrades in 
Maoist Sojourner. Get a copy and hear some positive 
voices for change.


* * *


UNDER LOCK AND KEY:
NEWS FROM PRISONERS AND PRISONS


PLEASE ADDRESS ALL LETTERS, NEWS ARTICLES, 
CORRESPONDENCE
anything having to do with Under Lock & Key
to our new address:

MIM Distributors
P.O. Box 29670
Los Angeles, CA 90029-0670



URGENT ALERT!
NOW IS THE TIME TO ACT TO SAVE THE
LIFE OF ZIYON YISRAYAH (TOMMIE SMITH)

Ajamu Nassor (slave name (s/n) Gregory Resnover) 
was unjustly executed by the State of Indiana on 
December 8, 1994. This was documented by a special 
investigation of the U.N. Commission on Human 
Rights. If we do not act now, Ziyon Yisrayah (s/n 
Tommie Smith) will be unjustly executed as well, 
for he has an execution date set for June 14, 1996.

On December 11, 1980, a pre-dawn raid on the home 
of Ziyon, Ajamu and Kondo Nassor (s/n Earl 
Resnover), left one man wounded and one man dead. 
The wounded man was Ziyon, who along with Ajamu and 
Kondo were politically active. The three had a 
history of exchanges with the local police because 
of their stand against social injustices 
perpetrated against Blacks in the community. The 
dead man was a police officer who had participated 
in the raid.

It was determined at the time that the police 
officer had been shot in the back, and that the 
bullet that killed him did not come from one of the 
two guns within the house, which were fired in 
self-defense. Until he was shot, the officer had 
been facing the defendants. Clearly he was killed 
by someone behind him, and only the police were in 
that position.

The men and women in the house were asleep when the 
police kicked in their door, threw tear gas inside, 
and set the couch in the corner of the front room 
on fire--Rambo-ing and Waco-ing their way in, 
indiscriminately firing on anything inside with the 
obvious intent to kill. A No-Knock-Murder-Plan that 
failed.

Due to the state public defenders assigned to the 
defendants misrepresenting them at trial, Ziyon and 
Ajamu were condemned to be executed. The evidence 
that would have absolved them of this death was 
either suppressed, ignored, or overlooked by the 
parties bent on malice and wrongful revenge. This 
whole event was clearly a police cover-up. The 
evidence that was presented at their appeals trials 
was ruled inadmissible, since under Indiana law, 
any evidence which was obtainable by using "due 
diligence" before the original trial cannot be used 
at a later date. These men had one public defender 
who was an alcoholic, and an appeals lawyer who 
never even bothered to go to meet her client.

Necessary willing witnesses were not called to 
testify, lies were made and accepted in the court 
room, and the holes in the prosecution's case were 
never questioned. The court, by following its 
letter-of-the-law rules in the technical aspects of 
the case, overrode the consciences and moral duty 
of the people who had administered the death....A 
horrifying barbaric death blow yielded in the most 
possible bloodthirsty way through execution...by a 
cold-blooded system which has the blood of an 
innocent man on its hands.

Many individuals and organizations waited until the 
last minute to attempt to save the life of Ajamu 
Nassor. And there were others who fought to the 
end, and are continuing to fight to help save the 
life of Ziyon Yisrayah. This is the legacy Ajamu 
left to all of us...and it must be done now! Send 
donations for legal fees in care of Paula Resnover-
Terry, P.O. Box 191, Indianapolis, IN 46206.

Write letters to Governor Bayh and demand that he 
exercise his authority to provide Ziyon (Tommie 
Smith) with a fair new trial, so the evidence which 
will exonerate him can be introduced and accepted. 
Tell Governor Bayh that he was responsible for the 
death of an innocent man. Tell him to stop the 
legal lynching now or to resign from office. Tell 
him to either use his power of clemency or forfeit 
it...

WRITE TO:

Governor Evan Bayh, Office of the Governor, The 
State House, Indianapolis, IN 46204. Phone: 317-
232-4567. Fax: 317-232- 3443 

Clemency Board: Raymond Justak (Chairman), Thomas 
McKenna (Vice Chair), Patricia Ravinet, Thor 
Miller, Miguel Rivera, RE21, IGCS, 302 W. 
Washington St., Indianapolis, IN 46204

Sincerely,
--Kondo Nassor/Resnover, May 16, 1996



THIS JUST IN--ZIYON YISRAYAH WINS TEMPORARY 
VICTORY:
As MIM Notes goes to press (June 13), we are 
pleased to have just received the following note:

Ziyon Yisrayah has been granted a temporary stay of 
execution from the U.S. Supreme Court. I don't know 
all the details just yet, but from what I 
understand it goes like this:

1. The Court will either take Ziyon's case or 
decide to allow Indiana to go ahead with their 
wicked plans.

2. This decision could take from 48 hours to 2 
months to come down.

That's all I know at the moment ....

A temporary stay is nothing but a temporary 
victory--let's get Ziyon's name in the media--there 
shouldn't be a "revolutionary" paper out there that 
doesn't carry this courageous man's name. 

