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 173 NOVEMBER 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. MASSACHUSETTS OPENS NEW SUPERMAX PRISON TO INCREASE CONTROL 2. AGAINST OPPRESSIVE AMERIKAN PRISONS? DON'T VOTE! BUILD RAIL! BUILD MIM! 3. SOCIAL DEMOCRACY: IDEOLOGICAL AND POLITICAL PROP OF IMPERIALISM 4. LETTERS 5. FIGHT CONTINUED SETTLER NATION CAMPAIGN OF GENOCIDE! LUBICON CREE VICTORIES HIGHLIGHTED DURING IPD EVENT 6. INTER-IMPERIALIST RIVALRY HITS THE FRONT PAGES 7. STARR REPORT ON IMPEACHMENT IS PORNOGRAPHY 8. OPPOSE IMPERIALISM AND BUILD SOCIALIST REVOLUTION! 9. CANDIDATES FOR MASSACHUSETTS GOVERNOR PROMOTE FAILED STRATEGIES ON CRIME 10. FBI WATCH: PIGS GET GREATER SPYING POWER FBI LAUNCHES NETWORK OF STATE DNA PRISONER DATABASES FBI SPIED ON MARX 11. REPRESSION OF MASSES IN INDIA'S JAILS 12. UNDER LOCK & 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 * * * ADVANCE THE STRUGGLE AGAINST THE AMERIKKKAN LOCKDOWN! MASSACHUSETTS OPENS NEW SUPERMAX PRISON TO INCREASE CONTROL On September 30th the state of Massachusetts opened a new 1000 bed supermax prison in Shirley. This prison, featuring state-of-the-art technology to torture and isolate inmates, was filled within days of opening through the transfer of prisoners from lower security facilities around the state. This new prison is part of the trend of overclassifying prisoners. Inmates who are in low and medium security prisons are being moved into maximum security cells even though they have done nothing to deserve this security increase. This is important to the prisoners because maximum security prisons involve at least 22 hour solitary confinement and many other restrictions on the prisoners. These cells are filled with the most politically active prisoners: those who protest against the constant and brutal repression behind the bars. In the other maximum security facility in Massachusetts at Walpole over 90% of the prisoners are Puerto Rican. This kind of systematic lock up is tremendously disproportionate to the number of Puerto Ricans in the prisons not to mention the general population in the state. One of the reasons for these outrageous numbers is the policy of locking up suspected gang members. This status is decided by the guards who use criteria like who a prisoners is seen talking to and whether or not the prisoner has a tatoo. Currently the state of Massachusetts criminal injustice department claims to have 3082 extra prisoners for whom they do not have adequate facilities. The vast majority of these prisoners are in medium security prisons (over 75%) while only 9% are in maximum security.(1) But in spite of this the state has built a maximum security prison. Commissioner of incorrections Maloney says that many of these medium security prisoners should be reclassified because the guards are not safe.(1) But over the past year 34 prisoners were killed in Massachusetts prisons, many at the hands of guards, others while guards stood by and watched. Seven people hung themselves, a strong statement about the conditions in Massachusetts prisons. It is not the guards who are unsafe, it is the prisoners. And a number of these deaths took place in the maximum security prison at Walpole: clearly these prisons do nothing to protect the prisoners from the pigs. Three years ago 299 prisoners were shipped to Texas in the middle of the night in a huge publicity stunt to force through a bond bill to fund the building of this new prison and the expansion of other prisons in the state of Massachusetts, adding a total of 3000 new beds. These prisoners have suffered even worse treatment in Texas than in Massachusetts while they live without contact with family or friends. But none of these inmates are being returned to Massachusetts now that this new prison in Shirley is open.(2) This new 1000 bed prison will cost close to $1 billion after all the bonds are paid back. Even the state House admitted that this prison construction is a capacity driven business that will never solve the overcrowding problem. In a report reviewing the recent prison construction the House Post-Audit and Oversight Bureau wrote "Long-term solutions that reduce the numbers of inmates coming into the system must be developed'' citing studies showing that mandatory drug sentencing is one cause of the explosion in the prison population nationwide. At least 20 percent of the Massachusetts prison population is incarcerated for drug-related offenses.(2) One Massachusetts DOC official told the Boston Globe that the new prison will offer educational and vocational programs. These programs have been entirely cut off at the other maximum security prison at Walpole so this statement sounds like an attempt to sound good in the media since there is no good reason to offer these programs at one prison but not at others in the state. Even if such programs are offered at Shirley they will not change the nature of the supermax prison which is the ultimate tool of social control in a society which uses prisons to control oppressed nations, youth and anyone who speaks out against the dominant order of imperialism. In order to fund the expanding cost of housing prisoners in higher and higher security facilities many prisons in Massachusetts have recently begun charging inmates for the basics of living. The Plymouth County Correctional Facility is now charging all new prisons a $30 processing fee. It's estimated that the fee will generate 60-65 thousand dollars a year.(3) Norfolk County Sheriff has been charging prisoners a $30 fee for a year, generating $34,000 in revenue. The families of Bristol County inmates pay an extra toll for each collect call the inmates place. State inmates also pay an average of 15 percent more for toiletries and snacks.(3) This trend in Massachusetts is similar to what's going on in other states. In Florida inmates are paying for their meals. In Pennsylvania some are being forced to pay for their own room and board. In Texas and in Massachusetts prisoners are required to pay a fee every time they visit the infirmary.(3) In Massachusetts the prison population has skyrocketed from 7,500 in 1976 to over 24,000 in 1998. This reflects the trend throughout the united snakes. Meanwhile the crime rate has been totally unaffected. Prisons in this country are used to control and oppress segments of the population that the government sees as dangerous. The criminal injustice system is part of the united snakes' war on its internal colonies. This is not a war that will be won by the people if we sit by quietly or just beg the government for a few concessions. Only by tearing down the imperialist system which builds and uses the criminal injustice system can we win this war. Join MIM and RAIL in our fight against imperialism and its criminal injustice system. As we build a movement strong enough to wage the revolutionary battle we are engaged in many day to day battles within the system. We need help building our books for prisoners program, building our legal clinic, and building our education work and local campaigns on the outside. And behind the bars we need help building the prisoner anti-imperialist mass organization. Notes: 1. NPR, October 6, 1998. 2. Boston Globe, Sep. 30, 1998. P.B1. 3. Boston Globe, September 23, 1998. * * * AGAINST OPPRESSIVE AMERIKAN PRISONS? DON'T VOTE! BUILD RAIL! BUILD MIM! In recent months MIM and RAIL members have run into activists in California who are encouraging all people who oppose CA's repressive "Three Strikes" law to spend all of their time registering people to vote for the Democratic candidate for governor, Grey Davis. They argue that Davis has a softer position on Three Strikes and, because he is a Democrat, will be more open to the reform efforts of a Democratic state senator, John Vasconcellos. MIM consistently argues that the systems of imperialist national oppression and capitalist exploitation -- that is, the systems which create the need for oppressive institutions like the California Department of Corrections -- must be overthrown in order to change the Amerikan prison system. Because of this, MIM (and MIM- led groups like RAIL and the newly forming prisoners anti-imperialist masss organization) focus their work on building public opinion against the current prison system and building institutions of and for prisoners, such as the Free Books for Prisoners program or the prisoners' Self-help Legal Clinic. Pepsi or coke? Davis or Lundgren? Big Mac or whopper? Democrat Grey Davis supports Three Strikes, and milks that for all its worth while campaigning. He just supports a weaker version of the law, which would only count violent felonies as a third strike. (Currently, any third felony conviction carries mandatory hard-time sentence - which is why you hear stories of people getting life without parole for stealing a piece of pizza.) In fact, Davis is trying so hard to cloak himself with the reactionary "anti-crime," anti-prisoner mantle that Lundgren has to run ads saying that Davis is not really pro-Three Strikes. It is true that Vasconcellos recently helped to launch a new state investigation into brutality at Corcoran State Prison and is also pushing a bill that would study the impact of Three Strikes, as part of an effort to reform it. But the many government investigations into Corcoran have resulted in either nothing, or in individual scapegoating. In order to save face after the abuses at Corcoran became public, the Republican Lundgren recently announced the indictment of several prison guards. Any electoral strategy for prison reform will have to deal with the fact that the California Correctional Peace Officers Association is the second largest campaign contributor in California. The prison guards' union has been instrumental in stopping any investigation into systematic abuse in California prisons, and has also promoted the growth of California prisons -- and that union backs Davis in the election. One supporter of the voter drive said that if Davis is not elected, "we are dead here for 4 years." A RAIL activists countered that it will be the organized masses -- especially the organized prisoners -- who will change the prisons system. If Davis loses, the masses will still be here. And if Davis wins, it will take pressure from the masses to force him to stick to his word. Bashing commies and oppressed nations gets you votes A vocal supporter of Davis recently red- and brown- baited any Californian prison activists not working to elect the Democrat Grey Davis. This individual, who goes by the name "B. Cayenne Byrd" on-line and maintains a mailing list related to prisoner issues, recently wrote that "[w]e will lose all the real fighters to the Communists if you don't get in gear on contacting individuals and groups out there who are going the wrong direction. The Mexican Communists are in full swing and what we are living under right now is just as bad as Communism. That direction is not a solution." S/he also wrote, "The Mexican Revol. Communists have heavily infiltrated our efforts." Byrd argues that self- identified communists should check their ideology at the door when working on prisoner issues, because the mainstream press will red-bait the movement - of course s/he hself red-baits more than any of the mainstream media. As we explain in the article sidebar, reformist electoral struggles in the u.$. often include crowd pleasing anti-Communism and Amerikan chauvinism. Byrd certainly does not deviate from this rule. Ironically, Byrd, who prides hself on placing prisoners first (while licking Grey Davis' boots), will find hself alienated from many of the prisoners themselves because of this. As anybody reading Under Lock and Key will notice, many prisoners are communist sympathizers themselves, and many others respect the work communists undertake. Certainly Amerikan chauvinism does nothing to help the position of the majority of u.