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         THE MAOIST INTERNATIONALIST MOVEMENT

  MIM Notes 90                      July, 1994

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.  ZAPATISTAS REJECT FALSE PEACE
2.  LETTERS
3.  MIM TAKES HEAT FOR REVOLUTIONARY FEMINISM
4.  MILITANT GRASSROOTS ORGANIZING STOPS 
    PLANS FOR MED-WASTE INCINERATOR
6.  SEND CLINTON TO A JAIL-HOUSE SWEATSHOP
7.  INDIAN COPS KILL MAOISTS
8.  BULLIES AND BLACKLISTS
9.  YOUNG STUDENTS LIKE MIM
10. CONGRESS MUTILATES GENITALS AND PEOPLE
11. NEW GROCERY-SHELF BATTLES: BOURGEOISIE 
    FLOUNDERS IN ATTACKS ON FEMINISM
12. CIA OPERATIVE MANAGING PERUVIAN STATE
13. HAITI UNDER THE GUN: CLINTON EYES ISLAND ATTACK
14. REVIEW: NEVERTHELESS
15. REVIEW: SCREW SERIAL MOM, WE WANT MATERIAL MOM
16. SMOOTH, NO CHUNKS! 
    (BOBBY SEALE MELTS DOWN BPP MILITANCE)
17. REVIEW: INDIGENOUS WOMAN
18. UNDER LOCK AND KEY: NEWS FROM PRISONS AND PRIOSONERS

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


* * *

CONTINUING THE FIGHT FOR TRUE LIBERTY AND DEMOCRACY:  


The Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN) recently ended peace 
talks with the Mexican government. Throughout the  negotiations, 
the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) government tried to 
convince the EZLN to lay down its arms by offering reforms in 
response to some of the Zapatistas' demands. At the same time, the 
PRI received U.S. supplies and troops. The Zapatistas have been 
addressing Amerikan audiences--publicizing the support the U.S. 
government gives to Mexico and calling on the Amerikan people to 
take responsibility for their government's actions.

"With the help that you the people and government of North America 
have given to the Mexican federal government, you are staining 
your hands with blood. Our dream and desire is that of all people 
of the world: true liberty and democracy. And for this dream we 
are willing to give our lives. Do not stain your hands with our 
blood by allowing yourselves to be the accomplices of the Mexican 
government."(2)

MIM agrees with the Zapatistas that it is the responsibility of 
Amerikans to build public opinion in the United States in favor of 
the EZLN. People in the United States who support the Mexican 
people's right to self-determination should organize and oppose 
all forms of U.S. intervention in Mexico.

The "peace settlement" and the elections

On June 11, following consultation with peasant communities in 
liberated territories, the EZLN announced its decision to reject 
the government's proposed peace settlement.(12) The Zapatistas 
have contacted democratic forces across Mexico, beginning in late 
January when the cease-fire went into effect and throughout the 
negotiations. They surveyed the countryside "in order to hear the 
voice of the people," and have met with campesino unions from 
around the nation and encouraged them to carry on the fight.(4)

Subcommandante Marcos, the most prominent EZLN spokesperson, said, 
"We have no confidence in either the political parties or the 
electoral system... In this movement, the Indians that form part 
of the Zapatista army want in the first place to dialog with their 
own people. They are the true interlocutors."(1)

The government offered rural electrification, health care and 
schools, and demanded that the Zapatistas lay down their weapons. 
But the proposal did not address the EZLN's central demands, like 
the demand for the resignation of the PRI, which the EZLN says 
holds illegitimate power as a result of electoral fraud.

"In exchange for unconditional surrender, the government offers 
what it always offers: an internal adjusting of accounts, a 
package of declarations, promises, and more bureaucratic 
dependencies... National and Latin American history teaches us 
that he who lays down his arms believing in the forgiveness of his 
persecutor ends his days shot full of holes wherever the death 
squads of the government can find him. How can we think that would 
not occur in this country?"(2)

During peace negotiations, the EZLN exhorted the Mexican people to 
form "Committees to Protect the Will of the People," to guarantee 
clean elections. At the same time the Zapatistas reminded people 
that "voice alone does not change nations."(4) Peasants from 
Chiapas and across Mexico, inspired and supported by the EZLN, are 
seizing land and replacing local governments with traditional 
ruling councils.

Land struggles intensify

Since the middle of January, peasants in Chiapas have seized over 
450,000 acres of land (the government reports only 70,000 acres 
seized). This does not include the territory liberated by the EZLN 
in the jungles of Chiapas, which is larger than many countries in 
Latin America.(4)

These seizures are widely attributed to the example of the EZLN. 
One Chiapan peasant said, "By grace, the Zapatistas have opened 
our eyes. We do not know them, but we must thank them. Before, we 
did not have the valor to do this."(7)

Large landlords have organized para-military Guardia Blancas 
(white guards) to violently evict peasant squatters. The Mexican 
military extra-legally arms these thugs with U.S weapons. The EZLN 
has pledged to defend the peasant land seizures.(4) Early this 
year the Zapatistas' clashes with the judiciales, the state 
police, met with widespread popular approval. One writer overheard 
the following on a Mexico City subway: "The judiciales aren't 
decent people; they aren't even people."(8)

Municipal governments toppled; women step up

Several towns in Chiapas have removed municipal governments 
instituted by the central government and replaced them with 
traditional ruling councils. These councils involve the active 
participation of women, which the old governments did not.

Residents of Teopisca demanded that government officials visiting 
the town audit the town's finances and remove the mayor from 
office. When the officials balked, one of the women from the town 
yelled, "Let's tie them up! If you men won't do it, we women 
will!" The mayor was deposed and the audit began the next day. 
When one of the officials said "We've seen that this place is 
ungovernable," the people cheered.(10)

U.S. increases military involvement

The U.S. government supplies the repressive Mexican army with over 
90% of its equipment. Since the Zapatista uprising, the United 
States has beefed up its military presence in the Mexico and 
Central America. U.S. helicopters have attacked the Zapatistas.(3) 
The United States has sent over 1,000 armed vehicles to Mexico, 
and 6,000 U.S. reserves and national guards were stationed on the 
Guatemalan border in mid-April.(4)

Much of this military aid comes under the guise of combating drug 
traffickers. But the Zapatistas point out that "[U.S.] troops, 
airplanes, helicopters, radar, communications equipment, arms and 
military paraphernalia are being used now not to fight drug 
traders and the big capos of the drug trade, but to repress the 
just struggles of the people of Mexico and of the Indians of 
Chiapas."(5) 

U.S. Congressperson Toricelli, a Latin America specialist, 
recently visited Mexico to build support for NAFTA. He went to 
Chiapas and sent the Zapatistas a letter to see if he could meet 
with them. According to a leftist Mexican novelist, the Zapatistas 
burned the letter. Toricelli claims they didn't literally burn it, 
they just didn't have time to meet with him, what with the peace 
talks and all.(6) MIM thinks they burned the letter.

The EZLN refers to NAFTA as "a death sentence" for the indigenous 
Mexican peasants.(1) NAFTA ensures that Amerikan producers will be 
able to under-sell the peasants, forcing them to sell their land 
and leaving them without work. 

The Zapatistas address the Amerikan people

At a recent talk given by a representative of the EZLN's legal arm 
in Detroit, MI, audience members asked what U.S. trade unions 
should do to support the Zapatistas. Some people implied that 
repealing NAFTA would be the best way to help the EZLN and the 
Mexican people. The representative replied that the Amerikan 
people are the only ones who can stop arms shipments from the 
United States, and encouraged those present to creatively apply 
themselves to this task.

The Amerikan anti-NAFTA movement is geared toward protecting 
Amerikan privilege and has little to do with liberating the 
Mexican people from imperialist exploitation.(11) A movement that 
genuinely supports the Zapatistas goals must be thoroughly anti-
imperialist. Ultimately, the best way to stop U.S. intervention is 
to build a Maoist party and overthrow the Amerikan government. 

Notes:
1. Covert Action, Spring 1994, p. 36.
2. Covert Action, Spring 1994, p. 35.
3. Covert Action, Spring 1994, p. 48.
4. Pedro Castillo, representative of the official legal arm of the 
EZLN, at a talk on 5/16/94 in Detroit.
5. Covert Action, Spring 1994, p. 34, emphasis added.
6. National Public Radio, All Things Considered, 6/3/94.
7. New York Times, 2/8/94.
8. The Nation, 3/28/94, p. 406.
9. Covert Action, Spring 1994, p. 39.
10. National Public Radio, Morning Edition, 2/10/94.
11. MIM Notes 79, 8/93, p. 5.
12. NYT 6/13/93, p. 1.

* * *

LETTERS
Maoists clash with reactionaries over Tibet

***On April 23 1994, the infamous Dalai Lama spoke at the Hill 
Auditorium in Ann Arbor, Michigan to a sold-out audience of 4,000 
people who paid $25 each to hear him.

Some Maoists [unaffiliated with any party] put together a flyer 
consisting of excerpts from the recent series published in the 
Revolutionary Worker newspaper exposing the Dalai Lama from a 
Maoist perspective and revealing what life was like for slaves in 
Tibet. They distributed these flyers to the huge crowd gathered 
outside the auditorium before the doors opened.

The following are some accounts of discussions that went on with 
people about Tibet:

[An] Amerikkkan woman was speaking negatively about the Chinese 
'invasion' in 1959 and the rights of the people to their religion 
and culture. [The Maoists] pointed out that education had been 
unavailable to the masses, that the first graduating class of high 
school students in all of Tibet, in all of history, was in 1964 
during the revolutionary period.

In this group were also 2 really reactionary young Tibetan men, 
who though very vocal, were not very articulate. They had been 
harassing the Maoists, trying to get them to stop "attacking his 
holiness" by passing out these flyers. One of them wore a leather 
jacket with a big U.S. flag patch and a bunch of other military 
insignia. He shook his finger at the comrade's face as she was 
struggling with a group of people. He wouldn't listen to a thing 
she said or even acknowledge her, even when she said she upheld 
the right of Tibet to overthrow the Chinese regime and secede from 
China, or when she upheld the right of people to believe in 
religion, even though she personally was an atheist. He just kept 
thrusting his finger in her face and incoherently babbling some 
nonsense, almost frothing at the mouth. The Tibetan woman 
distanced herself from this nut, saying "I don't even know this 
person!" laughing as if to make a point.

The other really reactionary Tibetan was wearing a "Free Tibet" 
button and a "Support the Troops" T-shirt with a big ugly U.S. 
Flag on it. At one point he pointed to a Mao button worn by the 
comrade, and he shrieked, "You support this man? He killed many 
people!" So the Maoist exposed his hypocrisy by pointing to the 
"Support the Troops" T-shirt and shouting, "Look at you! Wearing a 
'Support the Troops' T-shirt and a 'Free Tibet' button! You 
support the troops that slaughtered over 200,000 people in Iraq! 
You want freedom for the people of Tibet, and at the same time you 
celebrate the mass murder of the people in Iraq!"

