I N T E R N E T ' S M A O I S T BI-M O N T H L Y = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = XX XX XXX XX XX X X XXX XXX XXX XXX X X X X X X X XX X X X X X X X V X X X V X X X X X X X XX XXX X X X X X X XX X X X X X X X XXX X X X V XXX X XXX XXX = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = THE MAOIST INTERNATIONALIST MOVEMENT MIM Notes 169 SEPTEMBER 1, 1998 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. NO U.$. MILITARY INTERVENTION IN THE PHILIPPINES ! 2. MIM LEGAL NOTES CORRECTION 3. LETTERS 4. STRIKE OVER, STRUGGLE CONTINUES IN PUERTO RICO 5. PRISONERS DENIED LEGAL AID, EVEN FROM THEIR COMRADES UNDER LOCK & KEY 6. ANNOUNCING SERVE THE PEOPLE PRISONERS' LEGAL CLINIC: CALL FOR PARTICIPATION 7. PRISONER BARRED FROM CONTRIBUTING TO MIM NOTES 8. PRISONERS START HUNGER STRIKE IN S.C. GULAGS 9. THE ISSUE OF DRUGS AND REVOLUTION 10. CALIFORNIA "THREE-STRIKES" DEFENDANT ELECTROCUTED FOR SPEAKING OUT OF TURN 11. FOOTBALL PLAYERS PAID IN PARASITISM 12. PAN-EUROPEAN IMPERIALISM MOVES FORWARD 13. BLACK NATION PARASITISM CONSOLIDATING 14. MASSACHUSETTS LEGISLATURE VOTES TO REVOKE PRISONER VOTE 15. REVIEW: BULWORTH UPHOLD LIBERALS' AMERIKKKAN FAIRYTALE 16. REVIEW: SAVING PRIVATE RYAN 17. UNDER LOCK AND KEY: NEWS FROM PRISONS AND PRISONERS * * * 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 * * * NO U.$. MILITARY INTERVENTION IN THE PHILIPPINES ! The united $tates and the puppet government of the Philippines have renewed their campaign to overturn the victory the Filipino people won on September 16, 1991, when they pressured the Philippine Senate to reject the treaty which would renew u.$. bases in the Philippines. The united $tates and the new Estrada regime are now promoting the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), which will essentially grant the u.$. military direct control over Philippine territory. The VFA will soon be deliberated by the Philippine senate, and the toady Estrada regime guaranteed that it will "lobby very hard" for the ratification of the VFA. Because the so-called "Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Security" was not renewed in 1991, the united $tates closed its large military bases in the Philippines: Subic Bay Naval Station and Clarke Air Force Base. These bases had a pernicious history, since they were used both as a base for supporting u.$. aggression against countries like Vietnam and as a base for aggression against the people of the Philippines themselves. The closing of these bases, which was the culmination of decades of anti-imperialist and anti- militarist struggle, was a great step towards true self- determination for the Filipino people. But as soon as the treaty was rejected and the bases closed, reactionaries in the u.$. and their pals in the Philippines began looking for ways for the u.$. military to sneak back in to the Philippines. For example, before she stepped down in 1992, Philippine president Corazon Aquino guaranteed u.$. forces continued access to Subic Bay. The regime of General Fidel V. Ramos (which followed Aquino's and lasted until this year) secretly drafted a new agreement with the u.$. government which would provide the u.$. with further military access to the Philippines. This agreement, called the Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement (ACSA), provided for joint military training on Philippine soil, intelligence sharing, landing and porting rights for u.$. forces, and the deployment of u.$. personnel in the Philippines as part of "logistical planning units." ACSA would also explicitly give the u.$. military access to 22 ports throughout the Philippines, effectively turning the whole country into a u.$. military base. Again, the outrage of the masses against the ACSA forced the reactionaries to table the agreement. And again ‹ true to their motto of "make trouble, fail, make trouble again" ‹ the reactionaries tried to resurrect the old base agreements in 1997 through the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA). The SOFA contained many of the ACSA's provisions and included guarantees of immunity for u.$. military personnel for any crimes they committed while in the Philippines. Now after some more tinkering the SOFA has been renamed the VFA, and the reactionaries are once more going all out to get paper approval for u.$. intervention in the Philippines. But at the same time, the people of the Philippines are going all out to ensure that the unites $tates cannot regain former levels of military dominance in the Philippines. In particular, the national democratic movement in the Philippines ‹ which encompasses the underground Communist Party of the Philippines and the National Democratic front, as well as legal mass organizations like BAYAN (New Patriotic Alliance) ‹ is exposing and opposing the VFA. The national democratic forces point out that the VFA is simply a result of u.$. imperialism's need to protect its economic interests and protect its political dominance of the Philippines. They also point out that the VFA would again make the Philippines a staging point for u.$. aggression in Asia. The united $tates has only been interested in the Philippines as a colony or neo-colony, a source of cheap profits and cheap raw materials. U.$. intervention in the Philippines began with a brutal decade-long war at the turn of the century, in which the u.$. military killed 600,000 Filipinos. U.$. economic and political hegemony in the Philippines today is marked by extreme poverty, with 70% of the population suffering from malnourishment. The struggle against the VFA is part of the larger struggle against u.$. imperialism in the Philippines and for true self- determination for the Filipino people. You can contribute to the struggle against the VFA by raising your voices against the agreement! There are educational events and public rallies scheduled on or around 16 September across the u.$. Contact your local RAIL representative to be part of the RAIL contingent at these rallies. You can also contribute to the larger anti- imperialist struggle in the Philippines by plugging into RAIL's other work, from raising money to directly aid legal struggles to raising public anger against u.$. crimes in the Philippines and elsewhere. Ultimately, the best aid anti-imperialists in the u.$. can give anti-imperialists in the Philippines is to build a strong anti-imperialist movement here in u.$. borders. *For information on anti-VFA events in Los Angeles, e-mail larail@mim.org, or write to the Los Angeles PO Box on p. 2. For more information about events in the San Francisco Bay area, contact rail5@mim.org.* Notes: For more information on the struggle in the Philippines, read "Support the National Democratic Front of the Philippines," a RAIL pamphlet. $1 each. * * * MIM LEGAL NOTES CORRECTION The August 1 (no. 167) issue of MIM Notes carried the inaugural issue of MIM Legal Notes, what we hope will be a regular feature of MIM Notes as part of our struggle to spread agitation and practical legal information in favor of prisoners' struggles against oppression. MIM's introduction to MIM Legal Notes failed to mention that this column was initiated by the prisoner who wrote the first column. We applaud this prisoner's efforts and initiative in starting this column, and encourage other prisoners to follow his example if you have ideas about what MIM Notes should be publishing. We especially call on prisoners and people on the outside with legal training to follow up on the work of the author of the first MIM Legal Notes. There is a constant and overwhelming need for legal aid for prisoners. Contact MIM if you have any level of legal training and want to contribute your efforts. The comment by MIM at the end of the MIM Legal Notes in MIM Notes 167 also incorrectly stated that "MIM and RAIL are leading a mass organization of prisoners." MIM is initiating and leading a mass organization of prisoners, which will follow MIM's leadership just as RAIL does. While the prisoner mass organization will work cooperatively with RAIL it will be led by MIM. * * * LETTERS MIM NOTES GAINS SUPPORTER IN MIDWEST Dear MIM, I recently came across your paper, and it is excellent. I was very glad to find a Marxist paper which actually lives up to its revolutionary claims. I go to X college in the Midwest, which is a fairly typical liberal-reformist place, and the only socialist groups on campus are the ISO and Labor Militant. I've been interested in Marxism for a while, but the supposed "revolutionary" tactics of those two organizations really put me off... so I was very glad to find a newspaper which tells it like it is. As a white member of the middle class, I am filled with disgust over the shit this nation has done to provide "comfort" for the chosen few while it literally screws the rest of the world. I agree with you that a revolution is the only way to change things and applaud your paper for making that clear and for also making it clear who the enemies are. My knowledge about Maoism is fairly limited, however. Here at X college, I took two courses on Maoist China and I have a few questions to ask ‹ Why did Mao break with the Red Guards during the Cultural Revolution? It seemed to me that the Red Guards were a very progressive organization trying to combat opportunism, and I don't see why Mao withdrew his support. Another question I have is why did Mao meet with that butcher Richard Nixon? Considering that Nixon committed genocide against the people of southern Asia, I have no idea why Mao would hold any type of meeting with him. A final question I have is about what a socialist society would be like, would it abolish money? Or is that a utopian idea? Is money a necessary evil? I would like to know your opinion. Anyway, I am enclosing a SASE and requesting a copy of your 10 point program. If you could, please take a moment to answer my questions. I would greatly appreciate it. I am also enclosing $10 for a trial subscription. I am looking forward to learning more about your organization. ‹a student in the Midwest A RAIL comrade responds: It really is not a surprise at all that your campus is a liberal-reformist place. That really is not all bad. Liberalism is about the best that most imperialist minded people will get. On the other hand when liberalism and reformism are disguised as Marxism it is just opportunistic. People who are liberals and call themselves liberals can occasionally be allies, even if only temporarily or only on one issue. But when people call themselves revolutionaries and socialists and then support the parasitic demands of the Teamsters and the UAW as if the AFL-CIO represents the international proletariat, they are allying with the white nation against the people of the world. The ISO and Labor Militant pretend that these views are Marxism and this is misleading the people in a very dangerous way. Fortunately neither the white labor aristocracy that the ISO and Labor Militant tails or the real international proletariat are fooled by Trotskyist opportunism. The white nation knows that it has a lot to lose by supporting revolution, so they are not working under any illusions that their economic strikes are anything like the recent general strike in Puerto Rico. The international