MIM Notes ***

MIM Notes 277 · March 1, 2003 · Page 1

MIM Notes

March 1, 2003, Nº 277

The Official Newsletter of the Maoist Internationalist Movement (MIM)

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INSIDE: FBI v. Filipinos * More anti-war coverage * Una Página en Español...

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Uncounted

thousands

march in New

York City

Message gets out

despite police

obstructions

NEW YORK CITY

February 15

lthough MIM Notes attended the

demonstration against the war

with Iraq in New York City, we

have no idea how many people attended.

All that we know for certain is that it

spanned more city blocks than any rally

ever attended--thanks to police tactics

addressed in another story on this page.

Undoubtedly, the demonstration was one

of the largest in New York history. A

reasonable estimate would probably

require a satellite photo.

We handed out 2500 copies of the

February 15 MIM Notes. The crowd

reaction was quite favorable, many saying

"oh, good." One young womyn stopped

to look at the graphic of Bush speaking

and laughed.

One anti-communist passed by and said,

"Maoist? Oh great, Mao would have shot

us all." In actual fact, Mao (the leader of

China from 1949 to 1976) sponsored many

demonstrations of millions against U.S.

wars. While Huey Newton attended those

demonstrations in China, he said he felt

safe in front of police unlike the situation

in the united $tates.

Our critic tried to raise a counterfactual

situation. China under Mao never

occupied part of Iraqi airspace and

threatened it with war as part of getting

leverage over Iraq's oil resources and

Saudi Arabia. Thus there are two ways

to avoid having to repress anti-war

movements: one is to avoid the predatory

Anti-war

protestors jam

Hollywood

boulevard

lively MIM, RAIL and SLALA

contingent hit the anti-war march

down Hollywood boulevard in

Los Angeles February 15. Our literature

table often attracted crowds several

people deep, looking to pick up their copies

of MIM Notes and sign our petitions. Our

comrades' efforts garnered 200+

signatures supporting our demand that the

University of California divest from Israel,

and another 100+ signatures in support

of Philippine political refugee Jose Maria

Sison.(1) We also handed out 1200 copies

of MIM Notes, and the crowd could

easily have absorbed more.(2)

In a stellar example of the importance

of quality activism over quantity, one

interested onlooker pushed us over the

200 mark on UC Divest signatures for

the day by taking charge and gathering

signatures himself. After listening to

RAIL debate Israeli settlerism with some

Zionist critics, this persyn grabbed a

clipboard and circulated through the

crowd filling it with signatures. Activists

from the Women in Black, an organization

of Israeli and Jewish wimmin who oppose

the occupation of the West Bank and

Gaza, also asked for blank petitions they

could circulate and return to us. Two

Croatian peace activists with banners

reading "No Support for U.$. War, No

support for I$rael" spent time at our table

discussing Israeli atrocities in the occupied

territories.

Plenty of protesters MIM talked to said

the February march was their first, and

MIM is happy to see the anti-war forces

continuing to build momentum. The main

march and rally in LA drew probably

50,000 or 60,000, and area demonstrations

from San Diego to Ventura drew an

additional 10,000. LAPD estimates for the

January 11 and February 15 marches

were 5,000 and 30,000; organizer

estimates were 15,000 and 100,000 for

the two events respectively.(3)

The number of new demonstrators who

came out in February means that there is

no shortage of work for revolutionaries

to do in getting our analysis of events out

to more people. The fact that two-thirds

of Amerikans support a war against Iraq

MANHATTAN

February 15

The major bourgeois media incorrectly

reported police tactics at the February

15th rally against war with Iraq in New

York City.

The police started by blocking off exits

between blocks ranging from the 40s to

the 60s so that people on the east side

highway called FDR Drive could not

approach the demonstration. Hence all

day long marchers streamed in from far

southern and northern reaches of

Manhattan toward the middle in the 40s

and 50s.

By closing the FDR exits and the north-

south avenues, the police had the effect

of angering travelers while spreading out

the demonstration into so many city

blocks as to make the demonstration

uncountable. In the experience of this

reporter, there has never been a

demonstration covering more city blocks.