The reactionary's tone immediately changed and he began pleading 
quietly, "Please, you are creating a public disturbance," as he 
buttoned up his jacket so no-one could see his shirt of shame. 
"Please," he begged, "I am requesting you not to distribute these 
literature."

"Well, request denied!" and the comrade proceeded to give them out 
again. The reactionary ran ahead of him shouting, "Do not take 
these flyers! They are unfair to his holiness! They are not true!" 
This just worked to make people more interested than ever, and 
people were telling him, "We want to see for ourselves." Others 
said "Even if they are untrue, we want to see for ourselves. We 
can make our own judgment." Reacto-man then would reply, "Well, 
you can take his flyer, but do not believe a word of it."

It seemed very significant that the two most reactionary and 
fanatical defenders of the Dalai Lama were both wearing the hated 
flag of U.S. imperialism. There were other negative responses this 
day, but were feeble in comparison to these bootlickers.

One of the best lines heard that day--there was this one asshole 
who said, "Sure, I'll take one of those flyers. I believe in 
fantasy and a good joke!" To which the Maoist replied, "I know you 
do! That's why you're here today to see the Dalai Lama!"
--From a reader in the Midwest

***

MIM TAKES HEAT FOR REVOLUTIONARY FEMINISM 

MIM's articles about women in the CIA and the pro-police women's 
center in Cambridge drew fire from pseudo-feminist critics on the 
Internet this month.

In MIM Notes 88 (May 1994), p. 4, MIM wrote: "When women 
participate in the international rape and plunder of the world's 
oppressed people, a patriarchal project overseen by the CIA, MIM 
argues that they are 'women' in biological anatomy only. Their 
objective social position--like that of anyone else who 
participates in and benefits from patriarchy--is that of gender-
men. This is so even though they are relatively subordinated by 
their biologically-male CIA bosses."

Critic 1 replied: "I read the above ... several times, and find 
MIM's conclusions more astonishing each time. I hold no brief for 
the CIA, but it is a bureaucracy like any other and ought to be 
subject to the same rules as other bureaucracies. Whatever we may 
think of women who work for the CIA, they remain women.

"The assumption that somehow women ought to be aloof from the rape 
and plunder of the world's oppressed people (that is to say, that 
they are innately more progressive than men) is both absurd and 
ahistorical. Women's views, actions, beliefs, commitments and so 
on are as divided on political lines as men's.

"The fact that a relatively privileged group is trying to break 
down barriers above it might suggest, to anyone but MIM, that a 
step (small indeed, but still a step) towards the final breakdown 
of privilege and deference as we know them was occurring."

MIM replies: MIM's definition of "women" is not purely biological. 
Gender is a social relation. People who work to bolster a system 
of gender oppression are therefore, socially men, to that extent. 
MIM never asserts anywhere that women are "innately more 
progressive than men." The article in question shows we believe 
that integrity is not biologically based. The critic apparently 
thinks women getting equality within the CIA is part of the "final 
breakdown of privilege and deference." MIM does not agree. If the 
integration of women into the CIA means a stronger, more efficient 
CIA, then it will mean the opposite, since the CIA works to 
protect "privilege and deference" for Amerikan men and women all 
over the world.

Critic 1 also took issue with another article in MN88 on page 5, 
in which MIM reported that: "Inside the paper on the resources 
page, the first resource listed under 'Violence' is 'Cambridge 
Police, Emergency-911.' MIM will try to remember to call the 
Cambridge Police next time it needs a resource for 'Violence.'"

Critic 1 wrote: "MIM should see some statistics on domestic 
violence rather than waxing satirical about the police--and in the 
process skimming right past the real problem."

MIM replies: MIM has seen lots of statistics on domestic violence, 
and written about them extensively, in MIM Theory 2/3 in depth, as 
well as in many MIM Notes articles. A recurring theme we have seen 
is that police arrests do not reduce violence against women. They 
do increase police repression of whole communities, men and women.

Critic 2 also chimed in: "No. MIM has made it clear that rape, 
domestic violence etc. will be solved 'after the revolution.' In 
the meantime, MIM recommends that women stay only in monogamous 
relationships (ideally with mates chosen by the vanguard party) 
and learn self-defense. Any dependence on the government to fight 
rape or domestic violence is seen by MIM as counter-revolutionary.

"This position of MIM is one of their most vile, since it assumes 
that women should choose the violence of private abuse over the 
violence of the state. No one will say this is a wonderful choice, 
but MIM's reductionist didacticism on this is truly obnoxious. If 
they want to advocate self-reliance, that's all to their member's 
virtue, but for them to attack hard-fought for rape crisis centers 
and special squads of the police designed to respond to domestic 
violence--I call that seriously counter-revolutionary."

MIM replies: Critic 2 first misstates MIM's line--without 
reference--and then denigrates all women. First, MIM does not say 
gender oppression will be solved "after the revolution." The 
process of "solving" this oppression, like any other, is a 
dialectical one that happens *through* a revolutionary process. 
Along the way, many problems are "solved." Second, MIM does 
advocate monogamy (crucially, for men as well as women), but 
explicitly says the party should *not* choose sexual partners for 
people. Third, the critic offers a false alternative. If 
"dependence on the government" helped reduce gender oppression, 
MIM would support it, at least tactically. But dependence does not 
reduce oppression, as we have demonstrated.

The critic reveals paternalism toward women when s/he says MIM 
wants women to choose one form of oppression over another. MIM 
says women don't have to choose any oppression--they can organize 
to fight all oppression and put a stop to it. But the critic is 
more interested in who will take care of women than in what women 
can do to help themselves. And again, those "hard-fought for rape 
crisis centers and special squads"--while they do "respond" to 
violence against women--don't do anything to end it. Prove to us 
that they do something to reduce the overall level of violence and 
we can talk about it. Until then, this amounts to patronizing 
women by denigrating real efforts to end gender oppression, and 
pumping up the state in its systematic oppression of women and 
men.

* * *

OPPRESSED NATIONS
MILITANT GRASSROOTS ORGANIZING STOPS PLANS FOR MED-WASTE 
INCINERATOR
by MA5D7

Protesters' chants of "the people-UNITED-CAN NEVER BE DEFEATED!" 
echoed through St. Louis city hall on May 6 when that city's Board 
of Aldermen met. The group of neighborhood residents and 
environmentalists opposed the construction of a medical waste 
incinerator with potential for health problems associated with 
dioxins and other emissions.

The Hospital Association of Metropolitan St. Louis planned to 
build a $6 million-plus medical waste incinerator in a low-income 
neighborhood where the majority of residents are Black. Alderman 
Joseph D. Roddy of the 17th ward, who "represents" those 
residents, supported the incinerator despite repeated protests 
from residents and environmentalists. The incinerator would burn 
medical waste from the St. Louis Metropolitan area at 4,000 
degrees, endangering the health of both nearby residents and 
people for miles around.

Concerned residents called upon Association of Community 
Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) to help organize opposition 
to stop the construction of the incinerator. Along with the 
Gateway Green Alliance, a locally based militant environmental 
group, the coalition was able to educate, agitate, mobilize and 
act decisively.

At an informational meeting at a local Lutheran church, organizers 
informed people about how the incinerator would work and how it 
would affect the environment and people's health. Speakers from 
the Gateway Green Alliance said that there were alternatives to 
the incinerator used in other places such as microwaving which has 
proven to be much safer. This process burns at 500 degrees instead 
of 4,000. 

After a question-and-answer period, people decided that the next 
step would be to demonstrate at the offices of the Hospital 
Association confronting them face to face. Later that month, 30 
people jammed the office of Stephen Dorn, President of the 
Hospital Association of Metropolitan St. Louis. Don Fitz, 
spokesperson for the Gateway Green Alliance, told Dorn that people 
wanted the incinerator stopped because of health and environmental 
hazards. Dorn replied that the incinerator would be safe and asked 
Fitz if he'd like to see the plans. Fitz reminded him that "We 
asked to see the plans, you refused to show them to us!"

On May 6, 40 protesters demonstrated in the rotunda of the city 
hall before the St Louis Board of Aldermen met. Catching 
everyone's attention with picket signs and shouting slogans, they 
heckled the city's political elite. Demonstrators approached the 
aldermen from the various wards, informing them of their 
opposition to the proposed incinerator and calling on them to stop 
it. Several days after the demonstration, the Hospital Association 
of Metropolitan St. Louis announced that it intended to drop its 
plans to build the med-waste incinerator. Sandra Kolde, senior 
vice-president of the Hospital Association says, "We plan on 
taking a look at alternative technology, to go back and restudy 
them."

Alderman Roddy, who supported the incinerator's construction, 
revealed typical bourgeois democratic thinking after the demo at 
city hall: "I don't claim to run my ward as a dictatorship. We 
were listening to the different arguments down there. I certainly 
don't mind discussing things with reasonable people. But I'm not 
going to deal with people like that."  (Of course:  Black people, 
poor people--who would want to deal with them?)

The persistence and determination of oppressed peoples can win 
important struggles as this. MIM wants all oppressed people to 
realize the necessity of uniting with the international 
proletariat led by a revolutionary communist party. Then the 
oppressed will seize control from the capitalists who use our 
communities as dumping grounds.

Notes: The Riverfront Times 5/18 - 5/24/94, p. 15.

* * *

SEND CLINTON TO A JAIL-HOUSE SWEATSHOP

On May 26, Bill Clinton announced that China's most-favored nation 
(MFN) trade status would be extended for another year.(1) Clinton 
also stated that China's "human rights" policies would no longer 
be a factor in qualifying for MFN status. Previously, Clinton 
attempted to use his power over MFN status to convince China to 
adopt liberal human rights policies. 

China has been under fire from Congress and human-rights 
organizations for the 1989 Tiananmen massacre, repression of 
dissidents, and for using prison labor to make products for 
export. China's use of prison labor has been recently visible in 
the U.S. media.

MIM does not defend the current regime in China. Deng Xiao-ping 
was part of the revisionist clique which seized power after the 
death of Mao in 1976 and arrested the so-called "Gang of Four." 
Certainly the fact that the Dengist regime exploits prisoners for 
profit is more evidence that the PRC is not socialist. Yet we are 
eager to expose hypocrisy when we see it: The U.S. criticizes 
China for political repression and prison labor practices, but the 
U.S. does the same thing as China!

One need only look at the FBI harassment and eventual destruction 
of the Black Panther Party for Amerika's position on "dissent". 
Our government interferes with non-revolutionary dissent as well, 
such as its surveillance and disruption of Central America 
solidarity groups in the 1980s. 

As for prison labor, Amerika is guilty again. The prison pages of 
MIM Notes regularly feature articles about forced labor at slave 
wages (5) building death row facilities,(4) or as firefighters.(3)

What MIM didn't know until recently is that U.S. prison labor is 
now in direct competition with Chinese forced labor. The 
California Department of Corrections (DOC) has a line of clothing 
being marketed in Asia in direct competition with its state 
capitalist opponent. The California prisoners are paid between 35 
cents and $1 an hour.(2)

"The 'Prison Blues' brand of clothes, made by prisoners in the 
Oregon DOC, boasts projected sales of over $1.2 million in export 
revenues." Real wages for the Oregon prisoners are between $1.20 
and $1.80 an hour.(2) 

If anything, the Chinese revisionists are not as bad as the 
Amerikan state for using prison labor: China has announced a ban 
on the export of prisoner-made goods, whereas the U.S. is 
increasing such exports.(2)
--MC234

Notes:
1. Reuters, 5/26/94.
2. Prison Legal News 5/94, p. 15. PLN cites Seattle Times 3/18/94. 
PLN is 
available for $12 a year from PLN, PO Box 
1684, Lake Worth, FL 33460.
3. MIM Notes 89 6/94, p. 11.
4. MIM Notes 84 1/94, p. 11.
5. MIM Notes 75 4/93, p. 11.

