MIM Notes ***

MIM Notes 260 · June 15, 2002· Page 1

MIM Notes

June 15, 2002, Nº 260

The Official Newsletter of the Maoist Internationalist Movement (MIM)

Free

INSIDE: Attack of the Clones, Spiderman Reviewed * Una Página en Español...

by MC5

May 25, 2002

n the week from May 17th to May

24th, Pakistan and India had twice as

many mortar duels as in all of 2001.

Both sides used heavy artillery in the

Kashmir region. The two sides exchange

fire periodically with regard to disputed

territory.(1)

Deaths resulting included villagers and

troops. China reported 10 dead Pakistanis

who were apparently villagers and 70 to

ay 2002 saw a stunning series

of historical events in which

the major rulers of our time

admitted the nature of modern

militarism. Leading insurance investor

and billionaire Warren Buffet and leading

members of the Bush Cabinet admitted

that the use of weapons of mass

destruction against the

United $tates is

inevitable.

The recent cascade of

events started on May 5th

when Warren Buffet, the

world's second richest

man, admitted that a

nuclear event is

inevitable. "We're going

to have something in the

way of a major nuclear

event in this country. It

will happen. Whether it

will happen in 10 years or

10 minutes, or 50 years ...

it's virtually a

certainty."(1) MIM has

been saying the same

thing for years, except

that we believe this risk

is accelerated by

capitalism, reduced by socialism and

eliminated under communism.

Buffet has explained that his self-

interest is in finding "elephants" to

achieve high growth, because now his

company is so huge that it is impossible

to grow it quickly without elephants--

large projects. So it is that a large

insurance company may be more willing

to talk about large risks if the money is

there to be made on insuring against

nuclear events. Right now, Buffet says

he is letting insurance policies lapse if

they overexpose him to terrorist risk.

Companies like his have the largest

SAN FRANCISCO

n Memorial Day weekend police attacked a peaceful, legally-

permitted, anti-imperialist march of hundreds of people at the Golden

Gate bridge. They arrested 34 people.

The protestors were most of the way across the bridge on the walkway

when dozens of cops blocked their path and insisted they turn back. The cops

blocked traffic on the bridge and arrested and beat people all the way back to

San Francisco. Arrests continued even after demonstrators were off the bridge.

Police threw an 11-year-old Palestinian girl to the ground and then charged

her with felony assault on an officer.

The demonstration--organized by the All Peoples Coalition to Stop U.S.

Terror and Occupation--was in solidarity with the Palestinian struggle against

U.$.-backed Israeli aggression and in opposition U.$. military attacks around

the world. Organizers originally planned a peaceful march across the bridge

Toilers suffer in brewing India-Pakistan war

100 Pakistani troop deaths total in one

week.(2)

Nuclear threat

The English Independent wrote a nice

summary of the situation: "The world

quakes at what will happen if the

Pakistani leader, General Pervez

Musharraf, or Mr. Vajpayee [the Indian

Prime Minister] press the nuclear button.

Estimates of India's and Pakistan's

nuclear strengths vary wildly, but at the

low end of the scale Pakistan is estimated

to have at least 40 nuclear bombs

compared with India's 60--quite

sufficient for the task.

"Both nations also have the missiles

needed to deliver them, so that in theory

all Pakistan's cities and many of India's

are within range. A missile from

Rawalpindi could deliver its nuclear

payload to Delhi within three minutes,

and vice versa."

But India and Pakistan are also braced

to fight a very different kind of war--a

war such as Europe has not seen for more

than 55 years. "Three quarters of a

million Indian troops are strung out along

India's 2000- mile border with Pakistan,

from the torrid salt marshes of Gujarat

to the frozen peaks of Siachen Glacier in

the High Himalayas. They are confronted

by a quarter of a million Pakistanis."(3)

In early April the president of Pakistan

made of point of saying that it is prepared

assets, so if he cannot underwrite nuclear

terrorist policies, no one can. Buffet says

that as of now only the U.S. Government

can insure against major terrorist attacks.

On February 28, 2002, Buffet had

already explained much of the basics in

a report on the year 2001. We quote

Buffet at length here:

"Insurers have always

found it costly to ignore

new exposures. Doing

that in the case of

terrorism, however,

could literally bankrupt

the industry. No one

knows the probability of

a nuclear detonation in a

major metropolis this

year (or even multiple

detonations, given that a

terrorist organization

able to construct one

bomb might not stop

there). Nor can anyone,

with assurance, assess

the probability in this

year, or another, of

deadly biological or

chemical agents being

i n t r o d u c e d

simultaneously (say, through ventilation

systems) into multiple office buildings

and manufacturing plants. An attack like

that would produce astronomical

workers' compensation claims.

"Here's what we do know:

"The probability of such mind-

boggling disasters, though likely very

low at present, is not zero.

"The probabilities are increasing, in an

irregular and immeasurable manner, as

knowledge and materials become

available to those who wish us ill. Fear

may recede with time, but the danger

AMERIKAN RULERS PROMISE

`NUCLEAR EVENTS'

Insurance policies rewritten

Police turn violent at

Golden Gate protest

Riot police close in on marchers (sf.indymedia.org)

`Whether

in 10

years, 10

minutes or

50 years...
virtually a

certainty.'

Continued on page 8...

Continued on page 4...

Continued on page 9...

MIM Notes 260 · June 15, 2002· Page 2

MIM Notes

The Official Newsletter of The Maoist Internationalist Movement

MIM Notes is the bi-weekly newsletter of the Maoist Internationalist Movement. MIM

grants explicit permission to copy all or part of this newspaper for any reason. Please
credit MIM Notes where appropriate. The paper is free to all prisoners. Overseas airmail
is $2 per issue. MIM Notes is the official Party voice. Material in the paper is the Party's
position unless noted to the contrary. MIM Notes accepts submissions and critiques from
anyone. The editors reserve the right to edit copy unless permission is specifically denied
by the author. Back issues of MIM Notes are available for $1 per issue. A bound volume
of the original MIM Notes 1-34 and MIM Theory 1-13 (old numbering) is available for
$15, post-paid. MIM has a complete literature list of progressive books and pamphlets.
Send $2 for a copy. MIM's ten point program is available to anyone who sends in a
SASE. MIM is an underground party that does not publish the names of its comrades in
order to avoid the state surveillance and repression that have historically been directed at
communist parties and anti-imperialist movements. MCs, MIM comrades, are members
of the Party. RCs are RAIL Comrades. The Revolutionary Anti-Imperialist League (RAIL)
is an anti-imperialist mass organization led by MIM. MIM runs a books for prisoners
program which provides Maoist and general political material to prisoners for free. Make
checks or money orders payable to "Books for Prisoners, Inc." Federal EIN: 04-3475938.
Send to: Books for Prisoners, Inc. c/o the address below. Donations and books can be
sent to the address below. Send cash or check payable to "MIM Distributors".

MIM

P.O. Box 29670

Los Angeles, CA 90029-0670

eMail: <mim@mim.org>

WWW: <http//www.prisoncensorship.info/archive/etext>

What is MIM?

The Maoist Internationalist Movement (MIM) is 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 Maoist Internationalist
parties in Belgium, France and Quebec and the existing or emerging Spanish-speaking
Maoist Internationalist parties of Aztlan, Puerto Rico and other territories of the U.$. Empire.

MIM Notes is the newspaper of MIM. Notas Rojas is the newspaper of the Spanish-speaking
parties or emerging parties of MIM. MIM upholds the revolutionary communist ideology
of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism and is an internationalist organization that works from the

vantage point of the Third World proletariat. MIM struggles to end the oppression of all
groups over other groups: classes, genders, nations. MIM knows this is only possibly 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 humyn history. (3) As Marx, Engels and Lenin formulated and MIM has
reiterated through materialist analysis, imperialism extracts super-profits from the Third

World and in part uses this wealth to buy off whole populations of oppressor nation so-
called workers. These so-called workers bought off by imperialism form a new petty-
bourgeoisie called the labor aristocracy. These classes are not the principal vehicles to

advance Maoism within those countries because their standards of living depend on
imperialism. At this time, imperialist super-profits create this situation in the Canada, Quebec,
the United $tates, England, France, Belgium, Germany, Japan, Italy, Switzerland,

Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Israel, Sweden and Denmark. 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.

Editor, MC206; Production, MC12

MIM is looking for distributors and

sponsors to step forward. Sponsors pay for
papers; distributors get them onto the
streets and officers do both distribution and
financial support:

Distribute

Cost per year

12 (Priority Mail)

$120

25 (Priority Mail)

$150

50 (Priority Mail)

$280

100

$380

200

$750

900 (Express Mail!)

$3,840

900 (8-10 days)

$2,200

If you know you have some good places

distribute, we suggest starting at 200 and
working your way up. If you are not willing
to distribute, just send money. If you are
not willing to pay, then request papers after
somehow proving to the party that you are
serious (words won't count). You who will
cough up/raise the money to distribute 900
papers each issue and then do the
distribution -- you are what drives this party
forward.

Make anonymous money orders payable

to "MIM." Send to MIM, attn: Camb.
branch, PO Box 400559, Cambridge, MA
02140. Or write mim3@mim.org.

A call for MIM Notes sponsors and distributors!

Letters

Prisoner contributes
to MIM

Revolutionary greetings,

Enclosed with this letter I've sent a

money order for $25. I want to contribute

to help MIM in the agitation and

education of the masses politically. Like

I've said, of all the prisons papers I've

read, especially of Marxist ideology,

MIM stands above the rest in its analysis

and solutions to the problems of the

oppressed internationally. So good I had

to be leery and wonder was this some

government agent front or pseudo

intellectuals who are trying to make

money while keeping a tab on real

revolutionaries. Still, there are some lines

were I differ with MIM, but we're on the

same page overall. In the future I want to

work with MIM as much as I can but I

need guidance to properly educate me

politically, as well as keep me on track.

... In the meantime I'll bide my time in

study so MIM keep the revolutionary

spirit and movement alive.

In struggle,

A Texas Prisoner, May 2002

MIM replies : The prisoner also

included a list of study materials he needs

to move forward. We print this letter as

an example, especially to those on the

outside, who are reading MIM Notes but

not contributing, or not contributing as

much as they can. If this prisoner can

cough up $25, what can you do? Many

people who have some disagreements

with MIM hold out on supporting the

party while they hem and haw. This

prisoner steps forward to support and

work with MIM, even while he struggles

over issues that may still divide us. That

is the dialectical materialist approach to

working with a revolutionary

organization. Find what's best, and get

active while struggling over other issues,

and either changing your mind or

improving the party in the process.

Follow this prisoner's example, and get

moving!

Ali is not my hero
anymore

MIM,

I am of Mexican descent. I would like

to comment on the movie "Ali." I haven't

had a chance to see it because I'm on

lockdown in one of the hellholes of Texas

ad-seg. But if I may comment as an

armchair critic I thank you kindly. I

always liked Ali. I liked his flair for

comedy, his fighting skills, and what I

always heard of him, that he was always

against the establishment and one of us.

But now that I think of it, I don't think

that he's always been against the

establishment for the people of the world,

but only for himself? In this way I feel

that we exaggerated Muhammad Ali's so-

called radicalism and made him into this

legendary romantic figure of the people,

that he did not have coming? Yes, perhaps

he was never of the people?

At the time he was a so-called radical

he belonged in a racial sect of the "Nation

of Islam" that seemed to hate all the races

(not just the blue- eyed devils) because

of the discrimination they were going

through. He was really only for the Black

people. And his so-called radicalism was

taught that Blacks were superior to all

other races. When he refused to fight in

Vietnam, he said that he didn't have

anything against the Vietcong. When he

said this, he seemed like one of the

people, against U.S. imperialism. But

obviously he was not. All he really meant

was that he didn't have any quarrel with

he Vietcong because they didn't do

anything to him personally, not because

he was against U.S. imperialism. And

how he's talking like if he's with the U.S.

imperialists against the so-called "Islamic

terrorists." Can't he see that the U.S.

government is exploiting him?

