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MIM Notes 267 · October 1, 2002· Page 1

MIM Notes

October 1, 2002, Nº 267

The Official Newsletter of the Maoist Internationalist Movement (MIM)

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www.prisoncensorship.info/archive/etext/mn/sept112001

The day

Amerika

changed?

Not really

Statement by the Maoist

Internationalist Movement

8 Sep 2002

ust as we predicted one year

ago,(1) the Amerikan bourgeoisie

did not learn its lessons from the

September 11 attacks it failed to prevent.

Billionaire Warren Buffet and nutcase

Secretary of "Defense" Donald Rumsfeld

concede the use of weapons of mass

destruction against the United $tates is

inevitable, yet all they can offer is more

of the draconian "security" policies that

got Amerikans into this mess in the first

place.(2) Amerikan bombs killed

thousands of Afghan civilians and yet

apparently Osama bin Laden and

certainly al Qaeda survive.(3) The

Amerikan government held thousands for

months without charges, instituted secret

military tribunals and stepped up spying

on its own citizens yet charged only one

persyn in connection with the September

11 attacks.(4)

Neither Buffet nor Rumsfeld nor

Cheney nor any other capitalist leaders

have the political courage to admit that a

system falling apart by their own logic

has to be replaced by a system built in

which there is no such risk of aggressive

motivation by anyone. This risk is

accelerated by capitalism, reduced by

socialism and eliminated under

communism.

September 11 provided the Amerikan

people with a great chance to come to

grips with global violence-better late than

never. Some have and have stepped up

their activism against Amerikan

militarism and imperialism. But one year

later NakedNews.com is back online and

"American Idol" draws huge television

audiences. Apparently Amerikans

consider it indecent for NakedNews to

make money off the World Trade Center

bombing, but it's allright to make money

off deaths of Afghans or Palestinians.

Days after September 11, 49% of polled

Amerikans approved of special ID cards

for Arabs;(5) days before the first

anniversary, 49% of polled Amerikans

DEMANDS U.N.

RUBBER STAMP

Amerikan war will

hasten, not delay,

deployment of weapons

of mass destruction

By MC206

14 September 2002

n September 12 U.$. President

George Bush demanded the

United Nations force Iraq to

give up its alleged weapons of mass

destruction--including its ability to build

"nucular" weapons as he calls them. He

also called on Iraq to "end all support for

terrorism and act to suppress it, cease

persecution of its civilian population,

release or account for all Gulf War

personnel whose fate is still unknown,

and end all illicit trade outside of the oil-

for-food program."(1) Although

Amerika's European allies expressed

relief that Bush sought their blessing, the

President made it clear Amerika would

go ahead even if the United Nations

opposed an attack on Iraq--and the

sooner the better. "We're talking days and

weeks, not months and years," said

Bush.(2)

Bush's speech was a ham-fisted

attempt to justify the war he wants so

badly. The demands he's made of Iraq

are so unrealistic and vague--not to

mention hypocritical--that Iraq is bound

to fail to meet them.

For example, former U.N. weapons

inspector Scott Ritter said two years ago

that, "Iraq has indeed been disarmed...

The chemical, biological nuclear and

long-rage ballistic missile programs that

were a real threat in 1991 had, by 1998,

been destroyed or rendered harmless."

Even Richard Butler, another former

weapons inspector who is now a hawk

backing his calls for war with allegations

about Iraq's weapons program, said in

1998, "if Iraqi disarmament were a five-

lap race, we would be three quarters of

Bush rushes toward war on Iraq

the way around the fifth and final lap."(3)

Hard for Iraq to give up weapons that

only exist in Bush's speeches.

The claim that the United $tates needs

to invade

with or

without a

U.N. figleaf

in order to

d i s m a n t l e

I r a q ' s

n u c l e a r

w e a p o n s

program is

also disingenuous. Sensational "news"

reports quoting a study which concluded

Iraq could develop nuclear weapons

within months either fail to mention or

bury a key point: if Iraq got a hold of a

sufficient amount of weapons-grade

radioactive material, then it could build

a bomb in months or a few years. That's

a big if, however, and one of the reasons

more countries don't have nuclear

weapons. Iraq is not the only country

which could make a bomb if it were given

enough plutonium. As the headline for

an article in the Frankfurter Rundschau

Continued on page 5...

Continued on page 4...

MIM Notes 267 · October 1, 2002· Page 2

MIM Notes

The Official Newsletter of The Maoist Internationalist Movement

ISSN 1540-8817

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
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streets and officers do both distribution and
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Distribute

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A call for MIM Notes sponsors and distributors!

Letters

Mandela and Arafat:
What Gives?

Dear MIM,

I need to hear your opinion about

Nelson Mandela. Correct me what I may

be wrong: Is he a puppet of the Afrikaans

[the white settler minority], and the

British and Amerikan empire?

The South African blacks did get their

"independence" and they did have

apartheid dismantled, and had a black

president installed, but did they truly

become independent? Or is it just a

charade? Don't the whites still control

most of the resources (that includes the

diamond mines) and much of the fertile

land? In other words, nominally [it's] the

black man's land but in actuality it's still

in the white man's pocket? Another

sleight of hand! What you see you really

don't see!

Comrade Mandela and subsequent

ANC presidents are nothing but

figureheads and really don't run nothing

but their heads and press agents so they

can look pretty for American cameras.

And whatever little power and riches they

may have is what these behind-the-scenes

white rulers may give them as "lucre"

under the table. So comrade Mandela has

been purchased, a very expensive slave?

And we thought slavery was over!

Instead of asking for slave reparations,

shouldn't we get unslaved first? Not just

in Africa, but in the USA too? I remember

reading a while back on how

magnanimous comrade Mandela seemed

to the press, for all the years he was

incarcerated, he did not seem revengeful

against his former white rulers. Very

noble indeed! By God, a black Jesus

Christ! Turn the other cheek. So comrade

Mandela, he was not in a prison, he was

in a monastery! Comrade Mandela was

so magnanimous, he even won the Nobel

Peace Prize!

Of course he did not want revenge.

That's because he "deal" was that once

he got out of prison he was going to toe

the line in the white man's way and he

better not rock the boat in any established

ways. If he had done otherwise, like

confiscating all the land and resources

of the white man and given it back to the

black righteous owners a la President

Mugabe of Zimbabwe, instead of a Nobel

Prize he would have received a coup

prize! And instead of being praised as

magnanimous, he would have been

demonized such as Mugabe is being

demonized for breaking white man's law.

What a load of bullshit!

Poor comrade Mandela, instead of

being shackled physically as he once was,

he is now shackled mentally. You can't

win with these white folks! Comrade

Mandela's spirit was really broken, but I

don't condemn him. It is foolish to judge

him as an armchair critic. If I was in his

shoes, perhaps I would have done the

same? Just think about it, either continue

eating crappy food in a roach-infested

cell or eat steak with your arm wrapped

around a "winnie the pooh" in a

penthouse? That should be a no brainer.

I'll tell you what, if you're gonna sell

your soul for a mess of pottage, comrade

Mandela knows how to do it in style! He

didn't sell it for no crumbs! Pimp!

So comrade Mandela did not have to

think too hard on this choice. It was best

to live out one's remaining days in a half-

ass "freedom" acting in a charade with

one's face omnipresent all over he world

while chuckling to himself of the

absurdity of life and how grand the

people think he is! Yes, one can be

compelled to make such a decision. The

mind is a motherfucker! It can conjure

all kinds of tempting excuses such as

might as well from the charade because

you just can't beat those blue-eyed

devils!

I would also like your opinion on Yassir

Arafat. This leader of the unfortunate

Palestinians! I have heard that he has sold

out, that he is working hand-in-hand with

the Americans and Israelis by letting

them gradually grab up all the Palestinian

land and resources and just gave the

Palestinians a small part of the land here

and there dottingly? If this is true, then

why did Arafat do this?

Did the Amerikan and Israeli officials

convince him that the Palestinians

weren't really going to get anything so

they might as well just get what they

could and call it a win? Better then

nothing? So Arafat concluded that it

would be best to go along with this deal

and get whatever power and riches he

could obtain, and for his underlings, than

nothing at all?

So here he was for a while, eating steak

and flying around the world, riding in a

Mercedes and having a personal

helicopter, until the Israelis decided to

put a stop to it? With this aggressive

move that the Israelis committed, killing

Palestinians, bulldozing homes, and

destroying the Palestinian infrastructure,

why did they do it? Did Sharon see an

opportunity to finally get all the land he

wanted under the guise of this "terrorism"

and conclude that he really didn't need

Arafat anymore--that's why he tried to

make him look "irrelevant," and in this

way could black-boat him out to exile?

Or when Arafat was holed up in his office

building, completely surrounded by the

Israeli army, was it just a charade and

Arafat was in on it? Did the Israelis really

try to get him this time, since they thought

that they no longer needed him? That's

why they were destroying his buildings

and helicopters?

It does make sense that Arafat works

hand-in-hand with the Americans and the

Israelis because nothing ever got resolved

in the continuing so-called "peace

process." All that got resolved was that

Continued on page 9...

MIM Notes 267 · October 1, 2002· Page 3

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

In June of this year the U.$.-backed

Turkish government sentenced

progressive journalist Memik Horuz to

15 years in prison. He was arrested in

June 2001 shortly after he returned from

the founding assembly of the

International League of People's

Struggle, of which he is the deputy

chairpersyn. Police charged Horuz with

conducting an interview with a Turkish

guerilla leader, a charge he later proved

false (another journalist in Germany took

credit for the interview). The Turkish

government then changed the charge to

membership in a banned organization.(1)

The key prosecution witness in Horuz'

trial was an individual who testified in

return for leniency in his own trial.(2)

In a statement about the accusations

against him Horuz said, "I will not

abandon my ideas; I am proud of them.

But I will never accept the conspiracy

made against me."(3) This is not the first

time Turkey has imprisoned Horuz. He

spent several years in prison in the 1980s.

He has endured torture tactics such as

sleep deprivation, isolation and constant

blindfolding. The reactionary Turkish

government's prisons are notoriously

brutal. Scores of prisoners have died

resisting the "F-type" prisons designed

to isolate prisoners and make them easier

to "disappear."(7)

The Turkish Penal Code and the Anti-

terrorist law allow the arrest and

imprisonment of journalists critical of the

government. The Turkish government

considers such journalists terrorists.

Those arrested must prove their

innocence; the government does not need

to prove their guilt. In another well-

known example, a Turkish publisher who

printed essays by Noam Chomsky critical

of U.$. support for Turkey's genocidal

war against the Kurdish people was

charged under the anti-terrorism law.