* * *

INDIAN COPS KILL MAOISTS

"PATNA--People's Union of Civil Liberties, a non-government civil 
liberties organization, has indicted the state police of Bihar for 
'killing in cold blood' 11 supporters of the outlawed Maoist 
Communist Center in a 'fake encounter' at Matgarha village in Gaya 
district." (1)
--MC49

Notes:
1. Reuters in L.A. India Journal, 5/13/94, p. 15.

* * *

BULLIES AND BLACKLISTS 

In compliance with Indonesia's request, Philippine President 
General Fidel Ramos barred foreign delegates from attending an 
international conference on East Timor at the University of the 
Philippines, May 31-June 4. Forty blacklisted delegates, including 
Nobel peace prize laureate Mairead Maguire, were expelled or 
denied entry visas. Ramos's explanation was that his government 
supports Indonesia's "territorial integrity." 

The conference was held to focus world attention on the East 
Timorese national independence movement and Indonesia's ongoing 
genocidal attack on the East Timorese masses. Trained and armed by 
the United States, the Indonesian army invaded East Timor in 1975 
and annexed it as Indonesia's 27th province. The invasion has 
resulted in the slaughter of 200,000 East Timorese. 

The Suharto dictatorship has been defying various UN resolutions 
that call for Indonesian withdrawal from the small country. Weeks 
before the conference, Indonesia had been pressuring the Ramos 
government to cancel the conference. Jakarta withdrew its 
participation from the East Asian Growth Area (EAGA) which 
Indonesian investors were tp attend; refused to continue hosting 
the second round of talks last May between the Philippine 
government and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF); canceled 
a delegation of Indonesian students to a Harvard-sponsored 
conference; and threatened the Philippines with 'retaliatory 
measures.'

In a forum held by BAYAN (Bagong Alyansang Makabayan) on May 27, 
indigenous people belonging to the alliance KAMP, and the 
Cordillera People's Alliance assailed both the Ramos and Suharto 
governments for 'employing dictatorial tactics to silence our 
protests." The educational forum was also a celebration of the 
20th anniversary of FRETILIN (Revolutionary Front for the 
Independence of East Timor), the sole representative of the 
peoples of East Timor in their 'life-and-death struggle against 
Indonesian colonization.'

BAYAN said: "If [Ramos's government] can be cowed by a small bully 
like Indonesia, how then can it stand up to its master, the 
superpower that is the United States of America?" The statement 
called on Filipino people to build a "sovereign and self-reliant 
country [that] will earn the respect of all countries, including a 
small bully like Indonesia." Since 1987, BAYAN and its member-
organizations have been picketing the Indonesian embassy and 
organizing forums for FRETILIN representatives to Manila. 

Notes: Press statements from NDF, BAYAN, wire service extracts 

* * *

YOUNG STUDENTS LIKE MIM

In June, MIM spent several days distributing MIM Notes to new 
students at the orientation program of a large East Coast 
university. The students were remarkably open-minded and eager to 
discuss communism. MIM was also able to gauge the success of its 
distribution efforts as students from around the country reported 
having seen MIM Notes.

Some of the administrators behind the orientation program were a 
little upset and asked us to leave. Apparently they want to keep 
the incoming students cloistered until their minds close up a bit. 
Lucky for the young students, the administrators haven't come up 
with a convincing argument for MIM to leave yet.

Write to MIM about receiving bundles of papers to distribute in 
your campus or neighborhood. Help us open the hearts and minds of 
progressive Amerika before the University pigs can shut them down.

* * *

CONGRESS MUTILATES GENITALS AND PEOPLE

The movement against female genital mutilation gained a surprising 
ally in March when a U.S. House of Representatives committee 
approved a bill by Rep. Pat Schroeder (D-Colorado) making the 
procedure illegal within the U.S.(1) U.S. opposition to genital 
mutilation is a purely diversionary strategy. When the U.S 
government targets Africa and Africans--as in the "humanitarian" 
invasion of Somalia--the result is expanded imperialism. The U.S. 
government does not care about female genital mutilation.

The procedure ranges from a mild form--similar to male 
circumcision--where the foreskin of the clitoris is removed. A 
more advanced form removes the clitoris and surrounding area. "In 
the most radical form, known as infibulation, the clitoris and all 
external genital parts are removed. The two sides of the genital 
area are sewn together, closing off the vagina, and a small hole 
is left for the passage of urine and menstrual fluid."(2)

It is estimated that some form of female genital mutilation 
affects up to 100 million women and girls worldwide, predominately 
in Africa. In addition to the loss in sexual feeling, infection 
from the often unsanitary procedure can lead to death or future 
sexual or childbirth problems.(2)

These procedures are clearly patriarchal and should be opposed. 
The relevant question is one of strategy: How can we attack 
patriarchy in a way that will get us to a society without 
patriarchy, capitalism, and imperialism? 

Some opponents of the Schroeder bill argue that the procedure is 
part of African culture, and to attack the procedure is to attack 
the culture. There are good reasons for revolutionaries to defend 
the culture of the oppressed. Franz Fanon pointed out that the 
imperialists constantly try to stamp out this culture, because it 
can be a unifying force. But this doesn't mean that the "Defend 
the culture!" line is correct in all cases. For example, all 
nations of the world currently live under patriarchy, so their 
culture is patriarchal. Revolutionaries struggle to eliminate 
patriarchy even in oppressed cultures.

The focus of the anti-genital mutilation movement is anti-Third 
World. This is why it can have allies in the U.S. congress, which 
has no interest in abolishing patriarchy; only in continuing the 
imperialist domination of the oppressed. Like the French 
manipulation of the Algerian veil,(3) Amerika hopes to buy the 
allegiance of African women against relatively powerless African 
men.

The white pseudo-feminists who have jumped to condemn African 
culture as "patriarchal" fail to condemn either Amerikan 
patriarchy or Amerika's role in African reality. Theirs is not an 
anti-patriarchy position, but rather a pro-imperialist position 
and a prop for the Amerikan patriarchy. 

The biggest enemy of African women is not genital mutilation or 
the people who perform the operation. That enemy is imperialism. 
By destroying U.S. domination over the Third World, African women 
can begin to change their own conditions.(4)

Notes:
1. Star Tribune 3/17/94, p. 2B.
2. NPR 3/23/94.
3. Franz Fanon, A Dying Colonialism, New York: Monthly 
Review Press, 1965.
4. See MIM Notes 54 July 1991 articles on Eritrean women's 
participation in and conditions under the revolutionary 
government.

* * *

NEW GROCERY-SHELF BATTLES: BOURGEOISIE FLOUNDERS IN ATTACKS ON 
FEMINISM

A trip to the grocery store reveals an intensified concern of the 
powers-that-be with the difference between feminism and pseudo-
feminism. The bourgeoisie needs to understand the difference so 
that it can attack the real feminists. But with the subject on the 
cover of several publications, it is clear that the press still 
has no idea what is genuine and what is pseudo-feminism. MIM 
celebrates this confusion among the enemy, and strives to put 
forward a clear line on the difference between real feminism and 
the assorted weak imitations. 

Genuine feminism must address gender from the perspective of the 
Third World proletariat. The assorted lines discussed below all 
work from a First World perspective--they do not address the needs 
of the world's most oppressed people.

It appears that the mass media is gearing up ideologically for the 
release of about half a dozen books on feminism from major 
capitalist publishing houses this summer. In Boston, two heavy-
weights are entering the fray, the Boston Phoenix and the Boston 
Globe.

The Boston Phoenix cover story reads "The Evolved Male."(1) This 
story is about how men under 35 are different from older men, who 
the Phoenix says are increasingly opposing women's liberation in 
the media. The front-page photo is of an attractive male model 
with a pink pin sporting half of the feminist symbol MIM displays 
on its masthead. 

MIM agrees with the main point of the article: young people 
inherit a rotting structure of gender relations that has failed to 
keep pace with a changing world. Young men have been raised in an 
environment where a majority of women work. Yet there is still 
little day-care, and hence no answers to the questions of how 
people will raise their families with most parents working. 
Domestic violence, sexual harassment and other gender issues also 
remain unresolved. 

The liberal pseudo-feminist response to these contradictions is to 
look for change in arenas that are totally superficial to the 
structures of gender oppression. This impulse comes out in 
insistence on "politically correct" language, and in advice to 
women on how to meet sensitive men. Faced with a changing world, 
the pseudo-feminists try to leave basically unequal gender systems 
intact while making cosmetic changes.

The traditional patriarchal reaction--both to the real changes of 
more women working, and to the strawperson changes like "femi-
nazi" insistence on correct language--has been to say women should 
leave their jobs and go back home to raise the kids. This approach 
is both unrealistic and unfair. Any fascist movement in power that 
tries to enforce this regression will only speed up the demise of 
this dying system, by proving to women the necessity of 
thoroughgoing change. 

In its own front-page offensive, the Boston Globe attempted to 
attack genuine feminism, but was unable to hit its target: 

"They say they are fed up with hearing feminism equated with 
theories that all sex is rape or that eating red meat symbolizes 
male aggression. 

"And so, a growing number of women in academic, legal and 
political circles have been banding together in a bid to reclaim 
the mantle of feminism from what they call a radical faction, one 
that no longer speaks for most women."(2) The Boston Globe targets 
Gloria Steinem, Catharine MacKinnon and Andrea Dworkin as speaking 
for the Old Guard of feminism. 

Including Steinem in this list indicates the Boston Globe's utter 
confusion. Steinem was the original Amerikan incarnation of 
pseudo-feminism, and was instrumental in stealing the mantle of 
feminism from more radical feminists of the 1960s like the 
Redstockings. Steinem claimed that sex would improve between men 
and women if women were liberated.(3) This was just an earlier 
version of the current P.C. drive to change the way people talk 
about sex. Both versions focus on the superficial tensions in 
relations among First World people. Neither threatens to touch the 
underlying structures of oppression.

Women like MacKinnon and Dworkin have tried to keep radical 
feminism alive by opposing the patriarchy even at the expense of 
comfortable relations between men and women. But even MacKinnon 
has found herself unable to stand up for what her own writings and 
the writings of Andrea Dworkin say. MacKinnon claims lately not to 
believe all sex is rape: probably because her legal-reformist 
practice could not stand the implications of her own theoretical 
work. MacKinnon's work centers on outlawing some extreme forms of 
sexual oppression like violent rape and pornography. If she were 
to admit that there can be no such thing as consensual sex in the 
context of this type of coercion, she would not be able to defend 
her work.