$. prisoners, who are from oppressed nations. And many prisoners are dissatisfied with electoral prison reform. As one ex-prisoner said at the recent Critical Resistance conference, "You ask any inmate at Angola prison about prison reform, and they'll say 'prison what?' It doesn't exist." Reform and revolution Single-issue work around prison brutality is important work. For people who are not convinced of the need for revolution, working to change repressive laws like the "Three Strikes" is good work. MIM and RAIL often work together with such groups. But we will not tolerate anti-communism and first world or settler nation chauvinism. The two ring electoral circus, grand juries, internal investigations, and congressional inquiries - the system's attempts to fix itself -- all fail to address the real problems. As long as the fundamental role of Amerikan prisons -- control of oppressed groups -- remains unchanged, there will be violence in Amerikan prisons. Prisons are on the front lines of Amerika's war against its internal colonies, where men and wimmin are confined against their will -- more and more often for crimes which their white counterparts get away with. Only by solving the broader problems of national oppression can the problem of brutality in Amerikan prisons be eradicated. * * * SOCIAL DEMOCRACY: IDEOLOGICAL AND POLITICAL PROP OF IMPERIALISM New readers of MIM Notes may wonder why MIM uses the term "social democracy" as an epithet. Here we sum up what social democracy is, and some historical examples of how social democracy has consistently sided with the imperialist against the oppressed peoples of the world. Social democrats (a.k.a. democratic socialists) generally want a more equitable distribution of wealth, access to health care, education, and so on. They try to make these changes via the ballot box - so, strategically, they are reformists. The more radical social democrats talk about placing private industries under state control and abolishing profit for production, but many social democrats believe that capitalism can be made "more just." As MIM discussed in MIM Theory 5, the social democrat's ballot-oriented strategy has a dismal track record, and even the most radical social democrats don't talk about abolishing classes or the state in the long run.(1) Social democracy is an ideology of the middle classes, e.g. the labor aristocracy and the petit-bourgeoisie. Relative to the capitalists, they are not doing so well. Relative to the proletariat, the lumpenproletariat, or peasantry (in semi-feudal societies), capitalism provides them some perks. So while they are discontent with the status quo, they are also not willing to risk their privileged social status or their higher standard of living to make a revolution and overturn capitalism. Because the size of these middle classes is so very small in the oppressed nations (for example, less than 10% of the population of the Philippines), the influence of social democracy has been small there. But here in the u.$., the middle classes are a majority, and the influence of social democracy has been large. Social democracy becomes particularly pernicious inside the u.$. when it only focuses on spreading the wealth around within u.$. borders. Because the majority of those working within u.$. borders do not produce surplus value, this amounts to spreading stolen booty around. This kind of social democracy keeps the exploitation of the oppressed nations in the Third World intact and gives more people a bigger stake in continuing the exploitation of the TW. (There are internationalist social democrats here in the u.$., people who consistently talk about spreading wealth around the entire world. MIM views them as potential allies. But the overwhelming majority of social democrats in the u.$. are Amerikan chauvinist.) So MIM strongly opposes social democracy not only because MIM upholds communism, but also because MIM knows that social democracy in imperialist countries is the surest path to abandoning the anti-imperialist struggle. This has been shown time and again in history. The social-democratic parties of the Second International endorsed WWI. Lenin developed his theory of the labor aristocracy to explain this treachery. The social democrats in Germany allied with proto- fascists in order to put down a proletarian uprising after WWI. They also complained that Germany was deprived of its colonies. In the 20s, socialists in France argued that colonies were a fact of economic life and socialists in Holland argued that there were limits on the right to self determination. The French Communist [sic] Party turned against the Vietnamese and Algerian peoples, among others. The French CP dropped its support for the independence of the colonies in order to gain more popularity in elections. In fact, the head of the French CP was a vice-premier in the government which launched full scale war against the Viet Minh in 1946. The Democratic Socialists of America under Michael Harrington supported the war in Viet Nam throughout the 60s. Wimpy bureaucrat capitalists like Jesse Jackson draw the support of social democrats - despite Jesse's support for the Gulf War and other Amerikan atrocities. The list could go on and on... (For starters, see HW Edwards, "Labor Aristocracy: Mass Base of Social Democracy," pp. 33-46 (2)) Notes: 1. MIM Theory 5, pp. 83-85. 2. Edward's book is available from MIM ($10). * * * LETTERS English-only schools = punishment for immigrants Dear MIM, I am writing to inform you that I have received the latest issues of MIM Notes and as always they were very informative. However, I would like to expound on the article on Bilingual Education crushed in California (Proposition 227). This forced language assimilation requires students to wait until they learn english before learning other subjects. If enacted however, it is doomed for failure and will hurt the ability of immigrant children to learn, isolate them, and punish the teachers who reach out to them. Researches of bilingual education indicate that when bilingual programs include small classes, qualified teachers, adequate funding, and full acceptance students learn more english and get higher scores on achievement tests than those taught without bilingual instruction. The (Unz)? proposal, like other such policies throughout u.s. his-story, is another dogged effort to wipe out diversity of language and culture and will immediately affect 1.3 million children. This racism is our crime of the year. Also, in my last letter I asked if you could send me some books on the Black Panther Party, George Jackson, and Malcolm X. I'm trying to start a study group and self-awareness class. In Struggle From the Barricades, A PA prisoner Why no names in the paper? Dear MIM, Obviously you guys have some rather fervent opinions. However, after reading an issue of your paper, cover to cover, not once did I see the name of any writer, editor, or anyone. Why? I will venture to give you this word of advice: A strong opinion is the sign of a courageous fighter. However, an unsigned, anonymous criticism of anything is the sign of a coward. Your paper is great, so stand behind it. Sign your name on your work, or it's worthless. --a student in the midwest MIM responds: The reason that MIM does not use the real names of comrades, members or even friends working with us or who write to us, is because we see no need to reveal the identity of people who work to build revolution. MIM is an underground Party which supports revolutions which are fighting governments that are in turn funded by the United Snakes government. Similarly, RAIL, an anti- imperialist mass organization led by MIM, supports struggles against imperialism and for genuine national liberation. These are not things that are looked upon favorably in this country. It would also be naive for us to ignore the history of COINTELPRO and severe repression, murder and imprisonment conducted by the government against individuals and groups which fought for the things that we currently fight for. There are still hundreds of prisoners in Amerikkkan prisons who are in there specifically because of their political activities. In fact, RAIL recently showed showing a film which covers part of this repression in the city this letter writer wrote from. The movie, "All Power to the People", covers the development and work of the Black Panther Party, the American Indian Movement, The Young Lords Party and other revolutionary organizations. It also covers the FBI Counter Intelligence Program (COINTELPRO) and how it was used to destroy these organizations. It would be self-defeating to add direct fights against pigs attacking our leaders and activists to the list of struggles we engage in. At this point in time, RAIL and MIM's main work is to build public opinion, to educate, to develop independent People's institutions. These are battles which take a lot of work. And we do not want to add to that list the defense of activists. As it is, there are hundreds of prisoners we work with who are in need of legal assistance. And many prisoners we work with face repeated denial of parole because they are politically active. As for accountability that you imply or cowardess, in MIM Notes, you can hold the entire Party, as an organization, accountable to what is written in the paper. The Party works under the principle of democratic centralism. In part what that means is that individuals are part of the Party, and the Party is accountable to the masses. If people think that a MIM article is incorrect on something, it is not a matter of a single individual being incorrect, it is the Party as a whole. As for RAIL, since its a mass organization with many different views, what you read in RAIL papers do not represent the views of every individual in RAIL per se, but you can still hold the organization accountable to what it says. You are welcome to challenge any of the political arguments that we make, and we can discuss it. You can write back or you can find us around town organizing. Police Terrorize Oppressed Nations in New York ...Have y'all heard the news about the fascist acts of Mayer Guilliani and his goon squads? Well, they raided the homes of the residents of the Bed-Styvensant housing in New York claming to be looking for a Bro. Shahid Muhammad for "assaulting a police officer" at the Million Youth March Saturday, September 5th. This was allegedly during the police, military actions of breaking up the march. Anyway, I only caught bits and pieces of it and maybe y'all can check into it and present it in your next MIM Notes?... -- A South Carolina Prisoner, 12 September 1998 MIM responds: Thanks for keeping us posted on the latest from the NY pig squad. We are not up on all the news all the time and sometimes even prisoners, whose access to news is very limited, can help inform us and our readers about important issues. If you are aware of an incident of police brutality, criminal injustice, or other government repression or imperialist attack somewhere in the world, write it up for MIM Notes, or just send us the info so we can get our writers to do a story on it. * * * FIGHT CONTINUED SETTLER NATION CAMPAIGN OF GENOCIDE! LUBICON CREE VICTORIES HIGHLIGHTED DURING IPD EVENT In honor of Indigenous Peoples Day (known by the imperialists as Columbus Day) RAIL in Boston showed a video about the Lubicon Cree and hosted a discussion about settler genocide within u.s. and canadian borders. The Lubicon have been fighting imperialist attacks on their land for years. Recently capitalists have discovered oil and valuable trees and have been working with the government to gain access rights to Cree land. "We're trying to protect our land and our resources and we certainly don't consider doing something that conserves the environment or the land in any way breaking any kind of law." Lubicon Chief Bernard Ominayak said at the Drumfest in Toronto in 1991.(1) But both the Lubicon and their supporters have faced attacks in the courts for their actions opposing imperialist encroachment on the Lubicon land. Earlier in 1998, the Toronto-based Friends of the Lubicon Cree, an organization devoted to defending the Lubicon Cree land rights, won a court victory in the ongoing battle against imperialist attacks on this First Nation's right to sovereignty and self-determination. The Lubicon Cree have lived on territory in what the imperialists call Canada for hundreds of years. In recent years greedy corporations discovered that the Lubicon land is rich in oil and timber. After destroying the environment already stolen from First Nations, the capitalists moved to destroy the environment on land which, up until recently, they thought was worthless and hence was fine for the Cree people to occupy. Daishowa Inc. is a company that produces paper products which has led the clearcutting of Cree forests land. The Friends of the Lubicon have been fighting a court battle over their right to boycott companies that purchase Daishowa products. Four years into the boycott, Daishowa sued, attempting to stop the effective protest being led by the Friends of the Lubicon. There is an ancient law on the books in both Canada and the United Snakes which states that such secondary product boycotts are not legal. The boycott against Daishowa products had tremendous results: Between 1991 and 1994 all 50 companies contacted by the Friends of the Lubicon agreed to join the boycott. Most joined reluctantly only after the Friends' threatened to picket their store. Daishowa representatives recently estimated losses resulting from the boycott at $14 million. Unable to win on the streets, Daishowa decided to take their case to court and use the criminal injustice system to intimidate and repress anti-colonialist dissent.(2) In April of this year the Friends of the Lubicon finally won the right to boycott Daishowa products and intend to take up the boycott again unless Daishowa agrees to respect Lubicon management of traditional territories currently occupied by Alberta. It was the Province of Alberta which granted the logging rights to Daishowa, bypassing all rights of the Lubicon people.