Horuz' lawyer Feliz Kalayci and 26

colleagues are due to appear in court to

face charges stemming from their defense

of the victims of the September 26

Free Memik Horuz!

Continued on page 8...

San Francisco

MIM and RAIL attended the annual

Power to the Peaceful rally in Golden

Gate Park in September. Organized by

Michael Franti, a popular local musician,

and other performers and activists, the

rally attracted a predominantly white

crowd of thousands with the mission of

"Unifying the Peace Community." The

theme of the event was "Schools not

Prisons, Humanism not Militarism"

Overall, as a gathering place for people

interested in opposing the Amerikan war

machine, and for activists to set up tables

to sell and distribute information and

products, the event had a positive impact.

MIM unites with the overall message of

opposition to the Amerikan militarism

and criminal injustice system. Our main

difference with the organizers is what we

would call their "anarchist pacifism."

This was the fourth annual Power to

the Peaceful event, scheduled to coincide

with the date 9-11. According to Franti

"911 began in 1999 as an international

day of art and culture in support of

political prisoner Mumia Abu Jamal. The

eleventh day of the ninth month (911) was

chosen to call attention to the emergency

status of Mumia's impending execution.

In 2000 the event was expanded to show

support for all prisoners on death row, and

to speak out against the exponential

growth of the prison industrial complex.

In 2001 the day of September eleventh

took on a wider significance as a result

of the tragic loss of life which took place

on the attacks of the day. At our 4th annual

911 Power to the Peaceful Festival, we

will create a compassionate space of

healing for ALL those people killed or

displaced by terrorism and by the war on

terrorism."

This was an excellent opportunity to

link the events of 9-11 last year to the

ongoing terror perpetrated by

imperialism. And several speakers made

important points about U.$. policies, the

criminal injustice system, and other

aspects of imperialism. But as the mission

statement and information from Franti

makes clear, the goal of the event was not

to oppose imperialism. Taking a stand

against terrorism is only correct if the real

terrorists, the imperialists, are clearly

identified. Supporting peace without

making it clear that the people waging

revolutionary armed struggle are in the

forefront of this fight for peace is

deceptive and ends up playing into the

hands of the imperialists.

Because of our disagreement with the

political message, MIM and RAIL

activists focused on collecting petition

signatures, distributing revolutionary

literature, and talking to people attending

the event so we can't report in detail on

the speakers or performers. As an

opportunity to talk to a largely progressive

audience the event was a success for MIM

and RAIL organizers. Hundreds of people

stopped at the MIM/RAIL table set up in

front of prominent colorful anti-

imperialist signs. Most people who

stopped were eager to help with the

San Francisco peace rally

supports anti-imperialist work

Continued on page 8...

San Fran

homeless

become

political

fodder

CARE NOT CASH

PROVIDES NEITHER

The "Care Not Cash" campaign, led by

San Francisco Superintendent Gavin

Newsom, gathered enough signatures to

put an initiative on the November ballot

that would cut homeless people's

monthly cash stipend. Posturing for an

expected Mayoral campaign, Newsom

spent $10,000 on television ads and

$50,000 on billboards,(1) claiming that

Proposition N will replace the cash with

services, keeping people from abusing

the city's homeless support. In reality the

cut in cash assistance will not be replaced

with any additional services and instead

will put up one more barrier to homeless

people getting off the streets.

Homelessness is a chronic problem of

capitalism. Even in a wealthy imperialist

country like the United $tates people are

living on the streets because they don't

have the money to pay for housing. In

the city of San Francisco alone there are

between 11,000 and 14,000 homeless

people on the streets on any night. But

there are only 1,400 shelter beds in the

city.(2) A number of factors can lead to

homelessness: unemployment, disability,

lack of education, drug or alcohol

addictions, family problems, sudden

financial difficulties. But none of these

need lead to homelessness. They

wouldn't, if housing was not a

commodity bought and sold for a profit.

Capitalism fails to provide for every

persyn's basic needs; under socialism

shelter, like jobs, is guaranteed. Of course

Continued on page 6...

MIM Notes 267 · October 1, 2002· Page 4

THE SECRET

BEHIND U.$.

WEALTH

`CREATION'

On September 12th, the Wall Street

Journal reported that the second quarter

2002 was a record trade deficit for the

united $tates, which at $130 billion was

even higher than expected and amounted

to 5% of the whole U.$. economy's goods

and services. In MIM Notes #266, we

explained the basic problem with

common views of trade deficits in the

article titled "U.$. trade deficit expanded

in June; so-called Marxists don't get it."

Further investigation into recently

released economic statistics shows that

those crying wolf for the past generation

on U.$. trade did so inaccurately and in

a chauvinist way. The proof is that we

have now reached even more colossal

deficits than ever before and no collapse

of the u.$. economy has occurred--

despite the expressed worries of so many

authors.

"Federal Reserve Chairman Alan

Greenspan has said the trade gap

eventually `will have to be restrained.'

But others, including Treasury Secretary

Paul O'Neill, have said the growing gap

isn't a cause for concern partly because

it is unlikely foreigners will pull money

out of the U.S," the Wall Street Journal

said.(1)

MIM advises readers that

commonsense and bourgeois economic

theory suggest that imports do not happen

unless someone is making a profit from

them. The multiple decisions of the

importers to make a profit have not

amounted to and do not add up to

bankruptcy for the united $tates by any

means. The economy generates enough

paper money to buy the goods and the

united $tates uses military force to keep

other countries in check when they

inevitably challenge the paper order.

Although the United $tates has had a

trade deficit in goods and services in

every quarter since 1976, the amount at

stake was too small to mention relative

to the wealth the united $tates was

plundering. Only now at an estimated

$412 billion a year is the trade deficit

really something to consider relative to

wealth ownership. Those who believed

the trade deficit was some kind of

indication of crisis prior to recent years

were simply wrong--whether they were

mercantilists, social-democrats or even

so-called Maoists. They were wrong

because new wealth "creation" in the

united $tates outpaced the trade deficit.

Since 1999 there has been a stock

market crash. Foreign investors in the

United $tates lost over $500 billion in

2001 alone thanks to the stock market

according to government statistics

released in July. Thus, as measured by

the market valuation of assets, in a sense,

the foreign capitalists paid for more than

the entire consumption of imports of

goods and services by the u.$. public in

2001, and then some.(2) These investors

bought dollars and brought them to the

United $tates for investment while

Amerikkkans importing foreign goods

and services bought foreign currencies.

It is also true that U.$. investors lost

money abroad, and in fact, the U.$.

investment position abroad has declined.

In contrast, the foreign position in the

United $tates increased in absolute terms,

because although foreign investors lost

over $500 billion, they sent $752.8 billion

in 2001.(2)

From 1992 to 1995, the total of

investments in the United $tates by

foreigners in liquid assets increased over

$1 trillion. Prior to 1992, $200 billion

was the ceiling in annual investments, but

by the end of the decade, new

investments reached to the $500 to $800

billion range each year.(3) However,

while the liquid assets of foreigners

increased rapidly, in the same time period

the expansion of tangible fixed

reproducible wealth was even greater,

more than $1.3 trillion in real dollar terms

between 1992 and 1995.(4) What that

means is that foreign-owned wealth can

increase while U.$-owned wealth also

increases. In fact, one may think of the

trade deficit in the united $tates as being

financed by the "creation" of new wealth.

In actuality, what is happening in the

united $tates is not creation of new

wealth but accounting for new wealth

already created in the Third World but

not counted as wealth until it arrives in

the united $tates.

New wealth arises in the united $tates

through importing of manufacturing

goods created by super-exploited

workers kept in line by u.$-backed death

squads and military regimes. Salespeople

in the united $tates take imported goods

and mark them up sufficiently to pay their

own salaries and give their bosses a

profit. That is only possible partly

because of the low prices of imported

goods, but also, ironically, because so

many such salespeople exist--enough

people with high salaries to buy the

goods. Of course, Third World

salespeople could do the same thing, but

the Third World has been plundered so

long that there are no people with money

to buy the goods that the Third World

produces. Thus, the production happens

in poor countries, but the goods go to the

countries with the population doing

everything but producing goods. As long

as the Third World workers are exploited

enough, there is no limit to the number

of Amerikkkans who can have sales jobs.

The whole United $tates could be

employed in sales and live more

comfortably than the workers who

actually produce goods.

Backward spokespeople of the U.$.

labor aristocracy who should be called

mercantilists or neo-mercantilists go so

far as to call themselves "Marxist." They

see only that other countries do not buy

as many goods from the United $tates (or

other similar imperialists countries) as

they sell to the United $tates (or similar

imperialist country). What they are really

doing is providing the thin veneer, the

justifications for a fascist nationalization

movement in the imperialist countries.

By exciting the labor aristocracy with

trade deficit figures and by issuing law

suits like the one of the September 11th

survivors seeking Saudi assets, the

leaders of Amerikkkan economic

nationalism seek to whip up their social

base into a frenzy. In contrast, we point

to the huge parasitism involved in

economic relations between the

imperialist countries and the Third

World, thus explaining why disaster did

not strike long ago in connection to the

trade deficit and why the Third World

finds itself so poor. This situation cannot

end until U.$. puppet regimes in the Third

World fall to Maoist revolutions and the

parasitism of the imperialist countries

also comes to an end. Prior to that, at

most, the portion of U.$. wealth owned

by foreigners may increase, but there is

no reason to believe that total wealth of

Amerikkkans and foreigners both cannot

increase while the united $tates sustains

huge trade deficits, the likes of which we

see today.

Notes:
1. Wall Street Journal, 12 Sep 2002.
2. Elena Nguyen, "The International Investment
Position of the United States at Yearend 2001."
3. www.epinet.org/webfeatures/snapshots/
archive/101399/snapshots101399.html
4. www.bea.doc.gov/bea/an/0597niw/
table15.htm

Plunder of Third World provides U.$. cushion

said the Amerikan constitution went too

far in protecting individual rights.(6)

When the Amerikan media aren't

reheating anti-Arab "clash of cultures"

explanations for September 11 they're

dragging out griefsploitation pieces and

cheesy sentimentality.

The best way to memorialize those who

died in the World Trade Center--as well

as the millions more who die every year

from poverty due to imperialist mis-

development and militarism--is to work

toward a world with the causes of war

removed. We cannot blame the oppressed

for attacking the u.$. military and the

institutions of Amerikan imperialism,

any more than we can blame George

Washington for attacking the British or

Nat Turner for attacking slaveholders.

The Amerikan people must act

The day Amerika changed?