--BCAC, June 13, 1996



TEN INDIANA STATE PRISON COMRADES SHIPPED TO MCC 
CONTROL UNIT


An Indiana prisoner is back inside the hole for an 
investigation of "engaging in or encouraging others 
to demonstrate." It's a bogus fishing expedition. 
He and two others were arrested. One of the others 
was listed as being under an investigation for 
"threatening bodily harm towards another."

Supposedly someone sent this prisoner a kite 
internally that was intercepted. The message 
allegedly mentioned brother Ziyon Yisrayah who is 
set to be executed June 14 and as a result the 
prison staff panicked. This Indiana prisoner was 
arrested Tuesday, May 28 at approximately 1:30 p.m.

On Memorial Day [Monday, May 27 --MIM], the other 
half of D Cell House, which is about 150 people, 
went to the kitchen and no one spoke a word! 100% 
participation! Of course the staff panicked. The 
protest was to show support for Ziyon and to 
protest the conditions in D Cell House.

The assumption is that [the prisoncrats] are 
reacting to the protest, which was not organized by 
any of the accused. All of [the accused prisoners'] 
property was sent to the investigator and is being 
gone through with a fine tooth comb. Once that is 
complete, ain't no telling what kind of evidence 
they will manufacture. This Indiana prisoner 
believes that even though they ain't got anything 
on him, he may be shipped out soon. The only place 
they can rotate him is deep south or to the Maximum 
Control Complex in Westville.

An investigation can last up to 45 days, and 
because they are refusing to be interviewed by the 
investigator it will probably drag out the full 45. 
This Indiana prisoner is currently in IDU....

June 7, 1996 Update: Based on investigation they 
shipped ten prisoners including the three mentioned 
above. The prison officials are already in 
violation because there is not supposed to be any 
temporary "warehousing" of prisoners at MCC. The 
prison administration is panicking over their 
upcoming assassination of Ziyon Yisrayah who 
remains of death row at ISP. The original lawsuit 
stipulated that prisoners who were part of the 
class action against MCC would not be shipped back 
there.

Commissioner Debrun oversees the entire Indiana 
prison system. There is a request for folks to call 
and/or write Commissioner Debrun and demand that 
this bogus investigation be discontinued, that all 
the prisoners' personal property be released, and 
more specifically that the prisoners be given all 
their legal materials, personal hygiene items and 
reading and writing material and underclothes. 
Several of the ten shipped have already served time 
at MCC and should not be back there. The 
investigators have nothing on the ten shipped--it 
is strictly their panic-ridden conscience gone 
wild.

Write to Commissioner Debrun at: Indiana DOC, E 334 
Indiana Government Center, 302 W. Washington St., 
Indianapolis, IN 46204, or call him at: 317-232-
5715

Ask for Commissioner Debrun. You will most likely 
just be asked to leave a message for him--so please 
ask for a response.

Send copies of letters, faxes or phone call 
transcripts to Lawyer Kashani Hamid who represented 
the original class action at MCC: 445 N. 
Pennsylvania St. Suite 800, Indianapolis, IN 46204, 
FAX: 317-632-5520

--Three Indiana prisoners, June 7, 1996



KHALFANI KHALDUN'S MURDER
TRIAL APPROACHES


Greetings Editors/Comrades,

I am writing to thank you for spreading and 
allowing the word to come out on my case. I'm 
Khalfani X Khaldun, the political prisoner here in 
Indiana who was accused of the murder of a prison 
neo-colonialist pig at the state prison back in 
Dec. 1994. [The guard was allegedly killed in 
retaliation for Indiana's execution of Ajamu 
Nassor. --MIM]...

My trial for this murder begins July 8, 1996....

--Khalfani X Khaldun, Apr. 23, 1996


On July 8, 1996 the murder trial of comrade 
Khalfani X Khaldun (s/n Leonard McQuay) begins in 
St. Joseph County. This is after being changed from 
Laporte County in Michigan City due to a hostile 
prisoncrat strike picketing the prison for safer 
work conditions and calling for the my immediate 
execution.

The actions of such a move caused fear and emotions 
in the guards and eventually 17 guards resigned 
from their jobs. Political prisoner Khalfani has 
been under constant harassment including attacks on 
his life and character from corrupt prison 
investigators and ranking officials in Indiana. But 
he has continued his work even at MCC. He has 
published two pamphlets and a selection of poems 
that will be in circulation through advertisement 
on revolutionary circuits.

He has through his collective support of the 
comrades at MCC, come forward with a national 
prison front called the National Prisoners Legal 
Front (NPLF). NPLF is geared toward furthering 
legal and political awareness at MCC, in an attempt 
to solidify the unity and responsibility of all men 
at the facility.

In recent months, rumors have surfaced about the 
Department of Corrections [sic] wanting Khalfani 
dead for what he is accused of doing. Which is no 
real surprise.

We just want the people to know what's going on and 
to ask that you participate in exposing the case 
and write letters of support to our brother. He's 
got a heavy load on his plate, yet he remains 
diligent and studious in his responsibilities and 
commitments.

Letters of support should be sent to: Brother 
Khalfani X Khaldun Freedom Committee, P.O. Box 
1513, Gary, IN 46402.

Justice for Khalfani is Justice for us all.