Instead of being one of the people,

seems he would fit right in with those

oppressive Arab regimes like the Saudi

Arabian rulers and Kuwaitis. As a result,

has Ali sold out? Or, perhaps he didn't

sell out because he was always one of

them? And he would rather be loved like

he is by the world then stand for principle,

what is right? If this is true, it is a phony

love. And perhaps he is not educated in

U.S. imperialism and radical left-wing

doctrine? That's whe he's being misled?

Well, whatever the circumstances, he

ain't my hero anymore.

In Solidarity,

A Texas Prisoner, May 2002

MIM replies: We were also

disappointed that Ali made pro-

Amerikan statements after 9/11, instead

of taking a stand against imperialism. He

is not our hero either. This is really a

lesson in why you shouldn't hitch your

wagon to individuals, especially those

outside a disciplined revolutionary party.

If you set out to follow Ali on a

revolutionary path, you would end up

nowhere.

But let's not go too far, and take away

the truly positive impact he had,

especially in his denouncing the national

oppression of Blacks, and in opposing the

war against Vietnam. Those were truly

progressive stances, and he used his

position in the public eye to forward

those important statements. Yes, the

Nation of Islam promoted an idealist,

racialist view that divided the oppressed

and misled many people. But he, and

they, also took an important stand for

national liberation.

So, it's right to say we don't want to

follow him and them, but it would be

wrong to say that there was no value in

Continued on page 9...

MIM Notes 260 · June 15, 2002· Page 3

UNITED

FRONT

Get the new issue of MIM Theory, #14, and read the latest
theory on building the movement to overthrow
imperialism once and for all, in 174 pages. Articles include
MIM congress resolutions, history from the Spanish Civil
War to Puerto Rico, Kenya, and Stalin -- plus international
documents, reviews, and much more. Send $7.50 to the
address on page 2.

MIM Notes has seen a big spike in

circulation since the "war on
terrorism" began. It's not surprising:
MIM Notes is a free and independent

newspaper. Yes, there are especially
now knee-jerk patriots who believe
everything Bush says and pass by a

chance to read MIM Notes. There are
other patriots and internationalists
who realize that at this time papers

like MIM Notes can undo the huge
spectacle that Uncle Sam is creating
for its own benefit.

Sure, you have seen MIM Notes

around, but MIM Notes needs people
to do two simple things: 1) Pay for it

(postage and printing), 2) Distribute
it!

MIM is looking for sponsors,

distributors and officers. Sponsors pay
for papers; distributors get them onto
the streets and officers do both

distribution and financial support.

Distribute # Cost per year

12 (Priority Mail)

$120

25 (Priority Mail)

$150

50 (Priority Mail)

$280

100

$380

200

$750

900 (Express Mail!)

$3,840

900 (8-10 days)

$2,200

If you know you have some good

places to do distribution, we suggest
starting at 200 and working your way
up higher. If you are not willing to do

distribution, just send money. If you
are not willing to pay, then request
papers after somehow proving to the

party that you are serious (words
won't count). You who will cough up/
raise the money to distribute 900

papers each issue and then do the
distribution, you are what drives this
party forward.

A call for MIM Notes

sponsors and distributors!

Make anonymous money orders payable to "MIM." Send to MIM,

attn: Camb. branch, PO Box 400559, Cambridge, MA 02140. Contact

MIM in regards to this campaign by writing mim3@mim.org

Attention subscribers

MIM now sends MIM Notes

subscriptions to individuals in monthly

mailings, third class mail. If you have a

subscription and would like a refund for

the remaining months, please write to

MIM,PO Box 29670, Los Angeles, CA

90029-0670.

We constantly update MIM's

coverage of the U.$. war on

our web site, with news and
opinion, agitation materials,
articles in English, Spanish,

French, Chinese and

Russian!

Read and distribute the

newspaper -- and get the

latest:

www.etext.org/ Politics/MIM

This is the conclusion of a debate

between MIM and a Buddhist in Seattle.

The previous installment (MIM Notes

259) dealt with the myopia of Western

supporters of the Dalai Lama when it

comes to the history of slavery and

feudalism in Tibet, as well as

imprisonment in Amerika and the success

of the Chinese communists in eliminating

drug abuse. This installment picks up

with the problem of imprisonment in

Amerika.

Seattle Buddhist continues: There are

still racial and economic problems. While

laws can limit the outward manifestations

of racism they sometimes only serve to

harden the mindset which is one of the

underlying causes. The Teaching

Tolerance program originated and funded

by the Southern Poverty Law Center and

Morris Dees does much to address those

causes that laws can't reach. Economic

woes have been lessened by things like

labor unions and Social Security. There

are programs to provide education and

nutrition to those who cannot afford it.

We need more.

I am curious. What were the steps

taken by Maoism which you allege

eliminated the drug problem in China?

You are still evading the dissent issue.

What would happen under Maoism to a

publication that opposed Maoism to the

same extent that your publication

opposes the current U.S. from of

government and capitalism? In the U.S.,

that degree of dissent is not only

permitted but protected by the

Constitution. The Constitution defends

the liberty of all. It does not give anyone

the right to limit or remove the liberty of

another except by due process or national

or civil emergency. Slavery was clearly

unconstitutional--even before it was

amended to make it official. You have yet

to provide proof that slavery existed under

the Dalai Lama, only allegation and

innuendo. Slaves have been born into

captivity and handed down by inheritance

in the U.S. and elsewhere. None of books

I have read on Tibet mention cotton or

sugar plantations in greater Lhasa nor do

they mention the Dalai Lama inheriting

any slaves from his parents. Profit and

survival are not mutually exclusive. I

prefer a system that nurtures both over

one which restricts either.

As for what Tibet was like under Mao,

I refer you to Palden Gyatso, a monk who

was arrested by Maoists in 1959 and not

released until 1992. He underwent 33

years of torture and forced labor. In 1995

he gave evidence at the United Nations

Commission on Human rights in Geneva.

There are slaves in Tibet. He saw

thousands over the 33 years he was at

Chinese prisons and labor camps in Tibet,

including those at Sangyip and Drapchi.

So much for the Maoist "liberation."

MIM replies: We did not evade the

issue. We said political content matters

and we are for repression and

dictatorship. Abe Lincoln repressed the

slaveowners, violently. He deprived them

of citizenship rights violently and made

MIM debates Seattle Buddhist on `freedom,' Tibet

LOS ANGELES

MIM supporters collected

approximately 100 signatures endorsing

our demand to "Open the U.$. border"

with Mexico and oppose the Immigration

and Naturalization Service's (INS)

"Operation Gatekeeper" at a May Day

rally for the leganization of

undocumented immigrants. Since its

inception in 1994, "Operation

Gatekeeper" has killed more than 740

migrants attempting to enter the United

$tates to look for work. That is hundreds

more than died attempting to cross the

East/West German border -- much

reviled in Amerikan propaganda -- in

its entire 25+ year history.

Most everyone we approached with

our petition was friendly and supportive,

many urged us to "keep it up" and wished

us good luck in collecting signatures.

Our non-Spanish speaking comrades

presented the petition in both English and

Spanish, and relied on assistance from

bilingual marchers and the patience of

the masses to communicate our

demands.

One young white womyn from Orange

County thought that it was okay to extend

legal status to workers who are already

in this country, but did not want to see

the borders opened for all immigrants.

She argued that Southern California is

already too crowded, which makes the car

traffic really bad. A MIM comrade

pointed out that because they are paid so

poorly even the migrants who are already

in the united $tates do not own cars. The

source of all that traffic is the ever-

expanding yankee quest for suburban,

segregated single-family living. This

lifestyle demands ever more low-wage

workers to build houses, tend lawns, do

private childcare and clean house.

LAPD stormtroopers -- many dressed

in full riot gear, gripping their sidearms

and nightsticks -- greeted marchers at

intersections along the route. At police

headquarters, some 25 pigs in full regalia

rode horses whose plexiglass face shields

were also drawn.

The Multi-ethnic Immigrant Workers

Organizing Network (MIWON)

organized the May Day rally in to

demand "true

legalization" for

u n d o c u m e n t e d

workers "in the

form of permanent

legal status and

citizenship that

should not be

limited to any

country of origin or

work industry."

MIM promotes open borders at immigrant legalization rally

Continued on page 6...

MIM Notes 260 · June 15, 2002· Page 4

won't--the war against terrorism can

never be won. The best the nation can

achieve is a long succession of

stalemates. There can be no checkmate

against hydra-headed foes.

"Until now, insurers and reinsurers

have blithely assumed the financial

consequences from the incalculable risks

I have described.

"Under a `close-to-worst-case'

scenario, which could conceivably

involve $1 trillion of damage, the

insurance industry would be destroyed

unless it manages in some manner to

dramatically limit its assumption of

terrorism risks. Only the U.S.

Government has the resources to absorb

such a blow. If it is unwilling to do so on

a prospective basis, the general citizenry

must bear its own risks and count on the

Government to come to its rescue after a

disaster occurs.

"Why, you might ask, didn't I

recognize the above facts before

September 11th? The answer, sadly, is

that I did-- but I didn't convert thought

into action. I violated the Noah rule:

Predicting rain doesn't count; building

arks does. I consequently let Berkshire

operate with a dangerous level of risk--

at General Re in particular. I'm sorry to

say that much risk for which we haven't

been compensated remains on our books,

but it is running off by the day.

"At Berkshire, it should be noted, we

have for some years been willing to

assume more risk than any other insurer

has knowingly taken on. That's still the

case. We are perfectly willing to lose $2

billion to $2.5 billion in a single event

(as we did on September 11th) if we have

been paid properly for assuming the risk

that caused the loss (which on that

occasion we weren't).

"Indeed, we have a major competitive

advantage because of our tolerance for

huge losses."(2)

Buffet goes on to add that his company

will limit future exposure no matter what

the competition does. Not surprisingly he

cautioned there would be slower growth

of his company at the same time.

It's almost a bad social-democratic joke

to be talking about "workers'

compensation claims" when hundreds of

thousands or millions of people die in a

single nuclear attack.

Other investors also have an interest

in the terrorism problem--aside from

defense and security contractors. Bond-

holders may decide they want to see large

deficits to drive up interest rates! They

may also decide they do not want to see

rates go up too much if the price is

government involvement.

What Buffet points to implicitly means

that the public may become much more

dependent on the government. If there is

a "small" nuclear event, we may predict

a huge growth of ugly social-democratic

style bureaucracy and a government

deficit. By some theories this should also

drive up interest rates.

In addition, ruining the economy

benefits those investors who are most

"liquid" and able to buy shares of ruined

companies on the stock market. Hence,

there are economic reasons for certain

sectors of the capitalist class to want to

speak of the terrorism threat.

Politically, realism on the ugliness of

capitalism means that those in favor of a

reduced government role such as many

Amerikan Republicans and libertarians

will seek to encourage the public to bear

the price of higher insurance premiums

to pay for future nuclear catastrophes.

That may be the reason we have seen a

succession of Bush administration

officials admit that there is no stopping

terrorists completely, including in nuclear

attacks.

In all fairness, MIM has to give limited

credit to Buffet, nut-case reactionary

"Secretary of Defense" Donald

Rumsfeld, Vice-President Cheney and

FBI Director Robert S. Mueller for

succeeding in at least part of their

"intelligence" capacities--and

responsibly informing the public of the

risks it now faces. These rulers will draw

their own conclusions, but the rest of the

world is free to draw proletarian

conclusions.

On May 20th, Mueller said that suicide

bombings on U.$. soil were

"inevitable."(2) Then on May 21st,

Rumsfeld delivered the final blow in a

long series of blows regarding the "war

on terrorism" by telling the public: "Let

there be no doubt, it is only a matter of

time before terrorist states armed with

weapons of mass destruction develop the

capability to deliver those weapons to

U.S. cities, giving them the ability to try

to hold America hostage to nuclear

blackmail."(3) While Buffet suggested

raising insurance premiums and denying

certain kinds of coverage, Rumsfeld's

suggestion was to build better defenses

against nuclear attack.

