MIM Notes ***

MIM Notes 275 · February 1, 2003 · Page 1

MIM Notes

February 1, 2003, Nº 275

The Official Newsletter of the Maoist Internationalist Movement (MIM)

Free

On the web: www.prisoncensorship.info/archive/etext

Massive marches against war

Rallies show movement's promise and pitfalls

Report: San Francisco

An estimated 200,000 people joined

the anti-war demonstration in San

Francisco January 18 with a range of

political views from liberal-conservative

to communist. MIM is glad to see all

these people opposing the war in Iraq.

This opposition to the massacre of the

Iraqi people for imperialist gain is

progressive. But we have disagreements

with some of the more popular reasons

for opposing war in Iraq. And for this

reason it is very important for

communists to be out at these protests

pushing people further in their political

analysis, demonstrating that war is an

inevitable part of imperialism, and

engaging people in thinking globally.

Many protesters in San Francisco held

signs proclaiming their patriotism, or

demanding focus on domestic issues.

One woman's sign read "Domestic issues

first, No war" with Amerikan flags

attached to the top of the sign. This sign

promotes Amerikan chauvinism and an

Report: Montreal

A record 20,000 people turned out in

Montreal's bitter cold January 18 (1) to

oppose war, as did thousands of

demonstrators in nearby Ottawa and

Vermont, where temperatures were

below zero. MIM handed out copies of

the January 15th MIM Notes in Montreal,

and the response was so good that a TV

news crew stopped by to film the brisk

pace in which 1000 copies went to

demonstrators one at a time in less than

an hour.

By all measures, the rally was a huge

and unexpected success. Organizers in an

umbrella- group of 70 organizations had

originally expected over 2000 people in

Montreal,(2) and that increased to 5000

Report: Washington DC

By a RAIL Comrade

Several Revolutionary Anti-Imperialist

League (RAIL) chapters attended the

Anti-War rally/march in Washington

D.C. on January 18, handed out hundreds

of copies of MIM Notes, Collected

signatures for the Free Memik Horoz and

Defend the Democratic Rights of Jose

Maria Sison petitions, sold a large

number of "Imperialism Kills" stickers,

and put out an internationalist anti-

imperialist message that was in general

sorely lacking. Organizers of the March

said that at least 200,000 attended the

rally, countering the bourgeois news,

which estimated a mere 30,000.(1)

In general, the message put out by

demonstrators

was a perfect

fit for the

interests of the

p a r a s i t i c

A m e r i k a n

l a b o r

MIM
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Report: Los Angeles

Thousands of people took to the streets

of downtown Los Angeles January 11 to

protest the U$A's war against Iraq.

Organizers said 15,000 were there, while

the police said 5,000. MIM and RAIL

participated as well, passing out

newspapers and fliers, and collecting

signatures for our petitions against

University of California investments in

Israel and for Jose Maria Sison's freedom

in the Netherlands.(1)

The rally featured many progressive

people who oppose the war against Iraq

for internationalist reasons. For example,

some people had signs that read, "Stop

U.S. Imperialism," or, "Hey George, what

about these terrorists? CIA FBI INS

LAPD Border Patrol" (photo, p. 10).

These are progressive anti-imperialist

slogans, which make good connections

for opposing the war against Iraq. Others

in this category include the popular, "No

Blood for Oil," which is especially good

when it's clearly talking about Iraqi

blood; not as good when the implication

is, "I don't think we should shed

Amerikan blood just to get more oil."

This one is good for pointing out the

San Francisco's rally January 18 was one of the biggest. Photo by Sandra Bradman, sf.indymedia.org.

Maybe the most reactionary sign on

display in L.A. January 11 (MIM photo).

Continued on page 4...

Continued on page 5...

Continued

on page 9...

hypocrisy of Amerikan intervention in

Iraq: "Sanctions against Iraq are weapons

of mass destruction."

MIM opposes the war against Iraq

because, like all acts of aggression by the

U.$. imperialists, it represents militarism,

causing the deaths people in the

Continued on page 10...

INSIDE: U$ risks war in Korea * More anti-war stories * Sisón en Español...

MIM Notes 275 · February 1, 2003 · Page 2

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

Letters

UNITED

FRONT

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

MIM

Online

We constantly update MIM's coverage of

the U.$. war on our web site, with news

and opinion, agitation materials, articles

in English, Spanish, French, Chinese and

Russian!

Read and distribute the newspaper -- and

get the latest at:

www.prisoncensorship.info/archive/etext

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

Notes is the official Party voice; more complete statements are published in our journal,
MIM Theory. Material in MIM Notes is the Party's position unless noted. MIM Notes
accepts submissions and critiques from anyone. The editors reserve the right to edit
submissions unless permission is specifically denied by the author; submissions are
published anonymously unless authors insist on identification (prisoners are never
identified by name). 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. The Revolutionary Anti-Imperialist League (RAIL) is an anti-
imperialist mass organization led by MIM (RCs are RAIL Comrades). MIM's ten-point
program is available to anyone who sends in a SASE.

The paper is free to all prisoners, as long as they write to us every 90 days to confirm

their subsciptions. There are no individual subscriptions for people outside prison.

People who want to receive newspapers should become sponsors and distributors.

Sponsors pay for papers, distributors get them onto the streets, and officers do both
distribution and financial support. Annual cost is: 12 copies (Priority Mail), $120; 25
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Mail), $3,840; 900 (8-10 days), $2,200. To become a sponor or distributor, send
anonymous money orders payable to "MIM." Send to MIM, attn: Camb. branch, PO Box
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Most back issues of MIM Notes are available free on our web site. The web site con-

tains thousands of documents, with ordering information for many more.

MIM grants explicit permission to copy all or part of this newspaper for any reason, as

long as we are credited.

For general correspondence, contact:

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P.O. Box 29670

Los Angeles, CA 90029-0670

eMail: <mim@mim.org>

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

Chinese reader
writes in

Dear MIM: Hello, comrades!

It's the first time I've seen your

website: it is very good, thank you!

Thank you for deep love of Chairman

Mao; thank you for supporting the truth!

--Chinese reader, December 2002

Former prisoner
tells of isolation

Salutations! I was recently released

from Corcoran SHU and know what it is

like in there. I noticed that in your article

it says SHU prisoners spend 22 hours a

day in their cell, well in Corcoran we

spent weeks in our cells! Yard there is

offered only every other day. As you

might know that there is an A ad B side

to every block with 64 cells per side. Last

year Corcoran put in 26 dog kennel cages

for yard per block. Now as you can see

with 64 per side total 128 and only 26

cages, one would only get yard every

week. That's if your lucky and the guards

don't act like punks. There is a need for

this issue to be addressed, we tried to

bring it up several times and never

received a response from the

administration. I'm sure you know how

they deal with such things. Well, thanks

for your time and attention.

MIM responds: We're actively

organizing to shut down the Security

Housing Units (SHU) in California

prisons. To get involved in this fight visit

our web page at http://www.etext.org/

Politics/MIM/agitation/prisons.html or

write to us at the address on page 2.

Prisoner salutes
SHU protest

Dear MIM:

I was reading about the Berkeley

protest in the December issue of MN.

That is a bang-up article and very

exceptional labor by the comrades. I for

one deeply appreciate the work MIM and

RAIL are doing to abolish this control

and torture units know as SHUs as well

as the campaign against the criminal

injustice system in general.

I am disgusted by what those idiots

commented to the comrade sat Berkeley:

"I think torture is good." That mirrors the

yanqui weltanschauung and the yanqui

position towards the oppressed nations

and peoples. And torturing the oppressed

is exactly what they are doing!

--a prisoner at Pelican Bay (SHU),

January 2003

MIM Notes 275 · February 1, 2003 · Page 3

Hundreds of Middle Eastern citizens

were arrested across the country in mid-

December as they appeared voluntarily

at INS offices to comply with a Justice

Department order. About 3000 temporary

visa holders from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Libya

and Sudan were required to appear before

the INS by December 16 to be

photographed, fingerprinted and

interviewed. The vast majority were in

the U.$. legally, but the INS arrested

hundreds on technicalities. Many of those

arrested were waiting for their already-

approved green cards--which were

delayed by slow INS bureaucracy.

Estimates suggest between 500 and 1000

men were arrested in southern California

alone(1). The INS refuses to make public

the numbers of people arrested.

A similar round-up on January 10

netted "scores" of citizens from

predominately Muslim countries.(3) The

next deadline for registration is February

21.

Last summer, Attorney General John

Ashcroft issued an order requiring all

male noncitizens without permanent

residency over the age of 16 from

countries "considered a high risk for

terrorist activity" to register with the

INS. Federal authorities are to interview,

photograph and fingerprint the men.(4)

The initial list of "high risk" countries

included Iran, Iraq, Syria, Libya and

Sudan. Ashcroft later expanded the list

to include 15 other countries, among

them Yemen, north Korea, Pakistan and

Saudi Arabia. The Justice Department

removed Armenia from the list after

protest.

The INS claimed that those arrested

had violated immigration laws,

overstayed visas, or were wanted for

crimes. Many of those arrested were

victims of delays in processing visa and

green card requests after 9/11. Essentially

the U.$. made it impossible for

immigrants to comply with immigration

laws and then arrested them for it. Of the

hundreds arrested, the INS reported that

all but about 20 were released after days

in jail, proving that there was no

justification for the arrests. Many of

those held reported on badly overcrowded

jails and abusive conditions.

Pacific News Service reported "Payam

Mohseni, president of the Berkeley-based

organization Students for Progress and

Development in Iran, traveled to Otay

Mesa. After waiting for hours, Mohseni

was allowed to interview some of the

detainees. He reported that they were

deprived of sleep and were sick and near

the breaking point emotionally. Mohseni

INS capriciously rounds up hundreds

pointed out that all should be legally

entitled to call a lawyer and their families,

and receive basic medical care."(2)

Shortly after the arrests there were

protests outside the Los Angeles and San

Francisco immigration offices.

The February 21st deadline applies to

immigrants from Pakistan and Saudi

Arabia.

Letters of protest can be sent to:

John Ashcroft

US Department of Justice

950 Pennsylvania Ave NW

Washington, DC 20530-0001

Fax: 202-307-2825

Notes:
1. Reuters, Dec 19, 2002
2. Pacific News Service, December 27, 2002,
www.pacificnews.org
3. OneWorld.net, 13 Jan 2002.
4. New York Times, 17 Dec 2002.

In January the group The Detroit

Project bought up TV time to run two

commercials suggesting that people who

drive sport utility vehicles are supporting

terrorists. Arianna Huffington, a

syndicated columnist and founder of the

group, raised $50,000 from her readers

as part of the $200,000 it cost to fund

these commercials which are similar to

the anti-drug ads, sponsored by the Bush

administration, that discourage illegal

drug use by suggesting money for these

drugs goes to terrorists.(1)

According to the New York Times, one

of the commercials used the following

script: "This is George," a girl's voice

says of an oblivious man at a gas station.

"This is the gas that George bought for

his S.U.V." The screen then shows a map

of the Middle East. "These are the

countries where the executives bought

the oil that made the gas that George

bought for his S.U.V." The picture

switches to a scene of armed terrorists

in a desert. "And these are the terrorists

who get money from those countries

every time George fills up his S.U.V."