proletariat that is constantly assaulted by imperialism knows that imperialism is the highest stage of capitalism and that revolutionary national liberation struggles will help them destroy the oppression they face daily. Organizations that believe there was only one socialist revolution in history (the Soviet Union in 1917) are not socialist. And Trotskyist organizations like to spend a lot of their time slandering real revolutionary heroes like J.V. Stalin and Mao Zedong. They also like to spend a lot of time ignoring history. Trotskyite parties have never led a successful revolution anywhere on the planet. On the other hand they have succeeded in splitting and wrecking a few revolutions. Meanwhile Stalinist and Maoist ideas are being used throughout the world to make gains for the people. It is good to hear from someone that is not lost in identity politics and it is very important that you understand the true nature of the settler white nation. Many people get confused by MIM's line on the white working class and think that MIM means white people can not be revolutionaries. This is just not a scientific approach to politics. Groups and individuals are two different subjects and someone like you can be a revolutionary almost as easily as a Black man can become a pig cop. What is being said and done is more important than who is saying it or doing it. The Red Guards You are correct in saying that the Red Guards were progressive and combated opportunism because that was their purpose when the Cultural Revolution began. But the Red Guards were not a homogenous organization. Quickly, rival Red Guard units were created by the children of rightist capitalist-roaders to ITAL protect END the status quo. In order to divert attention from themselves, the reactionaries in power then created ultra-left Red Guard organizations. A large portion of student activists fell under the leadership of the ultra-left line. Ultra-leftism is an overly optimistic assessment of the balance of forces that results in fighting losing battles. Ultra-leftists often fail to understand the need for revolutionary progress being made in stages. Because of this, ultra-leftists also often tend to make enemies out of allies instead of uniting all who can be united against imperialism. For the most part the influence of ultra- leftists on a revolutionary movement will do more harm than good. For example, in China during the Cultural Revolution, many times the people would struggle against and even overthrow some leaders. But some ultra-leftists wanted to overthrow all. That gave the right opportunists some of their best chances to divert revolutionary forces that otherwise would have been used to expose and combat their right opportunism. Rightism in appearance looks like the opposite of ultra- leftism. Rightists downplay the power of the people, either intentionally or by mistaken thinking and will refuse to struggle when the people could make real revolutionary gains. Whether this is done by people with mistaken ideas or self-serving agendas, the end result is the same. Though ultra-leftism sounds and looks to be the opposite of rightism, when ultra-leftism leads to revolutionary setbacks and splits the proletarian revolutionary forces, the result is a strengthening of the right. The Cultural Revolution was supposed to be nonviolent. But ultra-left Red Guard units stole and manufactured arms to use against rightists, proletarian Party leaders and even other ultra-left units. This situation could not continue, so the Red Guards were eventually disbanded and the Cultural Revolution put back on course. The Red Guards played a key role in the early part of the Cultural Revolution, but as students and young people, were unable to complete the Cultural Revolution. Mao and Nixon Mao met with Nixon because world leaders have to meet at times. It does not mean that Mao supported Nixon's murderous policies or amerikan imperialism or that Nixon supported world revolution. Stalin met with Hitler, Churchill, Roosevelt, and Truman. But under Stalin the Red Army destroyed Hitler and the international fascist movement. The political duties of the leaders of nations requires that they sometimes must meet with the leaders of the enemy camps. Mao was opposed to Nixon and imperialism. Nixon was opposed to Mao and human liberation. The fact that the two met does not change that. And remember, all-out war with Amerika was not in China's interests in the early 1970s. It would have been ultraleftism to pretend it was otherwise. The role of money It is not likely that socialist society will do away with money. During the socialist period there will still be classes because socialism is only a transitional phase of human development on the road to communism. During the socialist period money will most likely still be a necessary medium of exchange. But production will be entirely different because everything will be done to make sense instead of dollars. Capitalist overproduction and parasitic consumerism will be dead, so money would play an entirely different role as a means of exchange in socialist society. The question is different in regards to communism though. Communism is a classless society. Groups will no longer have power over other groups. At that point in time it may be possible to do away with money. We'll probably have to wait until we get there to find out. We look forward to you finding out more about our organizations and also to you working with MIM and RAIL in building revolution against imperialism and capitalism. * * * STRIKE OVER, STRUGGLE CONTINUES IN PUERTO RICO The government of Puerto Rico, doing the bidding of U.$. imperialism, finalized the sale of the Puerto Rico Telephone Company to the consortium formed by GTE and Banco Popular in July after a general strike shut down the country to protest this privatization. The government moved quickly to accept the GTE offer in spite of another offer by Telofónica Internacional SA which was $190 million higher. In part the rush was to finance government projects through the sale.(1) The strike lasted 37 days. The strike-ending agreement included allowing the telephone company to issue a warning memo on workers' records, maintain the charges for violations of the law, and retain police both inside and outside the work sites. Many of the workers and other activists were disappointed with the agreement and with the lack of participation in the decision making process of the unions. MIM agrees with the workers and activists who are calling for a continued protest against the privatization of Puerto Rico. And because of the economic conditions of Puerto Rico, a colony with such close ties to it's imperialist master, we understand that even if the strike settlement represented an economic victory for the workers of Puerto Rico this would be a tenuous advance for the movement, at best. In Puerto Rico, there is a split in the working class. Although the dollar is the currency and Puerto Rico benefits from access to superexploited Third World labor that way, unions are only just starting to achieve legal status and wages are far lower than those received by their Amerikan counterparts. Hence, a good third or half of the population lives U$ middle class living standards whereas another chunk of the working class is still exploited and 13 percent or more is unemployed. We can expect that many trade union bureaucrats will in effect clamor for the chance to be part of "Made in the USA." Such trade unionists and people in favor of joining the U$A as a state want a piece of the imperialist pie. Since Marxism is not just syndicalism or pursuit of economic demands (economism), we have the duty to explain why pursuit of economic betterment by joining up with imperialism is not in the self-interests of workers. The real importance of this struggle is as an anti-colonial fight for national liberation. In mid-August A MIM Notes reporter had the opportunity to hear a representatives from Frente Socialista speak about the strike and activism in Puerto Rico.(2) Although maintaining the title of socialism, MIM has not found this organization to incorporate Marxist analysis into their theory or agitation. Instead, they focus on labor and anti- imperialist activism with the strategy of introducing the idea of socialism to the masses through their organizations' participation in the people's struggles, an approach partially patterned after the ideology of Che Guevera. While their involvement in the people's struggles is correct, the importance of theoretical clarity on the part of the vanguard can not be dismissed lightly. The term socialist comes with many potential interpretations and historical implications. The people deserve to have organizations be honest with them about where they are coming from ideologically and why they think they have the best path forward. In spite of these differences with Frente Socialista, MIM gained some useful news about the struggle in Puerto Rico from these activists. A student activist from the University of Puerto Rico (UPR) spoke about the struggle on the campuses over the past year. With the government making moves towards privatizing education, the selling off of other industries is closely tied with the student struggle. During one protest in solidarity with the phone workers strike the police entered the university campus. This was an unprecedented act in recent years: the students had fought very hard for their autonomy and this armed invasion demonstrated the fear of government when faced with a unified struggle of the people in Puerto Rico. The activist spoke about the need to turn the student and workers struggle into one and the importance of organizing all sectors to move beyond the syndicalist struggle and into a struggle of the people. MIM agrees with this and to us this is one major reason for the importance of Maoist leadership. We have the history of successes and failures to learn from and build on as we fight for a society in which all nations have the right to self-determination. In addition to directly attacking the students with the police, the government disinformation campaign tried to turn the workers against the students by claiming that the strike was a product of dangerous socialist faculty leading students leading the workers. These attempts to isolate the students and divide the movement were important to the government because historically the students have fought the police and this militant influence in the workers movement was seen as very dangerous to the stability of the colonial government. Recently, in attempts to pacify the demands of the people for better education, the government of Puerto Rico approved a law of educational opportunity which created a special fund for fellowships for education. While this appeared to be progressive, the student activist pointed out that the end result of the law would be giving a few students the chance to attend the best education institutions while not improving education for the majority of the people. Most people in Puerto Rico go to public schools and yet no money is being put into improving these. And at the same time the government is cutting classes and professors from the universities, principally from the political sectors of the schools. In a demonstration of student power, the student activists called for a 24 hour strike as a part of the general strike in early July. In response the university administration closed the schools for 5 days after this 24 hour strike, supposedly to ensure the safety of the students. But once the strike was over students announced that they were going to attend school and attend classes anyway. The administration was forced to open the doors at the most activist schools like the Rio Piedras and Mayaguez campuses of UPR but they remained closed in other areas. Another activist from Frente Socialista spoke about the activism within the unions in Puerto Rico. He stated that there are two tendencies within the unions; the militants who want syndicalist democracy and the bureaucrat tendency of the leadership. While this is true to a degree, MIM cautions activists in Puerto Rico from misusing this analysis to the extent of ignoring the split in the working class which encompasses more than just the union leaders on the side of imperialism. This activist also described the police massacre at Metro Office Park during the strike where police took off their ID and badges and then attacked the protesters. Bur rather than put down the movement, this helped them to gain general support as the people's outrage at the police grew. While the issue of privatizing the phone companies may no longer take the forefront of the struggle, the general strike served to raise the issues of independence and the colonization of Puerto Rico by U.