According to former "Defense

Secretary" and current Vice-President

Dick Cheney, the ability of al Qaeda

leaders to keep their own followers in the

dark about operations as they proceed is

a stunning reason why spying on al Qaeda

and other "terrorists" won't work

completely. Cheney concluded it was

"almost certain" that the "terrorists"

would succeed in striking the United

$tates again.(4)

Buffet, Mueller, Cheney, Rumsfeld --

each in his own way gave the public

something to chew on, a report on the

"struggle" against "terrorism." That is a

minimum level of acting responsibly that

MIM credits them for. Although nuclear

weapons are not equally distributed in

this world, the struggles of the oppressed

have become part of the imperialists'

calculations.

Hence from these rich men and rulers

we have heard that it is impossible to

completely stop "terrorism" and the

spread of nuclear weapons. We agree

with them on the nature of the risk even

to U.$. citizens. It took them too long to

say what MIM has been saying, but they

have now admitted important facts. Now

it is a question of solutions. In actuality,

while succeeding rather late in their

intelligence capacities, each of these

people lacks the political courage and

know-how to change the situation. Their

answers range from increasing budgets

for spying and chasing terrorists, to

building "Star Wars" defense systems, to

increasing insurance premiums to

admitting that since I$rael does it,

Amerikkkans can live through suicide

bombings too. Vaguely, the rulers seem

to realize that while they do more of the

same without a vision of a new future,

"the terrorists" also will do more of the

same, especially now that September

11th proved what was possible.

None of these rulers have the political

courage to admit that a system falling

apart in so many ways and needing

patching by their own logic in so many

areas has to be replaced by a system built

in which there is no such risk of

aggressive motivation by anyone. They

think we can afford to live under the same

economic system as the past. The rulers

want to retain the right to oppress others

by military force--even if that creates

RULERS PROMISE `NUCLEAR EVENTS'

Militarism is war-mongering or the

advocacy of war or actual carrying out

of war or its preparations.

While true pacifists condemn all

violence as equally repugnant, we

Maoists do not consider self-defense

or the violence of oppressed nations

against imperialism to be militarism.

Militarism is mostly caused by

imperialism at this time. Imperialism

is the highest stage of capitalism--

seen in countries like the United

$tates, England and France.

Under capitalism, capitalists often

profit from war or its preparations.

Yet, it is the proletariat that does the

dying in the wars. The proletariat

wants a system in which people do not

have self-interest on the side of war-

profiteering or war for imperialism.

Militarism is one of the most

important reasons to overthrow

capitalism. It even infects oppressed

nations and causes them to fight each

other.

It is important not to let capitalists

risk our lives in their ideas about war

and peace or the environment. They

have already had two world wars

admitted by themselves in the last 100

years and they are conducting a third

right now against the Third World.

Even a one percent annual chance of

nuclear war destruction caused by

capitalist aggressiveness or "greed" as

the people call it should not be tolerated

by the proletariat. After playing

Russian Roulette (in which the bullet

chamber is different each time and not

related at all to the one that came up in

previous spins) with 100 chambers and

one bullet, the chance of survival is

only 60.5% after 50 turns. In other

words, a seemingly small one percent

annual chance of world war means

eventual doom. After 100 years or turns

of Russian Roulette, the chances of

survival are only 36.6%. After 200

years, survival has only a 13.4%

chance.

What is militarism?

"terrrorists" who strike back with

inevitable nuclear attacks. These rulers

also want a profit-system of rewards that

pays people to invent, deliver and

distribute weapons of mass distribution.

They are afraid to abolish money and

track luxury good consumption. They are

also against guaranteeing every persyn

on this earth food, shelter, clothing and

the best-possible sustainable

environment and non-militarist

atmosphere. That's what it would take to

avoid nuclear catastrophes, but the way

it looks right now, Amerikkkans will have

to suffer one or two "nuclear events"

before they figure it out. Unfortunately,

that may be too late for the whole species,

thanks to the development of the means

of destruction.

Notes:

1. http://www.guardian.co.uk/uslatest/

story/0,1282,-1713422,00.html

2. http://www.berkshirehathaway.com/

2001ar/2001letter.html

3. http://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/

21/politics/21CND-TERROR.html

4. http://www.cnn.com/2002/

ALLPOLITICS/05/20/cheney.terrorism/

index.html

Continued from page 1...

MIM Notes 260 · June 15, 2002· Page 5

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can you browse

more than 15

years of the

newspaper, you

can also keep up

with the very

latest on MIM

agitation

campaigns,

prisoner news, all

the latest on the

U$ war, and much

more. MIM's

website is an

indispensable tool

for the

revolutionary

movement. Get

involved!

www.etext.org/

Politics/MIM

The Joint Chiefs of Staff apparently

feel that they must maneuver for

maximum flexibility in military strikes,

because taking on all the battles being

considered at present would be too

difficult, reported the English Guardian

newspaper May 25th. Already waging an

active war in Afghanistan, the U.$.

military mentioned the India-Pakistan

dispute as one reason it cannot afford to

jump into Iraq with 200,000 troops in a

full-scale invasion to put in a new lackey

regime.

U.$. "Special Forces" already serve in

the Philippines and Yemen. The U.$.

military leaders say their military is too

small both to defend the homeland and

operate in so many countries at once. Air

Force head John Jumper said, "`We never

sized ourselves to have to do high force-

protection levels at home and overseas

at the same time. We're stretched very

thin in security forces,' he was quoted as

saying by the New York Times."(1)

From its inception, MIM has said that

the United $tates is in World War III.

When we hear the U.$. military admit

that it is already overstretched, it

confirms that World War III against the

Third World is an accurate description.

What it means for the Third World is that

its natural trajectory of growth and

adoption of new weapons means that the

United $tates will not be able to control

all of the Third World forever; even

though the United $tates will likely retain

many technological and military

advantages for the immediate future.

If the humyn species does not die in a

nuclear holocaust, revolution will come

about through the overstretching of the

U.$. military. As the U.$. reaction to

September 11th proves, the rulers only

know how to do "more of the same."

Whether it be resolving thousands of

phony anthrax letters and catching the

real perpetrators, doing more racial

profiling, running more wiretaps on MIM

and others, keeping tabs on millions of

people who could be "terrorists" or

intervening in various wars, the U.$.

rulers do not realize that time is passing

them by. They cannot stop the

proliferation of weapons of mass

destruction or the capability to spoil the

earth's environment with one good bomb.

They cannot do that anymore than they

could win the "war on drugs." The reason

is that the economic system motivates

many millions of people to do things that

the U.$. rulers cannot control.

The press reports only months after the

fact that the FBI had its own problems in

chasing "the terrorists." The press even

reports that one FBI agent was receiving

bribes that may have connected to 911--

what a shock under capitalism, that

someone might want money to spend on

a luxurious life and would do something

"competitive" to get that money!(2)

Instead of realizing the extent and

numbers involved in the problem, the

press likes to believe we are pointing at

one operation and needing to detain one

Osama bin Laden. Even ultra-reactionary

nutcase "Defense Secretary" Rumsfeld is

tired of settler individualist stupidity, at

least on this question: "Asked whether

terrorist leader Osama bin Laden is still

alive, Rumsfeld said he didn't know.

"`This isn't our business, the secretary

of defense's business, to track down a

single individual,' he said. `We've never

organized ourselves as a law enforcement

agency. That is a very difficult thing to

do. It's like finding a needle in a

haystack.'"(3)

The press tells us about the one memo

that got overlooked in catching the 911

hijackers. The same press does not tell

us how many memos the one agent wrote

that were wrong--never mind the

number of memos that all the FBI agents

combined wrote that were wrong.(4)

This has to do with the mathematical

illiteracy of the public in the dumbocracy

that is the world's superpower.

Amerikkkans who believe in settling

"their own" piece of land and "rugged

individualism" have always been slow

learners when it comes to classing a large

number of events together and analyzing

probabilities between 1 and 99%. It's not

enough to stop an individual, because a

one percent chance in a game of Russian

Roulette means a 63% chance of failure

after 100 turns.

Even being right 99 in 100 times is not

enough and today this means we need a

communist system to motivate everyone

to be harmonious. We humyns do not

have to have perfect bodies or minds. Yet

even with our flaws we lived in

communism before industrial society

U.$. brass fear military stretched too thin

when we lived in tribes. We just need to

remove the causes of aggressive behavior

instead of trying to repress everyone who

opposes the United $tates, as if the

opposition cannot strike back, ever.

Thanks to our individualism and our

middle-class existence backing

mathematical illiteracy, Amerikkkans

show every likelihood that like other

imperialist populations before, we will

have to learn the hard way, maybe getting

ourselves nuked once or twice and losing

protracted wars in the Third World. After

we get nuked, hopefully no Amerikkkans

will be whining about the one memo or

the one anti-missile launcher that failed

in the Star Wars defensive shield. MIM

hopes that the people here will be able

to take a more thorough approach and

change. Species survival should not

depend on a memo or anti-missile missile

launcher.

Notes:

1. http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/

Story/0,2763,722053,00.html

2. http://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/

25/business/25FRAU.html

3. http://www.cnn.com/2002/US/05/

23/rumsfeld.terror/index.html; Rumsfeld

also did the responsible thing and

admitted that things look bleak in terms

of stopping a massive attack on the

United $tates.

4. An example of the furor that is now

acceptable in the mainstream imperialist

press is http://www.usatoday.com/news/

attack/2002/05/24/whistle.htm

Weapons are not equally distributed by

country in this world, but as nuclear and

missile technology inevitably spreads,

there are those who seek to stem the

wheel of history. Such people seeking to

go back to a time when only a handful of

countries could commit hari-kari through

nuclear war are by definition

reactionaries--backwards-looking

people--and they are a danger to the

whole world. The recent uproar over

"routine" Pakistan missile tests on May

25th (1) proves that the rulers of Western

governments and media are unqualified

to lead to global peace.

Nuclear and missile proliferation is

inevitable. The sooner that everyone

grasps that and its implications, the better.

Right now various weak and incompetent

rulers in the leading imperialist countries

fantasize about missile defense shields

and sending in special forces teams to

capture nuclear weapons before they are

used.

It's definitely the same-old, same-old.

These rulers lack the vision that only the

international proletariat can bring to the

table--a world where people need not

fear each other, a world that necessarily

has an international minimum wage, full

employment, land reform--basic food,

shelter, clothing and environment rights

and economic growth. That is the ONLY

way in which the economic system is not

designed to take chances with the peace.

These rulers think they buried

communism, but now reactionaries

ranging from the Moonies to British

intelligence fret about northern Korea

selling missiles to Arabs for profit.(2)

Well, duh, that's capitalism for you.

Oh sure, it galls these old rulers from

old imperialist countries that some dark-

skinned persyn in some yet-to-

industrialize country could destroy the

atmosphere we all need to live--just in a

single fitful and suicidal act. Those are

Reactionaries focus on missile threat

to United $tates and England

the emotions the imperialist country

rulers and population feel, but they do

not contribute one iota to a solution.

People who feel that they have the good

life economically and place a value on

their lives should see to it that the rest of

the world gets to the same place. Instead,

the populations of England and the

United $tates look backwards instead of

accepting the inevitable and adjusting

accordingly.

Notes:

1. http://www.cnn.com/2002/

W O R L D / a s i a p c f / s o u t h / 0 5 / 2 5 /

india.pakistan/index.html

2. http://english.pravda.ru/main/2002/

05/24/29265.html

MIM Notes 260 · June 15, 2002· Page 6

them swear allegiance and implement

changes before he was going to allow

them back into the Union. He was right.

There are no two sides to tolerate evenly,

as if choosing between Burger King and

McDonald's.

You continue to make justifications for

Tibetan slavery and the world's highest

imprisonment rate in the world in the

united $tates. Yet you continue to talk

about "freedom" against us Maoists. Do

you or don't you think the state with the

world's highest imprisonment rate should

be tolerated?

It is you who are evading the question.

Apparently you believe that the slaves

should have been grateful to the system

of "individual liberty" if someone in the

South was allowed to "dissent" from

slavery. Fuck that. Mutual tolerance and

respect are only due amongst people who

do not violate each other's universal

survival rights.