(2) This court victory is a legal victory for activists everywhere as the imperialist governments try to take away more and more of our so-called freedom of speech whenever we use it to speak out against imperialist injustice. During the discussion after the video showing in Boston, people raised the issue of the importance of First Nation's right to self-determination. One person asked if it was possible that First Nations, whose land and culture is being destroyed could regain their identity even if they were given new land. This underscored the urgency of the struggle. Speakers in the film talked about the forced assimilation of the Cree children who are attending schools that teach them to be white. The battle for self-determination for the First Nations is literally a race against time. With every generation more youth are assimilated into a white nation that offers alcoholism, drugs and unemployment. With every parcel of land stolen by the imperialists the First Nations have that much less chance of survival. Since Columbus invaded over 500 years ago many indigenous nations have been wiped off the face of the earth. The few who retain small plots of land "given" to them by the imperialist governments of Amerika and Kanada face constant attacks by the government and corporations eager to take back the little wealth left on this land. Join MIM and RAIL in opposing 500+ years of imperialist genocide and support First Nation's right to self-determination. Notes: 1. "BEEDAUDJIMOWIN", Summer 1991 2. The Council Spirit, Volume 3, Issue 1 from the Council for Native American Solidarity. Reprinted from News From Indian Country, Mid-May 1998. * * * INTER-IMPERIALIST RIVALRY HITS THE FRONT PAGES The Republican Congress versus President Clinton - some underlying conflict is driving the impeachment debate. Which conflicts are the key is the question we Maoists ask when we talk about "inter-imperialist rivalry." One way such questions manifest themselves is in asking, "why are they REALLY out to get Clinton?" On October 7th, the New York Times published a special issue on inter-imperialist rivalry. Literally all four top stories on the front page were about inter- imperialist rivalry. Two old stories came up with new twists. The U.$. government wants to attack the Serbs in Yugoslavia, but Russia resists. Some of the U.$. government's usual imperialist allies are calling on the U.$. to wait for Russian approval. That is a typical inter-imperialist news story about deciding questions of war. It is true that historically the Russians have sided with the Serbs against enemies to their West. Another typical story is the New York Times line on France, which is that France is quite independent with large business ties to Iraq. The question is whether or not French business ties to Iraq are strong enough that France is selling out its former ally in the war against Iraq -- the U.$. imperialists. We at MIM find it unlikely on the whole but true up to a point. In fact, the French found deadly nerve gas VX on Iraqi warheads, but France did not report it for fear of hurting Iraq's chances of getting UN sanctions lifted -- so says the New York Times. Of course, the top far right front page of the New York Times October 7th is about the Lewinsky scandal. On October 9th, Clinton lost 31 House representatives of his own party to a Republican party resolution for an impeachment inquiry. That is the story everyone has heard about. Other stories may tell us more about the underlying conflict. Story three in the New York Times accompanying the lead photo and the most column space is really new in the reporting of inter-imperialist rivalry. Apparently, European imperialists speaking as a whole in anticipation of European unity have attacked the U.$. imperialists as the bad guys for imposing international austerity. Only days earlier the New York Times had informed the world that Japan considered itself scapegoated by the U.$. imperialists. Now a picture arises of the U.$. capitalist class coercing the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to clamp down for austerity in the Third World and former state-capitalist countries like Russia. The Europeans are demanding a say at the IMF and France is criticizing the U.$. government for not stimulating its economy with tax cuts or government spending. At the same time, Japan says the U.$. imperialists' penny-pinching caused the U.$. imperialists to look away when Japan suggested joint action on Thailand, when the problem there was still relatively affordable to fix. MIM believes it is true that the U.$. imperialists were consciously seeking to weaken the Japanese imperialist block, not so much as to cause global revolution, but enough for improved U.$. position. The risks of the U.$. position include the possibility that fractions of ruling classes would prefer full-blown crisis over greater U.$. dominance. At this time, the World Bank also launched a public attack on the IMF for being pro-austerity and openly spoke for the world's poor "who can't wait" for the timid economic leadership of imperialism. Thus, the World Bank found it politically useful to improve its image by attacking another faction of the imperialist ruling class. The IMF defended its policies by pointing to the Philippines as a success story! Anyone with even just a small amount of information about the Philippines can only consider it a success story for the ruling class. The IMF also says that Latin America has learned its lesson since the Mexico crisis. Meanwhile, James Wolfensohn of the World Bank said, "If we do not have longer-term plans for solid institutions, if we do not have great equity and social justice, there will be no political stability and without political stability no amount of money put together in financial packages will give us financial stability." (1) The World Bank comments, the election of Blair in England and the rejection of Kohl in Germany point to an ascendant left-center faction of imperialism globally. If the U.$. labor aristocracy becomes convinced that its well-being depends on global economic growth - and the current crisis is almost tailor-made to teach that lesson - the chances for the left-center bourgeois internationalist rule will improve. The World Bank is only expressing this conflict most ably at this time by going public with its disagreements with the U.$.-IMF strategies for austerity. The left-center faction of imperialism seems to be converging on relatively upbeat (for imperialist) assumptions for economic growth possibilities. The World Bank in particular has the job of expressing the concerns of finance capital with no where to go. The nightmare of finance capital is a world where people will not borrow money, even at 0 % or close to 0 %. Such a world is also likely where there are no profits for businesses to make. If there are no profits to make, then there is no reason for businesses to borrow money. In such a world, the "coupon-clippers" Lenin spoke of will not be able to sit in cafes and drink cappucino all day by living off the interest from certificates of deposits, bonds or savings accounts. Thus, the coupon- clippers may be lazy themselves but they might need a World Bank to urge that others have ambitions and a need for instant capital. Imperialism is, by definition since Lenin, the capitalist system grown to a stage where it is characterized by export of capital. When Citibank, Chase or other banks go to the Third World desperately looking for loans to make, they have competing concerns. One concern is being paid back and having their payments take priority. This may lead banks to wanting the people of Indonesia or Russia to be poor while the banks are paid back. On the other hand, while waiting for payments, the bankers also feel an utter compulsion to loan out more money. It is one of the two most fundamental aspects of capitalism - overproduction - that is driving further imperialist loans. The political expression of finance capital with no outlet is the World Bank. This political view of imperialism is that the world has many projects to undertake. It is good for the world to be busy and developing all the time, because the pressure to make more loans is always building in the imperialist system. If countries realize they have to get their poor taken care of, they realize why they need to borrow imperialist money and get business moving. Hence, the World Bank has always had a left-of-center facade, one that is coming into greater focus at this moment of crisis. For the right-wing class-struggle oriented faction of imperialism, the World Bank view comes perilously close to socialism. The World Bank points to concrete needs and acts as if planning can accomplish positive economic goals. The right-wing prioritizes belt-tightening by the poor. Words like "readjustment" "stabilization" and "budget balance" are the key to this faction of imperialism. The ultra-left idealist Progressive Labor Party offers a different view with its "masses-are-asses" line. It talks about Old Money versus New Money or oil interests versus other interests. According to PLP there may be a rift at this time because some oil capitalists wanted a harder approach to Iraq in recent months. In connection to the war on Iraq, PLP has made some mistakes. It has admitted: "The truth is that we don't understand all the ins and outs of the fights among the big bosses."(2) That is something MIM has already said about inter- imperialist rivalry in recent years since end of the Cold War. We also checked the Communist Party USA (CP-USA) view on the ruling class splits to see what the liberal reformists are thinking. The CP-USA is basically the James Carville of liberalism in being aggressive in its struggle for the labor aristocracy's soul: "Vote Nov. 3! Your life could depend on it" screams the headline on page one. The CP-USA view should be taken as the inside view of the liberal wing of imperialism complaining about "unemployment growing, tons of wheat piling up because there are no buyers, finished steel rusting in open fields in Chicago because of imports."(3)As usual, the CP-USA has that patriotic twist to it, one step from Ross Perot's "sucking sound" discussion of jobs leaving the United $tates. In this, the CP-USA caters to the middle-class frightened by global competition and wanting a domesticated capitalism favoring the U.$. labor aristocracy. The CP-USA is not catering to the people with "nothing to lose but their chains," because such people are not threatened by global economic competition, trade or cooperation. For this reason, the CP-USA adds nothing new to the analysis of inter-imperialist rivalry at all, content to "lend credence to First Lady Hillary Clinton's charges of a 'vast-right wing conspiracy' that targets her husband."(4) The bourgeois media has already reported on the political connections amongst the actors involved in trying to nail Clinton. The CP-USA points to Pittsburgh billionaire Richard Mellon - of Mellon Bank, Gulf Oil and Alcoa money - as the source of funds for lawyers digging dirt on Clinton and for avowedly conservative Pepperdine University which has offered Starr a deanship.(4) The CP-USA does the spade work for Patrick Buchanan while openly leaving the backdoor open for the World Bank style of left-center imperialism: "Around the world, voters turn left" is CP-USA articles that openly credits Tony Blair in England and German Social Democrat Gerhard Schroeder. Listening to the CP-USA, one would think imperialism has already turned socialist except for the Republican Congress of course. Capitalism is in perhaps its most severe manifestation of its underlying crisis in 50 years. We communists seek to avoid the fate of the CP-USA where all we talk about is how the petty-bourgeoisie faces austerity. Such a class struggle removed from international context is an easy plaything for the imperialists to manipulate via a patriotism strategy: keep capitalism but throw out the foreigners stealing jobs, buy Amerikan etc. Defeating the left-center bourgeois internationalist imperialists will require connecting the anarchy of capitalist production to war and pollution. The Clinton- Blair-Schroeder-Jospin face of imperialism is quite happy to speak for the poor and against austerity if the New World Order can be imposed globally that way. In contrast, we in MIM will stand with the Third World proletariat and for national liberation against the New World Order. Notes: 1. New York Times 7Oct1998, p. a6. 2. Challenge 30Sept1998, p. 7. 3. People's Weekly World 10Oct1998, p. 12. 4. People's Weekly World 10Oct1998, p. 3. * * * STARR REPORT ON IMPEACHMENT IS PORNOGRAPHY MIM read the Starr Report (New York: Pocket Books, 1998, 523 pp.) investigating President Clinton to find out if there were any additional clues to the intra-ruling class fight raging in Washington, D.C. With all the criminal actions of the U.