--an Indiana prisoner, Apr. 23, 1996



WOMEN FORCIBLY DRUGGED IN JAIL BEFORE TRIAL


Every person accused of a crime in America has the 
right to be present at every stage of the 
proceedings free from the influence of mind-
altering drugs. Yet, many California inmates have 
been heavily, illegally, and forcibly medicated 
with drugs that they did not want or need. Many of 
these were women who accepted plea bargains not in 
their own best interests while under the influence 
of mind-altering drugs.

Now more than 40 women imprisoned in California are 
trying to overturn their convictions, claiming that 
powerful anti-psychotic drugs impaired their 
judgment, interfered with their ability to defend 
themselves in court, and made a negative impression 
on jurors. Nearly half of the women in the group 
say they were medicated without reason in Los 
Angeles County jails, and the other half say they 
were wrongfully medicated in jails and detention 
centers in Indio, San Diego, Auburn, Bakersfield, 
Milpitas, Modesto, Clear Lake, Santee, and 
Riverside. I would also like to point out that 
these medications were prescribed by nurses. This 
is against the law, as only a medical doctor can 
prescribe drugs. I have cases pending with the 
medical and registered nurses board.

I am one of those women. Currently incarcerated at 
the California Institution for Women, serving a 
life sentence for the accidental shooting of a 
friend. I was deprived of a fair trial by the 
administration of both excessive and mind-altering 
medications without a doctor's orders, without 
informed consent, and without due process of law. I 
had no previous mental condition or arrest record.

One hour after I was booked into the county jail, I 
was approached by a nurse who told me to get a cup 
of water. She then handed me a paper cup full of 
pills and said, "This will calm you down." I had 
not requested any medical attention, nor had I been 
examined or evaluated by medical personnel. I was 
not hysterical or out of control, but rather 
sitting off to the side of the cell weeping 
quietly. Within the hour, I became nauseated, 
agitated, frightened and confused. My vision 
blurred, my muscles began to twitch, and I began to 
rock back and forth uncontrollably.

The first cup of pills was the beginning of a 
nightmare that haunts me even now, five years 
later. My jail medical records disclosed that I 
received massive amounts of drugs throughout the 
period of time that I was in custody, although I 
did not see a doctor for the first eight months. On 
the occasions that I refused to take the 
medication, I was stripped of all my clothing and 
placed naked in the "rubber room," where I remained 
until I agreed to take the medication. In the 
coercive and frightening jail atmosphere, I quickly 
learned to do as I was told.

I began suffering severe and terrifying side-
effects from all the medication I was ingesting, 
such as audio and visual hallucinations, tremors, 
drooling, loss of coordination and memory, 
disorientation, anxiety, confusion, restlessness, 
paranoia, hives and headaches. My behavior in the 
courtroom was completely inappropriate for the 
situation and the jury was adversely impacted by 
it. I did not understand much of what was 
happening, and I spent the days crying 
uncontrollably or rocking back and forth. On the 
day that I took the witness stand, I thought that 
the jurors' faces were melting, and that the 
District Attorney had animals crawling on him. I 
was unable to assist in my own defense and no 
defense was presented for me. The jury quickly 
reached the predictable verdict.

When I arrived at the state penitentiary, I went 
into withdrawal, and it took two years for me to 
completely recover from the massive amounts of 
drugs that had been forcibly administered to me. I 
also learned that I was not the only pretrial 
detainee who had be forcibly medicated with 
unnecessary mind-altering medications. We formed an 
ad hoc group for which I am currently the 
spokesperson, and many of the women now have their 
medical records that document this illegal and 
unnecessary drugging.

None of us are seeking to avoid responsibility for 
the underlying acts for which we were originally 
arrested. What we are seeking is the fair trial to 
which all Americans are entitled and which was 
denied to us by the involuntary drugging we were 
subjected to. If you don't think this is happening 
in your county and your state, just check the 
invoices of drugs ordered at your jail!

Every American accused of crime has the right to a 
full, fair, drug-free trial and to be able to be 
present during all proceedings and at all stages of 
their trial, to defend themselves against their 
accusers and to call witnesses in their own 
defense--without the State of California drugging 
them for an easy and wrongful conviction.

--a California woman prisoner, June 1994.

MIM replies: Your letter of course shows that what 
"rights" Amerikkka gives you on paper and what 
"rights" you have in practice are entirely 
different matters. Since such "rights" are not 
always there when you need them, MIM talks in terms 
of power struggles instead of in terms of "rights." 
Between "rights" in the abstract and power in the 
concrete, there is no comparison. Thanks for 
writing, and please keep us posted.

SURVEY: "GETTING HIGH IN JAIL": LEGAL VS. ILLEGAL 
DRUGS

Can you answer yes to any of the following 
questions?

1. Did you swallow, or were you injected with any 
kind of drug (medication) after you were taken into 
custody by the police, through the time you were 
sentenced for your current commitment?

2. Was this a "mind-altering" drug? Did it make you 
feel different from the way you normally feel?

3. Was this drug given to you before or without 
your signing a written "informed consent" form?

4. Was this drug(s) given to you by a medical 
doctor or a psychiatrist?

5. Before being arrested, were you taking these 
same medications or just after you were arrested?

If you answered yes to any of the above questions, 
please write to the two addresses below and state 
who you are, what state and county you're from, and 
what drug(s) were administered to you in jail.