Without recognizing her allies in the Third World proletariat and 
without a vanguard organization, MacKinnon finds it necessary to 
compromise feminism for the sake of reformist expediency. By 
contrast, MIM is the only organization or person that MIM is aware 
of that is willing to stand up and state plainly that all sex is 
rape. Women never got a chance to consent to gender inequality, 
and would not have consented if given the chance. The only 
solution is revolution, not outlawing more sex as "bad sex" 
through legal reformist battles while preserving some sex as "good 
sex."

The Globe gets closer to the truth, noting that there is an 
upsurge of feminists and pseudo-feminists saying that "women are 
not victims." The psychiatry, psychology and domestic violence and 
rape counseling wing of the movement has always feathered its own 
nest by making a political line out of telling women they are 
victims who need elaborate psychiatric and legal counseling. MIM 
does not support this kind of "victimization" pseudo-feminism. 
Part of the ideology of gender oppression is the role of women as 
the supposedly "weaker sex." The only way to combat this is to 
demonstrate to women that it is possible for them to seize power 
from their oppressors. Refining the experience of gender 
oppression through counseling only sets back the progress of 
revolutionary feminism.

Rikki Klieman of the Women's Freedom Network claims to oppose 
victimization pseudo-feminism: "Men are not the enemy... We treat 
each other as equals. This idea of victimization and powerlessness 
is just abhorrent."(3) Wrong again. Klieman's line takes the 
correct idea that playing the victim is bad for women and turns it 
into the incorrect one that men and women are already equals. This 
is indistinguishable from the Christian position that men and 
women are equal in the eyes of God but given different sacred 
roles in the family. In case Klieman hasn't noticed, women and men 
do have different roles in our society, and the female role here 
and internationally is the role with less power. These roles are 
not equal anymore than they are sacred.

MIM's work on gender picks a path through all these incorrect 
lines to find the only consistent theory for women's liberation.

Notes:
1. Boston Phoenix 5/27-6/2/94, p. 1.
2. Boston Globe 5/29/94, p. 1.
3. MIM reviews Steinem's work in MIM Theory 2/3, Gender and 
Revolutionary Feminism.

* * *

CIA OPERATIVE MANAGING PERUVIAN STATE
by MC432

The infamous Vladimir Montesinos, commonly referred to as Peruvian 
President Alberto Fujimori's closest advisor and second-in-command 
of the Peruvian government, has long-standing ties to the U.S. 
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Montesinos' official role is as 
Fujimori's senior advisor on military and intelligence affairs,(1) 
but he is known to head the National Intelligence Service (SIN), 
to be in charge of top-level judicial appointments and military 
promotions and as a principal architect of Fujimori's self-coup of 
April 1992. 

A recent law authored by the Fujimori clique gives the power of 
military promotion to the civilian government rather than to the 
military itself.(1) This gives Montesinos extraordinary powers to 
fend off the ever-present threat of a military coup against 
Fujimori by exclusively appointing loyal officers.(3) 

Amerikans should study Montesinos' links with and subservience to 
the CIA. The U.S. government and military have tried to hide their 
active opposition to the Communist Party of Peru under the banner 
of the war on drugs. The staying power and depth of their 
relationship with Montesinos demonstrates thatthe U.S. interest in 
Peru is imperialism, not concern over chemical dependency. 
Amerikan progressives should investigate their government's 
connections in Peru and oppose U.S. military intervention there.

Long History of Work with the CIA

The earliest evidence of Montesinos' connections to the CIA stem 
from the unglamorous termination of his military career: "A former 
army captain, he was cashiered in the 1970's [1975] for passing 
information to the U.S. government on the Peruvian military's 
purchase of Soviet arms... Although never convicted of espionage, 
he was banned from military installations."(6) Another source 
confirms that Montesinos was dismissed from the army "for copying 
and passing on information to the U.S. Central Intelligence 
Agency."(1) 

During the 1970s, Peru was governed by a populist, anti-CIA  
military dictatorship. Yet the charges against Montesinos were 
dropped.(2) So why did the government fail to formally court-
martial Montesinos when they had the chance? The former head of 
the armed forces, Salinas, explains: "It was not attempted to 
prove the charge of treason to the fatherland, because the Army 
did not agree to taking apart the intelligence system that a 
neighboring country possessed, and the only way to convict him 
involved making the issue public. Then they preffered--since this 
man at that time was not important--not to dismantle an entire 
system of intelligence that was valuable for the interests of 
Peru.."(7) Evidently the Cold War interests of the military 
government overrode its desire to eliminate Montesinos, who has 
now returned as the military's overseer.

Presumably after some hiatus, "the CIA recently renewed old ties 
with Montesinos."(10) Gustavo Gorriti, a journalist of the legal-
left opposition in Peru, was arrested immediately after the self-
coup of April 1992. Gorriti was poised to print an article that 
would directly compromise Montesinos. Gorriti reports that the 
Colina Group "death squad itself was an offshoot of the 
intelligence services that under Montesinos' direction had 
benefitted from CIA training."(11) According to Gorriti's account 
of his abduction, after he, his computer, and his hard-disk had 
been taken from his apartment: "Upon exiting, I saw the vehicle 
that was to be expected: a Cherokee van, without distinguishing 
license plates or symbols, with polarized lights, from those 
recently given by the CIA to the SIN and the SIE; and I realized 
that the situation was serious."(12) Another source reports that 
Vladimiro Montesinos is "said even by Fujimori to be close to  the  
Central   Intelligence Agency."(14) There is little reason to 
doubt that the CIA, through Montesinos, is playing a leading role 
in managing the fragile Peruvian state and its counterinsurgency 
campaign.

Montesinos--Death Squads, Drugs, Counterinsurgency

Readers of MIM Notes w suspected Communist Party of Peru (PCP) 
sympathizers and operatives. Robles alleged that Montesinos was 
the principal organizer of and perhaps even a participant in 
Colina operill remember our reports on dissenting Peruvian General 
Robles' denunciation of the "Colina Group," a death squad that has 
carried out numerous high-profile massacres ofations. A kangaroo 
military tribunal "forbade" Montesinos to testify in the eventual 
trials of the Colina assassins, who kidnapped and killed nine 
students and a professor at La Cantuta University. Thus the top 
leadership was insulated from answering to human rights 
charges.(4) To this day only a few pawns have been convicted, and 
families of the victims are attempting to take the case to a human 
rights tribunal in order to convict Montesinos and other top 
officers.(15)

Montesinos is also the leader of the faction of the Peruvian 
military which openly advocates the most brazen terrorization of 
the Peruvian people in the name of "counter-insurgency." (5) The 
Peruvian military's documented human rights abuses, stemming from 
its policy of "kill fifty random peasants, and you are sure to 
have killed some PCP operatives," are well-known. 

MIM rejects the "good-cop, bad-cop" distinction, as both the 
liberal and conservative wings of the military share the pro-
capitalist, anti-communist ideology which justifies wholesale 
repression against the Peruvian revolution. Case in point: the 
aforementioned renegade general Robles, an example of a"good cop," 
says that he ratted on the Colina Group because "Most of us are 
fighting a clean fight against terrorism."(18) There is no "clean 
fight" against the PCP, Montesinos and Robles represent two 
counterrevolutionary factions of the military fighting a dirty war 
against a correct and popular revolution.

Montesinos defended narcos until 1982, and his law firm has 
continued to do the same.(16) Fujimori and Montesinos' working 
relationship began when Montesinos defended Fujimori against 
accusations of fraudulent real estate dealings during the 1990 
elections. At that time, Montesinos "counted several known drug 
traffickers among his clients,"(17) while his client, the Peruvian 
regime, upheld an official anti-drug posture. One source describes 
Montesinos as "A long time lawyer for drug traffickers [who] has 
represented Evaristo Porras Ardila, one of Pablo Escobar's right-
hand men."(8) The close ties between the Peruvian military and the 
cocaine traffickers, combined with Montesinos' advocacy for many 
high-level drug traffickers, has led some to assert that the 
cocaine establishment exercises powerful influence even in 
Fujimori's cabinet through Montesinos.(13)

U.S. OUT OF PERU! POPULAR JUSTICE FOR THE ENEMIES OF THE PEOPLE!

Notes:
1. Financial Times Limited 9/29/93.
2. Christian Science Monitor 5/18/93.
3. San Francisco Chronicle 5/24/93: "In November [1992], 
Montesinos helped uncover a coup plot against Fujimori planned by 
renegade officers." Montesinos evidently plays a key role in 
managing the Fujimori regime's relations with the fractious 
Peruvian military. Miami Herald 11/8/93 describes Montesinos as 
"Fujimori's eyes and ears in the military."
4. Miami Herald 7/22/93.
5. El Nuevo Herald 6/23/93: "Yoshiyama is good cop. The part of 
the bad cop is played, indisputably, by the de facto head of 
Peru's Intelligence Service, Vladimir Montesinos."
6. Miami Herald 6/10/93.
7. Caretas 12/3/92; Salinas' reference to "falsification of 
documents" probably means that the army officially denies buying 
arms from the Soviet Union.
8. Washington Post 2/28/93.
9. Miami Herald 11/8/93.
10. Nicaragua Solidarity Network Bulletin 4/27/92.
11. Miami Herald 5/23/93.
12. Caretas 4/10/92, p. 19.
13. Houston Chronicle 4/19/93.
14. Reuters 11/20/92.
15. Miami Herald 2/23/94.
16. Caretas 5/4/92.
17. Christian Science Monitor 5/14/92.
18. New York Times 5/12/93.

* * *

HAITI UNDER THE GUN: CLINTON EYES ISLAND ATTACK

by MC12

New diplomatic moves and recent public evidence suggest a U.S. 
invasion of Haiti may be imminent. The United States wants to 
invade Haiti to restore President Jean Bertrand Aristide to power, 
more than two years after the popular leader was ousted in a 
military coup. The United States is preparing ideologically for 
the invasion with talk of restoring democracy to Haiti. But true 
democracy cannot be enforced under U.S. guns any more than it can 
be under the guns of the Haitian military dictatorship.

Preparations for the invasion

On June 10 the Clinton administration announced new sanctions on 
commercial air travel and financial transactions--a move widely 
interpreted as an attempt to buy time to prepare the ground for an 
invasion. The new sanctions are supposed to shift the burden from 
Haiti's poor to the rich. But they are not likely to persuade the 
military to leave. The ban on financial transactions was announced 
far enough in advance to allow people to shift money around before 
it took effect. The United States also admits that it will still 
be possible to transfer money from U.S. accounts to Switzerland, 
and from there to Haiti, bypassing the embargo. The U.S. 
government and "non-governmental" organizations, which dominate 
much of the Haitian economy, are exempt from the sanctions.(1)

Other evidence of possible invasion includes press reports about 
Pentagon planning and a sudden hype about drug dealing by Haiti's 
military leaders, many of whom are former or current CIA 
stooges.(2) Haiti's generals recently consulted with Manuel 
Noriega's lawyers, in apparent preparation for a Panama Solution--
invasion and show-trial--by the Amerikans.(3)

These signs taken together point to a U.S. invasion following a 
"good faith" effort at "letting sanctions work" to "restore 
democracy." Then, a "peacekeeping" force would control the island 
until President Jean Bertrand Aristide's term as president expires 
next year, at which time the United States could control the 
island enough to get election results it can live with.