$. imperialism among the people. MIM is working to take these struggles further by pointing out the connections between a colonialist government selling off national industries to its imperialist master with the struggle for independence from imperialism. Notes: 1. http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Senate/9169/, This page has been created to make public information and images related to the PEOPLES STRIKE AGAINST PRIVATIZATION. 2. Talk hosted by Latinos and Latinas for Social Change in Boston, MA, August 12, 1998. * * * PRISONERS DENIED LEGAL AID, EVEN FROM THEIR COMRADES UNDER LOCK & KEY *In Under Lock & Key, MIM Notes has published articles from prisoners in Arizona about new regulations that bar jailhouse lawyers from helping their comrades in prison with legal problems. State prison systems around Amerika are doing the same thing in various degrees, attempting to stop prisoners from helping each other with legal and other claims. Here, MIM reports on instances of this restriction in two states. We call on comrades who have more systematic knowledge of this problem to contribute reports of the situation in their areas.* In July, MIM received two letters from our comrades in prison ‹ one in Michigan and another in Colorado ‹ stating that legal writers and Jailhouse lawyers are being barred from giving service to their fellow inmates. In Michigan, the information is specific: a prison's high command took issue with a legal writer's attempt to help a fellow prisoner with a problem that is supposedly out of his charge. In Colorado, comrade reports that the Department of Corrections has instituted "a policy curtailing all Jailhouse lawyers." To MIM, these individual attacks and sweeping policy implementations are extensions of the injustice throughout the criminal system. Oppressed nationals ‹ Blacks, Latinos and First Nation internal colonies specifically ‹ are disproportionately imprisoned in Amerika. National oppression in so-called criminal justice mean that the majority of prisoners were arrested by the white nation's police force, tried and convicted by juries of their colonizers, represented by lawyers from the same system that prosecuted them, and are now imprisoned by more military representatives of the same oppressive regime. In point eight of its 10-Point Platform and Program the Black Panther Party (BPP) called out for "freedom for all black men held in federal, state, county and city prisons and jails," because "they have not received a fair and impartial trial." Point nine continued: "The 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution gives a man a right to be tried by his peer group. A peer is a person from a similar economic, social, religious, geographical, environmental, historical and racial background. To do this the court will be forced to select a jury from the black community from which the black defendant came. We have been, and are being tried by all-white juries that have no understanding of the 'average reasoning man' of the black community." Part of the work of the community of the oppressed among prisoners is that those who have legal knowledge or training can give assistance to those who do not have this information. To MIM, this is the type of rehabilitation that the so-called Departments of Corrections should be fostering. Through helping their comrades with their legal problems, those prisoners who do have legal expertise advance their own understanding of the law and the society in which they are forced to live. Through getting assistance from other prisoners, those prisoners who need help also become more familiar with the laws affecting them as they discuss their problems with someone who cares and can relate to what is happening to them. This is a high form of social behavior ‹ those who can help do, and those who need help get it. But the state only sees fit to criminalize this behavior. A Colorado prisoner writes: "With the advent of Sandin v. O'Conner, and Lewis v. Casey the Legal library has all but disintegrated. People are not allowed to help other individuals, unless you both have access to the library at the same time. Also, you cannot have a draft or other research material with another inmate's name on it, otherwise, it's considered contraband or they consider it bartering or some sort. Routine searches are conducted not so much to look for contraband, but to read and discover what should otherwise be confidential material, that should be privileged information. "Several individuals have been prosecuted under the guise of Security; this is only a smoke screen to otherwise discourage individuals from pursuing their right to access to the Courts. We are in dire need of help and/or assistance in this area, and as of this writing this person will no doubt be in segregation, and this may be his last hope of informing those persons who may be of some help in the future. There are several law suits that have been filed, and are currently being litigated seeking an injunction stopping this administration from conducting these Gestapo like tactics, and denying these individuals their inalienable rights under the United States Constitution." The suits this prisoner describes point up the brutal fact that under imperialism, like Mao said "there are no rights, only power struggles." In a class society the oppressed have no rights that the oppressors are bound to respect, and any rights that the oppressed hope to gain from the oppressor will have to be won through seizure of pieces of power. To the extent that prisoners can win themselves limited rights by forcing the United Snakes to live up to some of the principles it espouses, we support their efforts with all our might. We publish articles like this one to bring further public attention to how far the state will go in violating its own rules, it is our aim that more of our readers become outraged enough at this gross hypocrisy to make themselves heard through genuine anti-imperialist activism. In the long term, MIM's solution to the total lack of rights for the oppressed under capitalism and imperialism is revolution. We believe that all peoples should be able to determine their own destinies from a position of true power. Point eight of MIM's own program states: "We want New Democracy for the oppressed nations. We want power for the oppressed nations to determine their destinies. "We believe that oppressed people will not be free until they are able to determine their destinies. We look forward to the day when oppressed people will live without imperialist police terror and will learn to speak their mind without fear of the consequences from the oppressor. When this day comes, meaningful plebiscites can be held in which the peoples will decide for themselves if they want their own separate nation-states or some other arrangement." A Michigan prisoner writes to MIM Notes of the harsh limitations even on that prisoner-to-prisoner legal support that the state does allow: "I want you to let the public or our brothers and sisters know how this unjust administration is telling me that I can not help my fellow prisoners out when it comes to complaining about their unjust treatment. I have been told I better not be helping prisoners learn how to file legitimate civil law suits against MDOC and its employees. "I come to you because I need support and a strong voice to speak up for me, when this corrupted staff tries to set me up and put me in the box on some made-up charges. "I have been fighting for prisoners rights since 1994. In 1997 I was hired to work as a Legal Writer by a court order against the MDOC. The struggles I've experienced within MDOC are nothing light to speak on; they're as serious as life and death. So your support is greatly needed." Apparently, prisoner Legal Writers are not permitted to advocate for other prisoners in matters relating to "a prisoner's sentence or constitutional issues of confinement," which are typically the most desperate, the most important, the most central legal issues that any prisoner faces. A prisoner with a basic grievance, something that is admissible through the MDOC's approved grievance- procedure paper-train, is on his or her own in dealing with it, says the MDOC. Yet MIM has seen numerous copies of prisoner grievances that were rejected or denied because the prisoner failed to follow the proper procedure. The prisoncrats' position on this amounts to saying that those prisoners who can wend their way through the state's deliberately confusing legalese are in luck, they can file a grievance. For those who cannot do this for whatever reason: oh well, tough luck, catch you next time. If you agree with MIM that these policies prohibiting prisoners from helping each other with legal claims is nothing but prohibiting those unfortunate prisoners who do not know the law from utilizing the courts for justice, you should get in touch. By involving more people in the struggle for prisoners' rights and by combining more individuals' efforts, we can make our own progress in making legal assistance available to a broader array of prisoners. Contact us to find out how you can help. Notes: 1. Information on denial of legal aid to prisoners taken from prisoner letters and DOC memos. 2. Black Panther Party and MIM Programs can be found on the MIM website at http://www.etext.org/Politics/MIM/ follow the "About MIM" link, and the "Black Panther Newspaper Collection" link. 3. See MIM Notes no. 167, August 1, 1998 for article on New York State Governor Pataki cutting Prisoners' Legal Service. 