It is illegal to take a defendant to court under 
the effects of mind-altering drugs without due 
process of U.S. and state laws.

Write to: B. Buechler, 825 Battery St., 1st Floor, 
San Francisco, CA 94111 or B. Yaley, 1606 Milvia 
Ave, Berkeley, CA 94709.

Thank you for your help and participation in this 
survey.


***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.


***WHAT PRISONERS CAN DO TO BUILD MIM***
*1. Start a study group. This is the best way to 
share materials and ideas. In groups, prisoners can 
better benefit from the limited resources MIM has.
*2. Get MIM Notes and MIM Theory into your library. 
This allows one copy of the paper to be seen by 
many comrades.
*3. Contact people on the outside. MIM needs 
comrades and allies everywhere. Maybe you know 
people on the outside who want to subscribe to MIM 
Notes or distribute it.
*4. Share materials. If MIM sends books or 
periodicals, please make sure that as many people 
as possible get a chance to read them.
*5. Write MIM at least every three months. 
Otherwise, you will be dropped from our mailing 
list. There are many cases where your keepers throw 
out MIM Notes, so we need to know that you actually 
get it.  Also, comrades are moved around a lot, 
especially those who are known to be political. 
Please let us know of any address changes as soon 
as you know them.
*6. Make MIM Distributors an official distributor. 
Many prisons require registration before MIM can 
send books or other materials. Usually we can 
comply with these bogus rules. It helps immensely 
to have someone there do the reasearch and send us 
the proper forms.
*7. Send money or stamps. 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. 
Please make all checks payable to "MIM 
Distributors."
*8. Write for MIM Notes or Notas Rojas. Prisoners 
write almost all of Under Lock & Key.  We don't 
care if you know how to spell or write good English 
or Spanish. Write on any topic you like, it does 
not have to be a prison story.
*9. Translate. If you can read and write English 
and another language fluently, let us know.  Any 
translation work you do will help us make Maoist 
ideas accessible to more people.
*10. Fight censorship. When you know of censorship 
of books or newspapers, investigate.  Write to MIM 
to confirm what has happened, then see what you can 
do about it.
*11. Keep in touch after your release. Many 
comrades stop doing political work after their 
release.  Write to MIM as soon as you know where 
you'll be so we can hook you up with comrades on 
the outside.


* * *


MARXISM-LENINISM-MAOISM ONLINE:

DEFENDERS OF CRIMINAL INJUSTICE ATTACK MUMIA

In June, MIM jumped into a (mostly fascist-leaning 
and pro-lynching) discussion thread about Mumia 
Abu-Jamal on several leftist Usenet newsgroups. 
They were mostly debating the evidence used against 
Mumia: that he was armed, whether it was his gun 
that killed Officer Faulkner, and whether there 
were credible witnesses. With a witness stepping 
forward in May to reveal in a sworn affidavit that 
she lied on the stand--coerced by the threat of 
imprisonment--the anti-Mumia crowd has to work 
harder to justify his execution.

Before MIM stepped in, people were arguing that 
even if it wasn't Mumia who pulled the trigger, he 
should "pay the price" anyway for being at the 
scene and refusing to give anyone up to the pigs, 
since if he didn't do it he must know who did. MIM 
understood this as clear evidence that the 
persecution of Mumia--like other political leaders 
and revolutionaries, and like the other masses of 
oppressed nation peoples who disproportionately 
fill Amerikkka's prisons--is politically driven by 
support for imperialism and repression of 
revolutionary nationalism.

One participant argued that even if Mumia was not 
the killer, he should be executed for impeding the 
investigation of a cop killer. S/he argued: 
"Regardless of what that truth is. There is a hell 
of a lot more proof that Mumia and his brother are 
conspiring to keep the secret of who killed Danny 
than there is proof that the entire Philadelphia 
establishment is trying to frame Mumia."

This comment is typical of the reactionary liberal 
lie that Amerika is a "free" country and that Mumia 
and his brother have as much power as "the entire 
Philadelphia establishment," and their actions can 
be compared in this way. MIM always takes on the 
Mumia debate on two levels. First, we dispel the 
supposed parity of the self-defense actions of the 
oppressed with imperialist aggression. We wrote:

"If Mumia didn't kill the pig who was engaged in 
beating a Black man, whoever did is not a criminal, 
but a righteous defender of the oppressed against 
the imperialist state. MIM does not engage in armed 
struggle, or promote it, at this stage in 
imperialist countries, because it is a losing 
battle. But that doesn't mean that people who do 
are "criminals." The real criminals are the cops 
and their imperialist backers, responsible for 
millions of deaths per year. So, the argument about 
whether or not Mumia is responsible for the death 
of the pig is not about guilt or innocence."

One reader challenged our formulation of criminals: 
"'The' real criminals? In the whole of the United 
States, there is only one crime organization, and 
all activity committed by anyone not connected to 
the state is totally legitimate?" MIM clarified 
that while there may be other "real" criminals 
besides the state and imperialists, "people who 
commit murders for no reason, for example," we were 
referring to "the worst" criminals--"you know, the 
ones who have killed literally millions of Iraqi 
children through the war and subsequent embargo."