The purpose of the peacekeeping force "would be to prevent anarchy 
or civil war if the international community succeeds in forcing 
Haiti's military rulers from power."(4) Duties would include 
policing, government and other internal security.

The United States has several interests in Haiti. U.S. business 
profits from Haitian labor and resources rely on social control. 
Social control is also essential to keep Haitian refugees out of 
the United States, were they threaten to cause significant 
political problems. Finally, an invasion of Haiti would serve as a 
threat to other U.S. stooges who create image problems for the 
United States; the invasion would also bolster President Clinton's 
sagging political image.

Following up on Clinton's May 8 promise to stop repatriating 
Haitian refugees without hearings, the United States announced the 
opening of facilities to hear cases for political asylum in mid-
June.(5) But Haitian solidarity groups say the new process won't 
help anyway, because the courts will rush through claims in two 
days. One advocate said: "The process is designed to keep people 
out, not to give them a fair chance to make their claims."(4)

Oppose the invasion: support self-determination

Anti-imperialist movements must oppose any U.S. military 
intervention, however oppressive the alternative. Haiti's worst 
rulers have ruled with the blessing and support of the United 
States; there is no reason to think future leaders will be 
different. The United States does not oppose Haiti's military 
government for "humanitarian" or "democratic" reasons, but because 
it does not march to U.S. orders. Restoring President Aristide to 
power is only a convenient vehicle for legitimizing U.S. influence 
in Haiti as being in the interests of the Haitian people. 

Although Aristide was democratically elected and represented to a 
large degree the will of the Haitian people, his subsequent 
overthrow has reduced him to a feather in the U.S. foreign-policy 
cap. Self-determination requires integrity of territory and 
leadership. Aristide's reinstatement under the barrel of an 
Amerikan gun precludes this possibility. The United States cannot 
"make" Haiti free, or cause Haiti's elections to be magically 
democratic. With or without Aristide, the Haitian people need 
genuine self-determination, not further intervention from Amerikan 
imperialism.

Notes:
1. New York Times 6/11/94, p. A1.
2. Covert Action Spring 1994, p. 6-7.
3. NYT 6/8/94, p. A15.
4. Washington Post 6/8/94, p. A1, A30.
5. C-SPAN 6/11/94, CNN 6/16/94.

* * *

NEVERTHELESS
1993

Nevertheless screams about capitalism and the high price of what 
passes for freedom. The band condemns Amerikan settlerism, 
addiction and violence. By distributing its records at $3 each, 
Nevertheless is trying to break through the scam of the Amerikan 
culture industry and spread some truth about this country.

"Columbus Day" calls out the brutality of settlerism and the way 
Amerika has re-written its history to erase Indigenous people's 
claims. Nevertheless recognizes the inherent contradiction between 
the oppressor white nation and Indigenous people's nationalist 
aspirations. 

"Heritage trivialized and treated extinct
Culture freeze-dried for your entertainment
Celebrate Apartheid in America
Celebrate genocide is a spectator sport... 

But a truth in history is missing from the classroom
A country's history written on the backs of its natives
Homeless minorities in their own homeland
Forced to live on reservations
Reserved for dying"

"House of mirrors" is the weakest song on the album; it fails to 
hold up a real mirror to gender oppression in Amerika. "House of 
mirrors" recycles the pseudo-feminist fixation on the bedroom as 
the center of gender oppression, ignoring the broader structures 
of gender oppression that shape and reinforce relations in the 
bedroom.

"And you'll serve them with bruised hands and chipped plates
You'll make that bed again today that violates you in the name of 
love
But you'll grit your teeth and bear it
One more time tonight." 

The focus on "bruised hands and chipped plates" obscures the fact 
that Amerikan women do not need to be married to survive. MIM 
recognizes that many Amerikans choose marriage over single life 
for a variety of reasons having to do with personal taste and 
lifestyle, and that sexual relationships within the confines of 
the patriarchy can be ugly and dangerous.  The existence of 
violent rape, pornography, sexual harassment and other coercive 
pressures on sexuality preclude the possibility of truly 
"consensual" sex. But the fact remains that many First World women 
who "grit their teeth and bear it" choose this over the other 
options available to them.

MIM advocates forever monogamy, with explicit agreement about the 
terms of the relationship spelled out, as the closest thing to 
consent under patriarchy.

Nevertheless is preaching a lesbian-separatist approach to 
feminism. If women are really trapped in these relationships with 
abusive men, then feminists should tell women to rid themselves of 
men and be involved only with other women, or be asexual. 
Nevertheless points out that reactionary culture tries to hide the 
possibility of women living independent of men: "Roles played 
inferior portrayed/ If they'd only tell you how strong you really 
are." It is not the job of a revolutionary culture to bemoan the 
fact that reactionaries hide women's real strength; revolutionary 
artists should challenge women to stand up and refuse to listen to 
such nonsense.

"I'll buy the bullets" describes how Amerikan youth are driven to 
drug addiction and suicide to escape the empty decadence of 
capitalism. "Lullabies from loudspeakers" talks about how the 
media desensitizes people toward genocide and violence.

MIM likes Nevertheless's approach: distributing political music as 
cheaply as possible so people can listen to it. We'd like to see 
more political direction from this band--some ideas about what 
progressive people should do to help destroy this disgusting 
system. We want people to get angry enough to help us build public 
opinion, in opposition to the mountain of propaganda the 
bourgeoisie pumps out daily. Nevertheless forms a good critique of 
capitalism and decadence; let's use that critique to create a 
culture that's a manifestation of truth not a perpetuation of 
lies.

Nevertheless can be reached at:
Troublemaker
c/o Josh
P.O. Box 599
Dorchester, MA 02124

* * *

SCREW SERIAL MOM, WE WANT MATERIAL MOM

The humorous premise of Serial Mom is that under the veneer of 
white suburban middle-class normalcy lies the will to commit 
brutal murder. The other thing that makes it funny is that you 
believe all the people sunny blonde Serial Mom kills deserve to 
die. Or is that just a warped commie perspective on life? We don't 
think so. It makes the average movie-goer confront their inane 
lives in Amerika's great white nation.

Take the moustachioed Math teacher, for instance, who gets off on 
telling Black mothers that their sons are "not college material." 
Turner runs him over with her blue station wagon. Cool. OK, 
perhaps reeducation might have been preferable but hey, this is 
the movies. Or the guy who stands up Serial Mom's overweight 
daughter so he can go out with a tall slim blonde chick who better 
conforms to the capitalist ideal of the female body. Stabbed 
through the heart with a poker in a men's room. Yes. Then there's 
the far-too-well-fed neighbors, gorging themselves on chicken and 
chocolate cake and watching "Wheel of Fortune" on their big TV, 
subsidized with Third World labor like everything else in their 
lives. Scissors in the gut. Oomph.  

Serial Mom's victims are all parasites sucking blood from the 
world's oppressed majority, and they show no proclivity whatsoever 
toward class, nation or gender suicide. Their deaths will not 
matter. Their lives do not matter. What makes Serial Mom 
reactionary is that she doesn't kill for those reasons. She kills 
to protect her family's reputation; to patch up perceived cracks 
in the suburban ideal. Like the juror wearing white shoes after 
Labor Day. Can't have that in our fashionable white suburb now can 
we? Pow, in the jaw with a phone receiver.

The movie is valuable in that it shows how the culture of 
imperialism disturbs and distorts the soul of the white nation. 
They are anesthetized against their own perversions--material 
comforts have that effect. Once in a while the emptiness of their 
lives crowds in and they break out of their memorized complacency. 
They murder. They commit suicide. They slam dance to angry, 
discordant music, as represented by the youth culture in the film 
which briefly welcomes Serial Mom as an ally in rejectionism. 

This is all good, but ultimately unproductive. People like Serial 
Mom should find a better place to channel their deranged 
disillusionment. MIM's advice to her is: get out of suburbia, get 
a materialist analysis, join a revolutionary party, and focus your 
anger for systemic change. You'll be quite an asset when the time 
comes.
--MC11

* * *

SMOOTH, NO CHUNKS!
(Bobby Seale melts down BPP militance) 

Ben & Jerry, Amerika's "politically correct" ice-cream 
manufacturers, have a hip new ad campaign featuring political 
activists enjoying assorted new ice-cream flavors, with no 
chunks.(1) Former Black Panther Party (BPP) Chairperson Bobby 
Seale is pictured grinning like an idiot, defiling the BPP's 
trademark black beret, giving the Black Power salute with one hand 
and holding a tub of VANILLA ice-cream in the other.(2)

MIM was already disgusted by Ben & Jerry's Peace Pop--a popsicle 
whose proceeds are shared between profits for the hippie 
corporation (95%)and donations to some reformist peacenik 
organization (5%). (Anti-militarism through capitalism? We don't 
think so.) This ad is available as a poster, and the proceeds from 
poster sales benefit the Children's Defense Fund (CDF). But there 
is no mention in the ad of what the CDF does.(2) 

We are not surprised by Ben & Jerry's; it is a capitalist 
corporation like any other. But Seale was once a Maoist. In 1966, 
he co-authored the BPP's Ten-Point Platform and Program with Huey 
Newton, taking elements from Mao Zedong, Franz Fanon, Che Guevara 
and Ho Chi Minh.(3) The Panthers used the close-fisted salute to 
signify national liberation struggle against imperialism. Now, 
after spending a couple of years on the lecture circuit lying 
about BPP history,(4) Seale is using the Panthers' image to sell 
ice-cream for a hippie social-democratic corporation. We'd rather 
blow chunks than take Bobby's "no chunks".
 --MC45 

Notes:
1. Chunky ice-cream was Ben & Jerry's big selling point when they 
started selling ice-cream.
2. Ben & Jerry's ad, NYT Sunday magazine, May Day 1994, p. 33. 
3. Bobby Seale, Seize the Time Random House, NY, 1968.
4. MIM Notes 75 4/93, p. 8.

* * *

INDIGENOUS WOMAN
Vol. I, No. IV, $4
IWN, P.O. Box 174
Lake Elmo, MN 5042

Indigenous Woman (IW) is the official publication of the 
Indigenous Women's Network, an international organization focusing 
on improving the economic and social conditions of all indigenous 
groups. IW addresses many of the problems indigenous groups face 
and points to First World intervention in Third World countries as 
the principal cause of these problems.

This issue of IW covers issues ranging from women entering 
traditionally male professions and leadership positions, to the 
use of traditional health remedies with an emphasis on community-
organized primary health care. Several of the articles focus on 
indigenous groups' need for self-sufficiency. One of the articles 
documents the Hopi nation's resistance to an outside electric 
company's plans to wire one of their villages, which would 
compromise their sovereignty by enforcing dependence on resources 
outside of their control. As an alternative, a Hopi woman engineer 
has begun to install small solar panels which generate electricity 
for individual houses. 