4. For information on how you can support prisoners like these comrades in giving each other legal assistance, contact MIM at any of the addresses on page two. * * * ANNOUNCING SERVE THE PEOPLE PRISONERS' LEGAL CLINIC: CALL FOR PARTICIPATION At the urging of prisoners and RAIL comrades who do work with MIM, we are launching a Serve the People Prisoners' Legal Clinic as part of the new MIM-led anti-imperialist prisoner organization. The Prisoners' Legal Clinic (PLC) is organized around prisoners combining their own legal knowledge and skills to meet their own needs. Prisoners who work as part of the legal clinic will write articles for publication explaining the major legal issues facing prisoners today, and back those articles up with legal briefs that will be available to all prisoners who need additional legal firepower to wage their battles against the prisons cyst'm. The first work of the PLC was correctly done by a Michigan prisoner who initiated and wrote the first MIM Legal News Column in MIM Notes no. 167. MIM Legal News will be a continuing feature in MIM Notes and will hopefully have an ever-expanding group of writers contributing. The purpose of the column is to provide prisoners with basic legal information that relates to their everyday political struggles. In many cases, this will mean that the points of law discussed in the column are central to prisoners' fight for their right to organize. The goal of this program is to be part of a movement against imperialism and against oppression in prisons. There are two principal missions of this legal clinic: (1) Organize prisoners with legal skills into producing both a legal arsenal for politically active prisoners to use in defending their "rights" to organize politically, and (2) educate prisoners and people on the outside that in the criminal injustice system there are no rights, only power struggles. This program should both build up MIM's file of legal assistance we can offer prisoners and advance the level of reporting on prisons in MIM and RAIL publications. What does it mean that this program is MIM-led? It means principally that the program is centered around political goals, specifically using the law to facilitate political work of politically conscious prisoners in Amerika and educating about prisons through coverage of prisoners' legal concerns. This means that the types of legal questions prisoners tackle in this program will be those most directly related to organizing: censorship, property, library access, STG policies. This also means that MIM is responsible for synthesizing the work of the prisoners into cohesive lessons about what the principal legal struggles are for prisoners today. This includes the possibility that MIM could reform and advance its ideas of what the most pressing legal issues are for prisoners. MIM calls on all interested people to volunteer their time for the PLC. Prisoners with legal training and skills should get in touch with us about submitting briefs for the program. We need people on the outside to help with typing up articles for comrades under lock & key who do not have typewriters. We need your help editing legal articles into plain English that we can print to educate people on the connections between political imprisonment and the law. You do not have to be a lawyer or know anything about the law to volunteer for this work. Many comrades in prisons have taught themselves law and are now ready to do work with others who do not have the background they do. All you need are fingers ready to type and a single hour of free time and you can be a help to this program. If you are a legal expert and are not in prison, you can read and contribute to briefs written by prisoners, and help in all the ways listed above as well. If you want to contribute your time or money to the Prisoners' Legal Clinic, please get in touch with us at the addresses on page two. Note: MIM believes that all prisoners in the u.$. criminal INjustice system are political prisoners because the system of imprisonment is political. This is evidenced in the disproportionate weight of prison terms on the oppressed nations, in laws that hold theft of a rich person's property to be a more heinous crime than theft of a poor nation's land, and in the overwhelming presence of physical and mental abuse coupled with the absence of physical or mental enhancement in the so-called Corrections systems. * * * PRISONER BARRED FROM CONTRIBUTING TO MIM NOTES A Colorado prisoner was foiled in his attempt to send MIM a book of 32-cent stamps with his July letter to MIM Notes. The prisoncrats who control his outgoing mail held up his letter for several days and then returned it to him ‹ apparently the rules prohibit such seditious contraband as stamps from leaving the prison. MIM regularly receives huge donations from prisoners ‹ stamped envelopes, books of stamps, and money from their prison accounts in exchange for reading material. We say these donations are huge because we measure them in relation to the money prisoners have. Among those comrades in prison who do have jobs, some are not paid, some are paid the whopping sums of anything from 5 cents to 65 cents per hour. So a prisoner who sends us a single stamped envelope is sending us more than half an hour's pay, and possibly a full day's worth or more. Imagine the sacrifice for a full book of stamps. How many people on the outside can say that they donate between one-half hour's pay and 6 hours' pay every time they read an issue of MIM Notes? We call on our supporters on the outside to think of our prisoner comrades as an example when you are contemplating a donation to MIM Notes. If prisoners can give many hours' worth of their money, surely you can too. * * * PRISONERS START HUNGER STRIKE IN S.C. GULAGS July 5, 1998, prisoners in Bishopville, south kkkarolina started a hunger strike to protest conditions and demand resolution to the oppressor's tactics to control and dehumanize the men. The prisoners want some very basic problems addressed. They want an end to "rotten food, non-available hygiene products, excessive use of force, racial discrimination and non- available medical treatment" among other things. Around July 21, the prisoners on strike were administered IV fluids against their will. Shortly after, the strike was investigated by the higher level pigs. The higher level pig supposedly came to inquire what the strike was about, "the cause of the strike they are very familiar with, despite their assertion of not knowing what's wrong," said one prison comrade. The prison pigs made promises to put an end to the inhumane treatment, but "of course they alleged it would take time." Within a couple days of the prison pig's visit, a medical evaluation began. The prisoner noted that this was not treatment, just an evaluation. The strike ended on July 24, "to give this oppressing agency a chance to clean its ass up (which we know it will not) and ourselves a change to recoup," said a prisoner. At the end of the month, several of the prisoners involved were transferred. One prisoner wrote that the situation remains the same and that the remaining prisoners anticipate retaliation and also anticipate another hunger strike in the near future. As a result of the hunger strike, the conditions at the facility were exposed and an investigation has been called for by the Department of Health and Environment Control, Human Affairs and the State Senate Committee on Corrections. Amerikkkans on the outside have an incredibly luxurious and parasitic standard of living because of imperialist plunder and slavery throughout the world. But prisoners in Amerikkka's gulags are denied basic needs like adequate food, medical care and living conditions. In addition, prisoners have no so-called civil rights. They are subjected to Amerikkkan citizenship without the privilege to vote (in 47 states) and are considered fair game in terms of slave labor ‹ literally. And prisoners are subjected to many tactics of cruelty and control which includes massive censorship, random searches, beatings and even death at the hands of prison pigs. Our brothers and sisters under lock and key are organizing. They report of inhumane conditions and are ready to struggle against current manifestations of oppression, and many are willing to struggle against imperialism entirely. Our comrades under lock and key need your support. They will continue to organize with or without mass support from the outside, but you should work with MIM and RAIL to help hasten the death of this systematic oppression. Prisoners need more legal assistance from the outside and they need more organizers pounding the pavement to publicize their struggles. Prisoners also need more money and legwork to increase the Serve the People Books for Prisoners Program which fuels prisoners with historical and political information they use to organize further. MIM urges people on the outside to work with us to build support for prisoners' struggle against oppression. And we urge prisoners to build the prisoner anti-imperialist mass organization to study, to organize and to strengthen the struggle for prisoners in the context of anti-imperialist mobilization. * * * THE ISSUE OF DRUGS AND REVOLUTION by a Michigan prisoner Many revolutionaries, and those who believe they are fighting the existing system [think] that is not a harmful thing if one engages in the use of drugs, as long as they continue to fight and struggle against the U.$. and other governmental oppressions. This is not true. The fact is, drug or alcohol use hurts the struggle and places other comrades and cadre in jeopardy when you used drugs or alcohol or some other mind altering substance. As we all know (who are in the struggle) when you are in an altered state of mind you are possibly compromising the security of others who are in the trenches. Not only that, you are possibly placing yourself in danger because your judgment will not be sharp, nor will you be able to make clear and concise decisions at critical or non-critical times that may have a direct impact on various implementations. To fight for liberation, comrades must be conscious and disciplined and fully aware. This is a MUST. Does this mean that we will not deal with a comrade who is or has taken drugs or alcohol or some other mind altering substance? No. But what it does mean is that we (those who are serious about this struggle) attend to this fallen comrade and support them. Not by supplying their habit, not by ignoring the fact that they use, and surely not by kicking them away from us. We help them by and through proven purging methods and allowing them to do self criticism, as well as feel the revolutionaries' criticisms for their actions. Further, they are to be re-educated and placed on some form of regimen that will keep them focused with a designated comrade to be close by them until there is an assurance that the comrade does not return to the drug/alcohol, mind altering substance. In examining the seriousness of the problem and from personal knowledge, it is my feelings that we need (all revolutionary groups, movements and organizations) support groups for such comrades who may be using or or have used and have what is called an "addictive personality." We should not allow our comrades to be seeking such support from non revolutionary/political entities such as NA or AA, because