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[Civil Liberties] [Police Brutality] [Texas]
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Anti-food Sharing Ordinance Enforced Aggressively in Houston, Texas

Recently Mayor Annise Parker of Houston, Texas enacted a City Ordinance which makes it against the law to feed more than 5 hungry homeless people at a time. Many may remember that mayor Parker made national headlines by becoming the first openly gay/lesbian womyn to be elected mayor to a major u.s. city. One would think that of all people Mayor Parker would be sensitive to the needs of the oppressed and the poor. Of course this mode of thinking is pathetically idealistic and goes against our scientific method for analyzing and solving problems.

I did a concrete analysis of Mayor Parker's actions since she has been in office, and time and time again she has strategically proposed ordinances which promote a "war" on the poor and homeless. Houston is an international imperialist strong hold. The war profiteers Halliburton and Kellog, Brown, and Root have offices in Houston. There are countless oil companies based in Houston. These companies literally rob and exploit the natural resources of many poor and under-developed Third World countries. Mayor Parker is nothing more than an "agent" for these money hungry imperialists. In Mayor Parker's eyes, the poor hungry masses in Houston are an "eyesore" and more importantly, bad for bu$ine$$!

There are many activists who have balked at this new ordinance. They include an incredibly diverse group of individuals. Socialists, Black Panthers, Anarchists, Christians, Right wingers, and Left wingers, the public at large simply does not like this new ordinance. The benevolent "snake" Mayor Parker told the activists that if they could come up with 20,000 signatures of citizens who do not approve of the ordinance she would consider rescinding it. The activists came up with 34,000 signatures to put the issue on the ballot. Mayor Parker and City Council members conspired to sabotage the activist's ability to be heard and acknowledged at a recent city council meeting. A local judge, named Bill Harris determined that the activists submitted their petition too late!

Police terrorism is alive and well in Houston. The homeless who reside downtown are favorite targets of the abusive Houston Police Department officers. The fine for feeding more than 5 homeless people at a time is $2000 and/or jail! People who usually bring food to feed the homeless are afraid.

More than ever we are in dire need of a revolution that overthrows this wicked and corrupt imperialist system that exploits and takes advantage of the "have nots" of society. It is going to take people who are willing to fight and not negotiate with the enemy.

Notes: KPFT Radio 90.1 FM. S.O.S. Radio show with Brother Zinn, 12 September 2012. Facebook.com/KPFT Houston.

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[ULK Issue 30]
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Amerikanos Están Arriba 13 Porciento

Recientes demostraciones en ciudades de Estados Unidos han clamado representar al "99%" que están contra el 1% que son ricos. MIM(prisión) soporta una distribución mas justa de los recursos del mundo. Lo que la mayoría de americanos no comprenden es que la distribución correcta de las riquezas, significa menos para ellos puesto que son parte del 13% de ricos.

En 1970 un acción similar en forma de Ocupar Wall Street (OWS) occurió en contestación al asesinato de estudiantes en la universidad de Kent State. En respuesta un sindicato local irrumpió por las calles atacando a estudiantes, golpeandolos y atacaron oficinas del estado. Refleccionando sobre este evento, un locutor de radio implicó que OWS erá evidencia de progreso, medido por el respaldo sindical que recibió.

Las condiciones materiales de la invasión de Vietnam de U.$. forzó a jóvenes Amerikanos, en ese tiempo, a tomar una posición mas progresiva que la de hoy, colocándolos en oposición a los sindicatos nacionalistas de la raza blanca. Las acciones de OWS están más dentro del mundo del nacionalismo blanco que de la "Batalla de Seattle" en 1999 donde los anarquistas y otras organizaciones, se juntaron con sindicatos en contra la Organización Mundial de Comercio (OWS). No mas los de MIM y J. Sakai reconocieron la reacción del nacionalismo blanco contra OWS estaban directamente dentro el contexto Amerikano. Pero aunqueses los narcisistas tenían una docé saludable de internacionalismo motivandolos para atrás.