Indigenous Woman focuses on change through existing imperialist 
governmental and social institutions, but it does address other 
options for change.

IW supports the fallacy of reform through government by asking its 
readers to write to the presidents of Brazil and Peru to encourage 
them to stop the abuses of indigenous peoples which occur in their 
countries. This strategy ignores the fact that these governments 
are responsible for the majority of the abuses of indigenous 
people within their borders. Appealing to these governments also 
legitimates repression as retaliation. The Brazilian and Peruvian 
militaries can point to progressives' calls to "stop human rights 
violations" as their reason for attacking political dissidents and 
the masses in general.

IW takes an active stance against the one revolutionary group it 
does mention. IW blames the Communist Party of Peru (PCP) for an 
attack on the Ashaninka Indians. The magazine also falls into the 
imperialist trap of referring to the PCP as a guerrilla group. 
[The PCP is a Maoist party leading a People's War against the 
reactionary Peruvian regime. Much of its military strategy is 
guerrilla warfare, but the party is much more than simply a 
"guerrilla group." --MC45] This accusation ignores the fact that 
the PCP is composed primarily of Indigenous people and has done 
much to protect the indigenous groups of Peru from governmental 
oppression.(See page 6 for discussion of Peruvian military 
philosophy on the Indigenous).
--A friend in the east

* * *

UNDER LOCK AND KEY: 
NEWS FROM PRISONS AND FROM PRISONERS

Attica censors MIM Notes

I am referring the following material to the Media Committee for 
review: MIM Notes April 1994 #87
Reason I believe this publication to violate Attica's guidelines: 
violence
--from an Attica (NY) prisoncrat's report, 5/3/94

MC49 notes: Censorship was one of the grievances which led Attica 
prisoners to rise up in 1971. As the state's response was 
massacre, beatings and torture, Attica prisoncrats should know a 
thing or two about violence.

Ohio to build super-max prison

In the wake of the April 1993 rebellion at the Southern Ohio 
Correctional Facility (SOCF) which left 10 dead, Ohio prisoners 
and prison activists had hoped the state would examine its 
policies which resulted in Ohio having the highest level of 
overcrowding in the nation at 178%. The state's response has been 
one of more repression. 

The state has announced plans to build a super-max prison similar 
to the facilities at Pelican Bay in California and the federal 
penitentiary at Marion, IL. These super-max prisons have prisoners 
locked in their cells 23 hours a day, deprived of human contact 
and virtually all communication with the outside world. These 
prisons have been criticized by human rights groups and are the 
focus of extensive litigation concerning both conditions of 
confinement and brutality that occurs within them.

The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (DRC) has 
formed a committee to develop plans and recommend a site for the 
new super-max prison. If the general assembly approves the funds, 
the prison will have 550 beds. Since Marion became a lockdown 
prison in 1983, some 37 states have built super-max prisons. This 
trend is now reaching Ohio which already has a super-max control 
unit at Lucasville.
--reprinted from Prison Legal News, 3/94

Stop the Ohio super-max!

...To put a stop to the construction of a super-max prison in 
Ohio, and to suggest that taxpayers' money be allotted to 
rehabilitative programs instead, write the chairman of the Ohio 
General Assembly and any or all of the below:

Ohio General Assembly
c/o The Chairman
State Office Tower
Columbus, OH 43215

Reginald Wilkinson, Director
Ohio Dept. of Rehab. & Corr.
1050 Freeway Dr. North
Columbus, OH 43229

Paul Mifsud
Governor's Chief of Staff
State Office Tower
Columbus, OH 43215
--Prison Legal News, 4/94

Captive in Scioto KKKounty

Situated in the southernmost tip of Ohio, in Scioto (Klan) 
KKKounty, rural, all-white Lucasville Village sits as a grim 
reminder of Alabama, Mississippi, and other parts of the United 
States of Amerikkka of many years past when Jim Crow masqueraded 
as righteous law, and cowards hiding under bedsheets as its 
sanctified protectors.
There is little difference in the people of here and now. As the 
Dayton Daily News reports, "The most cited example of racism here 
is the 1986 departure of Dr. James Mullins, a black physician."(1) 
A Lucasville resident comments that Dr. Mullins "was a fine doctor 
and a fine gentleman... [T]his was a racist white community and 
they wouldn't accept him."(1) Another resident states, "Niggers 
aren't welcome in this town. We let [Dr. Mullins] know that."(1) 
Dr. Mullins was forced to move.

Scioto KKKounty is also the site of Ohio's Maximum Security prison 
kamp, Southern Ohio Correctional [sic] Facility (SOCF), which 
opened its cage doors for captives (prisoners) in 1972. In a 
depressed area, the prison was a savior for many and a financial 
windfall for others in Scioto KKKounty. And greedy whites wanted 
the whole hog.

Blacks were barred from employment. "Because correctional officer 
jobs, with good pay and benefits, are among the most coveted in 
this village, experts say black prison guards would be 
particularly unlikely to be made welcome."(1)

Those Blacks in surrounding areas lucky enough to get hired were 
met on the roads leading in and out of the parking lot, and told 
in no uncertain terms to seek employment elsewhere--"niggers ain't 
wanted here--git the hell gone." Threats and intimidation. Slashed 
tires and broken windshields convinced the more stubborn--or 
desperate--to leave and not return.

The greedy got greedier and along with racial hatred, they peddled 
everything from drugs, sex and alcohol to guns and other weapons.

During the early and mid-1980's, a few "token Blacks" were hired 
and allowed to remain--after pressures came from "up north on 
high." On the inside for the prisoners, 70% of whom were Black, 
there were no significant changes. Those early years were the 
foundation upon which Lucasville prison was built--corruption and 
racial hatred.

White supremacy and racial hatred at Lucasville prison are not 
merely practiced, promoted, and supported, but are deeply 
ingrained into the mores and customs of the people--a way of life 
for Scioto Klan KKKounty residents--who flatly refuse to change.

Black prisoners have been routinely beaten, several murdered--some 
beaten to death by racist guards, some murdered by white prisoners 
paid or programmed by guards. A white prisoner coming to 
Lucasville for the first time is immediately targeted for 
recruitment into the white bigot school of hate. Guards tell them, 
"Stay away from niggers; don't cell with no niggers," then proudly 
display their badges/brands of honor--racist tattoos which 
identify their membership in a white supremacist group. They then 
encourage the white prisoner to brand himself and be a part of the 
"bro's." Guards supply the "bro's" with drugs, tattoo materials, 
racist literature--and weapons.

Racial tensions and violence have escalated over the years. As 
more Blacks were hired, the promotion of racism and white 
supremacy increased at an even greater rate. Blacks began to move 
into supervisory positions in the late 80's and into management at 
the onset of the 90's. This curbed the routine beatings somewhat, 
slackened the invidious discrimination against both Black 
prisoners and employees, toppled state-employed drug kings, and 
sent others into hiding--for a time.

It wasn't enough, however, to change "a way of life." The bigots 
stepped up their campaign of white supremacy and racial hatred 
until "race war" was inevitable--and imminent, or so it seemed. 
The years of cumulative hate-mongering, corruption and oppression 
culminated in an explosion of rebellion--ending in lost lives and 
millions of dollars of destruction.

Scioto KKKounty residents and prison kamp guards experienced a 
rude awakening--the beast they created and thought was totally in 
their control proved to be the monster of their worst nightmares.

As throughout the country, they seek the current "fads" in 
penology that existed in the colonial and plantation eras when 
punishments for crimes and sport ranged from public whippings, 
branding and mutilations--to gory executions.

Thus far they have coerced the state government into spending 35 
million dollars to reconstruct Lucasville prison into a Supermax--
wasteful spending that could have been better spent on housing for 
the poor and homeless, on education--or even on true and 
productive rehabilitation for prisoners.

Along with this multi-million dollar cosmetic facelift, they have 
implemented a permanent lockdown, special goon squad units, and 
sadistic chained bondage for all movement outside of cells/cages, 
while political puppets and other agents of oppression step up the 
campaign to eradicate all incentives and tools for self-
improvement and elevation within Lucasville and other prisons 
throughout the country. A legal, deliberate oppression.

This will allay their fears somewhat; appease their lust for blood 
and revenge for a time, and provide a measure of safety against 
another uprising--perhaps--for a time. But what are they creating 
this time that they will eventually have to unleash upon society?

Blinded by bloodlust, hate and bigotry, they do not perceive this 
as their problem, but why should they care, since they live in 
Scioto KKKounty, in the southernmost tip of Ohio, while 99% of the 
prisoners will be released hundreds of miles north in parts away 
from Lucasville Village. It is not their problem.

The prisoners in Ohio's system must eliminate divisions and 
conflicts amongst themselves, oppose the propagation of "self-
hatred," and come together in solidarity for progressive change. 
Recognize your true enemies and their manipulation of your self-
destruction. We must enjoin families, friends and relatives in 
supportive alliance in our struggles against those who plant the 
foot on our necks. We have a common cause, a common goal and a 
mutual enemy.
In struggle,
--an Ohio prisoner, 4/20/94

P.S. I would like to be placed on your mailing list to receive MIM 
Notes and other materials. Thank you.

Notes:
1. Dayton Daily News, 4/15/93

Prisoner peace proposal

For over three years now, the Mexican prisoners at Pelican Bay 
State Prison have been trying to forge a "Peace Accord" among 
their many barrio and regional factions.

These efforts began with a letter to Gov. Pete Wilson, which was 
never answered. The Peace attempts have been foiled at every stage 
by the administration at Pelican Bay and at the Correctional 
Department in Sacramento. The prisoners have been asking only to 
be allowed to meet with each other under any security arrangements 
the prison cares to implement. The recognized "prisoners of 
influence" within the prison feel that they can help to stop the 
random violence that most often happens because of lack of mutual 
understanding, suspicion bred in that environment, and lack of an 
available forum for communication. 

Such a meeting would greatly help to clear up long-standing 
differences and misunderstandings among various groups within the 
system. Such positive influences allowed to express themselves 
within the prison will be felt throughout the correctional system 
as other prisoners come to understand that Pelican Bay prisoners 
are taking a lead role in trying to create a factional truce and 
spread harmony up and down California.
There is no reason to believe that violence cannot be drastically 
diminished and even halted to a large degree if the authorities 
will only encourage it and provide a forum for prisoners to work 
out their problems--problems and differences that many times are 
not even fully known or understood by the prisoners themselves, as 
most prisoner violence is a reactionary response from mutual fear 
and suspicion.

We feel that an atmosphere of peace among prisoners is attainable. 
Yet we understand that such an atmosphere is not in the best 
interest of the present prison regime. This regime is intent on 
perpetuating the myth that "uncontrollable gangs" are held 
indefinitely in the SHU because of the potential for violence. 
That is not true at all. Prisoners on the front of the effort say: 
"Why not allow us to initiate talks among ourselves and to reach a 
peace settlement that we can tell others within the system about?"

Once again we ask the Governor of the State of California to lend 
his influence to have his prison administrators look into the 
matter in the best interest of justice and order within this area 
of state government.
--from the Pelican Bay Prison Express (PBPE), 5/94. PBPE is 
published by the Pelican Bay Information Project, 2489 Mission St. 
#28, San Francisco, CA 94110, (415) 821-6545.

