I N T E R N E T ' S M A O I S T BI-M O N T H L Y = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = XX XX XXX XX XX X X XXX XXX XXX XXX X X X X X X X XX X X X X X X X V X X X V X X X X X X X XX XXX X X X X X X XX X X X X X X X XXX X X X V XXX X XXX XXX = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = THE MAOIST INTERNATIONALIST MOVEMENT MIM Notes 119 AUGUST 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. MOVEMENT FOR HAWAIIAN SOVEREIGNTY GROWS AS BOGUS VOTE LOOMS 2. LETTERS: ANTI-KLAN VERSUS PRO-COMMUNISM 3. NATIONALISM SIMMERS IN POW-WOWS 4. NDF ADVANCES ON PEACE NEGOTIATIONS FRONT 5. ADVANCE THE REVOLUTIONARY FEMINIST STRUGGLE 6. PSEUDO-FEMINISTS WIN RIGHT TO LEAD IMPERIALIST ARMIES: REAL FEMINISTS FIGHT AMERIKA 7. COPS ARE OPEN WHITE SUPREMACISTS 8. BEWARE OF ALL AMERIKANS IN YOUR COUNTRY 9. MUMIA ACTIVISTS RALLY ON YOU LIE FOURTH 10. DON'T VOTE, ORGANIZE 11. UNDER LOCK AND KEY: NEWS FROM PRISONERS AND PRISONS 12. MARXISM-LENINISM-MAOISM ONLINE 13. ON PERU AND THE RIM 14. AMERIKA'S NOT PAYING ITS LEASE: FIRST NATIONS SUE OVER $2.4 BILLION IN MISMANAGED FUNDS 15. MICMAC TRADER SUPPORTS PEOPLE'S WAR 16. SPRINGFIELD MA FIRES RACIST COP FOR ADMITTING HIS RACISM 17. ACTIVISTS WIN BATTLE AGAINST UMASS CENSORSHIP 18. PENOBSCOTTS OPPOSE MAINE TAXES 19. PATAKI BACKS DOWN * * * 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 * * * MOVEMENT FOR HAWAIIAN SOVEREIGNTY GROWS AS BOGUS VOTE LOOMS BOSTON, MA--On July 2nd, MIM and RAIL hosted a talk by speakers from the Ho'omau of Wahi Ku Moku, the political group of an organization of Hawaiians in Boston. The presentation focused on the "Native Hawaiian Vote" to take place among indigenous Hawaiians in August. This State-sponsored pseudo- plebiscite is being used by the imperialists as an opportunity to force Native Hawaiians to choose which form of imperialist rule they would prefer under the guise of a choice for true sovereignty. Ho'omau means to persevere. This name summarizes the struggle of Native Hawaiians since the beginning of the imperialist onslaught in 1778, through the overthrow of the country in 1893, to the present. The Hawaiian population, like that of other First Nations living on the land stolen by the imperialists, was decimated. Even now, Native Hawaiians struggle to survive: they are twice as likely to be homeless than other ethnic groups in the state and are both imprisoned and in poverty at the highest rate.(1) Unlike many other First Nations, Hawaiians have never been granted the status of a nation and instead are considered "wards of the state." For centuries, the Hawaiian people have been struggling to regain self- determination. The speakers described a growing sovereignty movement since the 1960s that currently involves this important fight against the pseudo- plebiscite vote. "NATIVE HAWAIIAN VOTE" IS AN IMPERIALIST TOOL The pseudo-plebiscite asks "Shall the Hawaiian people elect delegates to propose a Native Hawaiian government?" The Amerikans working for this vote are doing all they can to convince Native Hawaiians that this is a real vote for self-determination. One election brochure states: "We can choose to keep things as they are, or we can choose to get together as one people and decide to control our Hawaiian lands and resources, improve the well- being of our people and protect our culture and way of life." This vote will likely be taken as the "legitimate" expression of self-determination by the Hawaiian people. But as *Na Kanaka Maoli,* a publication in Boston, points out in a statement seeking to postpone the vote: "Hawaiians who wish to pursue sovereignty but not through HSEC's Native Hawaiian Vote are prevented from seeking an alternate process due to the limitations of submitting a 'yes' or a 'no' ballot." In fact, the speakers noted that any ballots submitted, even spoiled, will be counted as a yes vote. There is no way to express dissatisfaction with the choices without playing into the hands of the imperialists. This whole process keeps the state government in control of the voting process, and ultimately, the outcome. History teaches the failure of the State-sponsored vote as a tool for national liberation. As one Stop the Vote brochure points out: "The fraudulent 1959 statehood 'plebiscite vote' was used by the U.S. government to have Hawaii removed from the United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories." "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."* The State has gone out of its way to ensure that this vote only provides the outcome they want. The Sovereignty Elections Council (SEC) is overseeing the elections. It was created by State law in 1994. All of its members are appointees of the ex-State Governor. The State House Bill that created the SEC also states "Nothing arising out of the Hawaiian Convention provided for in this Act...shall be applied to supersede, conflict waive, alter, or affect" the governmental structures and mechanisms of the State. (2) WHY DOES THE STATE BOTHER WITH A VOTE AT ALL? In 1993, the U.S. Congress passed the "Apology Bill" which acknowledged that the U.S. was wrong in 1893 when it overthrew the Hawaiian nation. It says: "The indigenous Hawaiian people never relinquished their claims to their inherent sovereignty as a people over their national lands to the United States, ...through a plebiscite or referendum..." The U.S. Congress now has to take some action to back up these words. This pseudo- plebiscite is the perfect solution. If Hawaiians vote yes they will then have to set up a government under the parameters set out by the State. If Hawaiians vote no they lose because the State will then say Hawaiians are satisfied with things as they are and they don't want sovereignty. This would be used as a justification for the legal status as wards of the state of all indigenous Hawaiians. TRUE SELF-DETERMINATION DOES NOT COME FROM THE IMPERIALIST STATE The speakers laid out some minimum demands for true self-determination. First, all the military forces of the imperialist occupiers must leave before any vote can be free and legitimate. At present, the United Snakes has military bases on what are called "ceded lands," officially belonging to indigenous Hawaiians. In addition, as one brochure opposing the vote points out, the people need to be able to educate themselves and struggle freely over politics--a situation that does not exist right now under imperialist occupation. One speaker pointed out that the people opposed to the pseudo- plebiscite tend not to be registered to vote. Many of these people are very poor and do not have housing, meaning no address to send a ballot to. MIM believes that all nations deserve the right to self-determination and that this can only be achieved through national liberation struggles. Nations must be freed from imperialist control before the people can exercise their right to self- determination. Only then can a plebiscite be held that would truly reflect the interests of the people. (For more on the theory behind the important of national liberation struggles, read MIM Theory #7: Proletarian Feminist Revolutionary Nationalism, available for $5). WHAT ARE THE ALTERNATIVES TO VOTING IN THIS PSEUDO- PLEBISCITE? The speakers stressed that this vote is not a real choice and that there are many things people can do besides participating in the vote. One of the most important things to do is educating and organizing other people. They are also encouraging people to refuse to register to vote. Those who receive ballots in the mail should send them to the Stop the Vote campaign where these will be counted and destroyed in a protest action. Some people in the audience were skeptical about the pragmatism of this strategy. They argued that the vote might not be perfect, but at least it would allow Hawaiians to have some say in their government. One speaker responded "That is exactly what they would like us to think." MIM stressed the point further. The state says there is no way to achieve real liberation so we should settle for what the imperialists offer. But this is not true. It took many years and much hard struggle to overthrow feudalism. The feudal serfs did not give up and decide they had to accept the rule of the landlords because the going was tough. Likewise the struggle for socialism has proved difficult and full of setbacks. That does not mean we should give up. Audience members were also not satisfied with "self determination" as a goal they wanted to support. They wanted a plan, from the speakers, about whether they wanted reservation status like other First Nations in Amerikan borders, or independence, or some other thing. The speakers both said that they had opinions on these things, but that they could not chart out the struggle in advance. Right now, they are focusing their energy on booting out the imperialists and organizing the people continue with progress afterward. The speakers pointed out that people opposing the vote are right now a minority among Native Hawaiians and that the majority supports the "yes" vote in the plebiscite. But they believe that through education and the lessons learned through practice, Native Hawaiians will learn that relying on the State for sovereignty does not provide real self- determination. Short term battles can be won now as we fight for the ultimate goal of national liberation and socialism. The anti-vote forces succeeded in postponing the vote several months, arguing that the quick pace set did not allow sufficient time to educate the voters. The imperialists did not want to give the activists time to educate people about this vote and so they were trying to move quickly. This delay was a victory because it allowed the protesters more time to organize opposition. The imperialists will not grant national liberation to the oppressed nations, it must be taken by force, and these struggles are taking place all over the world. The Filipinos, Peruvians, First Nations, people of India and many others refuse to accept the repressive hand of imperialist rule. It may take many years, but liberation is in the interests of the majority of the world's people and we will win. Notes: 1. The Honolulu Advertiser 4/2/96 2. Brochure from Ka Lahui Hawai'i * * * LETTERS: ANTI-KLAN VERSUS PRO-COMMUNISM ***This is excerpted from a much longer letter which attempts to explain why the letter-writer wishes not to have contact with MIM. The letter- writer has already decided that s/he does not want to struggle with MIM over h own politics (Trotskyist) or MIM's. Therefore we print this letter not as a means of struggle with this individual, but in the hopes of sparking discussion with others who may sympathize with this individual's politics without having a worked out line against MIM or Maoism or simply want to hear more about MIM's activism.