At the close, the screen is filled with the

words: "What is your S.U.V. doing to

our national security?"(1)

Huffington says the commercials are

intended to influence congress to raise

fuel-efficiency standards and push the

automobile manufacturers to develop

more efficient cars.(1) According to a

spokespersyn for the Alliance of

Automobile Manufacturers SUVs make

up 21 percent of auto sales.

Several TV stations refused to run the

commercials. One ABC programming

director said "There were a lot of

statements being made that were not

backed up, and they're talking about hot-

button issues."(1) Of course the TV

stations don't really care about the

validity of advertising statements. Claims

about diet aids, hair replacement

products, medicines, food products, and

political candidates all go unchecked by

TV stations eager for the money they get

from these advertisers. Nor did station's

balk at playing the anti-drug ads which

link pot smoking to foreign "terrorists"

without proof. But censorship of ads for

political content does happen--such as

when google.com refused MIM

advertisements.(3)

There is a progressive kernel to the

SUV ad. Amerikans often forget that their

standard of living depends on the

exploitation of Third World countries and

the Amerikan government's ability to

Liberals blame SUVs for terrorism

RAIL's take on the SUV situation is

different...

Continued on page 10...

California's Governor Gray Davis

announced sweeping budget cuts in

response to a huge budget deficit, but

after cutting funds from nearly

everything in the state, Davis proposed

1% budget increase for the Department

of Corrections (DoC). Davis has accepted

more than $3 million in campaign

contributions from the prison guards'

union, so it is no surprise Davis wants to

increase funding for the DoC. This

contrasts with his proposed reduction in

spending on education: a 4.2% decrease

for the University of California and a

4.5% decrease for California State

University. (1)

Davis justified the budget increase

claiming it was necessary to increase

spending on health care for inmates and

to support the growing prison population.

But as readers of MIM Notes Under Lock

and Key news on prisons know,

programs for prisoners, including health

care, are practically non- existent in

California.

In December The Legislative

Analyst's Office made proposals to save

DOC money, including letting

nonviolent inmates out of prison one

month early and releasing nonviolent

offenders over 60. The suggestions

would have saved more than $373

million.(1) But these proposals don't

mesh with the powerful guard's union

demands or the tough-on-crime image

put out by the California government--

an image that has resulted in a conviction

of over 4000 people sentenced to life in

prison for non-violent crimes under the

state's Three Strikes law.

The guards union has a history of

The Michigan Department of

Corrections is reporting another bad

prisoners' rights ruling in the 14-year-old

Cain v. MDOC class action lawsuit.

MDOC's website crows that "The

Michigan Court of Appeals unanimously

reversed two orders requiring the

Department of Corrections to maintain

Prison Legal Services of Michigan, Inc.

(PLSM), in an office inside the Egeler

Correctional Facility and requiring the

MDOC to maintain 12 general population

prisoners as PLSM workers in that same

office."(1) Previous rulings made

PLSM's work harder by effectively

reducing its funding. The Cain suit

addresses a broad range of prisoners'

rights, including access to the courts,

MDOC's security classification system,

and property rights.

As we go to press, MIM Notes has been

unable to find out if this decision is in

effect, and we ask readers inside and

outside the Michigan prisons to write in

if you have any information on the status

of this important case. The appeals court

decision came down on 27 December,

2002 and was to take effect on 17

January, 2003 unless PLSM won a

rehearing or filed an appeal.(1) Prison

Legal Services of Michigan has handled

all manner of civil legal aid issues for

prisoners, federal habeas corpus and

other post-appeal/post-conviction

matters, and provided advice on

negotiating the prison administrative

process.(2)

Cain challenged a harsh new property

policy that forced prisoners to surrender

any personal property that could not fit

into one duffel bag or footlocker. Under

this policy the MDOC confiscated

prisoners' "excess" coats and jackets

several years ago, leaving many prisoners

to choose between frostbite and

pneumonia on one hand and skipping

their yard time on the other. The property

Cal. governor increases funding

for prisons, cuts everything else

Michigan prisoners battle for humyn rights

Continued on page 9...

MIM Notes 275 · February 1, 2003 · Page 4

The United $tates recently considered

attacking north Korea over its nuclear

weapons programs, south Korean

President Elect Roh Moo-Hyun said in

an interview on 18 January. "In fact, at

the time I was campaigning and getting

elected, U.S. hard-liners, people in very

responsible positions in the U.S.

administration, were talking about the

possibility of attacking North Korea and

the possibility of war.

"I felt so desperate," continued Roh.

"I couldn't say in public what would

happen if the United States attacked

North Korea because that would make

people afraid. I then felt that no matter

what differences I might face with the

United States, I would oppose an attack

on North Korea."

A spokespersyn later said that Roh had

no specific information about discussions

within the Bush Administration and had

been referring to reports in the Amerikan

press. Whether or not the U.$.

government did consider a military strike

and discussed this with the south Korean

government--as is very likely--the

United $tates' dogged refusal to sign a

peace treaty to end the Korean war, the

U.$. military presence on the Korean

peninsula and its own recent saber-

rattling make rumors of war very

dangerous.

Last Fall north Korea announced that

it would re-start its nuclear reactor at

Yongbyon, since the United $tates had

reneged on its 1994 deal to provide power

and sign a non-aggression pact.

Amerikan "intelligence" services claim

the Yongbyon reactor is capable of

producing fuel for nuclear weapons.

North Korea also announced that it was

developing nuclear weapons of a variety

different than those which could be

produced at Yongbyon.

North Korea later withdrew from the

United $tates risks war in Korea

nuclear non-proliferation treaty--which

the United $tates effectively tore up last

Spring by announcing it would use

nuclear weapons preemptively "in the

event of surprising military

developments."

We wrote at that time: It is extremely

arrogant and hypocritical for the United

$tates to openly bully non-nuclear

nations with nuclear attack and expect

them not to take steps to defend

themselves.

Even former Secretary of Defense

Robert McNamara--one of the arrogant

fools who led the U.$. war of aggression

against Vietnam--correctly criticized the

NPR. "[T]he basic implication of the

NPR--that the U.S. reserves the right to

target any nation [for nuclear attack]

whenever it chooses to--is itself likely

to increase the risk for nuclear

proliferation... A quote attributed to

Indian George Fernandes provides some

insight: `Before one challenges the

United States, one must first acquire

nuclear weapons.'"(2)

The Bush Administration's stated

preemptive strike policy and its refusal

to discuss a non-aggression pact with

north Korea--which the United $tates

has technically been at war with since

1950--have heightened tensions in

Korea. Together with President Bill

Clinton's admission that he considered

bombing the Yongbyon reactor in 1994,

it's little wonder that politicians in north

and south Korea are worried about

Amerikan aggression.

Retreat to attack

Reacting to north Korea's withdrawal

from the non-proliferation treaty and

increasing opposition to the United $tates

in south Korea, New York Times

columnist William Safire suggested that

U.$. troops should leave south Korea--

so that the United $tates would be able

to attack North Korea and China with

greater impunity.

"Because the U.S. is not an imperialist

power," argues Safire, "it does not belong

where a democratic nation decides

America is unwanted. [This is a sarcastic

slam on "ungrateful" south Koreans.]

Moreover, our ground forces have never

been there to resist an invasion by an

army well over a million, but as a tripwire

to make certain American air and sea

power would be used immediately to help

the South's army...

"Few realize that this deterrent of the

past has now been reversed. After a half-

century, we no longer need a tripwire of

troops to force our decision to defend

Seoul from ground attack; our primary

concern is to defend our homeland from

nuclear missiles. We would have far

greater freedom of action to take out a

dangerous facility in North Korea if our

nearby ground troops were not hostage

to massive counterattack across the old

DMZ."(3)

Safire wants to be able to bomb Korea

with impunity as the United $tates

bombed Afghanistan, Yugoslavia, Iraq,

etc. Of course, "impunity" means

"impunity for Amerika"--Safire revels

in the fact that any war provoked by U.$.

preemptive strike will terribly impact the

Koreans, Chinese and Japanese but leave

the United $tates relatively unscathed.

The withdrawal of U.$. troops from

Korean soil would be an advance--

especially if they are forced to leave by

pressure from an anti-militarist mass

movement. However, as Safire's essay

illustrates, as long as imperialism exists,

the danger of war persists. Sometimes

retreat is merely the prelude to a bigger

offensive.

As long as state power remains in the

hands of people like George Bush and

Bill Clinton who are willing to toy with

war to preserve Amerikan dominance and

the profit system, the risk of nuclear war

remains non-negligible. Even if

capitalism were as efficient in making

people work as the capitalists say, it is

not worth the war that comes with it.

Socialism--the system which outlaws

production for profit--removes the

economic basis for war and removes the

risk of "lone nuts" starting a nuclear

war.(4)

Notes:
1. Associated Press, 18 Jan 2002.
2. MIM Notes 255, 1 Apr 2002.
3. New York Times, 26 Dec 2002.
4. See e.g. our review of "Sum of All Fears" on
page 8.

North Korean propaganda poster.

According to Reuters, the caption reads:

"U.S. imperialists should not carelessly

provoke war!"

ignorance of the international oppression

perpetuated by Amerika on a daily basis.

There are certainly domestic issues that

merit the focus of our attention, but not

first, or to the exclusion of international

issues. When the majority of the world's

people are suffering at the hands of

Amerikan imperialism, we can not afford

to put domestic issues first. We have to

tie domestic oppression to international

oppression and demand no war for

imperialism. This is why MIM is a

communist party and not a single issue

organization: we are able to focus on both

crucial issues of domestic and

international oppression at the same time.

Anarchists staged an "anti-capitalist"

break-away march in San Francisco,

joined by about 1000 angry activists who

wanted to do more than just peacefully

walk the streets while the U.$. prepares

to murder tens of thousands of people in

Iraq. While we disagree with their tactics,

MIM shares their sentiment of urgency:

if we don't take down the imperialist

system soon it may well destroy all of

humanity in its war-mongering frenzy.

The anarchist "Black Block" contingent

ran through the streets vandalizing

symbolic buildings including the SF

Chronicle (newspaper) office, Citicorp,

Wells Fargo, the British Embassy, the

INS building and Starbucks. In the end

these protesters were dispersed by police

with just two arrests. The vandalism

included broken windows and graffiti

proclaiming "no war." Some who

participate in these breakaway actions

proclaim their importance as a way to get

media attention, but it is clear that the

media paid more attention to the 200,000

people in the main rally. Focoist actions

can be spectacular, but rarely involve

educational work that will push more

people to opposing imperialism. And in

an imperialist country like the U.$.,

where the majority of the people do

support their government and their

country, actions such as these are used

as an excuse for increase repression

against activists.

Tying domestic and international

oppression together MIM focused on two

campaigns at the San Francisco rally. In

the morning we collected signatures to

demand amnesty for Professor Jose

Maria Sison. We gathered about 75

signatures for this campaign, explaining

to people that Sison is just one of many

causalities on the so-called war on

terrorism. Sison has played an important

part in the national liberation struggle in

the Philippines, leading the Unites $tates

to labeled him a "terrorist." The United

$tates convinced the Dutch government

to follow suit, jeopardizing Sison's

survival in exile in the Netherlands. (For

more information on this campaign, or

to sign a petition visit www.etext.org/

Politics/MIM/agitation/philippines).