El grito principal de la OWS es "defender la clase medida Amerikana." Aunque los anarqistas son atraidos por ese formato, concejos hablados y de consenso abiertos "al público," el contenido es desesperanzadoramente nacionalista blanco. Es el tipo exacto de retórica que escupieron los demócratas de la Europa post-depresión, y que llevó al surgimiento del fascismo en muchos paises.(1) Cuando las naciones privilegiadas del mundo, sintieron sus privilegios amenazasdo, se politicalizaron agúdamente en sus demandas por más. Atacaron a los super-ricos con el fin de crear la ilusión de que eran pobres comparados con ellos. Pero los hechos son obstinados, y los intereses de los Amerikanos los lleváron a gritarle a los super-ricos para que defendieran los empleos Amerikanos y respaldaran las líneas de crédito que habian tomado. Ambas demandas son incompatibles con la lucha por los derechos de los migrantes, que habían estado de moda entre la izquierda blanca nacionalista en años recientes.

MIM siempre ha afirmado que si los países imperialistas fuesen golpeados por verdaderos tiempos duros en la economía, observaríamos un incremento en el fascismo en vez de un interés en el Maoísmo. No decimos esto con el fin de atemorizar y emotivizar, pero con el fin de promover una evaluación realista de las condiciones. Fue la juventud Amerikana quienes pusieron sus cuerpos en la línea, primero en Seattle y ahora en Nueva York y otros lugares. Puesto que tienen décadas de vida por delante, los jóvenes tienen más interés que sus padres en transformar este mundo en uno más justo. Pero para que ellos lo logren, primero deben ver las cosas tal como son y alinearse con las verdaderas fuerzas de cambio progresivo.

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[Theory] [Security] [ULK Issue 28]
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ULK 28: Editor's Note on Security and Correct Leadership

united we stand too

This issue is going to production on the heels of the first countrywide action engaged in by a yet-unknown number of members of the United Front for Peace in Prisons (UFPP), representing many political, religious and lumpen organizations and hailing from the prison systems of Nevada, North Carolina, Florida, New York, California, Texas, Missouri, Pennsylvania and the Federal system. Initially called for by UFPP signatory SAMAEL, MIM(Prisons) promoted the call for the Day of Solidarity on September 9 in our last issue of Under Lock & Key as something we felt embodied what the united front is about. In this issue we summarize what we know so far, but we expect to learn more in the coming weeks and will continue to report on this important action.

For our part, MIM(Prisons) made a strong effort back in July to directly contact all other prison rights organizations and activists on the outside to let them know about the Day of Solidarity. We also promoted it generally online and handed out fliers with the five principles of the UFPP on them at many events related to prisons and peace on the streets. Other media outlets that promoted the call included the San Francisco BayView Newspaper, anti-imperialism.com and NorthBay Uprising Radio (89.5 KZCT in Vallejo, CA), which did an extensive interview with a comrade about the day of solidarity, the united front and the prison struggle in general. Other articles in this issue discuss some of the repression faced by prisoners and MIM(Prisons) leading up to the action.

All that said, the primary focus of the day was the organizing of prisoners. To facilitate this we distributed updates to everyone involved about the plans of other groups participating, similar to what we did during the California strikes. One story we distributed from New York was from a handwritten kite a comrade passed to another brother at his facility: "Bro. - Please pay close attention to the article 'Call for Solidarity Demonstration September 9' on page 3. Let me know what you think. I've decided to fast on Sept 9th." The response was written on the same paper: "Yes I will fast on that day, it looks better when we all go to chow but we just don't eat. Thanks for that information." (This was what the 800 Attica comrades did on that day in 1971 in honor of George Jackson's murder.) The original organizers got this report and adjusted their own plans to go to chow and dispose of meals as outlined in their cheat sheet (see "Solidarity and Peace Demonstration Builds, Guards Retaliate"). This cheat sheet was passed on to the comrades in Florida whose report appears below, who also adopted the tactic:

On 9 September 2012, at Everglades Correctional Institution in Florida, individual members of The Blood Nation honored the soldiers of Attica by doing one or more of the following: fasting, boycotting the canteen/commissary, accepting chow hall trays and dumping them, and explaining why. Also participating individually were one or more members of the following groups (in alphabetical order): Black Gangsta Disciples, Crip Nation, Insane Gangsta Disciples, Almighty Latin King Queen Nation, Nation of Islam, Spanish Cobras, Shi'a Muslim Community, and Sufi Community. My apologies to anyone I missed. It was a small step at a spot with no history of unity, but even a single drop of water in a dry glass makes it wet. Respect to those who made the sacrifice, those who joined us midday, and those who expressed interest the day after. I'm as human as anyone, but let's TRY to remember who the enemy is!