Continued from page 1...

ferociously as never before in history,

because tolerating even a slight but

constant cause of war may mean the end

of the humyn species. The Middle East

alone and its economic conflicts are

reason enough for a revolution which

puts the survival rights of the global

majority ahead of a minority's "right" to

profit.

Get informed! Get Angry! Get busy!

Notes:
1. MIM Notes Special Edition, 12 Sep 2001.
2. MIM Notes 260, 15 Jun 2002.
3. MIM Notes 262, 15 Jul 2002; MIM Notes
246, 15 Nov 2002.
4. MIM Notes 263, 1 Aug 2002; MIM Notes
252, 15 Feb 2002; MIM Notes 245, 1 Nov
2002.
5. MIM Notes 244, 15 Oct 2002.
6. San Francisco Chronicle, 31 Aug 2002.

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?

MIM Notes 267 · October 1, 2002· Page 5

summing up the German spy agency's

assessment of Iraq's nuclear capability

put it: "Anybody can build atomic

bombs."(4)

Which is MIM's point. If Iraq doesn't

get the bomb, somebody else will.

Pakistan, India and Israel did. In fact, by

buying off critics and bullying Iraq the

United $tates increases the appeal of

nuclear weapons. Why engage in

negotiations with the United $tates when

you know it will take what it wants

anyway, backed by the power of its own

nuclear arsenal? Even former U.$.

Secretary of Defense McNamera grasped

the obvious conclusion, quoting an

Indian politician, "`Before one

challenges the United States, one must

first acquire nuclear weapons."(5)

If all those clamoring for war against

Iraq were serious about eliminating the

risk of nuclear war, they would be

working to eliminate the tensions which

drive countries to war--tensions built in

to capitalism.

More obfuscation

Bush also claimed that Iraq had defied

U.N. resolutions for years by not letting

weapons inspectors into the country.

Setting aside that the United $tates has

ignored U.N. resolutions pertaining to

I$rael for decades, it was the United

$tates which pulled its weapons

inspectors out of Iraq in 1998. Iraq did

not end weapons inspection.

As Voices in the Wilderness, an

organization dedicated to lifting U.N.

sanctions on Iraq, points out, "Richard

Butler, the head of UNSCOM, pulled the

inspectors out of Iraq in anticipation of

the 1998 U.S. Desert Fox bombing

campaign. It was only as a result of these

bombings that the Iraqi government

subsequently refused to allow inspectors

to return to the country.

"The US is not really interested in

weapons inspections. People forget that

the Iraqi accusations that UNSCOM was

spying on the Iraqi government turned

out to be true. The U.S. infiltrated and

subverted the mission of the international

inspectors, and then used the Iraqi

government's protests against that

subversion as an excuse to bomb the

country. The U.S. itself destroyed

weapons inspections in Iraq, and used the

expected dramatic standoff as a reason

to unleash the deadly Desert Fox

bombing."(3)

Immediately after September 11

officials in the U.$. state department

linked Iraq to the attacks, with no

evidence. Bush did not make any specific

connections between Iraq and September

11, but then he didn't have to, as former

Democratic Senator Bob Kerrey wrote,

"there is credible evidence that Iraqi

intelligence personnel met with one of

the leaders of the attack." It is still not

clear that this Prague meeting actually

took place, but if it did, it was just that, a

meeting which couldn't have lasted more

than an afternoon. It is still no reason to

Bush rushes toward war on Iraq

think Iraq had anything to do with

September 11.

Unilateral multilateralism

Leaders from the U.N. and Amerika's

European allies like France were glad that

President Bush sought the endorsement

of the United Nations. Frances's Foreign

Mnister said, "[if an attack takes place]

without legitimacy there is a risk of

increasing instability in the world. This

legitimacy for France means of course

the role of the Security Council."(6) The

Security Council is the supreme authority

in the U.N.; France has a permanent seat.

However, considering that the

substance of Bush's speech to the U.N.

was "act on Iraq or the U.S. will" as a

New York Times banner headline put

it,(7) it is the legitimacy of the U.N. that

is on the line. If these leaders who up to

now criticized Bush's war plans support

the war through the U.N., they will be

exposed as lackeys who simply wanted

to save some face. A U.N. resolution

against Iraq on the heels of Bush's speech

will merely give Bush's war a veneer of

"legitimacy;" the U.N. will play its

familiar role as a fig leaf for aggressive

Amerikan imperialism.

As MIM Notes reported on the eve of

the first Gulf War, "instead of choosing

between war and diplomacy, the United

States is pursuing both with a vengeance.

Consolidating power over allies, creating

puppets and punishing defectors, the

USA is laying the groundwork for a

broader military victory in the war of

expansion in the Middle East. The wide-

ranging efforts undertaken by the USA

around the world underscore the

imperialist nature of the conflict,

eliminating arguments that the war is

caused by a single policy decision or an

aggressive personality."(8)

This time, however, other capitalist

powers--Russia, Saudi Arabia and most

of the countries in the Middle East except

Israel--oppose a renewed attack on Iraq.

George Bush may be risking Amerikan

hegemony by pushing forward in so many

areas simultaneously: Afghanistan, Iraq,

Israel, south Asia, the Philippines, Korea,

etc. If Russia were to stand up to the

United $tates and pledge to defend Iraq,

which it has large business deals with,

ties with the United $tates might become

politically and economically risky.

Suddenly economic ties to Russia and the

European Union would not look so bad

to a host of Eastern European, Middle

East and Central Asian countries. Those

who have played Othello or the more

complex Go game can see the risks that

the above-average-but-overmatched

Bush is playing with.(9)

German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder

already declared German armed forces

will not participate in any attack on Iraq.

As MIM notes goes to press, the ruling

SPD-Green coalition is debating whether

or not to propose a parliamentary

resolution supporting Schröder's

decision. This is a response to pressure

from the smaller social-democratic PDS,

the former East German ruling party,

which was the first to suggest a resolution

opposing "any form of German

participation" in a war on Iraq.(10) The

SPD and Greens--both of which rabidly

supported German participation in the

NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, by the

way--want to make sure that the PDS

can't pose as the party of peace in the

upcoming elections. In any case, this

shows how social-democratic parties in

second-tier imperialist powers like the

PDS might make promising allies when

they come into conflict with the world's

imperialist hegemon, the United $tates.

The real deal

So if Bush's war not a moral crusade

against tyranny or against the threat of

"nucular" weapons, what is it?

Rami G. Khouri, an American-

educated Jordanian journalist

interviewed by the New York Times,

summed it up well. "There is a sense by

many ordinary people and politicians that

the moves against Iraq are an effort to

redraw the map for the strategic interests

of the United States and Israel...

Everyone I know wants Saddam Hussein

removed. Nobody I know wants the

Americans to do it--because we believe

they are the last people in the world who

will work on the behalf of Arab

interests."

Another man interviewed in the same

article said, "all this talk of democracy

in the Middle East is baloney. The United

States wants to do this against Iraq to

spite Arabs and in spite of Arabs."(11)

A talking head interviewed on National

Public Radio agreed with this

perspective, noting that pro-U.$.

"stability" in the region would require

local governments to become more, not

less, repressive.(12) As MIM and many

others have repeated since September 11,

Amerikan client states like Saudi Arabia

or Egypt were not necessarily better than

the Taliban regime when it came to

wimmin's rights, the right to free speech

and political association, economic

exploitation, etc. The difference was the

Taliban did not play along with U.$.

designs--at least not as much as

Washington wanted.

And of course for all his talk about Iraq

flaunting U.N resolutions, Bush said

nothing about U.N.-resolution-flaunting

Israel. Voices in the Wilderness make the

interesting point that, "UN Security

Council Resolution 687 calls for regional

disarmament throughout the Middle East,

not just in Iraq... The US can begin good-

faith negotiations with the Iraqi

government to return weapons inspectors

to Iraq in the context of this regional call

for disarmament. Ultimatums that are

issued without any possibility of

discussion, under the threat of massive

war, and ignoring Iraq's own security

concerns in the region, are not a useful

form of international diplomacy. The US

could examine its weapons sales to all

of Iraq's surrounding neighbors over this

period of eleven years that Iraq has been

sanctioned from international trade."(3)

Most notably on the question of

"nucular" weapons, it is an open secret

that Israel has them now, not just the

capability to produce them in a few years.

If the United $tates does attack, it is

the common people of Iraq who will

suffer even more. In the first Gulf War,

the United $tates bombed civilian

infrastructure--an internationally

recognized war crime (13)--and this

combined with U.N. sanctions has

contributed to the deaths of 5,000 Iraqis

a day. As a speaker at a teach-in in Iowa

put it: The images of death and human

suffering in Iraq, should evoke the same

feeling of horror as the images of people

leaping from the World Trade Center on

September 11. "We need to be every bit

as outraged."(14)

An Amerikan attack on Iraq will kill

thousands but peace in the Middle East

and the world will be further removed

than ever. Far from achieving Pax

Amerikana, war against Iraq will increase

worldwide anger against the Unites $tates

and send the message that the United

$tates will only listen to the criticism of

weapons.

If Shakespeare were to write a tragedy

about Amerikan imperialism, he

wouldn't have to come up with a new

ending; he could just borrow these lines

from Hamlet:

And let me speak to th' yet unknowing

world

How these things came about: so shall

you hear

Of carnal, bloody and unnatural acts;

Of accidental judgments and casual

slaughters;

Of death put on by cunning and forced

cause;

And, in this upshot, purposes mistook

Fall'n on the inventor's heads.

Notes:
1. Reuters, 12 Sep 2002.
2. Associated Press, 13 Sep 2002.
3. Voices in the Wilderness,
www.nonviolence.org/vitw.
4. Frankfurter Rundschau, 13 Sep 2002.
5. MIM Notes 255, 1 Apr 2002.
6. Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 12 Sep 2002.
7. New York Times, 12 Sep 2002.
8. MIM Notes 48, Jan 1991.
9. MIM Notes 266, 15 Sep 2002.
10. Frankfurter Rundschau, 12 Sep 2002.
12. All Things Considered, 28 Aug 2002.
13. www.hrw.org/reports/1991/gulfwar/
14. Des Moines Register, 12 Sep 2002.

Continued from page 1...

MIM Notes 267 · October 1, 2002· Page 6

Sunday (2002)
Directed by Charles
McDougall

"Sunday" is a docudrama about the

events in the occupied six counties (so-

called Northern Ireland) on January 30,

1972, known as Bloody Sunday, when

British troops killed 14 unarmed civilians

and wounded 15 more during a civil

rights march in Derry. Produced to mark

the 30th anniversary of Bloody Sunday,

the film is carefully researched, drawing

on British military documents and first-

hand interviews with those involved in

the events. The producers claim that the

film is a factual representation of events

with only small modifications for

dramatic film effect. The film provides

insight into why the oppressed in the

occupied six counties took up arms

against British imperialism.