*** I would also like to address the comments in the letter regarding the Anti-Klan rally on Saturday, June 22. You remarked that being "gassed is not the quickest path to revolutionary organizing." You proposed a solid line on revolutions of the past and on the revolutionary possibilities for the future as an alternative. What about decisive action now?!? How do you expect to gain the support of workers without being visible in their struggles. Your alternative is to sit in a college town and put up flyers on telephone poles. This puts you in a great position to lead a revolution when you can say to the proletariat, "I read a book by Mao Zedong at the University of Michigan and that puts me in the position to tell you what's best for you." You attack the groups at the rally calling them "one day activists" when many of the people in AAOAK [Ann Arbor Organizing Against the Klan, led by the Trotskyist League--MIM] have been involved in revolutionary politics longer than you have been alive. After all, better to be a one day activist than a no day activist. This reveals the petty-bourgeois nature of your organization. Your methods of organization are not only not the quickest, but the slowest. Build a movement by talking, putting up flyers and reading, but not through action. --An ex-MIM associate in the Midwest June 1996 MIM RESPONDS: Because of space constraints, we are not going to address separately the writer's comments on MIM's supposed age, supposed class background, supposed schooling and supposed location. If there are serious critics out there who think that any of these things are relevant in criticism of MIM's politics, we welcome their criticism and will be happy to respond. In the context above, these are pure ad hominem attacks. We are not interested in engaging this letter writer on our class or age statuses. S/he would at least be consistent if s/he argued that Friedrich Engels' money or Bobby Hutton's youth were more decisive than their political line and practice. The letter writer shows more serious errors in three false assumptions: Assumption #1: That throwing rocks at pigs in riot gear at a rally, being gassed and arrested constitutes "decisive action." MIM disagrees that provoking pigs qualifies as decisive action. Did throwing rocks at pigs defeat the Klan? No. Is all the hubbub following the protesters' arrests going to hurt the Klan? Better yet, is it going to make a dent in the state which defends the Klan's so-called right to spread hatred and its oppressive ideology? MIM also opposes the Klan, *because* we oppose national oppression and the Klan is out to justify and perpetuate national oppression. Anytime MIM holds a rally or attends one, we make clear what connection the particular event has to our overall goals. These anti-Klan rallies the letter-writer defends as "decisive action" did no such thing. They got a bunch of people arrested, and shifted some activists' focus from opposing the Klan to getting charges dropped against those arrested. MIM asks: how does that advance anything towards socialism? Assumption #2: That ending national oppression is in the interests of the labor aristocracy and that MIM bases its line on gaining the support of the Amerikan working class. MIM has devoted two full theory journals (MIM Theory 1: A White Proletariat? and MIM Theory 10: Coming to Grips with the Labor Aristocracy) to the distinction between the exploited proletariat--the majority of the world's workers and the labor aristocracy--the majority of Amerikan workers. The U.S. labor aristocracy supports national oppression (white Amerikan supremacy over the Black, Latino and Indigenous nations within U.S. borders as well as imperialism over Third World neo-colonies) because it reaps economic benefits from imperialism and MIM has done the math to demonstrate this. Send us $5 for either of the theory journals mentioned above to check up on our research. MIM opposes the Klan because the Klan fights for white supremacy. Activists pushing to organize all workers in the United Snakes together to fight the Klan should start digging through history to find the labor aristocracy's record on opposing national oppression and upholding national minority struggles for self-determination. From Bacon's rebellion, when white workers fought to seize First Nation lands in 1676, through the Klan's inception in the reconstruction South, through the recent electoral show of Klansman David Duke, they have shown themselves to instead be a mass base for fascism. Assumption #3: That it is more "activist" to get one's picture in the bourgeois press (or organize a rally which helps others achieve the same goal) than to build a party based on a solid line on revolutions of the past and revolutionary possibilities for the future as MIM suggested. Making revolution is not a light task and Leninists have demonstrated that revolution led by a vanguard party is the single most effective means of combating oppression. For this reason MIM takes very seriously the tasks of learning lessons from past struggles and using these lessons to build a lasting organization for the future. This letter writer is entitled to blow off revolutionary organizing--the ill-gotten privilege of living in the First World affords that right. MIM's beef is with individuals and organizations which poo poo revolutionary activism in favor of sexier (and more publicity-getting) politics while claiming the banner of Marxism, as this letter writer does. That is revisionism and is leading people down a false path. Go get your picture in the paper, and throw all the rocks you want, but don't pretend to be leading the masses in Communist politics while you're doing it. * * * NATIONALISM SIMMERS IN POW-WOWS ACADIA, MAINE--Summer is the season for the festivity of First Nation pow-wows, but simmering below the surface of pow-wows are issues of fighting for self-determination. On July 14, MIM spoke to a full-blooded Penobscott trader of a store called the Turquoise Arrowhead. When asked if she had any news for MIM Notes to report next issue, she said, "I have lots of radical, radical ideas." MIM knew we were off to a good start. In fact, the Turquoise Arrowhead (TA) told MIM that she walked out of a pow-wow just the week before. According to the Penobscotts MIM spoke with, the pow-wow organizers were too tolerant of someone banished from the nation who was leading the drum- beating. "They let a drug-addict, child molester and womyn- beater on the drum," said the elder Penobscott womyn. A younger male added, "he was taking 12, 13 and 14-year-old girls and getting them on drugs so he could go to bed with them, and they [the Penobscott authorities] finally got tired of it." The man was banished from the nation through Penobscott processes according to the TA. Crimes including arson and more serious felonies are still under the white man's jurisdiction in Bangor, Maine. The pow-wow organizers so angered TA that she walked out of the pow-wow and took seven dancers with her. However, that is not all. TA has a general gripe with the pow-wows these days. "My biggest thing is you go to the pow-wows and you find non-natives vending and they downright lie." She went on to explain how people of slight First Nation "blood" or no heritage at all worm their way into pow-wows to profit. The pow-wow last week, "was a joke," according to TA, so lax were the rules for vending. MIM agrees in principle that pow-wows should be an enterprise to promote First Nation business self-reliance. In the Penobscott Nation, the rule is that one has to have 25 percent blood to count as Penobscott. According to TA, there are only 180 full-bloods who qualify based on tracking the descendants of the landmark 1890 Census. Over three-quarters of the Penobscott people have only one-quarter Penobscott blood, and still the pressure is on to lower the percentage to 12.5 or even lower. As in the situation with people of Asian descent in the united snakes, how one is counted affects Congressional appropriations. Formulas for funding use the U.S. Census of every decade to determine how much money should go to the white organizations and how much to self-labeled "minority" organizations, including programs for the reservations. When asked what she thought of the whole "blood" issue, TA said, "I have very mixed feelings about it; my own grandchildren are on that Census." [meaning their children will be affected by any rules the full-bloods like herself come up with-- ed.] After explaining all the issues, TA said, "after all that I'm still for it." [the policy of requiring 25 percent blood and no less--ed.] MIM thought the reasons TA gave were unreproachable. Contrary to our mistaken article of the last issue on the Ojibwe, [see correction this issue] MIM does not automatically support the tolerant side of banishing issues, reservation residence issues or voting issues. In fact, there is definitely a point where the line should be drawn against assimilation, and so there can be no attacking TA's position or other FN positions against children of inter-marriage or relaxation of nationality requirements. In the end, we leave it to the First Nation to decide who to count as a member. All nations will have to make this decision about who to include and that decision should be made by the people of each nation. The first thing TA said after mentioning grandchildren on the "blood" issue is that "I know in some ways it [relaxing the rules--ed.] means more money. . . You know it cuts both ways though. We have to support non-natives on the reserve; we pay for their sewer [and other utilities]; they [whites] talk about all the Indians being on welfare, but we have white people on welfare on the reserve that we're paying for!" MIM would add that the goal of obtaining more U.S. government programs by increasing the number of people who count as natives is a mistake, an error of assimilationist strategy. According to TA, the Wampanoag [surrounded by Massachusetts] are relaxing their rules and now the Cherokee are going from one-eighth to one-sixteenth blood for their official counting purposes. Adding "hhhmph," TA said that if one starts looking at it that way, "I know some white people who make better Indians than Indians do! At least they show more respect for our culture than some of these "'Indians.'" At the very end, TA said, "and I'm married to a white man, but that doesn't stop me from talking about the white man; I don't care; what they did is a rip-off." That pretty much was meant as a summation of history and the recent pow-wows. MIM agrees, the fact that TA is married to a white man says nothing at all against the truth of the matter with regard to "blood" policies. MIM applauds all those who go beyond their narrow individual identities and attempt to analyze what is best from a larger standpoint. We call it applying the scientific method and not taking up identity politics. * * * NDF ADVANCES ON PEACE NEGOTIATIONS FRONT by MC206 The National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDF) and the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) resumed formal peace negotiations on June 19, 1996 in the Netherlands, one year after the GRP unilaterally suspended formal talks. The negotiating panels affirmed a list of specific topics for discussion under the headings "human rights and international humanitarian law and social and economic reforms."(1) The Maoist-led NDF has been waging revolutionary armed struggle against the U.S. puppet regime in the Philippines for over 25 years. An important step towards the resumption of negotiations was the GRP's release of NDF Consultant Sotero Llamas. Llamas' arrest in early 1995 violated the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG), which both parties had ratified. At the time the GRP unilaterally declared that the JASIG was suspended, despite the fact that JASIG contains no provision for suspension. The NDF held informal talks with the GRP's negotiating panel beginning in July 1995, which led to the release of Llamas in compliance with the JASIG.(2) Llamas will now participate in the negotiations. He said his role in the talks was important because of his two decades of armed struggle in the mountains. "These experiences qualify me to present the real situation taking place in the countryside and this will be the core of the peace talks," he said.(3) In his opening statement at the resumption of formal talks, Luis Jalandoni, Chairperson of the NDF Negotiating Panellisted some of the crimes of the U.S.-Ramos regime against the people of the Philippines. "There is the forcible displacement of people, under various pretexts, such as the so- called counter-insurgency or development projects, and by the most brutal means, such as bombardments, strafing, arson, and bulldozing. This has caused the number of internal refugees to rise to millions. There is the criminalizing of political prisoners and imposing preconditions on the release of prisoners that are [in violation] of conscience and their rights."(1) This list of crimes that continues makes talks aimed at getting the GRP to uphold international humanitarian law conventions especially important. * Jalandoni also listed specific repressive laws and decrees (some left over from the Marcos dictatorship) which attack the Filipino people: * Memorandum Circular No. 139 which expressly allows government troops to impose food blockades as part of their so- called "anti-insurgency campaigns;" * Executive Order No. 72 and 129 and P.D. 772 which authorize evictions and mass demolition of urban poor communities and outlaw squatting; * Executive Order No. 264 which creates the Citizens Armed Forces Geographical Units (CAFGU), which are paramilitary groups used to harass and assassinate progressives and revolutionaries; * General Order No. 66 and 67 which authorize random checkpoints and searches; * Legal interpretations which allow warrentless arrests, search and arrest without probable cause, and the admission of illegally seized evidence; * The pending so-called "Anti-Terrorism Act," which opens the door for renewed Martial Law. While MIM continues Mao's line that there are no rights, only power struggles, MIM also believes that legal struggles for bourgeois rights such as the right to free speech and assembly or the right to a fair trial can be effective tactics. On the one hand, victories in this arena can increase the maneuvering room afforded to the revolutionary forces. On the other hand, the struggles themselves expose the hypocrisy of the bourgeoisie, which claims to defend "human rights " while it thrives on repression. The NDF views the peace negotiations as "one more form of legal struggle waged by the revolutionary forces in the context of various forms of struggle."