$. government every day - especially the perjury of cops and lies of prosecutors - - we wondered why one wing of the ruling class was attacking the other over Monica Lewinsky. It turns out there is nothing new in the report not already discussed and re-discussed by the media prior to its release. Bourgeois analysts including Hillary Clinton believe there is a right-wing conspiracy against centrist Clinton. From reading the Starr Report, MIM cannot add anything new beyond what Hillary Clinton and others have said about the ruling class feud. Bourgeois analysis of its own fissures It is true that in Amerika, there were those lobbying Congressional Judiciary Committee head Henry Hyde for Clinton's impeachment all along. The extremist right- wing Christians of the country are readily mobilized by the kind of simpleton adultery issues that Starr harped on in his report. For this reason, some bourgeois analysts believe that Republicans will benefit in elections by going along with the impeachment drive the way born-again Christians see it. While much of the country will be indifferent or cynical, the born-agains will activate themselves as a movement against Clinton. Perhaps the Christians will vote while others stay home. In response, the Democrats at the end of September started to attack Starr and the Republican House for spreading "smut" by dragging out the Monica Lewinsky matter. Democrats warned that the people would see through the Republican obsession with the issue. The Democratic Party attack had the potential of ripping away the Christians from the Republican Party by emphasizing that it was the Republican Party's fault that children were hearing about the Lewinsky matter on television. Lending support to the election-oriented theory of the right-wing is the Starr Report's factual account, mostly devoid of finer legal points. Indeed, much of the Starr Report includes information about what Clinton said politically to the public - including statements presumably off-limits for perjury and obstruction of justice concerns. The brief rebuttals of the White House contained more points of law than the Starr Report which was a readable account of the "facts." As we write this, President Clinton seems to be benefiting in the polls from Starr's attack. If the bourgeois polls are done correctly, the public seems to be making the logical distinction of Clinton and his persynal life and motivations as apart from his policies and government. Since the bourgeoisie and petty- bourgeoisie gives credit to Clinton for filling its economic trough, the mental faculties of the Amerikan people have suddenly much improved. In the midst of intensified class struggle, the bourgeoisie being the minority class must seek to cause discord in the proletarian camp and it does so by instigating various persynal attacks and distractions that cause one-on-one fighting instead of class-against- class fighting. Since the public has learned to distinguish perysnal motivations from professional and political action, it may be on a road to making greater scientific progress. From MIM's point of view, the ability of the two-party system to focus on the trivial and make it sexy is a key to its stability. Kenneth Starr and the right-wing money behind the Paula Jones case seek to discredit their pseudo-feminist enemies or at least cleave them away from the Democratic Party by connecting Clinton to sexual harassment. Yet even if the right-wing fails it will do so with no damage to the system and with the issue of sexual harassment discredited yet again. It seemed to be a win-win scenario for the right-wing. Starr Report: a dialectical product of pseudo-feminism Kenneth Starr originally was supposed to be investigating the Whitewater real estate and banking deals involving Bill and Hillary Clinton. Starr's involvement in the Monica Lewinsky matter appears to have started on an illegal basis, (pp. 513-7) but the Paula Jones sexual harassment case in Arkansas would have brought the Lewinsky matter to the public anyway. While NOW and other pseudo-feminist leaders have opposed the call for impeachment, it is important to note that Starr and Paula Jones could not have gotten as far as they did without pseudo-feminism. In particular the peculiar notion that a court system supposedly devoted to individual liberties can illustrate "patterns" of sexual harassment is that unique addition of pseudo- feminist theory that Starr took advantage of - perhaps with the intention of discrediting it from a right-wing angle. Prosecutionism Historically men were able to defend themselves against allegations of sexual misconduct by pointing to the sexual history of the wimmin accusing them. The notion was that if a womyn always said "yes" to men in the past, it was unlikely that the case in court was any different. Pseudo-feminists responded to this attack by pushing individualism. They argued that whatever pattern existed in the past, what mattered was what happened at the time of alleged sexual harassment or rape, not whatever sexual history the womyn might have had. With "shield laws," the pseudo-feminists succeeded in making defendants unable to use the sexual history defense, unable to point to patterns in the individual. This was victory number one for prosecutors and pseudo-feminists. On the other hand, prosecutors and pseudo-feminists also turned the tide by making it legally acceptable to enter men's sexual history into court. To understand how Whitewater ended up being about Monica Lewinsky, we must understand pseudo-feminist and prosecutorial transitional "logic." "In an order dated December 11, 1997, for example, Judge Wright said: 'The Court finds, therefore that the plaintiff [Paula Jones -ed.] is entitled to information regarding any individuals with whom the President had sexual relations or proposed or sought to have sexual relations and who were during the relevant time frame state or federal employees.'" (p. 23) On the basis of Paula Jones related testimony that Judge Wright required of Clinton and on the basis of grand jury testimony, Starr found that Clinton perjured himself. Of the two testimonies, Clinton's Paula Jones testimony was more damaging in Starr's eyes. Starr was seeking to discredit Clinton in other legal matters, so his interest in perjury was intrinsic if he had other cases against Clinton. Since Starr is still chugging along on other cases, we do not know fully how Starr will justify his transition from Whitewater to Lewinsky. Privacy The system of private property makes no sense without a concept of privacy and this fact guarantees strife within the capitalist system. The Supreme Court guaranteed abortion rights based on an idea of privacy and Clinton and the majority of the public counter- attacked Starr along privacy lines. Whether or not Clinton perjured himself, much public opinion centered on the fact that he never should have been asked the questions he was asked. Without privacy in a capitalist system, any evil government official may abuse the citizenry for his or her own profit or perverse persynal pleasure. Even those of us opposed to the system must uphold privacy at times. The 9th and 10th amendments to the "U.S. Constitution" address the limitations of government. The 9th in particular might be read as saying keep out of the citizens' bedroom matters: "The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people." On the other hand, the contradictions of the system also ensure that privacy is used by the people to oppress other people in a system based on private profit. In particular, men oppress wimmin in private. Mail order brides would be a good example where men take advantage of privacy. We find it typical that Judge Wright agreed with Paula Jones's lawyers that Clinton had to give testimony only to reverse herself and say that none of the testimony was admissible.(p. 28) Her justification of her own twisted reasoning was also pornographic: "The issue was one of discovery, not admissibility of evidence at trial. Discovery, as all counsel know, by its very nature takes unforeseen twists and turns and goes down numerous paths, and whether those paths lead to the discovery of admissible evidence often simply cannot be predetermined."(p. 37) In other words, it was better for the President to talk about these pornographic matters than not to, because who knows what we would have learned. The Paula Jones related pornography is all the more sick because the judge also determined in the end that Paula Jones had no damages to claim. It makes one wonder, if there were no damages, then there was no reason to bother except pornographic interest. The individualist system of capitalism and its court system cannot be used except hypocritically to address wimmin's oppression. The search for group patterns in the individual is worse than futile: the end result in the Clarence Thomas and Bill Clinton cases as in others is simply more pornography - whether the individual men in question lose their cases or not. The substance of feminism is sex, but not all driven discussion of sex is feminism. Gary Hart phenomenon: beauty and power In the Starr Report we learn that Clinton's staff tried to keep Clinton away from pretty wimmin.(p. 92) In fact, Clinton seems to have opposed the transfer of Lewinsky to the Pentagon out of the White House, but his staff would not cooperate. One ruling class persyn summed up the relationship between looks and government power aptly: "Monica being cursed because she's beautiful."(p. 92) Similar questions arose when Gary Hart lost his front-runner status in the Democratic Party's presidential politics over his contact with a beautiful young womyn while he was married. At the time, MIM said that the press coverage implied that beautiful wimmin should not have interaction with men in power. In fact, no one caught Gary Hart "in the act." It was merely his spending time with a beautiful womyn that was so suspicious to the media. Likewise there were some wimmin in Clinton's White House who took the lead in getting rid of Monica Lewinsky - again out of suspicions. This is obviously a vicious cycle in which someone viewed as a sex object cannot escape that status. The Islamic veil would be superior to this kind of heterosexual segregation. Politicization and access to power by wimmin is key to their liberation and hence overreaction to questions of sexual motivation at the expense of politics must be crushed. Just as it is ridiculous for the country to obsess about Clinton's extramarital life while he is in charge of a trillion-dollar machine, it is ridiculous for wimmin and men to obsess about such matters when they should be running their economy and government. The only silver lining is that such decadence and trivial obsessions in the imperialist countries make the imperialist system less and less fit to rule the international proletariat. While the status quo seeks to dodge important issues, the proletariat and its oppressed allies will forge ahead with their political consciousness. If the proletariat learns to discredit psychological smears and persynal attacks in the midst of political struggle, the Lewinsky scandal will be a very favorable lesson. * * * OPPOSE IMPERIALISM AND BUILD SOCIALIST REVOLUTION! At the same time as the imperialist International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank were holding their annual conference in Washington, DC, the DC-RAIL contingent attended a "50 Years is Enough" rally and march across the street from the White House. The march was led by a left-liberal coalition calling for a democratization of the IMF's policies and decision- making processes, a change of approach that they think would both include Third World countries as decision- makers and lead to their genuine economic development. But imperialism is not a policy - it's a mode of production. The IMF will not reform itself to be anything but an international loanshark, sent by imperialists into crisis economies to extract high interest for loans, allow open investment for international capitalists, and impose devastating conditions on the monetary policies of Third World countries. Fifty years is indeed enough - but the end will come from socialist revolution, not reform of imperialism. Congress fights over terms of appropriation The ruling class in Congress is split between Clinton and the Democrats on one hand, who want to immediately appropriate $18 billion to the IMF to "bail-out" Asian economies, and the Republicans, who want to make the appropriation contingent upon "lending reforms." The crux of the reform is the Republican condition that the IMF "lend" at market interest rates, so that it becomes more expensive to borrow. They claim this will provide an incentive for countries to follow sound economic policies that do not lead to crises in the first place. But imperialist domination precludes independent development - and hence