The bulk of Ireland won its

independence in 1920 after years of

guerrilla warfare against British

occupation. However, Britain kept

control of the Six Counties as the largest

contiguous piece of land where the

majority of the population supported

union with Britain. Such Unionists are

mostly Protestant, while Irish nationalists

are mostly Catholic; hence the usual

superficial characterization of the

colonial situation in the six counties as a

"religious conflict." It is important to note

that Britain settled these Protestants in

Ireland in the 17th century to increase its

control over Ireland.

The movie focuses on the lives of

several Irish youth who attended the

illegal but peaceful civil rights march on

January 30, 1972. The marchers were

protesting laws which restricted voting

rights based on property ownership--

Irish Catholic families could not afford

much property and so were frequently

denied a vote--and a new interment

camp near Derry city.

(The British Emergency Powers Act

denies citizens their right to habeas

corpus when they want an excuse for

political repression. Britain has exercised

this power in Ireland for 75 years. Special

powers also exist under the Prevention

of Terrorism Act, first passed in 1973 and

renewed every year since. This act allows

individuals suspected of terrorism to be

detained and interrogated for up to seven

days without charge.(1) When similar

provisions were included in the U$A

Patriot act, MIM pointed out that British

law has led to numerous abuses, without

actually preventing any "terrorism."

Perhaps most familiar to Amerikans are

the events documented in the film "In the

Name of the Father," where British police

tortured a group of young people during

the seven days they were held without

charge to force them to confess to

"crimes" they had not committed.)

"Sunday" first portrays the events of

the massacre from the marchers'

perspective. The main character, a man

named Leo Young, searches for his

brother after the shooting starts. He ends

up helping another boy who was shot,

taking him to the hospital. British troops

stop their car at a roadblock and force

them out at gunpoint. They then imprison

Leo and interrogate him. The troops don't

take the boy in the car to a hospital.

Instead they plant bombs in his pockets

and photograph him as evidence that the

IRA was behind the violence at the

march.

The film then takes the audience

through the first official Government

Inquiry into Bloody Sunday, conducted

by then Lord Chief Justice, Lord

Widgery. The film revisits events of the

day from the perspective of the soldiers.

From the outset it is clear that they are

deployed to Derry to attack the crowd.

Their officers have encouraged them to

expect violent confrontation; they are

shown talking up the opportunity to kill

Irish Catholics. Before the tribunal they

are shown discussing the need to lie to

cover for themselves. One soldier who

submitted a report describing the events

as he saw them was told his testimony

would not be needed since his report

made the soldiers look like they fired

indiscriminately into the crowds. The

Widgery Tribunal concluded that the

soldiers were telling the truth and that it

was likely those demonstrators killed

were in fact IRA fighters and that the

fault for the violence was with the

marchers who staged the illegal protest.

The main character, who was released

from detention to learn that his brother

was killed at the march, goes from

incredulity at the police questioning

whether he is in the IRA to asking himself

whether or not he should join. He

promises his wife that he will not join if

the Government Inquiry delivers justice.

When the results of the tribunal are

reported he goes to an IRA recruiting

meeting to join, over the protests of his

wife who argues that he should not

because they have kids.

Throughout the film wimmin are

portrayed as trying to keep the men from

joining the IRA because they will be

killed. Leo's mother tells her daughter

that she will not let her sons see her grief

over the one who was killed because it

would drive them to join the IRA and get

killed themselves. Leo's wife says that

she would join the IRA herself but they

have kids and so neither of them should

join.

This underlying message that

responsibility to family overrides

responsibility to society is the one

negative element to this documentary.

Support for armed struggle was built

through the events around Bloody

Sunday precisely because people

understood that they would not win civil

rights through non-violence. These rights

were and are essential to the survival of

the people living in the occupied six

counties of Ireland. It was for the future

of their families and children that people

join the armed struggle.

BBC Channel 4 commissioned

"Sunday" to mark the 20 year anniversary

of the massacre. This film is

fundamentally critical of the British

government and military. But it carefully

restricts its focus to the events of Bloody

Sunday. What is missing is a connection

to the on-going violent colonial

occupation of Ireland.

Note: 1. MIM Notes #137, June 1997.

`Sunday' exposes British colonialism in Ireland

MAOIST MOVIE REVIEW

capitalism also exacerbates factors that

lead to homelessness like homelessness

and drug abuse.

Currently everyone who receives cash

aid from San Francisco must work for

the city in return for their aid checks or

prove they are disabled. The new "Care

Not Cash" program would pay these

workers in vouchers for services that are

already free to other people (shelters and

soup kitchens). The program is modeled

after the failed homeless program of

former Mayor Guiliani in New York City.

In New York after Guiliani's version of

the "Care Not Cash" plan the number of

people staying in shelters rose rapidly,

up to 32,850 people a day in 2002.(3)

The city of San Francisco spends $104

million per year on direct homeless

services.(4) Currently 8,674 adults in San

Francisco receive a monthly cash stipend

of up to $395 from the city, also known

as General Assistance.(5) Approximately

2,756 of these people are homeless single

adults who will be affected by the

initiative.(6) If this "Care Not Cash"

program passes these homeless people

San Fran homeless

will have their monthly allowance cut to

$59 and the rest of the money. This will

result in less than $2 per day for

necessities such as medicine, laundry and

toothpaste and assumes that all the

homeless can be accommodated in

shelters and fed in soup kitchens. Nearly

60% of homeless people are disabled, but

they too will have only $2 per day to pay

for medicine.(7)

According to the Department of

Human Services 2002 report, for the

2,756 homeless adults on General

Assistance in SF there are only 1,294

shelter beds available (and note that these

beds also accommodate all the homeless

adults not on GA).(5) From the outset the

program can not succeed without

significant investment in homeless

services. Newsom argues that cutting

cash aid will free up $10 million a year,

which could fund 1,000 new residential

hotel rooms and 150 methadone

treatment slots. But the ballot initiative

doesn't include anything about using this

money to help the homeless. Further,

many methadone programs currently

charge for services and homeless people

who lose their cash benefits will not be

able to afford these services.

The "Care Not Cash" plan requires

people to stay in shelter beds to receive

even the $59 per month. If someone loses

their shelter, for any reason, they lose

their benefits as well. This program will

also perpetuate homelessness by

reducing people's ability to pay rent in

informal arrangements with family or

friends or save money for permanent

housing.

Most Bay Area counties have recently

switched to services rather than cash for

homeless programs, but there is no

evidence these are an improvement over

cash grants. In Alameda, a county near

San Francisco where a similar program

is in place, they found that most homeless

people chose to go without General

Assistance rather than be forced into

shelters.(6)

Political posturing leads to new

programs on the homeless every few

years. Under capitalism the best we can

hope for is more spending on food,

housing, medicine and other services and

rehabilitation for homeless people. But

this is not a solution to homelessness. The

only real solution to homelessness will

come when capitalism is overthrown and

people's basic needs become a priority.

Homelessness caused by capitalism is

a far bigger problem than what we see in

the United $tates. In Third World

countries, where the U.$. props up puppet

government with economic and military

aid, literally millions of people are

without adequate shelter, food, medicine

and even water. For these people, access

to a soup kitchen is not even a distant

dream. This doesn't make homelessness

in Amerika acceptable. But we do need

to keep this problem in perspective. We

should not just be fighting to end

homelessness in Amerika. The denial of

basic needs, putting profit before survival

rights, anywhere in the world is a crime.

Notes:
1. National Lawyers Guild statement opposing
"Care Not Cash".
2. Mayor's office on housing, quoted in http://
www.sf-homeless-coalition.org/basics.html
3. New York City Department of Homeless
Services and Human Resources Administration,
shelter census reports. available at: http://
www.coalitionforthehomeless.org/
nychomelesscharts01.pdf
4. San Francisco Chronicle, Aug 17, 2002.
5. Committee Against Increased Homelessness
web site (http://www.nomorehomelessness.org)
6. San Francisco Bay Guardian, June 19, 2002.
7. Department of Human Services, March 2002.

Continued from page 3...

MIM Notes 267 · October 1, 2002· Page 7

On June 5th, police arrested Hip Hop

star R. Kelly for child pornography. The

prosecution claims that he had sex with

a 14 year-old girl in a videotape. On

August 28th, there was a report that the

performer "Truth Hurts" nonetheless

decided to release a single with Kelly,

who continues to be wildly popular. For

MIM, this case and others involving the

treatment of Black wimmin raise

important analytical questions.

Kelly's attorney says the womyn in the

tape was not underage. Since then critics

have turned to the act of a Black man

urinating on a Black womyn in the tape

as indicative of abuse.

Unfortunately MIM has to report that

urinating is all the fashion in Western

pornography and we find it difficult to

pin much meaning on this particular act

of the pornography, especially vis-a-vis

Black-men-to-Black-wimmin relations.

All we can say is that capitalism has to

come up with new and novel ways to

titillate the audience and keep sex fresh

or the customer does not pay.

That is to say Black people are not

sealed off from the rest of the Western

culture, and it is not correct to think they

will not demonstrate the decadence of

imperialist culture before successful

revolution. Ewuare Osayande of the San

Francisco Bay View wrote at length on

the right issues. We agree with him when

he said, "Those who want to quash

critique are often those who in some way

profit from this problematic state. They

reap profits by either making money from

it or by keeping their own oppressive dirt

from being exposed."(1)

Knowing Blacks are part of a profit-

making and decadent imperialist culture

is a large part, maybe most of the story.

Yet the question remains, why people buy

the videos that Kelly is selling. From our

scientific viewpoint, it is not enough to

say the culture is rotten. Yes the culture

is rotten. It is rotten in a particular way.

People have money and some free time.

They could choose to do something else,

but instead they buy the Kelly videotape,

which is on every street corner according

to Osayande.

The question comes up, why should

Blacks oppose Black men making porno

money, if white men make it that way.

That's what Kelly's supporters are

saying. Obviously within a capitalist

context, there is no fair rebuttal to Kelly's

supporters on this point. We have to be

for socialism before we have the right to

criticize Kelly or pornographers in

general. Otherwise, our criticism of our

artists like Kelly will be meaningless.

Indeed, if we seek to win over a section

of the Black bourgeoisie for revolution,

there may need to be concessions to the

Black bourgeoisie in particular, the Black

pornographers at the expense of the white

ones.