After the march started we joined

comrades with the Barrio Defense

Committee and the Uhuru movement to

collect petition signatures to shut down

the Security Housing Units in

California's prisons. We erected the

mock-SHU that we used in previous

demonstrations throughout the bay area,

and explained to mostly sympathetic the

rally participants the need to eliminate

these torture units that house thousands

of men in California. In about five hours

we collected 700 signatures and

distributed many flyers and MIM Notes

describing the torture units used in

California prisons.

Rallies show movement's promise and pitfalls

SAN FRANCISCO, from page 1...

MIM Notes 275 · February 1, 2003 · Page 5

Concerned with the poor trade situation

and border-crossing difficulties since

September 11th, 2001, the Kanadian

capitalist class has proposed that Canada

surrender on issues such as borders and

immigration in order to obtain better

business and trade relations with the

united $tates. Currently, the Kanadians

are seriously disturbed by difficulties in

their soft-lumber exports to the united

$tates and truckers want to see improved

and eased procedures for border-

crossing.

MIM opposes the merger of the united

$tates and English-speaking Canada, as

it would extend the reach of Amerika's

reactionary immigration policies.

Recent discussion started with a

January report by the "Canadian Council

of Chief Executives" representing

Kanada's top 150 companies and led by

Tom D'Aquino. The organization of

Kanadian CEOs is saying that it's not

worth arguing with the united $tates over

immigration and security issues. The

CEOs would like the border to become

an "internal checkpoint," not a real

border. D'Aquino pointed out that "The

world's largest two-way trading

relationship was paralyzed,"(1) after

September 11th when the united $tates

virtually closed borders with Mexico and

Kanada to search for "terrorists."

One bourgeois mouthpiece rehashing

the argument put it this way: "The United

States will defend its security through

much tougher border controls after Sept.

11. Given Canada's enormous economic

integration with the United States, we

need to be within those borders, or risk

our standard of living," says William

Thorsell writing for the Globe and Mail

on January 20th.(2)

In order to get on the good side of Uncle

$am, the Kanadians have realized that

they can only offer doing things Uncle

$am's way: "we hear calls from Canadian

business for a common security perimeter

around North America, fleshed out with

a common customs union. We presume

that, in return for some shared laws and

enforcement at North America's border,

the Canada-U.S. border would become

much more casual,"(2) says Thorsell.

That means "joint patrol" of the borders

so that the two sides both know what is

happening and can trust each other's

judgements, since their policies will be

one and the same.

Thorsell adds, "Many Canadians live

part-time now in the United States and

have family, friend and love interests

there. Beyond economics, an officious,

viscous border is incompatible with the

human relations that span it so robustly.

A "checkpoint border" would reflect

more accurately who we really are in

North America, not just what we want to

earn. And in any case, no one in Canada

should be under an illusion that our

domestic security interest is separate

from that of the Americans. As Osama

bin Laden remarked himself in

December, it isn't."(2)

Contributing to the weak-knees of the

Kanadian bourgeoisie is the relative

success of the European Union, which

has adopted one currency and in many

regards already has very casual borders

internally. It would seem to some that the

rest of the imperialist world is

amalgamating while Kanada allows itself

to fall behind in the game of economic

alliances to promote economic

competition.

A likely future prime minister and

friend of George Bush named Paul

Martin says that the old way of doing

things is sufficient in Kanada. Martin

says Kanada must increase cross-border

cooperation on terrorism, but that the

border works and allows trade.(3)

Political reality is that the u.$.

imperialists would not integrate with

Mexico the way some Kanadians are

suggesting that Kanada and the united

$tates merge. Nonetheless, some of the

pro- business wing have suggested that

Kanada put forward proposals to unite

Mexico, the United $tates and Kanada

in one customs union. Although such

proposals would make the united $tates

seem outnumbered two to one and might

assuage Kanadian national feelings,

however weak they may be, the net effect

of such proposals probably just softens

Kanadian public opinion for U.$.

takeover. Nothing is liable to happen on

the Mexico front any time soon: "Mexico

would be invited to join the Canada-U.S.

pact but not for some time because of

security concerns."(4) MIM will

translate: the united $tates is too busy

super-exploiting Mexicans and does not

deign to treat them equally with u.$.

citizens, as would be necessary with the

easy border-crossings proposed by the

Kanadian CEOs.

One possible scenario would see

English-speaking Kanada push for

Anschluss with the united $tates (as

openly threatened by one young

reactionary pundit supporting the

Republicans on the TV show "Crossfire,"

when teased by a Kanadian about

spending so much time reducing

freedoms in order to hunt "terrorists.")

Then Quebec may fall away into its own

nation and the First Nations would also

Kanadian bourgeoisie, political pundits say:

Kanada should surrender political sovereignty

step up their struggles for their interests.

As MIM showed in "Kanada knows it

is Amerikkkan," in the October 15th,

2002 MIM Notes, 80% of Kanadians do

not believe they have any cultural

difference with the united $tates. Yet

despite this fact, almost all parties calling

themselves "communist" believe that

Kanada is a separate nation while there

are no separate Black, Aztlan, Asian-

descended and First Nations. Again, we

at MIM ask these people: why do you

see a separate Kanadian nation and

premise separate vanguard parties on that

basis, but you do not see any for the

peoples of color historically oppressed

by the dominant nation in North

America? Material reality shows that

there is less basis for seeing an actual

Kanadian nation than for the First

Nations, Black, Aztlan, Asian-descended

and other nations inside North America.

The Kanadian bourgeoisie could easily

pack it in, especially after another round

of terrorist attacks and border

clampdowns by the united $tates. The

Kanadian bourgeoisie faces much less

difficulty than that of the oppressed

nations when it comes to handling the

united $tates.

Notes:
1. National Post 17Jan2003, http://
www.nationalpost.com/financialpost/story.ht
ml?id=%7B3447E83E-4170-45E9-A104-
DF45D8304163%7D.
2. Globe and Mail 20Jan2003, p. a15.
3. David Crane, "How would Martin safeguard
our independence?" http://www.thestar.com/
NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/
Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=103577
6770719&call_pageid=968350072197&col=969048863851
4. Oliver Bertin, "CEOs urging stronger ties to
U.S.," Globe and Mail 15Jan2003, p. b3.

(3) the day of the rally, but there were

many more. What was also impressive

was that given the temperatures, old and

middle-aged citizens of the stolid middle-

class showed up and marched quite a

distance after listening to speeches.

Organizers said it turned out to be the

largest rally since the Vietnam War more

than 30 years prior.

The current reporter took a first glance

at the rally and thought only 800 to 1000

people had shown up, but that was a

result of seeing only one street corner

side of the rally. In fact, once the rally

started marching it became clear that the

demonstration was a whole street wide

and several blocks long. By standing on

the side of the road and handing out to

the people on the far right side of the

column, in a small portion of the blocks-

long column, MIM gave out 1000 copies

of MIM Notes in less than an hour.

The favorite slogan of the marchers

was "no to war!" chanted in French.

There were some others as well. One

clever slogan in English was: "George

Bush, we know you: your father tried to

kill us too!"

There was also a song modeled on the

children's song "Happy and you know it."

"If you love democracy, don't go to war.

If you love your liberty, say no to war."

Whether it was a misunderstanding of

French- speakers singing English or

whether it was some very radical

protesters, we heard another version

criticizing "democracy." "If you love

democracy, then go to war."

As at the Boston demonstration where

MIM ran it's own poll, the "moron"

question was thick in the air of the

Montreal demonstration. (An aide to the

Canadian prime minister had to resign for

calling Bush a "moron" in private.) After

seeing us hand out the paper, which is in

English, one demonstrator wanted to

make sure "moron" meant what he

thought in English. Many people turned

away MIM Notes and asked for our

newspaper in French. We were sorry to

say we could not provide it; although, our

web page is making promising strides in

French.

One undercurrent in the rally pitted

Quebec's French-speaking nature against

the Canadian government. Many people

carried flags linked to the French royal

imperial past that appear throughout

Quebec as the provincial flag since 1948.

At that time, the current flag replaced one

that carried the British Union Jack of

colonial times. Hence, carrying the

Quebec flag at an anti- war rally at a time

when England is the leading pro-war ally

of the united $tates has political meaning.

A poll shows that 62% of Kanadians

believe they should support the U.$. war

effort only if approved by the United

Nations. 18% believe that the

government of Canada should not

partake in the war against Iraq even if

the United Nations approves while 15%

believe Uncle $am deserves support even

if the UN does not approve the war.(4)

18% of Kanadians named war as the

most important issue that should be on

their minds in international relations.

Pundits believed that trade with the

united $tates should be higher in their

thoughts. Only 31% of the Kanadian

public believes there are good relations

between Kanada and the united $tates.

The rest said poor or neutral.(5)

36% of Canadians have concluded that

the united $tates is the world's most

dangerous threat to peace. 21% said Al

Qaeda, 17% Iraq and 14% northern

Korea. 11% said "don't know."(6)

Some Montreal newspapers did not put

the rally on the front page or page two or

three despite its size. The Gazette placed

the rally across the top. Likewise, the

Boston Globe and Boston Herald ran

anti-war protest stories on the front page

as their lead stories. The New York Times

put a photo of demonstrators on their

front page. It's safe to say that the word

is out all around the globe: there is a vocal

minority in the imperialist countries

which opposes Amerikan war

machinations against Iraq.

Notes:
1. The Gazette 19Jan2003, p. 1.
2. Jennifer Jett, "In fighting for peace, they
prepare for war," McGill Tribune 14Jan2003, p.
4.
3. The Gazette 18Jan2003, p. 1.
4. Gloria Galloway, http://
www.globeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/
PEstory/TGAM/20030118/UPOLLN/national/
national/national_temp/6/6/28/
5. http://www.canoe.ca/LondonNews/lf.lf-01-
19- 0025.html
6. http://www.ctv.ca

MONTREAL, from page 1...

MIM Notes 275 · February 1, 2003 · Page 6

An Oklahoma
execution

They're going to kill someone tonight. We

can always tell. They lock up their service
inmates and retreat into the darkness of their
control lair. They leave one guard to twiddle
his thumbs before the empty monitors. The
others strap on armor and grab their beat-
sticks and attack-gas, on their way to menace
the people maintaining a candlelight vigil near
the front guardtowers.

The media vultures are easy to see from

here. Their elephantine motorcoaches form
an orderly herd in the guards' parking lot.
Their microwave dishes like ears and their
satellite transmission guns like trunks -- all
point at the heavens as if in worship. The
newstalkers with their camera crews and
microphones far outnumber the protesters;
they take turns backing up to the prison's
official sign to give their reports of impending
death to an audience that couldn't care less.

Execution is mostly just for show, to

validate the politicians' "get tough on crime"
rhetoric. From our point of view, they've
always been tough on crime. Every year
millions more man-hours are wasted so they
can profit off taxpayer subsidized slavery.

