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         THE MAOIST INTERNATIONALIST MOVEMENT

     MIM Notes 120                  AUGUST 15, 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.  NETHERLANDS THREATENS TO EXPEL LEADER OF 
FILIPINO
    STRUGGLE
2.  REVOLUTIONARY TURKISH PRISONERS WIN 
HUNGERSTRIKE 
3.  LETTERS
4.  AMERIKAN TERRORISM ON THE RISE: FEDS WANT MORE 
REPRESSIVE
    POWERS
5.  INDONESIAN MASSES PROTEST REPRESSION
6.  ENVIRONMENTAL DESTRUCTION CANNOT BE STOPPED 
THROUGH
    ELECTORALISM
7.  ENGLER DEPORTS INCARCERATED YOUTH: ACLU FIGHTS 
BACK,
    QUICKLY WINS PARTIAL VICTORY
8.  PETTY-BOURGEOIS SQUABBLE OVER PROFITS FROM 
UMASS SLOGAN
9.  UNDER LOCK & KEY: NEWS FROM PRISONERS AND 
PRISONS
10. ON PROLETARIAN LEADERSHIP IN THE IMPERIALIST 
COUNTRIES
11. LAKOTA SEEK CONTROL OVER REPRODUCTIVE CHOICES
12. ON ANY OFFER OF POSITION FROM THE MANILA 
GOVERNMENT
13. MAOISTS KNOW SPEECH ISN'T "FREE" BUT DOLE 
WHINES ABOUT
    FUNDING PROBLEMS
14. AMERIKAN CULTURE: LALLAPOOLOZA '96: MIM GOES TO 
LALA LAND
    AND INDEPENDENCE DAY 1996
15. MARXISM-LENINISM-MAOISM ONLINE


* * *


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




NETHERLANDS THREATENS TO EXPEL LEADER OF FILIPINO 
STRUGGLE


by MC206

On July 18, the Dutch Ministry of Justice notified 
Prof. Jose Maria Sison that it had decided to expel 
him and gave Prof. Sison four weeks to leave the 
country.(1) Prof. Sison is currently the chief 
political advisor for the National Democratic Front 
of the Philippines (NDF) in its negotiations with 
the Republic of the Philippines and was the 
founding chairperson of the Communist Party of the 
Philippines (CPP). He has lived in exile since 
1988.

The Dutch Ministry of Justice called Prof. Sison a 
"terrorist" and accused him of several crimes he 
supposedly committed while being held in solitary 
confinement by the Marcos government. These vague 
and untrue charges are based on falsified and 
secret "evidence" supplied by the Amerikan and 
Philippine governments.(2)

The decision by the Ministry of Justice contradicts 
earlier decisions by the Dutch Council of State, 
which gave Prof. Sison "political refugee" status. 
Prof. Sison is currently appealing the expulsion 
order, and his appeal effectively suspends the 
order.(3)

After the expulsion order was announced, Philippine 
president Ramos stated that Prof. Sison was welcome 
to return to the Philippines and offered him a 
place in the legislature.(4) Ramos is one of the 
main architects of the U.S.-sponsored "low 
intensity war" against the CPP, NDF, and the people 
of the Philippines.

Prof. Sison rejected both offers and called them 
"psychological warfare" (see press statement page 
9). The U.S.-Ramos regime is vainly trying to move 
the negotiations with the NDF from the Netherlands 
to the Philippines, where it can more effectively 
spy on and harass the NDF negotiators. MIM also 
doubts the sincerity of Ramos' promises of safety 
for Prof. Sison, since the U.S.-Ramos regime 
already violated safety and immunity agreements it 
had signed with the NDF when it arrested Sotero 
Llamas last year. The Dutch Council of State also 
refuses to extradite Prof. Sison to the Philippines 
"for humanitarian reasons."(4)

Ramos' offers also inadvertently contradict the 
charges by the Dutch Ministry of Justice: Surely a 
"terrorist" would not be offered a seat in the 
legislature? Prof. Sison was arrested, heavily 
tortured, and detained for almost ten years by the 
Marcos dictatorship. President Aquino released 
Prof. Sison in 1986, but she canceled Prof. Sison's 
passport while he was abroad on a speaking tour in 
1988. He applied for asylum in the Netherlands 
shortly after.

Send letters protesting the unjust decision of the 
Dutch Ministry of Justice to: The Ministry of 
Justice, Postbus 30127, GC S-Gravenhage, The 
Netherlands.


* * *


REVOLUTIONARY TURKISH PRISONERS WIN HUNGERSTRIKE


by MC234 & MC206

On July 27, agreement was reached between hunger 
striking prisoners and the government of Turkey for 
improved prison conditions. Two thousand Turkish 
revolutionaries and 4,000 Kurdish took part in the 
hunger strike, and over 200 prisoners had pledged 
to hunger strike until death.(1) Twelve prisoners 
died in the 69-day strike, and at least a hundred 
are in comas or critically injured. All demands of 
the prisoners were met.

Hunger strikers were protesting the transfer of 
roughly 100 political prisoners to Eskisehir 
prison, 125 miles west of Ankara.(1) Prisoners also 
demanded an end to torture and beatings, and better 
access to legal defense and medical treatment.

Eskisehir prison is a weapon of the Turkish state 
against the political organizing of prisoners. As 
one revolutionary Turk wrote on the Marxism list 
(an Internet discussion group): "Political 
prisoners actually control much of what goes on 
inside the wards. Yes, there is torture, there is 
indiscriminate killings. But, still the political 
prisoners continue to live a collective, political 
existence inside the prisons. They learn, they 
educate and teach to and from each other. In the 
words of the Minister of' Justice, Kazan, 'Prisons 
are Terrorist Education Institutes.' He went from 
interview to interview today, explaining: 'If we 
give in to their demands, they will just remain as 
militant, and they will continue to inflict all the 
prison population. If we don't move them all to the 
'anti-terrorism' Prison in Eskisehir, we are just 
letting the next generation to take root. So, we 
have to stop them. We will intervene'.

"Now, intervention is no easy thing. They will kill 
hundreds if they intervene. The prisoners have 
barricades inside the prisons. For example, 
Bayrampasa Prison, the center of attention, has a 
350m corridor that is 7m wide that all the doors of 
the wards of political prisoners open to. They 
can't enter that corridor now. They will not be 
able to enter it without a big fight. This means 
more deaths, these people have been on a hunger-
strike for 68 days. The Minister claims 'They have 
cell-phones, faxes, their own medicine. They have 
their own rule book of how to behave, and they have 
their own representation system. They elect their 
own administrators, and they run the prisons. How 
do we let this go on?' 

"Eskisehir is designed to put a stop to that. 
Single-cell layout is designed just for that. It 
has been about six years now they are trying to 
move prisoners into that prison. Each attempt has 
met with fierce resistance. They never managed it. 
They had to back down each time. This time they 
were really determined, but the prisoners were just 
as determined. This is about the most collective 
resistance since probably early 1980s, during the 
military coup. Many died then, but not a leaf was 
moving outside. Even the news wasn't getting out. 
Now, it affects everything."


TURKISH STATE RESPONDS WITH FORCE


Demonstrations in support of the prisoners were 
held across Turkey. According to the Anatolia News 
Agency, Kurdish revolutionaries set fire to a bus 
after emptying it of passengers in solidarity with 
the hunger striking prisoners.(1) The Turkish 
revolutionary on the Marxism list wrote: "The 
numbers in demonstrations reached a low in the 
third day after the deaths, because so many had 
been detained. Now, they are growing real fast. So, 
they detain thousands? Tens of thousands? Declare 
Martial Law?" He argued that the struggle of the 
political prisoners had a broad politicizing effect 
upon the masses while also bringing together 
different revolutionary organizations.

In response to the struggle by the revolutionaries, 
the government increased repressive measures 
against people both inside and outside the prisons. 
There have been reports that the Turkish government 
tried to chain prisoners hospitalized from the 
hunger strike in spite of a previous agreement that 
prohibited this action. The prisoners are well 
aware that they will have to continue their efforts 
to expose government treachery as they build up 
their revolutionary power.


AMERIKA'S ROLE


Turkey is a neo-colony of Amerika and Germany, and 
the struggle of the Turkish and Kurdish masses is 
not just against their government, but against 
these imperialists. Germany is Turkey's largest 
trading partner, accounting for 15% of Turkey's 
exports and 18% of its imports. German tourists 
alone account for almost 1% of Turkey's GDP.(2)

The Amerikan government spent about $500 million in 
military aid to Turkey each year from 1988 to 1991. 
In 1988 Germany gave Turkey $45 million in military 
aid.(3) That's on top of Turkey's own military 
budget of $2-3.5 billion per year.

Turkey has one of the highest military spending 
rates of the countries in NATO, despite being one 
of the poorest.(2,3) NATO likes to think of the 
Turkish armed forces as "buffers" (read: cannon 
fodder).

Turkey occupies an important strategic position 
close to both the Middle East and the ex-Soviet 
Union. During the "Cold War," the United Snakes 
stationed nuclear weapons in Turkey and based much 
of its intelligence services there. There are 
listening posts near the center of Turkey-occupied 
Kurdistan, for example.(3) Now these military 
facilities are used to enforce the "new world 
order" in the Middle East.

Turkish fascism and militarism have been 
alternately encouraged and overlooked by these 
imperialist powers seeking to protect their 
interests. MIM hails this blow by the 
revolutionaries against the lackeys of imperialism 
running the government of Turkey. The mass 
mobilization needed to achieve this victory and the 
ability of the revolutionaries to mobilize these 
people are both lessons and inspiration to our 
struggle.

NOTES: 

1. Associated Press July 27, 1996.
2. World Economic Data, Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 
1991, pp. 206-207.
3. Turkey Newsletter 3/89.
Also: DHKC information bureau Amsterdam 
This story was written on July 
31. Reliable information was several days older 
than this date.


* * *


LETTERS


MIM READER OPPOSES GAMBLING, MIM DOESN'T


Concerning the article: "Ojibwe protest sham 
election: Tribal dictator responds with violence." 
This is an excellent article about the dangers of 
casino gambling in any area of the country. Every 
American would surely want to know the results of 
this experiment. Is it working or not? If it's not 
working, then the government should put a stop to 
it, and not simply side with the profiteers! 

-A reader in the East July 13, 1996.

MIM RESPONDS: Please see the correction in MIM 
Notes 119. MIM wrote a self-criticism for taking 
sides within the Ojibwe nation and portraying this 
struggle as the principal contradiction instead of 
exposing Amerikan imperialism. But we can address 
here why your conclusion that we oppose gambling is 
not correct. We have written extensively about 
gambling and its potential for economic self- 
sufficiency for First Nations. Much of it is summed 
up in MIM Theory 7: Proletarian Feminist 
Revolutionary Nationalism, available for $6.

While gambling does not produce any value and its 
very profitability is a measure of its decadence, 
MIM does not oppose the First Nations setting up 
casinos on their land and inviting whites in to 
lose their money. Why does MIM support this First 
Nation capitalism, given that we are communists? 
First Nation's must build independent economic 
institutions. If gambling enables First Nations to 
achieve this type of independence the decadent 
nature of gambling turns into a method to strip the 
parasites of wealth once stolen from the First 
Nations. It would be reactionary to oppose national 
bourgeois development since First Nations exist in 
overwhelming capitalist encirclement and must build 
self-reliance and independence from the 
imperialists by any means. First Nation capitalism 
builds independent power and thus is progress. The 
national bourgeoisie can then be allies in the 
struggle against Amerikan imperialism.

As the articles in MIM Theory show, whether or not 
to open casinos is a bitter struggle within many 
First Nations. In particular, the contradiction is 
between the money brought in by casinos and the 
possibility that the nation will not have direct 
control of the profits from the casino or decisions 
made regarding it. How the casinos are run, and 
what type of casinos is a part of this struggle. We 
encourage you to read this journal and struggle 
with us over it.

We disagree with your conclusion that if gambling 
"is not working" that "the government," presumably 
the Amerikkkan government, should "put a stop to 
this." The First Nations should make their own 
decisions about how to develop, in whichever ways 
they see fit. Amerika has no more right to decide 
whether First Nations run casinos than it does to 
decide whether Germany does.


PSEUDO-LEFT NATION POKES FUN AT MIM


The June 10 issue of The Nation magazine, "In 
Fact..." section reprinted a correction MIM Notes 
ran in our February issue: ..."Correction. On page 
11 of MIM Notes 108 (January 1996) we wrote that 
MIM [Maoist International Movement] 'requires 
forever monogamy of our members.' This is 
incorrect. MIM upholds asexuality as the most 
advanced sexual practice under capitalism. We also 
have policies regarding divorce for spousal abuse." 
--"MIM Notes" 109 (February 1996).