of the nature in which they come from. They come from a concept based more on Christian principles and not that of revolutionary principles. Comrades in revolutionary struggle and with a particular movement and/or organization should have (if they don't already) some form of support group that deals specifically with drug, alcohol, or other substance dependency so that we can get our brothas and sistahs back on track. Now there are some comrades who would love to point fingers and make the chemically dependent comrade feel less than they already feel, but this should not be the line in which we go. Our aim is not to alienate a fallen comrade and yes, any comrade that has gotten caught up on some chemical substance to function has "fallen" and it is up to us to help pick them up, if we are true about being brothas and sistahs to one another, or for the people. The issue of drug, alcohol or other chemical or mind altering substances should be apart of all our zines. We should have regular classes for those who don't use as well, so that we can be on the guard for the pitfalls that causes a comrade to succumb to using in the first place. Often times, it is our best comrades and cadre who fall victim. So, I would urge that we look at this in the proper light and begin the educating process. IF we can educate and politically re-educate on various political/ideological concepts and positions then surely we have the time to do the same about drugs and alcohol use. That is the only way we can ensure that we have a strong movement and that all our comrades are safe. And, i also want to stress that we (revolutionaries) need to do more in the area of teaching our children and young people about drugs when we speak to them. i believe that we should even include a few minutes on this subject whenever we have any rally or debate session, or teach-ins, or such function where we are working to build and develop public opinion about the use of drugs and alcohol. We ought to give much study to this and make the people aware that the drugs they use are being allowed in by this government for a reason. That they manufacture alcohol for a reason and those reasons are not for the good of the people, but to dull the people's senses to what is happening around them, whereby making them indifferent to many laws and politics aimed against them. MIM is working in this direction. To educate and give political support to the fallen comrade who may have or is using drugs and/or alcohol. MIM is taking a stand in this vital area and working to build a true vanguard Party. But MIM needs your help. MIM needs the help of the people by their donations which is used to help further some of these things. Also, MIM needs people willing to get truthfully involved in the area of exposing the bourgeoisie. Therefore, i urge and encourage you to come to MIM. Join them and help in this momentous struggle. For this struggle truly is for the benefit of us all. MIM responds: This comrade is correct in that MIM works with individuals who are physically addicted to alcohol and/or drugs. The reason that we help to provide options for productive, sober and revolutionary lives is both so that we build a stronger movement and so that we do not loose individuals who are willing to organize against imperialism. MIM cannot work with individual comrades like a therapist does. In other words, we will not sit down and talk with comrades for hours about what there personal relationships are like. MIM also does not work like AA or NA where we have endless meetings where people do nothing that is related to the masses, but sit and talk about the things in life that bother them. And we don't tell people that they have a higher power that they are supposed to give up control to. We work with revolutionaries with substance dependence problems much like the Chinese did, on a smaller scale. We help comrades take responsibility for their situation, when appropriate and possible, we help comrades change the material conditions in their lives, and we provide meaningful ways for the comrades to spend their time. We do these things because we are developing revolutionaries, not because we are a bunch of altruistic liberals. We want men and wimmin to put their lives to use in the best, most revolutionary way as possible. We struggle with comrades to engage in responsible and genuine self-criticism and move forward in developing a practice which serves the people. We organize revolutionaries to build and support the Party and the Party-led United Front against imperialism. It is when this mobilization topples imperialism that the people will once again be able to address and eradicate addictions (among many other evil products of oppression). The example of the Chinese people led by Mao and the Communist Party must be studied in this stage of struggle. Individual revolutionaries and small groups of revolutionaries who are addicts can change the current conditions enough to lift the obstacles enough to build revolution. MIM does not believe that there is an "addictive personality" as AA and shrinks like to push. Personalities are socialized and that is not what they mean by this term. We also disagree that support groups per se are what comrades working with MIM need. They need revolutionary groups, study groups and organizing groups. These groups address out of necessity problems of comrades, but they are not directed to only be talking at a very individualistic level about the horror stories in the individuals' lives. They are directed at organizing against imperialism. Like stated, this can include addressing the problems of individuals. But MIM is not going to start 'support groups' because we have no interest in helping people adjust to oppression and this gross parasitic society. We work to abolish oppression. This is why we print the letter in MIM Notes. There are comrades who have worked with MIM, some successfully, others not successfully, to stop using drugs or alcohol. These comrades wanted to stop because MIM helped them to realize that the use only inhibited revolutionary organizing. And MIM decides to work with individuals on problems like this when the individual is willing to genuinely address the problem in a revolutionary way. Now, we are welcoming any comrades who have also been battling drug and alcohol addiction in the same manner, to write. We welcome you to work with other comrades to engage in criticism and self- criticism and to study and practice the universal lessons from Marx, Lenin and Mao which will help to end drug/alcohol dependence. There are specific readings which MIM recommends on the topic and specific assignments which comrades willing to genuinely engage in this struggle will get. We would like comrades who want to work on this to help contribute to a section in MIM Theory 16 on drug and alcohol dependence. This will be for the purpose of leading others in the future to stop using and start organizing. Involved in the process is some research, writing and self-critical analysis. * * * CALIFORNIA "THREE-STRIKES" DEFENDANT ELECTROCUTED FOR SPEAKING OUT OF TURN Long Beach Municipal Judge Joan Comparet-Cassini recently administered a 50,000-volt shock to defendant Ronnie Hawkins for speaking out of turn. Hawkins was wearing a stun belt allegedly reserved for use in case of violent attacks or escape attempts. When Hawkins, who was representing himself, did not comply with Comparet-Cassini's request to be quiet, the judge ordered that he be shocked. Many observers expressed outrage at the Judge's decision to use the belt on Hawkins, who was "not using profanities or acting aggressively." "'It was horrible, horrible,' said Deputy Public Defender Matthew Huey... 'It would be the equivalent of saying he's talking too much and walking up and hitting him with a baton.'" MIM reminds this public defender and our liberal friends in the legal profession that this is exactly how the injustice system treats many suspects, defendants and prisoners. The striking thing about this case is not that pigs will readily use corporal punishment on criminal defendants, but that they will use it to silence a defense lawyer. The use of physical force to silence a criminal defense proves that the so-called right to legal representation is empty. The stun belt delivers the 50,000-volt shock just above the left kidney. British doctors determined that the stun belt presents a health risk to people with heart ailments. The bourgeois human rights group Amnesty International has waged a two-year campaign against the belt. The dispute between Comparet-Cassini and Hawkins began when the judge told Hawkins that he could not appeal to the jurors sympathy by telling them he was HIV positive or facing his "third strike." Hawkins was on trial for petty theft ($265 worth of aspirin), but because of California's "three strikes" law, he could be sentenced 25 years to life. California law dictates that juries not be told that defendants are facing their third strike. This makes the courts' own principle of "trial by a jury of one's peers" meaningless. If one's peers (assuming the jury really represents one's peers, which is often not the case) do not feel that petty theft is worth a sentence of 25 years to life, they are not allowed to say so under the current system. The use of a stun belt against a defendant to keep him from talking "out of turn" is a graphic example of how the Amerikan injustice system silences defendants and prisoners. Amerika's practice of silencing the supposedly innocent [till proven guilty] is not new. In revolutionary history this century, Black Panther Party leader Bobby Seale was bound and gagged for the crime against imperialism of trying to speak in his own behalf during a trumped up conspiracy trial. Silencing criminal defendants in court lends proof to MIM's argument that the criminal injustice system is a political system in which state institutions are used to oppressed the colonized groups within u.$. borders. Notes: The LA Times, 9 July 98, 15 July 98. * * * FOOTBALL PLAYERS PAID IN PARASITISM The baseball players' strike revealed the disgraceful state of "Marxism" today when almost all organizations calling themselves "Marxist" sided with the baseball players against the owners as if baseball players were "better-paid proletarians" instead of the bourgeoisie. 1997 salaries released for football players confirm again that professional entertainers are often bourgeoisie. The average salary on the most poorly paid team-Miami-was $521,846 in 1997. 