the ability to ever fully pay back the debt. So the fight is over the terms of the interest. MIM believes, by contrast, that Third World oppressed nations are owed a giant debt, to be paid as reparations, by the imperialist countries. And independent economic development can only happen if production is organized for internal consumption, rather than export. IMF-World Bank meeting sees split over strategy in Asia First World countries agreed this year (surprise) that open flow of capital and strict monetarism (the mantra of the IMF since its inception) remains a good strategy in the recessed economies of Asia. Representative bourgeois economists from China, the Philippines, and S. Korea at the meeting disagreed -- saying that the IMF's traditional approach only exists to "ensure that international creditors get their money back." (1) The IMF is a totally illegitimate international authority -- a body set up to police the economic policies of Third World countries so that they remain hospitable to imperialist investors. That it is undemocratic and damaging to the development of Third World economies is its structure -- not something that can be changed by policy. MIM says, No the IMF, No to the World Bank, Yes to Socialist Revolution! Note: Reuters, "Asia cynical on IMF/World Bank" Oct. 9, 1998 * * * CANDIDATES FOR MASSACHUSETTS GOVERNOR PROMOTE FAILED STRATEGIES ON CRIME October 14--The Republocratic candidates for Governor of Massachusetts were met with a counter-demonstration at their debate tonight. The Radical Student Union organized the demonstration against the candidates exclusion of students as well as the bankruptcy of the two party system. The Revolutionary Anti-Imperialist League and MassPIRG also had contingents present to talk about the failures of the candidates to present logical responses to crime and the environment, respectively. RAIL displayed a banner attacking the anti-crime platforms of both candidates. Signs at the demonstration said things like "Democracy is the choice between two rich white guys", "Fuck your two party system" as well as huge fake ballots with "rich white guy #1" and "rich white guy #2" on them. Acting Governor Paul Cellucci is running to retain his current job, and Attorney General Scott Harshbarger is running to move up into the top spot. Both of these swine have overseen huge increases in the Massachusetts prison machine, including the expansion of torture-cell control units. Both candidates support hiring more cops and building more prisons, despite evidence that more cops and prisons do not affect crime. The system's politicians ignore the facts, because the way to get elected is to appeal to the vicious white vote and capture the attention of potential financial backers so crucial to any individual campaign's chances. Rather than admit the flaws of the capitalist system, the rich blame problems on crime and disease. Lesser of two evils is still evil Earlier in the day, one Harshbarger supporter criticized RAIL's literature for taking on both candidates. This supporter enthusiastically called on RAIL to vote for, in his words: "the lesser of two evils." This is another of those bourgeois myths used to justify the system. The rich call on the poor to "pull themselves up by their bootstraps", which is physically impossible. And to vote for the lesser of two evils leaves you with, well, evil. A RAIL comrade later made a sign to that effect which caught the attention of the Libertarian candidate for Lt. Governor. This candidate said "I like your sign", shook the comrade's hand and then moved on instantly. There was no time for the RAIL comrade to reply that "The lesser of THREE evils is still evil." The Libertarian Party wants to free all prisoners incarcerated for drug offenses in order to free up more room for "real criminals." (Their words, not ours.) Masses denied access to the debate The Mullins Center is a huge sports arena on the UMass campus, but the debate was held in a tiny interior VIP room that seats only 200 people. A number of tickets were initially promised to students and then withdrawn. The Mullins Center is paid for in part by the state government and in part by a $100 fee all UMass students pay. Many students were rightly offended by the fact that the debate was held on their "home" and yet they were not allowed to attend. Not only does it require a tremendous amount of money to run for office in the first place, but these debates (like today's) often exclude candidates from parties other than the Repulicrats and Demopublicans who did in fact qualify to be on the ballot. Once the debate got underway inside the Mullins Center, the Radical Student Union organized a rally outside. At this rally, representatives from non-Republocratic political movements spoke. And in true democratic form, and unlike the carefully packaged Republocrat "debates", questions from the audience were allowed. RAIL spoke about the Massachusetts criminal injustice system and why neither Republocrat party has an interest in representing prisoners. In fact, those parties are currently trying to take away the votes of prisoners in Massachusetts. The current electoral process in Amerika serves to disenfranchise people from the limited choices they currently have in the voting booth. In a socialist society, political decisions will actually matter to the people and most will want to get involved. The masses will have a hands-on role in leading their own affairs and criticizing their leaders, instead of being preached at via the one-way medium of television. Important debates will be held in giant arenas, not in VIP rooms. MIM calls on all progressives, radicals and revolutionaries to: "Don't vote, smash imperialism!" * * * FBI WATCH: PIGS GET GREATER SPYING POWER On October 8, Congress approved something high on the FBI's wish-list: expanding wiretapping authority. In the past, the FBI had to argue to a judge for permission to tap specific phones. They could only get permission to tap all phones used by or near the suspect (called a roving wiretap) if they could demonstrate an intent by the suspect to switch phones to avoid surveillance. Now the pigs merely have the tell the judge that the suspect's "actions could have the effect of thwarting interception from a specific facility." This change removes the consideration of motive on the part of the suspect from the warrant charade. This is a much easier standard to meet and can be expected to greatly increase the number of roving wiretaps granted. According to the bourgeois theory, judges serve as "checks and balances" upon overzealous police who would trample civil liberties. But in reality, the judges and police are on the same side of the barricades against the masses. If the system was interested in fairness, the judges would listen to both sides (police and the defendant) and not conspire against the masses in secrete. Since judges are not on the front lines, they often have a larger interest than the police in maintaining the rationality of the system. Now this whole charade is a lot simpler because the rules for wiretaps have been relaxed. Three years ago the Congress publicly rejected the expansion; this year's bill was passed without debate or notice. The provisions were added to a bill in Conference Committee (where the House and Senate work out differences in bills passed by each house) during a closed door meeting. The wiretapping expansion was not in either bill, but the CongressPigs stuck it in and the full House and Senate voted for it with no debate.(1) MIM is not a Civil Libertarian organization. Rather, we oppose the United Snakes Criminal Injustice system. We don't want to see the pigs have any additional tools to use (or misuse) against their enemies: principally the oppressed and revolutionary. FBI LAUNCHES NETWORK OF STATE DNA PRISONER DATABASES On October 13, the FBI launched a network of state databases of prisoner DNA. The network will match DNA material from "unsolved crimes" and future "crimes" with the evidence from the prisoner's DNA. MIM in this case has to put "unsolved crimes" in quotation marks to explain that the pigs have a subjective definition of crime. The importation of drugs into North America isn't a crime, nor is the U.$. bombing of Africa's largest pharmaceutical company. The crimes of the U.$. government and its allied corporations are far more dangerous than any anything else that happens in North America. The database currently has 250,000 DNA samples and 4,600 unsolved cases. Another 350,000 samples from various states will be online soon. All 50 states passed laws authorizing the pigs to take DNA samples from at least some types of prisoners. Not all states have begun collecting samples, however, and Massachusetts' law has been recently struck down. A few states mandate that all prisoners, including those convicted of white-collar crime, give samples. The Federal government does not have such a law, yet.(2,3) FBI SPIED ON MARX Groucho, that is. From 1953 through the early 1960s, the FBI kept detailed files on comedian Groucho Marx. The files were obtained by a history professor at the University of California, who had recently won a lawsuit to get a copy of the FBI files on John Lennon. Requesting Marx's file was "a kind of shot in the dark." Groucho Marx died in 1977. Predictably, the FBI is holding back a few pages "in the interest of national defense or foreign policy." MIM suspects the pigs want to protect their legions of informants and/or the information on those pages shows even more clearly how overzealous the FBI was. Groucho Marx's crimes? In 1934, he wrote an article in the then-revolutionary Communist Party paper Daily Worker, calling the "Communist support for the Scottsboro boys [Black youth framed for the rape of a white woman] an inspiration for 'Soviet America'". In the 1940s, "he attended a benefit concert for Soviet War relief ... and opposed United Nations recognition of the fascist government of Spain. He was also a member of the Committee for the First Amendment, an organization that opposed the House Un-American Committee and included among its members Frank Sinatra, Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall." And Marx's other crimes? Cracking jokes about the FBI, the Establishment, and once calling this country the "United Snakes." Sounds to MIM like this Marx was a hero too.(4) Notes: 1. October 9, MSNBC. 2. Boston Globe, 15 October 1998, p. A10. 3. Boston Globe 15 August 1998, p. B1, B8. 4. Boston Globe, 15 October 1998, p. A13. * * * REPRESSION OF MASSES IN INDIA'S JAILS MIM prints the following regarding prison repression in India to underscore the use of the criminal injustice system by imperialists world-wide as a tool of social control. Protests against imperialism are met with severe repression. The imperialists will not be convinced to play nicely with anti-imperialists, the imperialists and their criminal injustice systems will only be overthrown through revolutionary violence. MIM fights for Maoist revolution alongside our comrades throughout the world. Join the internationalist struggle against the criminal injustice system within u.s. borders and around the world. Growing and Increasing Repressions and Restriction upon Prisoners' Rights from Warangal jail to Chanchalguda Jail A Dalit rickshaw puller, chandramouli died in the warangal jail on 14-5-98, due to the physical torture of the Intesar gunj, warangal police and the gross negligence of the warangal jail authorities. This heart- rending incident sparked an immediate response among the general and political prisoners and they undertook an hunger strike demanding a judicial inquiry; payment of Rs. Two lakhs ex-gratia to the family of the deceased. The warangal jail resounded with these slogans. Instead of solving the problem, the jail authorities who feel that repression is the only solution to all jail issues, inhumanly Lathi-charged the prisoners on May 16 1998 who were on hunger strike for three days. For the first time, 150 civil policemen under the leadership of warangal town D.S.P. Chandramouli entered the jail and lathi-charged the general and political prisoners. They subjected the leading general and political prisoners to severe physical torture. Blood flew like, water, the heads of many prisoners were severely injured. Critically and fatally injured prisoners were sent to the M.G.M. Hospital. Later 10 political prisoners who were leading the hunger strike were put into single cells separately. In order to ensure that news about this gory incident does not leak out the outside world, prisoners were not allowed interviews for one week. The lathi-charge and physical torture was carried out by warangal jail superintendent Lakshma Reddy and Town D.S.P. Chandramouli on the instruction of under the supervision of D.I.G. (Jails) M.R. Alimed, M.R. Ahmed is a past master in such repressions. In 1986 this same M.R. Ahmed, was the superintendent of warangal jail and lathi