For a long time, the question of whether

rap is more misogynist than other music

forms has existed. Much rap refers to

Black wimmin as "whores" and "bitches"

by habit.

Considering that we are not in

socialism yet, MIM is ambivalent about

this point too, because though it may be

different the white man's rock is also

solidly misogynist. Rappers just have

their distinctive way of making money.

One thing we can address however is

the question of the psychology of Black

wimmin. We have to get away from

questions like why do Black wimmin put

up with their Black men. It's not a self-

esteem problem. There are a lot of

feelings of betrayal and abandonment out

there, but it would be wrong to leave the

question at that level of psychology and

culture, because psychology will never

point to a solution. People getting caught

up in their feelings are going to end up

going for fascism.

The fact is that Black wimmin are now

more likely to go through college than

Black men. According to the New York

Times in August, a "study found that in

2000 there were 791,600 black men in

jail or prison and 603,032 enrolled in

colleges or universities. By contrast, the

study said that in 1980 there were

143,000 black men in jail or prison but

463,700 enrolled in colleges or

universities."(2) The New York Times

also reported that the rise in Black men's

imprisonment between 1980 and 2000

was three times faster than the rise in

Black men going to college.

MIM would say that in fact Black men

in prison are more gender oppressed than

Black wimmin outside the prisons. The

white man is gender oppressing Black

men. It is wrong to call this issue one of

"triple oppression" (class, gender and

race/nation) and then refer only to

wimmin outside the prison walls. It's not

that simple.

In response to the Black labor

aristocracy and capitalists that say those

Blacks should be in prison, this is where

we say the Black labor aristocracy is too

R. Kelly and the dialectics of `triple oppression'

liable to the white man's propaganda.

Other countries manage to do without

that rate of imprisonment. There is no

reason for Black people to put up with it.

No country in the world imprisons people

at the rate that Amerikkkans imprison

Blacks, so Amerikkkans better be

learning something about other cultures

and systems and stop making excuses for

imprisonment rates not seen since Stalin

in war time. This is how the Black people

will benefit from the dictatorship of the

proletariat of the oppressed nations'

proletariat coming to the united $tates--

actually addressing problems instead of

putting everyone in prison.

In addition, Black men have a lower

life expectancy than Black wimmin. This

all adds up to one thing: a shortage of

available Black men for heterosexual

Black wimmin. As it stands, Black men

are also more likely to seek white

wimmin than white men are to seek Black

wimmin, so at least in practice there is

no balancing occurring in inter-racial

gender relations either.

This shortage of Black men is a

material fact affecting Black gender

relations. It is part of the very definition

of the gender relations. Cultural and

psychological explanations will end up

in self-blame. No matter how good the

rap song lyrics or the revolutionary will

of the people, there is going to be hurt

until we address the underlying causes.

Notes:
1. http://www.sfbayview.com/061902/
sexist061902.html
2. New York Times, 28 Aug. 02.

"The number of people in the U.S.

correctional system hit a record 6.6

million--more than 3 in every 100

adults--last year, the Justice Department

says," says the Associated Press. The

figure counts 631,240 people in jails as

distinguished from prisons, probation and

parole.(1)

The Amerikkkan population is

vacillating slightly in our favor at the

current time as 64% of the public have

moved to support a moratorium on the

death penalty(2) and 61% of California

passed Proposition 36 to require non-

incarceration for non-violent drug

offenders. The slight trend in our favor

is not showing up in imprisonment rates

yet, however. As MIM points out in every

issue, the united $tates is the world's

leading prison state.

An interesting tidbit from the

Associated Press is that "Whites

accounted for 55% of those on probation,

while blacks made up 31%. Among those

behind bars, however, 46 % of those

incarcerated were black and 36% were

white."(1)

These kinds of numbers indict the

whole system. Whether Amerikkkans are

the most criminally deranged in the world

or whether the system merely frames

more people than any system in the

world, either way, the structure of society

is to blame. When we Maoists get to

power, all people will benefit from a

reduction in crime, because we

understand its causes and have reduced

it before in other countries.

Notes:
1. http://usatoday.com/news/nation/2002-08-26-
corrections-population_x.htm
2. Boston Globe 15 Sep 2000

Media admits one in 32

Amerikans in penal system

MIM Notes 267 · October 1, 2002· Page 8

INTERNET PORTAL

LIVES UP TO ITS

NAME ONCE AGAIN

Yahoo! suddenly canceled Lake

Merritt Neighbors Organized for Peace

(LMNOP) e-mail account, alleging

LMNOP had violated "the terms of

service agreement." LMNOP is an anti-

war group in Oakland California. They

learned of the cancellation when they

could no longer access their email

address. Mail sent to the address was

returned as "undeliverable because the

account has been discontinued or

disabled."

Yahoo!'s service agreement states that

Yahoo! can delete e-mail accounts on its

system at any time. In response to

LMNOP's questions Yahoo!

representatives stated that they have a

policy of not revealing the specific reason

behind account termination. One

customer representative did state that the

decision to shut down the account was

only made after complaints are filed,

however. Yahoo! made it clear to

LMNOP that there is no recourse once

the account is shut down. There is no

chance to prove the termination was

unfounded and no chance to retrieve

information stored on the account.

LMNOP organizers believe that

Yahoo! received a complaint about the

group because of their stance on

Palestine. [LMNOP raises the slogan

"Israel out of the West Bank and Gaza -

The Occupation is Killing Us All!"]

There is no way to know for sure, but in

a political climate like the United $tates

where the majority enjoy parasitic

benefits from imperialism, it is easy to

make enemies and likely that some of

those enemies enjoy the chance to

"report" progressive groups to any and

all authorities.

LMNOP lost their entire email list to

this Yahoo! censorship, which should

serve as a warning to other activist groups

taking advantage of free e-mail accounts

offered by corporate groups like Yahoo!.

We know that surveillance of political

activists is commonplace. And

corporations like Yahoo! are certainly

cooperating with the government to

provide any and all information they

request about users. Activists should use

these free tools cautiously. Be careful to

back up your information, and never give

out any information on those systems that

you don't want the government to have.

Check out MIM's web page FAQ on

security for more ways to protect yourself

and your work: http://www.etext.org/

Politics/MIM/faq/security.html.

Yahoo! censors Oakland peace group

San Fran peace rally

agitation campaigns we were promoting

and also purchased copies of the latest

MIM Notes and other literature.

Focusing on two issues at the table,

activists drew people's attention to an

important local campaign with

international connections and an

important international campaign with

local relevance. The local campaign,

demanding the University of California

divest from Israel, garnered 131 petition

signatures and overwhelming enthusiasm

from the crowd. Younger people did not

recognize the connection to the call to

divest from South Africa in the 1980s

which was an important and successful

part of the anti-apartheid campaign. We

took the opportunity to explain the

historical lessons from that battle and the

reasons behind our current campaign.

Several people asked why we were

focusing on the UC schools, rather than

taking on a wider campaign of Amerikan

divestment from Israel. We explained that

we see this as a first step, and a winnable

battle, in the divestment campaign which

ultimately targets Amerikan imperialism

to pull out entirely from Israel. And we

encouraged people to research other

corporate connections to Israel to add to

the campaign.

The second campaign focused on at the

table demanded freedom for Memik

Horuz, deputy chairperson of the

International League of Peoples'

Struggle (ILPS), who has been in prison

in Turkey since June of 2001. He was

recently sentenced to 15 years in prison

on trumped-up charges (see article in this

issue of MIM Notes). We pointed out the

U.$. government's support for brutal

Turkish fascism. A number of people

who stopped to sign the petition

commented on the importance of Turkey

to Amerikan imperialism in the Middle

East. This drew important connections

to the Amerikan war machine activities

over the past year. Horuz is important to

us in San Francisco as a part of the

internationalist struggle that we are

waging. For this campaign we collected

120 petition signatures, limited by the

number of petition sheets we brought to

the event.

Our main regret is not having more

comrades with us to walk through the

crowd collecting more petition

signatures. The Open the U.$. Border

petition on the table drew about 20

signatures and the anti-censorship

postcards on hand, protesting censorship

of prisoner mail, attracted the attention

of a number of people stopping by the

table as well. We are confident we could

have gathered many more petition

signatures and postcards with greater

forces. We will work to build awareness

of the need for this anti-imperialist voice

at rallies such as this one in the coming

year.

Bush Did It rally

A more radical and march with a

correct focus joined the Power to the

Peaceful rally after marching through

Golden Gate park. A RAIL contingent

joined the Bush Did It demonstration

which was organized by the All Peoples

Coalition Against U.S. Terror and War.

The overall message of the rally was that

the Bush regime is responsible for the

attacks on the u$ on 9/11, whether they

were actively involved or not. Organizers

recognized the role of imperialism in

breeding incidents like 9/11 from the

majority of the world, which has not

benefited from this system.

RAIL hopes that marching into the

crowd chanting, "Hey Bush, you can't

resist. We charge you as a terrorist." and

carrying signs such as "Fighting

Imperialism Is NOT Terrorism" brought

a more revolutionary message to the

broader audience. Contingent members

followed with hours of outreach and

discussion with individuals to better

explain our differences with the more

reformist and pacifist tendencies

represented at the festival. Getting mostly

positive responses, we hope those people

looking to eliminate this system of war

will help us to promote the most effective

solution to war at the next peace rally:

revolution.

Continued from page 3...

massacre in Ulucanlar prison. The

government has also charged her with

membership in an illegal organization

and with having slandered the Turkish

government.(3)

The Amerikan government stepped up

military aid to Turkey after martial law

was declared in the early 80s, spending

about $500 million in military aid to

Turkey each year from 1988 to 1993.

Between 1980 and 1999, the U.S.

Government gave the Turkish regime

$4.6 billion in military aid and $2 billion

in military loans. In fiscal year 1999, the

Turkish regime imported $1.56 billion in

weapons from the United $tates.(4) The

Turkish army uses Amerikan helicopters

and other machinery in its genocidal war

against the Kurdish people.

After September 11, 2001, the U.$.

turned to Turkey for support in the so-

called war on terrorism. In this terrorist

war Turkey sent forces to join the U.$.-

led massacre of Afghanistan.(5) In return

Bush agreed to donate Turkey 25

helicopters and write off all or at least

part of a $5 billion loan for the purchase

of arms.(6) Those of us living in

Amerika's borders who oppose the brutal

thuggery used to support the "New World

Order" must speak up.