A second reader simply called MIM "honest" but 
"insane." (MIM knows it's doing well when 
reactionaries can only resort to psychological 
name-calling in defense of their positions.) This 
person concluded with a racist joke about how the 
MIM writer's dreadlocks must be "cutting off the 
blood supply to your brain" and that MIM had 
written the post during "exercise period." (No, the 
pigs do not provide adequate food, housing or 
health care in prison, much less Internet access--
where they would certainly be afraid of what such a 
politically advanced population would do with a 
global communications medium.)

MIM continued, "It's amazing that these so-called 
defenders of 'law and order' are eager to execute a 
man who may be guilty of keeping a secret. They 
actually suggest he should be executed even if he 
didn't do it, because he knows who did. This is 
pure fascism and political persecution. If you 
applied such a standard to white collar criminals 
or corrupt politicians, you'd be thrown out of 
civics class. In the case of Mumia, of course, that 
makes you a decent law-abiding citizen.

"The saga of coerced witnesses, lying pigs changing 
their stories, doctored or distorted evidence, all 
in the name of a well-known political agenda 
against Mumia and MOVE and the Black Panther Party, 
are all standard procedure when the goal is to get 
the potential leaders of the oppressed out of the 
way. The ditto-heads on the Net and in the 
Fraternal Order of Pigs and the media play their 
ideological role of backing up the most farcical 
police concoctions with protestations about law and 
order. The 'truth' about what happened could not be 
less relevant in the political power struggle over 
silencing the voices of the oppressed."

MIM concluded that "Mumia and all members of the 
oppressed nations behind bars are political 
prisoners," to which the first reader challenged 
that it was probably news to "common 
criminals...that their crimes had any political 
aspect."

"Their crimes may not have had any political 
aspect," MIM responded, "but the definition of 
their actions (those that did what they are accused 
of) AS crimes, and the machinations of the 
injustice system -- ARE often news to people in the 
system and especially in prison. Look at Malcolm X, 
to choose a popular example. His 'common crimes' 
were not political in intent, but when he got a 
good look at the belly of the beast, he saw clearly 
the political nature of his whole situation. If you 
read Under Lock & Key over the years, you will see 
letters from many other people who gained political 
consciousness only after being locked away. So one 
reason we stress the political nature of prisons is 
exactly because so many people are MADE political 
in the process. At that point it doesn't really 
matter what they were convicted of. (At the same 
time, we believe that people who committed crimes 
against the people by proletarian standards -- 
which is a small proportion of all those locked up 
-- do need to engage in self-criticism and 
rectification, even though they are very minor 
criminals in a thoroughly criminal system.)"

In our anti-prison agitation, part of which 
includes defending imprisoned leaders like Mumia, 
MIM demonstrates the use of prison as social 
control for the broad masses of the oppressed in 
Amerika. Those who don't have a political practice 
going in are still (if organized) potential 
gravediggers of imperialism. This Usenet discussion 
reveals a small piece of what we're up against. 
Contact MIM or RAIL to join the campaign to End the 
Amerikkkan Lockdown!

OPPOSITION CRUSHES WHITE POWER NEWSGROUP IN VOTE

In early June, Aryan Resistance Movement leader 
Milton John Kleim, Jr.'s proposal for a new Usenet 
discussion group--rec.music.white-power--was 
defeated by a vote of 33,030 to 592.(2) The group 
was to be devoted to "all issues relating to the 
genre know as White Power music, since its 
inception until the present, covering all languages 
and nationalities of performers, and all themes of 
pieces."(1)

Anyone with an e-mail address is allowed to vote 
for or against the creation of a newsgroup. In an 
atypical display of giving a damn--facilitated by 
the ease of this kind of organizing on the 
Internet--there were many more votes cast on this 
Usenet group than on most others. One vote tallier 
complained that his system crashed trying to handle 
the volume of participation.(2)

The group's proposed charter stated that 
"Rec.music.white-power is an unmoderated newsgroup 
for the entertaining and enlightening discussion of 
revolutionary new forms of rock, country, and other 
sub-genres having racist/nationalist themes."(1)

White power music has been growing in popularity in 
the United Snakes and Canada, at least as measured 
by the number of record labels carrying it. 
Resistance Records, based in Detroit, was co-
founded by a Canadian and Amerikan in 1994 (so the 
fascist Canadian could take advantage of more 
lenient speech laws in Amerika).(4) Fascist youth 
is the biggest consumer group of white power music 
and literature. Resistance Records is trying to 
reach out to a broad group of fascist youth, 
organizing in the "metal scene" as well.(4) White 
power bands and performances are popping up all 
over the U.S. and Canada. While their numbers are 
marginal, their fascist, anti-immigrant, racist 
politics are only more extreme and obvious versions 
of mainstream patriotism in Amerika.