charged the political prisoners and broke many heads. Then too, he put santosh (Mahesh) and Purushottam along with nine other prisoners who were leading the strike, into single cells. He tried to repress and suppress the remaining political prisoners. In the middle of 1986 he was transferred to central prison Secunderabad. During 1986 to 1990, become a conniver of the intelligence police and tried to deny the political prisoners their rights. He placed severe restrictions on Nalla Adi Reddy (shyam) and other political prisoners in the jail. In protest against the lathi charge in warangal jail and to stop the deaths of prisoners in jails, the prisoners of all the jails came forward to join the struggle requesting concrete and constructive steps to be taken for the same. Relay hunger strike, four at a time was started on May 17 1998 in Musheerabad jail and is still continuing: May 21st was observed as "Lack-day " in all the state prisons. On May 25th the superintendents "Request round" was boycotted in protest. On May 26th the general and political prisoners in different jails observed mass hunger strikes. Yet, when the government failed to respond to the problems of the prisoners; the prisoners of the central jail, chanchaiguda, the female prisoners of the women's jail and prisoners of other jails started relay hunger strikes from June 1st. The general prisoners of the chancaiguda jail have responded enthusiastically and have started relay hunger strike from June 3rd at the rate of five prisoners per day. The chanchaiguda jail is resounding with anti-establishment slogans. To date, instead of trying to find solutions for the prisoner's problems, the government and the jail authorities are trying to repress and suppress the prisoners. Mahender Reddy who recently took charge as the superintendent of chanchaiguda jail is exhibiting "Police Atrocities" upon the general and political prisoners of the jail. When the general prisoners under took a mass hunger - strike on May 26 1998, the superintendent Mahender Reddy visited every barrack and threatened the prisoners to give up their hunger strike. He said that he would not grant furlough and would not allow them to go on role and would cut their remissions. He further said that he would inform the courts stating that the prisoners behavior was not good and that he had criminal tendencies and would get them punished. He also threatened the under-trial prisoners stating that would see that bails were not granted to them. The prisoners who were leading the hunger strike were called individually and threatened with dire consequences. A general under trial prisoner named Ravinder Reddy was dumped into the single cell to infuse fear psychosis among the prisoners, but the superintendent failed miserably. All the other hundreds of prisoners responded to this repression by raising thundering slogans. When all the prisoners demanded the release of Ravinder Reddy from the single cell, they were forcibly lock-up. When the political prisoners demanded the reason for locking up Ravinder Reddy in the single cell, the superintendent, along with a hundred security staff raided the barrack of political prisoners at 8 p.m. He tried to initiate another incident of lathi-charge upon the political prisoners in chanchaiguda jail. When the political prisoners refused to be locked up, until Ravinder Reddy was released from the single cell, the jail authorities had to give in and the same night Ravinder Reddy was sent back to his barrack. The superintendent in getting the barracks locked-up to restrict the movements of the prisoners. When grievances were being told during his rounds, the superintendent is threatening and intimidating the prisoners. The latest example for this is the beating of a prisoner for asking a drinking water pot. Severe restriction are being placed upon the political prisoners by locking them up, without an opportunity to visit even the jail hospital. There exists a rule which allows the prisoners to meet their families and friends between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. The superintendent, Mahender Reddy is openly flaunting this rule and subjecting the prisoners to many problems. He has introduced his own rule, stating that political prisoners should meet their interviews (families, friends and lawyers) only between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. Many people come to meet at any time during the day, the family members (from districts) usually come in the mornings, the lawyers visit according to the availability of time, but this new rule introduced by the superintendent is subject everyone including the political prisoners to various problems. A situation has arisen wherein, if the lawyers and family members visit at the same time, the prisoners are unable to talk to any of them properly, within the one hour period between 3 and 4 p.m. There are no interviews for the general prisoners between 1 and 4 p.m. If anyone comes to meet a prisoner between noon and 1 p.m. They have to wait until 4 p.m. in the scorching sun. This superintendent takes the credit for introducing a rule, which is not there in any manual. He also has the distinction of being openly known as the corrupt person, while he was the superintendent of Nellore jail 6 months ago, where he was the cause of death of countless prisoners. When the issue was taken up by the Human rights commission and other bodies he was placed under suspension. Instead of action being taken against him, he was promoted and transferred as a superintendent to central prison, Hyderabad. This shows the concern of the Chandra Babu Naidu government towards the welfare of the prisoners. Just like the much acclaimed democracy in the outside world, which is corrupt to the core, "jail reformation and rehabilitation" are just dreams and illusions. Besides following the now irrelevant 1894 British jail manual, the same, suppression, repression and oppression methods are being followed. Even to find out, what the prisoners rights are according to that manual, it remains a "Holy book" which is out of reach for prisoners. Even in our free India, interviews are held through a mesh. Such are the pitiable conditions in our democracy. Over crowding, water shortage and Lack of water, Sub-standard food, lack of proper clothing and medical facilities, cannot be provided by the government today. The endeavors of prisoners and other outside organizations have resulted in many commissions being set up and many suggestions being made, over the years, which have remained as mirages. Even the demands agreed upon during the Jan-Feb. 1995, historical jail struggle, are not being implemented by the jail authorities. Prisoners are languishing in jails for periods longer than what they would have been sentenced to, because of Lack of escorts to take them tot he courts. Paroles and furloughs are being availed and enjoyed only by rich prisoners with so influence. The reconstitution of the Advisory Board for release of prisoners is no where in sight. Repression, punishment and torture are common for prisoners who ask for their rights, the conditions have worsened to such an extent that civil police is entering prisons and subjecting prisoners to various atrocities. Prisoners are remanded to jails are being subjected to brutal third degree methods. Lack of proper medical facilities and medical diets is resulting in the death of countless prisoners. The deaths in jails and Lock-ups are on par with "encounter". The ruling classes and the media raised hell on the death of industrialist Rajan pillai, in Tihar jail. But, now when Dalit and poor prisoners are dying regularly in jail, there is not a wimp from any quarters. In spite of the supreme court ruling and orders that prisoners are not to be handcuffed or fettered, those are being violated openly by the police and prison authorities. They are forcibly begin hand cuffed while being taken to courts and hospitals. It had been decided to place a complaint box in jails, to enable the prisoners to lodge their grievances to the sessions court. But, to date, such complaint boxes are nowhere to be seen. Thus, every jail is enmeshed in a web of problems. For the solution of long-standing problems and for the implementation of demands agreed upon; and because of the covert and overt, repression, suppression and oppression of prisoners, jails are yet waiting for their deliverance and are yet struggling. Appeal to all : We appeal to people of all walks of life to support and help the general and political prisoners of several jails who are struggling for the following demands. 1. Concrete and constructive step should be taken to halt jail deaths. The next of kin of the prisoners who die in jail should be paid an exgratia of rupees two lakhs. 2. Special medical escorts to be maintained in every- prison. To be stationed, with in reach, 24 hours of the day. 3. Judicial inquiry by a sitting High Court Judge, into the death of the genearl prisoners Chandra Mouli, in Warangal jail. 4. Immediate suspension of D.T.G. (Jails) M.R. Ahmed, Warangal jail superintendent Lakshma Reddy and Town D.S.P. Chandramouli, who were responsible for the Lathi- charge in Warangal jail. 5. Ban of entry and interference by civil and intelligence police in jail affairs. 6. Provision of basic minimum amenities, Implementation of all demands agreed upon by JACDR and Government, jail authorities. Because of the economic policies of the government which are leading the bankruptcy and because of the obstinate and adamant attitude of the jail authorities and because of the repression methods, jail are degenerating day by day. Only the dalit, poor and political prisoners are the long staying prisoners in jails. Once in a blue moon, the rich and politicians cross the threshold of jails but, the very next day they are admitted into super specialty hospitals at government expense. This truth is known to one and all. Because of the support from people of all walks of life, the 1995 Jan-Feb prisoners struggle succeeded in securing many of their demands. Many of those demands are being implemented as rights. Hundreds of long term prisoners can be released. In the same manner we appeal to various mass organizations, Dalit Associations, womens organizations, various parties, Human rights organizations, lawyers, ex-convicts, democrats, writers, poets, artists, intellectuals, journalist and editors, to support the peaceful on-going struggle in prisons by the general and political prisoners. We appeal that the outside public be made aware of the problems of the dark world of the prisons and the struggle of the prisoners. We appeal for the highlighting of prisoners problems, the repressive atrocities of jail authorities through writings, signature campaigns, meetings, speeches, poems and discussions, focusing of prison and prisoners. On behalf of All General and Political Date: June 15 1998 Prisoners Place: Central Prison, Hyderabad - 24. * * * UNDER LOCK & KEY:NEWS FROM PRISONS AND PRISONERS Unify the energy and efforts of prisoners Dear Comrades, I received your form letter sent out proposing the creation of a mass organization of anti-imperialist prisoners. I must say I am elated to know that MIM is trying to unify the energy and efforts of prisoners struggling against oppression within the confinements of Amerikkka's Koncentration Kamps. It is my belief that these "pigs" only get away with their repressive ways because the lack of unified struggle. It is also a proven fact that it is harder to control the masses when they stand together for one common cause. With that said, now I would like to address a few of the issues mentioned in the proposal. First, general goals/campaigns: I believe the mass organization should try to adopt a program somewhat like MIM 10 point program of the Black Panthers'. (but not the exact program). One goal the mass organization can have is spreading revolutionary material and holding study groups by engaging in conversations which will strike the interest of the people (prisoners) then feeding off their interest and turning them on to the mass organization. The need for oppressed people to become revolutionary conscience is great. It is absolutely critical, the events of repression will increase drastically in the near future. It is a necessity for oppressed people to learn the "snake"-like ways and actions of this government and its arms of in-Justice system. Also, a campaign against censorship. New York State Department of Incorrection will not allow any anti- government material. But my argument is communism is a form of government. Just because its not the form of government which the United "Snakes" uses does not qualify it to be labeled "anti"-government. Another topic to consider is helping the brothers learn how to fight the system. It is becoming harder and harder to get out of jail. This is especially for those who do not know the law. The mass organization can help the brothers