Maryland prisoner assaulted while in chains

Dear MIM,
You have my deep and earnest apology; I had intended to write 
before now. I have been very busy here on this front in a battle 
with the prison officials at this Maryland "Super Mess." I was 
recently assaulted while in chains by two of this Super House of 
Doom's prison guards; all I was able to do was to spit in one of 
their faces.

I did nothing to provoke said attack other than to speak out 
against the cruel and inhumane way that we are being treated here 
in MCAC and to file several suits in the state and United States 
Federal Courts, United States Supreme Court included; I guess they 
don't like me very much. But I couldn't care less!...
--a Maryland prisoner, 5/4/94

Slave labor in Florida

...The reason why I am writing to you is in Florida, we prisoners 
work and don't get paid for the work we do. And there are many 
inmates that don't have any money to buy the things we need while 
in prison. Could you let someone know about this? Thank you very 
much.
--a Florida prisoner, 2/1/94, in the Coalition for Prisoners' 
Rights Newsletter (CPRN), 3/94. CPRN can be reached at P.O. Box 
1911, Santa Fe, NM 87504-1911.

No money, no medicine

Effective immediately, all offenders must purchase over-the-
counter medications through the commissary. The DOC will not 
provide any more over-the-counter medications for offenders. This 
includes medications for colds, ulcers, flu, hemorrhoids, etc. The 
DOC will not provide shampoo, toothpaste, etc. Offenders are 
expected to purchase these items out of their state pay of $12.50 
per month. But the DOC fails to pay about 30% of the offender 
population....
--a Westville, Indiana prisoner, 11/25/93, in the 1/94 Coalition 
for Prisoners' Rights Newsletter

Aux prisonniers politiques...

Dans le but d'e'tendre a' l'ensemble des prisonniers politiques 
communistes, anti-impe'rialistes, anti-facistes, le be'ne'fice du 
travail d'information re'alise' par l'Association des Parents et 
Amis des Prisonniers Communistes au profit des prisonniers des 
Cellules Communistes Combattantes, l'APAPC met a' la disposition 
de tous les camarades emprisonne's un bulletin d'information 
mensuel en langue franc'aise comprenant un dossier de presse, une 
revue des revues militantes et des documents politiques annexes. 
Ce bulletin sera envoye' aux camarades emprisonne's qui en feront 
la demande a' l'adresse suivante:
B.P.6; Saint-Gilles 1; B-1060 Bruxelles; BELGIQUE.
--Association des Parents et Amis des Prisonniers Communistes 
(APAPC), 1/3/94

Pelican Bay: "The same, only worse"

...Prisoners from each of the four facilities investigated 
reported that the level of daily harassment and abuse has 
continued despite the dramatic public testimony in the Madrid v. 
Gomez civil rights trial. The brutal cell-extraction procedure is 
carried out twice a week on average. This is the same frequency 
that was criticized as grossly excessive during the trial.

Cell extractions are still being carried out for trivial reasons 
such as talking back to a guard, kicking the cell door in protest 
of a severe cold draft in the pod, or refusing to exit the cell 
for even an optional hearing. The extraction team is used 
routinely against prisoners with mental disabilities who are 
acting out.

Prisoners gave multiple reports of separate incidents when men 
fully shackled and restrained were beaten by guards and men in 
full restraint chains were thrown down the tier stairs. One 
prisoner was shot at point-blank range with the gas gun that fires 
rubber bullets 1 1/2 inches wide. Then he was rushed and beaten 
unconscious with truncheons and boots by the "goon squad" dressed 
in body armor and helmets--the 21st-century version of Nazi Storm 
Troopers.

Guards push and pull prisoners during the walks outside the 
living-unit pods. Prisoners are fully shackled with handcuffs 
attached to waist chains and hobble chain connecting the ankles. 
Guards grab on the chains and move the prisoner around just to 
show who is the boss and deliver a little humiliation.

Prisoners continue to be hogtied and left for hours in such a 
state, despite recent testimony by the Attorney General's office 
that hogtying had stopped at Pelican Bay. The hogtied prisoner is 
first shackled with handcuffs and anklecuffs. Then the chains 
between the cuffs are attached to each other, drawing the hands 
and feet together. Prisoners have recently been hogtied (hands and 
feet in front) in a stand up holding cell, causing the prisoner to 
be sitting for hours on the floor of the cell with hands and feet 
upward in a V position.

Other men report being "suitcased." During suitcasing a prisoner 
is hogtied face down with hands and feet behind. The chain used to 
attach the hand to the ankle is then used as the suitcase handle 
to lift and carry the prisoner, causing extreme pain as his legs 
and arms bent backward supporting his weight.

Also continuing unchecked is the frequent use of lethal force by 
guards at Pelican Bay. Prisoners hear the order to lay down on the 
ground in the A and B Yards on an almost daily basis as the threat 
of dum-dum bullets being fired at them from the towers becomes the 
horror of Pelican Bay's lethal excess.

Less dramatic, but just as brutal, is the daily, petty harassment 
by the custody, administrative, and health care staff. Guards 
hassle the prisoners over the details of daily life, especially in 
the Security Housing Unit (SHU). A prisoner might need more toilet 
paper or have a question about canteen items or have a legitimate 
complaint he wants heard. The guard will stall and put the 
prisoner off each day by saying, "OK, I'll do it" and finally ask 
the prisoner to remind him "when I get back from my days off."

Guards verbally abuse the prisoners and taunt them, using racial 
slurs and even loud-talking about confidential information 
concerning the prisoner's crime or prison history. False rumors 
are started by guards in attempts to soil a prisoner's reputation 
or create hostility among prisoners. Jailhouse lawyers and convict 
leaders are commonly slandered in such a manner. Prisoners who 
complain about the conditions are labeled troublemakers by staff 
and given especially brutal treatment. Many times they are moved 
to another cell with a violent or crazy person.

One of the prisoners who was a named plaintiff in the civil rights 
suit had a bucket of cleaning solution thrown in his face while he 
was standing in a holding cell.

Mentally ill prisoners continue to fill the SHU. These disabled 
men suffer more verbal and physical abuse than others, including 
more frequent cell extraction. The denial of medical care for 
ongoing illness, with 6-8 week waits for regular doctor visits, 
continues, as brought up in the testimony of medical experts in 
Madrid v. Gomez. Delays in dental care are three months long....

Pelican Bay prisoners continue to flood the courts with legal 
protests over their conditions of confinement and classification. 
The intense jailhouse legal effort is accomplished through 
communal action among prisoners of all races and backgrounds....

But such activities have harsh consequences, as the lead witness 
in the Madrid trial found out. On his return to prison from the 
courtroom, his TV and property were "lost" for more than two 
weeks. His single cell status was rescinded. Finally, while cuffed 
behind his back, he was bodyslammed into his cell door and shoved 
around during a very unusual procedure for obtaining nailclipper 
use.

While being shoved, he slipped and fell on the floor, which had 
been made wet by the flooding caused by a mentally ill prisoner on 
the tier above. The escort guard fell on top of him and charged 
him with assault on staff and took him to the Behavioral Control 
Unit (BCU).

This old timer spent nine of the most horrible days of his life in 
a strip cell listening to the screams of the men around him. He 
had no eating utensils for three days and no comb, towel, or 
shower for five days. The cell floor was always wet from the 
flooding and contaminated with the excrement of the insane men 
housed in BCU. Such is the price of protest at Pelican Bay State 
Prison.

Yet protest continues, and the men of Pelican Bay endure the 
abuses of their confinement with dignity, perseverance and honor.

--from the Pelican Bay Prison Express (PBPE), 5/94.

The "war on gangs" is a war on the people

...You know how the system loves to use terms of classism, racism, 
sexism to try and classify all people? The Texas Department of 
Criminal Justice-Institutional Division (TDCJ-ID) now has me 
classified as a Texas gang member! All because TDCJ-ID's 
classification administration bureau doesn't have a classification 
for someone who is a political prisoner and/or a revolutionary....
--a Texas prisoner, 4/12/94

Ohio targets activists as "gang members"

The Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections (DORC) has 
instituted a regulation prohibiting "gang related activity." This 
was implemented to fall in line with their overall intention to 
follow in the footsteps of California, Texas, Illinois and other 
states which have built "Super Max" prisons and focused on alleged 
"gangs" and "gang leaders" in prison. Ohio has gone so far as to 
manufacture gang members.

The DORC's latest tactic has been to target political activists 
and jailhouse lawyers for "gang related" charges when prisoners 
engage in lobbying the legislature. X, a political and prison 
activist working toward prison reform by lawful means such as 
lobbying the state legislature was charged with the infraction of 
"gang related activity" for advocating an Ohio Prisoners' Rights 
Union and receiving American Corrections Association material from 
Citizens United for the Rehabilitiation of Errants.

X was placed in Local Control, six months of solitary confinement, 
for this at the Madison Correctional Facility. He began a 
hungerstrike in protest and after 38 days was transferred to 
Lebanon Correctional Institution.

We have drafted a citizens lobby letter protesting the 
implementation of a Supermax prison in Ohio along with a fact 
sheet. Copies of these were made and sent, along with ABC 
proposals, to X at Lebanon. These items were confiscated and X was 
again infracted for "gang related activities" and placed in 
segregation. X again began a hunger strike and as of February 11, 
1994, had 14 days on it. He will refuse to eat until he is 
released from segregation.

The blatant political repression by use of a "gang related 
activity" rule infraction must be stopped. Litigation is pending, 
but we call on all activists, inside and out, to take the time to 
write a protest letter regarding the distorted use of this rule 
and X's treatment.

Protest letters should be sent to:

Governor George Voinavitch
Vern Riffe Center
77 South High St.
Columbus, OH 43215

Reginald Wilkenson
Director, DORC
1050 Freeway Drive N.
Columbus, OH 43229

--an Ohio prisoner in Prison Legal News, 4/94

Vegan prisoner goes on hunger strike

MIM,
A friend of mine suggested I write your newspaper concerning my 
illegal and inhumane treatment while being incarcerated in the 
Tazewell County Jail in Virginia.

Briefly, I am a strict vegetarian--what is referred to as "vegan." 
This means I do not eat any animal products and this includes 
animal flesh as well as fowl eggs and dairy products. I have been 
imprisoned for almost 9 1/2 months on charges of possessing and 
distributing LSD and psilocybin. During this time, I have tried to 
impress upon the jail staff the importance of receiving an 
adequate vegan diet. But this has been to no avail.

Much of my food is cooked with meat or meat products (fatback, 
lard, gelatin, et. al.) as well as often containing eggs or dairy 
products. Not only that, but my meals are nutritionally deficient, 
and I often get served less food than the meat-eaters here. 
Usually, the only attempt they make at serving me a vegetarian 
diet is to take the meat entree off of my tray. They make no 
substitution for this and just serve me what is left.

I receive next to no fresh fruit or vegetables and absolutely no 
whole grains--the staple of a vegan diet--unless one counts 
oatmeal, which is served about once a month for breakfast. My 
breakfast usually consists of Corn Flakes or Rice Krispies with 
dairy milk, which of course I don't eat.