(4) It clearly states that "peace negotiations cannot substitute for the resolute and militant mass struggles of the people. In fact, there is greater need for the people's revolutionary struggle because the imperialists and reactionaries never voluntarily give up their power to exploit and oppress the people."(4) The NDF maintains that armed struggle is the most important form of mass struggle. In this context, the NDF did not allow the GRP to make renouncing armed struggle a precondition to the talks. Before the peace negotiations began, the NDF and the GRP signed several agreements (such as the JASIG) which ensured that the NDF could negotiate without betraying its principles or compromising its ability to struggle outside of the negotiating arena. In general, the NDF holds that a just and lasting peace in the Philippines is possible only if the Filipino peoples' demands for national liberation and democracy are satisfied. It calls for the GRP to end its servile policies towards foreign monopolies and end its "counter-insurgency" campaigns as crucial and necessary steps in the peace negotiations.(5) NOTES: 1. Press Communique of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines on the Resumption of Formal Meetings in the GRP-NDFP Peace Negotiations, June 16, 1996. 2. Luis Jalandoni, "Opening Statement on the Resumption of the Formal Meetings in GRP-NDFP Peace Negotiations," June 19, 1996. 3. Reuters, 21 Jun 96. 4. Jose Maria Sison, "Peace Negotiations When Properly Conducted Are a Form of Struggle." 5. MIM Notes 103, Aug 1995. * * * ADVANCE THE REVOLUTIONARY FEMINIST STRUGGLE People reading MIM Notes will notice that we have changed parts of the English language to meet proletarian political purposes. Mao simplified the entire Chinese alphabet to make it more accessible to the masses. While MIM is not yet in a position to make large scale changes in the English language, we make small changes in our lifestyle and culture which are easy and possible within capitalism. These changes advance proletarian struggles by drawing attention to the line behind them. MIM welcomes struggle over these changes as a means of advancing our line on the issues which they represent. First we changed America to Amerika to remove some legitimacy from "America." We use "Amerika" to refer to the oppressor nation that dominates North America. Amerika is an imperialist nation of Euro- Amerikan settlers and their descendants and honorary members. Later MIM stopped using "African American" to refer to Blacks in this country because Blacks are neither "African" nor "American." Blacks should strive for national self-determination and not phony integrationism with Amerika. The term "Black" is less than perfect because it implies that we are talking about a group because of its skin color, but it is the best definition of the nation within Amerika. The capital "B" helps to contrast this legitimate nation with the "white" fascist settler nation. We have changed other words and spellings related to analysis on the national question as well. More recently, MIM substituted terminology that makes it clear that the "United States" does not have a legitimate claim over the territory it stole from indigenous peoples and developed with the use of slave labor imported from Asia, Africa and Latin America. We now substitute "United Snakes" or other derogatory forms of the words. This summer, MIM decided to substitute the term "womyn" for "woman" and to use "wimmin" for the plural. We want to make the point that wimmin are not a subset of men as the word "women" implies. MIM is fighting for the end to gender oppression and part of this entails recognizing and fighting the reactionary elements in our culture that suggest that wimmin are less than men. This decision to use "womyn" followed much struggle within MIM because of the term's reactionary history. Until now this change in terminology has been used by pseudo-feminists who believe in lifestyle politics and usually believe that all men are enemies. Revolutionary feminists reclaimed the term "feminist" from the reactionary white chauvinist wimmin who first used the word and MIM will not relinquish a progressive change in terminology because a few wimmin use the word for incorrect political purposes. As we move forward in our revolutionary organizing, MIM will continue to make small changes in our use of language to reflect the political line that we support. Many of the changes made so far came as a result of suggestions from our readers, please write to us with your opinions on the subject. * * * PSEUDO-FEMINISTS WIN RIGHT TO LEAD IMPERIALIST ARMIES: REAL FEMINISTS FIGHT AMERIKA by MCB52 After decades of clamoring for a bigger role as imperialists, the gender aristocracy has won another "victory" that allies it more closely to imperialist patriarchy. The Supreme Court ruled that one of the last two remaining public all-male military institutes, Virginia Military Institute, must admit wimmin or go private. According to the Supreme Court, private schools may exclude whomever they want. Its fellow all-male holdout, the Citadel, has announced it is going to admit wimmin. All this pleases pseudo-feminists, but the international proletariat knows that genitalia diversity at these training grounds of militarism will not advance the position of the majority of the world's biological wimmin and biological men who are targets of US forces in the Third World. Both sexes of oppressed nations are gendered-female in relation to these prospective applicants to bourgeois military institutes. Both men and wimmin of oppressed nations have their sexuality and reproduction appropriated through First World domination. The wimmin admitted to VMI--part of the gender aristocracy--are further solidifying their alliance with patriarchy against the world's wimmin and men. As communists, we do not ally with the gender aristocracy We ally with groups oppressed because of their nation, class, and gender in genuine struggles against capitalism, imperialism and patriarchy. Both conservatives and liberals are fooled by the long-standing notion that biology is destiny. Both incorrectly believe admitting biological wimmin will fundamentally change these institutions. Conservatives have moaned the death knell of an old and fine bastion of male supremacy. Syndicated columnist George Will wrote, "The Supreme Court gave [wimmin] the right to enroll in an educational institution which, the moment they enter it, will essentially cease to exist."(1) Liberals have chimed in that the change is a fundamentally positive one. Syndicated columnist Ellen Goodman wrote, "I don't hesitate to say that women will change VMI. Change is, after all, the point."(2) Goodman likens the change to the one accomplished through desegregation of the institutions, which is an illuminating comparison. What has this desegregation really done for equality? Goodman answers this question expressing satisfaction that VMI stopped playing "Dixie" on parade after the first Blacks arrived in 1968. This minor teak in the official presentation is her model for gender- relations changes to come. That's as high as her sights are set because she does not want to rock the patriarchal imperialist boat that is serving her well. MIM answers that same question by recognizing that desegregation has not changed relations or conditions fundamentally and has only opened the doors for a few comprador members of the Black nation to fight for the white armies against the internal colonies. Instead, MIM works for real liberation. Clarence Thomas, reactionary Black Supreme Court justice, sat out the case because his son attends VMI. This illustrates what desegregation of these institutions has brought--a tiny minority of Blacks are more fully consolidated into comprador status and enforce the oppression of the majority of the Black nation and other oppressed nations. The endurance of patriarchy and national oppression through the nominal integration of some institutions illustrates the short-sightedness of conservatives like Will. Surely he would have been whining a few decades ago that an all-white institution was necessary to maintain that illusive greatness he declines to name: white supremacy. History reveals that it is beneficial for the powerful to concede some demands and co-opt members of oppressed groups. In the case of labor, the Amerikan working class has been bought off with superprofits drawn from imperialist exploitation. First World biological wimmin have also allied for these benefits and accepted patriarchy in the negotiations. Though members of internal colonies have sought comprador status, these nations are fundamentally allied against imperialism and white nation chauvinism. Wimmin who are fighting for the right to lead imperialist armies are only pseudo-feminists. Real feminists are fighting against those armies. NOTE: 1. Boston Globe, July 1, 1996, p. 11. 2. Boston Globe, June 30, 1996, p. 69. * * * COPS ARE OPEN WHITE SUPREMACISTS Most whites believe that cops are only oppressive in the case of a "few bad apples." Thus, they were surprised by the Mark Fuhrman case, the Rodney King beating etc. etc.; however, the "good apples" tolerate and even promote the "bad apples" as proved even in police publications; we refer to the Summer/Fall, 1995 edition of *New Hampshire Trooper.* The New Hampshire Troopers Association which publishes the magazine "is made up entirely of current and former sworn members of the New Hampshire State Police."(1) The magazine starts by blasting the phony police organizations out there which seem rampant in the boonies of New England. After a letter from the Governor and cop union leaders, we learn that New Hampshire troopers are urged to learn Spanish. "Two brothers who were speaking with the Deputy suddenly spoke a few words of Spanish to each other and then, seconds later, the Deputy was dead of a gunshot. "In review of the tape, it was learned that had the officer known a few words, commonly referred to as 'charged words,' the tragedy may have been avoided. "In the case of the Texas Trooper who knew Spanish, he was able to stay one step ahead of his assailants and in the ensuing gun battle, the Trooper shot two of the defendants and came away unscathed. . . . "In the last few years, there has been an influx of Spanish-speaking persons crossing the borders from Lawrence, Lowell, Boston [all in Massachusetts-- ed.] and New York City into New Hampshire. "Ask any Trooper working the Interstate from the Massachusetts line to Manchester on I-93 or the Everett Turnpike. You will discover that the majority of cocaine and crack coming into the State is being transported and sold by Dominicans, Columbians, and Puerto Ricans. "On any given night, a pursuit on Interstate 93 south of Manchester is probably initiated by gang members of the South Side Kings (SSK), License to Steal (LTC), or Latin Kings. These gangs are predominantly Spanish-speaking and are involved in thefts, burglaries, auto theft, drugs and more." Cops everywhere in the united snakes are hypocritical. They tolerate the Fuhrmans and come up with their white supremacist ideas of crime. As a result, the cops have failed to dent crime despite making the united snakes the number one prison state in the world based on per capita figures for imprisonment averaged the last ten years. It will be the Latin Kings and the like who actually stop drug-dealing by taking up the cause of national liberation. When the likes of the Latin Kings with the Maoist proletarian revolutionary ideology finally replace the corrupt national and local cops, then we will have a reduction in crime. The Oliver Norths bringing the cocaine into this country will be stopped cold. The people's police will look for drugs in the right places and we will emerge victorious in the war on drugs. Notes: 1. New Hampshire Trooper Summer/Fall, p. 1. 