Kleim immediately declared the defeat a victory for 
the bourgeois media attention won by his group and 
the publicly available list of voters against the 
group. Usenet votes are not anonymous--names had to 
be signed and verified. Kleim wrote, "We now have a 
comprehensive list of Enemy agents who are active 
on the Net. Aryan Corps Counter-intelligence is now 
undertaking a classification and cataloguing 
project which will make our counter-espionage much 
more effective." He said his goal was to 
"facilitate counter-espionage and prevent many 
instances of 'anti-racist' activism."(3)

MIM hopes that this is more bravado than anything 
else, but Kleim's comments do reveal something 
about voting--in this case against a fascist 
newsgroup--as political activism. While MIM is 
pleased to see such strong opposition to the white 
power music group, we also know that fighting and 
defeating fascism cannot be accomplished through 
voting. Five hundred neo-Nazis are a drop in the 
bucket of anti-prisoners, pro-police and pro-
imperialist representatives on the Internet (there 
are still Usenet groups devoted to fans of Rush 
Limbaugh, after all). It's easy to vote against a 
Nazi--we'd like to see more people "vote" against 
Amerika itself. MIM urges all readers to get on-
line with revolutionary politics! Check us out at: 
http://ursula.blythe.org/mim.

NOTES:
1. Rec.music.white-power Charter, Call For Votes on 
news.announce.newgroups. 
2. All Things Considered, NPR, June 4, 1996.
3. Statement Regarding rec.music.white-power from 
Milton Kleim, June 6, 1996.
4. "The New Frontier -- The Growth of White Power 
Rock in the USA and Canada." Fighting Talk #13, 
March 1996 (via Antifa Forum).


* * *


PENOBSCOTT NATION RESISTS AMERIKKKAN DOMINATION:
MIM NOTES TALKS TO PENOBSCOTT NATION DISSIDENT ON 
TAXES


PENOBSCOTT NATION--MIM interviewed a Penobscott 
person who calls himself a "dissident."

MN: Do the Penobscott traders pay a state tax to 
Maine do you know?

Dissident: No, but they get you on wholesale 
trading. You have to get a license with Maine. It's 
a sort of blackmail. [One trader] said, 'I'm not an 
employee of the state, so why should I collect 
taxes for Maine?'

MN: Is anyone mobilizing against this situation?

Dissident: I don't know what their position is. We 
don't have much to do with the administration.

MN: Is there anyone setting up a parallel authority 
to the [governor], and challenging it?

Dissident: No, no one has much to do with it. We 
think they are government whores; they'll do 
anything for the federal dollar, even sell their 
own people. It's all done with grants and 
contracts.

MN: We noticed the Penobscotts have some of their 
own institutions. Some of these programs are meant 
to develop dependence on the white man, so the 
white man can take away the land.

Dissident: Yah, we have a health clinic with an 
astronomical budget ... and nothing for services. 
They say it has to be "life threatening" for them 
to do anything about it. They have three categories 
of health problems. They only do anything if it's 
in one of them. They are all on salaries. They're 
not MDs; they decide; they get $30,000-40,000 a 
year.

MN: From the white man.

Dissident: We call them "the governor and the 12 
apostles." It's the haves and have-nots. The haves 
keep getting it and the people get nothing. We have 
this super-bingo that he says gives money to the 
tribe, but the tribe never sees it.

MN: Do you know about any other issues or news we 
should report for MIM Notes?

Dissident: There's also an agreement for cutting 
timber since the land settlement. The tribe sees 
nothing of it. 

MN: The governor says that they are taking out dams 
at Howland and Great Works.

Dissident: It's inane. They took one out at 
Howland, but they put in another one in Enfield. 
It's a brand new dam. I know this one fellow; they 
flooded his land; he got a settlement... It'll 
never fly. It [the agreement with Bangor Hydro] 
isn't going anywhere.

They don't realize, the federal government isn't 
going to keep sending money in here. All those 
federal houses, they're in need of repair now... . 
It's through a community development grant. It 
ain't an even thing; the director's favorites are 
the ones getting all the help. We never get any 
help and we don't ask for any help. 

MN: One Penobscott told us that the Penobscott 
people are pacifists historically, is this true? 
That they never killed; they would sneak up behind 
Mohawks and knock them out but never kill anyone? 
Is it true?

Dissident: Yes, otherwise the Jesuits couldn't have 
such a foothold here... . 

MN: Would you say it's tough times for the 
Penobscott economy, businesses closing?

Dissident: [Nodding yes.] The Pequots wanted to buy 
[one trader's crafts]. They said they wanted twelve 
dozen of this and twelve dozen of that; they wanted 
all these vendor numbers and licenses and all the 
paper work. She didn't want a vendor's number; she 
made it into a store. [Another First Nation people 
with a casino] asked for twelve dozen of this and 
twelve dozen of that. She said, 'I'm not a factory; 
you're missing the point. I'm not doing this for 
the money; it's not for the money; I want to do it 
because it's my heritage.' She wanted to do it 
because she was showing people we can do it.

MIM agrees with those traders who refuse to do 
business with those who require licenses from the 
white man. But MIM makes a distinction between 
business and manufacturing which is run in a 
reactionary manner (i.e. for profit), and business 
and manufacturing which is run by the people and 
for the people. Development of the means of 
production can be progress and is one part of the 
dialectic which pushes society forward. MIM has 
nothing against large-scale manufacturing in and of 
itself. It's the ownership of the means of 
production that is principal in determining the 
relations among people, not the means of production 
themselves (though they also play a role). The 
First Nations have a long history of adapting to 
change and not all change is bad.