Please FAX or email your letters asking

that Horuz' bogus conviction be

overturned to the Turkish Embassy and

consulates in the united $tates:

* Washington D.C. Embassy Fax/

Email: 202-612-6744 info@turkey.org

* Washington D.C. Consulate Fax/

Email: 202-319-1639

tcwash.cons@erols.com

* Los Angeles Consulate Fax/Email:

323-932-0061 turkcgla@pacbell.net

* Chicago Consulate Fax/Email: 312-

263-1499 chicago@trconsulate.org

* New York Consulate Fax/Email:

212-983-1293 tcbkny@worldnet.att.net

You can also send faxes to the

following authorities in Turkey:

* Ankara Interior Ministry Fax:

01190 312 418 1795

* Ankara Justice Ministry Fax:

01190 312 417 3954

Send a copy of your letter to MIM.

Notes:
1. International League of Peoples' Struggle
(ILPS) press release,
August3, 2002, http://ilps2001.com/edp/memik
2. ILPS press release, June 30, 2002
3. ILPS press release, March 18, 2002
4. http://www.fas.org/asmp/profiles/
turkey_fmschart.htm
5. CNN.com, 11/6/2001
6. http://www.clw.org/atop/911_list.html

Free Memik Horuz!

Continued from page 3...

MIM Notes 267 · October 1, 2002· Page 9

What questions do YOU have?

Wasn't Mao a butcher? Why do you spell it "Amerika"? Shouldn't
you try non-violence first? What is internationalism? Isn't hating white

people reverse racism? Why don't you leftists work together? Why
don't you tone it down? What is a cardinal principle? What is your
program? What is necessary to join MIM? What concrete actions can I

take? How do I write articles for MIM? What is your copyright policy?

Go to http://www.prisoncensorship.info/archive/etext/faq

and get real answers to these and other questions.

MIM Theory 2 and 3

Gender &

Revolutionary

Feminism

MIM's in-depth explanation of gender

oppresion, especially in the First World. A

classic collection of articles that no

revolutionary feminist should be without. 200

pages.

Send $5 cash, check, or stamps, or money

order to: MIM Distributors, PO Box
29670, Los Angeles CA 90029-0670

In June journalists in Nepal(1) and

around the world condemned the torture-

killing of a journalist who spoke for the

People's War in Nepal named Krishna

Sen. Other journalists continued into July

to ask why the government did not even

confirm Krishna Sen's death.(2) Two

months after his death, the government

in Nepal issued an investigative report

and denied that the journalist Nepali

Krishna Sen was ever in government

custody and said it had no records of him

anymore! Hundreds of journalists have

protested in Nepal as a result of the

government coverups.(3)

Thus it appears that the regime in Nepal

has adopted the strategy of

"disappearance," except that it was

caught in the act. BBC reported that Sen

was in custody since May 2002.(4) Sen

had been in and out of detention the past

few years.

The government's version of events

held no credibility with Nepal's

journalists, as much as they had backed

the government against the People's War.

The Federation of Nepalese Journalists

leading demonstrations of hundreds has

said that over 100 journalists are in

custody, not just Krishna Sen.(5) That

number rose to over 140 journalists in

detention with 22 still in custody as of

our latest update.(6)

The Maoists in Nepal had spent quite

some time in peace negotiations with the

regime in Nepal. With the bizarre

monarchy self-destruction, with

supposed "communists" in the

Parliament that do not oppose U.S.

military aid to the semi-feudal

government(7) and with a state of

emergency under which the regime kills

journalists, it is little wonder that peace

negotiations failed.

Under any conditions it is impossible

to get landlord-backed rulers to

redistribute the land in land reform and

bring an end to semi-feudalism and

conditions of poverty affecting the

world's peasantry. That's why land

reform in Japan, Taiwan, China, southern

Korea, northern Korea and elsewhere

occurred through force, either communist

force or U.$. troops (after war) or both.

Blood of Krishna Sen moves Nepali people

That is a cruel reality for the world's

starving people, as cruel as the fact that

most of slavery did not come to an end

through mutual good wishes.

A people facing widespread poverty

and starvation cannot simply agree on

nice-sounding words with a landlord

government. The workers and peasants

in a country as poor as Nepal must have

the implementation of actual survival

rights before they can peacefully coexist

with anyone else. There can be nothing

more stupid than the idea that the starving

can negotiate away their right to

survival--whether it be in elections or

peace negotiations. For this reason, real

communists in Nepal must be firm in

their demands. Settling for nice-sound

phrases effectively means death for many

now and prolonged suffering for others

in the future.

Another factor in the inability to

conclude peace negotiations is that

politicians in Nepal see their power rising

from an increase in foreign aid to root

out "terrorists." In June, a London

meeting saw Great Powers promise $128

million in economic and military aid for

Nepal.(8) The most visible result was the

split in the ruling Nepali Congress party

with the prime minister playing the

"terrorist" angle for as much aid as

possible.

Notes:
1. http://www.kantipuronline.com/archive/kpost/
2002-6-29/kp_editorial.htm is an example from
the Kathmandu Post
2. http://www.yomari.com/p-review/2002/07/
04072002/how.html; http://www.ucc.uconn.edu/
~ser00003/NS1.html has a story on the
government's calling Sen "a missing case" while
it was conducting its investigation.
3. http://www.yomari.com/p-review/2002/07/
25072002/ontherecord.html
4. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/
2069303.stm
5. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/south_asia/
2100944.stm
6. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/south_asia/
2211646.stm
7. See cpnuml.org
8. http://goasiapacific.com/news/
GoAsiaPacificBNA_590015.htm

the Israelis were gradually grabbing land

for the settlements. It looked very

obvious that something tricky was going

on--even Ray Charles could see it. I can

remember back when I did not know if

this charade would become utterly

frustrated and would think that if I was

in Arafat's shoes I would not have the

"patience" that he manifested. I would

have told the Israelis that I did not have

time to play games, so when they got

serious to negotiate, then call me. But

now I know why Arafat had this gigantic

"patience." It was a charade! But if this

is true, then why haven't the Arabs and

Palestinians figured it out yet? Does

Hamas know that he's a charade? So they

are the real representatives of the

Palestinians? That's why the Israelis

don't want to deal with them? Tell me

your opinion.

In Solidarity,

--A Texas Prisoner

MIM responds: Your comments on

Mandela and Arafat are very well taken.

Fifteen years ago, the movements they

led--the Palestine Liberation

Organization (PLO) and the African

National Congress (ANC), along with

their allied movements in Nicaragua and

El Salvador and a few others--

represented to some people the cutting

edge of anti-imperialism and the future

of socialist movements.

Those of us who disagreed at the

time--including MIM--were clearly

vindicated in the 1990s when all of these

organizations gave up the revolutionary

cause for good and went over into

negotiated capitulation whole hog. To

MIM, this history holds valuable lessons,

including two major ones. First, national

liberation from imperialism without a

socialist program and leadership leads to

neocolonialism. This we already knew,

but these cases underscored it. Second,

national liberation movements tied too

heavily to external great-power

support--in this case the social-

imperialist ex-USSR--are not

independently sustainable. Whatever was

revolutionary in the programs of these

movements was quickly sacrificed when

they could no longer leverage Soviet

support against the U.$. empire. When

the ex-USSR collapsed, they had no one

to lean on, so they quickly cut the best

deals they could with imperialism, and

declared victory.

Before the collapse of the ex-USSR,

Arafat and Mandela were more likely to

end up in the Soviet camp. That was how

they played their hands. Now, to MIM

that is not as big a difference as it is to

some others, because we understand that

the Soviet Union had become social-

imperialist after the development of state

capitalism in the 1950s. So this was a

choice between imperialist powers. It is

not inherently wrong to play one

imperialist power off another, but

revolutionary movements need to

maintain their independence and self-

sufficiency in such situations (look at

formerly-Soviet-dependent Cuba, too).

These guys were the two leaders

supposedly representing the most visible

unresolved colonial legacies post-WWII.

These cases posed international political

problems for imperialism in the

neocolonial era, because they

undermined the imperialist propaganda

that the current era is "post-colonial," the

"former" imperialists having given up

their colonies out of their own largesse

or political savvy. So maybe it is fitting

(from the imperialist's perspective) that

when these two guys finally gave it up,

they got the Nobel Prize. The

revolutionary aspirations of the people

they represented were a major thorn in

the side of imperialism.

Which brings us to your final question:

why do the masses put up with this? On

that we urge you to take a longer view.

In the long run, the masses do not put up

with this. Developing revolutionary

organizations and leaders takes time and

requires capitalizing on the historical

moment. Already in both Palestine and

Azania (South Africa) there are growing

mass movements which see Arafat and

Mandela/Mbeki for what they are:

imperialist running dogs. You won't

catch imperialist mouthpieces reporting

on these movements though; the myths

they've built up around Arafat and

Mandela are important propaganda.

Letters

Continued from page 2...

Mandela (left),

and Arafat

MIM Notes 267 · October 1, 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

Alabama censors
MIM Theory

Greetings,

I guess you can add Limestone prison

to your censorship list. I state the above

assuming that MIM Theory 8 & 11 were

returned to sender. If so, send me a letter

notifying me so. I know that postage is

hell but please send MIM Theory 8 back.

I request this because I'm trying to see if

it was MIM theory 11 that prompted these

pigs to censor the package. I think that is

so.

I'm working on this censorship because

its not the first time. They, recently

censored MIM Theory 6 a comrade

received out in general population.

In June 2000, the Poverty Law Center

settled a lawsuit on behalf of prisoners

in Alabama concerning publications. The

suit was titled Prison Legal News v.

Haley. Out of the settlement came

Admin. Reg. 303 which states that

anytime a publication is denied the

officials must notify the prisoner of its

denial and give the prisoner the chance

to protest this censorship. Also, the

publisher must also be notified and given

the chance to protest.

In the case of the censorship of MIM

Theory 8 & 11, I was not notified and

given the chance to protest. I'm sure that

MIM was not notified as to why these

publications were being censored.

I'm in contact with the SPLC on this.

Plus, I've taken other independent action

against this censorship. If it's not stopped

by November I'm going on hunger strike

to protest censorship. So, forward me

MIM Theory 8 and I'll reimburse you on

the cost soon.

-- a prisoner in Alabama, August

2002

MIM responds: We are working with

this prisoner to fight the censorship in

Alabama. Any other prisoners

experiencing similar problems there

should contact us so we can coordinate

our actions. Protest letters can be sent to:

Warden Billy Mitchem

P.O. Box 66

Capshaw, AL 35742-0066

Illinois DOC
persecutes Rasta
prisoner, censors MIM

After receiving your paper for the past

two months here at Moline C. C. I am

now being told that the paper is banned.