Good work comrades! Seems like organizations in Florida are open to solidarity as another comrade from that state reports: "Being that today is September 9 and a day of solidarity and peace, all sorts of nations (organizations) got together here in the rec yard and had a jailhouse BBQ and lived in peace just for the day here at Cross City, Florida."

Many of our supporters are suffering in long-term isolation, so the opportunity for mass organizing is greatly limited. A report from Missouri read:

Today is September 9, 2012. My comrade (my celly) and I are participating in the mass stoppage of work and fast for our comrades who fell in Attica. Although we are in Ad-Seg we have chosen to sacrifice: no food, no [petty stuff], no arguing out the door, only working out four times for one hour each time, reading, studying and talking politics. For me fasting is something I do once a month, but today is the first time I've worked out during my fast. My comrade is pushing me and I'm not stopping. From midnight to midnight is how we're moving.

This white comrade also reported that he received ULK 27 announcing the Day of Solidarity, while his Black comrade's was censored. They report this is a common form of discrimination in Missouri.

Another great success occurred in Nevada where SAMAEL led the organizing of a good cross-section of prisoners representing about 30% of the population. Even if we get no other reports on the September 9 action, we'd say it was a success just from these examples. But we know from the list of states above that the day had much broader participation.

The progress represented by prisoners across the country acting in solidarity as a class took place in the context of the many other strikes and mass actions prisoners have led in the past year or more that have built off of each other as cipactli writes about in "Prisoner Uprisings Foretell Growing Movement". This progress is exciting on the subjective level. And we can look at periods of mass uprising to see what happens when times are "exciting." They tend to be crazy as well. People are confused, trying to figure things out and the enemy is working hard to confuse them more and divide them. So it is of the utmost importance that as the new prison movement emerges that we take time to study questions of security and correct leadership.

There is the question of security at the individual level, and how we judge someone by putting politics in command, as discussed by PTT in relation to Richard Aoki. In the belly of the beast, where there is so much wealth and privilege, security at the group level is very tied up with our class analysis. As our Nevada comrade points out in "Fighting Enemies in the Prison Movement", most people in this country will actively support imperialism without directly getting a paycheck for it, and this is true for a portion of the prison population as well.

One thing that sets communists apart from other revolutionary trends is our stress on the importance of correct ideological leadership. Putting politics in command can guide us in dealing with all challenges we face, not just security. We recognize that the truth will come from mass struggle, but that it will not always be recognized by the masses when they see it because everyone needs to learn to think in a scientific way first. In order to pick the best leadership, we must all be well-studied to think scientifically about both history and our current conditions. As we point out to the comrade who suspects we might be CIA, you should be able to judge the correctness of ULK and to struggle with us where you think we are wrong to decide whether the risk of subscribing is worth it.

Our comrade in BORO puts the September 9 Day of Solidarity in this context well when s/he writes: "Through the lens of a dialectical-materialist, we must see history as a never-ending stream of past events that gave and constantly give birth to present realities. This chain of historical events is constantly moving us forward into the ocean of endless possibilities. We must use this view of a 'living history' as a source of defining who we are and the direction we're heading as a people." (See "Black August and Bloody September: Stand Up and Remember on September 9.")

This September protest wasn't just to spend a day sitting quietly honoring the past; it was a time to learn from the past and apply lessons to address our current conditions. The day was a success, but it was only one step in developing a class-conscious prison movement that can change conditions. In the coming weeks, we look forward to hearing of more successes and accomplishments that organizers achieved on September 9.

We hope that some of the articles in this issue can push forward among the masses the question of recognizing correct leadership to avoid the traps of the state and its sympathizers. For those who want to learn, MIM(Prisons)'s Serve the People Free Political Literature to Prisoners Program and correspondence study groups operate year round, not just in August.

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[Spanish]
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Mejorando USW para Acomodar el Movimiento de Prisiones Emergente

Nos aproximamos al quinto aniversario como organización al reunir nuestro Tercer Congreso. Aunque miembros de MIM(Prisiones) - y por supuesto aquellos de USW - han estado en el movimiento de prisiones por mucho mas tiempo, encontramos que esta es una oportunidad apropiada para reflexionar acerca de donde se encuentra el movimiento de prisiones y como se ha desarrollado.