The Confederates did not deserve to

be "tolerated" and treated equally to the

Unionists. If Northern whites or the

occasional free Blacks were tolerated in

anti-slavery "free speech" at the

Southerners' dinner-table while visiting

the South, that does not change the fact

that the slave-owners and their

Confederates should have been

repressed. You want them to say "thank

you for letting me speak at the dinner-

table and now I won't favor repressing

the slave-owners and Confederates"?

You want them to say the South has a

system of "individual liberty" because of

some chit-chat at the dinner table?

Nonsense.

As for Palden Gyatso--in 1959, when

Palden Gyatso went to prison, the highest

spiritual authority in Tibetan Buddhism,

the Panchen Lama worked things out

with the Chinese communists. He was in

unity with the government at that time.

The temporal authority, the Dalai Lama

called for demonstrations to end and

never called for independence. Yet,

Palden Gyatso admits to opposing the

Chinese "occupation," but this has

nothing to do with Buddhism, unless of

course you are saying the Panchen Lama

was not a Buddhist in 1959. This has to

do with politics, power, slavery and

serfdom.

Some people arise to oppose a union

of territories. The local authority in one

set of territories did not abolish slavery

prior to union. Another political authority

used to have slavery but did then abolish

it with the help of slaves from both

territories. A movement arises in the

territory that used to tolerate slavery, and

that movement wants to return to the past:

is it the KKK after the U.S. Civil War or

the "Free Tibet" Movement of 1959?

There would be no way to tell.

By the way, Palden Gyatso has

admitted that the persyn who tortured him

in prison was Tibetan, not Han Chinese.

So much for Shangri-La in Tibet.(1)

If prison and torture are bad, how about

murder? I see you haven't answered our

questions on that. Apparently it's OK for

pro-slavery activists to kill anti-slavery

monks.

Of course there was widespread

violence in 1959. If you read the Dalai

Lama, it is clear that he was powerless

to stop the violent resistance of some

Tibetans to the revolution. The U.S. Civil

War was horrible too--horrible but

necessary thanks to problems in "human

nature."

MIM conclusion: MIM was busy

fighting with this Buddhist's

justifications for the #1 prison-state,

serfdom and slavery. The typical "Free

Tibet" activists feels no compunction

about ignoring the fact that serfdom and

slavery were legal under the Dalai Lama

and only made illegal under the

communist movement, composed partly

of Tibetan slaves. We hope our readers

will understand that we had some basic

priorities to handle with the above and

did not cover all the details.

It would be too much to ask that this

persyn know factually that in fact the

United $tates does not "tolerate"

Maoism--as two dozen dead Maoist

Black Panthers can attest, including one

shot to death in his sleep, Fred Hampton.

These facts are now known and in many

cases attested to by former police agents,

as in the case of Fred Hampton.

As for speech, Black Panther Eldridge

Cleaver was taken back from parole and

put in prison for his political activity--

as was admitted by one judge who was

subsequently overturned by judges

saying the California Adult Authority had

the power to take back paroles for

anything that the Reagan administration

wanted and that the First Amendment

being merely a piece of that scrap of

paper called the "Bill of Rights" attached

to that other scrap known as the

"Constitution" was not higher priority

than the Reagan appointees' wishes.

Readers can check the video "FBI's

War on Black America." Ward Churchill

et. al. also wrote a book called "Agents

of Repression." The government's own

documents on these cases have all been

released, but the brainwashing on

"freedom" in the united $tates is so

thorough and based in so much super-

profit bribery that they do not make much

dent in public consciousness.

Since most Amerikkkans do not even

know this history, much of which is now

openly documented, it also cannot be

expected that they would know that

people have been thrown in solitary

confinement for having MIM Notes or

that distributors of MIM Notes have been

thrown in jail for distributing MIM

Notes. The wretched pride related to

nationalism and low political

consciousness would prevent the

majority from ever caring enough to

know.

As for drug addiction in China, one has

to have done almost no research to fail

to realize that it was cured by Maoism.

According to one bourgeois academic

book put it, "Secret societies and

organized crime gangs are gone, as are

MIM debates Seattle Buddhist on `freedom,' Tibet

Spiderman

Directed by Sam Raimi, 2002

Overall, the latest Spiderman movie

falls short for entertainment value; it is

far from action packed, with a plot and

dialog that are best described as trite. But

the saving grace of the movie is the

political message at the end (which this

review will be giving away).

Spiderman is the story of an ordinary

boy, Peter Parker, who was bit by a spider

on a high school class trip. In narrating

the beginning of the movie, he says that

his life story revolves around a beautiful

woman. That is an unfortunate

characterization of the life of someone

who ends up devoting himself to fighting

evil. But in the end the best political

message is wrapped up in this romantic

subplot.

Of course, the spectacular evil

Spiderman fights is the super-villain

kind, but most of his time is spent fighting

the ordinary evil of people hurting other

people. Essentially, on an individual

scale, Spiderman is fighting for a better

world. But he is targeting crime on a

small scale: individual robberies and

violence. Spiderman lacks any kind of

systematic analysis of the causes of evil

that he is fighting, and as one man

running around New York City putting

out fires (sometimes literally), he can't

really expect to make any progress

towards ending all the violence that he is

trying to prevent. His time would be

better spent fighting the causes of crime

(for instance poverty) and fighting the

biggest murderers and thieves in the

world: the imperialists.

MIM appreciates the message that

ordinary people can become heroes

because of their circumstances (though

we're not waiting for our heroes to

develop superpowers). Rather than

looking to individuals we take a more

scientific analysis of the world and argue

that it is the people who make history.

Extraordinary leaders come from

ordinary people who rise to the occasion

of their material conditions.

Ironically, it was the romantic plot that

provided the most important political

message in the movie. When the woman

Peter Parker was in love with finally

declared her love for him, he decided he

could not be more than friends with her.

In order to devote his life to fighting evil

in the world he walked away from

romance. This is the asexuality that MIM

praises as a superior romantic practice.

It reflects a devotion to the people and

an understanding of responsibility to the

people that supercedes romantic cultural

influence.

Peter Parker said, "With great power

Star Wars: Episode II:
Attack of the Clones

Directed by George Lucas, 2002

Review by MC5

The politics in this movie is light

considering that the movie is about

empires, government leaders, secession,

war and contention between good and

evil. Nonetheless we give this movie a

limited endorsement.

There was not much to complain about

politically in the first installments of

"Star Wars," which were both anti-fascist

and anti-imperialist. The role of Black

characters and the rebel "Red Guard" in

the key battles did not go unnoticed at

MIM. In this movie, we learn that

democracy is the preferred government

of the "good guys" of the Republic.

Although the characters' endorsement of

democracy is rather shallow--like the

current understanding of democracy in

the united $tates--the movie itself offers

slightly more analysis.

We learn right away that corruption and

wrangling are ruining the Senate of the

Republic. At age 20, future evil incarnate

Darth Vader is just Anakin Skywalker,

one of the most skilled Jedi warriors. We

can tell that he is going to grow up to be

an imperialist when he tells Obi-Wan

Kenobi not to lecture him anymore on

politics and economics. According to

Anakin Skywalker, he only trusts 2 or 3

politicians and therefore the subjects of

politics and economics themselves are

contaminated--a huge mistake to throw

out the baby with the bath water. He also

favors dictatorship; although we learn

that he himself wants to become the most

powerful in the world when his mother

dies.

The death of his mother at the hands

of odious scavengers also raises the

question of genocide, because Anakin

Skywalker kills every single member of

the camp or tribe responsible.

Democratic Senator and future wife of

Anakin Skywalker, Padme Amidala has

no criticisms when she learns of this

slaughter. To be sure, majorities of white

people favored genocide in the united

$tates to take land from Indians, so

democracy and genocide are compatible.

We wish there had been more discussion

of the merits and demerits of this

particular group that Anakin Skywalker

wiped out.

Distrust of politicians, favorable

attitudes toward dictatorship, inclinations

toward genocide--clearly Anakin

Skywalker has the makings of a classic

Nazi. Just as Hitler copied much of Lenin

on the vanguard party, Anakin Skywalker

is going to take all the training of the Jedi

MAOIST MOVIE REVIEWS

Continued on next page...

Continued on page 8...

Continued from page 3...

MIM Notes 260 · June 15, 2002· Page 7

Reviews of "Attack of the Clones" in

the bourgeois press were mixed. Those

panning the film usually cited its

"boring" subject matter--politics--and

bad acting. Of course, for those of us

interested in art as a means for arousing

people to fight oppression and not an end

in itself, there is nothing a priori boring

about politics. There was enough meat

to "Attack of the Clones" to keep MIM

interested and entertained--despite

director and writer Lucas' muddle-

headed idealism.

Bad acting is another matter. As Mao

taught us, "Works of art which lack

artistic quality have no force, however

progressive they are politically."("Talks

at the Yenan Forum on Literature and

Art," Selected Works, vol. 3) The bad

acting in "Attack..." is not simply a matter

of unprofessionalism, however. Rather,

it's a matter of a materialist vs. an idealist

approach.

Stephen Hunter from the Washington

Post grasped some of this. His review is

worth quoting at length:

"[T]he movie is kind of a laboratory

on American vs. British technique. Score:

Brits 10, Yanks 0. That's because to the

Brits, who work from the outside in,

acting is physical mastery of face and

voice and body, strategically employed

at certain moments for impact. An actor

imposes himself on the character, and

invents charm and wit and sparkle where

none exists. So even the guy playing

Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) is creepy-

elegant, and McGregor, athletic and

earnest, can even bring a little life to a

line like, `I am concerned for my

Padawan. He is not ready to be given this

assignment on his own yet.' [Also of note

Christopher Lee of Dracula and British

special forces intelligence fame as the

evil count Dooku.]

"The Americans, on the other hand, are

trained to get into the character's mind

and imagine as he would imagine, to

work from the inside out. But there is no

inside here: These characters are nothing

but pop-cult props, and that leaves the

performers helpless and inert... [E]ven

an actual great actor, Samuel L. Jackson,

seems ridiculous. He never looks

comfortable as the Jedi Mace Windu, in

robes and boots, and there's nothing he

can do at all with a line like `The

Genosians aren't warriors. One Jedi has

to be worth a hundred Genosians!'"

Hunter's comments remind MIM of

commie-symp playwright Bertolt

Brecht's writings on acting. Brecht hated

the "method acting" approach where

actors draw on their persynal experiences

to "feel what their characters are feeling"

so that audiences also "feel their pain"

etc. Why, Brecht asked, should the

audience rejoice with the British soldiers

who just put down a colonial revolt?

Instead of getting caught up in the

euphoria, the audience should be

encouraged to make their own

intellectual and emotional assessment--

in this case, sorrow and anger.

Brecht's preferred acting style--based

on what he called the alienation (or

distancing) effect--was similar to what

Hunter calls "British technique." For

Brecht, the point was not to "inject charm

and sparkle," but class analysis,

proletarian politics.

Hunter and other reviewers may

dismiss "Attack's" characters as "nothing

but pop-cult props" and its utilitarian,

expository dialogue, but MIM does not--

although we may differ with the film's

political line. After all, in one of our

favorite films--"Breaking With Old

Ideas," made in China during the Cultural

Revolution--the characters are not so

much bourgeois individuals with

personal psychological histories as

representations of particular classes and

political lines.

Still, Hunter's point is relevant: there

is no way a seventeen-year-old actor from

the `burbs will be able to "get into

himself" and find his "inner Anakin"--a

former slave--or use navel-gazing to

comment sensibly on Anakin's youthful

impatience or fascist leanings. On the

other hand, an intelligent, well-trained

seventeen-year-old actor who had studied

history and ideally participated in the

class struggle first-hand would have been

able to do more with Anakin--not

because "that's where he's coming from"

but because of his knowledge of the

world outside himself and his take on it.

So what on the surface looks like a

matter of bad acting vs. good acting

reveals itself as a conflict between

subjectivism and post-modernism on the

one hand and dialectics and materialism

on the other.

Clones: A note on dialectical, materialist acting

Clones review

Continued from previous page...

Knights before becoming a full-fledged

imperialist.