19% of all football players make over $1 million a year. 100 years after Karl Marx wrote on the labor theory of value, the victory of LaSalle is almost complete amongst those claiming to be "Marxist." Marx's critics ‹ such as LaSalle ‹ claimed that political economy was a matter of simply making profit and fairness. In contrast, Marx focused attention on the flow of labor. When anyone receives half a million dollars a year, s/he may be receiving the wages form, but the net flow of labor is not proletarian. Such a persyn is quite clearly receiving the means of production in their pay. Apologists for the economic struggle of this bourgeoisie against the Third World proletariat argue that such athletes only make such money a few years. Yet, this is also the case with any bourgeoisie, that it generally faces ruin at any time. There is nothing new about that to the bourgeoisie under capitalism. Moreover, professional athletes make enough money in their productive years to retire. In two years, the Miami players make more money than proletarians ever make in a lifetime. Even the relatively poorly paid Miami players can retire comfortably. Of course many athletes go into other businesses upon retirement as capitalists. They accumulated the means of production and then converted them into other areas of business where they became the owners, thus clearly revealing their class status except to the bought off petty- bourgeoisie seeking to represent them under the guise of "Marxism." Note: USA Today 24 June 1998, p. 9c. * * * PAN-EUROPEAN IMPERIALISM MOVES FORWARD After much suspense, German imperialists allowed 10 countries into the monetary conversion to the "euro." Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain will all use the same currency as the transition unfolds in the next four years. The Europeans also agreed that a French citizen would be the central banker after a four year-term by the Germans. Nonetheless, the U.$. bourgeoisie speculated on "'a considerable amount of tension'" in the words of one economist. The underlying question is whether these European imperialists can put aside their rivalries in order to position themselves better again U.$. and Japanese imperialism. Note: USA Today 4 May 98, p. B1. * * * BLACK NATION PARASITISM CONSOLIDATING By 1999, Black buying power within the U$A is expected to have increased 73 percent since 1990. Take-home pay will total $532.7 billion, which is more than all but a few imperialist economies and China. The Black nation increase outpaces the rest of the U$A, which on the whole is averaging a 57 percent increase in the same time period. As MIM pointed out in its 1998 Congress resolution on the subject, the Black nation on the whole benefits from a parasitic flow of labor from the Third World. It's distinction with imperialist nations is the stunted nature of its bourgeoisie. Genocide and slavery prevented a Black bourgeoisie from building itself up to the scale of imperialist ruling classes. As a result, the Black nation is parasitic, but it holds only 20 cents on the dollar in household wealth when compared with the Euro-Amerikan household in the U$A. As trends continue, these asset differences may disappear or Black imperialists may arise that at least rival those of the 19th century Euro-Amerikans. Note: USA Today 30 July 1998, p. B1. * * * MASSACHUSETTS LEGISLATURE VOTES TO REVOKE PRISONER VOTE On July 29 the Massachusetts state legislature passed an amendment to the Massachusetts Constitution to take away prisoners' right to vote. Both the state House and Senate overwhelmingly approved the measure, a big step towards taking away prisoners' right to cast absentee ballots from behind bars. To finalize the decision the Legislature has to vote in favor of the amendment again next year and then it would be put on the ballot. Right now Massachusetts is among only 4 states which allow prisoners to vote. The other three are Utah, Maine and Vermont. This election year, prisoners' right to vote is a big issue in the rush to repeal any basic rights that prisoners might enjoy. But this is more than just a tough-on-crime stance in an election year, this is also an attempt to repress political organizing within the Massachusetts prisons. Last year the government discovered that Norfolk County prisoners had formed a political action committee to organize inmates to vote and to lobby against the transfer of prisoners from Massachusetts to Texas and for other reforms in the prison system. This PAC, the first in the country within a prison, was seen as a huge threat and the Governor of Massachusetts quickly issued an executive order banning inmate fund-raising and vowed to take away prisoners' voting rights. With the prison population skyrocketing across the country, allowing prisoners to vote is seen as a danger similar to giving Blacks the vote after the Civil War. Should prisoners exercise their voting rights as a block, the 24,000 inmates in Massachusetts state and county facilities could wield significant influence. Prisoners, who face brutal repression at the hands of a government supposedly working in the interests of the people, quickly come to see the reality of U.$. "democracy" for the farce that it is. And political organizing by those who the criminal injustice system was designed to control is the last thing the government wants. This move by the Massachusetts government helps demonstrate why MIM says that voting will not change the imperialist system. The group with the most potentially radical agenda, those most severely repressed by the system, have their vote taken away as soon as they show signs of using it. In fact, in 13 states prisoners never regain their right to vote, even after being released. Prisons in the united snakes are a tool of social control, filled with youth and oppressed nationalities who are victims of the war on crime which is perpetuated by a government that murders, rapes and steals in its colonies throughout the world as well as within its own illegitimate borders. Considering that the number of people imprisoned in the united snakes has soared to over 1.7 million, and that this population is so disproportionately Black and Latino, this amounts to denying a significant segment of society the right to vote. This is a crime the united snakes would decry as undemocratic in any other country. Many in Massachusetts and around the country take this injustice as a call to organize the oppressed to vote in greater numbers or to fight for the right of prisoners to vote. But the reality of this two party system is that only the imperialists have the resources and power to run for office and win. In the belly of the beast within U.$. borders, state and federal election campaigns can not be effectively participated in by anti-imperialists. Instead we have to content ourselves with using the undemocratic machinations of the government to expose its hypocrisy. MIM does not organize prisoners or outside supporters to organize for the right for prisoners in the united snakes to vote as we see this as not a winnable battle at this time. In addition to voting being a sham in Amerikkka, support to repeal such existing legislation is sparse. But we do expose the denial to vote in the context of exposing the undemocratic nature of Amerikkka. Stopping the legislation to revoke the right to vote in Mass is a possibly winnable battle. And the reason that it would be good for prisoners to fight such a battle is to retain some pittance of say in legislation which will further the repression of prisoners in that state. And we call on all who are outraged by this imperialist system to join in the fight to overthrow it in the way demonstrated most effective throughout modern history: revolutionary struggle led by a Marxist-Leninist-Maoist party. Notes: Boston Globe, July 30, 1998, p. B1. * * * BULWORTH UPHOLD LIBERALS' AMERIKKKAN FAIRYTALE Although the money could have better been spent on toilet paper or q-tips, MIM is glad to have only paid $1.50 to see this 'whiteboy-saves-the-day-and-then-gets-martyred' flick. The story starts with a fictitious Senator Bulworth only a few days before the California primary. Bulworth has a nervous breakdown brought on by the repetitious watching of his own red-white-blue commercials. Bulworth decides to hire an assassin to kill ‹ himself. Bulworth then makes a side deal with an insurance company to benefit his family after his death. Sen. Bulworth then proceeds with his last few campaign stops before the primary. But Bulworth knows his days are numbered and he has a new agenda, one that does not involve covering up for the system. He stops for a speech in an all Black church in Los Angeles. When faced with a sharp question, he answers honestly that the California politicians did nothing to help develop the local economy after the Los Angeles rebellion because it a matter of money and not in the interests of the politicians or anyone outside of the area of the rebellion. As his staff freaks about the honesty, Bulworth continues to campaign talking about the rich getting richer off of the current system. Bulworth then goes to Beverly Hills for a party with rich donors. He offends them all with anti- Semetic remarks. Bulworth then propositions some young Black wimmin ‹ one of which, Nina, is part of the assassination plot. He miraculously fits in well in a Black club that he attends with the wimmin. At the club, he tried to impress Nina and he's exposed as a gross old man as well as a bad dancer. The two eventually become close. And two inches from one another's face, Nina starts to schpeal a Black nationalist line about the reality of Blacks in Amerikkka. She states that she was fed by the Black Panther's Breakfast for Children's Program and that her mother was a Panther. That scene mixes sex and politics in a very disgusting way and shows that Bulworth saw Nina as a Black sex object and not as a political person. Bulworth runs into some Black youth in South Central who sell drugs. He's told what a white pimp he really his and told that drug dealing is the best way to utilize the youth in the ghetto since there is nothing else available. On the political trail, the viewer is supposed to believe that Bulworth's new political stance is making him even more popular. He wears stereotypical clothes of Black youth to a nationally televised interview. Bulworth then starts a hideous white man rap about the ills of Amerikkkan society. He repeats what he learned from the Black youth and makes the point that there are no options open to Blacks in Amerikkka. He then says something that all Liberals say that exposes their real interests. He says that the white people in Amerikkka, the average Joe are getting kicked around by the corporate capitalists as well. He repeats the false statistic that the majority of wealth in Amerikkka is in the hands of only a few. But of course this guy does not develop an analysis or understanding of the material conditions of exploited Third World workers and peasants compared to the very non-exploited labor aristocrats in the First World. Liberals often give token acknowledgment to the oppression of the oppressed nationals, but if you uncover their dressing, they are primarily talking about getting more pie for the majority of Amerikkkans‹who are white nation members. Bulworth also gives lip service to socialism in the movie. But you gotta look at what he is doing. He is on a one man binge of telling the truth that white Amerikkka already knows ‹ why? because he knows that he is going to die. At least the Bulworth character is good on the question of elections ‹ he states that there is no difference between Democrats and Republicans and there is no way that anyone else could be elected. Unfortunately, typical fairy tale Liberalism plays out in the film when Bulworth actually wins the primary. After falling for Nina and generally seeing that things are improving (for himself), Bulworth attempts to call