2. Ibid., p. 21. * * * BEWARE OF ALL AMERIKANS IN YOUR COUNTRY On July 17, the Senate Intelligence Committee had a rare debate about who the CIA can use to gather information, and about what types of "covers" are acceptable for the CIA to use. Current law prohibits the CIA from recruiting journalists, Peace Corps volunteers, and clergy, and prohibits the agency from using those careers as covers for it's agents and officers. The current law allows the CIA director to grant exceptions in "exceptional circumstances". Ted Koppel, of Nightline, and Terry Anderson, a former Associated Press reported held hostage in Lebanon for 7 years argued that the ban should be absolute. Anderson reported that his captors told him they thought he was CIA. The Congresspersons, including prominent Democrats like Senator John Glenn and John Kerry disagreed and wanted to give the CIA as many options as possible. But Kerry summed up the issue well as he expressed concern about discussing the issue publicly: "if they [journalists] weren't tainted before, they will be now." We hope that our readers outside of U.S. borders keep in mind the *legal* loopholes in CIA strategy. NOTE: Boston Globe July 18, 1996, p. A18. * * * MUMIA ACTIVISTS RALLY ON YOU LIE FOURTH by a comrade PHILADELPHIA, PA--July 4, hundreds of people rallied in defense of Mumia Abu Jamal continuing the campaign to push for a new trial and his ultimate release. Mumia was sentenced to death for supposedly killing a Philly cop. MOVE member Ramona Africa spoke at the rally. She recently won a lawsuit against the city for its bombing of the MOVE house in 1985--which killed 11 people and destroyed 61 homes. Others on the podium included South African revolutionary poet Dennis Brutus, representatives of the Black Panther Collective, and other progressive organizations like the Christian peace activists from the Bruderhof Church. As has become common at Mumia events, the majority of the crowd were political activists of many affiliations. At times it appeared that more people were distributing literature than were collecting or buying it. However, many participants bought MIM Notes and struggled with comrades over such issues as the labor aristocracy and MIM's differences with other self-identified communists or socialists. For example, one person who bought the paper struggled at length over MIM's line on the white working class. This person argued that MIM should not attack the white working class since it is not the "main enemy" in the fight against imperialism. Instead s/he advocated MIM using education to make the white working class understand that imperialism hurts it as well. MIM countered that the white working class stands to lose economically by the destruction of imperialism. We do not expect them to oppose imperialism as a class, although individuals may come over to the side of the people. Another participant objected to MIM's use of "pig" to describe cops, and "United Snakes" as a term of disrespect for the oppressor nation's state. This person said such language unfairly tainted the reputations of these animals, who are already oppressed enough. MIM replied that we do not wish any harm to these animals, and only use those terms because their symbolism is easily understood by the masses. Ultimately we hope that using the names of animals in a negative way will become obsolete. There were also representatives of the "MPP-USA" (Popular Movement of Peru, USA) present at the rally. MIM has extensively exposed the leadership of this organization for conducting police plots among the international movement in support of the People's War in Peru. At the rally, "MPP-USA" members distributed pamphlet a called "Counter- Attack And Defeat All Reactionary Lies!" attacking MIM as "A Zinoviev Sect of Suspect Origin." This pamphlet contains many lies and distortions about MIM, including assertions that MIM does not support the people's war in Peru, that MIM supports the bogus "peace talks" proposal put forward by the Peruvian state, that MIM is "a likely creature of the Yankee intelligence services," that MIM "openly attacks Lenin, Stalin, Mao and President Gonzalo," and so on. All of these are baseless charges launched to blow smoke over MIM's extensive documentation of "MPP- USA" fraud. MIM is committed to exposing the dangerous lies and manipulations of this organization, which we have done most extensively in the June 1996 issue of Maoist Sojourner (which MIM distributed at the rally as well). Contact MIM for a copy of this and other important publications related to current Peru-movement struggles (subscriptions to Maoist Sojourner are $12 per year). The movement to free Mumia Abu-Jamal is important because it exposes the nature of the reactionary Amerikan regime and its bloodthirsty "anti-crime" supporters. Many people who learn about the corruption of justice in this case may have cause to consider the system as a whole. So MIM hopes the movement will continue to try reach beyond the already-committed activists who dominate the rallies, and we publish these articles toward that end. * * * DON'T VOTE, ORGANIZE by a RAIL comrade AMHERST, MA--On June 29th, MIM and RAIL led a rally to raise public awareness about the fruitlessness of voting in this "democratic" kkkountry and to bolster the struggle for revolutionary change. The glorified tradition of Amerikan voting consists of choosing between pig tweedle-dum and pig tweedle- dee. Both options result in more oppressive laws imprisoning the masses in the imperialists hands. Do womyn have a choice in being born into a patriarchal society? Do Latino youth have the same choices that white youth have? Do one in three Black men choose to be harassed, beaten, arrested and denied a just trial?(1) The answers are no. The current system thrives from national, class and gender oppression. From Bill Clinton's economic, military, and political control of Third World peoples to Bill Weld's proliferation of control units, it boils down to the same unjust imprisonment in a system working for one slave master. When this truth was brought to people in the town center, the general reply was "I'm not interested." Living in a utopian microcosm of academia, it's easy to ignore the truth. All the bourgeois propaganda about making a difference and "rocking the vote" succeeds to keep many people content. This apathy materially benefits the white nation because toppling systemic oppression means that the wealthy and the bought off will be cut off from their pirated loot. One person brought up the Green Party, led by Mr. Liberal himself, Ralph Nader. Nader merely plans to use this system for his own advantage. He's attempting to replace one man for another through elections in a system that exists because of international domination. The corrupt system would stay intact. National oppression, patriarchy and class oppression would not be crushed and massive global oppression would continue. One student passed by the rally but wasn't interested in our literature. He was interested in taking photographs of the activists. When asked to stop, he got very defensive. MIM has no idea if this person is a cop or if the photos were taken to be given to the pigs. At a minimum, however, this is cop behavior. An idealist we spoke with argued that the ending oppression can't be done through a movement. This person advocated, and supposedly practiced, speaking to people individually to change their views. It is not possible to end systematic oppression of groups over groups individually. We must organize a movement led by the proletariat to smash the imperialists, who have big guns. The idealist's rationale was that the oppressive forces--mainly cops and the state--will do everything in their power (including violence) to stop the truth from spreading. We agree that the oppressor will use violent measures to stop the spread of opposition. But that has not stopped successful struggles in the past. We disagree that state repression means that the masses should passively give up just struggles. We also don't underemphasize the capacity of the state to squash revolutionaries--we get that one from history. That is why MIM and RAIL take security issues seriously. But building an underground revolutionary movement does not inhibit us from working and struggling with the masses. Mass work is essential to raise public opinion for revolution, which means educating to organize. Mass work also enables revolutionaries to learn from the masses through struggle. The person ultimately said we were young and would realize some day that violence cannot end violence. In response to that is a quote from Mao: "You have to take up the gun in order to put down the gun." The imperialists will continue to fight and kill to protect their material interests. Their power cannot be wished away, nor abolished through the missionary-style of "spreading the word." To build a society where the gun is no longer needed, the oppressed must seize control. This is a dialectical materialist approach to resolve the contradiction between the imperialists and oppressed nations. The only successful revolutions have occurred through armed struggle led by communists. That is the only way for the oppressed to gain control of their economies, and political and cultural structures. RAIL and MIM do not have a tidy little alternative to the bourgeoisie's vote, because revolutionary change does not come easily. If you want change that is in the interest of all people, don't vote, organize against imperialism with revolutionary politics. NOTE: Sentencing project via associated press in Massachusetts Daily Collegian 10/5/95, p.2. More information on conditions in Amerika's gulags can be found in RAIL's prison pamphlet, available from the address on page 2 for $1. * * * UNDER LOCK AND KEY: NEWS FROM PRISONERS AND PRISONS POLITICIAN USES PRISONERS TO PRINT HIS CAMPAIGN LITERATURE Dear Comrades, I'm sending you a copy of the McCollum Report [Campaign Newsletter for Bill McCollum, U.S. Representative, Eighth District, Florida--MIM]. But best of all, I've posted through the Federal Security with evidence that Congressperson McCollum is violating the law by using prison labor in our print plant, a UNICOR Federal Prison Institute, to print newsletters for his political campaign. Friends, I am for the cause. I cannot risk mailing this to the press myself. Enclosed is a mail tag. The political campaign mails tags and prints transmittal forms showing the cost of the slave labor where federal inmates are printing for his political campaign. He is against Habeas Corpus and wants the death sentences carried out. Please see that you print this and mail copies to CBS, NBC, or any newspaper which will print this. Federal prisons are working for the Congressman's political gain. This is the type of evidence the press is crying for. I could trust no one else to get the news out to the public. This information is high on the list of our struggle. These documents must get into the hands of the press. --a Virginia prisoner, Apr. 16, 1996 LATINOS PERSECUTED IN NEW YORK Dear MIM, I come to you my comrades as it is my custom and duty....I am a member of the Almighty Latin King Queen Nation and a constant warrior of the Third World Oppressed People....I enjoy reading your material for as a Latin King I am faced by a frivolous administration whose capitalism has raged war upon all Latin people in the system. I am presently at Southport Correctional Facility, which is a box for all inmates who are being punished for not adhering to prison rules and or regulations. Seems that they have waged war on all Latins doing time. They know the Latin Kings speak against all injustices so they have made a rule called 105.12 (Unauthorized organizations not recognized by the administration). The have used this rule to place Latinos in solitary confinement. Actually if one [pig] is in the yard and it so happens that four or more Latinos are in a group, right away [the prisoncrats] write you up for unauthorized organization. It is incredible