-- an Oklahoma prisoner, 27 August, 2002

Parole board harasses
prisoner for political
views

I recently received evidence that the parole

board have been collecting some of my
published writings in the Philadelphia Daily
News. Believe it or not, they read one such
letter concerning my opinions on Afghanistan
to my mother. They were supposed to be
checking her house for approval as my
residence if released. However, the parole
agent used the occasion for intimidating me
through my parent!

--A Pennsylvania prisoner, October 2002

NC prisoner urges:
use the system for
what it's worth

Have we all heard of Huey Newton? He

was a leader and one of the most influential
people of the Black Panther Party. Huey
Newton instructed his comrades that when the
police arrest you and ask your name to state
"6th Amendment." If they ask anything else
to state "Lawyer," and then don't do any more
talking until you get to a phone. Also, have
we all heard that now famous saying "I plead
the 5th?" well this famous saying that we
oppressed now know so well was made
known to us by the powerful effects it had on
a murder trial. Yes, Huey Newton's murder
trial.

The reason I've stated the above is because

I feel that Huey Newton understood that one
level of struggle that also has to be fought is
our right for our Constitutional rights.
Because of the simple fact that you were born
in the United Snakes, there are certain rights
that you have. Or shall I say "are supposed"
to have. For example, prisoners have a 1st
Amendment right to be free from all
unnecessary "censorship." What this means

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

is an issue that you can take to court. Letters
are good. In fact I personally write every state
official, from the warden to the governor
when I believe I'm being violated, But I also
give them ten days to respond. After that, it's
court time. No more games, no more run-
around. Let's get a lawsuit going and see what
a judge has to say about this.

I think the time is now for us to unite inside

the Federal courts and the state courts of this
country, in the effort to bring our oppression
to the Supreme Court. I have learned that a
judge's order sounds a little louder than the
voice of a prisoner's letter to these slave
masters. It's up to us to learn our
Constitutional rights, and how to access the
courts. We are men, and there are no handouts
in this oppression. Not being smart enough is
an excuse, but not a reason. I started off with
a regular dictionary to learn words. One thing
leads to another as long as you believe in
yourself, and your fight.

We don't even have a Law Library in North

Carolina. We have to depend on state-
appointed lawyers, who are only the same as
the oppressors. But me and my comrades
learn from them. We don't listen to them like
a slave; we study them like students, and use
what we learn for ourselves. This is what must
be done. Some of you have law libraries.
Study them and memorize the knowledge.
Spread the knowledge around to others and
make others leaders. Not having money
doesn't matter either, because as long as you
follow the rules and laws of the court, a
lawsuit can go with the fees being waived.
But you can't play games with this.

I know what you are thinking; how can I

get the system to help me against the system?
The answer is the same way John Brown and
other whites helped Blacks to escape from
and end slavery. There are a few judges who
will rule in favor of prisoners and they may
be few indeed. But it's up to you to use your
paper and pen to find them. The state of our
oppression outweighs how hard it may be to
find a good judge. I say let's unite on this
constitutional front, working together as
comrades, and start the fight. There are a few
out there that will help.

I have two addresses that I would like to

share with you:

Lewisburg Prison Project
PO Box 128
Lewisburg, PA 17837-0128
Prisoners Self Help Legal Clinic
35 Halsey St, Suite 4B
Newark, NJ 07102
These are the cheapest people I know of

on the East Coast. Write them for a free
catalog on prison Constitution material. Also
find out knowledge about Federal and State
civil procedure in your area. Spread this
knowledge around with others and unite to
fight. It is time and we must act now.

In the words of MIM "we need to use the

system's laws to our favor whenever

possible." I say "Right on!" and it's damn well
time. May the oppressed and poor rise up and
become winners on all fronts. Power to the
struggle.

--a prisoner in NC, October 2002

A prisoner's
responsibility

Why is political stagnation such a huge

factor in the ghettos across the U.S.? I've
pondered this question heavily many times.
It seems that since the ghettos are the places
where political concentration is needed the
most, the peoples of these areas should be
more politically conscious than any other
class. Unfortunately, a percentage of people
living in the ghettos work so much that they
feel as though there is no time for anything
else but sleep. There are also those who work
in the streets (hustlers) as a means of
livelihood and see no benefit in revolutionary
political struggle. And even worse are the
unemployment and welfare recipients who
(many of them) are so dependent upon the
aid of the U.S. government that anti-
imperialism and capitalist resistance go far
beyond their minds causing them to regard
political struggle more as a curse than a
possible cure to the illness of poverty, in
which they find themselves permitted.

What is the best way to reach the

workaholic, the street hustler, and the welfare
recipient (who dominate the U.S. ghettos and
are mostly minorities) when the majority of
them either feel they lack the time or interest
in revolutionary political struggle? Many
prisoners across the U.S. for example just by
their condition of incarceration, begin
harboring enmity against the U.S.
government. This enmity harbored in the
hearts of prisoners can be seeds of
revolutionary political struggle if properly
nourished. The social class in which
inhabitants of the ghettos find themselves
plants seeds of revolutionary political struggle
in their hearts. However, in most cases these
seeds are not properly nourished and as a
result don't grow. Revolutionary and political
stagnation in the ghettos help perpetuate the
existence of ghettos. Until the existence of
ghettos (in the eyes of ghetto dwellers)
became as loathsome as epidemics are, they
will perpetuate their own stagnancy as well.
Convincing poor peoples of this country that
they aren't truly free citizens isn't as hard as
convincing them that anti- imperialism:
protests, demonstrations, resistance, and
ultimately revolution, is the solution to the
social grievances that afflict this nation. They
must understand the ultimate benefit of
revolution as much as they understand the
concept of heaven and hell.

Power is in numbers and the number of

peoples dwelling in the ghettos across the U.S.
is in the millions. Wherever there are millions
of politically inactive people under

democracy there is a grave oppression
operating in full swing. For comrades in
prison who are about to re-enter society
(many of whom will be living in ghettos), you
will be among the best qualified in reaching
peoples of the ghetto and helping dissolve the
political stagnation amongst the destitute.

-- a prisoner in TN, December 2002

Cal. tries to take more
of prisoners' money

To MIM and all other parties concerned in

the California Prison System. It has recently
been brought to my attention that the CDC
will be holding a meeting on Jan 14, to decide
on a proposal to raise our already too high
restitution from 22% to 33% effective
immediately with an increase to 55% by July
4th 2004! As the current circumstances
already stand at 22%, if our families send us
a money order for, lets say for example, $50,
after the CDC finishes punishing our families,
we're left with $39. Now once it's raised to

MIM Notes 275 · February 1, 2003 · Page 7

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?

55%, if our loved ones send us, for example,
$100, once again after the CDC pulls its hand
out of our families pockets, we'll be left with
$45. Not only is it already appalling and
absolutely immoral to punish our families for
our convictions at 22%, any amount for that
matter, but to raise it to 55% is sickening!
This issue needs to be addressed at all levels
and opposed from all directions and means
collectively! We can start by directing our
opposition to the address below.

--a prisoner in California, December 2002

Being a resident of this dungeon I feel it

my duty to bring it to your attention a new
development concerning "Inmate
Restitution". Currently we have deducted
from monies on our inmate accounts 22%.
20% for restitution and CDC charges us 10%
of that 20% for "administrative fees." Which
totals 22%. A proposal was put out November
22nd to raise this percentage to 33% and by
2004 to 55%. If I was to get $100 put on my
account I would only get $45 in the end. That
is insane, especially since the majority of
individuals get allowances of maybe $20 a
month.

The icing on the cake is the 10%

administrative fees that CDC deducts in
addition to the 20%. No wonder they would
emphatically support the perpetual increase
of the percentage of restitution to its max of
50% because instead of $20 of every $100
they will now get $50 if the proposal is passed.

--a second prisoner in California,

December 2002

Protests of the new Inmate Restitution

proposal can be sent to:

Rick Grenz, Chief Regulation and Policy

Management Branch

Department of Corrections
PO Box 942883
Sacramento, CA 94283
Phone: 916-322-9702

Cal. comrades fighting
censorship, organizing
behind the bars

Greetings in solidarity comrades! Although

in its initial stages, MIM Theory Journal 2&3
(Gender and Revolutionary Feminism) was
denied me, in the end I prevailed. I interjected
Departmental rule 3004(c) and in so doing
overcame what appeared a defeat. I am
looking forward to chapter's #1 thru #8. It
will take me some time before I digest this
double issue. Currently I am in possession of
9, 11, 5 and now 2/3. I am well on my way to
a compilation of all MIM Theory journals. I

am making them available for others to check
out. I am awaiting the MIM Notes papers for
Nov-Dec. I look forward to using them as a
topic for discussion. I then can, upon sparking
interest, turn them [other prisoners] on to the
journals. I am in the process of compiling a
pamphlet to send you about the SHU and I
will work on sending ideas for flyers.

-- a prisoner at CSATF, Corcoran CA,

January 2003

MIM replies: We print this letter as an

example of organizing work we need our
prisoner comrades to take up. In the past
month MIM has seen a sudden increase in
censorship in California prisons. It is no
coincidence that this comes at a time when
we have stepped up our organizing both
behind the bars and on the streets in the form
of campaigns against the Security Housing
Units (SHU) and the Three Strikes laws,
among others. MIM Theory was denied to
this prisoner at CSATF in Corcoran while the
What is MIM pamphlet was denied, labeled
"contraband", at CSP SAC in Represa, and a
Mao book and MIM Theory journal were
denied at CSP in Imperial. All of these
censorship cases are being pursued
aggressively by our comrades behind bars,
and we invite others in California having
similar problems to bring this to our attention
and we will provide you with a copy of the
appeal successfully filed by this prisoner.

We also commend this comrade for taking

up organizing in his prison by sharing his
newspapers and theory journals, using the
papers as a basis for discussion and then
encouraging others to read the theory journals
for more in depth analysis. This kind of
education, along with the work to write
pamphlets and flyers about topics Under Lock
and Key helps us build successful campaigns.

Corruption in Cal.
state prison

Corruption at California's state prison,

S.A.T.F. in Corcoran (New Corcoran State
Prison) continues unchecked despite inmates'
efforts to expose and stop these practices of
corruption. The inmate grievance system in
California's prisons contains many problems.
Most of these problems with California's
prisoner grievance system are created by
corruption in administration and staff that
maintain these prisons. These types of
corruption include complaints being lost or
meeting with long delays (caused by the
complaints being buried in bureaucratic red
tape). Many complaints are even rejected or
the inmates are denied access to the inmate

grievance system.

Many of these grievances concern living

conditions, but the grievances can vary
greatly. Some of these grievances involve staff
corruption such as staff assaults on inmates,
illegal prison conditions, and oppressive
action by prison administrators. Some prime
examples of administrative corruption in
SATF/State Prison in Corcoran happened in
early June of 2002. The prison administration
on a high security yard let rival gang members
with administrative created tension into
dayrooms and recorded with cameras the use
of a new experimental rubber shot (for 35mm
guns) on these inmates and repeated this
experiment a few days later. Staff assaults on
inmates at this prison are usually covered up
by charging the involved inmate with battery
on staff and placement of that inmate in
administrative segregation. The prison
administration very often will place segments
of non-involved inmate population on long
lock-downs as a punitive reprisal against that
inmate group, even when there are no safety
concerns in that prison yard. These inmates
are confined to their cells for months at a time
with no exercise yard, or other basic
necessities like receiving monthly purchases
of cosmetic items such as soap, shampoo, and
deodorant. These illegal activities by prison
officials go unabated because the prison
administration controls the inmate grievance
system. Therefore, it can be very difficult for
prison inmates to call attention to these illegal

practices.