MIM RESPONDS: The Nation credited this brilliant 
reporting to Marion Banzhaf, "MIM watcher". Any 
good "MIM watcher" wouldn't have lost the "ist" in 
Internationalist..

We took a while to notice this item in The Nation 
because the supposedly "left" weekly has become so 
meaningless to those who are still serious about 
progressive, radical change. It uses this blurb to 
mock us, presumably for taking sex seriously as 
part of gender and feminism, or for suggesting that 
the social relations of sex have a certain 
character under capitalism. (Or was it just so 
funny to have communists talking about sex?)

If Banzhaf or The Nation would like to try a more 
developed criticism of our gender line-or if they 
wish to argue that analyzing gender is unnecessary-
the pages of MIM Theory are open to their 
submissions. Write us at PO Box 3576, Ann Arbor MI 
48106-3576 or mim@nyxfer.blythe.org.



ELECTION FAN TEARS DOWN MIM'S SPEECH


I'd just like to say I just ripped one of your 
signs off of a tree and I had a good laugh looking 
at it and then I had a very enjoyable long walk 
down the main street in Cambridge and ripped all 
the signs and threw them away and I noticed someone 
else had done that already on the other side of the 
street. Why don't you people take this whole thing 
seriously and listen to the debate? Have you paid 
any attention to the Weld/Kerry debate? You'd find 
out the honest truth about the man instead of 
hanging up your garbage all over the place. And if 
you have this meeting this coming week and no body 
shows up... [cut off by machine]July 17th, 1996


MIM RESPONDS: This message was in response to our 
poster "Don't vote for injustice" announcing an 
event which exposed the two Massachusetts 
candidates for US Senate, Weld and Kerry, as 
equally bad options on the questions of criminal 
injustice. The poster contained a lot of factual 
information about both Weld and Kerry's stands on 
prison issues. Weld, as governor, has obliterated 
education in prison and passed a $500 million bond 
issue for prison expansion. Kerry, as senator, 
voted for the 1994 Crime Bill which guts the rights 
of death row inmates to appeal and extends the 
death penalty from two to 58 offenses (while posing 
as anti-death penalty).

MIM does not support either of these "choices" 
because we don't support imperialism or the 
criminal injustice system that supports it. Instead 
we work for justice for the oppressed of the world. 
We recognize that voting in one imperialist 
supporter or another will not change the system, 
imperialism has to be overthrown and this can only 
be done through revolution. Right now in this 
country we need to educate people and organize them 
to build independent power of the oppressed.

We are forced to put posters on poles (we don't put 
them on trees) because we don't have access to 
advertising or bourgeois newspapers that come out 
daily so this is the only way we can inform people 
about our events. It is no surprise to us that 
someone who supports this democracy for the 
bourgeoisie, which is really a dictatorship over 
the proletariat of the world, would not even 
pretend to believe in free speech. Free speech in 
Amerika is only for those who can afford to buy it. 
This is why we need independent media and other 
independent institutions of the oppressed.

Someone who thinks they know the "honest truth" 
about Weld and Kerry is afraid of the facts in a 
MIM poster exposing their reactionary stands on the 
prison system and they are afraid of other people 
learning these facts and more by coming to our 
event. If the supporters of the bourgeoisie find 
our work so dangerous that they have to remove even 
the farce of free speech, we take this as 
encouragement that we are doing a good job of 
attacking and exposing our enemies.



TOUR BETWEEN CIRCLES OF HELL


**MIM received this letter describing the transfer 
of a prisoner from one prison to another**

Hey MIM, Gosh did I have a terrible bus ride. It 
was torture! I was paired off with this religious 
fanatic who would go into these fuckin' fits 
everytime we passed a cemetery. He'd start stampin 
his feet (mind you my right leg is chained to his 
left leg) chanting and praying in Spanish and 
English, crossing his heart, kissin his rosary 
beads, clappin his hands and carrying on. I tried 
to let him know how annoying that shit is, and is 
there anyway he could keep that to himself, 
especially since our legs is cuffed to one another 
and every time he stamps his feet the leg cuffs 
cuts into my ankle and that shit hurts like hell.

All I said was in vain. The next cemetery we passed 
he began one of his fits again. So I bent down and 
yanked the shit out of his leg chain. Now that shut 
him up. It's like I yanked him right out of his 
fit. He just stared at me like I committed the 
worst sin on the planet.

I thought that was the end of it, but I was wrong. 
Me and my bright ideas got me into some deeper 
shit. He pulls out his pocket bible and begins to 
read it in a low voice. He closes it and looks at 
me and starts tellin' me how I need Jesus and God 
in my life and I need to get rid of the bad spirits 
within me. I tell him I'm not interested but he 
keeps on. So we gets into a big argument. I cuss 
his ass out along with God, Jesus, that slut the 
"Virgin" Mary, Moses, Adam, Eve, Matthew, Mark, 
Luke and everybody else I could think of that's in 
the bible.

So he pulls out his bible and starts reading real 
loud "Devil get thee behind me". Now I'm pissed off 
beyond explanation and I knock the bible out of his 
hand onto the floor and starts spitting and stompin 
it. As soon as we get off the bus I snuff the shit 
out of him and we start fighting. They break us up 
and separate us. Thank goodness! But just my luck I 
get paired off to this other nasty muthafucka! He 
smell like he shat on himself. He tried to speak to 
me and his breath was awful. I just held my breath 
and nodded my head. I thought he was gonna shut up 
but he just kept right on. I finally told him 
"Listen money, you don't smell like the sweetest 
thing on the planet and your breath ain't exactly 
roses, I'd appreciate it if you said nothing to 
me". I felt sorry for him and I felt bad tellin' em 
this. But I had to.

I guess he gets highly offended and starts yelling 
and shit and his funk is growing stronger by the 
minute. I'm not even arguing back because I'm 
scared to breath around him. So I tell's him "just 
open that window, you could beef with me all you 
want, just open that muthafuckin' window, quick!" 
So he tells me "You open it, muthafucka. You the 
one complainin'" So I leans over him to open the 
window and while I'm doing, he starts pullin' all 
on my chain. I fell right back in my seat and we 
get in a chain pullin match.

The bus stops and the bus driver (a C.O.) tells me 
and my mate to step off the bus. When we step off 
the bus driver starts yelling at ME! he says 
"What's your problem, boy!? Everybody we shackle 
you to you have a problem with!" I'm like "First of 
all I ain't your boy! Second of all I'M not the 
problem. The PROBLEM is everyone you shackle me 
to." The driver's like "You're a wise ass, huh?" I 
say nothing.

Anyway they unshackle me from my mate and put me in 
single seat all the way up front all by myself. As 
soon as we get here I get called out to see the 
shrink. I go in her office and sit down, wondering 
what's all this about. Finally after staring at me 
for a while she says "We've a report from the bus 
officers that you display an anti-social behavior 
pattern. Are you on meds? Or do you have anything 
to say about this?" Me: "Nope." I couldn't believe 
these people was actually serious! On top of that, 
all my property, well almost all of it, is gone. I 
still have all of the position papers you sent me 
and 2 of Lenin's books "State and Revolution" and 
"War and peace". All of my MTs are gone, all my 
Stalin books including "Another view of Stalin" and 
"Arms and Empire" I had notes all up in the margins 
of those books too....


-a New York Prisoner


* * *


AMERIKAN TERRORISM ON THE RISE: FEDS WANT MORE 
REPRESSIVE POWERS

by MC12

With every terrorist act against Amerikans, the 
state seizes the opportunity to increase its power. 
After the bombing of TWA Flight 800 in July, and 
the bombing of the Olympic park shortly afterward, 
President Clinton jumped at the chance to justify 
more powers for the Federal government.

He proposed requiring explosive materials to be 
chemically "tagged" for forensic identification. He 
wants to allow wiretaps to be "roving," which means 
they follow a person instead of staying fixed on 
designated phone lines. He wants to increase the 
FBI's ability to collect hotel and telephone 
records, and storage site records. He also wants to 
be able to prosecute accused terrorists under broad 
racketeering laws.

Looks like there is a Federal wish list of 
repressive measures, and with each perceived crisis 
they try to bring them on. At such times, there is 
more public support. A CBS News poll released on 
July 30 showed that 80% of those polled agreed that 
"government should have more authority to 
investigate terrorists." On the question of 
wiretapping, there is less support. Only 52% agreed 
the Feds should have more wiretap authority.(1)

The catch with all of these laws is that when it 
comes to expanded permission to repress based on 
terrorism, it is only the Federal government that 
decides who is a potential terrorist-so they set 
limits and then enforce them on themselves. As we 
reported in MIM Notes 118 (July 15, 1996, p. 10), 
the secret court that approves "national security" 
wiretap requests from the FBI has never rejected a 
request, while approving thousands.

In the forthcoming MIM Theory 11, we report that 
Federal wiretaps in criminal cases are increasing 
rapidly along with those for "national security," 
and Federal wiretaps are becoming a greater and 
greater proportion of all wiretaps.(2)


WHO GAINS FROM THE ARMORED WITCH HUNT?


So, the state benefits from terrorism in one way: 
it gets greater legitimacy in its quest for more 
power. Private companies also benefit. In MIM 
Theory 11 we also report that private security 
firms such as Borg Warner and Wackenhut have seen 
big jumps in stock prices after such incidents as 
the World Trade Center and Oklahoma City bombings.

Wackenhut, the world's largest private security 
company, also got a boost from the June 17 TWA 
bombing. The company's stock, which had fallen more 
than 40% since the second week of June, jumped 12% 
in two days, from June 16 to June 18. The 
turnaround brought the price of Wackenhut stock up 
to its highest level since the beginning of 
April.(3)

The Atlanta bombing might help the state win 
political battles with its militia-type factions, 
who oppose some expansion of wiretapping and 
chemically tagging explosives. White-nut type 
bombings help undermine NRA opposition to such 
measures. There are tactical splits among the 
bourgeoisie on security questions, some of which 
revolutionaries can use to good advantage. The 
militia types oppose wiretaps, for example, and 
with their powerful political base the government 
has to move slowly against them. Likewise, some big 
corporations oppose things like Internet 
surveillance and restrictions on encryption 
technology-also putting them tactically on the side 
of the people. We contribute our part to deepening 
these divisions and trying to get good results out 
of them.

Some would-be revolutionaries believe terrorist 
violence, outside of an organized armed struggle, 
brings on state repression in a way that turns more 
people against the state. History does not support 
this theory, however. When such acts of violence do 
not in themselves accomplish anything positive for 
the oppressed, revolutionaries have little 
ammunition with which to challenge increased 
repression in the battle for public opinion.(4) It 
is our job to expose the hypocrisy of such 
repressive measures, but in the current conditions 
the oppressed do not gain from such incidents.


HYPOCRISY REAKS FROM THE CORE OF AMERIKA


Reactionary ideologues are also seizing the moment 
to push their agendas. "How Do You Explain It to a 
Child?" asked the headline over David Broder's 
Washington Post column on July 30, about the 
Atlanta bombing. "How do you explain terrorism to a 
child?" he wrote. "Or violence? Or the presence of 
evil in the world?" Broder went on to compare his 
opposition to terrorism to Martin Luther King's 
opposition to white supremacist violence.

Broder's six-year-old daughter is the victim of 
miseducation geared toward destroying her very 
humanity before she has a chance to figure things 
out for herself. With a real education, she would 
learn that a bomb disrupting the Olympic party is 
not an isolated act of "evil in the world." She 
would learn that her own privileged situation-in 
this case watching the Olympic party from the 7th 
floor of a nearby hotel-is a gift from the most 
evil and oppressive system ever known to humanity: 
imperialism. And she would learn that Daddy's 
columns prop up this system behind a guise of 
liberal humanism.

In a parallel act of hypocrisy, New York Times 
columnist A. M. Rosenthal has used the TWA bombing 
to repeat his call for bombing the countries whose 
governments he says support "terrorism." He also 
wants trade sanctions against such countries 
(presumably he means Syria, Libya, Iran, Sudan, 
etc.). Both of these measures are thinly disguised 
attempts at increasing Amerikan imperialism's 
economic and military hegemony in the Middle East, 
a permanent goal unaffected by terrorism.

MIM believes that most international terrorism 
directed against Amerikan targets is a 
strategically misplaced reaction to Amerikan 
imperialism, and thus may be blamed on imperialism 
itself. We do not support these attacks at present, 
but we continuously point out that imperialism is 
the greatest system of state-sponsored terrorism of 
all time. Militia-type terrorism, on the other 
hand, reflects insurgent white nationalism, angered 
by the internationalist approach (in the oppressive 
sense) of the big bourgeoisie and government. While 
there may be some divisions to exploit here, these 
white supremacists are vicious enemies of the 
people and their growth is a challenge to us to get 
moving! At present, we attempt to turn state 
repression into political victories for the 
oppressed through increased popular consciousness.