off the assassination of himself. The drama is supposed to get tense when the news is not able to be communicated to the assassin, Nina. But Bulworth still does not know that it is Nina. People like him can choose life or death and that's what is so gross about him only giving lip service to the fact that young oppressed nationals are being killed and murdered in Amerikkka's genocidal war. Eventually all is well. Californians have shown that they give a shit about Blacks in Amerikkka and have voted for the seemingly bold Bulworth. The Black youth on the streets are inspired to start non-drug enterprises. Nina reveals that she is the assassin and will not carry it out. Bulworth and Nina kiss. The world is good. Then the insurance industry representative shoots and apparently kills Bulworth. Black Nation continues the struggle. The question to ask is whether or not this movie helps to politicize or organize people. Does it help to advance the struggle against oppression further? MIM answers no. MIM, RAIL and Amerikkka's prisoners in the movement against imperialism do much more with far less money than this movie did. In fact, the movie effectively helps white Amerikkka to stay put and shows oppressed nationals that the end to oppression necessitates whitey on a horse. The movie shows that you have to be crazy, suicidal and be in the process of a nervous breakdown to start agitating against the system. The movie tokenly reveals some ills of Amerikkka, but also shows that the oppressed can do nothing about it. The movie also relegates radical Black wimmin to serve the individual needs of whitey. And worst, the movie takes all the information of reality and waters down the fight against national oppression by telling white people that they are oppressed as well. The best thing within the flick was the music by various anti-Amerikkkan rap artists like Public Enemy. The only real good thing about the movie is that it is yet another example to revolutionaries of the decadent, apathetic and parasitic culture which we live in. This disgusting anti-people society is a daily reminder to revolutionaries to take seriously the battle to end oppression. We must boldly agitate and organize toward an anti-imperialist revolution using the universal examples of Marx, Lenin and Mao. Only when the people otherthrow this oppressive system can we truly control the production of art which works to make society better. * * * SAVING PRIVATE RYAN Almost all of the bourgeois spin put on Steven Spielberg's latest movie ‹ which is set in WWII ‹ has been to the effect that "Saving Private Ryan" is the most realistic, least sentimental Amerikan movie about WWII yet. While that may arguably be true (we'll leave it to bourgeois military historians to quibble about WWII-era small arms tactics) in today's context, where the Amerikan military has launched a succession of wars of aggression and is gearing up for more, "Saving Private Ryan" objectively contributes to an atmosphere of reactionary militarism. Spielberg's reactionary film concentrates on a small group of Amerikan soldiers, with special emphasis on one Captain. As a result, there is a strong tendency towards petty- bourgeois pacifism in the film, that is, pacifism of the "War is hell, everybody loses, there are no winners" variety. Indeed, war is a losing proposition from the perspective of an individual infantryman ‹ but that is not the correct perspective to analyze war from. War is the highest form of class struggle, and as such, is about the interests of massive groups of people - e.g. classes and nations. So the question we should ask when considering whether it is correct for Private Jones to fight or not fight in a given war is not, "What will Private Jones get out of fighting?" or even "What will privates Dick and Harry get if Private Jones fights?" but "Which class will Private Jones aid if he fights or does not fight?" Spielberg never really asks the latter question ‹ and to the extent that he does, he gets off easy, because the Amerikans were actually on the right side in WWII (however self- serving their motives). "Saving Private Ryan" does not ask the harder, deeper questions about the class nature of war, and basically repeats romantic, cookie-cutter ideas about Amerika's involvement in the war against fascism. Because of this ‹ whether Spielberg intended to de-glamorize WWII or not ‹ "Saving Private Ryan" still glamorizes and white- washes the reactionary Amerikan military. War is an evil that all communists strive to eliminate. However, in order to eliminate it we must understand it, and that means recognizing that as long as imperialism exists, war is inevitable. The imperialists will not throw away their atom bombs and Abrams tanks and Apache helicopters just because war makes life hell. In the long run, anti- imperialists will have to wrest the imperialists' weapons from them through armed struggle. As Mao wrote, "We are advocates of the abolition of war, we do not want war; but war can only be abolished through war, and in order to get rid of the gun we must pick up the gun." Note: Mao Zedong, "Problems of War and Strategy," Selected Works, vol. II. * * * UNDER LOCK AND KEY: NEWS FROM PRISONS AND PRISONERS Pigs Provoke Prisoner Suicide Š Inside the paper [MIM Notes] you ask for prisoners to write articles telling about experiences inside the belly of the beast. I'm not very good at expressing my thoughts but i witnessed something last night that i feel the whole world should know about because it was indeed a tragedy at best. While in the (RHU) Restricted Housing Unit in Smithfield, the pigs relentlessly provoked a fellow inmate to slit his wrists in the attempt to escape the pain and misery forced on him by Uncle Sam's devilish pigs! They fabricated misconduct reports and he had a year in the hole. It's bad enough to have a life sentence, but it's hard to maintain when you see no end to the hole either. The man was stressed and the pigs sensed this vulnerability. Instead of trying to prevent a tragedy, they caused one. They knew this man had a history of psychological problems, had previously tried to take his life in the same RHU, and that he was not stable to deal with this hell. They should have put him where he could have gotten some help. The brother repeatedly told the devils that he could not take it any more, but his pleas went unanswered. The night he slit his wrists, he wrote on the cell walls in blood and feces, "If I die tonight it's because theyŠ" (and he put each officer's name who participated) "Škeep fucking with me!" I don't know if the brother pulled through. He deserves to anywayŠ. To all Comrades, ‹ A Pennsylvania Prisoner, May 1998 Murder in a Supermax Warm Greetings Comrades, ŠEven though the incident I write about is months old I will not stop my pursuit to seek justice for the untimely death and murder of Lawrence Williams. Mr. Williams was murdered at the hand of Captain Mangiafico due to racial motivations. Mr. Williams was summarily executed because he had the gall to disrespect a white racist nurse named Debbie Kindness. (Her name belies her mentality.) I have run into a brick wall in my attempt to have Mr. Williams' death investigated. The DOC has stonewalled from the beginning, claiming to be investigating while only hoping that the passage of time will soon smooth things over. I write this in hopes of opening the door to have someone who knows Mr. Williams' family to get in contact with me, via MIM. The state is attempting to whitewash this young man's death by trying to make it appear that he died of natural causes. But that is a Lie. While Mr. Williams was having a severe asthma attack, Captain Mangiafico forced him to be cuffed behind his back and walk to the medical screening room. This was done in total disregard to the weeping cries and pleas of this young man that he could not breathe or walk. Mr. Williams collapsed and died on the spot. Mr. Williams was having an escalating difficult time breathing due to the short cuts taken by the state when they built Northern. They have no filters in the ventilation system and dust is overwhelming in our cells. The DOC immediately started the cover-up of Mr. Williams' death only moments after he died, by sending Officer Prey and Officer Dipace to his cell. They removed the records of the lawsuit Williams was filing about the inadequate medical treatment he was receiving. Help stop the cover up! Mr. Williams' family should be made aware of the real circumstances surrounding his death. In closing, remember that the people united will never be defeated. ‹ A Connecticut Prisoner, 27 June 1998 Guards Wage Psychological Warfare Last night, sadly, another disenfranchised, geographically isolated (by design), Michigan Prisoner (POW) became reactionary in the worst possible way. Unfortunately, he allowed the cyst'm's [system's] psychological war mechanism to break his will to live and fight. Like so many others, he allowed the nation-state to crush all of his dreams, aspirations and hopes for a life of freedom and self- determination. Under a constant barrage of pig tauntings, fraudulently written misconduct reports, loss of privileges, and daily verbal abuse he gave up and attempted suicide by hanging himself. Earlier today, another of Marquette Branch Prison's (MBP) dehumanized POW's went to great pains to cut and mutilate his body. He stood in front of his cage bars screaming incoherently at our captors. Of course, the black and gray uniformed gestapo pigs tormented and laughed at the obvious mental anguish this human being was suffering. Totally oblivious to any measure of compassion towards the mentally ill, with racist attitudes, the pigs and medical personnel were ever condescending in masochist eroticism from the onset, at the prospect of yet another successful execution of a man of color. And why not? Where else can you subtly murder human beings in droves with complete legal immunity? Earn $45,000 a year, not including other benefits, and have USDA (United States Death Agency) approval while pretending to be a civilized, decent, patriotic citizen under Ole' Glory? ...Where does this leave POW's and the mentally ill among us? In a situation where we either wake up, become politicized and active. Or we can sit back glued to the stupid box (television), chase another ball (basketball, baseball, etc), close our eyes, ears to the injustice to the slow murder of a class, our people ‹ ourselves! and waste away in bondage... "Take courage in hand. Get up off you knees and join the Revolutionary struggle. Find your humanity in the Revolutionary struggle..." ‹Comrade George Jackson Yours in struggle, ‹ A Michigan Prisoner, 15 May 1998 P.S. Write to MIM Notes whenever someone near your cage attempts suicide or engages in self-mutilation. Provide the record, so that they can share it with the people. Daily Beatings in Texas Dear Comrades, I was just brutally beaten by KKK Pigs on Michael Unit. Such Beatings go on everyday. I'll tell everybody about what's going on. Thanks for the MIM Notes. It keeps me in touch with what's happening. Here it just keeps getting worse and worse. In the Struggle, ‹ A Texas Prisoner Prisoner Fights Chemical Agents Dear MIM Notes, I just wanted to say thanks for the