how we as a Latino people have been attacked and oppressed in society and now we are feeling it even more in this system of injustice.... Your comrade, --a New York prisoner, June 10, 1996 A SOLE BLACK PRISONER FACES PIG ABUSES IN INDIANA Greetings, Friends I'm held in captivity in a very small rural county jail in Petersbury, Indiana. What I've picked up from other inmates here is that I'm the first Black person in this jail. There are no other Black inmates in here with me. All this makes sense to me because I've been through some of the meanest, cruelest, inhuman treatments a man can be put through. Before I explain what happened keep in mind my alleged crimes are against a white woman. On January 2, 1996, the third day after my arrival, the trouble started. When I came here I was put on 24 hour a day lock down because they thought I was dangerous to other inmates. Well I was sleeping on the floor and the jailer at the time told me to put my mattress back on my bunk. Of course I said no, because there's no rule against sleeping on the floor. He was just picking me out for special treatment. So he told me that they were going to come take it. So I said fine. Remember I was on 24 hour a day lockdown. Well, an hour later, the Sheriff and ten white cops were standing outside my cell door. (I said nothing to these devils.) The sheriff asked me if I wanted to get maced. Of course I said no. Then he ordered me to lay face down and they shackled me and dragged me at least 100 feet like I was a piece of shit. Remember I said nothing to these devils. I ended up in front of the rubber room laying face down. The Sheriff left and returned with a pair of scissors to cut my jumpsuit off. While he was doing this he said, "If you move I will cut you!" So there I was lying naked in the rubber room, cold as ice, humiliated and not knowing what to expect next, because, shit, all I did was refuse to put my mattress on my bunk. While I laid there, I heard all the staff laughing and congratulating the sheriff. I look at it this way: he did this because I'm Black, big and he was scared of me (Blacks)! But I will get the last laugh. I am currently trying to file charges and lawsuits and I told it to his face. Prison will not break this African. Black Fist and Afro-Picks! Peace. --an Indiana prisoner, June 11, 1996 FIRST NATION PRISONER PUNISHED FOR SUING RACIST GUARD Dear MIM, Enclosed is a racially discriminatory document that was given to me on December 21, 1995, by one of Alaska's finest, a DOC prison guard. [The document was a racist "joke" that depicts people of the First Nations in a demeaning manner. --MIM] I am an American Indian (Chippewa-Cree). I am an enrolled tribal member of the Rocky Boy's Indian Reservation, POW Camp. After the guard gave me this document, he stood and laughed at me. He thought it was a very funny act. After I filed a grievance against him, and my attorney contacted the governor's office and the commissioner of the Alaska Department of Corrections, I was hauled in front of a surprise treatment team where I was put on trial for filing a grievance against the officer who gave me the document. I was removed from the general population and then transferred to a mental health unit for four days until my attorney succeeded in getting me out of the mental health unit. I did not provoke the officer to give me a racially discriminatory document. He did so of his own free will. Instead of punishing the guard, the DOC turned the issue on me and made me out to be the bad guy. The only thing that happened to the guard is a written reprimand put in his file that will disappear after six months if he has no further incidents. I, on the other hand, was removed form the general population, was sent to a mental health unit , was transferred twice, lost two boxes of legal work, and was made out to be the malcontent. The words in this document give clear and convincing evidence just what the Alaska DOC thinks of Native prisoners it has locked up within its walls. In any other instance I would not request the document to be printed, but due to the way this issue was handled I think it is appropriate that it be printed so others can see how repulsive and discriminatory this piece of prose really is to Native American culture. [MIM trusts that our readers have seen or heard racist jokes before, and will be able to get the idea here without us having to use valuable space to spread the filth ourselves. --MIM] I have suffered many forms of discrimination while serving my sentence over the past four years, but this is the first time I have clear and convincing evidence that racial discrimination does indeed exist in Alaska's prisons. I think the readers of MIM, and especially Native American people, have a right to see what in hell is going on up here. I hope that after reading the document, awareness is increased and that people will become enraged enough to voice their opinions that what happened up here is not okay and that it will not be taken lightly. This is just one more act of oppression against American Indian culture by the fascist pigs who try to control us. I have filed a lawsuit in federal court regarding this issue; I am requesting letters of support that I can show to a jury so that they know that this issue is an outrage and that society will not stand for it. I will answer anyone who writes to me. In Total Resistance, --a Chippewa-Cree prisoner in Alaska, June 10, 1996 Letters of support can be sent to MIM Notes, PO BOX 29670, Los Angeles, CA 90029-0670 and will be forwarded to the above Chippewa-Cree prisoner in Alaska. ARIZONA PRISONER STRUGGLES TO RECEIVE MIM NOTES To My Comrades, I would like to express my gratitude to your organization for continuing my subscription to your publication. I don't know if you remember, but the institution I am incarcerated in previously contrabanded your publication and scrutinized all my mail afterward. I grieved this issue, preparing to litigate in the Arizona U.S. District Court. I had to grieve the issue to the central office of the Arizona DOC because the grievance coordinator and deputy warden negated my resolution to the problem. Apparently, central office has rescinded this institution's decision because for the last two months, I have been receiving MIM Notes as if nothing happened. Central office has not responded to my grievance appeal but I await their response. I may submit a complaint anyway because of the retaliatory tactics I have been subjected to throughout the grievance process. I was a legal clerk and legal assistant employed by this institution as a law clerk. I was suspended as a law clerk and had to fight to retain my status as a legal assistant, a non-paying position. They know I help a lot of people with their legal matters and persevere.... In every state I went to during my incarceration, the incarcerated thought their oppression was unique to that state. It is not so. Incarceration is incarceration. I do admit some prisons are rougher than others, but there is over-zealously implemented oppression in just about every prison. Especially since there is a fervor prevailing the notion to get tough on prisoners. The mass media and politicians would have the public believe we are living lavishly, but the average convict can tell you otherwise. Which brings me to my next point. The people out there need to get involved in true and just prison reform. To deprive a prisoner of everything is not in the best interest of the public. Yes, it does increase the recidivism rate because there are people who allow this deprivation and oppression to elicit bitterness in them and their reactions. Plus to release a person from prison with no further education, vocation, money, or hope is to increase that person's chances of returning. Only with these "two or three strikes, you're out" policies that are sweeping the nation a lot of perpetrators will be leaving no witnesses to decrease their chances of being caught.... --An Arizona prisoner, Apr. 29, 1996. PRISONERS FIGHT PIGS' DIVIDE AND CONQUER TECHNIQUES Dear MIM comrades, Greetings in Revolution. First I would like to express my appreciation for the MIM Notes and Maoist Sojourners I have recently received. In such an environment that breeds defeatism in our mentalities it is uplifting to hear ideas that give hope of a better condition. They have proved invaluable to me and my comrades here in understanding how to struggle within the confines of these prison walls. But we have suffered setbacks here recently. Two of our comrades have been locked up and have had their custody statuses changed. One in blatant measures of retaliation for his litigation against officers' brutality against prisoners. He was one of our leaders and most well-informed brothers, so that has hurt our educational resource very seriously. Our other comrade was railroaded in a Kangaroo Court for a fabricated assault on an officer case. He was the instructor of our martial arts and Self- Defense class, which has been attacked and interrupted on several occasions. We were meeting on a "passive" rec. yard every night for hours and the administration began passing policies to cut off our access to them. Now only three or four of us are allowed at a time. Christians can go and have 20 to 30 people. We are now attempting to gain our leader's release from Ad-Seg (Administrative Segregation) and our other comrade has appealed the decision of his disciplinary case. He has witnesses in his favor, but these pigs seem not to care. I have a question. What is MIM's position on the struggle to overthrow and gain control of an institution such as this? Marx made a statement once that "Basing a revolution on prison reform is like basing a slave revolt on better food for the slaves." I hope to hear from you soon. Any advice you may have will be welcome.... Sincerely in solidarity, --a Texas prisoner, June 11, 1996 MIM REPLIES: The answer to your question has three parts. First, on strategy here and now, we oppose armed struggle in the imperialist countries until such time as the bourgeoisie is really helpless. We advocate the scientific approach of fighting winnable battles one at a time, as opposed to the idealistic, moralistic approach of fighting all battles at once without concern for whether they are winnable. On the other hand, prisoners face a special dilemma: You can get killed for a nonviolent prison takeover as was the case in the Attica prison rebellion, but you also can't go on increasingly repressed by fascism forever. The Attica rebellion was repressed and the place is still a hell-hole, but that losing struggle did have an incredible impact. Prison conditions and the situation of genocide are difficult to work into a strategy of winning battles. Second, in the medium term, we support the revolutionizing of prisons as part of the construction of new democracy and socialism. We see China 1949-1976 as a model in this regard. We do not advocate the immediate abolition of prisons, but we do advocate an immediate end to prison's use as a tool of national ("racial"), class and gender oppression. Third, in the long run, we advocate the abolition of prisons as part of the construction of communism, a stateless, classless society free of oppression. ARIZONA MEAT PATTIES--FOR TEST PURPOSES ONLY Dear MIM, Please keep MIM Notes coming. If there was any doubt before, I now realize I'm in the same boat as many of the people who write in to UL&K. Recently, I was shown a sticker that came from a box of meat patties that are fed to us regularly. Among other things, the sticker said, "Not For Sale--For Test Purposes Only". One of the ingredients listed as being in the meat is Silicon Dioxide. Another con showed a copy of this same sticker to one of the prison staff. The staff member immediately went to check on the rest of the boxes of meat. When he returned, he demanded to have the sticker returned to him. Said sticker was hidden and secured before it could be returned to the staff member. The excuse the staff member gave the con for the sticker was that the meat was a "promotional gift," yet he still demanded to have the sticker returned. Since the sticker was found, people on the outside have been notified, including loved ones and lawyers. Many of these people are looking into what type of test this meat is intended for. (The lot number was also on the sticker). I can