NOTES:
1. CBS Evening News, July 30, 1996.
2. MIM Theory 11, "Amerikkkan Prisons on Trial," $6 
from MIM, order now.
3. Stock information from http://networth.galt.com, 
a free stock quote service.
4. Order "What Is MIM?" for $2 to read an essay on 
the pitfalls of focoism.


* * *


INDONESIAN MASSES PROTEST REPRESSION

by a RAIL Comrade

On Saturday July 27, protests broke out in the 
streets of Jakarta, Indonesia's capitol city. The 
protest size and intensity surpassed that of 
previous demonstrations. It was spawned by the 
government's raid of the Indonesian Democratic 
Party's headquarters. The headquarters were home to 
supporters of Ms. Megawati and the Indonesian 
Democratic Party. Megawati was ousted from her 
position as head of the Democratic Party by the 
government last month. Her supporters refused to 
leave the party headquarters, when the military 
warned them. Police raided the office at 7:00am 
Saturday morning and forcibly evicted 150 people.

Police raids of opposition political parties and 
spontaneous mass protests for political reform are 
unheard of in Amerika. In the heart of imperialism, 
citizens enjoy bourgeois legal rights and most are 
complacent enough to ignore politics. MIM reports 
on these Indonesian protests to remind Amerikans of 
the gross hypocrisy of their own government, which 
self-righteously mouths off about democracy while 
supporting repression in its neo-colonies. The 
Amerikan-supported comprador regime in Indonesia is 
well-paid for ensuring imperialist access to 
Indonesian labor and resources.


THE OPPOSITION: COMPRADOR WITH A DIFFERENT FACE


The Indonesian government engineered the 
replacement of Magawati with a man more supportive 
of the overtly repressive policies of the Suharto 
government. This is a case of a conflict between a 
repressive dictatorship and a slightly kinder face 
on an imperialist neo-colony. The slightly kinder 
face, Magawati and the Democratic Party, are not 
even allowed to remain in the government, exposing 
the so-called democracy for the farse that it 
really is. This democracy is just a dictatorship of 
the bourgeoisie which is making sure to crush even 
minor disagreements. Although opposition parties 
exist in Indonesia, the current president, Suharto, 
has never had an opponent run against him in his 
eight victorious elections in the past 30 years. 
Megawati is the daughter of Sukarno, the founder of 
so- called independent Indonesia. Indonesia is not 
independent from imperialist exploitation and 
control. The current president, Suharto, seized 
power from Sukarno in 1966. Suharto, Sukarno and 
Megawati are all part of the imperialist state that 
Indonesia uses to rule over it's people as well as 
the people of East Timor while giving up the 
resources and labor power to the imperialists and 
their multinationals.

It is the genuine desire for peace and liberty that 
has caused many people in Indonesia to turn to 
Megawati as an alternative to the repressive 
practices of the Suharto regime. Putting a kinder 
face on imperialism will not get rid of imperialism 
or the brutal repression that goes along with this 
system.

According to the New York Times, masses in the 
streets chanted Megawati's name and protested 
military repression-this includes chants opposing 
repression in East Timor. They also shouted "The 
military are killers!" and "Hang Suharto!" People 
threw rocks at the pigs and at one point launched a 
coordinated attack causing the military to 
temporarily retreat.(1)

Democratic reforms in Indonesia could definitely 
improve the lives of the Indonesian masses and the 
East Timorese. However, attaining real independence 
for Indonesia and for the East Timorese will 
require more than reforms. The U.S. and other 
imperialist powers have an interest in keeping the 
current government-or an equally subservient 
government-in power. Imperialist exploitation of 
the Indonesian land, labor and resources is 
essential for maintaining U.S. and other 
imperialist support-both military and economic. In 
exchange for Amerikan approved loans from the World 
Bank, the Indonesian economy has transformed to an 
export-led economy and is used for First World 
profit. The imperialists will not allow this to 
change without a fight. That is why independent 
power-political, military, and economic-are 
necessary to gain real independence for the masses. 
The overthrow of Suharto by a bourgeois democratic 
party might bring some facelift improvements, but 
revolution is necessary for true and permanent 
change.

The United Snakes has provided Indonesia with a 
total $641 million in arms sales. In 1994, Klinton 
signed a $40 billion trade agreement with president 
Suharto, which included juicy contracts for General 
Electric and Exxon.(2) Putting pressure on the 
Amerikan government through exposing its role in 
supporting oppression and murder can make the 
imperialists' job more difficult. But pressure 
through exposure alone will not stop the profit-
seekers. Most likely it would force them to support 
Indonesia covertly. Imperialism must be overthrown 
forcefully to prevent its continuation and growth. 
How about" "Imperialism must be overthrown 
forcefully by a party capable of maintaining self-
sufficiency and defending against imperialist 
attacks." An estimated four to seven people were 
killed in the rebellion and about a hundred were 
injured. Eight banks were also looted and burned as 
were other buildings. With tension high in the 
aftermath, the military prevented further protests 
by threatening to shoot protesters on sight.(3)

Most countries in the world do not allow the 
bourgeois freedoms which are generally allowed in 
Amerikkka. This comes as a result of the solid 
support for imperialism within U.S. borders. But 
don't let that fool you into thinking Amerika is 
'free.' So-called freedom in Amerika comes at a 
price-which is paid by the majority of the world's 
people. Slavery brought a few people (comparatively 
speaking) the freedom to be parasites and now 
imperialism allows for whole countries to be 
parasites. It is our duty to exploit the bourgeois 
freedom of speech in Amerika to expose Amerika. 
Help MIM and RAIL build independent media of the 
oppressed. Write for, distribute and subscribe to 
MIM Notes and RAIL Notes. 

NOTES:
1. New York Times July 28, 1996. p.5.
2. The Washington Post Jan. 10, 1995. p. C10.
3. New York Times July 31, 1996. p. A6.


In addition: The British Broadcasting corporation 
reported that the government blames the Democratic 
People's Party for orchestrating the unrest. The 
BBC analyzed this an attempt by the government to 
instill terror on the masses who remember the 
massacres of communists in 1965. MIM is interested 
in learning more about the DPP or other 
revolutionaries within Indonesia, please send 
information to the address on page 2. [cite: BBC 
World Service, Newshour, July 31 1996.]



* * *


ENVIRONMENTAL DESTRUCTION CANNOT BE STOPPED THROUGH 
ELECTORALISM


The Salvage Rider, a policy tacked on to a budget 
appropriations bill which legalized the destruction 
of protected forests and habitats, was signed into 
law by President Clinton on July 27, 1995. One year 
later, MIM hosted a talk by an activist from anti-
logging struggles in Oregon. MIM drew the 
connection between capitalism and the destruction 
of the environment while pointing out that both the 
Republicans and the Democrats are a part of the 
problem so the solution can not be found in 
electoralism.

The activist, a supporter of the Cascadia Forest 
Defenders, showed a short video on the recent 
removal of logging protections. The video exposed 
the government propaganda that it is necessary to 
cut down and remove trees before they burn as a 
lie. The video pointed out that burning is part of 
a natural ecological process but human destruction 
of the environment is not. The logging operations 
undertaken as a result of the Salvage Rider have 
produced cheap timber for logging companies and the 
destruction of vast stands of forests.

The speaker pointed out that timber companies give 
huge amounts of money to politicians. The history 
of the spotted owl is a good example of companies' 
power. In 1991, a judge stopped the sale of forests 
which were spotted owl habitats because the owl is 
an endangered species. Between 1991 and 1994, the 
timber industry paid off politicians until in 1994 
Clinton introduced his forest plan that allowed 
much more cutting of forests, removing previous 
protections. The timber industry opposed this 
license to destroy while holding out for a carte 
blanche. It got that in 1995 with the Salvage 
Rider.

This point about pay-offs led to a discussion of 
what it will take to stop the destruction of the 
environment. One person suggested that we need to 
make it profitable to save forests. Others said 
that we're not able to fight the logging companies 
dollar for dollar. The speaker said that the timber 
companies are not looking for alternatives to 
cutting trees. MIM said, instead we need people 
organizing and seizing control of the resources of 
the land away from the capitalists and using these 
resources for the good of the people with an eye 
towards the future. History shows us that this can 
only be done through communist revolution.

Some asked why it was possible to get protective 
legislation passed in 1991 under a Republican 
president while in 1994 and 1995 it was repealed 
under a Democratic president. Others suggested that 
this was a result of the environmental activism in 
1990 and the focus of this activism on one cute 
little owl. The discussion brought out the problems 
with electoral activism. Politicians can proclaim 
to be environmentalists (like Clinton) yet continue 
to take money from the logging industry and further 
the interests of the bourgeoisie. People at the 
event pointed out that the few protective 
legislative changes that have been made resulted 
from activism and not lobbying.

Another important point raised by the speaker was 
the inefficient use of trees and the anarchic 
nature of logging under capitalism. He explained 
how the logging companies are currently exporting 
wood to Japan. Japanese capitalists store it in 
anticipation of the soon-to-arrive day when Amerika 
will run out of trees to cut down. When that 
happens Amerikans will need to import more wood for 
the paper industry and Japanese capitalists can 
then make a profit. MIM pointed out that problems 
like this can only be solved by social planning 
where both production and distribution are run by a 
state that is run by the people.

MIM raised the importance of not seeing the 
environmental movement just in the context of 
Amerika. We want to broaden people's understanding 
to include multinationals that destroy the 
environment. We emphasize the importance of 
righteous struggles waged by the people. In the 
Philippines, people are laying down their lives to 
enforce a logging ban to save forests on which 
their lives depend.

While the speaker pointed to the Earth First! 
tactics of civil disobedience to stop logging 
immediately, MIM emphasized that we can't just 
consider First World forests and we can't just 
think short term. Several audience members agreed 
that the system is the problem and this is not 
merely an issue of a few bad logging companies or a 
few bad bills being signed into law.

One recent victory in the struggle to save forests 
in Amerika was achieved just a few days prior to 
the event. The government cut a deal with activists 
who had enforced a 300+ day road block at Warner 
Creek forest in Oregon to stop the logging. The 
government was so embarrassed by this situation and 
afraid of even greater activism that they agreed to 
leave the forest alone. This is a victory that is 
possible in the First World while activists in the 
Third World would be killed by the government 
before it considered negotiating.

The speaker also pointed out that some of the 
forests being destroyed are the homes and sacred 
lands of First Nations. The government breaks 
treaties with First Nations in order to strengthen 
Amerikan corporations. Broken treaties regarding 
land and the environment expose the opposing 
interests between First Nations and the white 
nation.

The issue of education and Earth Day was raised in 
the discussion. The corporate curriculum for Earth 
Day that teaches consumerism that is "friendly" and 
argues that we should purchase one kind of product 
over another is only an attempt to co-op the 
environmental movement while encouraging the 
decadent consumerism possible in Amerika. People 
agreed spreading information about environmental 
and anti-imperialist struggles is very difficult 
and that events like this are important. In 
addition, environmentalist struggles are not 
covered by the main stream media. As one person 
pointed out, radical coverage is not profitable for 
the media because companies would cease 
advertisement in publications that expose 
environmental destruction.

This event was well-received by those in attendance 
because they learned a lot about the concrete 
things going on in the Pacific Northwest, as well 
as the analysis of both the speaker and of MIM. We 
encourage other activists looking for a forum to 
contact your local RAIL or MIM branch. Ideas won't 
be presented without Maoist analysis along side it, 
but we can all gain from the discussion.



* * *



ENGLER DEPORTS INCARCERATED YOUTH: ACLU FIGHTS 
BACK, QUICKLY WINS PARTIAL VICTORY


by a RAIL Comrade

Governor Engler of Michigan, potential running mate 
of Bob Dole, was hit with a law suit by the ACLU in 
May. The state illegally transferred incarcerated 
youth from Michigan to detention facilities in 
Ohio, Pennsylvania, Iowa, Colorado, and Texas. One-
hundred youth were transferred out of state, some 
of whom had no prior criminal record. The state 
admitted that it erred by not holding required 
hearings before the youth were deported and agreed 
to hold hearings before transferring more. The suit 
was filed by the ACLU on behalf of four youth who 
were moved and their parents.

Others were shipped out of state without their 
parents' knowledge. None were given hearings to 
determine whether the move was in their best 
interest. Being held in captivity is not in the 
interests of these young people. Nevertheless, the 
bourgeoisie creates the pretense that Amerika is 
not a perverse prison empire maintaining social 
control through force and that prisoners are held 
in a humane manner. The bourgeoisie will not make 
decisions based on the interests of these youth, 
but should be exposed when they inflict further 
brutality against prisoners. In addition to 
determining what is in the best interest of the 
prisoner, the legally required hearings for out-of-
state placement are supposed to ensure that the 
move does not impose undue hardship and that there 
are no other adequate facilities within the state.