One of the parts we like about the

movie is the discussion of the secession

movement by the politicians still loyal

to the Republic. They talk repeatedly of

negotiating with the thousands of

planetary systems breaking away from

the Republic. In fact, there is no standing

army in the Republic. The Jedi Knights

make a point of saying "we're only

peacekeepers, not an army."

The formation of a standing army in

this movie is obviously tied to profit. By

taking a smuggler-mercenary as the

prototype, the Caminoans who live far

out in space away from the Republic

build an army of clones for sale--on the

order of the Jedi Knights of the Republic,

or so they think. Each member of the

clone army is ruthless, without thinking

capacity, unquestioning and cloned from

the same dubious humyn material.

It turns out that the evil soon-to-be-

Emperor Palpatine was behind the

creation of both the clone army and a

robot army for the secessionists--all as

part of a plot to keep the Republic in

turmoil so he can legally assume

dictatorial powers.

For MIM this is an excellent point

about the movie. The Republic lived in

peace with thousands of systems for 1000

years before a standing army came into

being in obviously evil circumstances. So

it appears that species able to inter-

communicate can negotiate their

organization with each other, without

systematic wars.

When it comes time to organize these

armies and a secession movement, it turns

out that we find business federations

conspiring behind the back of the

Republic. They stand for action to defeat

the Jedi Knights and secede from the

Republic.

Hence, the origin of standing armies is

the most odious of circumstances in "Star

Wars." Yet, we cannot blame Yoda for

organizing the clone army to save the

remaining Jedi Knights in a battle against

the robot army. Although we have not

seen the sequel, it appears that the army

Yoda mustered will end up being

corrupted itself and serving as an

instrument of Darth Vader.

This problem neatly parallels our own

in this day. Somehow we have found

ourselves in circumstances where

standing armies exist, act and arm

themselves in connection to the profit

motive. Contrary to anarchists who

mistake their own wishes for reality or a

means to achieve a new reality, we

scientific socialists agree with Marx on

the need for an interim dictatorship of

the proletariat. Yoda had no choice but

to use that army, because society was not

ready for any other approach. A society

needing an army is a dictatorship of some

kind or another, whether openly fascist

or cloaked as "democracy."

The newspaper critics focused on Jar

Jar Binks, the character that starred in

the last installment of Star Wars and was

widely and deservedly criticized.

However, even that criticism was shallow

political correctness. Considering that

there are all range of alien characters in

the movie, including some of the lowliest

scavenger types, it should not be

surprising to find a character speaking

poor English reminiscent of a Black slave

caricature. Even accepting the criticism

of the critics, we say so what? There is

no reason that all species in a future

intergalactic Republic would be perfect

English speakers or highly intelligent, if

Jar Jar Binks is indeed representative of

a species.

"Episode II" of "Star Wars" deserves

to be a launching pad for more serious

political discussion, not just political

correctness on Jar Jar Binks.

Spiderman review

Continued from previous page...

comes great responsibility." This is what

MIM refers to as the "leadership

principle." The great power Parker refers

to is his spider-power; the power we refer

to is state power (or proto-state power

when referring to leadership positions in

our party). Leaders in the bourgeois

government and economy are not held

responsible for the 14 million children

every year who die of malnutrition

worldwide -- they are not even held

accountable for the few score middle-

class Amerikans who died because of the

shoddy workmanship on their SUVs and

tires. Bourgeois leaders need not be

particularly intelligent, courageous or

devoted to the common good -- they

simply need daddy's money and a few

friends in the right places. On the

contrary, MIM would restrict leadership

positions in the dictatorship of the

proletariat to the most dedicated, with a

proven track record of struggle and

results. Furthermore, these leaders would

understand that if they made a mistake

that cost other people their lives, they

could be held accountable with their own

life.

Samuel L. Jackson loses one for

the Amerikan team against the

Brits, led by Ian McDiarmid.

MIM Notes 260 · June 15, 2002· Page 8

brothels, opium dens, and other forms of

organized vice."(4) This book also points

to several other authors on this point in

their page 3. Even reactionary authors

know this.

Tibet by all accounts is in a difficult

patch of geography. This allows some

people to fantasize about a paradise

removed almost from humyn view. The

Western "Free Tibet" movement wants

us to envision a spiritually unified people

living in Shangri-La. In contrast, we

believe they lived in difficult economic

conditions and that we should not be

surprised that former slaves and serfs

became communists.

People with any sense of geography

and reality will listen to the following

MIM debates Seattle Buddhist on `freedom,' Tibet

accounts, and not put stock in a Dalai

Lama who says serfdom was mild in

Tibet:

"I was born in a slave's family in

Konka County, Tibet. . . .I was a slave

for nine years and lived like a beast of

burden. . . .They beat and abused me

every day. . . . I was so tired I would

sometimes doze off. Choma would take

a big pin from her collar and poke it into

my head. Blood streamed down my head

and I felt dizzy. Nine years of

enslavement brought me to the verge of

death. One summer day in 1956, I was

beaten unconscious by Choma's

daughter. A gust of cold evening wind

woke me up. My body covered with

wounds and blood, I thought of our

kinsmen the People's Liberation Army.

(Tibet was peacefully liberated as early

as 1951. But the Democratic Reform was

not yet carried out in 1956 and the

manorial lords continued to rule over the

serfs.) I remembered a P.L.A. unit had

been stationed in our village in 1954 . .

.That night the masters were having a

drinking party and I took advantage of

their merry-making and the departure of

guests to run away from the lair. . . After

five days and six night I finally found

the P.L.A. who saved me."--Pasang,

Vice-Chairman of the Revolutionary

Committee of the Tibet Autonomous

Region, 1972

"I had nine children. My heart almost

broke when three of my daughters died

of hunger and cold. Thanks to Chairman

Mao, now we have a happy life."--A

mother whose own mother, father and

two siblings also died while begging in

Lhasa under the Dalai Lama's rule

"90 per cent of the cadres at the district

level are of Tibetan nationality."--1972,

"Great Changes in Tibet," (Peking:

Foreign Languages Press)

"More than 95 per cent of the members

of their revolutionary committees at

various levels are emancipated serfs and

slaves."(Ibid.)

"In Lamaist temples all things related

to feudal oppression and exploitation

must be reformed"--Panchen Lama,

July, 1959

Notes:

1. For more on Palden Gyatso, see

MIM Notes 258, 15 May 2002.

Continued from page 6...

to use nuclear weapons in its war with

India.(4)

Pakistan and the unspoken truth

On the Pakistan side, there have been

four wars with India since Indian

independence in 1947. The Pakistani

view involves its tit-for-tat conflict over

religion and nationality with India.

However, the situation with the United

$tates since September 11th has

definitely become a new factor in the war.

On May 25th, Pakistan announced it was

withdrawing troops along the border with

Afghanistan.(5) Although the move did

not receive much fanfare, and Pakistan

also withdrew troops from U.N.

operations, the troop movement is a very

strong message to the United $tates that

the India conflict comes first and helping

Amerika with al Qaeda searches in

Afghanistan comes second. In theory,

Pakistani troops were stopping al Qaeda

from crossing the border into Pakistan

to get away from U.$.-led troops. No

doubt the United $tates did something to

precipitate the shifting priorities in

Pakistan seen May 25th. The deal seems

to be that the United $tates has to keep

India off Pakistan's back while Pakistan

cooperates on al Qaeda. At the same time,

the United $tates flexes muscle via India.

A more intensive war between India and

Pakistan would represent a higher stage

of bargaining with the United $tates by

Pakistan, but once the war started, who

knows if al Qaeda would ever again

appear to be a strong priority.

We at MIM clearly oppose any U.$.

thoughts of taking on Pakistan. The

United $tates is going deep into a

reactionary fantasy world instead of

accepting the inevitable that it will not

be able to control every country in the

world without being "struck back."

Currently, Pakistani rulers feel that U.$.

military maneuvers could turn against

Pakistan in alliance with India. Pakistanis

say that India and the United $tates just

Toilers suffer in brewing India-Pakistan war

concluded joint war games against

Pakistan.(6) This is a difficult situation

to interpret, but MIM's analysis is that

Pakistani bourgeois nationalists are

correct in interpreting the situation of

U.$. pressure. (See "U.$. brass fear

military stretched too thin," p.5)

South Asian false consciousness

MIM Notes previously reported that in

all of the Third World countries polled

there was one that was enthusiastic about

the U.$. war on Afghanistan: India. The

reason for that enthusiasm is that Indians

opposed the connection of Pakistan to the

Taliban in Afghanistan.

As MIM has said before, there is

generally a common if vague view

amongst the oppressed and exploited that

reflects the underlying conditions of

oppression and exploitation. Likewise, in

the oppressor nations, MIM has said there

is an underlying economic condition of

exploiter-status, and not surprisingly, a

Gallup poll shows imperialist countries

lined up for the U.$. war.(7)

India was an exception from the rule

that Third World countries wanted a

peaceful resolution, and for this reason,

MIM does not hesitate to speak of an

overwhelming "false consciousness" in

India. Marxists say that a group

demonstrates "false consciousness"

when its views do not match its self-

interests. Typically the newly born

proletariat of Marx's day was not aware

of its own interests as a class. When

Indians become excited about religious

or caste strife, they are demonstrating

"false consciousness"--except for the

rulers who benefit from such distractions

that keep the exploited from uniting.

On May 24th, the Chinese and Indian

Foreign Ministers exchanged phone calls

about the war on the border between

India and Pakistan. The Chinese reported

that the Indian minister actually agreed

that the people of India and Pakistan

would be better served by focusing on

economic development instead of war.(8)

Although the populations of both India

and Pakistan are riled up for war against

each other, and it is not just a matter of

the rulers' wanting war, the people of

south and central Asia have nothing to

gain. The workers and peasants will do

the dying while the arms merchants will

make the profits.

Backward preoccupations

Western news agencies focused on the

missile tests by Pakistan that both sides

Pakistan and India called "routine" and

we did not see China's emphasis on

reporting the actual battles in progress

between India and Pakistan. Recently,

according to Pravda, (and we believe

news coverage reflects it), England has

labeled all countries with ballistic

weapons as a threat and U.$. rulers have

voiced a similar view, especially

regarding northern Korea, Iran, Iraq and

others they refer to as the "axis of evil."

Although it is questionable that George

W. Bush realizes it, U.$.. imperialism

encourages countries around the world

to apply for new I$rael status--lining up

as a U.$. henchman in exchange for

military aid and a green light to take

neighbors' land. India is doing this with

respect to Pakistan. Pakistan is doing the

same. Armenia and Azerbaijan are racing

for the same status having been at war

recently. All around the world--in

Colombia, Nepal, Ceylon--would-be

lackeys line up for U.$. aid in the "war

against terrorism." This creates new

sources of instability.

Even Bush is having problems conducting

his war on "terrorism." He tried to bribe
Pakistan with typical Liberal ("free market)
inducements for Pakistan's clothing exports.
Considering that Bush says he is for free trade
he should have eliminated the taxes on
Pakistan's exports to the United $tates long
ago, but instead he offered the trade deal as a
bribe for peaceful "anti-terrorist" behavior,
only to see Congress rescind it out of
deference to the "loser" labor aristocracy of
the United $tates concerned about losing

more textile jobs.

Bush also offered to rescind $1 billion in

Pakistan's debt. One report says that the
United $tates has already delivered $600
million of its promises. Another mentions that
Pakistan bills the United $tates for military
aid in operations in Afghanistan. At least one
Pakistani politician is saying that foreign bank
loans have ruined Pakistan's chances of
economic development and that all such
international agencies must be kicked out.(9)

While MIM has found information on

proposals, we are not able to confirm what
money from the United $tates and the other
imperialists is actually flowing to Pakistan for
what. If we knew, we would have a better idea
of what is behind the war-posturing.

It goes to show that the current "war on

terrorism" and global hope for peace can only
end in defeat because of the current economic
system, just like the "war on drugs." Even so
feeble an attempt at international cooperation
as the limited clothing trade deal with
Pakistan ends up defeated. There needs to be
a global minimum wage and other global
standards of environmental and labor
protection so that conflicts over trade do not
arise and contribute to an atmosphere of war
and terrorism.