learn what the system can and cannot do. By exposing every flaw, loophold, and inconsistency know, what will happen is prisoners would be stronger when opposing the system by attacking the weak spots. Second: I would like to address the name issue. I agree with MIM about not using Revolution or Liberation, because this will give the administration of "pigs" something to pinpoint when retaliating against the mass organization. We don't want to give them anything which can be used against the prisoners. The mass organization must stay within the legal boundaries. Third: The reports on material conditions is an excellent idea. The Under Lock and Key section of MIM Notes has done a very good job presenting the "pigs'" abuse of authority, but there are a lot more cases which are not spoken about. Due to the fact a lot of prisoners are unaware of MIM Notes or refuse to take the time to write MIM to have their problems published in MIM Notes. But the mass organization can form a way to document the daily problems, the struggles against censorship as well as the outcome of such and the construction of special housing units Š as well as many uprisings and demonstrations taking place in various prison kamps through Amerikkka. Fourth: I will like to address anonymity. It is my belief that this can go both ways. For the most part it will be best for the comrades to remain anonymous. It will be of no help to members of the mass organization for the administration of "pigs" to know who they are individually. In fact, it will cause more harm than not if they do know. Any organization unauthorized by the administration is considered to be gang related, and is subjected to disciplinary action. I do not believe the majority of koncentration kamps will give consent to the prisoners to form a mass organization united to fight repression and imperialism. This will be counter- productive on their behalf unless they are allowed to infiltrate and control the progress of the peoples' movement they will always fight to surpress it. Whether its inside or outside of these indoctrination kamps. And being that this is a prisoners' mass organization, the "pigs" have more rules and regulations to govern the people with. This is why I feel strongly about maintaining anonymity. But in those cases where work needs to be done for a specific comrade, then it should require the consent of that comrade. For it will be made known to him to possible problem he might come across for that single act. This situation can be kept at a minimum because the mass organization should only fight winnable battles above surface. Even though under the surface we can be looking for ways to make the majority of the battles winnable. And last, but not least, leadership ­ I myself will step up to be a leader in any field my qualifications are needed. At this moment I am being held captive (lock-up while being locked up) 24 hours a day. So, I am unable to accomplish a lot of things needed. But due to the fact I am locked down 24 hours a day, I have nothing to interfere with my reading and writing for the next three years. I will willingly devote my time to researching the topics which will be presented by the comrades within the mass organization. I will also use my time to help anywhere else I might be needed. The law library in my kamp is pretty sufficient plus I own a Jailhouse Lawyer manuel so I can help gather information pertaining to law. -- a New York Prisoner, September 1998. New Jersey Prison System is Sinking This is coming at you live from the dusty (Trenton State Prison) and on behalf of all the brotha's sista's caged up in this house of pain. I want to give it to you live, raw and uncut concerning the conspiracy here in New Jersey Department of Correction to put us back on the chain gang. We are living in the most critical period in the State of New Jersey Department of Corrections history. New Jersey is being run by Slave Masters. That Governor and new Commissioner of D.O.C., are Slave Masters in 3 piece suits who only concern us keeping you locked up for longer periods of time, and not giving you the tools that will enable you to make a productive transition back into society. That is if you're lucky or fortunate enough to get back out. These slave masters want us to come back to jail so they will have jobs, and be able to send their children and grand children off to college at our expense. Plus go on long vacations, buy all the real estate, and live a glamorous lifestyle off the blood, sweat pouring from our backs! As New Jersey Prison System (DOC) prepares to make a change, she is seen searching for new solutions to her plethora of problems. Every aspects of this system is suffering. The prisons are full to its capacity with younger/much older prisoners. Many who are never going to see the streets again. Her education programs has been reduced to nothing. Maintaining the health of the prisoners has proven too costly, forcing her to reach out and get an inferior CMS privatized contract to cater to the inmate population. We're forced to pay 5 dollars to see a nurse or doctor, and plus pay for whatever medication you received. A lot of prisoners' medical needs are being neglected and the death rate is climbing as a result of this new CMS medical staff. AIDS, T.B., and other diseases are a constant threat to us everyday in this mad house. Prisoner v. prisoner violence is rampant, their sense of priority seems to have been lost. Killing each other over a few packs of cigarettes, a basketball game, a bag of drugs, a seat in the mess hall, or over weights in the yard. The hole (lock up) is filthy and nasty and infested with nuts (crazy men on medication) who are forced to lock in a cell with no bed, no mattress, no sink or running water on the flats. They must scream and beg the pig to come down and turn the water on so he can flush his toilet or bring in a cup of water in this 104 degree weather. Police brutality has skyrocketed in here. Prisoners handcuffed are being jumped and beaten into a pulp, and no one is doing anything about it. They're taking away our food packages from the outside. Food from home to a man who is never going to see streets against is the closest link to him holding on to his mama or loved ones special touch. They're taking away all personal clothes and sneakers and books, replacing them with all khaki attire and state boots, state no frill sneakers. All white everything (boxers, socks, bathrobe, and T-shirts) not other colors are allowed. Seems a bit extreme, especially when they're not going to give us bleach to keep these white garments clean. November last year (1997) they took our rights, our families' rights to make a collect phone call. We can no longer make a phone call in privacy or at a cheaper rate. They're subjecting our calls to recording, listening and monitoring. The prison is divided with some wings using the phone and some aren't but the so- called struggle or solidarity bond been broken. That telephone is our only direct line of communication we have to the outside world... ...Our regular toothbrushes have been replaced with a new security toothbrush that is not big enough for a five-year old to use. It's a health code violation because you are forced to stick your finger all the way in your mouth. God forbid if you happen to let the tiny toothbrush slip and go down your throat. It would be surely sudden death. As of April 22, 1998 a new Zero Tolerance Drug/Alcohol policy has been put into effect, which will not only effect prisoners but also his loved ones and friends as well. If you're caught with drugs or alcohol, or given a urine test and it comes back positive, or you refuse to submit to a urine test, you are subjected to lost of contact visits for a year. The second violation of these new rules, your visits will be taken indefinitely. Your privilege to have a contact visit with you people shouldn't be measured by what you do as a prisoner inside one of these slave camps. Your visitors ...are being punished too. It ain't like we have conjugal visits here in New Jersey. Now as of July 20, 1998, they're claiming, in accordance with Public Law 1997, Chapter 396 (S2082), all institutions under the control of the New Jersey D.O.C. will begin collecting a surcharge of 10% of the sale price of everything sold through the Inmate Commissary. This will fall under V.C.C.B. (Victims of Crime Compensation Board). But what about the prisoners who do not have a violent crime, why are they being taxed? What we have here is called highway robbery. First the court is forcing us to pay fines and penalties to Victims of Crime, and now the DOC is forcing us to pay them too. We're only paid $1.20 a day, if that much, for our prison labor. But when we asked for a state pay raise to help combat the constant rise in commissary prices, they are quick to say that they have no control over it and we must write to the legislator. They'd rather give us yard twice a day, instead of giving us more time and access to the Law Library. Good jailhouse paralegals are almost on the endangered list in these slave camps. The few we do have left are constantly under the threat of being shipped out to another state if they try to do too much on behalf of a prisoner or general population. I need you to support the struggles of prisoners as they oppose the unjust prison system that targets prisoners with harassment and brutality. The inadequate access to legal resources, poor medical treatment, just to name a few. All of the above inhumane conditions in these prisons are all methods of war, which we are fighting against in solidarity with you. A clenched fist salute to all brotha's and sista's imprisoned in New Jersey Gulags. _ A New Jersey Prisoner, 28 July 1998 _ Maryland Brutality ...Comrade the pigs here oppress, repress and suppress us so much that it doesn't make any sense at all. The pigs here will put you in this three piece [contraption], which is leg shackles, handcuffs and this black box with a chain around your waist. Then put you in your cage for 24 hours or more and will not take them off. Then sometimes they beat you in your head a few times with a nightstick or flashlight and refuse you medical treatment, whatsoever. But they say that's legal.... -- A Maryland Prisoner, 24 September 1998 5%ers continue to struggle in South Carolina Here's the deal with our lawsuit pertaining to the nation of Gods & Earth (5%) here in Slave City (S.C.). The defendants have given in to letting us keep our literature on lock-up once you have been designated as a (5%). They agree in short that this ban violates our 1st amendment (right) of the constitution (Freedom of Religion). I say this to our best effect, if they agree to this, they agree that we, the nation of Gods & Earth (5%,) are a religion!!! Now that this has happened we can finally appeal the decision that the judge ruled against us on last year. Strongly feel my brothers who are suffering hold your head. We will find peace!! --A South Carolina prisoner, 16 September 1998 Prisoners Beaten for Blood Well today the SCDC [South Carolina Department of Correction's] staff/security came around to every prisoner and just literally took our blood whether we submitted or not. I mean we don't have any type of privacy whatsoever! The blood work was to test for HIV/AIDS. And there was no refusal whatsoever. At one time a prisoner could refuse, but now Michael Moore will get it any way he can. I have seen more blood spilled on the floor than would fill up one tube! The correctional beasts (c/o's [correction officers]) were having a ball while they were beating prisoners down just to get what they wanted. I know this has to be some sort of violated act of this so-called constitutional amendment of Amerikkka, but what can we do? If a person doesn't want to know if he's positive or negative, that's his/her prerogative. I remember reading MIM Notes (beginning of this year /end of last year), Under Lock and Key and the Comrade stated that we are laboratory mice in a big ass laboratory, just being used for experiments. Next they will say we do not have the right to live. But the only logical reason for this HIV/AIDS this is to get a higher budget for an AIDS Fund, and in the end whoever is in need will receive the same old generic products... -- A South Carolina Prisoner, 24 July 1998 South Carolina Brief ...As of June 24, 1998 the South Carolina DOC [Department of Corrections] began censoring all general outgoing and all incoming mail. No longer can we write brothers who have been shipped to other institutions around the state. The prisoncrats are still in the blind with the materials you provide. But when the snakes get word from their brothers in other states they will inform us of their disapproval, but now it's cool. ...Labor Sucks! 