Una serie de huelgas de hambre en California, durante el año 2011, tuvo un gran impacto a lo largo de la nación. Muchos activistas, desde aquellos encubiertos, hasta anarquistas y reformistas, se unieron alrededor de este movimiento y como resultado continuaron enfocándose en el trabajo de prisiones. Mientras nuestros predecesores en MIM habían visto la importancia del movimiento de prisiones desde décadas atrás, su visión ha sido afirmada mucho mas el día de hoy cuando comenzamos a alcanzar una masa crítica de actividad. Es ahora un tópico caliente en el nacionalismo blanco de izquierda, lo cual es significativo puesto que los blancos no son afectados por el sistema de prisiones de una manera tan extensa como para considerarlo un interés legítimo y prioritario.

Este desarrollo gradual ha sido el resultado de dos factores: Una conmoción por fuera de las prisiones debido a los hechos alrededor del sistema de injusticia de los Estados Unidos, y a prisioneros organizándose en el interior de las cárceles; factores en los cuales MIM y USW han estado trabajando diligentemente por décadas. En el año y medio que ha pasado, la organización de los prisioneros alcanzó un momento importante con la huelga de Georgia y las huelgas de hambre de California, las cuales fueron coordinadas a un nivel estatal. Estos eventos fueron particularmente significativos entre los prisioneros, pero al mismo tiempo capturaron la atención de los medios y de la comunidad internacional. Más aun, porque hay una serie de acciones similares que continúan desarrollándose a lo largo del país. (Recientemente en Virginia, Ohio, Texas, Illinois, la prisión federal súper máxima ADX, Limon en Colorado y una huelga de hambre adicional en Georgia.)

Entre tanto, el aspecto de conmoción llego a un punto importante con la publicación del libro "The New Jim Crow" (El nuevo Jim Crow), el año pasado. Este libro ha logrado conseguir bastante atención en sectores diferentes del espectro político. Aunque mucha de la promoción le presta atención indebida a las conclusiones tibias del libro, el hecho de que los datos se hayan organizado en un libro hablan por si mismos. Se requiere unas nociones preconcebidas muy arraigadas para leer este libro y atreverse a negar la opresión del sistema de injusticia americano contra las seudo colonias internas. Por lo tanto, pensamos que el efecto general del libro será progresivo y significativo a pesar de sus limitaciones.

Es por estas razones que vemos la necesidad de apoderarnos del momento. Cuando comenzamos hace cinco años tuvimos la gran fortuna de construir sobre el legado de los programas de soporte a los prisioneros, establecidos por MIM. La fundación ideológica de MIM nos permitió enfocar nuestras energías en asuntos mas prácticos, tal como el lanzar una publicación nueva para las prisiones, construir programas de ayuda a camaradas que son liberados, desarrollar cursos por correspondencia de estudios políticos, y lanzar un nuevo sitio de Internet que exhiba información amplia sobre censura, reglas de correo y abusos en las prisiones del país.

Con nuestra infraestructura ya terminada y trabajando correctamente, necesitamos ahora buscar maneras de tomar ventaja inmediata de la conciencia relativamente positiva de los prisioneros y de la atención relativa que la población americana le ha dado al sistema de prisiones. Siempre hemos mantenido que sin prisioneros organizados no hay movimiento de prisiones, es así que tenemos ese objetivo como nuestra prioridad inicial. Estamos tomando pasos para mejorar la estructura de United Struggle from Within (USW), la organización de masas de prisioneros que fue fundada por MIM ye es ahora liderada por MIM(Prisiones). Construyendo sobre las sugerencias de algunos líderes en USW, hemos habilitado un plan para formar asambleas en estados donde hay múltiples células activas de USW. Más adelante explicarémos una organización estructural para nuestro movimiento de manera que los camaradas puedan saber donde pertenecen y como se deben relacionar con otros.

Tal como vimos durante las huelgas en California, cuando la organización se expande, se incrementa la censura al igual que otras medidas represivas. A medida que aumentamos nuestros esfuerzos, debemos esperar que el estado incremente los suyos. Necesitarémos más ayuda que nunca de parte de los voluntarios en el exterior para efectuar trabajo legal y de agitación para mantener al estado leal a sus propias leyes y regulaciones.