Lutz exposed Republican Party "pro-family" 
hypocrisy. She argued that families should be part 
of rehabilitation and thus youth should stay close 
to their families. She asked "...what kind of 
family values are these?" It's true that youth 
should have the opportunity to see their family (if 
they want) and being close to them is a possible 
advantage. In fact it is often family members that 
mobilize to pressure the system to give proper 
medical care, etc. to their loved ones.

As a revolutionary Party, MIM does not support the 
patriarchal family structure, which treats children 
as the personal property of their parents. We also 
recognize the contradiction in the injustice system 
deciding what is in the best interests of the 
oppressed. The best interest of the oppressed is 
revolution, but you won't see prison hearings 
suggest that. But in this case, Engler is in 
trouble for skipping the rubber-stamping. It is a 
positive step to expose contradictions within the 
current system to illustrate the true interests of 
the bourgeoisie. It is progress to win better 
conditions for the oppressed even if they are 
limited under imperialism.

ACLU attorney Sharon Lutz stated that overcrowding 
in Michigan juvenile facilities was a "manufactured 
crisis.." Manufacturing overcrowding in prisons can 
help expand prisons in a state, as Governor Weld of 
Massachusetts proved with his shipment of 299 
prisoners to Texas due to "overcrowding." In 
return, he received almost half a billion dollars 
to expand Massachusetts prisons (see MIM Notes 
112). Detention centers may fall into a different 
category for state funding, but the actions show 
there was a motive beyond lack of space. The 
lawsuit brought some successes almost immediately. 
Two weeks after the lawsuit was filed, 68 beds were 
reopened at facilities in Michigan.

Exposing the state for violating its own guidelines 
is useful in mobilizing people to stop trusting the 
state. While the state does not have the interest 
of the youth in mind, transfer hearings would make 
trampling incarcerated youth's lives more 
difficult. Such winnable battles strike blows 
against imperialism in addition to creating 
favorable public opinion for the oppressed in the 
process. For liberation youth need revolution to 
change their position in society.


* * *


PETTY-BOURGEOIS SQUABBLE OVER PROFITS FROM UMASS 
SLOGAN


University of Massachusetts basketball coach John 
Calipari recently left UMass to coach the New 
Jersey Nets. He took the profitable "Refuse to 
lose" slogan, which he had borrowed from the UMass 
football team while still at UMass, with him. 
Calipari now hopes to profit from licensing the 
slogan. According to one of his agents, Calipari is 
now negotiating a $1.5 million deal with Champion, 
a maker of athletic t-shirts and sweatshirts. The 
fact that some jock can make millions off owning 
the rights to a slogan without lifting a finger to 
produce anything of value highlights the parasitic 
existence of the petty- bourgeoisie in Amerika. 
Besides not coming up with the slogan, Calipari 
wasn't even the first person to try to get the 
slogan trademarked. A small sportswear company 
owner named Hyden came up with the idea in 1988. 
Hyden produced only small quantities of t-shirts 
with the slogan because he was afraid someone would 
steal it. In four years, he made a thousand dollars 
and got the slogan trademarked. When Calipari 
started to market the slogan, Hyden cited his own 
earlier use of the slogan and demanded some piece 
of the profiteer's pie. Calipari's lawyers 
successfully argued that because Hyden wasn't using 
it enough commercially compared to Calipari, the 
trademark on the slogan should belong to Calipari. 
Not able to compete with Calipari's high-powered 
lawyers, Hyden sold the trademark for $3,500.

MIM doesn't care which petit-bourgeois collects 
more, since all these profits are stolen from the 
Third World proletariat. We do see this as yet 
another indictment of imperialism that the 
imperialist-country bourgeoisie and petit-
bourgeoisie waste time and money haggling over dumb 
slogans while their government concerns itself with 
pursuing exploitation internationally. Neither 
Hyden nor Calipari is claiming to have earned money 
by producing any sportswear. Their argument was 
over who should profit from selling gear made by 
other people who work sewing machines. This case 
simply illustrates the role of the state in aiding 
First World individuals in their parasitic 
pursuits.

UMass, a state institution, doesn't mind that its 
former coach is making a bundle off of something 
associated with the University. The school only 
wants payment for 200 long-distance phone calls the 
basketball team's academic advisor made while 
running the marketing campaign for the slogan out 
of UMass offices. This case also illustrates the 
ridiculous nature of ownership of ideas. Laws 
protecting individuals' ownership of their ideas 
needlessly slow the development of new ideas, and 
this hurts the international proletariat. Harm done 
to the proletariat is not immediately apparent in 
this case, because the slogan is useless. But these 
types of laws also apply to technical innovations 
such as efficient car engines which are impounded 
by competitors.

Under socialism, we will eliminate the ownership of 
ideas. While individuals of the petty-bourgeoisie 
squabble to gain profits off of old ideas, the 
proletariat continues its struggle to destroy 
capitalism and build a society in which innovative 
ideas will be shared. The masses will use 
innovative technologies to improve their own 
standard of living, and use innovative ideas to 
overthrow the governments which help parasites like 
Calipari to profit from the ownership of ideas.


NOTE: Boston Globe July 18, 1996, p. A1, A23.



* * *



UNDER LOCK & KEY: NEWS FROM PRISONERS AND PRISONS


ALABAMA CHAIN GANGS KILL YOUNG BLACK MEN 


Dear MIM Notes: No one can say that Governor Fob 
James has not kept his promise that chain gangs 
will decrease the prison population and curb 
overcrowding. It is simple and guaranteed to work. 
Just arm prisoners with deadly weapons and chain 
them together, and if they don't kill each other 
fast enough, not to worry, the guards will simply 
shoot them down where they stand.

On Wednesday, May 15,1996, one of the chain gang 
prisoners here in Alabama was shot and killed by 
one of the guards. This shooting took place at 
Staton Correctional Facility near Montgomery, 
Alabama. The DOC has already "determined" that the 
murder of this prisoner was "justified".

No one will ever know what actually happened, but 
the official story is pretty straight forward. Two 
prisoners began fighting. One of the prisoners had 
a bush ax. The prisoner with the bush ax went after 
another prisoner who was unarmed at the time. The 
guard fired a warning shot, but the prisoner with 
the bush ax kept going at the unarmed prisoner. The 
guard then shot the prisoner with the bush ax 
supposedly to protect the other unarmed prisoner.

A bush ax is a tool with a handle similar to, and 
about the same length as a shovel handle. There is 
a curved knife-like steel blade on the end of the 
handle. However, the steel blade is about eighteen 
inches long and five inches wide. You could easily 
slice a person's head off with one swing of it. 
Each prisoner on the chain gang is usually given a 
bush ax or some other weapon just as deadly.

Common sense leads to the conclusion that it was 
unnecessary to shoot to kill this prisoner. The 
guard was armed with a piston and a shotgun, and 
was at close range, within ten or fifteen feet of 
the prisoners. The guard could have just as easily 
shot the prisoner in the lower body to wound him 
instead of just murdering him. They have 
"justified" this murder but the real reason for it 
was a sadistic desire to kill.

This will not be the last murder to take place on 
the chain gang. Fights are routine on the chain 
gang between the prisoners there. Whoever heard of 
giving prisoners deadly weapons and chaining them 
together, and then thinking everything is alright? 
Things are not alright. Will the guard simply gun 
down both prisoners the next time there is a fight 
and both prisoners are armed instead of just one of 
them being armed? It sounds like something from the 
days of the Romans and the reign of Caesar. This 
practice is medieval in the worst way.

The DOC had previously been considering extending 
the time that a prisoner spends on the chain gang 
to one year from its present, six months. However, 
a couple of week before this recent murder they 
were already considering reducing the time spent on 
the chain gang to three months.

If the DOC does decrease the amount of time a 
prisoner must spend on the chain gang, it will not 
stop these kind of murders from happening. It will 
only increase each prisoner's individual chance of 
not being murdered on the chain gang because he 
will be there a shorter period of time. 
Nevertheless, someone will be on the chain gang and 
someone will be murdered again and again, for just 
as long as the chain gang continues, for just as 
long as prisoners are chained together and given 
deadly weapons in such a medieval practice.

Ironically, the name of the mascot for the 
Limestone Correctional Facility's sports teams is 
the Gladiators. The DOC is making this pretty 
realistic by arming these prisoners with deadly 
weapons and chaining them together. They are 
Gladiators in every sense of the word and they will 
continue to be murdered in one way or another until 
the chain gangs are stopped.

By condoning the murder of prisoners on the chain 
gangs in Alabama, Governor Fob James tells us that 
it is a time to kill. This summer in Alabama is the 
season for killing young Black men on the chain 
gangs. We are left to wonder: When will be a time 
to heal. 

-an Alabama prisoner, May 20, 1996


VICTORY OVER CENSORSHIP IN CALIFORNIA


From: Inmate Appeals, PBSP (Pelican Bay State 
Prison)

Subject: The enclosed publication has been GRANTED 
by Second Level decision. Please return the 
publication to the inmate.

"MIM NOTES" (Sep. 95)

Please return the enclosed memorandum with the 
inmates signature to the Appeals Office. Thank You.

-J. Briddle, CCII, Appeals Coordinator, June 11, 
1996
Greetings- I wrote you a couple of letters over a 
year ago offering some debate on several issues 
such as National Socialist Revolution, "anti-
racist" contractions of National Liberation, etc. I 
don't know if you received my letters or publish 
any replies. The pigs were prohibiting your papers, 
but I just received the September 1995 issue with 
the enclosed notice [printed above - MIM].

I want you to know, I would like to continue 
receiving MIM Notes and MIM Theory, and I am open 
to further correspondence and debate with MIM.

Nationalist Revolution is the only solution! Our 
race is our nation! Self-Determination for all! 
-A California Prisoner, June 25, 1996.



WASHINGTON STATE PRISONERS, ACLU SUE OVER 
CENSORSHIP


Dear MIM, I hope this finds you well. As you know, 
the pigs continue to reject MIM Notes. I did 
recently receive the latest MT [MIM Theory] though. 
Anyways, the ACLU is going to litigate the matter. 
They just sent the snout director a six page letter 
on the censorship of PLN [Prison Legal News] and 
MIM Notes, with a February 29, 1996 deadline to 
resolve the problem....

I think it's unlikely the pigs will back down at 
this point. So litigation is pretty much 
assured....PLN's publisher will be a plaintiff. 
With me as a party to the MIM censorship we should 
do just fine. I have litigated and won the 
communist literature issue twice before in this 
state. So it looks like the snouts just want to 
give me more money. On the last one I settled for 
$300 and expungement of the infraction. I donated 
$50 of it to the PFLP [Popular Front for the 
Liberation of Palestine] in Damascus, which really 
got the snouts going. (smile) Anyways, we will 
eventually make Washington safe for communism. So 
far no political publications other than MIM Notes 
and Black Autonomy have been affected....

Needless to say, keep sending me MIM Notes and 
we'll see what happens. I am sending the rejected 
issues on to the ACLU after the snouts deny my 
appeals....

In struggle,
-a Washington state prisoner, Feb. 11, 1996


SOUTH CAROLINA CENSORS MIM NOTES


Dear MIM, Please remove may name from your mailing 
list. This institution has a "S.T.G. Policy" All 
mail is open and read- both outgoing and incoming. 
I attempted to return all the newspapers and the 
MIM Theory and the book by John Reed, but they have 
all been confiscated.

Thank you for understanding.

-a South Carolina prisoner, May 31, 1996 Letters of 
protest can be sent to: SCDC, PO BOX 2951202, 
Bennettsville, SC 29512.


MIM Adds: In addition the K.C.I./M.S.U. (Kirkland 
Correctional Institution / Maximum Security Unit) 
in Columbia, South Carolina has been rejecting all 
MIM correspondence in recent weeks, claiming they 
are unauthorized items. This includes MIM Notes, 
Maoist Sojourner, Notas Rojas, MIM Theory, 
censorship letters and political books.


Letters of protest can be sent to: K.C.I./M.S.U., 
4344 Broad River Rd, Columbia, SC 29210.



THREE ILLINOIS MAXIMUM PRISONS ON INDEFINITE 
LOCKDOWN


Comrade, Received June issues of MIM Notes today. 
Still on lockdown, since January 12. All three max 
joints (Pontiac, Stateville and Menard) in Illinois 
are on indefinite lockdown under direct order of 
Illinois Governor faggot-ass Jim Edgar. The 
elections are November 2 and his coward-ass know 
what time it is when ever they roll these doors.

Keep them comin' (MIM Notes).

In Struggle 
-An Illinois Prisoner, July 16, 1996.


MIM adds: MIM agrees with the thrust of the 
prisoner's letter, but disagrees with the 
prisoner's use of faggot as an epithet. There is 
nothing wrong with being gay. In contrast, there is 
something wrong with being a fascist pig and making 
prisoners' lives more hellish in exchange for more 
political power.