55% of the population works for free. The other 45 % still falls under the policy 8 cents per hour. We work 8 to 12 hour days, five days a week. We pay for mail and all commissary items plus restitution for any damages we do. We don't have to pay for any medical care of medicine, yet that's probably going to be changing soon.... -- A South Carolina Prisoner, 29 June 1998 Pigs Plant Drugs on Latino Prisoner I would like to share an incident that took place on 8/29/98. When recreation is called in this Facility, my regular everyday thing would be my most favorite thing, watching some TV. But on that day, it was a living nightmare for me. While watching TV... I sat down and waited for the facility movie to come on. When the movie began everything seemed to be fine. [Then] two officers approached me and ordered me to comply with a pat frisk. When I stood up from my seat, the CO W. Burn performed his pat frisk. I thought that maybe it was a regular routine being that these officers do this for a living. But it wasn't a regular routine at least not for them, it wasn't. When W. Burn finished his pat frisk, another officer by the name of J. Edwards approached me and stated "I seen what you dropped on the floor." I asked, "What is it that you seen me drop officer?" He said a pack of cigarettes containing 36 bags of a controlled substance. At first, I laughed because I thought they were only playing. But when he showed me the drugs, I told him that wasn't mine, you are framing me. I never in my entire life thought that someone or anybody would ever frame me with drugs, especially in prison. However, they placed me in a special housing unit (SHU) where I awaited the outcome to this living nightmare... In my entire life I never thought anything so meaningful (sic) and so corrupt would ever destroy my entire life. These officers, W. Burn and J. Edwards, are lying about me having drugs in my possession. The truth to this matter is I was framed by both officers. I do have one officer claiming to see me not dropping anything or holding any pack of cigarettes... What makes me so afraid is that even with all these witnesses and I still got charged with two years in the box. The captain who held my hearing also claims to know who the drugs belong to and still he charges me with the drugs. I would like very much for your newspaper to add my story ... In my entire life I never held anything from anyone or my family. But in this case, I'm afraid to explain my outcome to this beautiful family of mine. It's hard enough to have 7 months to go home, then tell them that their brother, son, etc isn't coming home any time soon because he was framed. As a person with nothing but kindness and caring for his family, I prefer they wouldn't know. But as a Latin American, my dignity as a person was disrespected by the staff and if I have to make a choice to fight back, it would be a punishment they never had. They violated me and gave me something to think about for a long time, which is a sadness and misleading punishment toward me. --A New York prisoner, 10 September 1998 Gulags Consider Study Group Unauthorized Revolutionary greetings, Comrades at MIM, I am writing to inform you that I have been receiving MIM Notes without any problems. I have also set up a study group here in this kkkamp, but it is somewhat on the covert-side, being that most information discussed and received by MIM are considered anti- government. A study group dealing with such material is unauthorized organizational activity and labeled as "gang related". I've also been corresponding with various OG's from the Brotherly Love Overrides Oppression and Destruction (Blood) organization. I've been trying to correct their theories on the social conditions of the colonized ghetto's youth. It seems that the Bloods are the fastest growing organization in the New York State (in)correctional system, as well as the most feared. My goal is to redirect their energy. Instead of fighting a horizontal war with other oppressed people, they should educate themselves as well as those of other oppressed organizations and fight on the side of the proletarian struggle. We should harvest the energy of the youth and prepare for the massive thrust in vertical direction against the oppressor.... -- A New York Prisoner, 15 September 1998 Pig Harass Study Group To My Beloved Comrades: MIM Right now I'm currently being held at one of the most dehabilitating and dehumanizing Koncentration Kamps in Maryland, whose main objective is to destroy the minds of its captives, leaving them mentally deficient. A group of comrades have come together and tried to administer to the disease our people are suffering from. We propagate truth accurate information that'll liberate the minds of our people. We overstand that our people are bond in psychological handcuffs and for them to be free, knowledge of self is the only key. We are not Anti-White, but we are anti-white supremacy, and anti- kapitalism. Our main target is the youth of our race and furnishing them with an Afro-centric thought pattern, as opposed to a Euro-centric thought pattern. We give these young brothers/sisters revolutionary love and dedication for the total liberation of Black people globally. This includes spiritually, physically, politically, culturally and economically. I'm writing to you to expose the very nature of this prison. We do not involve ourselves in any illegal acts and members of our organization will not indulge in any. All we have done is re-educate the mis- educated, and train these young brothers to become spiritual warriors. Youths in Maryland who were once considered to be the most dangerous in the state are being revolutionized in thought enabling them to go back out into society to fight for the betterment and upliftment of their people. However, since officials in this Koncentration Kamp found out about our existence, we have been attacked and mistreated. We have never spoken about riots, so they can't use that to justify this mistreatment. There are gangs inside the Koncentration Kamps, so this is what they use to justify this harassment. The thing is, they know that we don't indulge in those types of activities. Furthermore, the pigs have forcibly taken all of our organizational papers. These papers explain what we are, our mission, as well as rules and regulations. It's a very organized movement and they have the papers and know that all our actions are not contrary to who we profess to be. They know that we're not a gang, but they insist on stigmatizing us to further this harassment. This is a very racist prison.... Out of 44 prisoners in this isolation unit, only six are white. At least 15 of us are not being charged or convicted of braking any prison rules. Under prison rules, since we are not charged or convicted of breaking any prison rules, we are entitled to recreation and showers once a day, all of our private property, access to the phones, and access to the legal and educational library. However, myself and fellow comrades are allowed only 2 very short showers a week. We are not allowed a regular toothbrush, instead we have a plastic ring with bristles that fits over a finger. Most of our property has been taken or lost. We find bugs and spit in our food. Are mail is being censored. Certain officials make racial remarks, "You niggers are in our neck of the woods!", "You'll never make it to Afrika from here." When we write ARP's (Administrative Remedy Procedure) it never makes it to the warden. If it does he dismisses it. We need support to end this injustice and we call on your organization to help us end it.... -- A Maryland Prisoner, 5 August, 1998 Oppressed Nations Segregated in New York My cellie and I are here in the SHU [Segregated Housing Unit]. Not only are we subjected to racism. Now they want to tell us that we are not allowed hardback books anymore. Even though most of the brothers are trying to strengthen the mental powers. These pigs will try anything to hold us back. Most of the books we request from the library are hardback. Also there aren't any white prisoners on our side of the block. It is completely segregated, which is not a problem. But things don't have to pose a problem to be wrong. Most of us down here are awaiting transfer, but for some reason brothers have been down here waiting six to ten months. This treatment is completely immoral and inhumane. ...Brotha's and Sista's it's time for us to unite. We are only as strong as our weakest link.... -- Two Pennsylvania Prisoners, 12 September 1998 CENSORSHIP NEWS Pigs Censor Wisconsin Brutality Article ...Comrades, July 15th's publication ran an exposure on brutality in Wisconsin at the Racine Correctional Institution. I'm telling you, don't think for a second that these KKKlowns do not keep an eye on the "Under Lock and Key" portion of MIM Notes. This imperialist intercepted, NOT the paper, ONLY the article. In it's place, and so neatly fitted in, was a plainly typed note that read, "Nobody loves you and nobody cares," an smiley face wearing a Wisconsin Department of Corrections cap. I know it was the article of how these imperialistic bastards beat me and strapped me down to a bed -- in another Wisconsin Unit. But out in general population another brother gets the MIM Notes. His was not censored. So the grapevine was juicy because isn't frequent that good-ole Wisconsin gets exposure.... -- A Wisconsin Prisoner, 20 July 1998 Censorship Problems in Pennsylvania ...We are experiencing a great deal of problems in receiving your conscious-expanding newspapers, newsletters and magazines in a number of Pennsylvania Prisons. Specifically those prisons which are located near or around rural townships, where the prison employee workforce is 99.5% white. We are continuously being denied access to your publications on frivolous grounds. We are unable to challenge the official arrogance of the disapproval, as we've never received the publication to begin with. ...To file a grievance complaint is also a pointless effort, due to the fact that the (RRC) Reading Review Committee Chairman is also the Grievance Coordinator and the Superintendent's Assistant. Therefore we have no other recourse but to bring this matter back to you to seek your assistance in dealing with this serious matter. Not only are these biased people denying us the First Amendment rights of this country. They are also refusing to reimburse the inmates who paid for the subscriptions to those publications which the institution is not allowing them to receive. They're confiscating publications at the front door!, withholding them for a month, then sending us a pink disapproval slip a with a check marking the alleged reason for disapproval. More often [literature is refused] because of something they disliked on some page of the publication. It should also be noted that magazines on how to hunt down Bambi, kill him and slice him up into sections is permitted without any problems. So are Field and Stream, Guns and Ammo catalogs, Soldier of Fortune, and Rifle magazines. All or any publications which fit the script of the surrounding rural white townships. Prisoners of war kamps located in or near these like minded townships are overcrowded with young and elder Blacks and Latinos from urban cities who make up 82% of these prison populations in Pennsylvania. Where the employee workforce is 99.5% white. So porn magazines and any type of literature, which they approve of the savage images, is a permissible publication according to their mental standards. I can't speak for the 200,000 plus incarcerated inmate citizens in these POW kamps across the country. Those sista's and brotha's have a voice of their own. However, I can speak for myself! I could care less about how to hunt down, shoot, kill, slice, dice and fry Bambi up for a family meal. What I do care about is having the freedom to choose to read any political or educational books, magazines, newspapers, etc. which I deem will elevate my social and political consciousness. I have tried. WE have tried to appeal this matter at the Department of Corrections level. All to no avail. The only recourse I have left is to appeal the matter to you the people to assist us in securing the right to choose and read the materials which contribute to our conscious growth needs. We cannot allow this beast to completely cut off our communication link with the outside world. Your help and assistance is needed to combat this serious issue. Yours in Revolutionary solidarity and struggle, -- A Pennsylvania Prisoner, 10 June 1998 Letters of Protest can be sent to: Superintendent, State Corrections Institution, Drawer K, Dallas, PA 18612-0286 Victory Against Censorship Dear MIM, I just wanted to report that I used your advice in fighting prison censorship and it worked! The Headquarters in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania ordered this KKKamp's administration to give me any and ALL literature from MIM Distributors. Today I received the Black Panther Book, four MIM Notes newspapers and a MIM Theory magazine. The Struggle Continues! Thanks from the Heart, -- A Pennsylvania Prisoner, 6 September 1998?