Tan grandes como estos retos aparentan ser, sabemos que habrá retos mayores a nivel interno, así como obstáculos que deberémos librar en los próximos años. Las grandes movilizaciones recientes han comenzado a revelar lo que estos retos serán. Hay mucho trabajo por hacer en el identificar, analizar y resolverlas contradicciones dentro de la población de prisiones, que permiten que en las condiciones actuales, el estado dicte como debe una vasta población de personas oprimidas interactuar el uno con el otro, y como deben vivir sus vidas.

El movimiento de prisiones que se estableció previamente a la explosión carcelería de los 1980s fue un producto de las luchas por liberación nacional que ocurrieron en su momento. Hoy, la población de las prisiones es diez veces más grande mientras que el liderazgo político en el exterior es escaso. Las masas encarceladas deben cuidarse del número grande de líderes falsos que desde afuera, como oportunistas, toman a las prisiones como el tópico del día para promover sus agendas políticas, las cuales no le sirven para nada a la gente opresa del mundo. En esta ocasión, los prisioneros necesitan prepararse a jugar un papel importante, lo cual requiere una profunda mirada interior. Debemos no solo aprender del pasado pero construir programas independientes de educación que desarrollen las habilidades de las camaradas de hoy para conducir un análisis propio de las condiciones que enfrentan. Encima de esto debemos promover y desarrollar una visión internacionalista para encontrar respuestas y alianzas en las naciones oprimidas alrededor del mundo, así se pueden remover las vendas de los ojos que nos mantienen enfocados exclusivamente en América. No se puede encontrar liberación en el americanismo. El hecho que los americanos han creado un sistema de prisiones que empequeñece todos los demás en la historia humana, es un ejemplo del porque no hay liberación en el americanismo.

Es con un optimismo cauto que aprobamos la siguiente resolución en nuestro último congreso. Pensamos que este plan responde a las propuestas enviadas por algunos líderes de USW. Esperamos que todos ustedes trabajen con nosotros para hacer de el una estructura efectiva.

Resolución del congreso sobre la estructura de USW.

MIM(Prisiones) esta iniciando la creación de asambleas estatales dentro de USW, la organización antiimperialista de los prisioneros. Una asamblea será aprobada cuando existen dos o mas células dentro del estado, las cuales son reconocidas como activas y trabajando bajo el estándar de USW. MIM(Prisiones) servirá como ente de apoyo a estas asambleas con un foque orientado a la organización alrededor de las necesidades de la comunidad prisionera en ese estado. Puesto que el sistema de prisiones de los Estados Unidos esta organizado primordialmente por estado, las asambleas trabajarán de acuerdo a las necesidades especificas y condiciones encontradas en el estado en particular.

En el caso donde las células poseen otras identidades diferentes a USW no se les requerirá que usen ese nombre. Por ejemplo, La Organización Revolucionaria del Orden Negro (Black Order Revolutionary Organization), que se identifica a si misma como un 'Nuevo movimiento africano revolucionario' podrá ser invitada a participar en una asamblea estatal de USW. Aunque USW no favorece las luchas de una nación opresa sobre otras igualmente oprimidas, como movimiento reconocemos la utilidad e importancia de una organización especifica a la nación. En el ambiente de prisiones hay muchas líneas que no se pueden cruzar bajo las condiciones actuales, esto limita la afiliación en un grupo. Mientras estas células exhiban un internacionalismo y antiimperialismo auténtico, ellas pueden poseer afiliación doble en USW por medio de su unión a la asamblea estatal.

Con esta propuesta estamos expandiendo la estructura de nuestro movimiento. Reconocemos los dos pilares principales de el liderazgo ideológico del movimiento actual: el primero siendo la célula de MIM(Prisiones) y el segundo siendo el grupo de escritores de Under Lock & Key (Bajo Llave), el cual también está compuesto por miembros de USW y dirigido y apoyado por MIM(Prisones).

Las asambleas estatales deberán buscar en estos dos grupos la orientación ideológica necesaria para organizar su trabajo. Esto se encontrará principalmente en las páginas de Under Lock & Key. En contraste, la función principal de las asambleas será el trabajo práctico y directo que sirva a los intereses de la clase encarcelada. Las asambleas servirán para coordinar el trabajo de organización de las células dispersas para que trabajen de una manera más unificada.