only imagine what the long-term effects would be had we not found the sticker. And since there was no USDA stamp on the packages, I can only assume these products were not originally intended for human consumption. This is worse that the radiation tests done on cons at Oregon State Pen. in the early seventies. At least those cons were paid, semi-informed volunteers. What's next, military ammunition testing? I wasn't sentenced to do ten years as a lab rat. I suggest that any con reading this look into what your jailers are feeding you. Especially anyone in one of the new corporate prisons like Corruptions Corp. of Amerika. That's not to say that any state's Department of Corruptions won't be involved in immoral testing too. --an Arizona prisoner, June 14, 1996 PIGS' TACTICS OF OPPRESSION VIRGINIA ...The Department is forcing inmates to get rid of their typewriters by 1/1/97. Their justification for this measure is that the typewriters pose a "security risk". Several months ago an inmate on Death Row was allegedly storing a gun within his typewriter.... --a Virginia prisoner, May 29, 1996 TEXAS ...The pigs are trying to ride down on us here. They have dramatically reduced activities and educational opportunities. Harassment of vocal revolutionary cadre here continues. The favorite method is to plant a contraband item in your cell during a "routine search". The pigs are also trying to deny access to legal material by scheduling bogus doctor's appointments, etc., instead of your rightful library time.... --a Texas prisoner, June 4, 1996 SOUTH DAKOTA ...Last month two inmates from my pod were shot with rubber bullets and maced because they refused to lock up. Both required a trip to the hospital. Prison claims the inmates were drunk. Isn't it nice that in the most secure area of the prison, inmates can still make their own booze? All the top staff do weekly checks of our cells and guards do a daily count.... --a South Dakota Prisoner, June 10, 1996. ORGANIZATIONS WHICH OFFER LEGAL ASSISTANCE TO PRISONERS NAACP LEGAL DEFENSE AND EDUCATIONAL FUND 99 Hudson Street, 16th floor, New York, NY 10013, Tel: (212) 219-1900 Limited number of Habeas cases for death-row inmates HISPANIC AIDS COMMITTEE FOR EDUCATION AND RESOURCES 1017 N. Main, Suite 208, San Antonio, TX 78212, Tel:(512) 227-2204 SOUTHERN CENTER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS 83 Poplar Street, N.W., Atlanta, GA 30303-2122, Tel:(404) 688-1202 Civil rights actions affecting prison conditions in the South, representation of people facing death penalty LEGAL SERVICES FOR PRISONERS WITH CHILDREN 1535 Mission Street San Francisco, CA 94103, Tel: (415) 255-7036 Legal assistance to incarcerated parents, their children, families, etc. Does not have resources to represent individuals, but responds to hundreds of inquiries per month CHICAGO LEGAL AID TO INCARCERATED MOTHERS 205 W. Randolph Street, Suite 830, Chicago, IL 60606, Tel: (312) 332-5537 CALIFORNIA: LAW OFFICES OF ALAN ELLIS, P.C. 265 Miller Avenue, Mill Valley, CA 94941, Tel: (415) 383-3862 NEW YORK: PRISONERS' RIGHTS PROJECT OF THE LEGAL AID SOCIETY 15 Park Row, 23rd Floor, New York, NY 10038, Tel: (212) 577-3530 POST-CONVICTION REPRESENTATION OF FEDERAL DEFENDANTS. Jackson, MI 49201 Tel: (517) 788-7560 PRISONS ARE NOT DESIGNED TO REHABILITATE I am currently a prisoner in the Michigan Department of Corrections (Chippewa KTF). I have become a true believer that these prisons are not designed to rehabilitate inmates. The prisons here in Michigan promote hostile atmospheres for the inmates to reside in, by stacking inmates--full grown men--on top of each other. For example, here at KTF, 120 men are housed in a pole barn, which is designed to hold only 60 inmates. These facilities offer hardly anything positive for the inmates to involve themselves with. Then, when an inmate joins an organization to give himself something positive to occupy his time with, he gets harassed and accused of belonging to a gang! The institution does not allow these organizations to participate in any positive activities. All proposals submitted are being denied. It seems like the DOC is no longer interested in whether an inmate receives rehabilitation, or in the education he/she needs to become a productive member of society upon his/her release. Instead, Governor Engler stopped inmates from receiving financial aid to further their education. An inmate is only allowed the luxury of obtaining his GED in this facility...and we all know that is only the beginning of the road to success concerning education. They are constantly passing new policies which are making it more and more difficult for inmates to communicate with the outside world, which is a vital part of rehabilitation. They have restricted our telephone calls by giving us only ten phone numbers to call. These numbers can only be changed every six months. These phone calls are being recorded and monitored. The have done the same thing with our visits. They have made us send our loved ones visitor applications which invade their personal lives with questions that are not applicable, but which are nonetheless required to answer if they wish to visit. These prisons in Michigan are nothing more than an economy-saver. We prisoners in Michigan are steadily working for slave wages. We are also being subject to all kinds of diseases by being forced to live in such crowded quarters. Then, when an inmate requests health services, he usually does not get the attention he needs until he has naturally recovered! If an inmate does not have financial support from the outside world, he is a lost cause! These people know this. That is why they are making it so hard for a person to have contact with the outside world. --a Michigan prisoner, Mar. 11, 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. ***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 FIGHTING AMERIKAN ABUSES IN PUERTO RICO ON-LINE: WORLD WIDE WEB REVIEW Committee For The Defense of Pedro Albizu-Campos (CODEPAC) http://www.njservice.com/albizu by a RAIL and a MIM comrade Dr. Pedro Albizu-Campos, the revolutionary nationalist leader for Puerto Rican independence-- and the radiation experiments which were conducted on him in retaliation for his political practice-- are the subject of a World Wide Web homepage operated by Committee For The Defense of Pedro Albizu-Campos (CODEPAC). The homepage opens with the statement "This page is open to accuse the U.S. Government in the death of Dr. Pedro Albizu- Campos." CODEPAC urges its readers to spread the word about radiation experimentation in Puerto Rico and to write letters to Congresspeople urging them to support the independence of Puerto Rico, and an investigation into the death of Albizu-Campos. Pedro Albizu-Campos was a revolutionary leader who was convicted by the United Snakes of "seditious conspiracy" in 1936 for his work with the anti- colonial Nationalist Party. He spent seven years in a Federal prison for this "crime" of fighting for self-determination, and the rest of his life fighting U.S. imperialism and being viciously repressed by the United Snakes government. He was arrested and imprisoned again in 1950, after the Nationalist insurrection in Puerto Rico, and the attack by two Nationalists on Washington D.C.'s Blair House, where Amerikan president Truman was temporarily living. Dr. Albizu-Campos was tortured with radiation poisoning in prison, and he was also the first to confront the U.S. government on the radiation experimentation it conducted in Puerto Rico between 1951 and 1953. CODEPAC is seeking more information about and organizing support for an investigation into these experiments which killed Albizu-Campos. The homepage contains many photos showing the tissue damage and debilitated physical state from which he suffered as a result of the experiments. As a result of the release of classified documents by the Office of Human Radiation Experiments of the U.S. Department of Energy, many original documents, including FBI memos, which expose Amerikan government involvement are available for viewing or downloading. It should come as little surprise that the United Snakes has used Puerto Rican citizens as guinea pigs in radiation experiments and tortured imprisoned revolutionaries. Ever since Amerika violated the sovereignty of Puerto Rico and made it a colony, Puerto Ricans have fought many forms of forced medical testing including forced birth control experiments. Amerika also further impoverished Puerto Rico by forcing a change to sugar as the main export crop in the first decades of this century. Imperialist policies sucked off the island's resources and fostered a revolutionary nationalist movement which Amerika had to repeatedly crush with money and bombs. In addition to buying off politicians and installing puppet leaders, Amerika bombed the town of Jayuya in 1950, arrested thousands of nationalists, and built up a self- serving economy in order to silence the cries of revolt from Puerto Ricans. CODEPAC is continuing the righteous tradition of Puerto Rican resistance to U.S. imperialism. It is, however, unfortunate that the organization does not see the futility of their tactics, even though it states that "U.S. policy has always been against the independence of Puerto Rico." No amount of letter writing or protesting to the Amerikan government will change the nature of imperialism, and Amerika will not give up imperialism without a fight. Token apologies, if won, will not prevent Amerika from torturing again, or crushing other leaders like Albizu-Campos who will fight for national self-determination. CODEPAC should study the contributions of the Young Lords Party (YLP) to the liberation movement. During the 1970s, YLP, a revolutionary party modeled after the Black Panther Party, was the vanguard for Puerto Rican revolutionary nationalism. The Young Lords organized to improve the quality of life for Puerto Ricans living in Amerikan slums, to fight for the independence of Puerto Rico, and for the establishment of a socialist society. The book Palante explains the history of the Young Lords Party and its struggle for Puerto Rican power. YLP didn't rely on Amerika to help Puerto Ricans, but built its own support systems and made alliances with other organizations with shared goals. CODEPAC should not waste its time on reforming imperialism; instead it should work on building independent power of the oppressed. Notes: J. Sakai, *Settlers: The Mythology of the White Proletariat.* Morningstar Press, 1989; Ronald Fernandez, *Prisoners of Colonialism: The Struggle for Justice in Puerto Rico.