EFFECTIVE GRIEVANCE SYSTEM "TEXAS TERROR"


As an inmate here in the Texas Prison System. 
Living in oppression each and everyday after I was 
ordered by Co III Officer Barry Goins to come with 
him to the unit infirmary to sign a refusal for 
medical care, all in the wee hours of April 13, 
1995. As the officer and I were walking toward the 
infirmary on said date, my life took a drastic 
change. Within the next thirty to forty-five 
minutes, it was conspiracy, deception and "terror" 
because my use of the Prison Grievance Procedure 
her in "Texas". I was brutally beaten, kicked and 
smashed by Sargent Kirkendall, Sargent Tomlin, 
Officer Goins, Officer L. Asher, and Officer 
Bearden. I was beaten for utilizing the Greievance 
on Sargent Kirkendall on the 7th day of April 1995. 
All said officers retaliated with a major use of 
force that was totally unneccessary. All above 
stated pigs were white. After they depensed the 
physical pain, the mental torture was seeing a 
Black female (reject) official with the video 
camera and she didn't even bother to turn it on to 
witness the beating. Her name is officer Shaawanna 
Allison. I never got a chance to sign a refusal, 
but I did make it to the infirmary, after 
experienceing Texas Terror. Revolution is the only 
Solution.


-A Texas Prisoner, June 10, 1996.



CALIFORNIA VISITING RIGHTS REPEAL 


The California State Legislature has repealed large 
portions of Penal Code section 2601, removing 
statutory protections afforded prisoners. The 
provisions deleted include rights to workers 
compensation, to make a will, and to receive 
personal visits.

Workers compensation has proven to be an important 
protection. It has provided at least some measure 
of relief for prisoners who are seriously injured 
on prison work assignments. However, the biggest 
impact of the bill is the deletion of the right to 
visit. Visitation has never been recognized as a 
constitutional right. However, California law has 
long-protected it. Under former law, visits could 
only be restricted as required by prison security 
or public safety needs -- and the prison had to use 
the least restrictive alternative. (This 
alternative could include full body searches or 
noncontact visiting as less restrictive than 
complete suspensions.) The new law will reduce 
visiting to a privilege. The Department will be 
free to restrict visits as long as it is not done 
in an arbitrary fashion. This could have enormous 
impact on friends and families of prisoners 
throughout the state.

SB 1221 is now before Governor Wilson, who is 
expected to sign it. 
-Prison Law Page, http://www.wco.com/~aerick/ July 
1, 1996


MICHIGAN DIVIDE AND CONQUER


Recently the administrators within the death kkkamp 
at the Charles Egeler Correctional Facility, placed 
a fellow comrade in a perilous situation by 
attempting to have him "labeled" as a "snitch" 
among the prisoner class. These 
administrators/officials made a claim that a 
comrade made a statement accusing another prisoner 
of giving him drugs. However, the comrade who have 
been accused NEVER made such a claim. The pig who 
created this "lie" made this statement in writing 
and the prisoner ended up receiving a copy of this 
pig's statement, thus placing this innocent 
comrade's life in (possible) danger and ruining his 
name and reputation.

PPWVC (Political Prisoners of War Vanguard 
Coalition) condemns this type of cowardly act of 
"divide and conquer" tactics being employed by pig-
shit administrators.

Not long ago we recall when the FBI and their 
COINTELPRO acted in such a manner to destroy the 
Black Panther Party and other 
revolutionary/progressive liberating, militant 
groups, organizations, and individual comrades from 
speaking out against the government. Some of the 
acts regarding COINTELPRO were/are: (1) Prevent a 
coalition of political groups, especially those of 
black nationalist; (2) Prevent the rise of a 
powerful spokesman who could unify and electrify a 
coalition of groups/movements; (3) Prevent violence 
on the part of coalition groups, black nationalist 
and other political movements.

(4) Prevent coalition groups, black nationalist and 
movement leaders from gaining respectability by 
discrediting them; (5) Prevent the long-range 
growth of coalition groups, black nationalist, an 
other movements, especially among the youth; The 
national COINTELPRO program adapted various tactics 
to destroy/neutralize the BBP and discredit them 
among the "liberal" whites, and among Afrikans, as 
well. (This is still going on today with mostly, if 
not all, revolutionary groups and individuals on 
political paths. I should be mentioned that many 
people fell for this type of intelligence attack 
and are still falling for it, as one of our 
comrades have been targeted by the administrators 
of the Michigan Department of KKKortuptions at the 
Egeler KKKroruptional Facility in Jackson, 
Michigan.

Comrades, we need to be careful of this and not 
allow pigs to put out lies on another so that "you" 
will act upon their lies and do their dirty work, 
i.e. "assassinate". Be mindful that the tricks of 
government (whether state or federal) are always 
trying to disrupt, confuse and destroy.


-a Michigan Prisoner, May 21, 1996.



NAZI FOOD POLICY IN TEXAS

Dear MIM, Enclosed find the latest crock of 
administrative bullshit being inflicted upon us 
prisoners at the new wave bus'em in "state of 
states prison" [printed below - MIM]. Down here in 
the South the oppressors have appropriately named 
its system to Texas department of criminal justice 
-- institution division. Which means the criminal 
acts carried out here are always justified no 
matter what, at the institution divisions. The 
latest is on your knees, hands locked behind your 
head (Hitler assassination style) or no food will 
be served to your been-slot, Plexiglass covered 
cell (all administrative segregation cells).

My personal defiance against the oppressors have 
resulted in delaying, tampering and intercepting my 
personal mail. This doesn't faze me. It's a 
compliment of accomplishment that can not be 
stopped.

Staying down 4 Revolution 
-A Texas Prisoner, Jun 26, 1996.


Texas Department of Criminal Justice: Institutional 
Division Inter-Office Communication May 28, 1996

To: Captain R. Tarver, Ad Seg Captain, Stiles Unit 
Thru: Lt. B. Forrest From: Sgt. C. Perrio Re: In 
Cell Feeding Revised: June 7, 1996 Effective June 
1, 1996, During feeding procedures, all offenders 
assigned to Level III status in Administrative 
Segregation will be required to do as follows: 1) 
Officer will instruct the offender to retrieve his 
cup, face the back of his cell, back up to the cell 
door, kneel down and cross his feet, place his cup 
in front of him, and place his hands behind his 
head, interlocking fingers and not to move.

2) Officer will open food tray slot and move back a 
safe distance (3 feet minimum).

3) Officer will instruct the offender to place his 
cup in the food tray slot (while still kneeling 
down).

4) Officer will place the food tray in the food 
tray slot and serve the beverage. The officer will 
then step back a safe distance (3 feet minimum).

5) Officer will instruct offender to pick up his 
tray and cup and place it on his table in the cell.

6) Officer will instruct offender to pick up his 
tray and cup and place it on his table in the cell.

7) Once the offender is in the prior position, 
Officer will then step up, close and secure the 
food tray slot.

8) After slot is secured, the Officer will instruct 
the offender to move as the Officer proceeds to the 
next cell.

Retrieving the food tray:
1) Officer will instruct the offender to retrieve 
his food tray, face the back of his cell and back 
up to the cell door, kneel down and cross his feet, 
place his tray in front of him, and place his hands 
behind his head, inter-locking fingers and do not 
move.

2) Officer will open the food tray slot and step 
back a safe distance (3 feet minimum).

3) Officer will instruct offender to place his tray 
in the food tray slot (While still kneeling down.)

4) Officer will instruct the offender to assume the 
prior position (face the back of his cell and back 
up to the cell door, kneel down, hands behind head, 
inter-locking fingers.)

5) Officer will then step up and retrieve the food 
tray, close and secure the food tray slot.

6) After the slot is secured the Officer will 
instruct the offender to move as he proceeds to the 
next cell.

Each offender who is to be served a meal the 
Officer will repeat steps 1 thru 8. At any time an 
offender fails to comply with any instruction of 
the above steps given by an Officer during the 
feeding procedure the offender will automatically 
FFP-Failure to Follow Procedures, thus terminating 
feeding and result in a disciplinary action, the 
Officer will go to the next cell.

These procedures will be enforced, no exceptions. 
Failure to adhere to will result in Disciplinary 
action.



PRESSURE IN COLORADO PRISONS LEADS TO MURDER AND 
SUICIDE

Revolutionary Greetings,
ÉOn June 16th of this year, a fellow prisoner was 
murdered. The circumstances surrounding this 
incident is still being investigated. Also I've 
just been informed that another prisoner committed 
suicide in the seg. [segregation] unit. This 
happened June 23, 1996. From what is being passed 
on is that this individual could not take the 
pressure of being locked in the seg. unit.

Pressure is being placed on the inmate population 
on all sides. There is no release an some units 
take the pressure that is being placed on them by 
this fascist establishment. Most inmates will not 
strike out against those who are applying the 
pressure, instead this is turned on other inmates 
or themselves. Such is the case of the two deaths 
that have occurred (my thoughts). We have a new 
warden here who has turned this institution upside-
down. I believe this guy supports the ideology of 
Wisconsin's Governor and his prison reformation 
system. Many of the things that he says are already 
being instituted here in the Feds [Federal 
Prisons]. If a weight is broken it is taken off the 
yard, never to be replaced. In October, Prisoners 
(we) will lose cable television. At one time the 
inmate population had videos, no longer do we have 
these here at FCI Florence [Federal Correctional 
Institution at Florence, Colorado] And the 
population is becoming more violent. Instead of 
making this joint better it is becoming the worst.

I get into many debates with other prisoners over 
the issue of what means a revolution should take 
place in this country. Some of these Dudes profess 
to have an understanding of this country and its 
political system. Yet I don't think they know the 
history of this country or how it became so 
powerful because they say that change in this 
country can not come about through the barrel of a 
gun, yet that is what they use to keep the people 
suppressed. I believe in what Malcolm X believes, 
the ballot or the bullet, but in different word 
usage, (the ballot and the bullet). I believe it is 
going to take armed struggle as well as a 
diplomatic process to bring about a true government 
for the people by the people, that represents all 
the people in this country....

-A Colorado Prisoner, June 24, 1996.


RCG1 responds: Your letter clearly demonstrates how 
prison is used as social control. The pressure 
builds up and prisoners can become violent toward 
others and themselves. It seems that political 
study and the study of revolution has become a 
positive outlet for you, instead of lifting weights 
or watching television. We suggest you continue 
your study of politics and start a study group to 
help others deal with the pressure of prison. In 
Struggle. July 27, 1996.



REAFFIRM, RECOMMITT, REDEDICATE, REVOLUTION: IN 
REMEMBERANCE OF ZIYON YISRAYAH (TOMMIE SMITH)


i'm getting letters this week from folks caged in 
Indiana asking me how i was feeling last wed/thurs 
during Ziyon's murder and i want to tell them that 
it re-lit a dying flame - did it? will it? i cried 
on wednesday night for Ziyon, but more for Our 
collective inability to see him again on the 
weekend. i was able to see Ziyon a few days before 
they murdered him - he's alive and strong - his 
hands were solid and firm as he clasped with mine 
thru black-boxed cuffs behind his back.

i got a letter today that reads in part: "you know 
man, We can never allow Ourselves to forget days + 
times like these. Days like these are a time for 
reflection, introspection and reaffirmation as well 
as action (when one is in a position to engage in 
such) As my days have been filled with Ziyon. i 
have also been thinking about you and other folks 
out there. Wondering what yall are thinking right 
now, doing, feeling, etc. On one hand i feel 
powerless and on the other i know i've got power. 
why else would men with bombs, guns and clubs be so 
freaked? Feel so threatened?...." REAFFIRM 
RECOMMITT REDEDICATE REVOLUTION "don't stand by my 
grave and cry, i'm not there i never died" ZIYON IS 
IN THE AIR ABOUT YOU AJAMU IS IN THE AIR ABOUT YOU 
rev love, 
-a BCAC (Brew City Anti-Authoritarian Collective) 
Activist, July 23, 1996.


NEW NEWSLETTER FOR PRISONERS: DAILY MAIL

We have started a prison pen pal organization and 
would like your help in spreading the word. We are 
a pen pal service for prisoners. We are writing 
organizations like yours to let you know we are a 
new newsletter published quarterly, dedicated to 
information and enrichment and to helping prisoners 
help themselves receive daily mail. Seeking 
prisoners who would like a copy of our newsletter 
or prisoners who would like an application to place 
a free ad in our newsletter. For a free newsletter 
or an application for an ad in our newsletter, 
please send us a Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope, 
(SASE) If you want both a newsletter and an 
application to be in our newsletter send two 
SASE's.

--Daily Mail, 8139 Sunset Avenue, Suite 190, Fair 
Oaks, CA 85628.