MIM(Prisiones) establecerá inmediatamente la asamblea de California, a la que seguirán otras a medida que las condiciones lo permitan.

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[Organizing] [Attica Correctional Facility] [New York] [ULK Issue 28]
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Attica Report From September 9 Protest

For the morning meal the mess hall was virtually empty. For the noon meal there were approximately 120 prisoners in attendance. Usually, when they serve baked chicken and rice there are some 360 prisoners in attendance. A lot more prisoners turned out for the evening meal. Overall there was a low attendance for meals.

Next year things will be different and better organized. I'm in the process of obtaining two articles dealing with the Attica rebellion. I'll have copies of the articles run off and give one of each to the entire prison population. This can be accomplished within a year's time.

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[Organizing] [ULK Issue 28]
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Report from California Sept 9 Protest

The young comrades and I did build and protest by fasting and study on September 9, 2012, in solidarity with the comrades of the Attica prison uprising in 1971, and we organized in unity and peace without any problems.

Many of the young comrades did a MIM(Prisons) study group assignment as well as readings from Under Lock & Key. We had a very positive 2 days of study and building. I was very pleased with the young comrades and to see them in love and unity with respect.

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[United Front] [Organizing] [ULK Issue 28]
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Dept. of Public Safety Opposes Efforts to Stop Fighting

North Carolina's so-called Department of Public Safety has joined a number of state agencies in openly sabotaging efforts to prevent prisoners from fighting in their facilities.

MIM(Prisons) and our readers in North Carolina have received multiple notices of censorship of Under Lock & Key 27, most of them citing page 3, which contained the Call for Solidarity Demonstration on September 9. In their doublespeak, they justify this with reasons such as that it promotes "violence, disorder, insurrection or terrorist/gang activities" and that it "encourages insurrection and disorder." This was in reference to a call for 24 hours with no eating, working or fighting, where prisoners only engaged in solidarity actions and networking to build peace.

Many other states censored Under Lock & Key 27 for threatening the security of the institution (including New York, California, Wisconsin, and Illinois). Wisconsin Department of Corrections later claimed that ULK 27 "teaches or advocates violence and presents a clear and present danger to institutional security." So there you have it. Prisoners coming together, for whatever cause, is a security threat to them. Making it clear what they are trying to secure, which is the prevention of the self-determination of the oppressed nation lumpen. This has nothing to do with the persynal safety of humyn beings, which the Call for September 9 was clear in promoting.

Folsom State Prison in California went so far as to say that ULK 27 was censored for "advocating civil disobedience in prisons." Even this claim is a stretch, unless fasting and not working for a day, a Sunday no less, is disobeying the law in some way. Texas seems to think so, as they censored many copies of ULK 27 with the consistent reason that it "advocates hunger strike and work stoppage." Well we know Texas is big on unpaid labor in their prisons. And we suppose it's not breaking news that peaceful civil disobedience is a crime in the eyes of the state of California.

Despite the more honest justifications given by some state employees in California and Texas, safety and security concerns remain the number one reason given by states to censor MIM(Prisons)'s mail to prisoners. To call these agencies on their bluff, MIM(Prisons) proposes that organizations within the United Front for Peace who are working to build off of September 9 focus on promoting safety in their agitational and organizational work. From the countless painful letters we get from U.$. prisoners who fear for their life everyday in these places, we are pretty sure that working together we can do a better job of creating a safe environment than they can.

Comrades should brainstorm ideas of how to launch a campaign to change the conditions that the state creates that lead to unsafe conditions for prisoners. Often unsafe conditions for prisoners are potentially unsafe for staff as well. Either way, an effective campaign to make prisoners safer should bring around new recruits.

Can we get enough stories of comrades working to help each other out and improve each other's well-being to make ULK 29 an issue focused on creating safer prisons in the U.$? And you artists out there, any ideas on how to promote issues of safety and security that speak to the prison masses?

Let's see what we can do with this. And look out for each other in there.

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[Middle East] [Africa] [Asia] [United Front] [U.S. Imperialism] [ULK Issue 28]
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Cultural Imperialism Triggers Global Protests Against U.$.

map of protests against anti-Muslim film
White markers indicate locations of protests against the anti-Muslim film produced in the United $tates. See notes below for link to live map.