* Common Courage Press: Monroe, Maine 1994. * * * MIM PACKAGED INTO "ACTIVIST WEB-STARTER'S KIT" Hey folks, Just writing to tell you about your inclusion in "The Activist's Web-Starters Kit" (http://www2.portal.ca/~comprev/webkit.html), and to give you a bit of information about it. As you may (or may not) know, the Vancouver Progressive Homepages have been actively promoting progressive causes, organizations, business and individuals on the internet. The VPH Progressive Clearinghouse is one of the best progressive resources on the net, offering hundreds (soon thousands) of links to various progressive causes, including your own. We have taken this invaluable resource and converted it into a downloadable database that can be plugged into popular web- browsers, The Activist's Web-Starters Kit, thus giving individuals immediate access to the best resources on the web. The Activist's Web-Starters Kit will be updated monthly with any new additions to the VPH Progressive Clearinghouse ("http://www2.portal.ca/~comprev/list.html"). We are pleased to include your site in this resource, and hope that it raises awareness about your site and what you're doing. ... MIM RESPONDS: MIM is glad to be included on this list of "progressive" Internet sites. The creators of the site, in a little blurb about MIM, point out that we support the Cultural Revolution in China (1966-1976), and note that Sartre belonged to a Maoist group. This site is part of a group of efforts by people who specialize in providing links to other "progressive" groups within a very broad conception of that term. Such efforts are useful in the sense that they help people get to certain information or groups quickly or find groups they didn't know about. MIM, for example, is listed in the category of "left-socialist" as well as in the category of prisons activism. We certainly would like to be found by people interested in either of these categories. On the other hand, there are a lot of judgments made in such a project that have political implications with which we don't agree. For example, MIM is not listed under "feminist-women's" issues, while the reactionary National Organization for Women, and the social-democratic/Trotskyist Solidarity, do appear there. Likewise, under "anti- racist" activism, innocent browsers may stumble upon the Anti-Defamation League, a right-wing, pro- state repression organization that covers itself in a cloak of "tolerance" and "diversity," but will not find MIM. On the flip side, most people who make lists of "progressive" efforts are much more anticommunist than the creators of the Activist Web-Starter's Kit, so even if we would have done it differently ourselves, we acknowledge the positive contribution they make. * * * CAPITALIST PRODUCTION CHOKES INTERNET POTENTIAL Electronic Frontier Foundation Chairperson, Internet publisher and investment capitalist Esther Dyson recently spoke to the New York Times Magazine about intellectual property and the future of the Internet. Her argument, that the World Wide Web will increasingly be a place for people to freely distribute and advertise content that they will have to sell in other formats, typifies the short- sightedness of capitalist production. Social resources that can and should be easily distributed online are held captive by the production relations of capitalism and the necessity of making a profit. The current bourgeois obsession with preserving copyright on the Internet (which Dyson calls a "moral" issue) serves as another reminder of the forces of creativity and progress that socialism and communism will inevitably unleash. Note: The New York Times Magazine July 7, 1996. pp. 16-19. * * * ON PERU AND THE RIM With the participation of some of the RCP-USA influenced organizations in the RIM, *A World to Win* published a magazine on Peru. It has already proved to be the work of the center-right in our movement--those like Hua Guofeng waving the red flag to conciliate with counterrevolution. Although the document is marked as published in 1995, MIM only just received it in recent months of 1996. Italicized in the document is a statement summing up the centrist approach to waving the red flag. "In the actual circumstances and given the relation of class forces at this stage in Peru, there is, from the standpoint of the proletariat, no need for and no correct basis for negotiations leading to the end of the People's War. There is no basis--in terms of the freedom and the necessity of the revolutionary camp on the one hand and the reactionary camp on the other--for achieving a peace accord that would not represent abandoning the revolutionary road and compromising away the fundamental interests of the people. Under these circumstances, the only kind of peace accord which would be accepted by the Fujimori regime--and more generally by the ruling classes in Peru and their imperialist masters--is an agreement to end the war on a basis that could not benefit but would harm the revolutionary process in Peru. Therefore, a proposal for peace accords to end the war could only lead to opportunism and must be combatted."(p. 15) On the same page that it refers to itself as the "emerging political centre of the international communist movement," the RIM says, "those who have been confused by the right opportunist line or stumbled off the revolutionary path should repudiate this line, oppose and counter the damage being caused by this line and its adherents, and retake the revolutionary road."(p. 17) Therein lies the essence of the problem of the *A World to Win* stand. We take the stand that of course there is a two-line struggle at all times in the party, but in the instances that the RCP-USA is pointing to in this document, what we see is not right opportunism but counterrevolution. Furthermore, those conciliating with these counterrevolutionary forces while maintaining the appearance of a different line also lose their credibility as Maoists. Unlike the RIM, we do not suggest to the PCP-CC to conciliate with these counter-revolutionaries and police to the extent of keeping them in the party. We find it unlikely that the PCP could have kept such people in the party and maintained its progress with the armed struggle and it also seems likely to MIM that whatever discussions were about the "peace accords" were done years ago, at least in relation to this type of most fundamental question in which a party such as the PCP would have achieved unity very quickly. The statement "it was important that the masses, and especially some of the middle strata, realize that Mao had gone to great efforts to reach a reasonable accord with Chiang" (p. 25) is correct. Those who deny this aspect of the peace sentiments of the masses are metaphysicians. However, it is a different question when it comes to the party and what is permissible for a party member to believe, and this is the crux of the problem with the RIM line on the People's War in Peru. MIM never saw one of the documents released on pages 64 and 65 before. In the "Outline for a Basic Document," we see a clear call for counterrevolution. "Ending the people's war represents neither surrender nor abandoning the revolution, but rather continuing the struggle under new conditions." In addition, the document continues, "II. Basic Approach 1. Sign a peace agreement whose application would lead to the ending of the war the country is experiencing. 2. End the people's war begun 17 May 1980, in all its four forms of guerrilla actions. Disband the People's Guerrilla Army, destroying its arms and combat material; likewise, dissolve the People's Committees and the revolutionary base areas of the People's New Democratic Republic." Going back as far as statements released in 1994, MIM said it would never be permissible to advocate laying down arms. "Outline for a Basic Document" does exactly that, but the RIM calls it "written in the latter part of 1993 by leaders of the Right Opportunist Line."(p. 64) Whatever right opportunism there might be in the PCP pales in comparison with this counterrevolutionary document. Without MIM ruling on questions unique to Peru or determining Peru's Guiding Thought, MIM can clearly say that the universal aspects of Maoism in the oppressed, semi- feudal countries include never laying down arms except for partial and limited symbolic gestures, not as across-the-board action or strategy. The conditions do not matter. There is nothing about Maoism to integrate with the conditions on that question. The document cannot be called Maoist, no matter what conditions in Peru might be. Hence, even though MIM does not know the conditions or pretend to have a Guiding Thought for Peru, MIM knows that that document went too far. Its signers can not be members of the PCP. The whole affair of pretending otherwise is a montage of the police and its press lackeys. RIM talks about "stumbling," but this goes further than that. This kind of "stumbling" removes one from the party. Perhaps these people can take up work in the new democratic forces. Others may prove themselves in the people's army, but they cannot be immediately trusted. A well-publicized example of this is in the Philippines with the case of General Jarque whose story is told in Maoist Sojourner, May 1996. If someone clamors to join the proletarian- led forces that is good, and we must let them, but in the case of someone like Jarque with a history of bloodshed on his hands, caution and step-by-step struggle is necessary. Furthermore, those saying they want a "peace accord" and would conciliate with the signers of "Outline for a Basic Document" to the extent of keeping those signers in the party--such conciliators should also be thrown out of the party. The core of the party must be with those who recognize the "Outline for a Basic Document" as counterrevolutionary. Abroad, this means the line of Luis Arce Borja has been vindicated by the publication of *A World to Win.* On the INTERNET, those defending the RIM line have reminded MIM of its own internal purge of the anarchist wind. They speak of "not casting out" people, blather about going on the offensive through outreach with everyone vaguely included in the Maoist forces and emphasize how their approach is "practice." Those unwilling to purge the party go against what Lenin taught on how purges strengthen the party. This is to leave aside the whole issue of police infiltrators, which is also connected up with a reluctance to purge and a happy-go-lucky approach to unity. Other defenders of the RIM are a case in point of how difficult it is to break with the RCP-USA's revisionism without the MIM line on the imperialist countries. Already some ex-RCP USA circles are crawling back to the RCP-USA line as the struggle intensifies. In light of these documents in *A World to Win,* and also other press reports about RIM-sanctioned people attacking the PCP-CC as "totalitarian," MIM sees that this struggle has gone beyond the confines of what is acceptable within the universal principles of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism. We do not seek to present a Guiding Thought for Peru from here in the imperialist countries. We will not march through Peru's conditions the way *A World to Win* did as if we should form the Guiding Thought from here--though it is certain that the blow to the leadership and the lack of inter-imperialist war will make the People's War more protracted than would otherwise be the case. We recognize instead of trying to form the Guiding Thought, we abroad should follow Luis Arce Borja in his approach. He has warned against RIM centrism and conciliation with counterrevolution and police plots. Meanwhile, he has rebuffed the obviously non-Maoist attacks on the PCP including the recent police plot activities of the New Flag aimed at MIM and Luis Arce Borja himself, and Luis Arce Borja has earned MIM's trust in these matters including detailed questions that MIM cannot know much about. Meanwhile, the RIM belies its claim to be fighting the "right opportunist line" by distributing leaflets against Luis Arce Borja internationally. If one is conducting a struggle against the "right opportunist line" for the peace accords, one does not proceed against those like Luis Arce Borja who have steadfastly opposed them. Such is the tell- tale sign of the center-right: wave the red flag to attract adherents, but attack the left and base oneself in the support from the right. In such a way it is possible to confuse the left momentarily, strike down its forces and achieve counter- revolution, whether subjectively intended or not. This is the outcome we must now struggle to avoid. *Adopted unanimously 1996 MIM Congress* * * * AMERIKA'S NOT PAYING ITS LEASE: FIRST NATIONS SUE OVER $2.4 BILLION IN MISMANAGED FUNDS by MCB52 On June 10, the Native American Right fund and the Blackfeet Development fund filed the largest class action lawsuit ever against the federal government. The groups are waging this legal battle on behalf of the 300,000 account holders of Individual Indian Money Accounts.(1) They demand that the federal government account for $2.4 billion for which it lost or destroyed records. They demand payment to those who have not received the promised proceeds from land leased to the government for mineral and other resources. There is no doubt legally that this money belongs to the First Nation people. Much of it was allocated to individuals and tribes in the 1880s as compensation for land. For example, when stealing the Black Hills of South Dakota and huge tracts of western land, the government alleged that the First Nations were not using them anyway. It promised to give a share of the extracted resources to the First Nations who relocated. Instead the government hoards the profits while First Nations people suffer malnutrition and lack of basic services like health and education. "The price for this government negligence and malfeasance is being paid by individual Indians who are required by [federal] law to maintain the federal government as their bank." John Echohawk, one of the filers of the suit. Linda M. Calbom, Director of Civil Audits for the General Accounting Office(GOA), stated that a total of $2.4 billion for 32,901 transactions could not be traced and only 10 percent of the leases selected for reconciliation could be verified. In April 1994, the GOA ordered the Bureau of Indian Affairs(BIA) and the Department of the Interior to find a resolution, but they failed to do so. They did create an agency to oversee trust fund management, however they did not fund it. "As a result, the BIA does not know the total number of leases that it is responsible for managing or whether it is collecting revenues from all active leases," according to Calbom.