MIM REPLIES: We are happy to print items like the 
above which advertise services provided for the 
benefit of prisoners. We occasionally get requests 
to print similar-appearing items from organizations 
which describe their work as a service for 
prisoners, but which in fact are clearly aiming to 
profit off of prisoners and their plight. The 
difference between providing free or low-cost 
services to prisoners like the above and selling 
similar "services" to prisoners is the difference 
between serving the people on the one hand and 
being an "imprisonment pimp" or profiteer on the 
other.



* * *


ON PROLETARIAN LEADERSHIP IN THE IMPERIALIST 
COUNTRIES


MIM reaffirms its support for its 1995 Congress 
Resolution called "Reject the Outdated Idea of an 
Emerging International Center." Already in the past 
year, the application of that resolution in 
struggle has proved fruitful in varied and numerous 
circumstances.

The reorienting of the international communist 
movement on the basis of Maoism and its unification 
within those parts that already uphold Maoism turns 
on questions of varying degrees of universal 
significance.

Those questions of absolutely universal 
significance include Deng Xiaoping, Hoxhaite, 
Khruschevite, Brezhnevite, Gorbachevite and Hua 
Guofeng revisionism. Also, the earlier generations 
of revisionism and social-democracy including 
Trotskyism in the imperialist countries remain of 
absolutely universal significance. Regardless of 
national or local conditions, Maoist party members 
must be unanimous in their opposition to Chinese 
and ex-Soviet revisionism. MIM refers to this as a 
matter of its first two cardinal questions, one 
each for the Soviet Union historically and the 
Cultural Revolution in China. We refer to these 
questions as absolutely universal because they do 
not vary by national conditions.

As Mao explained, there is no Marxism-Leninism that 
is not integrated with national conditions. Hence, 
it will not suffice to be fully Maoist by taking 
the correct stand on questions of universal 
historical significance within the international 
communist movement. The first two cardinal 
questions are a very important first step to make 
and likewise, those comrades most able to integrate 
Maoism with national conditions are more likely to 
have the stand on the first two cardinals correct.

Restating Mao, the Peruvian Maoists employ the 
concept of "Guiding Thought" as a convenient phrase 
to refer to the integration of Marxism-Leninism-
Maoism with concrete national conditions. While 
comrade Gonzalo was still free, the PCP Central 
Committee wrote: "Thus, each revolution must 
specify its own Guiding Thought, otherwise there is 
no application of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism, nor 
development of a revolution." MIM's third cardinal 
on the white working class of the imperialist 
countries is an example of "Guiding Thought." At 
the first level, the question of class formation is 
a universal one. All Maoists must use the same 
definitions of classes. However, in the end, the 
breakdown of classes in a society and what to do 
with them is a question for the formation of a 
Guiding Thought.

In Volume One of the Selected Works, Mao sets forth 
definitions of the classes he will analyze in 
Chinese society in the first essay. The second 
essay in Volume one is already the application of 
those definitions in an analysis of Chinese 
society.

Such questions as the breakdown of society into 
classes, the existence of a class as opposed to 
scattered elements of a class, the particular class 
content of the national question, whether or not a 
society is still semi-feudal--these are matters of 
the Guiding Thought and cannot be answered by way 
of quotation from the classic works of Marxism- 
Leninism-Maoism. As an example where attention to 
particular detail is necessary, we can point to 
Ancient Rome, where Marx said there was a still-
born property-less proletariat. Likewise in Ancient 
China of almost 1000 years ago, there was a 
manufacturing sector and a proto-capitalist class. 
Yet though the definitions of proletariat and 
capitalist might apply to some elements of society 
in Ancient Rome or China, we cannot really say that 
the proletariat as a class existed, especially in 
the way we understand that term scientifically as a 
class today. That is a matter of integrating 
Marxism-Leninism-Maoism with the concrete 
conditions.

In the imperialist countries, there is not a single 
organization other than MIM that seeks to apply the 
definitions of proletariat and semi-proletariat. 
Hence, there can be no question as yet as to 
whether any but MIM is a Maoist organization in the 
imperialist countries. There is no point over 
arguing which Guiding Thought is correct for which 
imperialist country when there is no organization 
other than MIM starting from definitions 
appropriate for the era of imperialism that Lenin 
analyzed and named.

We can name the major obstacles to taking up the 
universal aspects of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism in the 
imperialist countries. In order of declining 
importance they are bourgeois democratic prejudice, 
post-Modernism, hegemonic dogmatism and populism.

The significance of bourgeois democratic prejudice 
is that many who set out to conduct a scientific 
analysis of classes in the imperialist societies 
recoil when they learn that the proletariat can 
only be a tiny minority in the imperialist 
countries. They then turn around and alter the 
definition of proletariat or take-up outright 
social-democracy in order to achieve a "majority" 
as the vehicle for progress within imperialist 
countries, conveniently by omitting the question of 
opening borders to obtain a majority of 
proletarians or former peasants. Social-democracy 
has not vanished as a trend in the world today, 
principally because it is based in an actually 
existing class, the semi-proletariat. Over time, 
the task of separating from the social-democracy of 
the Second International in the imperialist 
countries has become more urgent and more 
difficult, not less.

The second major obstacle seen is post-Modernism, 
which is often mushed together with bourgeois 
democratic prejudice. Where post-Modernism is not 
merged together with bourgeois democratic 
prejudice, it does not seek a majority for its own 
sake, but it takes advantage of Marx's process of 
defining the proletariat to redefine the 
proletariat to include white-collar workers, "pink-
collar" workers and other such inventions of the 
intelligentsia including those related to 
environmentalism, feminism and anti-racism. Such 
post-Modernist attempts to change the definition of 
proletariat are anti-Leninist in that they deny 
that imperialism is an historical era that we are 
still in and that the definition of proletariat 
remains unchanged since Lenin's day. Post-modernism 
is also counter to the MLM understanding of the 
world as divided into nations, and the fact that 
today the principal contradiction is between 
imperialism and the oppressed nations--a 
contradiction of utmost violence and not just a 
matter of language reform or tolerance psychology 
instruction for instance.

Hegemonic dogmatism is the third obstacle to a 
correct development of Maoism in the imperialist 
countries. Dogmatists take up quotations from the 
classics of MLM without regard to concrete 
conditions. They quote Mao on the united states and 
other societies in a way that Mao abhorred. They 
escape an analysis of concrete conditions by 
quotation. Such dogmatism by itself is nothing new, 
but gains dangerous force when backed by the 
prestige of Maoist revolutions not in the 
imperialist countries. Hegemonic dogmatism is then 
the denial of the need for a study of concrete 
conditions combined with the denial of a need for a 
Guiding Thought.

Finally, there is populism as a roadblock to 
development of Maoism in the imperialist countries. 
Often indistinguishable from bourgeois democratic 
prejudice, it becomes distinguishable when those 
comrades who define and apply the definitions of 
the classes correctly, nonetheless never seek to 
mention them again. Instead, such populists always 
speak of the "people" and their just demands via 
the environment or education, where there might be 
a congruence between the interests of the 
proletariat and the middle-classes combined which 
form the people. In practice, this is a way to lead 
comrades into being swamped by middle-class 
concerns and drag us back to the Second 
International. The way to separate from populism 
right now is to put the principal emphasis on 
setting up the proletarian pole in the imperialist 
countries. That entails as its corollary the 
destructive side of attacking revisionism and 
social- democracy as principal over allying with 
the middle-classes- -until that time we can be sure 
there are Maoist parties with the four cardinals 
set up in the imperialist countries. This does not 
mean we do not "walk on two legs," but we must be 
sure to ensure proletarian leadership by carrying 
out the destructive phase of clearing out 
revisionism and social- democracy as a higher 
priority for us now than allying with the middle 
classes.

-Unanimously adopted at 1996 Congress


* * *


LAKOTA SEEK CONTROL OVER REPRODUCTIVE CHOICES


In response to Indian Health Service (IHS) 
disregard for First Nation women's interests, 
health care workers on the Cheyenne River 
Reservation are calling on the tribal council to 
ban birth control that has had bad effects on women 
there. The idea is currently being investigated by 
the tribal council, and brings up sovereignty 
issues. The council seems to be able to ban 
Norplant and Depo-Provera, but the federal 
government could decide to overrule that and 
distribute them anyway.

According to Charon Asetoyer, executive director 
for the Native American Women's Health Education 
Resource Center, the IHS does not usually inform 
women of the drawbacks of Norplant and Depo 
Provera. Side effects include: hair loss, prolonged 
and irregular menstrual cycles, weight gain, 
depression, and severe headaches and stomach aches. 
Risks include: increased chance of breast cancer, 
osteoporosis, and cervical cancer. Serious side 
effects are ignored as the products are recommended 
uncritically. On paper, women who want either 
Norplant or Depo- Provera are required to take a 
pregnancy test and sign a consent form. In 
practice, First Nation women are not tested for 
pregnancy. And, according to Asetoyer, the IHS 
assumes that any woman who shows up at the clinic 
shows her consent.

Women on the reservation who want to have their 
Norplant devices removed are "strongly encouraged" 
by IHS workers to leave them in. Some First Nation 
women have been refused treatment when they go to 
the clinic, and are told by the IHS that the 
government has their best interests in mind. But, 
as Asetoyer points out, "You don't give a healthy 
woman a drug that will make her unhealthy and say 
you have her best interests at heart." The heart of 
the issue is reproductive choice as a reality for 
First Nation women. According to Colleen Brown 
Wolf, tribal health educator at Cheyenne River, 
"When it comes to birth control, women don't really 
have a choice. I think women should be able to 
control their reproductive freedom." While the 
Lakota at Cheyenne River cannot control their own 
health care for now-only those with Medicaid or 
private insurance can even get Norplant or Depo-
Provera from HIS-they are doing what they can to 
prevent harmto First Nation women. First Nations 
should be able to decide for themselves which drugs 
present too high a risk, and not just be subjected 
to the federal government policies.


Notes: News From Indian Country, July 22-29, 1996, 
pp. C1, C3.


* * *


ON ANY OFFER OF POSITION FROM THE MANILA GOVERNMENT

Press Statement by Jose Maria Sison July 27, 1996

I cannot accept any offer of position from the 
Manila government for the simple reason that to 
accept it is to violate my principles and my firm 
position to stand for the people's struggle for 
national liberation and democracy.

Such an offer is insulting and is a vain attempt at 
psychological warfare. However, those officials of 
the Manila government who make such an offer 
unwittingly run counter to the Dutch justice 
ministry which tries to depict me in the most 
unflattering terms.

As I have earlier pointed out, my asylum case in 
the Netherlands is quite strong because of the 
February 21, 1996 decision of the Dutch council of 
state that I am a political refugee and that I 
cannot be sent back to the Philippines. It is a 
negative decision of the Dutch justice ministry 
that is baseless and weak. Thus, I have the 
confidence to fight it in court.

It is a matter of duty for me to stay on for a 
while in the Netherlands, if only to pursue the 
asylum case to its conclusion. Were I to give up 
this case, then I would be allowing the false 
claims and arguments of the Dutch justice ministry 
to go unopposed and look as if they were true.

Another strong reason why I must stand my ground is 
that I must frustrate the scheme of the Manila 
government to separate me from the NDFP negotiating 
panel and then to lure the panel to Manila.

I observe that some of those who express the wish 
that I return to the Philippines have long tried to 
demonize me. These few elements do not really wish 
me to return to the Philippines. They think that 
they have found one more occasion to make snide 
remarks against me and against what I stand for.

Let me remind everyone that the revolutionary 
movement and its collective leadership in the 
Philippines are steadily strengthening themselves, 
especially because of the rectification movement. 
That is why the Manila government is compelled to 
negotiate with the National Democratic Front of the 
Philippines.


RAMOS REGIME MUST NOT RIDE ON UNJUST DUTCH JUSTICE 
MINISTRY DECISION

Press Statement by Luis Jalandoni Chairperson, NDFP 
Negotiating Panel July 24, 1996

The Ramos regime dishonors its own signature by 
seeking to ride on the unjust decision of the Dutch 
justice ministry re Prof. Jose Maria Sison's asylum 
application and attempting to draw the GRP- NDFP 
peace talks to the Philippines.

On February 24, 1995, the GRP and NDFP negotiating 
panels signed the Joint Agreement on Safety and 
Immunity Guarantees (JASIG), which stipulates that 
formal meetings between the two parties shall be 
held in a neutral foreign venue. This was approved 
by the principals of the two panels, Mariano Orosa 
for the NDFP and Fidel Ramos for the GRP, in April 
1995. This latest attempt of the Ramos regime to 
undermine the JASIG under the pretense of welcoming 
Prof. Sison and the NDFP Panel is most condemnable.