15 September 2012 — Tens of thousands of people in dozens of cities and slums across Africa, South Asia, the Middle East and parts of Europe and Australia have demonstrated in recent days in response to a film made in the United $tates attacking the Prophet Muhammad. Protests primarily targeted U.$. embassies and other symbols of imperialism including an Amerikan school, a KFC restaurant, and a UN camp.(1) The latter was one of many locations where authorities shot at protestors with live ammunition. Many have died so far. Some common unifying symbolism of these actions has been burning of Amerikan flags and chants of "Death to Amerika!"

The first protest that got the world's attention was in Libya, where U.$.-backed forces recently overthrew the decades-old government there. Timed to occur on the anniversary of the 11 September 2001 attacks on the United $tates by Al Qaeda, rebels grabbed headlines by laying siege to the embassy, killing as many as a dozen people, including the new U.$. ambassador. Since then protestors have attacked imperialist embassies in Tunisia, Yemen and Sudan without firearms.

While incumbent U.$. President Barack Obama has been making plenty of mention of his role in the assassination of Al-Qaeda's former leader Osama bin Laden in campaign speeches, hundreds of protestors in Kuwait chanted outside the U.$. embassy, "Obama, we are all Osama." Osama's vision of a Pan-Islamic resistance to U.$. occupations and economic interference in the Muslim world has reached new heights this week.

The Amerikan media has tried to play it off as a small group of trouble makers protesting, while Amerikans are shocked that they can be blamed for a fringe movie they have never seen and think is a piece of crap. At the same time, Amerikans seem very willing to condemn the protestors as ignorant, violent, low-lifes — just as the movie in question portrayed Muslims. But the trigger of these protests is far less important than the history of U.$. relations to the people involved. The most violent reactions occurred in countries that have all been under recent bombing attacks by the U.$. military, two of them for many years now, and the other had their whole government overthrown. Cocky Amerikans won't recognize that the ambassador was targeted as the highest level representative of the U.$. puppet master in Libya.

MIM has held for some time that Muslim organizations have done more to fight imperialism in recent years in most of the world than communists have.(2) And while there are plenty of ways communists could theoretically be doing a better job, they are not. As materialists we must accept and work with the people and conditions we are given. And we do not hesitate to recognize that Islam has brought us the biggest internationalist demonstration of anti-imperialism we've seen in some time.

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[Organizing] [Cross City Correctional Institution] [Florida]
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Florida Organizations Come Together in Peace for September 9th

Being that today is September 9th and a day of solidarity and peace, all sorts of nations (organizations) got together here in the rec yard and had a jailhouse BBQ and lived in peace just for the day here at Cross City, Florida.

I always enjoy the Under Lock and Key. Hopefully one day some of my articles will be published in them. Allow me to extend in your direction a revolutionary embrace and a warrior's salute. I hope for Florida one day to move forward in our prison system. Little by little with the help of the folks at MIM(Prisons).


MIM(Prisons) adds:There seems to be much support for unity between organizations in Florida. See the previous report of lumpen organizations coming together in Everglades Correctional Institution.

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[South Central Correctional Center] [Missouri]
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September 9 Protest Report from Missouri

Today is September 9th, 2012. My comrade (my celly) and I are participating in the mass stoppage of work and fast for our comrades who fell in Attica. Although we are in Ad-Seg we have chosen to sacrifice. No food, no petty stuff, no arguing out the door, only working out four times for 1 hour each time, reading, studying and talking politics. For me fasting is something I do once a month, but today is the first time I've worked out during my fast. My comrade is pushing me and I'm not stopping. From midnight to midnight is how we're moving.

I'm writing this to not only inform you of this movement, but how things are going in these human warehouses here in Missouri. It's still hard to find unity here. No one wants to miss a meal or two to make a stand, but they'll continue to talk about how bad things are. It's not strange.

I want to raise an issue concerning your paper. My comrade who is Black just had your July/August issue of ULK censored. The reason for this censorship was the article about the mass work stoppage on September 9th. I am Caucasian and fully dedicated to the struggle. I have received your July/August issue of ULK. This discrimination towards my comrade is not strange.

My comrade has filed his grievance on this censorship. This state doesn't even want us to learn and that is just one thing wrong with this state. They would rather close down schools and build new prisons.

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