Notes:
1. http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200205/25/
eng20020525_96417.shtml
2. http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200205/25/
eng20020525_96417.shtml; http://
english.peopledaily.com.cn/200205/21/
eng20020521_96111.shtml
3. http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia_china/
story.jsp?story=298297
4. http://www.paknews.com/
top.php?id=1&date1=2002-04-07
5. http://www.paknews.com/
main.php?id=1&date1=2002-05-25
6. http://www.paknews.com/
editorials.php?id=1&date1=2002-05-19
7. http://www.gallup- international.com/
terrorismpoll_figures.htm ; see our detailed
explanation of this poll at http://www.etext.org/
Politics/MIM/mn/sept112001/
gallupinternational.txt
8. http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200205/25/
eng20020525_96432.shtml
9. http://www.paknews.com/
main.php?id=5&date1=2002-04-01

Continued from page 1...

MIM Notes 260 · June 15, 2002· Page 9

along with the opportunity for civil

disobedience by anyone interested. They

attempted to obtain all necessary permits

to ensure that the event be legal for those

who did not wish to be arrested.

The organizers negotiated with bridge

authorities for weeks prior to the rally,

but the authorities made arbitrary last-

minute decisions to sabotage the event.

They allowed the pre-march rally to be

held at Crissy Field, but in a specially

designated "First Amendment" area, well

away from any public walkways or roads.

They allowed no stage or sound system,

only 4 bullhorns for crowd control, no

chanting, and no large banners. The

bridge authorities also denied organizers

access to the supposedly public Golden

Gate bridge after noon, forcing them to

change the time of the protest. And access

before noon came with the restrictions

that everyone be off the bridge by 2 p.m.

and no one hold any anti-war signs on

the bridge.

The rally in Crissy field included

several anti-imperialist speeches by

march organizers, chanting (in spite of

this being designated as illegal behavior

by the police), and many people making

shirts to wear across the bridge instead

of carrying signs. MIM brought copies

of some RAIL anti-imperialist posters on

11x17 and 8 1/2 x 11 paper which we

provided to people to tape on their shirts.

The posters with messages such as

"Fighting Imperialism is not Terrorism"

and "Imperialism: the majority of the

world's people can't live with it, you

can't live without it" were very popular

with the crowd.

When the marchers reached the

entrance to the pedestrian walkway at the

Golden Gate Bridge police who insisted

on searching bags and making people

leave behind signs and banners. Police

turned one MIM supporter back for

Police turn violent at Golden Gate protest

carrying a paper bag with some posters

inside a backpack. Either leave these

behind or don't get on the bridge, was

the message. Police told others to leave

behind Palestinian flags and signs they

were carrying. MIM noted several cars

go by flying Amerikan flags without

incident. And pedestrians wave

Amerikan flags on the walkway on a

daily basis.

On the bridge marchers chanted with

fists in the air, keeping within the

walkway while trying to make the anti-

war message clear to passers-by. Flanked

by police, fully armed national guards,

police boats and what looked like snipers

in the hills, the marchers were certainly

not a threat to anyone, but were quite

threatened by the protectors of

imperialism. These goons clearly

understood the danger in a strong anti-

imperialist movement.

Predictably, the mainstream media

message was that people were way too

hassled by this anti-war protest. Channel

5 interviewed one woman stuck in traffic,

who said, "Sure I'm anti-war, but I'm 9

months pregnant and I need to pee." Her

message was clear: I can only oppose

brutality and oppression when it is

convenient. No doubt some wealthy

Marin residents were annoyed by the

traffic problems. (The Golden Gate

Bridge connects San Francisco with

Marin County, a wealthy area with many

nature preserves that are popular

destinations for weekend hikes and

picnics.)

Mainstream news did not report that

most reactions from passing cars were

supportive of the march before the cops

shut the bridge down. Foot traffic also

flowed freely. Tourists passed by

unimpaired. But once the cops blocked

the bridge drivers started screamed

obscenities--at protestors. The cops'

advance even trapped one tourist family

on the front line.

(In contrast to other bourgeois

mouthpieces, The San Francisco

Chronicle provided relatively unbiased

coverage of the march. It reported on

cops' attacks on protestors and noted that

the police shoved reporters around. One

Indymedia reporter was arrested.)

After the cops stopped the march from

going further, one organizer approached

the police to explain that it was not only

their "first amendment right" to continue,

but it was also a right protected by the

permit they had secured. As a verbal

argument ensued the cops seized and

arrested the organizer--with permit in

hand. The cops insisted that the marchers

turn back and several people sat down in

protest. The cops--some with

shotguns--arrested them and started

pushing the rest of the crowd back along

the walkway. They beat anyone who

didn't move fast enough, used pepper

spray on the crowd, and shoved people

so that some fell to the ground.

The cops arrested those who fell to the

ground and anyone else they could grab,

slamming heads and bodies to the

concrete. They arrested 27 people on the

bridge, shackled them in plastic cuffs and

put them on a bus in a nearby parking

lot. Many begged to have the cuffs

loosened, complaining of pain in the

wrists and shoulders as the bus sat there

for 3 hours. Finally the pigs bussed this

group up to San Rafael in Marin County,

cited them for obstructing the sidewalk,

and released them in the middle of

nowhere to find their way back to the city.

Meanwhile, the police continued to

"escort" the remaining marchers off the

bridge. The crowd arrived in two groups.

Cops told the first group to wait in a

picnic area next to a snack bar just off

the bridge "to ensure your safety." One

woman asked the cops if the marchers

were in danger and they responded that

the marchers would be if they didn't wait

for an "escort." When the second half of

the marchers arrived the cops in riot gear

immediately formed a line and again

started pushing the marchers back. The

marchers were in a parking lot and picnic

area that is part of the park, not even

threatening traffic.

The protestors would have said a few

words and dispersed, but again the cops

created an incident--they suddenly

grabbed the 11-year-old Palestinian girl,

threw her to the ground and held here

there for five minutes. They then took

her away in a police car. The girl had been

chanting with her sisters and brother

throughout the march.

After kidnapping this young girl, the

CHP cops left and only the park police

remained. They told the crowd that they

had to return to the originally designated

"First Amendment Area" in the park.

When the crowd made it clear they were

not leaving without the young girl who

was arrested the head park cop radioed

to find out what happened to her. He

reported back that he was told they had

not arrested any 11-year-old girls. After

the crowd expressed their outrage at that

answer he said he would work with the

girl's family to find her. A little while

later cops told her family that the girl

would be released [after being charged

with felony assault]; her older brother

drove to the police station to pick her up.

When he arrived cops arrested and

charged him with felony child

endangerment. They transferred his sister

to SF Child Protective Services.

Despite the bullshit Amerikans learn

in school, the United $tates is not a "free

country." Clearly--"free speech rights"

notwithstanding--some kinds of speech

are not so free. We see that when prison

administrators censor MIM notes for

saying the same things as Abraham

Lincoln, and we see that when pigs toss

opponents of Amerika's latest military

adventures into jail.

those very public statements he made--

including the self-sacrifice of giving up

his title as an anti-war statement. We

can't demand purity in the cultural icons

who arise now and then to make a

positive contribution--like U2 singer

Bono supporting debt relief for Third

World countries--even when they do it

for their own reasons. Our task is to build

a revolutionary movement. If these folks

help us a little, we'll take it. You are right

not to go too far, not to let a passing

admiration turn into hero worship. That

mistake has cost the revolution too much,

too many times.

Focoism problems

Revolutionary greetings,

I received a letter from you responding

to my question about focoism and you

told me to read the essay in the "What is

MIM" pamphlet. [Focoism is the idea

that armed actions carried out by small

cells or "focos" will inspire the rest of

the population to spontaneously rise up

in armed revolution.] Now I just finished

reading the essay and I'm still a little

confused with why a lot of comrades

have a problem with focoism.

Now I'm not saying that I'm right on

how I feel because I have only been

studying revolutionary politics for a few

months. But what I do know is that the

percentage of revolutionaries in the

united snakes is no where near the

percent of the "white working class"

(bourgeoisie). Now it says that focoists

are a small group of people that believe

"a single spark can start the revolutionary

fire." I also believe that Mao said

something to the likes of to stop a war is

to have a war when the government is at

its weakest point. I say that to say this

wasn't the U.$. at its weakest point in

history on 9-11-01, then why didn't the

revolution start already. What else

needed to happen for the snakes to feel

the revolutionary fire. Why didn't it

happen yet?

As far as I see, it is a lot of people are

talking but are not acting. I'm not saying

that I'm a focoist, but until I can know

and fully understand (MLM) I would

have to say I don't think focoism is all

that bad.

In closing, I want it to be know that I

have a lot of love and respect for MIM

and all its comrades and I hope that when

I do leave these kages I could be a

member of MIM and fight the struggle

side by side with all its comrades.

--a prisoner in New Jersey, April 2002

MIM responds : This prisoner raises

an important question about focoism in

the context of the class structure in the

United $tates. It is true that the majority

in the U.$. are non-revolutionary. But this

doesn't mean that the small portion that

is should take up adventurist, focoist

strategies. In fact, this is an argument for

the opposite: history is filled with

examples of the failures of armed

struggle when it is taken up by just a

small group without the support of the

people. In this country various attempts

at armed actions have only led to

imprisonment of the activists (or death)

while the general public remains opposed

to revolution.

The events of September 11 are a good

example, although MIM does not

consider such attacks by the oppressed

on the United $tates to be focoism. If the

attacks on the World Trade Center had

been carried out by people within U.$.

borders the response by the general

public would likely have been the same.

The people turned to stronger Amerikan

nationalism and move even closer to

outright fascism. This is not a progressive

response, or a step in the direction of

revolution.

Continued from page 2...

Letters

Continued from page 1...

MIM Notes 260 · June 15, 2002· Page 10

MIM on

Prisons & Prisoners

MIM seeks to build public opinion

against Amerika's criminal injustice sys-

tem, and to eventually replace the bour-

geois injustice system with proletarian jus-

tice. The bourgeois injustice system im-

prisons and executes a disproportionately

large and growing number of oppressed

people while letting the biggest mass mur-

derers -- the imperialists and their lack-

eys -- roam free. Imperialism is not op-

posed to murder or theft, it only insists that

these crimes be committed in the interests

of the bourgeoisie.

"All U.S. citizens are criminals--

accomplices and accessories to the crimes
of U.$. oppression globally until the day
U.$. imperialism is overcome. All U.S.
citizens should start from the point of view
that they are reforming criminals."

MIM does not advocate that all

prisoners go free today; we have a
more effective program for fighting
crime as was demonstrated in China
prior to the restoration of capitalism
there in 1976. We say that all prisoners
are political prisoners because under
the dictatorship of the bourgeoisie, all
imprisonment is substantively
political. It is our responsibility to
exert revolutionary leadership and
conduct political agitation and
organization among prisoners --
whose material conditions make them
an overwhelmingly revolutionary
group. Some prisoners should and will
work on self-criticism under a future
dictatorship of the proletariat in those
cases in which prisoners really did do
something wrong by proletarian
standards.

Under Lock & Key

News from Prisons & Prisoners

If you cannot afford
an attorney, you
cannot afford justice

Since 1999 I've been in the Shelby

County Jail awaiting trial. I have a public

defender who has not worked to get me

one court appearance, one pretrial motion

hearing, or even bothered to come and

speak with me concerning my charges.

In addition to this, the Shelby County Jail

in Memphis TN has a law library that

doesn't meet the state and federal

standards imposed on institutions to

provide "meaningful, adequate and

effective access to the courts." Inmates

are permitted only 30 minutes a month

in the law library without the assistance

of a paralegal or one trained in the law.

Considering these dual violations of

my constitutional rights, it is obvious that

my ability to prepare a defense for myself

is hindered, causing irreparable harm to

my representation in court. As I filed

grievance after grievance, I was retaliated

against by the jail administration with

hole time, medical neglect and other

inmate abuse. The Federal courts require

that inmates "exhaust all administrative

remedies" before filing lawsuits against

lock up facilities, which I did. However,

after I submitted a thorough claim

asserting how I was violated and my form

of relief sought, the federal courts

dismissed my lawsuit in its entirety,

stating that "the only time that Federal

courts interfere with criminal state courts

is where extraordinary circumstances

exist."