The NDFP has consistently upheld the significance 
of a neutral foreign venue for the formal meetings 
of the GRP- NDFP peace negotiations. Our experience 
in the 1986-87 peace talks with the GRP, wherein 
General Ramos and Ileto boasted they had greatly 
increased their "intelligence stocks", proves the 
importance of a neutral foreign venue. Moreover, 
the NDFP has opposed the GRP's attempt to depict 
the 27-year-old civil war as a mere internal police 
problem. The NDFP has upheld its status as a co-
belligerent in a civil war, whose prolonged 
character and intensity necessitate the application 
of the Geneva Conventions, the Protocols additional 
thereto and other international humanitarian law.

The Dutch justice ministry decision is unjust and 
self- contradictory. It admits that Prof. Jose 
Maria Sison has the right to thestatus of political 
refugee according to the Geneva Convention on 
Refugees, as the Dutch Council of State declared in 
its decision of Feb. 21, 1995. Yet it denies him 
the right of entry as refugee and stay in The 
Netherlands. Its accusations against Sison have 
already been declared unfounded by the Dutch 
Council of State. The NDFP stands firmly behind 
Prof. Sison's appeal, confident that his strong 
legal position will be upheld. In the meantime, the 
appeal effectively suspends the Dutch justice 
ministry decision.

This unjust decision to expel Prof. Sison if 
carried out will have enormously negative effects 
on the GRP-NDFP peace talks. Since 1989 up to June 
1996, there have been fifteen formal and informal 
meetings between the GRP and NDFP. In all these 
meetings, which have resulted in the signing of 
five agreements and one additional document, Prof. 
Sison has played a crucially important role. 
Moreover, his presence in the Netherlands, where 
the NDFP Negotiating Panel is based, is essential 
to the peace talks. Twelve of the fifteen GRP-NDFP 
meetings have taken place in The Netherlands. The 
resumption of the formal meetings in the GRP-NDFP 
peace talks, after a one-year disruption due to the 
GRP's unilateral suspension, was in fact held in 
The Hague. It was officially hosted by the Dutch 
Foreign Ministry.


*** DID YOU KNOW? ***

*.. that the Philippines has been a colony or a 
neo-colony of the United Snakes for the last 100 
years?
*.. that the Amerikan military supplies 
intelligence, training, and supplies to Armed 
Forces of the Philippines, which are waging an 
anti-people "low intensity war," which has 
displaced more than one million people?
*.. that U.S. puppet regimes in the Philippines 
kow-tow to Amerikan and other foreign monopoly 
capitalists, encouraging them to exploit Filipino 
workers and allowing them to produce goods for 
export while the majority of Filipinos live in 
poverty and hunger?
*.. that the peoples of the Philippines have a long 
history of resistance to oppression, culminating in 
the protracted people's war being led by the Maoist 
Communist Party of the Philippines?
NO? Well isn't it about time you found out? READ:
"Support the National Democratic Front of the 
Philippines," an 8 page RAIL pamphlet. $1.


"The Philippine Revolution: The Leaders View," by 
Jose Maria Sison. $10.


"Philippine Society and Revolution," by Armado 
Guerrero. Classic application of Marxism-Leninism-
Maoism to the Philippine including an excellent 
brief history of Amerikan imperialism in the 
Philippines. $7.


All available from: MIM Distributors, PO Box 3576, 
Ann Arbor, MI, 48109-3576.


* * *


MAOISTS KNOW SPEECH ISN'T "FREE" BUT DOLE WHINES 
ABOUT FUNDING PROBLEMS


MIM knows all about having limited access to 
distribution of our speech because we lack the 
funds. Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole 
doesn't. He said: "I'm the only person in America 
who's denied my First Amendment rights." He claims 
that because he does not have enough money, he 
cannot get his message out. Actually, he is using 
every trick in the book in order to get around the 
hurdles of campaign spending limits and in the 
meantime absolutely inundating Amerika with his 
garbage.

For decades, progressive people who believe in 
electoralism have been pushing legislation to limit 
the amount of money used in political campaigns. 
They think that if the government tinkers with the 
way campaigns are financed, the senators won't be 
as beholden to corporate interests and will not 
have large disparities between amounts spent on 
campaigns. The limits are also intended to allow 
folks with less money in their coffers to run for 
office, presumably to change the world.

These progressive groups have successfully enacted 
policies that provide public funds for campaigns 
and limit the spending of those who accept those 
funds. The policies are rife with loop-holes, which 
is only logical when you understand that the people 
in power have no interest in limiting their own 
speech, even as they accepted sham laws purporting 
to do so. All they do is prop up a pretense of 
equal-access democracy.

MIM and the international proletariat know that 
whatever money is spent by candidates-Republican, 
Democratic or Independent-in imperialist elections 
it is meant to bolster public opinion for 
imperialist Amerika. The millions of dollars spent 
on Amerikan election campaigns are plundered from 
the Third World proletariat, and whoever is elected 
will continue to uphold imperialist policies that 
devastate the Third World.

Campaign finance policies were established in the 
face of strong judicial support for the idea that 
since political speech deserves the highest 
protection under the constitution, it should not be 
regulated by laws limiting the money one can spend 
on making speech. In 1976, the Supreme Court ruled 
in Buckley v. Valeo that money is a form of speech 
when it struck down a law limiting campaign 
expenditures. It said that amount of money you 
spend spreading your speech around cannot be 
limited by the government.

Dole is lying about being forced to limit his pre-
convention spending to $37 million. He only has 
that limit imposed because he is accepting federal 
matching funds-$10 million for now, $62 million 
plus to come after the Republican convention-to pay 
for his campaign. That aside, by charging all sorts 
of TV time and travel to organizations other than 
his campaign (for example, the Republican National 
Committee), he is spending several times more than 
he is "in theory" limited to.

Dole thinks he is shortchanged relative to Clinton 
because Clinton also gets $10 million from the 
federal matching funds before the convention, 
despite the fact that Clinton has no real primary 
challengers. So Dole spent lots of dough defeating 
Buchanan, Forbes, et al., while Clinton gets to aim 
all his attacks at Dole. He thinks he should be 
able to both get federal funds and raise more than 
Clinton, a combination which he is not allowed to 
do openly because of the pretense of campaign 
finance controls.

Of course, Clinton and Dole are spending all this 
money saying the same thing. The cash comes from a 
combination of the imperialist federal government 
and imperialist corporations and individuals, and 
is spent propping up imperialism.

Dole has probably never heard of MIM. We can 
challenge neither his reactionary agenda nor that 
of Clinton on TV. We criticize both of them instead 
in media we can afford: newspapers, fliers, and 
talks. We are still building for the day when the 
people can watch MIM TV to learn about what's going 
on in the world from a Maoist perspective. We 
gladly rely on the people's finance to spread our 
messages, including "Don't Vote! Smash Imperialist 
Capitalist Patriarchy!". So MIM readers, give 
generously: we're up against some big opposition.


NOTE: Boston Globe, July 14, 1996, p. 7.


* * *


LALLAPOOLOZA '96: MIM GOES TO LALA LAND


POWNAL, VT-July 9 MIM expected Lollapalooza would 
be reactionary, but not quite as bad as it was. 
Lollapalooza is an annual tour of an all-day 
musical outdoor concert. Once part of the 
"alternative" music scene, Lollapalooza has gone 
mainstream and started attracting an even more 
decadent crowd than usual.

One driver en route to the show pledged to run over 
an elderly womyn if she wasn't out of the road when 
the light turned. Obnoxious disregard for other 
people should be expected at gatherings of large 
numbers of Amerikans. Despite this, MIM attends 
concerts or other opportunities with large crowds 
to raise funds for political work and spread 
revolutionary propaganda to young people. We'd like 
to win a few away from the escapism of drugs and 
alcohol and to convince white nation youth that 
they should side with the international 
proletariat. While we did make a significant amount 
of money, the masses were so hostile and dangerous, 
MIM would think twice before going again.

The crowd was disproportionately white males. MIM 
counted nine Blacks the entire day, and one of 
those was in police custody. (We saw no whites 
under police custody.) The people at Lollapalooza 
were explicitly anti-communist and patriarchal as 
well. Many people yelled at MIM for being 
communists, and the two distributors-a man and 
womyn-had vastly different experiences. The womyn 
had many more positive encounters and made five 
times as much money as the man in the same time 
period. The man received threats he considered 
serious enough to decline ideological struggle. The 
masses made it explicit that the womyn was getting 
money because she was "cute" and a "chick" but that 
the male distributor should be killed or tossed in 
a dumpster or river. Both distributors had a 
difficult time getting the attention of the men 
away from a womyn who was conducting a strip tease 
for money on top of a car.

A surprisingly high number of people objected to 
the cover graphic on MIM Notes 117, which pictured 
a collage of Tweedledum and Tweedledee Clinton and 
Dole in front of an Amerikan flag with a Klansman 
where the stars used to be and a sign saying "Don't 
Vote." As expected, there was objection to MIM 
insulting Amerika by calling it one with the Klan. 
A picture serves a thousand words and so the 
graphic was useful. But we weren't prepared for so 
many people to object to MIM Notes by expressing 
open support for the Klan.

At one point a confederate-bandanna-wearing-white 
male started waving his arms and yelling derogatory 
remarks at one of the distributors after finding 
out that MIM was against the Klan. Many other 
masses objected to the Black nationalism expressed 
in a t-shirt about the Amerikan lockdown a 
distributor was trying to sell. One distributor 
tried selling only t-shirts and sold a "Fuck the 
Vote" t-shirt to a man who turned out to be some 
kind of white power fascist, judging by the 
cassette tape he gave the seller.

In spite of the incredible amount of alcohol, and 
soft and hard drugs, MIM did manage to have some 
good conversations. Some of the best of those 
conversations centered on exposing the decadence in 
Lallapooloza and the hypocrisy of the Amerikan 
justice system. One person started to agree with 
MIM on all sex being rape, but the conversation 
ended early when a large drunk male jumped off his 
truck and pushed the distributor out of the way 
saying "We don't want to hear any of your shit!" 
This shows just how far the patriarchy will go, 
attacking anything or anyone trying to take that 
sexual power away. At other times the paternalist 
attitude of the white males toward the female 
distributor manifested itself through asking 
personal questions about her own sex life. One man 
even offered to buy all the MIM Notes in her hand 
for a kiss and a beer! Though she didn't take up 
his offer and was completely bombarded by 
patronizing remarks, she collected large sums of 
money from the sexist pig population to fund 
political work.

MIM however did find some unity with people by 
explaining the inherently political and nationally 
oppressive nature of incarceration. Blacks and 
Latino communities are under incredible 
surveillance and are sent to prison in 
disproportionate numbers to their population or 
even their drug use. But whites can smoke or get 
high in the suburbs, the bathrooms of Wall Street 
or at outdoor concerts and be totally immune 
because they are not targeted by the state.

One group of people-who turned out to be law 
enforcement officers from Maine-agreed with this 
contradiction. One thought the situation was purely 
military, that the young people would riot if the 
cops stopped the drugs. Had the Vermont State 
Police set up a roadblock at the entrance, they 
could have cut down significantly on the illegal 
drugs and alcohol consumption at the concert. But 
the Vermont State Police were not interested in 
hassling white youth. This is in sharp contrast to 
the road blocks and pig surveillance present in 
Black, Latino and First Nation areas.

The other officer said that he thought it was wrong 
for police officers to hassle young people for 
partying and hanging out-especially if it was 
because they were not white youth. He said that 
even a simple arrest or police citation can ruin a 
person's life by staying on their record. 
Therefore, it's not fair to punish people for life 
for having fun for one evening. He implied that he 
didn't target minority youth for such harassment, 
but readily agreed that the allocation of police 
patrols and police priorities is beyond his 
individual control and in the control of the 
system. While we don't think we made any change in 
this person's consciousness, the conversation has 
given MIM a useful example about how the unjust 
political system directs the actions of individual 
cops and it doesn't matter if they are liberal.

MIM didn't make as much progress with a man who 
turned out to be a guard in the Massachusetts 
Korrectional System. He thought that Blacks and 
Latinos were naturally hostile to whites for no 
reason. He thought it was unbelievable that Blacks 
at his college would object to him calling them 
"Boy" when he sees Black students call each other 
that, or even "nigger." He strongly argued that 
Blacks commit more crimes. MIM had this man all 
caught up in his contradictions, but he ran from 
them by turning on the air conditioning and raising 
the window to his car.

We hoped to make progress with his drunk female 
friend who argued that we should stop concerning 
ourselves with Clinton, Dole, and prisoners and 
instead focus on ourselves. We were trying to 
explain that there was no difference between 
Clinton and Dole and the parasitism inherent in 
such individualist analysis when the conversation 
with this friend of a correctional officer was 
interrupted by her need to approve a cocaine sale.