article about the Chemical Agents. I too am a prisoner in Texas who has been subjected to this chemical and I am here to tell you that it's a Bad Mother fuck. I have lawsuit in District Court for excessive use of this Chemical, and that article really helped me out. Just one more punch to use against this chemical. Also I wanted to say, I thought you had stopped printing [MIM Notes], because it has been about six -seven months since I received my paper. But yesterday I got an issue that was postmarked December 5, 1997. Here it is six months later and I am just now getting it. I guess it has been sitting on the Warden's desk so he can get his eye-full of the oppressed nations fighting back. Thanks for everything. Always real, ‹ A Texas Prisoner, 29 May 1998 Assaulted for Speaking Spanish I am a North Carolina Prisoner. And as a member of the Latin Kings, I would like to say thanks a lot for keeping in touch with usŠ. I am writing to let you know a little bit about what's going down here in Raleigh Central Prison. Well, this is not the first time I've been assaulted by the pigs. Now I know this is happening due to my nationality. Just the other day, we were hanging around the basketball court. The pigs told us not to speak Spanish or they were going to write us up for speaking a language they couldn't understand. So I just said to them that I speak my language and will always speak it to prove to American people that we haven't forgotten where we came from. Also to prove that we were not immigrants of the continent because we didn't come to America, America came to us! So check this out! Then these pigs assaulted me for no apparent reason. No they put us in separate units and want us to deny one another. These pigs are trying to break the bond of brotherhood ‹ which will not work. The reality is, putting us all together will only make us strongerŠ. Sincerely, ‹ A North Carolina Prisoner, 8 July 1998 Denied Parole for Winning Lawsuit ŠIn retaliation for a lawsuit, I was denied parole. A light fell on me and fucked me up. I sued the pigs and won. I have served 13 years of my 20-year sentence. I've been down since the age of 15 and they want more. I was about to leave when the pigs put a knife in my cell. The fuckers set me up, but my cell partner took the beef. But when we went for a hearing they didn't listen. The hearing was rigged. They wanted me, even after my cell partner took the beef. I don't understand that. So the pigs fucked up by giving me some papers which will show their guilt. They tried to make a deal to get the papers back. Fuck them. I tried to get help but they pointed me to their people. I ain't having no shit like that.Š ‹- A Maryland Prisoner, 10 May 1998 Sensory Deprivation in California ŠHere at X Prison security housing unit, the technological advancements celebrated by this oppressive nation (amerika) can best be seen as sophisticated instruments used to mentally and psychologically torture these imprisoned citizens of humanity. Where the institutional apparatus was once utilized to contain and subdue oppressed nations by physical force, technological advancements have now allowed for more subtle forms of abuse that achieve lethal consequences, affecting a slow death. It is called sensory deprivation. ŠThe courts have recently addressed the health care at X prison, and though minor changes have taken place, it is still inadequate. For example, AIDS/HIV, hepatitis, and other communicable diseases are not effectively screened and prisoners are housed in exposed settings untreated. If you have an addiction to drugs, there is no medical treatment available, unless you show signs of illness. ŠThere are no institutional programs for educating prisoners. The prison law library is a joke, with access limited to once a month, for two hours (physical) and material that is outdated. Further restrictions are occurring. In Struggle, ‹ A California Prisoner, 2 June 98 Update on California Conditions Greetings, I'm writing in response to your May 16th letter in which you requested ideas and insight on conditions here in prison so that a petition drive of some sort could be launched. Sounds good to me. So, with this in mind I went ahead and out-lined (17) issues of our conditions here in prison which have an adverse effect on our lives but also can easily be met if the system chooses and of course they haven't. Most of these issues I have tried to address via inmate appeal with no results but I have my arguments and their responses if you feel they will be helpful. I haven't received your publication in some time, even though I doubt they will let it in but if you can still keep me on your mailing list. I've some more stuff on this, which I'll forward next time, so this will be all for now. Did you ever receive the legal work I sent on censorship? The suit I filed. Let me know when you can. In Struggle, ‹ A California Prisoner, 25 May 98 Demands on the California Criminal Injustice System 1. Education Services: There are no educational services available to prisoners. If prisoners are one day to return to society or even to the general population of a prison, then it would stand to reason that an education will greatly enhance his success. A prisoner's successful return to society or back into the general population of a prison should be an objective of c.d.c. but at present this is not the case. Insofar as educational or vocational training is concernedŠ 2. Yearly Exams: Yearly exams in the form of full physicals must be given to every prisoner who has been here for over three consecutive years. The basis for this is that the isolated and sterile environment endured by prisoners in here has yet to be fully studied, as to its impact. Therefore, a constant monitoring of prisoners' health is a necessityŠ 3. Confidential Exams: At present medical examinations are given in full view of others which discourages prisoners from seeking the medical attention they may need. A cloth partition can easily be installed to at least give the semblance of privacy. 4. End Medical and Dental Co-Payments: Adequate health care is a right and not a privilege. Health care is also not only for those who can afford it. The current system of co- payment discourages prisoners from seeking the health care they may need now, which in turn may prevent more serious and costly health problems down the road. Also, prisoners here are not allowed to work, therefore, do not receive a Prisoner's Pay Number and so one must rely on family and friends for anything more than state issue which does not include shampoo, deodorant, toothpaste, etc. 5. Good Behavior Credit: Currently those prisoners in here who are serving indeterminate terms are penalized for their disruptive behavior but are not given credit for their good behavior and clean time. Good behavior and clean time should count as a mitigating factor when determining their classification and privilege status as their disruptive behavior is used as an aggravating factor. 6. Monthly Phone Calls: Prisoners here are not allowed any personal phone calls. The prison is located at the northern point of California, making visiting difficult and costly, especially for children and the elderly. Family and community ties are essential to a prisoner's success while incarcerated and vital to a prisoner's eventual release back into society. 7. Yearly Photos: Prisoners here are not allowed to take or have taken any pictures of themselves which they can send to family and friends. Again, due to the location of the prison, most prisoners do not receive visits and some go years without their family or friends ever seeing what they look like, or ever hearing their voices, let alone being face to face on a rare visit. 8. Appliances: At present, prisoners here most purchase their appliances solely from one outside source which eliminates all competition and leaves prisoners at the mercy of their pricing. Furthermore, prisoners here cannot leave their appliances upon parole or transfer to a person of his choice, as allowed other prisoners throughout the system. Thereby forcing each new prisoner in here to purchase a new appliance from the only outside source and at their pricesŠ 9. Yard Equipment: Prisoners are kept in their cells 22.5 hours a day with only 1.5 hours of "outdoor" exercise. This so-called "outdoor" exercise involves going out alone or with your cellie to a bare concrete enclosure which consists of four 30-feet walls, a patch of sky and a storm drain. There is no equipment of any sort (none/zero) available to prisoners to exercise with in order to maintain proper health which is vital in combating the rigors and proven psychological effects of the prisonŠ 10. Greater Variety For Annual Packages: At present, prisoners are only allowed one package per year from home. This package is limited to 30 lbs. and items approved are severely limited. Moreover, prisoners are restricted from any attempt to supplement their health or dietary needs while in prison. Because they are not allowed to receive any vitamins or health food products in their annual packageŠ 11. Greater and Healthier Variety At The Prison Canteen: Items available at the prison canteen for prisoners are severely limited. There are no healthy food products available. Thereby restricting prisoners from supplementing their health or dietary needs. 12. Increase Spending At Canteen: Prisoners are currently allowed to spend $35 per month at the prison canteen. The $35 spending limit has been in effect for over ten years. Even though prices at the canteen have risen yearlyŠ 13. Voice in Inmate Welfare Fund: Even though prisoners must pay into the inmate welfare fund, when using the prison canteen and when ordering their appliances, but they have no say in how the fund is spent. Prisoners do not receive their fair share of the spending on programs here primarily because there are no recreational or educational programs. 14. Toothbrushes: Prisoners are not allowed to purchase their own toothbrushes at the prison canteen nor are they allowed to receive one in their annual packages. Therefore, prisoners must rely solely on those toothbrushes issued by the prison which are inferior and wear out under normal use before the monthly exchange. Worn or frayed bristles are proven to be a cause for various gum disease. 15. Warm Clothes: Even though prisoners in here are allowed to buy thermals via special purchase not everyone can afford them and the state issued paper thin jumpsuits are inadequate for the concrete and cold of the prison. Therefore, state issued watch caps and sweatshirts are a necessity and those who can afford these items could purchase them via special purchase or at the canteen. 16. Improve Inmate Appeal: Currently the appeal system fails to adequately address and investigate our grievances. Rubber-stamped denials and uninvestigated claims are the routine which make any appeal meaninglessŠ 17. Legal Assistance: Prisoners are limited in seeking legal assistance to their own unit. They are also only allowed this assistance if they can find it. They are also limited to a (10) day period and during this period are allowed to pass a total of (12) handwritten pages (6 per week) and are not allowed to pass transcripts or court documentsŠ