They refuse to give me a good reason and

continue to send me this [form to protest

the censorship]. This corrupt system

continues to violate my rights. My being

denied the papers from MIM Notes is just

the tip of my problems with these people.

They are denying me all visits due to my

religion (Rastafarian). Because I have no

outside help they are basically railroading

me.

I have 18 years in and now that I have

gotten to the end of my bit all hell is

breaking out. I can't get visits or your

paper, and they're saying that if I should

be transferred or go to segregation for

any reason, they will forcefully cut my

hair. So their game is that if I should

create any waves about getting my copies

of MIM Notes then I will either be put in

seg. or transferred so that the power that

be can violate my religious rights.

The authorities also said that because

of my martial arts skills the joint will be

locked down so that they can use all

available staff to assist them. So the

bottom line is that I will soon be killed

for what I believe in: my right to be a

Rastafarian and to read MIM Notes. I

may not be the only one in this position;

I'm sure that I'm not. But because I am

alone in this struggle I can easily be used

by the system to show others: Look what

happened to him. If you don't want it to

happen to you, don't make any waves.

But as I've said, I am willing to go to

the end for what I believe in. Any help

you can give will be greatly appreciated.

ASAP!

The struggle continues,

--An Illinois prisoner, June 2002

Seize revolutionary
science

In prison the struggle is on the street.

We face oppression and victimization.

Some people in here are more

comfortable being victimized than

actually standing up for themselves. I do

spread around that we the oppressed need

to drown our fears, get out of the fantasy

of religion, and believe that were all

considered equal by the people. We need

to face the reality of our equal struggle

against oppression, brutality and

discrimination. The afterlife one can

debate, but whatever we do in life affects

the people and the world that remains.

We must help and support other

revolutionary people in their struggle and

feed them knowledge. We can not fear

the enemy and must care nothing of death

if we have to battle.

With true salute,

--A California prisoner, July 2002

Georgia prisoner
defends himself
against pig attack

Around the latter part of May 2002,

two guards attacked a prisoner here in

the lockdown area (SMU) of [prison] in

Georgia, forcing the prisoner to defend

himself. It is not uncommon for guards

to jump on prisoners in the Georgia

prison system and definitely not at [this

prison]; but what is uncommon is for a

prisoner to stand up and defend himself

from an attack. Prisoners usually submit

to force, and the guards know this. But

what the guards didn't know and could

not have known at the time was that this

prisoner would defend his life from their

vicious attack with such vehemence that

he would leave a mark on the minds of

any guards who even thought about

attacking a prisoner. Yes, the prisoner

came out on top. And today, two weeks

later, the rest of the guards are walking

around with a black strip of tape covering

their badges (one of the pigs died and the

other is out on medical leave.)

The warden claims that things will get

tighter for prisoners around here. But

with prisoners already being locked down

23 hours day and being divested of even

the bare minimum privileges and rights

required by the state and federal law, how

on earth does he expect to "tighten things

up?" What the warden apparently doesn't

know is that the repression is what led

the pig to his death. He needs to be trying

to loosen things up because once these

prisoners recognize the duplicity of this

so-called program and the prisoners in

population realize that they are subject

to being snatched up at any time and

forced into it, there's bound to be more

killings in this prison.

--A Georgia prisoner, June 2002

Washington prisoners
denied adequate
hygiene

Washington State prisoners held in the

intensive management unit are denied

shower access four days a week because

those who rule over them seek to be paid

without working for their money. In order

to cover for this the parasites justify

repression by claiming rules were being

broken in IMU and restrictions on the use

of showers would deter similar acts

which prisoners might commit anytime

someone goes there.

Although this is said in an honest

sincere way, prison officials know they're

lying to your face any time they convey

this information onto other people. What

outsiders aren't privy to is the fact that

these oppressors held meetings and made

plans which would cause these or other

necessities to be taken from the prisoners

in IMU. Even before there was a rule

violation which could justify it.

Anyone with a view inside the

bourgeois mind knows there are

predators like this who will deceive

everyone in an effort to exploit other

people. It hardly matters that little would

be gained by it or that prisoners actually

pay a portion of their funds towards

incarceration and would be entitled to

showers on a daily basis to keep clear of

health problems associated with poor

hygiene.

If it means a free ride on tax dollars

these people will take as much as possible

in order to acquire easy money.

--a prisoner in WA, August 2002

Tennessee attacks
politically conscious

Dear MIM,

I received your letters about appealing

he returned magazines and the steps to

take. I never received a notice. I'm

thankful that you wrote a letter to the

warden here. I've been catching hell, for

the last 28 days I've been in the seg. unit

pending investigation. They say I'm the

ringleader. Here at WTSP there are 3

sites, all separate, and I'm at site #2 and

28 days ago at site #3 something went

down and I didn't have any knowledge

of it, but anyway while I was in the seg.

unit Internal Affairs came to visit me.

They asked me did I give the ORDER

for the inmates at site #3 to go on a hunger

strike. That was the first I heard of it.

They put me on administrative lock up,

MIM Notes 267 · October 1, 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.

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?

they say I pose a threat to staff and

inmates and the good order of this

institution. All this has been a decision

by Warden Westbrooks.

-- a prisoner in TN, August 2002

Small victories but
repression and
censorship continue in
Wisconsin

Dear MIM:

Greetings from the place where there

is no darkness except in the minds of

those around me and in the hearts of those

who hold me captive. I haven't touched

base in a while because I have been busy

battling these beasts over some of the

madness in these cages. For the first time

MIM Notes made it through the censor's

inspection here which really is surprising

considering the extreme pettiness and

determination to withhold knowledge

that these screws practice. The first thing

I noticed is that there's a whole lot of

censorship going on throughout the

Department of Corruption. I feel the

frustration that those imprisoned

throughout the nation are experiencing.

But here in Wisconsin censorship is at a

level not seen since the gestapo ran

rampant in Nazi Germany. Besides the

obvious and widely addressed policy of

denying books, magazines, papers, etc.

these beasts read all incoming and

outgoing mail. The only letters we can

seal are ones addressed to the courts or

lawyers. Recently I received 360 more

days in seg for sending out a personal

letter to my folks that I signed with my

nickname. (Which makes me ineligible

for promotion in this system till next

May).

That's just the tip of the bullshit that

goes on here. In April the class action

against this present day concentration

kamp was settled and even though it all

looks decent on paper, no significant

changes have yet been implemented. I

still haven't seen the sun since I got here,

our canteen is still ridiculous, food's still

being used as punishment (I was denied

a meal just last week for not bowing

down to these pigs), our cells are still so

hot and humid that our walls sweat and

our sheets stick to us when we lay down,

and medical staff here are still

unqualified idiots.

Part of the settlement is that all

prisoners here shall have at least the same

rights and privileges that prisoners in

other maximum security prisons in

Wisconsin have in program and

administrative segregation. I must let you

know admin seg is supposed to be non-

punitive. Therefore we should be allowed

everything prisoners in general

population have. Call me crazy, but I

don't see us getting anything anywhere

near that. It's time for all of us to wizen

up and realize these fools aren't trying

to give us shit. The struggle is great here

but that shouldn't take away from the

significance of all the madness going on

elsewhere. We're all in this together so a

state's boundaries shouldn't stop us from

collaborating and coming up with a

course of action to push back the wave

of oppression that threatens to pull each

and every one of us under.

In related news, I saw on the news that

some prisoners in CA (and the ACLU)

are challenging a ban on internet access.

Do you know if that's receiving printed

internet material or do prisoners have

computers out there? I ask because SMCI

doesn't allow us to receive cutouts or

pullouts from books, mags and

newspaper articles, and internet material

nor are we allowed photocopies of any

of those either. Only SMCI (in WI) has

this policy and I was wondering if you

could keep me up to date on that Cali

case and give me any suggestions on how

to challenge this unnecessary censorship.

I want to comment on that demonstration

these Washington pigs tried to put down

on that comrade, denying him his mail

because the letter mentioned the goal of

establishing leaders in the injustice

system. They said it was a "cause for

concern". Hell yeah them beasts need to

be concerned. Cause when we become

unified, educated and structured up

things are gonna change and heads are

gonna roll. Be concerned, fear the future

and above all respect our young anti-

imperialist leaders.

Arms up, fists high. The struggle

continues relentlessly.

-- a prisoner in WI, August 2002

MIM adds: This comrade's letter also

included more detailed update

information on the Class Action lawsuit

against SMCI in Boscobel Wisconsin.

MIM reported on this case in MIM Notes

#253: "The state has conceded to many

of the prisoners demands including no

longer calling the prison a `supermax' for

`the worst of the worst.' Other

concessions include: keeping the exercise

room at room temperature, allowing

outdoor exercise, allowing face-to-face

visits on levels 4&5, not using food as

punishment, allowing religious articles

in cells, keeping lights at no greater than

5 watts at night, and regulation of cell

temperature and extra blankets and

sweaters in the winter."

While this clearly represented a

significant victory against the criminal

injustice system in Wisconsin, as this

prisoner describes above, most of the

agreements have not been implemented

by the prison. The lawyer fighting for the

prisoners rights described the conditions

in the prison in a motion for an

emergency hearing on cell temperature:

"...the average/mean temperature at bed

height in the test cells was 91.75 degrees

F and the average/mean inflow

temperature was 95.1 degrees F." The

Court Approved Settlement mandated

cell temperatures kept between 80-84

degrees in the summer. The excessive

heat is a danger to the prisoner's health.

On June 28, 2002 the counsel for the

DOC explained their reason for not

implementing the court's order on cell

cooling: "The rationale was not that the

Department of Corrections was unable

to fulfill the terms [of the agreement], but

rather that doing so would cause union

problems, upset the public, and cause

morale problems in other institutions."

MIM doesn't have any information on

the California internet censorship

challenge but we encourage our readers

to send us information about this case.

New York SHU's
repress oppressed
nation orgs

I would like to advise MIM that my

issues with NYS DOCS on keeping me

in admin seg for being a leader of the

New York State Latin King Chapter is

now in the Albany Co, Supreme Court.

The continued segregation and solitary

confinement of minority Latinos and

Blacks must come to an end. These

Special Housing Units (SHU's) in New

York State were built under the pretense

of placing extremely violent prisoners

within them. These new prisons have

been built within the past 4 years and 12

new prisons have been built for these

reasons. These prisons are not being used

for the violent, they are being used for

Security Risk Groups: Latin Kings,

Bloods, Crips, Rat Hunters & so on.

These new SHU's are filled with

people who are here for dirty urine. To

justify the money being spent for these

prisons they must keep them full! New

York State is the only state that gives 5

years solitary confinement on a dirty

urine for smoking a stick of weed!(joint)

This is their reform and rehabilitation for

the drug users!