(2) Based on the BIA's history of fronting for imperialist interests, MIM expects no action from the BIA that will provide reparations for the First Nations. This deliberate bureaucratic staggering is another tactic to perpetuate national oppression.. In response to this new suit, Congress has made a task force. But when the GOA, BIA, and so many other acronyms have talked the talk so much before, why should we believe this time they are walking the walk? This suit appears to be on very strong legal ground. That is unusual for claims by the oppressed since the oppressors make up the laws. The tactic of suing is a good way to expose hypocrisy of the government ignoring its own laws. The government may concede these funds if it serves its interests of maintaining domination,. but will never concede power. NOTES: 1. Indian Country Today, June 18-25, 1996, p.p. 1- 2. 2. Congressional Press Releases, June 18, 1996. * * * MICMAC TRADER SUPPORTS PEOPLE'S WAR ACADIA, MAINE--A militant businessperson of the Micmac nation surrounded by Canada told MIM the victory of the People's War in Peru "is inevitable" despite all the propaganda of the white man's government against it. "I'm for Mao, because he pretty much did for his people what our people have to do against the Amerikan government, the Canadian government, the white man's government." "The united states with all their propaganda controlled news twisted what he did, distorted it. I don't understand why they did that. . . . In the end, I think it's all money." Asked if he meant it all boils down to money, he said, "yes, right money, like in Latin America where one country, seven families own the whole damn country, and control the military." According to this Micmac trader, "they say the labor is communist, but that is wrong. We [indigenous peoples] are the communists." MIM replied that Marx got his ideas about communism from anthropological studies of indigenous peoples. There was nothing in the modern white man's culture that Marx could adapt, so he took the communist idea he called "primitive communism" and attempted to fashion it for use in modern, industrial times. According to the Micmac trader all his First Nation peoples are communists, "but the government turns it into something evil; they make it out like it is all repression, but Mao was a freedom-fighter." Linking together Mao's fight, his own fight and the oppression of Jews, he went on, "Hitler studied the Indians; looking at the Indians, Hitler got the idea for concentration camps from the reservations, because that's what it is, a concentration camp; that's what they call it, but it's really a concentration camp." He went on to say that the government sets up programs to make people dependent on them. Then he explained how Hitler had the Jews marked with numbers and he took out his identification card from Canada and pointed to the bottom line to show MIM his number" "The only difference is it's not on my wrist." * * * SPRINGFIELD MA FIRES RACIST COP FOR ADMITTING HIS RACISM On July 16, the Springfield Massachusetts Police Commission fired a police officer "who admitted leaving a racially charged message on the answering machine of Black minister Talbert Swan II." Ten year veteran Officer Joseph Bradley was on duty when he made the phone call with a fake black dialect and the name "Leroy Washington" and "left two crude expletives on the minister's machine" in reference to the rash of Black church burnings. Bradley is not new to accidentally exposing white supremacy in the Springfield Police. In 1994, after Officer Donald Brown was cleared by the injustice system of any wrongdoing in the killing of unarmed Black motorist Benjamin Schoolfield, Bradley helped organize a party to congratulate Brown on a "job well done (keep up the good work)". At the party Bradley presented Brown with a ham--an old Southern custom to reward the killer of a Black person. This party was the source of protests, and not a part of this Police Commission hearing. Reverend Swan said he wasn't pleased with the "quick and decisive action" by the Police Commission. He was "skeptical that this is ... a political ploy to say 'Look how we can be tough on incidents or crimes involving racism.'" According to the NAACP and Swan, a few weeks ago the Springfield police used excessive force on a "78-year-old Black woman--spraying her with Mace and verbally abusing her." According to Commission Chairperson Gerald A Phillips, "It was pretty cut and dried.... He admitted making the call, and he was on duty, which is totally unacceptable behavior." It appears that the problem was that Bradley got caught and then admitted it, making more bad public relations for the police. It's unclear from Phillips' statement whether it is acceptable for Springfield pigs to harass Blacks off duty. Unlike other incidents of brutality by the Springfield police, there is very little in the way of excuses that can be made by the police to explain it away. But here the Police Commission's message to the 500-member force is clear: Leave the Klan robes at home, and allow your job description and the injustice system to wage war on the internal colonies. According to Philips, Bradley's action hurt the image the police are trying to build. "Community policing" has gotten a big push from the new police chief, Paula Meara, and actions like Bradley's hurt that. Community policing is where the police walk beats and try to get to know the community more closely. This allows for more effective control on the part of the police. If the Springfield police were looking for a motto, perhaps we could suggest "Kinder, gentler, and really fucking deadly". Officers like Bradley hurt community policing because it makes it harder for the police to gain the "trust" of the communities occupied by the police. The Police Commission that fired Bradley has ordered "all Springfield police officers to undergo race sensitivity training." It's essential to the police department that its officers cease with diversionary activities like ham-giving and prank calls and get back to the business of "gang suppression" and other anti-Black and Latino oppression. WILL A WOMYN POLICE CHIEF HELP? In January, Mayor Albano named Paula Meara police chief. Some community leaders hoped that her history of battling sexism within the police department might make her more "sensitive" to "issues of discrimination." President of the Springfield NAACP, Mickey Harris has remarked "Certainly she's talking the talk, but can she walk the walk?" As if to answer, Swan told the Advocate that he wondered if the police would have responded so quickly if an officer less notorious than Bradley had made the call. So while Meara didn't have a choice here, this wasn't a real test. Harris also compared the Bradley phone call to the Rodney King incident: common occurrences that brought outrage from the state because luck had them recorded. If any doubts remain about Meara's "tolerance", one need only to look at what the Advocate reported about their conversation with her about the elderly Black woman abused by the police: "Meara declined to say much about the incident, other than that the Internal Investigations Unit is looking to the charges of impropriety. The woman, Meara added is still a defendant in a criminal case." It doesn't take a defense attorney to understand that to Meara, if you have been charged with a crime, being maced and verbally abused is within the realm of acceptability. Springfield Mayor Albano is "arranging for Springfield's religious community to observe a day of reflection on racism." If Albano was truly interested in reflection on racism (or more accurately, national oppression) he should start by looking in a mirror. Notes: All quotes from Boston Globe July 17, 1996; Valley Advocate July 18, 1996, p. 8-9. Other sources: MIM Notes 91, August 1994 p. 5; Springfield Union News July 7, 9 and 11, 1994. * * * ACTIVISTS WIN BATTLE AGAINST UMASS CENSORSHIP AMHERST, MA.--On July 17, student activists sympathetic to RAIL have won a battle against censorship at the University of Massachusetts. The July 15 issue of RAIL Notes reported that students were banned from tabling at in the student-funded Campus Center/Student Union complex--which is one of the few high traffic areas in the summer--while large corporations like Baybank, Fleet Bank and Peter Pan bus lines as well as the police department where allowed to set up informational tables. In just a few days, the activists gathered over 160 signatures defending their right to distribute literature. As RAIL Notes reported, the University wanted to keep the activists away from the "impressionable" incoming students and their parents. The activists took their petitions directly to the new students and their parents. According to the student bureaucrat responsible for overseeing tabling in the Campus Center/Student union, neither pressure from the New Students program nor the petitions swayed her decision to allow student organizations to set up tables. She says that she just changed her mind. Twice the activists were able to table with a minimum of harassment in the last week. However, the activists have received no written assurance that they can table freely, and it is unknown whether the student bureaucrats' letter to administrators asking them to stop the activists from tabling is still in circulation. Finally, a meeting of the student-led Campus Center/Student Union Commission to announce the new policy has twice been scheduled and then moved or canceled, leaving the activists to wonder how solid their "victory" actually is. The most important lesson from this small struggle is the necessity of not bowing down before the self-serving and self-imposed reactionary regulations of bureaucrats. The student bureaucrat had raised all kinds of objections to the activists setting up tables or to changing her regulations, ranging from the work it would take to oversee the activists, to the fact that she didn't have authority to change her organization's policy. It is an important Maoist principle that "There are no rights, only power struggles." Not only did the activists earn the ability to distribute their literature, they also took this principle a step farther: "There are no regulations, only power struggles." Don't back down because the reactionaries wrote rules to support themselves! * * * FIRST NATIONS: PENOBSCOTTS OPPOSE MAINE TAXES ACADIA, MAINE--On July 14th, MIM spoke with several traders from the Penobscott nation and other First Nations sometimes linked to the Wabanaki Confederacy. Only one spoke for the policy of paying taxes to Maine. "I have nothing against it," he said. When asked if he thought of himself as a citizen of Maine, he nodded yes. However, even his partner in business disagreed with him and said, "the Mohawks don't have to pay it on their reserve. I don't see why we have it to pay it." Another Penobscott from the Turquoise Arrowhead store was more adamant. "I don't believe we should be charged taxes no matter where we live. . . there's a whole bunch of taxes, starting with the land tax; what a rip-off." When told about the one who said he was a citizen of Maine, "citizen of Maine. Paying taxes to Maine, that's for the white people. Maine is for the white people." PATAKI BACKS DOWN SENECA NATION TERRITORY--The office of New York State Governor George Pataki has backed down from threats to collect the New York State tax by invading Seneca territory. Originally his goons were to arrive this summer on First Nation territory. One Seneca had this to say about it, "If they want to go through with it, we're just going to put a toll booth on both sides of the highway [passing through Seneca territory--ed.] . . . 25 cents a car or whatever it takes, if that's what they want to play with."