The U.S. constitution has set forth

guaranteed rights to all inmates/prisoners

which we are "ordinarily" entitled to

during incarceration, while going through

court. When these "ordinary" rights are

denied and no longer guaranteed, thus

producing a prejudicial effect, such

conditions/circumstances become

extraordinary.

I am not the only inmate in this facility

facing these extraordinary circumstances.

Over 65% of the inmate population here

are indigent with worthless public

defenders and are not able to defend

themselves in court. With the poor

condition of our law library (access to

courts), an indigent doesn't stand a

chance in the courtroom defending

himself. This is the Shelby County

criminal courts conspiracy of keeping

Black men incarcerated in this city. If you

can not afford an attorney, you can not

afford justice.

-- a prisoner in Tennessee, May 2002

Struggling for
signatures in Texas

[This prisoner has been collecting

signatures on MIM's campaign to stop

Texas prisons from forcing prisoners to

work even when they are sick or injured,

and punishing them with loss of good-

time if they can't or won't work. Contact

MIM for copies of the petition or to

submit signatures. -ed]

I just received your letter, MIM Notes,

and some other info on the revolution.

You stressed the fact that I need to help

in the struggle. Damn right! But I had

not heard from you nor received any

MIM Notes. Thank you though. I got as

many signatures [on the Texas labor

petition] as I could. I was just released

from Ad Seg and placed in a high security

unit in closed custody. We are in the

house 22 hours a day and recreate for 2

hours. We have no way to pass things

around and if we're caught doing so it's

a disciplinary case. More of my good

time/money I had doesn't help me at all

taken away. But I had as many as I could.

MIM I have a personal experience with

this reactionary policy TDCJ has. I

injured my shoulder lifting weights. The

Dr. X-rayed me and said it was fractured.

Still I had to go to third shift broom

squad. When the pain was too much I

quit. I was made to stand for 4 hours at

night at line control before I was stripped

naked and put in a cold cell, which is to

cool you off. After 2 hours in there I was

written a major case for refusing to work.

But my doctor later made my bond and

the case was then thrown out, that was in

'98.

In 2000, I was assaulted by an officer

and my shoulder was reinjured. I've been

on pain medication for it because I have

constant pain. At times it hurts to write.

It hurts when I wake up and when I go to

sleep. It's so bad I can't sleep on my right

side. I get more pain medication and sent

back to work. I've been like this since

2000, still TDC makes me work their

fields. If I quit I get a case! When will

the madness stop? I asked the doctor that

question, he said, "I gotta work, and

sometimes I get sick," and put me back

to work. No relief!

--A Texas Prisoner, May 2002

Jail abuse can't
squelch interest in
MIM Theory

I got put in lock up with no privileges

after three prisoners jumped me for no

reason at all. They took my visitation,

telephone, and library privileges, among

others, and even tried to place me on a

diet called food loaf, which is wholly

inadequate, for 7 days. This was stopped

after I put in a grievance threatening to

write the TX jail commission.

Around 25 days later a guard came into

my cell while I was at an attorney visit

and wrote me up for several rules that

aren't ever enforced unless the `good old

boy' system feels like having a josh with

ya. When I came back to my cell my stuff

was thrown everywhere. Pictures of my

girl and mom were all torn up, my towels

and clothes were thrown on the floor, my

drinking cup was in the toilet and the

toilet was pissed in; there was piss all

around the toilet on the floor too.

I mentioned this at my disciplinary

hearing and still got 60 days with no

privileges.

Six dollars in stamps are enclosed for

you MIM Theory 9, "Psychology and

Imperialism." I've always been interested

in this subject, and I plan on collecting

the entire MIM Theory.

In struggle,

--A Texas Prisoner, February 2002

Stand up against
censorship

Censorship is an issue which is

effective beyond these prison walls. The

U$ Government and its court systems in

Amerika has broadened the scope in the

way the Constitution is interpreted

regarding how much of our rights to free

speech is protected. The recent call of

Amerika's attention to the Sept. 11

incident which triggered several

Amerikans opinionated responses is yet

another example of what political views

the U$ Government feels are acceptable.

Although most amerikans or those

living in amerika have a firm belief that

the U$ Government protects all

individual's rights to exercise their own

political views, why is it that when

someone's political views provide a mass

of its own people with factual truth of

Governmental oppressive actions against

a people or nation of people, it's no longer

a protected right, but an unacceptable

form of anarchy?

It appears that a great majority of

amerikans continue to believe that this

country guarantees the right to free

speech and its own political views until

they're actually faced with having to

figure out why the same constitutional

right to free speech and political views

didn't protect them or their loved ones

as it alleges.

Together, we comrades of MIM must

continue to broaden our analysis of this

censorship issue in order to eliminate the

limitations that the institutions and the

Government may place on our views

irregardless of whether on the inside of

these prison walls or on the outside

looking in.

--A New York prisoner, May 2002

Department of
Corrections? Or
Department of Abuse?

By a NY prisoner

Originally written 16 July 1999

Why do they call this a "Correctional

Facility"? Why is it overseen by a so-

called "Department of Corrections"?

These names or titles give society the

impression that prisoners are being

"corrected" in these places. Nothing

could be further from the truth. The

simple truth of the matter is that

Correctional Facilities are places where

correctional Officers and civilian

employees live out their pervert4ed

fantasies of power at the expense of the

charges under their care.

Every day in prison men and women

are subjected to physical, mental and

emotional atrocities. The type of abuse

that would never be accepted in a free

society. Pat frisks that go beyond what

the Courts in their esteemed wisdom call

sexual harassment. What many prisoners

have been and still are subjected to is

blatant sexual abuse. Yet to complain of

this mistreatment, more often than not,

only leads to other forms of harassment

and abuse.

MIM Notes 260 · June 15, 2002· Page 11

Facts on U$ imprisonment

The facts about imprisonment in the United $tates are that the United $tates has been the world's leading prison-state per capita for the last

25 years, with a brief exception during Boris Yeltsin's declaration of a state of emergency.(1)

That means that while Reagan was talking about a Soviet "evil empire" he was the head of a state that imprisoned more people per capita.

In supposedly "hard-line" Bulgaria of the Soviet bloc of the 1980s, the imprisonment rate was less than half that of the United $tates.(2,3)

To find a comparison with U.$. imprisonment of Black people, there is no statistic in any country that compares including apartheid South

Africa of the era before Mandela was president. The last situation remotely comparable to the situation today was under Stalin during war
time. The majority of prisoners are non-violent offenders(4) and the U.S. Government now holds about a half million more prisoners than
China; even though China is four times our population.(5)

The rednecks tell MIM that we live in a "free country." They live in an Orwellian 1984 situation where freedom is imprisonment.

Notes: 1. Marc Mauer, "Americans Behind Bars: The International Use of Incarceration 1993," The Prison Sentencing Project, 918 F. St. NW, Suite

501, Washington, DC 20004 (202) 628-0871 Reference: SRI: R8965-2, 1994
2. Ibid., 1992 report.

3. United Nations Development Programme, "Human Development Report 1994,:" Oxford University Press, p. 186.

4. Figure of 51.2 percent for state prisoners there for non-violent offenses. Abstract of the United States 1993, p. 211.
5. Atlantic Monthly December, 1998.

Some uninformed but well-meaning

people in society would say: "use legal

remedies to stop the harassment." In

civilized society this is a very effective

means of stopping sexual harassment.

The problem is, prison is not like

civilized society. There are no "effective"

legal remedies in prisons to stop the

abuse and harassment. The most a

prisoner can hope for is that bringing

attention to the problem will prompt

prison officials to remedy the situation.

However, this does little to stop the

ensuing mental and emotional abuse the

prisoner who lodged the complaint will

continue to suffer until their release from

prison.

Prisoners who have been victims of

physical abuse have, or I should say, had

a good chance to receive compensation

from the courts for physical harm they

suffered at the hands of correctional staff.

Changes in the law of New York State

over the past few years have made it not

only harder to prove physical abuse, but,

have set limits on the amount of

compensation that a prisoner is entitled

to.

Mental and emotional abuse are a wide-

spread normality in the prison system.

Rule infractions [tickets] base on lies is

a favorite harassment technique used by

correctional staff. When a prisoner is

"written up" for something that not only

he or she knows is a lie but that the

administration knows is a lie, it's a blatant

abuse of power. Prisoners have little

recourse to deal with such abuse of

power. Complaints to the highest levels

of correctional staff are usually met with

silence or indifference. Often times

complaints lead to more harassment and

abuse by correctional staff. This is done

as a form of retaliation and to show the

prisoner that complaints can't help them.

Is it any wonder that prisoners often

feel they can get no justice in prison?

That they become embittered by their

experiences here? That they wish to lash

out at society upon release? Who can

blame them?

Correctional facilities should be places

where a person found guilty of crimes

against society learns how to return to

society as a useful and productive person.

They should not be returned to society

embittered, angry, and full of hatred due

to the abuses they suffered while

incarcerated. Only looking for retribution

and a chance to victimize others as they

have been victimized in prison.

Those members of the correctional

staff who use their positions to fulfill

their lust for power over others, and there

are may who fit this profile, should

themselves be charged for their crimes

against humanity. They should be held

accountable by society for their abuse of

prisoners.

Sad as it is for me to say, many people

released from prison will continue to

commit crimes against society. This will

continue until society realizes that people

incarcerated in Correctional facilities are

not receiving the "correction" necessary

to return them to society as people

changed for the better. People ready to

be a productive part of society not only

must society realize this, they must take

the appropriate steps to ensure that

changes are made in the way Correctional

Facilities are run. Until these changes are

made people in society can only expect

to be victimized by those, who

themselves, are victims of Correctional

Facilities.

MIM adds : This comrade is right on

in this discussion of the effectiveness of

so-called "Correctional" facilities.

Unfortunately, under imperialism prisons

are used primarily as a tool of repression

with little concern for those who are

incarcerated. Even though it would be in

the self-interest of all people to help

prisoners integrate into society, this is

rarely attempted because this is not the

purpose of prisons.

We encourage this comrade, and others

interested in this topic to investigate the

use of prisons during socialist China.

Two books that address this subject are

the autobiography of Pu Yi, and Prisoners

of Liberation by Allyn and Adele Rickett,

which describe the effectiveness of

Chinese prisons from the view point of

the last emperor of China and two petty-

bougeois Amerikans, respectively. While

prisons are always tools of repression

since they are part of the state, which

serves certain class interests, in socialist

China this repression was aimed at those

opposing the class interests of the

workers and peasants. In order for these

prisons to work in the interests of the

masses, they had to reform the prisoners

to realize why the things they did were

deemed criminal under the dictatorship

of the proletariat. MIM looks to the

Chinese model as an example of how

prisons should be run until the day when

prisons are no longer necessary.

NYS targets ALKQN
leader

Greetings Comrades!

I've received your letter of

acknowledgement with the MIM

platform & program. I sincerely look

forward to building the unity and sharing

the knowledge and enlightenment of any

form of modern day slavery, oppression

or anything that stagnates the growth of

the people, whether it's Latino or Black,

White, Red or Yellow! Oppression is

oppression, and the cause and fight of the

NYS Almighty Latin King & Queen

Nation is to fight against any

establishment or body of government that

continues the outlawed practice of

oppression and abuse!

I myself am in a battle against the New

York State Department of Correctional

Services. Since you have last heard from

me, it seems that the NYSDOCS not only

practices the art of oppression, but also

has started to implement racism &

discrimination once again after the

bloody and sad events of the Attica riot

of 1971!

At the present time I find myself within

the long-term solitary confinement unit

on trumped up and fake misbehavior

reports! Reason being because I've been

known to the prison administration as one

of the leaders of the NYS Latin Kings

(ALKQN). So, since Jan 3, 2002 I've

been enduring countless attacks against

me by officials within the NYSDOCS

along with their soldiers/ CO's.