* * *


AMERIKA VIOLATES FIRST NATION FISHING RIGHTS

Penobscott Nation--On May 31, the Governor of the 
Penobscott people Richard Hamilton, told MIM that 
he will sign an agreement with Bangor Hydro over 
water rights the first week in June. According to 
Hamilton, the original treaty written in English by 
the U.S. Congress says that the U.S. government 
would not "impede fish" for the Penobscott people 
by diverting the waters that the Penobscott people 
fish in. 

In return for signing the agreement, Bangor Hydro 
agreed to take out dams at Howland and Great Works. 
"It took a lot of meetings and a lot of time and 
negotiating over three years and I think we 
prevailed," said the governor. 

Asked if there were any issues that MIM Notes 
should report on, he said he was still meeting with 
the government about the dumping of dioxins in the 
water, but he had no conflicts or struggles to 
report to MIM Notes. The dioxin issue is "nothing 
new" and it's a problem with other First Nations 
too. 


* * *


PSYCHOLOGISTS PUSH THEIR WHITE WAYS ON ST. MARY'S

St. Mary's Band of Indians--On April 20, 1996, the 
St. Mary's Band of Indians (Malecite or Maliseet 
people) were the recipients of a seminar teaching 
adjustment to white-nation oppression of the First 
Nations. The talks were held right in the building 
of the local Indian leadership.

Under the guise of fighting drugs and violence, the 
talks--with no proven value in fighting either drug 
addiction or violence--had titles such as "Mood 
Swings and Mayhem: The Onset of Adolescence," 
"Assertiveness and Self-Esteem in the Teen Years" 
and "Setting Limits and Resolving Conflicts." All 
the lecturers were women who were trying to infect 
the First Nation people's minds with the white 
man's culture.

It's not surprising that white-nation 
psychobabblers are called on to try and corrupt the 
thinking of First Nation peoples. After all, 
convincing oppressed nation people that problems in 
their society and among their people are 
individual, rather than the result of group 
oppression (of which the white-nation is the 
oppressor), teaches them to channel their energy 
inward, instead of out at the oppressor, leaving 
imperialist domination intact. But the oppressors 
can only delay their destruction for so long.


* * *


FATHER OF RAILROADED LATINO YOUTH SPEAKS OUT


"There is no justice. You have to be a millionaire 
to have justice." This statement summarized the 
talk given by Mario Vasquez which was organized by 
MIM on May 31. Mario is the father of Salomon 
Vasquez, a young Latino man who was wrongfully 
sentenced on March 15 to 45-85 years in prison. MIM 
Notes 113 (May 1, 1996) detailed Salomon's case and 
the local organizing that followed his conviction. 

Mario started the talk by explaining that his 
family moved to the United Snakes from Honduras to 
start a better life. Oppressed economically by U.S. 
imperialism in Honduras, his family's lives were 
also in danger because of his involvement in human 
rights defense organizations. Oppressed by 
capitalism within U.S. borders, the family also 
experienced discrimination as Latinos.

Salomon's mother added that family members and 
friends have been harassed by the Ann Arbor cops 
because of their political activity in Honduras and 
because of their struggle to support Salomon. In 
one incident, the police pulled over cousins of the 
Vasquez family and asked if they too were 
revolutionaries. In another incident, all of the 
occupants of the car were asked for their papers to 
prove citizenship. 

Pig harassment also included Mrs. Vasquez being 
told--before Salomon Vasquez was convicted--that 
she will be crying the rest of her life. 

 This case serves to show why MIM supports the 
oppressed nations setting up their own security 
forces and courts, so that justice can truly be 
served by "a jury of one's peers." The white nation 
courts are interested in scapegoating and 
exterminating the oppressed and so can not be seen 
as tools of justice. White nation courts must be 
evicted from oppressed nation territory. 


JUSTICE FOR SALOMON STRUGGLE EXPLAINED 


The Vasquez family has to wait 3 months before they 
can file an appeal, and the case will take about 1-
2 years to come up for retrial. In the meantime, 
Salomon is being held in maximum security despite 
the fact that the gun which he used to defend 
himself at the scene of the shooting was not the 
gun that killed Tamara Stewart. 

As a result of a 1995 Michigan law, three of 
Salomon's siblings who are minors are not allowed 
to see him. Salomon has limited phone privileges 
and if he goes over the time limit, he is given 
penalties that result in taking away his limited 
gulag privileges. 

Although there were others involved in the shoot-at 
which took place at a barbecue last July in Ann 
Arbor, Salomon was the only person convicted. He 
was not convicted for shooting Stewart, but of 
committing a felony (shooting a gun at the scene of 
a murder). The others were not Latino. The police 
were not able to show evidence of who shot Stewart, 
but had to convict someone of something. 


APPEAL WILL EXPOSE FALSE TESTIMONY 


The basis of the appeal is the validity of the main 
witness against Salomon. During the preliminary 
hearing, Damon Brown testified against Salomon and 
placed him at the scene of the shooting. However, 
Salomon's inadequate defense at the pretrial did 
not expose the fact that Brown made inconsistent 
and contradictory statements to the police. And 
according to Brown's father, he was not even in 
Michigan--let alone at the barbeque--at the time! 