Some prison inmates at SATF/State Prison

in Corcoran tried to stop this corruption by
the prison administration by writing letters
but to no avail. Prison inmates have little
recourse and letters to California's Inspector
General or to state assembly members usually
produce no results. The only recourse left to
these inmates is to instigate legal litigation in
form of civil suits and petitions for writs of
habeas corpus.

-- a prisoner in California (SATF),

December 2002

We vegetate
in their plunder of life
our humanity
seasons of bitter legacies
of the festering wounds
of history's screams
we are empty frames
victims of stolen by
centuries of injustice
that history mandate we defy
we exist timeless
in this museum of the solitude
from the walls, walls that laugh at
the sunshine and love, they defy!
we are the wounds of the humanity
lost by the Eagle's Policemen.

We are prisoners of America
which has never been a democracy;
America, a victimizing lie!
we exist in timeless

festering wounds of

dehumanizations

in this museum of the

solitude

from the walls,
our lives are its frames
without pictures.
In solitude suffering is

anonymous.

the rich earth of our memories
of beauties are dry!
so painful are memories full of tears
that cannot cry.
We look for a butterfly, a flower, or

for

a bird flying in its beautiful garment
of freedom in a sun-filled sky.
but we see nothing but another wall
full of timeless solitude
and we die a little more, in the screams
of our lives in our desolate eye!

The Museum of the Solitude

From the Walls

by a New York Prisoner

MIM Notes 275 · February 1, 2003 · Page 8

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?

Latest Clancy actioner

unintentionally exposes

stupidity in the bourgeoisie's

attempts to control nuclear

weapons

Sum of All Fears, 2002

PG-13

123 minutes

reviewed January 2, 2003

This film came out last summer and has

already been released on video. We're

running a review now because of its

relevance given all the Bush

administration's pretensions about

eliminating the threat of nuclear weapons

in countries like Iraq and Korea.

A young and new CIA analyst saves

the world from nuclear destruction in this

largely realistic drama. What this film is

lacking is a sense of just how often the

CIA and the U.S. Government generally

think they are going to have to chase after

individual weapons of mass destruction.

Whether it is the arms-dealer of the

week paying nuclear-scientists or

whether it is the country of the month--

Iraq, Korea inspections etc.--the current

U.S., British, French, Russian etc.

approach is doomed to lethal failure, if

not with nuclear weapons, then with

some other future or past weapon

invented through the wonders of

capitalist science. We can count on

capitalism for progress in destruction.

Aside from having to assert himself in

the corridors of power at an early age, in

order to save the world, the character Jack

Ryan has to fly and boat back and forth

between the DC/Baltimore area and

Russia and Ukraine. If he did not bail out

his operations colleague in a pistol fight,

if he did not survive having a chain placed

around his neck to choke him, if he had

not survived a helicopter crash in a

terrorist nuclear bombing and if he did

not find his boss the CIA director just as

he died to take his identification for

illegal use, Ryan would have failed and

the world would have ended in nuclear

war between Russia and the United

$tates. The sad part is that the rulers just

do not know or don't care that there is

something wrong with that. They see a

happy ending.

The bourgeois politicians in the film

and in real life speak in generalities, but

they cannot come up with a solution for

weapons proliferation. The capitalist

authorities' approach is a lot like their

approach to crime in general--spying on

individuals and trying to catch people.

That's not surprising, because the

premise of the movie is a black-market

nuclear weapon lost in a Mideast war in

1973. For $50 million, neo-Nazis obtain

the weapon.

It's hardly relevant that it was neo-

Nazis seeking to play off Russia against

the United $tates. The point is that in a

world with a black market and money as

the legal monarch, someone was going

to buy and sell nuclear weapons. It speaks

to just how bold the solution has to be,

yes, an extreme solution, but much less

extreme than waiting for nuclear or other

catastrophe.

Although the Tom Clancy novel is

great apologetics for the CIA, on the

whole, the "Sum of All Fears" succeeds

in adding just another degree to the

political temperature in Amerikkka.

Published in 1991, the book seems

especially relevant thanks to the response

to September 11th, 2001.

Neo-Nazis ship the bomb to Baltimore

and succeed in detonating it there in what

appears to be a cigarette machine. Since

the nuke is supposedly smaller than the

bombs dropped on Hiroshima and

Nagasaki, and since smoking kills over

400,000 Amerikkkans a year, it's not

entirely implausible that smoking kills

more people, and that may have been part

of the symbolism. It turns out the nuke

was "made in the U$A" anyway when

the CIA stole plutonium to give to I$rael,

which then lost the nuclear weapon in

the midst of the 1973 war.

Even though the story centers on

readily identified centers of power--the

CIA, the U.S. president--the film is

politically ambitious. We suspect that it

left a large part of the audience behind,

including some reviewers who we will

not mention by name.

The outcome of the whole movie relies

on knowing who detonated the nuclear

bomb in Baltimore. That is a great subject

matter; even though, we do not agree with

the answers being killing the communists

and listening to the CIA instead of CNN,

the State Department or Pentagon

generally. Those are just details really.

If the bomber of Baltimore turned out

to be Russia, then the United $tates was

going to retaliate in a general way. The

movie succeeds in portraying the logic

of escalation of war. As in the movie on

the Cuban Missile Crisis "Thirteen Days"

based on government documents, we see

that not all aspects of the crisis go

according to the rulers' plans. Neither

Kennedy in "Thirteen Days" nor the

Russian president in "Sum of All Fears"

has total control of their militaries. Such

an idea of total control is fantasy in any

case, except in bourgeois-written idealist

history where only a handful of

individuals matter. In contrast, we see in

this film that an air force officer easily

convinced his men that Moscow had been

nuked by the united $tates: he then

ordered them into attacking a U.S.

aircraft carrier. The fact that the world is

not of one mind, including in the

respective militaries is one part of the

benefit of this movie.

People that the united $tates usually

considered very suspicious in Russia

turned out to be the real "good guys."

Shadowy forces kill the military officers

in Russia who go off on their own

tangents in Chechnya and the aircraft

carrier attack. The author labels the errant

officers as old-style "communists" in

Chechnya and corrupt officers bribed by

neo-Nazis in the aircraft carrier attack,

but all that is besides the point in

weapons proliferation when the whole

point is that it could be anybody with

money.

In fact "back channel" communications

with shadowy Russian forces prove to

save the day while political hotheads in

the u$a and Russia bring the planet to

the brink. Without a CIA director to clear

the way for him, Jack Ryan used the back

channel communications to Russian

intelligence to understand what was

happening and to get the job done. Other

departments of the U.S. Government

hardly listened to Ryan and they called

him an "apologist" for the Russian

president. He actually succeeds in

convincing his own president by

convincing the Russian president first,

because the U.$. president had shut Ryan

off, literally. It goes to show that truth

does not have a nationality, and just how

important that could be.

The chasing-drug-dealers-and-

murderers-paradigm for arms

proliferation will not work. Our ruling

class has not noticed yet, but individual

murderers and drug-dealers get away all

the time, especially those in the ruling

class itself. In contrast, even one weapon

of mass destruction can bring down the

species if it is powerful enough to ruin

the atmosphere or if it sets off certain

suspicions and chains of events in a world

brimming with causes of war. Not all CIA

agents can drive vehicles through nuclear

radiation and possess the thick necks

necessary to survive choking by chain.

Relying on them lacks vision. What is

important is not the actions of a few

action-heroes chasing weapons- dealers

like drug-dealers but the ongoing

statistically relentless probability of

catastrophe. We encourage our readers

to imagine hundreds of Jack Ryans and

similar scenarios generated in a capitalist

world where the line between legal and

illegal profit-making is impossible to find

in every instance. Sooner or later, the

Jack Ryans are going to fail: it's built into

the system.

There is a word for those who support

Bush and Clinton who offer no vision or

progress toward a global peace: stupid.

When such an approach is imposed

through government it is not just stupid

but evil.

MIM in contrast, does have an answer.

Abolishing money in the long run and

profit in the short-run while holding for

questioning anyone transferring $50

million for persynal consumption would

be a start. The social cost of the black

market in weapons alone is too much to

offset the benefits of having a free market

in other goods. Production and exchange

for profit should be illegal in all cases,

so there are no problems of law

enforcement. That is communism--an

extreme solution to an even more extreme

problem. Weapons proliferation and

terrorist nuclear bombings cannot be

treated the way the bourgeoisie handles

street crime. The causes of weapons

proliferation have to be eradicated

completely. There is no other realistic

solution.

Sum of All Fears is indeed frightening

MIM Notes 275 · February 1, 2003 · Page 9

Cal. governor increases funding

for prisons, cuts everything else

Michigan prisoners battle for humyn rights

buying the loyalty of California

lawmakers. The union secured their

budget by inviting several key lawmakers

to a conference it sponsored in Hawaii

in December. Last year, as the state

budget was sinking into deficit, Davis

signed a new contract with the guard's

union giving the guards large raises,

which will result in annual salaries of

$73,000 within five years. A few weeks

later Davis received the largest donation

check he has ever received from any

group: $251,000.(1)

As California Lawyer explained in

their November 2002 article, "The

CCPOA's influence grew alongside

California's phenomenal prison

construction boom. From 1985 to 1995

the number of state prisons increased

from 13 to 31 and currently house

160,000 inmates in the largest state

system in the country. As the number of

prisons increased, so did the California

Department of Corrections' (CDC)

annual operating budget-from $923

million in fiscal year 1985 to $3.4 billion

in 1995. Today it is $4.8 billion. From

1985 to 1995 the number of prison guards

increased from 7,570 to approximately

25,000. Wages, benefits, and working

conditions for officers improved

remarkably: In 1980 the average annual

salary was $14,400; by 1996 it had grown

to $44,000; today it is $54,000. ...

"According to the anonymous criminal

law attorney in Fresno, the CCPOA

spends far more time urging DAs to

prosecute assaults by inmates than

defending allegations against officers.

This lawyer claims the union pressures

DAs to bring felony charges against

inmates `for every nickel-and-dime

dispute'--which permits officers to

threaten a third- strike conviction as a tool

for controlling behavior. `Scuffles where

nobody gets hurt--things that should be

handled administratively--the union

wants them pressed as a felony,' the

lawyer says. `You read between the lines,

and you see the guard pushed the guy [the

inmate] to act.'"(2)

Gray Davis is an example of why MIM

says the Democrats are just as much a

part of the system of imperialism as the

Republicans. Davis recently won re-

election appealing to voters on typically

Democrat issues such as abortion. But

while Davis may pretend to be

progressive on some issues he is

increasing imprisonment faster than

many Republican-controlled states. To

fight the criminal injustice system we will

have to dismantle the system that makes

it profitable to eliminate any guise of

rehabilitation in favor of raising the

salary of guards.