At first these so-called professionals

used techniques & tactics of intense

interrogation as if to try & flip me into

becoming a cooperating member of the

inmate population at [this facility]. Once

they realized I don't make deals nor do I

speak to clowns in uniforms or shirt &

ties, they tried to have me placed in

administrative segregation. Once in ad

seg, I've received a series of misbehavior

reports that range form assaults to threats

against other inmates that never

happened. These very inmates were

witnesses during the disciplinary

hearings and stated that at no time have I

ever assaulted or threatened them in

anyway! During these attacks on me I

reported them to Senator Velmanette

Montgomery of NYS. During his

investigation, several of my misbehavior

reports were dismissed by NYSDOC

Commissioner Donald Selsky! With an

apology! But yet I'm still sitting in a

special housing unit in solitary

confinement with 2 years of 23 hours a

day confinement within my cell! For a

fake charge of threats, where the average

person would have received less than 30

days in the box. But because of who I

am & what I represent I'm with 24

months solitary confinement & loss of

good time!

I have an appeal pending about the

administrative hearing I've had and I

sincerely would like to find out what is

wrong with these twisted, malicious

people! Any help would be appreciated

from MIM!

..The struggle continues! For where

ever you find a member of the ALKQN

you have found a comrade involved in

the revolution!!

Respect & Honor!

--a NY prisoner, March 2002

MIM adds : This comrade enclosed the

misbehavior reports he has received,

many of which he denies ever happening.

Many of the reports are regarding alleged

mail intercepted by the pigs that

contained ALKQN materials. One Ad

Seg recommendation read, "It has been

determined through your own admission

in a handwritten letter, that you are now

the leader of the Latin Kings in the NYS

department of corrections. This

admission poses a threat to the safety and

security of [this facility]." Whether the

accusation is true or not, this is a clear

example of the targeted political

repression the comrade writes about.

Being a leader of ALKQN, an

organization fighting oppression, is

reason enough to be put in segregation

in the NYSDOC. A close look will show

that political repression is the main

purpose of the U$ prison system.

From the MIM "Frequently Asked

Questions" page, http://www.etext.org/
Politics/MIM/faq.

Internationalism is the ethical belief or

scientific approach in which peoples of
different nations are held to be or assumed to
be equal. Internationalism is opposed to
racism and national chauvinism.

We Maoists believe the nationalism of

nations experiencing oppression of
imperialism is "applied internationalism." We
oppose nationalism of oppressed nations
directed at other oppressed nations, because
the economic content of such nationalism is
intra-proletarian conflict. We seek a united
front of oppressed nations led by the
international proletariat against imperialism.

"I must argue, not from the point of view

of `my' country (for that is the argument of a
wretched, stupid, petty-bourgeois nationalist
who does not realize that he is only a plaything
in the hands of the imperialist bourgeoisie),
but from the point of view of my share in the
preparation, in the propaganda, and in the
acceleration of the world proletarian
revolution. That is what internationalism
means, and that is the duty of the
internationalist, of the revolutionary worker,
of the genuine Socialist."

V. I. Lenin, "What Is Internationalism?"

The Proletarian Revolution and the
Renegade Kautsky (Peking: Foreign
Language Press, 1965), p. 80.

What is internationalism?

MIM Notes 260 · June 15, 2002· Page 12

Notas Rojas

junio 15, 2002, Nº 260 Fragmento del Periodico Oficial del Movimiento Internacionalista Maoista Gratis

¿Que es el MIM?

El Movimiento Internacionalista Maoísta (MIM) es un partido revolucionario

comunista que ejerce el Marxismo-Leninismo-Maoísmo. El MIM es una organización
internacionalista que trabaja desde el punto de vista del proletariado del Tercer Mundo;
es por esto que sus miembros no son amerikanos sino ciudadanos del mundo.

El MIM lucha para acabar con la opresión de todos los grupos sobre cualquier otro,

naciones por naciones, clases por clases, y géneros por géneros. La revolución es una
realidad para los Estados Unidos mientras su ejército continúa extendiendose en su
esfuerzo por asegurar la hegemonía mundial.

El MIM difiere de otros partidos en tres puntos basicos: (1) El MIM sostiene que

después que el proletariado conquiste el poder estatal, existira aún el potencial para una
restauración de tipo capitalista, bajo la dirección de una burguesía nueva dentro del
mismo partido comunista. En el caso de la Unión Soviética, la burguesía se apoderó del
gobierno después de la muerte de Stalin, en 1953; y en China después de la muerte de
Mao y del derrocamiento de la llamada "banda de los cuatro' en 1976. (2) El MIM
sostiene que la Revolución Cultural en China es la fase ms avanzada a la que llegó el
comunismo en la historia. (3) El MIM afirma que la clase trabajadora blanca de los
EE.UU. es primordialmente, una élite trabajadora no revolucionaria en el presente. Es
por esto que no es el principal vehículo para avanzar el Maoísmo en este país.

El MIM acepta como miembro a cualquier individuo que esté de acuerdo con estos

tres puntos basicos, y que acepte al centralismo democrtico, el método de gobierno por
la mayoría en lo que se refiere a cuestiones de línea del partido. El MIM es un partido
clandestino que no publica los nombres de sus miembros para evitar la represión estatal
dirigida históricamente contra los movimientos revolucionarios comunistas, y anti-
imperialistas. Si Ud. desea una suscripción para cualquiera de nuestros periódicos o
libros teóricos, en español o en inglés, por favor mandar dinero en efectivo o un cheque
al nombre de MIM a esta dirección:

MIM · P.O. Box 29670 · Los Angeles CA 90029-0670

Traducido por CELAAL

Abril 21

San Francisco

Más de veinte mil personas marcharon

ayer desde Mission District hacia City

Hall para protestar contra el militarismo

y el imperialismo yanqui. Multitudes de

manifestantes denunciaron ruidosamente

la reciente agresión israelí en la Franja

de Gaza respaldada por EE.UU. Todos

los gritos del lema "¡Libertad para

Palestina!" que se daban durante pausas

en medio de canciones recibieron fuertes

respuestas por parte de decenas o cientos

de personas.

La presencia de los activistas del

Movimiento Maoísta Internacionalista

(MIM) y la Liga Revolucionaria

Antiimperialista (RAIL) fue muy notable

y bien recibida, en gran parte debido a

una serie de carteles muy artísticos

disenados por los camaradas de RAIL.

En uno de los carteles salía el presidente

Bush tirando los hilos de su títere- el

Primer Ministro israelí Sharon; otro

yuxtaponía un hambriento nino africano

a un vehículo para uso deportivo yanqui

bajo el lema "La mayoría del mundo no

pueden convivir con el imperialismo, y

tú ¿Puedes vivir sin él?" Todos esos

carteles recibieron comentarios de

aprobación por parte de otros

manifestantes.

Algunos de los camaradas del MIM y

RAIL participaron además en una menor

manifestación organizada por BAYAN-

Internacional EE.UU., una organización

democrática nacional de ciudadanos

filipinos. Esta manifestación resultó

bastante turbulenta; los cantantes de

lemas consiguieron inspirar a las

multitudes saliendo con el hip y

canciones originales (fue una buena idea

apartarse de las de siempre como "Uno,

dos, tres, cuatro..." y "Hey hey ho ho...").

Los estribillos no carecieron de una

drección política: algunos de ellos decían

"¡Desde Afganistán hasta las Filipinas,

paren la máquina bélica yanqui!" y

"¡Fascista Bush, no creas que podrás

sobrevivirnos!"

Los organizadores de la manifestación

lograron promover el internacionalismo.

Traían banderas y hacían uso de

estribillos con fin de respaldar la lucha

palestina por la autodeterminación. Los

oradores de la manifestación cuyo punto

de partida fue el corazón del distrito

Latino Mission poblado por inmigrantes,

lo denominaron como "Aztlán ocupado"

y proclamaron su solidaridad con la lucha

latina. Un cartel de RAIL decía: "¡Abajo

con todas las fronteras ilegítimas!"

En el rally más grande participó un

veterano de la brigada Abraham Lincoln

de 89 anos de edad. La brigada de

Abrahan Lincoln fundada por los

comunistas luchó en la guerra civil

espanola contra los nacionalistas

respaldados por los nazis. "Me da mucho

orgullo luchar contra el fascismo y la

opresión, ya sea en Espana, Alemania o

Israel", -dijo.

Al MIM le da mucha alegría oir este

tipo de comentarios desde el punto de

vista internacionalista y presenciar la

participación de tanta gente en la protesta

contra el imperialismo yanqui y una

creciente ola del fascismo. Sin embargo,

estamos conscientes de que estos

sentimientos reflejan la actitud de la

minoría del pueblo yanqui (véase los

artículos sobre las protestas en Santa

Cruz y la Universidad Estatal de San

Francisco en esta página y en las páginas

cuatro, cinco y ocho).

Durante el rally, los camaradas del

Nueva York, El Paso, Chapel Hill/

Greensboro Carolina del Norte, Madison

Wisconsin, Champaign/Urbana Illinois:

¡No dejen de recibir la cantidad de MIM

Notes que les corresponde!

Desde el comienzo de la "guerra contra

el terrorismo" la circulación de MIM

Notes ha aumentado rápidamente. El

hecho no es sorprendente: MIM Notes

es un periódico gratis e independiente.

Claro, en estos tiempos hay más patriotas

impulsivos que se tragan todo lo que dice

Bush, y se les pasa la oportunidad de leer

MIM Notes. Pero hay otros patriotas e

internacionalistas que se dan cuenta de

que ahora periódicos como MIM Notes

pueden desenmascarar el gran

espectáculo que el Tío Sam está poniendo

a su favor.

Claro, Uds. han visto MIM Notes en

las calles pero MIM Notes requiere que

las masas hagan dos cosas fáciles: 1)

sostener el periódico (pagar por su

imprenta y envío) y 2) ¡distribuir el

periódico!

Buscamos a personas para concretar

los avances en la circulación por todo el

país y estamos dispuestos a dialogar con

gentes fuera del país para extender la

distribuición al extranjero. Dentro de las

fronteras de EE.UU., ¡la ciudad de Nueva

York puede mejorar su distribuición! Y

todos los demas también deben tomar un

paso adelante para distribuir en su área

porque Uds. pueden garantizar que se

cumpla el trabajo.

El MIM busca patrocinadores y

distribuidores. Los patrocinadores pagan

por los periódicos y los distribuidores los

Miles de personas protestan contra el

militarismo yanqui y la agresión israelí

llevan a las calles mientras los oficiales

hacen las dos cosas.

# Cantidad de

MIM Notes para Costo

distribuir anual

-------------- -------

12 (Correo de Prioridad) $120

25 (Correo de Prioridad) $150

50 (Correo de Prioridad) $280

100 $380

200 $750

900 (Correo Expressl!) $3,840

900(8-10 días)

$2,200

Si Uds. conocen algún lugar bueno para

la distribuición les sugerimos empezar

con 200 ejemplares y avanzar desde ahí.

Si no están dispuesto a ditribuir, sólo

mándennos dinero. Si no quiere Ud.

pagar, solicite ejemplares después de

demostrarle al partido de una manera u

otra que de veras está Ud. interesado (¡las

palabras no valen!). Los que juntan el

dinero para distribuir 900 ejemplares de

cada eddición son los que avanzan

alpartido.

Dirijan giros postales anónimos hechos

a la orden de "MIM" :

MIM, Atención: Rama de Cambridge,

P.O. Box 400559, Cambridge, MA

02140.

Para más información, o para dirigir

sus preguntas: mim3@mim.org.

¡Campaña para aumentar la

circulación de MIM Notes!

MIM y RAIL distribuyeron el periódico

del MIM- MIM Notes, así como

recogieron firmas a favor de la demanda

de quitar las restricciones de acceso a

visitas impuestas sobre los prisioneros

(véase página tres) y exigir que el Fiscal

General de EE.UU. provea información

sobre más de mil personas detenidas

desde el 11 de septiempre bajo supuestos

cargos de sospecha de actividades

terroristas.

Bibliografía:

San Francisco Chronicle, 21 de abril

2002.