The article on U.S. prison officials use

of torture and biological weapons in

MIM Notes 256 is 100% true, because I

live it every day of my life since 2000.

I've been in the New York State SHU

restricted diet (the "loaf") bread mixed

with cabbage then baked into a solid

gruel. The teargas, pepper spray and so

on to an asthmatic is a deadly practice.

The stunguns, and electric riot shield is

a deadly practice for anyone with a heart

problem. The United States Supreme

Court abolished cruel and unusual

punishment. If these practices aren't cruel

and unusual then deadly force along with

the governments dumbocracy has just

stepped up onto a new plateau!

It's time to wake up and become a part

of the resolution to fix the problem.

Peace almighty today, tomorrow and

forever. King's love,

-a NY prisoner, May 2002

MIM Notes 267 · October 1, 2002· Page 12

Notas Rojas

octubre 1, 2002, Nº 267 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

Para detallar el papel de EE.UU. en

Colombia y para explicar porqué Bush decidió
cazar organizaciones colombianas como parte
de la "guerra contra el terrorismo" El MIM

ha decidido imprimir el siguiente artículo. El
MIM piensa que el pueblo colombiano debería
tomar el camino preparado por el Camarada

Gonzalo y el PCP. Y aunque tenemos
diferencias con las FARC-EP también tenemos
el deber de desenmascarar los propósitos del

Tío Sam, sin importar en contra de quién los
dirija.

Por Doug Stokes

Traducido por Células de Estudio para la

Liberación de Aztlán y América Latina

Durante la década de los 80 tomaron un

nuevo carácter las operaciones
contrainsurgentes de EE.UU. y se convirtieron
en lo que hoy se conoce como una Guerra de

Baja Intensidad. Este cambio fue resultado de
dos importantes lecciones que los directores
estadounidenses sacaron de la experiencia de

la guerra contra Vietnam.

En primer lugar, el público norteamericano

no estaba preparado para aguantar grandes

pérdidas en las guerras imperialistas en el
mundo en desarrollo. Entre los estrategistas
norteamericanos este fenómeno se denomina

"Síndrome de Vietnam"; imágenes de fallecidos
soldados norteamericanos llegando a casa en
bolsas de cuerpo.

En segundo lugar, y aun más importante, los

estrategistas reconocieron que el blanco
principal de las campañas de baja intensidad

no es la victoria militar. Ahora el objetivo es
una manipulación de la opinión pública en el
contexto doméstico e internacional y una

defamación política del enemigo.

A consequencia de esto la guerra sicológica

estadounidense se volvió importantísima y una

manipulación de la opinión unánime se
convirtió en el nucleo de la victoria en general.
En pocas palabras, la victoria prosigue de la

destrucción del apoyo popular del enemigo.
Esta nueva guerra de baja intensidad se usa
bastante hoy en Colombia. Las encuestas sobre

la opinión pública en el año 1987 pusieron de
relieve que el 76% de todos los americanos
creían que el gobierno colombiano era un

gobierno corrupto y el 80% buscaban sanciones
para éste. Para el año 1991 la imagen del estado
colombiano sufrió más daños cuando el

gobierno colombiano se rehusó a entregar al
infame narcotraficante Pablo Escobar. Como
respuesta a todo esto el estado colombiano

comenzó su propia guerra de baja intensidad
para conquistar la mente y el corazón del
público norteamericano.

Colombia contrató los servicios del grupo

Sawyer y Miller, una compañía de relaciones
públicas que ingresó casi un millón de dólares

en derechos y gastos tan sólo durante la primera
parte del 1991. La tarea de los especialistas
fue transformar la imagen del estado

colombiano y hacerlo parecer un aliado
incondicional de EE.UU. en la llamada "guerra
contra el narcotráfico" en vez de un régimen

corrupto y atropellador de los derechos
humanos.

El director a cargo del portafolio Colombia

del grupo Swayer y Miller explicó que "la
misión principal es educar a los medios de
comunicación estadounidenses sobre

Colombia, conseguir buenas coberturas y
fortalecer relaciones con periodistas, escritores
y grupos de intelectuales especializados.

Nuestro mensaje es que en Colombia hay
personas `malas' al igual que personas `buenas'

y que el gobierno es el lado bueno."

Para popularizar esta imagen y asesorar la

opinión pública, el grupo Sawyer y Miller
realizó encuestas y juntas de grupos de enfoque.

Tan sólo en 1991, Colombia pagó $3.1 millones
de dólares por una campaña de anuncios. Los
anuncios se dirigían a los legisladores

norteamericanos en Wáshington y se colocaron
en los periódicos y en la televisión. Todos los
anuncios compartían el mismo tema. Los

anuncios buscaban cambiar la imagen de la
relación entre Colombia como proveedor de
droga a EE.UU. como el consumidor, y pedían

al pueblo norteamericano que no se olvidara
de la valentía de las fuerzas armadas
colombianes en la guerra contra el narcotráfico.

Cada vez que algún noticiero norteamericano

pedía entrevistas con oficiales del gobierno
colombiano, la solicitud pasaba por las manos

de Sawyer y Miller. Periodistas afinos luego
eran conducidos por Sawyer y Miller a los
ministerios claves del gobierno mientras el

grupo se aseguraba de que no se acercaran los
periodistas que criticaban el espantoso historial
de derechos humanos en Colombia. Hubo un

caso en el cual después de un mitin con Warren
Hodge, el jefe de redacción del periódico New
York Times, este diario publicó una pieza larga

e incorrecta en la cual se le endosaba al entonces
presidente colombiano, César Trujillo, quien
había realizado su campaña electoral con dinero

del narcótrafico. El gobierno colombiano
adquirió el derecho de imprenta de la pieza y
prosiguió a enviar miles de copias a periodistas

norteamericanos y embajadas.

Por lo regular, el grupo Sawyer y Miller usa

a la prensa norteamericana para distribuir

propaganda pro-gobierno de Colombia y sus
operaciones comunes incluyen imprimir
folletos, mandar cartas a la redacción con firmas

de oficiales colombianos y colocar anuncios en
los periódicos New York Times y el Washington
Post.

Sin embar, lo que ha tenido mas consecuencia

es la transformación de los protagonistas
armados en el conflicto en Colombia. Según

documentos que acaban de ser declasificados,
Myle Frechette, el embajador estadounidense
a Colombia durante el año 1996, confiesa que

la imagen de las Fuerzas Armadas
Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC) como
narcoguerrilleros "fue creada por las fuerzas

armadas del estado colombiano, que lo
consideraban un modo de ganar ayuda
norteamericana en la guerra de

contrainsurgencia."

Parece que el trabajo de relaciones publicas

ha funcionado. Hoy Colombia se ha convertido

en el tercer receptor más grande de ayuda militar
norteamericana en el mundo. Se supone que
esta ayuda sirve para la ofensiva en contra de

las FARC que han sido calificados como los
principales narcoterroristas.

En el año 2000 el senador demócrata Joseph

Biden dijo que "en la historia contemporánea
nunca ha habido semejante oportunidad para
dar un golpe contra el origen de todas las

dimensiones del narcotráfico. Es
importantísima para los intereses nacionales de
EE.UU. la ayuda a Colombia, pues es la fuente

de muchas de las drogas que envenenan a
nuestra gente." Peter F. Romero, ayudante al
Secretario de Estado de la Oficina de Asuntos

del Hemisferio Occidental bajo la

administración de Clinton, dijo que "Colombia
debe restaurar la autoridad sobre los `santuarios'
de la producción de narcóticos. Una solución

completa para los problemas de Colombia debe
contener la restauración de la autoridad estatal
en estas areas sin ley. Para lograr el objetivo

sugerimos prestarle al gobierno de Colombia
la potencia aérea para poder penetrar
profundamente en las regiones sin ley y

establecer ahí la seguridad para sus oficiales."

La elección de Bush y los ataques del 11 de

septiembre han resultado en una nueva

orientación "antiterrorista" en la política
norteamerican en relación a Colombia.
Colombia es parte del plan de la administración

de Bush y John Ashcroft, el Fiscal General de
EE.UU. quien dice que "El Departamento de
Estado ha declarado que las FARC es el grupo

internacional terrorista más peligroso en todo
el hemisferio occidental" que ha "llevado a cabo
una campaña terrorista en contra de ciudadanos

colombianos y estadounidenses."

Al principo presentaban la política

norteamericana como una campaña contra el

narcotráfico pero ahora se justifica como una
campaña antiterrorista. Las guerras
norteamericans en Colombia contra el

narcotráfico y contra el terrorismo.

Entre los años 2000 y 2001, Wáshington

envió $1.3 mil millones de dólares a Colombia

para llevar a cabo las guerras norteamericanas
contra el narcotráfico y el terrorismo y ya se
han preparado $700 millones más para el 2003.

Estas sumas llegan a parar en los cofres del
estado y las fuerzas armadas de Colombia. Las
instrucciones de EE.UU. indican que las fuerzas

armadas de Colombia deben enfocar la guerra
contra los insurgentes rebeldes izquierdistas de
las FARC en el sur del país ( lo que EE.UU.

llaman `un empujón al sur). Éstos
"narcoguerrilleros" y "narcoterroristas" deberán
ser el blanco porque se supone que ellos son

los principales "terroristas" y narcotraficantes.

James Milford, el ex-Administrador Sustituto

con la principal organización norteamericana

para la eliminación de drogas, la DEA, dijo en
1997 que el jefe de la organización paramilitar
AUC es "en sí un principal traficante de

cocaína" y que está muy relacionado con el
sindicato narcotraficante Valle del Norte el cual
es "uno de los grupos narcotraficantes más

potentes de Colombia." Añadió también que
"hay pocas pruebas que indiquen que las
organizaciones insurgentes trafican la cocaína

por medio de producción, venta a los sindicatos
mexicanos o sus propias redes de distribución
en EE.UU."

Donnie Marshal, el actual Administrador

Susitituto de la DEA, dijo en el 2001 ante la
Cámara Menor de la Justicia Criminal, Política

de Drogas y Recursos Humanos que las "FARC
controlan algunas regiones de Colombia y estas
regiones generan ingresos por medio de

impuestos sobre actividades relacionadas al
narcotráfico." Luego añadió categóricamente
que "presentemente no se ha confirmado

ninguna información que vincule a las FARC
con la exportación de drogas colombianas
destinadas al mercado internacional."

Continua el la edición siguiente.

El Plan Colombia y la propaganda: la manipulación de

la imagen de la guerra yanqui contra el terrorismo.