The Vasquez family explained that Brown had six 
charges including three felony charges at the time 
that he made the statement against Salomon. In 
addition, Brown was not able to be found by the 
police to appear at the trial (though the Vasquez 
family explained that a private investigator could 
find him easily.) Instead of appearing for court 
and being available for cross examination, Brown's 
statement was read at the trial and was the basis 
for Salomon's conviction. 

This case is one more example of the way in which 
the Amerikan dream protected by the "war on crime" 
and the "war on gangs" is at the expense of 
oppressed nationals. From the pigs, to the judge, 
prosecutor and the Ann Arbor News, Salomon was used 
as a scapegoat to show the Amerikan settlers that 
gangs are being put down and safety is protected 
for all settler parasites. The Vasquez family knows 
that their son was not involved in a gang (and gang 
membership was not proven in court) and that the 
portrayal that he was only served the purposes of 
using him to set an example. The audience added 
that the police and the courts merely assume that 
everyone that lives in that neighborhood (the west 
side of Ann Arbor) belongs to a gang. (Even if he 
were in a gang, it would make no difference because 
MIM knows that the most dangerous gang is the one 
that wears the blue suits.) 

Responding to an audience question, Mario said that 
the Ann Arbor News does not put in information from 
the family and just prints information from the 
police. This is easily seen in the article 
"Vasquez: Convicted gunman makes tearful 
apology."(1) The article confuses the issue by 
first saying that Salomon was sentenced for the 
shooting death of Stewart and then meekly stating 
later that the trial did not prove that he fired 
shots that hit her. It also serves as the cops' 
mouthpiece in repeating that the "shooters were 
from a gang called the West Willow Crips". The 
article also repeated the ridiculous words of the 
pig in the black robe when he said that Salomon 
should have run away from the shooting instead of 
grabbing a gun. This "advice" ignores the fact that 
Salomon grabbed a gun to defend himself after being 
shot in the leg and grazed in the ear by a bullet. 

To raise funds for Salomon's defense, the Vasquez 
family is planning a picnic to sell food, a garage 
sale, a barbeque in July and the mother is planning 
on writing and selling a cookbook. The family is in 
need of funds and legal help (preferably help that 
is bilingual). MIM organized this informational 
event in order to rally people to fight for justice 
for Salomon and against settler domination of 
oppressed nations within Amerika. 

MIM and RAIL will continue to work with the family 
through building public opinion to expose 
injustice. We want more people to get involved in 
Salomon's support as well as in exposing the 
fascist white chauvinist nature of Amerikan police 
and their counterparts in the courts. If you would 
like to help, write to MIM at the address on page 2 
or Vasquez, PO Box 970511, Ypsilanti MI 48197 for 
more specific ways in which you can struggle to 
support Salomon's appeal. 

NOTE: Ann Arbor News, March 16, 1996 p. A1 and A13.


* * *


ALL IN A DAY'S WORK: D.C. COPS KILL TWO

Washington, D.C., June 10 -- D.C. police killed two 
people in one day yesterday, or, as the Washington 
Post put it (on the inside of section two), two 
people died in "incidents involving D.C. police." 
They shot one man, 19-year-old Eric Anderson, in 
cold blood as he sat in his car in Southeast 
Washington. The other, Raymond Tyler, apparently in 
the middle of seriously freaking out, died suddenly 
of an apparent heart attack after being handcuffed 
and stuffed into a police car.

D.C. police pulled over Anderson in the middle of 
the night during a "routine roadblock" (in one TV 
reporter's phrase) in the Black ghetto, at 50th and 
C streets SE. Police say Anderson stopped but 
refused to turn off his car engine. Policeman 
Terrence Shepherd shot Anderson once and he died a 
half hour later. Police said they found no weapons 
in Anderson's car.

According to the Post, the cops were "stopping cars 
at certain locations to check whether drivers had 
valid licenses and registrations and were complying 
with seat-belt laws. Police said they have used 
roadblocks in the past to issue tickets and make 
arrests for traffic violations and also have 
recovered drugs or weapons."

MIM adds: Well, if it has worked so well in the 
past to randomly stop and search people, in such a 
"routine" way then why not turn the whole city into 
a police state? Oh, too late -- they already have, 
at least for Blacks and Latinos.

The murderer in this case has been sent on paid 
vacation while the police try to cover up the 
facts.

In Tyler's case, witnesses and police said he was 
freaking out naked in the street in Southeast 
Washington when police happened by. Police say he 
assaulted them when they tried to calm him down and 
they restrained and then handcuffed him. While they 
waited for a transport to take him to the mental 
hospital, he died.

People in such state's as Tyler's -- police report 
he was yelling about snakes -- need immediate care 
and attention from people concerned about their 
well-being. Being assaulted by cops and handcuffed 
is obviously not going to help such a person calm 
down. This second case of murder reflects the role 
of the police as adversaries of certain kinds of 
messed up people. Rich people hallucinating on 
their estates -- like the imperialist mogul DuPont 
in recent months -- are not immediately jumped, 
handcuffed, and then left to die while the police 
wait for the paddy-wagon. But poor people in 
oppressed-nation ghettos who hallucinate are 
treated as "criminals" and dispensed with 
accordingly. The murderers in this case remain on 
active duty.

NOTES: Washington Post, June 6, 1996, p. B3.