Notes:

1. SF Chronicle, January 13, 2003.

2. California Lawyer, November 2002.

policy also limits the number of books

and magazines a prisoner can own, and

the number of legal papers.(3)

Prisons throughout the state

implemented the policy unevenly. A

prisoner activist reported "while one

pack-up team allows prisoners to have

certain things, another pack-up team will

deny other prisoners the same items. I see

these maneuvers as a tool the prisons are

using to create hardships and bad feelings

among the prisoner-class, as the

prisonkkkrats are good at the `divide and

conquer' tactics among the unconscious

and unpoliticized prisoners."(4) One of

PLSM's functions was to help prisoners

deal with the effects of these policies, and

to make sure that the MDOC did not

overstep its mandate.

PLSM also provided the tremendous

service of training 12 on-staff prisoner

paralegals at a time, and helping these

paralegals to find jobs on their release.

These prisoners have worked actively on

the Cain lawsuit, and they are an

important resource for Michigan

prisoners -- both for their training and

skills, and as examples of what prisoners

can achieve. The so-called Department

of Corrections should be looking for

ways to give more prisoners the

education that the PLSM paralegals have

had, not scrabbling to shut the office

down.

The state's conduct in the Cain suit has

always revealed its desire to run the

MDOC under an institutional form of

martial law. MDOC wants the courts to

agree that prisoners check their humyn

rights at the jailhouse door. In its ideal

world, MDOC would be categorically

incapable of violating prisoners' rights

because prisoners would have none. This

is the same MDOC that denied an

Amnesty International petition to tour the

Michigan prisons and investigate the

humyn rights situation inside.

This is one of those clear cases where

communist ethics win out over capitalist

ones. Communism is based on the rights

of the exploited masses, and on any

legitimate government's accountability

for meeting the basic needs of its people.

Under socialism MIM will indeed

imprison anyone who interferes with the

rights to food, shelter, education or health

care. These things are non-negotiable--

a matter of basic principle. But we will

urge prisoners toward understanding

their crimes in relation to society, and

provide programs that help them become

productive members of society.

Notes:

1. "Cain decision reversed," MDOC

press release 9 January, 2003

www.michigan.gov

2. Southern Center for Human Rights

resource list www.schr.org/state-

resources/mi-ref.pdf

3. "MIM Legal Notes: Cain v. MDOC

implementations of censorship"

www.prisoncensorship.info/archive/etext/ulk/mln/

mln167.html

4. Ali Khalid Abdullah, "Michigan

Prisoners Lost Major Property Issue"

flag.blackened.net/blackflag/216/

216mich.htm

Continued from page 3...

aristocracy. Signs such as "Money For

Jobs, Not War" emphasized the typical

Amerikan so-called "leftist" rhetoric that

attempts to subtly (or not so subtly!)

legitimize the tremendous influx of

super-profits that makes Amerikan living

conditions so cushy. The logic is that the

labor aristocracy should have more of a

say of where the imperialist booty goes.

Fittingly enough for this line, the

overwhelming majority of speakers

focused on the impact that a war would

have on Amerikans, downplaying that the

point should be the effect it has on the

Iraqi people and other oppressed people

of the world.

RAIL saw several signs saying such

things as "What Happened to Osama?"

and "Forget Saddam, What About

Osama?" These types of signs attempt to

legitimize imperialist terrorism in some

situations while condemning it in others.

Aside from the obvious point that both

the U$ actions in Afghanistan and

throughout the world in the so-called

"war against terrorism" on the one hand,

and the sanctions and possible

heightened assault on Iraq on the other

are all part and parcel of imperialist war

against the world's majority, it should

also be kept in mind that attempts to

blame Osama for 911, if in fact he was

involved, ignore the fact that 911 itself

was an example of the "chickens coming

home to roost."

An excessively erroneous focus was

placed on the role of individuals and

individual leaders, ignoring the

systematic nature of imperialism and the

economic and political reasons

underlying all wars. For example Ramsey

Clark's speech had as its main point, the

role of Bush in the war drive. He

emphasized the need to impeach Bush,

for going against "international law," for

"stealing the elections," etc.

RAIL does not mean to imply that all

people are at the same level of political

maturity; but those claiming to be

leaders, or claiming Vanguard status,

have no excuse for putting out a message

that is the equivalent of a soggy noodle.

RAIL was pleased to hear a few

speakers, such as the Free Palestine

Alliance, and the Muslim Students

Association focus on the issue from an

internationalist perspective, highlighting

the relationship between imperialism and

war, as well as the relationship between

Iraq and movements of other oppressed

nations such as Palestine. Imam Mousa

of Masjid Al-Islam pointed out that what

we need is not a regime change, but a

"system change," which he explained

means revolution.

RAIL also witnessed signs of "feel-

good" activism among participants.

Many speakers seemed to be more

concerned with congratulating attendees

for "braving" the cold weather, than they

were with saying anything of substance.

Some "Marxist-Leninist" groups were

intent on giving a sales pitch like "join

us- we have just begun to fight," instead

of accurately assessing the balance of

forces. Their message was that an

increase in numbers at rallies means

revolution is just around the corner: a line

that may draw in eager youth in the short-

term, but will end up with incorrect

practice. These so-called

"revolutionaries" are more interested in

clichés and left-sounding phrases then

they are with being scientific Marxists.

(2)

Contrary to most organizations present

and most "leaders," RAIL does not take

the "masses are asses" line. Instead of

engaging in motivational speaking and

watering down our message to get the

"middle forces," RAIL was not afraid to

elaborate on MIM's line on the labor

aristocracy when asked questions by rally

attendees about the difference between

MIM and the RCP. Likewise we did not

talk about the effect an attack on Iraq

would have on well-fed Amerikans, but

focused on the question from the

internationalist viewpoint.

Despite above-mentioned

shortcomings, one of the most positive

points of the march was that a lot of

people were interested in hearing a

revolutionary analysis of war and

imperialism as well as learning about

Maoism. People eagerly took copies of

MIM Notes, approved of RAIL's

presence, and showed their awareness of

MIM.

The Revolutionary Anti-Imperialist

League is a mass organization of non-

Party members who accept MIM's

leadership.

Notes:
1. Thousands Rally in U.S. Against Iraq War,
Calvin Woodward, Associated Press Writer,
January 18th 2003
2. See for example Voice of Revolution,
Publication of the U.S. Marxist-Leninist
Organization,, January 18th edition.

Massive marches against war

Washington, DC, from page 1...

MIM Notes 275 · February 1, 2003 · Page 10

oppressed nations of the world, and the

suffering and exploitation of hundreds of

millions around the world. U.$.

imperialism is the main enemy of the

oppressed people of the world, and its

wars of aggression lead the way for all

the rest of its crimes.

There were some people who oppose

the war for less admirable Reasons at the

rally.

Some people are pure pacifists,

opposing all war. Some of these people

are important allies against imperialist

militarism, even though revolutionaries

disagree with them on important issues

(e.g. the justness of armed struggle for

liberation from imperialism). They had

signs reading, "War is insane" and "War

is dumb."

Some people are hell-bent on

demonstrating their patriotic fervor even

while they oppose this particular war.

MIM doesn't hold any illusions that it's

possible to be a patriotic Amerikan and

oppose imperialism -- without

imperialism there is no Amerika,

practically speaking. These people held

U.$. flags, and had signs that said, "Peace

is patriotic," and "Patriotic and Peaceful"

(see photo). This is similar to the message

on signs provided by California Peace

Action, which read: "Bush's Policies:

Endangering America, Enraging the

World" (see photo). We are not trying to

get Amerika to clean up its image in the

world, but to overthrow Amerika and

replace it with governance by the

oppressed in their own interest.

Others in a similar vein want Amerika

to support the United Nations instead of

acting unilaterally. One of these held a

sign that said, "Use the UN, not bombs."

This begs the question: "Use the UN for

what?" If the ends are the same--

domination of the people and resources

of the Middle East--but the means are

the UN instead of bombs, we're not

impressed.

Other people said they oppose the war

for self-interested reasons, which range

from fairly progressive to completely

reactionary. The more progressive signs

pointed out that "Iraq Never Closed My

Health Clinic," referring to a major

shortage of health clinics in the Los

Angeles area (see photo). Still, even the

poorest people in Los Angeles are not

suffering like the poor people in Iraq, so

this message calls out for some more

internationalism.

But that's nothing compared to:

"Saddam Hussein did not steal my 401k"

(photo, p. 1). This guy is just upset

because some corporate bozo stole his

stolen superprofits -- the money he had

in his retirement account. Amerikans who

are complaining that imperialist

militarism is a drag on their retirement

accounts just don't understand that

imperialism is the source of their

retirement accounts, not to mention their

salaries (and land!) in the first place. So

these people are ignorant as well as

reactionary.

Finally, there were progressive

internationalist statements against the

detention of immigrants, recently

increased in Los Angeles, for Palestinian

self-determination, for Chicano self-

force other countries to submit to this--

militarily and otherwise. In the particular

case of decadent Amerikan car culture,

the relatively cheap gas prices which

make a blithe Sunday drive in the

Explorer possible are made possible by

Amerikan meddling in the Middle East--

including keeping the region divided and

under the constant threat of war. So yes,

George may not know it, but part of the

price of his SUV is the threat of nuclear

war and "terrorism."

However, the SUV ad fails to make this

connection. Instead of cursing a system

which risks bloody war for the sake of

profit, it raises the usual racist "Arab

terrorist" bogeyman--which plays into

the hands of the Amerikan war-mongers.

Liberals blame SUVs for terrorism

The ad couches the debate solely in

bourgeois terms. On the one hand are the

nationalists, who dream of a United

$tates which is self-sufficient. On the

other are the internationalists, who see

massive profits for themselves in

controlling Middle eastern oil--although

they wouldn't mind if Amerika's hand

were strengthened by increasing its

domestic energy reserves.

There are profits being made by

countries that are not giving the money

to the United $tates and not acting

subservient enough (i.e. Iraq which has

the second largest oil reserves in the

world). But in reality Amerika already

reaps big profits from oil and controls

key oil producing countries. The biggest

purchaser of US arms and probably

British arms is either Saudi Arabia or

United Arab Emirates, the rich oil

producers.(2)

As Noam Chomsky explains:

"Actually one of the purposes of the [post

World War II] Marshall Plan, this great

benevolent plan, was to shift Europe and

Japan from coal to oil. Europe and Japan

both had indigenous coal resources but

they switched to oil in order to give the

US control. About $2bn out of the $13bn

Marshall Plan dollars went straight to the

oil companies to help convert Europe and

Japan to oil based economies. For power,

it's enormously significant to control the

resources and oil's expected to be the

main resource for the next couple of

generations."(2)

If The Detroit Project wanted to run a

truthful ad it should have laid the blame

for terrorism on capitalism. And it should

have pointed out who the biggest

terrorists in the world are: the Amerikan

imperialists. Imperialist exploitation, the

means by which Amerika steals profits

from Third World countries by paying

workers unlivable wages, makes

Amerikans rich while literally killing

millions of people each year from

malnutrition and lack of even basic health

care.