Overall MIM's experience can be summed up in the 
catch phrase of the concert, "We're going to la la 
land!" In essence that is exactly what Lollapalooza 
was, a total escape from the reality the rest of 
the world has to live in everyday. The decadent 
lifestyle inherent to today's "alternative" culture 
was in full concentration and completely unwilling, 
and most of the time too drugged up to be able, to 
struggle over any political issues facing the 
imperialist affected world. Most agreed with how 
"good" we have it here as compared to the rest of 
the world, but believed Amerikan's deserved it. 
Those few who thought this whole system should be 
changed thought sitting on their butts, like good 
bourgeois imperialists, was all they should/could 
do.

MIM would have to say that Lollapalooza is just an 
example how fully the imperialists have bought off 
today's youth. Until imperialism and the bourgeois 
ideology that runs with it is overthrown, decadent 
culture will be an absolute and a breeding ground 
for future world oppression. If you want to end the 
power of groups over groups, reject bourgeois 
culture and work with MIM to create a society and 
culture that serves the masses of people and not 
solely the interests of the police, drug dealers, 
pornographers and oppressive white nation.


* * *


INDEPENDENCE DAY 1996


The movie Independence Day contains surprisingly 
little flag waving and relatively large amount of 
internationalism. That is, once the principal 
contradiction had shifted from imperialism vs. 
Third World to Planet Earth vs. The Space Aliens, a 
lot of old enemies saw themselves working together 
against the new enemy. Of course, in typical 
Amerikan chauvinism, this Hollywood, made in 
Amerika movie makes it clear that the Amerikans are 
the smart ones who have to lead the fight against 
the space aliens, figure out how to destroy them, 
and do most of the work.

This movie opens up the interesting question for 
proletarians of what strategy to pursue in a 
situation of war like this. Sometimes inter-
imperialist rivalries provide the proletariat with 
the opportunity to ally with one imperialist to 
overthrow their principal enemy before turning the 
struggle against other imperialist forces. The same 
could be true of the struggle between the world's 
military forces (controlled by imperialist or neo-
colonialist powers) and the invading space aliens.

But in this movie, the aliens are clearly bent on 
the annihilation of all humans and are not willing 
to negotiate with anyone over anything less than 
complete destruction. In this situation, the 
proletariat will need to ally with the imperialists 
(and with all humans) against the principal enemy: 
the space alien invaders. Proletarians with fighter 
planes at their disposal should join in the air war 
against the space invaders rather than trying to 
use this opportunity to turn against the 
imperialists. Turning against the imperialists when 
defeating the space aliens, which is the principal 
contradiction, would be the same counter 
revolutionary strategy that Trotsky advocated when 
he called for the overthrow of the socialist Soviet 
state on the eve of the invasion of Hitler.

Once the aliens are defeated, the principal 
contradiction would likely again return to that 
existing between the imperialists and the oppressed 
nations. This may be a potential revolutionary 
opportunity because the space aliens in ID4 focused 
all their forces on the major cities of the world 
as well as the military bases. This would have 
decimated most of the imperialist military forces 
and infrastructure clearing the way for communist 
revolution.

While it was correct for proletarians to unite with 
the Earth imperialists under this circumstance of 
space alien invasion, we should ask: Who wrote this 
scenario? Right now, aliens are imaginary cultural 
beings created by the bourgeoisie to serve their 
ends. If this was a movie written with proletarian 
politics, technically advanced aliens would likely 
be communists, not evil imperialist scum. Or in a 
different-as yet unwritten revolutionary alien 
attack movie-the aliens are potentially good, and 
the proletariat unites with the space aliens behind 
the bourgeoisie's back. Then, at the crucial 
moment, when the bourgeoisie is totally committed 
in one direction, they realize they have been 
outflanked by the combined forces of the space 
aliens and the proletariat. Then, the aliens and 
what's left of humanity peacefully coexist.

While we support the message of ID4 about the 
principal contradiction, we aren't willing to 
concede the potential of proletarian imagination 
producing revolutionary culture. MIM hopes to see 
revolutionary film makers put out ID4 part 2 where 
the proletariat seizes power from the imperialists 
and achieves independence for the oppressed of the 
world. But they won't do this because the film 
makers are just bourgeois internationalists.

Under their bourgeois internationalist system of 
imperialism, it will take a super space alien 
invasion to bring unity, including unity of the 
proletariat with the bourgeoisie. That's the only 
way that imperialist system can bring peace to all 
peoples. By itself this is a strong damnation of 
the system we live in, which profits again and 
again from militarism, including this movie which 
broke the record for grossing $150 million in the 
shortest amount of time since release.

The bourgeois internationalists are dreaming of 
such unity under their leadership and no doubt 
their professional opportunists are scheming the 
equivalent of super alien hoaxes to get the 
proletariat to go along with bourgeois 
internationalist rule. Under socialism, we won't 
need an invasion of superior space aliens to bring 
about unity.


* * *


MARXISM-LENINISM-MAOISM ONLINE

INMATE CLASSIFIED--PIMPS PROFITING OFF OF 
PRISONERS' MISERY


by MC49 & MC44

In the Under Lock and Key section (pages 6&7), we 
responded to an item with the following comment: 
"We are happy to print items like the above which 
advertise services provided for the benefit of 
prisoners. We occasionally get requests to print 
similar-appearing items from organizations which 
describe their work as a service for prisoners, but 
which in fact are clearly aiming to profit off of 
prisoners and their plight. The difference between 
providing free or low- cost services to prisoners 
like the above and selling similar 'services' to 
prisoners is the difference between serving the 
people on the one hand and being an 'imprisonment 
pimp' or profiteer on the other." An example of an 
outfit which pimps off of prisoners is Inmate 
Classified: http://www.inmate.com, 9710 Zelzah 
Avenue, Ste. 105, Northridge, CA 91325, 818-829-
1250. We received a letter from this organization 
asking us to print something about their "service", 
along with a pamphlet describing their work.

The pamphlet reads in part, "INMATE Classified is a 
World Wide Web site dedicated exclusively to 
publishing prison inmates['] home pages on the 
Internet....

"You can use your home page to: publicize your case 
look for a pro bono lawyer look for new friends 
that can either write you directly or mail 
electronically (E-mail) to your private E-mail box 
advertise your skills to potential employers that 
might want to hire you upon release publish your 
writings or art work ...the only limitation is your 
imagination....

"E-mail contents (if any) are printed and mailed to 
you once a week....

"Circle your selection Plan A. Price: $70.00. Plan 
B. Price: $95.00.

"Please include one picture or art work and text of 
your Home Page. (for additional text, art work or 
photos ask for a quote)"

This price gouging itself should tell the reader 
that Inmate Classified is not a "service", despite 
its claims to the contrary. But it was by refusing 
to live up to the agreement in its own pamphlet 
that Inmate Classified earned public exposure here 
in MIM Notes. The pamphlet reads: "E-mail contents 
(if any) are printed and mailed to you once a 
week." But it turns out that this only applies to 
e-mail that Inmate Classified chooses to send. We 
tried to send copies of the electronic version of 
MIM Notes to the prisoners whose e-mail addresses 
we found at Inmate Classified's website. But 
instead of forwarding them on, Inmate Classified's 
webmaster John  started the 
following exchange:
John: If you want to send your newspaper to inmates 
please do so by regular mail. You can get their 
addresses from their home pages.

MIM: Our newspaper is available electronically, and 
we would prefer to send it that way if possible. Is 
there a limit to the size of the messages that 
prisoners can receive at this site? Will the first 
issue we sent be forwarded to them? John: Inmates 
don't have access to Internet. Once a week we 
download their e-mail boxes and send the contents 
via regular mail, and that is max 3 pages. We did 
not forward the first issue. You'll have to do it 
by mail. Also, we don't forward advertising ... 
only personal messages.

[MIM adds: None of the above caveats are mentioned 
in the pamphlet advertising the "service."] MIM: 
Precisely because the prisoners do not have 
independent access to the Internet, we think your 
policy of censoring their mail by denying them free 
literature or an advertisement for our free 
literature is deplorable. Are you willing to defend 
this policy in public? Because we plan to write a 
story about "services" like yours.

John: What is deplorable is your attitude. If you 
really want to send your message across the prison 
system do it in a professional manner with a 
professional mail package. But, it looks to me that 
you are too cheap to do that so I won't waste my 
type responding to any of your messages.

MIM happily takes webmaster John up on his offer to 
let us get in the last word. For the past decade, 
MIM Notes has sponsored free subscriptions for 
prisoners who request them. We also run a free 
Books for Prisoner program, sending as much free 
political literature to prisoners as our resources 
will allow. We publish "Under Lock & Key"- news 
from prisons and prisoners twice monthly. Each 
issue contains two pages worth of writings by 
prisoners and about their struggles. Finally, we 
run a web server including much of this material 
electronically. We do all this for free and with 
donations of stamps or cash from prisoners and 
individuals sympathetic to their struggles. Compare 
that to webmaster John and his homepage plus 12 
pages of e-mail per month for $70 and tell us: 
who's cheap and who's the imprisonment pimp?


* * *


WORLD WIDE WEB REVIEWS

AFRIKAN FRONTLINE NETWORK 

http://www.webcom.com/nattyreb/network.html

The Afrikan Frontline Network(AFN) is a "not for 
profit collective of communicators working to 
utilize today's resources to provide accurate, 
timely, and uncensored information to tomorrow's 
leaders." Full color, interactive and graphical, 
the AFN site is hard to access without a 28,800 
baud modem or other high-speed Internet connection. 
If you can get such access, it is well worth a 
visit for up to date information on important 
struggles of the Black nation.

The page has a strong collection of Black anti-
imperialist articles, cultural reviews and 
statements from organizations like the Malcolm X 
Grassroots Coalition and MOVE. Frontline news 
articles denounce police brutality and the 
expansion of the prison system, among other things.

African symbolism and a large photograph of Marcus 
Garvey decorate the red, green and yellow homepage- 
putting cultural nationalism out front. Garvey's 
enduring appeal as a symbol of Black nationalism is 
his success in mobilizing, by some counts, millions 
of Blacks to build institutions and economic 
independence from white Amerika. But as a communist 
Party supporting revolutionary nationalism, MIM 
struggles to move forward with the most advanced 
examples of activism which supersede Garvey. MIM 
takes its lessons from the Maoist vanguard of the 
Black nation of the 1960s-the Black Panther Party, 
not the capitalist Garvey.

The AFN's electronic newsletter, Dread Times, is 
updated weekly. The issue we review here included 
an article about the July Mumia events (see MIM 
Notes 119 for our coverage), the formation of the 
Los Angeles Coalition Against Racist Child 
Experimentation (LACCARE)-which is confronting a 
research study in which oppressed nation children 
were injected with deadly experimental measles 
vaccines. Other articles encourage people to 
participate in protests against the Olympics which 
take place in a city with a high homeless 
population, massive policy brutality and in a 
region with growing prison populations, low wages 
and disproportionate infant mortality. Dread Times 
is a current and informative resource that includes 
important agitation material.

A portion of the site is dedicated to efforts 
around the defense of Mumia Abu-Jamal, including 
announcements of upcoming activist events and 
reports on recent legal news. This aspect of the 
site shows most clearly the coalition approach of 
the AFN-which enthusiastically reports the 
participation of "Pan Afrikanists, Animal 
Rightists, Ecologists, Liberals, Friends, Social 
Reformers, etc." in the pro-Mumia camp. The site 
also provides a link to Amnesty International with 
no criticism of that organization. Maoists believe 
in uniting all who can be united against 
imperialism, and we welcome the participation of 
liberals around clearly defined goals, but 
leadership means asserting the most correct path, 
which means criticizing the pro-imperialist aspects 
of Amnesty's work.

The AFN also provides information about the cases 
of and activist efforts around Eddie Conway, 
Khalfani Khaldun, Leonard Peltier and Sundiata 
Acoli "because we have to save the lives of our 
warriors." MIM agrees wholeheartedly with 
proletarian defense of revolutionary warriors in 
prison-but not to the exclusion of the important 
work of organizing all prisoners. We do not agree 
with the AFN, for example, that there are only 
about 150 political prisoners in the United Snakes. 
We see more than one million and growing, since we 
see that all prisoners, no matter what the crime 
they've been convicted of, are political prisoners 
of imperialism.(Stay tuned for MIM Theory 11, 
Amerikkkan Prisons on Trial. Order now, $6, from 
the address on page 2.)

There are other resources for prisoners in general, 
such as the proposal from the Prison Issues Desk 
calling for the formation of the New Afrikan 
Prisoners Militia Network (NAPMN). The NAPMN 
proposes to monitor legislation and protest anti-
prisoner bills-with the reformist aim of ridding 
the criminal injustice system of specific 
individuals who draft and vote for repressive 
legislation. The injustice system cannot be 
reformed. Small victories can and should be fought 
for, but we cannot settle for anything less than 
revolution to bring justice to Amerikkka's 
imprisoned. MIM builds public opinion and 
independent power on the outside and organizes 
support among prisoners to smash imperialism and 
its prison system altogether.

NOTE: http://www.webcom.com/nattyreb/network.html