I have done everything I can think of to correct this situation. 
I've filed grievances, written the sheriff and even written the 
Department of Corrections, all to no avail. My last step on this 
matter has been to file a 1983 form, which is essentially an 
inmate civil suit. I have yet to hear from the federal courts over 
this, but I hope to win. 

I have carefully documented the food I have been served as well as 
the food the meat-eating inmates have been offered. I have gotten 
records of my grievances and the responses I have gotten. It may 
be of interest that on one of my first complaints to the Nurse on 
my substandard diet, I was locked in a "side cell"--essentially 
solitary confinement--for around a week.

As I have been vegetarian for the last 15 years and strictly vegan 
for the last 8 years, this situation is creating a lot of 
emotional distress on my part. Frankly, I feel it is immoral, 
unhealthy and downright disgusting to eat dead animals. You might 
say vegetarianism forms the basis of my "religious" beliefs. And 
as the First Amendment of the Constitution guarantees the right to 
practice the religion of my choice, so I feel my treatment here is 
illegal. And I hope the federal courts uphold this.

While I am waiting for the courts to resolve this issue and since 
nothing else has seemed to work, I have begun a hunger strike. My 
intention is to stay on this strike until this institution 
provides me with an adequate vegan menu or moves me to an 
institution which will provide me with such a menu. Today is the 
13th day of my hunger strike, but the only response I have 
received from the jail is that they are not going to meet my 
demands and that they feel it is unreasonable of me to demand a 
special diet. I am enclosing a list of my hunger strike demands 
for your information.

I can provide you with more information on my diet, on my 
religious beliefs, or on my treatment here, if you request it. For 
now, note that I am a member of a legally-recognized vegetarian 
religion--The Church of the Sacred Mother--which is essentially 
founded on vegetarianism and respect for the Earth.

I may be moved to a state prison anytime in the next 2-3 months. 
If I am, I'll write and let you know my new address, as well as 
how the new conditions are. I'll also keep you informed on my 
civil suit.
Sincerely,
--a Virginia prisoner, 1/24/94

Coalition Against Indiana Control Units and Prison Abuse

The Coalition Against Indiana Control Units and Prison Abuse 
(CAICUAPA) has been monitoring and documenting the patterns of 
abuse and torture at the Maximum Control Complex (MCC) 
Westville...Since the MCC within Indiana's Westville Correctional 
Center opened in 1991, the running of the high-tech dungeon has 
violated international law, international human rights treaties, 
the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution (forbidding cruel 
and unusual punishment), and the humanity of anyone with a 
conscience...

The structure of the Maximum Control Complex at Westville 
Correctional Center is built around abuse and torture. CAICUAPA 
believes the only way to restore the human rights of the prisoners 
held within the MCC is to close this prison-within-a-prison...

For more information, contact:
Coalition Against Control Units
P.O. Box 14075
Chicago, IL 60614-0075
phone: 312-862-5718
--reprinted from Coalition for Prisoners' Rights Newsletter, 3/94

MC49 adds: According to the April 1994 Prison Legal News, CAICUAPA 
has issued a report titled "Human Rights Violations and Torture on 
the Rise at the Maximum Control Complex at Westville, IN: Profile 
of a Supermax." Write to the above address for info.

Guards spray prisoner thirty times for not making his bed

To MIM:
This letter is to inform the public that prisoners at MCC are 
subject to lead poisoning, no matter how many times the officials 
say that we prisoners are not subject to lead poisoning. This 
matter should be investigated to determine if such facts are true. 
Let us reflect on two different occasions where two MCC prisoners 
suffered chronic heart attacks. They could not receive appropriate 
attention inside. This institution cannot or will not handle 
emergency situations such as heart attacks.

I can't say if these incidents are related, but we prisoners at 
this institution face the serious problem of highly contaminated 
water.

Before I forget, there is something else that needs to be 
expressed. Since this institution opened, incidents involving 
"pepper gas" have become common at this institution. One brother 
was sprayed 30 times with this chemical agent as if it were some 
type of toy, all because he would not make his bed. Would you get 
a load of these guys? Sad.

We will continue, regardless. We will never stop struggling. We 
become stronger while they become weaker. This is one reason they 
fear us as a whole. Again, my beloved comrades, stay strong. 
Peace.
--an Indiana prisoner, 3/21/94

In the spirit of Crazy Horse

On December 14, 1993, I was released from Pelican Bay State 
Prison's Security Housing Unit (SHU) lock-up, where I had been 
sent from San Quentin's Death Row, after having been resentenced 
to Life Without Possibility of Parole. During my transfer from the 
SHU to the A-Facility Mainline Housing, I walked on grass for the 
first time in fifteen years--an overwhelming experience!

Within the first days of my release, I found my way to the chapel 
area to make my first contact with the Native American Community--
the Chapel Clerk of the Sacred Mountain Religious Group (SMRG) in 
the group's office. The office is a rather small room, set off to 
the side, just a little larger than my prison cell, and shared by 
both the Native American and the Catholic Chapel Clerk.

I quickly noticed that the Protestant Chaplain's office is a good 
four times larger. I also observed the extreme disparity between 
the Protestant Chaplain's office resources and supplies, as well 
as the Catholic's, in comparison to the meager resources and 
supplies for the Native American Spiritual Group, the obvious 
differences being the overabundance (three large wall bookshelves) 
of books, boxes of cassette tapes and videos, as well as other 
office supplies, most notably two computers, two printers and a 
laptop computer. The SMRG's office materials and supplies consist 
of a desk, a typewriter, a small, almost bare bookshelf and a 
small wooden box for storing herbs and other items.

To date, I have spent most of my "free movement" time at the 
Native American Chapel office, participating in discussions with 
other Native American Brothers and attending our group's spiritual 
meetings and ceremonies. Thus I have come to know the serious 
dedication of our group as a "Rainbow Society" to spiritual and 
cultural activities.

Self-teaching spiritual classes are held each Monday afternoon and 
coordinated mainly by the SMRG's Clerk. I have found these classes 
invaluable, enriching in spirit, and well-conducted. The main 
theme is spiritual sanctity and tradition. Yet the entire group 
agrees that "outside guidance and involvement" is much needed. So 
we are seeking outside assistance to overcome a few very simple, 
but serious, needs. These are as follows:

1. Because various members of our group are denied their tribe's 
specific, authorized religious items and the group is denied its 
ceremonial drum, we need letters of support sent to the Warden, 
Associate Warden, Program Administrator, and Chaplain, 5905 Lake 
Earl Drive, Crescent City, CA 95531.

2. A Medicine Man is needed to bless and consecrate our group's 
ceremonial pipe (a priority) and family pipe in order for us to 
properly exercise our ceremonies and prayers.

3. Visits from spiritual leaders or any other concerned Native 
American willing to extend support in spiritual fellowship and 
cultural teachings to the group, regardless of tribal affiliation.

4. Contacts, donations, and assistance in obtaining such religious 
items as medicine bags, a drum, buffalo skull, feathers, rattles, 
firewood, etc. The group's efforts to obtain and possess a 
ceremonial drum within the institution has been denied for some 
time by the prison administration with such excuses as "Due to the 
security and control of," or "Control and safety of." We need a 
drum--the heartbeat of our people!

These things are crucial to our spiritual group because we respect 
the ways and teachings of our ancestors, our elders, our leaders, 
and we honor the "Declaration of War" recently issued by our 
Lakota, Dakota and Nakota Brothers concerning their spirituality, 
the type of sweatlodge and pipe authorized within the California 
Department of Corrections prisons.

In addition to writing those mentioned above, if you are concerned 
with our rights and needs to exercise our Native American religion 
and want to be approved for a visit, to be a sponsor, or to 
properly donate needed items, write or call the Sacred Mountain 
Religious Group, c/o R.G. Bliesner, 5905 Lake Earl Drive, Crescent 
City, CA 95531, (707) 465-1000, ext. 7910.

In the spirit of Crazy Horse!
--a California prisoner in North Coast Xpress, 4/94

Southport prisoners on the level

My comrades in the struggle to cease oppression,
I have recently become aware of your newspaper. I would like to 
bring to your attention what takes place behind the walls of 
Southport Maxi-Max Concentration Facility. This United Snakes of 
Amerikkka and its institutions are full of cold-blooded racism and 
capitalism! There is just a curtain over the wickedness and 
brutality that exist within society and the prison system that the 
oppressor tries to camouflage from the masses of people to make 
his savage behavior justifiable. 
This particular prison, Southport, is designed to repress those 
who rebel against their so-called rules of rehabilitation in 
general population. Southport is a 23-hour solitary confinement 
dungeon. The whole structure of Southport functions on a level 
status system.

When you first arrive at Southport, you are placed on Level 1 
status in "B-Block," which is known as reception. According to 
their rules, you are to stay on Level 1 until you have completed 
30 days without a misbehavior report. After you have completed 30 
days without a misbehavior report, you move up to Level 2. Once on 
Level 2, you're supposed to do 60 days before you are moved to 
Level 3. The directive states 60 days, but being that the pig is a 
scum-dog and don't follow his own rules, you end up doing 90 days 
on Level 2. 

The only benefit on Level 2 is that the full restraints come off 
once outside in the one-man dog cages. On Level 3, the only 
benefit is that we are allowed to make a phone call to our family 
once every two months for five minutes, and we are automatically 
disconnected before five minutes of conversation is up. We are not 
allowed to have watches, so we are cut off in the process of 
speaking to our loved ones. 

The whole level nonsense is a game that the enemy plays to pacify 
us with materialistic items in order to maintain control.
--a New York prisoner, 3/20/94

Dead end drug strategy

...Over the last ten years, the number of prisoners more than 
doubled, and the percentage of those sent to prison for certain 
kinds of drug offenses has skyrocketed. The effect of recent 
changes in sentencing laws for these activities is extremely 
racist. For example, in New York state, in 1980, 11% of those sent 
to prison were sent for drug convictions. In 1992, 44% were for 
drug convictions. Although the majority of drug users and sellers 
are white, African-Americans make up over 47% of New York state 
prisoners with drug convictions, Latinos over 45% and whites 6.3%.

White prisoners in New York state have 47% of state-funded drug 
treatment slots, although they make up less than 7% of prisoners 
doing time for drug convictions. Of 78 treatment programs in New 
York City in 1990, 54% excluded all pregnant women, 67% excluded 
pregnant women on Medicaid and 87% refused to treat crack-addicted 
pregnant women on Medicaid.

Altogether, treatment is available for fewer than 15% of the 5.5 
million drug users in the U.S., unless they can afford private 
programs. In 1992, the federal government reported that only 20% 
of the more than 500,000 state prisoners needing drug treatment 
get it....
--from Coalition for Prisoners' Rights Newsletter, 1/94.

Three bucks a month--soap not included

Dear MIM Notes,
What's up, comrades?... I'm really tight on my monies. I get $3.00 
every month, and I have to buy my hygiene supplies with that....
--an Iowa prisoner, 2/22/94

SPANISH