Notes:

1. NYT, January 8, 2003

2. Daily Times, Jan 9, 2003, Interview

with Noam Chomsky

www.dailytimes.com.pk

3. MIM Notes 272, 15 Jan 2002.

Continued from page 3...

determination (from the National

Chicano Moratorium Committee), for

immigrant garment workers, and against

the U.S. military presence in Korea:

"U.S. Troops out of Korea"

MIM is very glad to see thousands of

people in Los Angeles and around the

country speaking out against the war. We

are not purists who only want to see

revolutionary anti-imperialists stand with

us against Amerika. At the same time,

we want to use the opportunity of many

people rethinking their political views to

argue for the most progressive

revolutionary position possible, because

that will ultimately be the most effective

for stopping imperialist wars and ending

the oppression they perpetuate.

It is the first duty of revolutionaries in

the imperialist countries to attempt to

undermine militarism against the people

of the oppressed nations, and a broad

movement including many types of

activists is necessary to accomplish that.

Notes:

1. See petition on page 11, as well as

MIM Notes 270 and 273.

Rallies show movement's promise and pitfalls

Los Angeles, from page 1...

A sampling of signs from MIM's photo eye

in L.A.

MIM Notes 275 · February 1, 2003 · Page 11

Entrevista con el profesor José María Sisón

continuado de la pagina 11

otorgados gracias a mi condición de refugiado
político. Puede que me asalten y encarcelen
con el fin de humillarme y difamarme o

incluso con el fin de colocar evidencias falsas
y arrestarme.

Según varios oficiales de alto rango del

gobierno de Manila, EE.UU. está listo para
extraditarme según el tratado de extradición
entre EE.UU. y los Países Bajos mediante la

fabricación de un cargo criminal. Se supone
que me llevarán a una base militar
estadounidense- Guantánamo, Guam o Diego

García- para dificultar o hacer imposible por
mucho tiempo el acceso a un abogado que
yo pueda escoger.

Un oficial de alto rango del gobierno de

Manila y un funcionario de la CIA ha estado
alardeando que es muy probable que Bush

ordene mi asesinato a través de la CIA en
caso de que yo falle en lograr la capitulación
del Frente Nacional Democrático Filipino por

medio de un "acuerdo de paz final" preparado
por el gobierno reaccionario.

Lo que se puede hacer para afrontar las

acciones punitivas y amenazas en mi contra
es exponer el carácter opresivo y explotador
de los imperialistas, levantar y organizar a

más gente en torno a la lucha, así como
emprender varias formas de lucha.

P: Ud. ha dicho que los cargos en su contra

también tienen con fin intimidar a "todos los
participantes, consejeros, funcionarios y
partidarios del equipo de negociación basado

en Europa". ¿Podría comentar sobre algunos
casos concretos de intimidación contra los
miembros o partidarios del FNDF?

Sisón: Los participantes, consejeros,

funcionarios y partidarios del FNDF están
conscientes de las acciones y amenazas

dirigidas en mi contra tanto de una forma
abierta como velada. También entienden el
porqué de las amenazas. Su propósito

consiste en ponerme entre la espada y la pared
para presionarme y de esta manera coaccionar
al entero equipo de negociación del FNDF.

Consideren, por ejemplo, los efectos

intimidantes que han tenido las acciones
injustas tomadas en mi contra como la

criminalización fuera del proceso legal,
difamación, las amenazas subsiguientes
contra mi vida y libertad así como los daños

morales y materiales.

De hecho, creo que lo que busca EE.UU. y

el gobierno de Manila es destruir las

negociaciones de paz. Están haciendo hasta
lo imposible para frustrar el reinicio de estas
negociaciones. Los necios de Bush, el hijo,

y Gloria Macapagal creen con inocencia que
pueden derrotar la revolución democrática
popular con tan sólo perseguirme en el

extranjero e intimidar al equipo de
negociación del FNDF.

P: También hemos notado que el propósito

de los cargos en su contra es crear un efecto
escalofriante aquí en EE.UU. Ahora, gracias

al "Acta Patriota", las personas que
normalmente respaldarían la publicación de
su punto de vista o la del PCP en el nombre

de un debate público bien informado en torno
a algún asunto importante- por ejemplo, la
intervención directa de EE.UU. en las

Filipinas- se ven obligados a preguntarse si
se les castigaría por el apoyo a los
"terroristas".

Sisón: Es cierto que la administración Bush

está tratando de intimidar a la comunidad
filipina dentro de EE.UU. El Acta Patriota y

otras actas semejantes se parecen a los
decretos fascistas de Marcos. Los filipinos y
los americanos de descendencia filipina

deben repasar la lucha y la victoria del pueblo
filipino sobre la mortal dictadura fascista de
Marcos patrocinada por EE.UU.

Deben trabajar y luchar duro en sus

comunidades, así como colaborar con la gente
de varias nacionalidades en contra del

creciente fascismo y el violento racismo que
se dan en EE.UU. Tanto dentro de EE.UU.
como en el extranjero, a Bush ya se le conoce

como un tonto fanfarrón. Una gran mayoría
de la gente está murmurando: " ¡Es la
economía, idiota!" Claro está, las fuerzas

progresivas se están empeñando en difundir
la idea de que el imperialismo es el azote del
que hay que deshacerse.

P: Sigamos. George Bush sostiene que

EE.UU. debe iniciar una guerra contra Iraq

con el fin de acabar con la proliferación de
armas de destrucción masiva (ADM). ¿Qué
opina Ud. Sobre esta aserción? En su opinión,

¿cuál sería la mejor manera de acabar con la
amenaza planteada por el uso de ADM?

Sisón: Es bastante obvio que Iraq no posee

armas de destrucción masiva. EE.UU. lo
sabe. Es por eso que se apresura a lanzar una
guerra de agresión con el fin de apoderarse

de los recursos petrolíferos de Iraq e instalar
una administración colonial
proestadounidense.

La aserción de Bush de que EE.UU. tiene

que iniciar una guerra para acabar con la
proliferación de armas de destrucción masiva

no es más que un disparate. Siguiendo este
tipo de lógica y bravuconería acabaría
declarando guerra a India, Paquistán, China

y Rusia. Pero no se atreverá a iniciar guerras
contra ninguno de dichos países precisamente
porque estos países tienen armas nucleares.

La mejor manera de acabar con la amenaza
de ADM es originar movimientos
revolucionarios dentro de los países

imperialistas con el fin de paralizar el uso de
estas armas por parte de los imperialistas y al
fin y al cabo liquidarlas del todo después de

la victoria del socialismo. No hay seguridad
completa respecto al uso de ADM hasta que
se acabe con el sistema imperialista.

Traducido por Células de Estudio para la

Liberación de Aztlán y América Latina.

sus negociaciones con el gobierno de la

República Filipina, el Frente

Democrático Filipino encabezado por el

PCP prioritizó la ratificación del Acuerdo

Comprehensivo sobre los Derechos

Humanos y el Derecho Humanitario

Internacional. Desde que ambas partes

firmaron el acuerdo, el ejército filipino

ha torturado y asesinado a los capturados

miembros del NPA mientras que el NPA

ha puesto en libertad a varios oficiales

filipinos de alto rango quienes alabaron

su tratamiento.(4)

22 miembros del Parlamento Europeo

firmaron una carta solicitando que los

Países Bajos retiren la calificación

"terrorista" del profesor Sisón y el PCP/

NPA . "Solicitamos la presente medida

de acuerdo con las resoluciones del

Parlamento Europeo de 1997 y 1999 las

cuales respaldan de una manera

convincente y endosan las negociaciones

¡Defiendan los derechos democráticos de José María Sisón!

de paz entre el gobierno de la República

Filipina y el Frente Democrático nacional

de las Filipinas".(1) Hasta algunos de los

senadores del gobierno filipino han

condenado la decisión de los EE.UU. por

ser ésta una intervención en los "asuntos

internos".(3)

El profesor Sisón no es la única persona

afectada por dichos cargos. Estos últimos

restringen además la libertad de

expresión tanto de los ciudadanos de los

EE.UU. como de sus aliados europeos.

Hasta los que defienden los derechos de

Sisón o el PCP para publicar sus escritos

basándose en la creencia de que la

divulgación de los mismos es una

condición necesaria para un debate

público bien informado, pueden

convertirse en víctimas de acoso y

deportación bajo el "Acta Patriota"

("USA Patriotic Act"). Apoyar al

profesor Sisón significa defender nuestra

propia libertad de expresión y

organización.

Con el fin de defender los derechos

democráticos del profesor Sisón,

llamamos a nuestros lectores a presentar

las siguientes solicitudes al gobierno

holandés:

* un respeto completo por la protección

del estatus de refugiado reconocido de

José María Sisón según los convenios

internacionales correspondientes;

un otorgamiento de su permiso de

residencia en los Países Bajos;

* un retiro inmediato de su nombre y

una liquidación incondicional y total del

"Sancieregeling terrorisme 2002 III";

* una devolución inmediata,

incondicional y completa de todos los

beneficios sociales cuyo otorgamiento le

es garantizado según el estatus de

refugiado político (pago mensual, seguro

médico y beneficios de vivienda);

* un renunciamento de cualquier

solicitud de su extradición.

Escriban a:

Primer Ministro Jan Peter Balkenende

Binnenhop 20

Postbus 20001

2500 EA The Hague

Tel. + 31 70 356 41 00

Fax. + 31 70 356 46 83

Sr. J.G. de Hoop Scheffer

Ministro de Relaciones Externas

Bezuidenhoutseweg 67

Postbus 20061

Consul General de los Países Bajos

9th floor, King's Court

Building 1, 2129 Chino Roces Avenue

Makati City, Philippines

Adjuntamos el texto de la solicitud en

ingles.

Traducido por Células de Estudio para

la Liberación de Aztlán y América Latina

Philippine Prof. Jose Maria Sison is living

in the Netherlands as a recognized political

refugee under the protection of the Refugee
Convention and the European Convention for
the Protection of Human Rights and

Fundamental Freedoms.

Prof. Sison is the chief political consultant

of the National Democratic Front of the

Philippines (NDFP) in peace negotiations
with the Government of the Republic of the
Philippines (GRP). These negotiations have

been facilitated by the Norwegian, Dutch and
Belgian governments.

On 9 August 2002, the US State

Department listed the Communist Party of the
Philippines (CPP) and the New People's

Army (NPA) as "foreign terrorist
organizations," encouraging other

governments "to take action to isolate these
terrorist organizations, to choke off their
sources of financial support, and to prevent

their movement across international borders."
Since 12 August 2002, the US Treasury
Department has listed Jose Maria Sison as a

"terrorist" whose assets must be frozen.

Subsequently, the Dutch government has

followed the bidding of the US by issuing the

"Sanctions ruling on terrorism 2002 III" on
13 August 2002, criminalizing Jose Maria
Sison as a "terrorist" without benefit of due

process and subjecting him to punishment
such as:

* The freezing of his Postbank current

account through which he receives social

welfare payment to pay his bills.

* The removal of all state subsidies for

food, housing, health insurance and other

basic necessities under a directive dated 10
September 2002 from the social welfare
agency of Utrecht's municipal government.

We, the undersigned, vow to help defend

the rights of Prof. Jose Maria Sison.

We demand from the Dutch authorities:

* the full respect for the protection of Jose

Maria Sison as a recognized refugee under
the relevant international conventions;

* the grant of his residence permit in the

Netherlands;

* the immediate de-listing of his name and

the unconditional and complete withdrawal
of the "Sanctieregeling terrorisme 2002 III;"

* the immediate, unconditional and

complete restoration of all the social benefits
to which he is entitled as a political refugee
(monthly allowance, insurance and housing

benefits);

* the refusal of any possible demand for

his extradition.

Please write to the Dutch Prime Minister

and Minister of Foreign Affairs (addresses
given on this page) and the relevant Dutch

consulates and embassies.

DEFEND THE RIGHTS OF PROF. JOSE MARIA SISON

continuado de la pagina 11

MIM Notes 275 · February 1, 2003 · Page 12

Notas Rojas

feb 1, 2003, Nº 275 Fragmento del Periodico Oficial del Movimiento Internacionalista Maoista

Gratis

Octubre 23, 2002

El profesor filipino José María Sisón

tiene una larga historia de activismo por

parte de los explotados y oprimidos, y

en contra del imperialismo

estadounidense. Ayudó a fundar la

Kabataan Makabayan (La Juventud

Patriótica) en 1964 y encabezó algunas

de las primeras protestas contra la

intervención yanqui en Vietnam- un

hecho que cobra particular importancia

a la luz de que EE.UU. utilizó las

Filipinas como un escenario para la

intervención en el Sureste de Asia.

Consecutivamente, el 26 de diciembre

de 1968, Sisón fundó el Partido

Comunista Filipino; el 29 de marzo de

1969- el Nuevo Ejército del Pueblo; y el

24 de abril de 1973- el Frente

Democrático Nacional Filipino. El 10

de noviembre de 1977, fue capturado por

el régimen fascista de Marcos y estuvo

encarcelado hasta el 5 de marzo de 1986-

fecha en que fue puesto en libertad poco

después del derrocamiento de Marcos.

Vovlió a formar parte del profesorado de

la Universidad de las Filipinas. Del 1 de

septiembre 1986 hasta 1988, salió al

extranjero para realizar una gira mundial

de conferencias universitarias. El 18 de

octubre de 1988, al ser cancelado su

pasaporte filipino por el régimen Aquino,

solicitó refugio político en los Países

Bajos.

Pregunta: El 12 de agosto, el gobierno

estadounidense le ha calificado como un

"terrorista" solicitando a otros gobiernos

un congelamiento de sus activos. Al día

siguiente el gobierno de los Países Bajos,

su actual lugar de residencia, siguió el

ejemplo yanqui. ¿Podría comentar Ud.

sobre el cargo de terrorismo que se le

imputa? ¿Porqué ahora?

Sisón: El cargo de terrorismo que se

me imputa es una tontería. Ha sido

fabricado por el gobierno estadounidense

que en vano está tratando de difamarme

y destruirme. Calcula que

persiguiéndome, desprestigiándome

mediante la etiqueta "terrorista" y

utilizando medidas represivas en mi

contra con la ayuda de otros gobiernos

imperialistas, logrará aterrorizar a los

filipinos progresivos tanto en las

Filipinas como en el extranjero. El

ataque en mi contra es parte del intento

estadounidense por destruir a nivel

mundial a todas las fuerzas que luchan

contra el imperialismo.

EE.UU. es el superterrorista global. Ha

asesinado a millones de personas civiles

en guerras de agresión y mediante el

control de régimenes títeres de violencia

abierta. Ha asesinado aún a más gente

mediante la violencia diaria que implica

una explotación imperialista. Los

responsables por los ataques del 11 de

septiembre habían sido entrenados en

asuntos terroristas por EE.UU.; el

impacto de sus actos es sobrepasado por

el terrorismo a gran escala dirigido por

el imperialismo estadounidense.

EE.UU. está usando la guerra contra

el terrorismo como una excusa para

lanzar una guerra terrorista contra los

movimientos revolucionarios y los países

que se expresan a favor de la

independencia nacional. Un creciente

número de gente se indigna de que

EE.UU. pretenda asumir un papel de

vengador que actúa en el nombre de las

víctimas de los ataques de septiembre con

el fin de fomentas guerras imperialistas

y terrorismo de estado, y apoderarse de

recursos petrolíferos y otros recursos

naturales, campos de inversión, mercados

y lugares provechosos para

intervenciones militares.

P: ¿Cómo definiría Ud. el concepto de

terrorismo? ¿Cree que la definición del

terrorismo por parte de Bush es

consistente? ¿Cuál, en su opinión, es la

solución para el problema del terrorismo?

Sisón: El terrorismo consiste en hacer

amenazas intencionales y sistemáticas y

llevar a cabo actos con el fin de perjudicar

o destruir vidas y propiedades de la gente

más que nada. Para demostrar qué es el

terrorismo y cómo hacerle frente hay que

conocer los principios, las convenciones

y los estandars del respeto por los

derechos humanos bajo cualquier

condición, así como de la conducta

humanitaria hacia la gente civil y los

combatientes incapacitados bajo las

condiciones de la guerra.

Bush utiliza el terrorismo como una

excusa y un término abierto a

interpretación que sirve para la

persecución, represión e iniciativas

bélicas en contra de cualquiera que se

oponga al imperialismo estadounidense.

Utiliza dicha palabra para avivar la

histeria bélica y el fascismo dentro de

EE.UU. y en el resto del mundo y,

efectivamente, para poner en marcha la

máquina bélica, iniciar guerras de

agresión e instalar títeres cuyos

régimenes perpetran un terror abierto.

La solución al problema del terrorismo

consiste en la lucha militar decisiva del

proletariado y la gente contra el

imperialismo y toda la reacción. La única

manera de deshacerse del terrorismo es

deshacerse del imperialismo y conseguir

una liberación nacional, una democracia

y el socialismo. El imperialismo es el

superterrorismo y la fuente que estimula

la aparición de terroristas de menor

escala como Al Qaeda y el Abu Sayyaf.

P: En agosto Colin Powell también

calificó al Partido Comunista Filipino

(PCP) como una organización

"terrorista". Casi al mismo tiempo el

gobierno de Macapagal-Arroyo declaró

la guerra total contra el PCP,

supuestamente un nuevo "terrorista", al

declarar la derrota del grupo Abu Sayaaf.

Al igual, el gobierno de Nepal ha

denominado a los comunistas

encabezando la guerra popular en Nepal

como "terroristas" al tiempo de solicitar

ayuda militar a EE.UU., China y otros

países. ¿Podría comentar Ud. sobre la

diferencia entre una guerra popular y un

"terrorismo"?

Sisón: Una guerra popular es un

movimiento revolucionario del pueblo

cuyo fin consiste en conseguir una

liberación nacional y social. Es

diametricamente opuesta a la violencia

contrarevolucionaria del terrorismo

imperialista y el de los títeres

imperialistas. Las guerras imperialistas

de agresión y los régimenes represivos

de títeres sin duda dañan y destriyen las

vidas y las propiedades de la gente en

todo el mundo.

P: Según los últimos informes que

tenemos, el gobierno holandés ha

congelado su cuenta bancaria y ha

anulado sus subsidios alimenticios,

subsidios de vivienda, seguro médico,

etc. ¿Hay otras medidas punitivas-tanto

oficiales como no oficiales- que han sido

tomadas en su contra? Algunos miembros

del gobierno filipino le han amenazado

de una forma velada, por ejemplo,

aludiendo a la posibilidad de que su casa

sea asaltada o que Ud. sea deportado a

EE.UU. [Hasta hemos oído rumores no

confirmados sobre su supuesta

deportación a Guantánamo]. ¿Cuáles, en

su opinión, son las amenazas más graves

en su contra en este momento? ¿Qué se

podría hacer para afrontarlas?

Sisón: He tenido que enfrentar varias

amenazas cuya gravedad sobrepasa la de

congelar la pequeña cuenta conjunta que

tengo con mi esposa y liquidar los

beneficios sociales que me habían sido

El 13 de agosto, siguiendo la iniciativa

del gobierno estadounidense, el gobierno

de los Países Bajos hizo pública su

"Decisión judicial sobre el terrorismo

2002 III" criminalizando fuera del

proceso legal al refugiado político, el

profesor José María Sisón. Como

resultado de esta decisión, se congela la

cuenta bancaria del profesor Sisón, así

como se liquidan todos los subsidios

gubernamentales de vivienda, alimentos,

seguro médico y otras necesidades

básicas recibidos por Sisón conforme su

condición de un reconocido refugiado

político.(1)

El profesor Sisón ha estado viviendo

en exilio desde que el régimen de Aquino

canceló su pasaporte a base de unas

acusaciones falsas en 1988. Antes de este

suceso, a partir de 1977, Sisón había sido

encarcelado y torturado durante nueve

años por la dictadura de Marcos

respaldada por los EE.UU.

Anteriormente, los tribunales holandeses

habían confirmado su estatus de

refugiado y habían proporcionado a su

mujer e hijo auxilio político. Unos

miembros de las Fuerzas Armadas de las

Filipinas han conspirado para asesinar a

Sisón durante su residencia en los Países

Bajos.(2)

Actualmente el profesor Sisón es el

Consejero Superior del revolucionario

Frente Democrático Filipino (NDFP) que

está llevando a cabo negociaciones de paz

con el gobierno de la República Felipina

(GRP). Sisón fundó el Partido Comunista

Maoísta Filipino (PCP) en 1968. Tanto

los servicios de inteligencia filipinos e

yanquis como sus voceros aseguran sin

cualquier evidencia que Sisón aún

encabeza el PCP. Sin embargo, según la

declaración del PCP, el liderato colectivo

del Partido opera de una manera eficaz

en las bases reforzadas por la guerrilla

revolucionaria fuera del alcance

inmediato y travesuras de los EE.UU. y

las reaccionarias fuerzas armadas

locales".

Hace poco el Departamento de Estado

de los EE.UU. incorporó al PCP y al

Nuevo Ejército del Pueblo (NPA) en la

lista de "organizaciones terroristas

internacionales", instigando a que otros

gobiernos "tomen acción con el fin de

aislar a estas organizaciones terroristas,

estrangular sus fuentes de apoyo

financiero e impedir su movimiento a

través de fronteras internacionales".(1)

El 12 de agosto de 2002, el Departamento

Fiscal de los EE.UU. calificó al profesor

Sisón como un "terrorista" cuyos activos

deberían ser congelados. Al día siguiente,

el gobierno holandés aprobó la "Decisión

judicial sobre el terrorismo 2002 III". Las

aserciones estadounidenses sobre el

carácter "terrorista" del profesor Sisón y

el PCP no tienen ningún trasfondo. No

constituyen más que un intento burdo de

meterse en los asuntos internos de las

Filipinas y silenciar al profesor Sisón, un

crítico implacable del imperialismo

yanqui.

El Secretario de Justicia filipino ha

declarado que en las Filipinas no existe

ningún tipo de cargos criminales en

contra de Sisón. El NPA ha prometido

atenerse a la Convención de Ginebra. En

¡Defiendan los derechos democráticos de José María Sisón!

Entrevista con el profesor José María Sisón

continuado en la pagina 11 ...