The Associated Press incorrectly

reported: "City police provided no

MILLIONS MARCH AGAINST THE WAR

Media misreports police tactics

New York Police intentionally jam,

then spread out demonstrators

estimate of the

crowd, which

stretched 20

blocks deep and

two blocks

wide."(1) That

must have been

the view from

the royal

carriage. AP

should send some more people into the

streets to get a closer look. It's a lot easier

to quote some police bureaucrat sitting in

an office than to send several people into

more than one hundred city blocks for

several hours.

The New York Times correctly

reported: "crowds ... filled the avenue

from 49th Street to 72nd Street and spilled

over into side streets and to Second, Third

and Lexington Avenues, where thousands

more were halted at police barricades, far

from the sights and sounds of the

demonstration."(2) In fact, demonstrators

also streamed the whole length of 1st

Avenue south of the UN.

Originally activists planned the rally for

1st Avenue, but the City government

stigmatized the demonstrators by saying

they could not prevent such a large crowd

from attacking the UN building.(3) In

connection to this, the actual tactics of

the police were to create chokepoints by

closing 1st Avenue except for themselves.

Then they used "one-way valve" tactics

by allowing demonstrators to go to 2nd,

3rd and Lexington but not the other way

around.

One exception was at a checkpoint near

the UN on First Avenue. Police let in a

man draped in a Zionist flag. Later, horse-

mounted police singled out those waving

Palestinian flags for attack.

The New York Post reported attacks

Continued on page 7...

Continued on page 8...

The L.A. march (MIM photo).

MIM Notes 277 · March 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

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documents, reviews, and much more. Send $7.50 to the
address on page 2.

MIM Notes

The Official Newsletter of The Maoist Internationalist Movement

ISSN 1540-8817

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

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:

MIM

P.O. Box 29670

Los Angeles, CA 90029-0670

eMail: <mim@mim.org>

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

Know your enemy

The principal contradiction in this

country is clearly between imperialism

and the oppressed internal nations, gangs,
cliques, folks, peoples, brothers, sisters,

cousins: brotherhoods as well as

sisterhoods formed in our hoods in North
America to make a change for the better

and stand against those in their way.

Many of us have realized it is the system
of the government, yet fail to face it and

take what is rightfully ours. Instead we

choose to step on others who have formed
for the same reasons we have, thus

becoming miniature forms of this beast

that continues to profit from our blood,
sweat and tears. North America is the

leading imperialist country in the world

who manipulates its currency to predict
and control all other capitalist countries.

So I challenge everyone representing

in unity for a change to truly guide their
hoods along the path that the Maoist

Internationalist Movement is presenting

as a form that will truly bring about
change for the better and an

understanding of the real cause of our

misery which brought us together in the
first place.

Mao Zedong clarified what transpires

every now and then when he stated,
"When imperialism launches a war of

aggression against a country, all its various

classes, except for some traitors, can
temporarily unite in a country's war

against imperialism. At such a time, the

contradiction between imperialism and the
country concerned becomes the principle

contradiction, while all other

contradictions among the various classes
of the country- are temporarily relegated

to a secondary or subordinate position."

Let us put the differences to the side

amongst us, like when imprisoned

representing, yet respecting each others'

space and realizing the prison
administration, like this country's system

is the true enemy.

Like demonstrated during many rallies

in society against acquittals of murderous

or abusive pigs, or the attempt to

implement more laws that further
oppress, exploit and enslave us all. If it

can bring unity for and on those occasions,

then this shall maintain that unity under
this movement.

I am definitely not calling upon any

section in the hood to cross flags, drop
flags or false flag, but to lift their flags

even higher for the cause of making a

change for the better with the guidance
that the Maoist Internationalist Movement

is providing through further educating to

better elevate and combat the beast that
imperialism and capitalism represents.

Therefore, understand that unless

you've studied within the system and
experienced the truth with each of your

senses. It is unlikely that you see this

country's plan to keep us divided and
distracted by waging war against one

another over things it can easily provide

to all of us if it was truly based on

freedom, justice and equality.

That sweet american pie, that's rotten

to its core. Let's wrap this up-

demonstrate your nation, gang, clique,

brotherhood or sisterhood by representing
not against each other but against what

created and maintains our differences;

this government of the united snakes
which must be held accountable for so

much bloodshed, hardship, and sorrow we

have been imposing blindly upon one
another.

Not no more, let's obtain knowledge

from the MIM and unite with its common
cause. Let's place our mark in this world

and truly be apart of history for the sake

of our loved ones of the future.

Contact the Maoist Internationalist

Movement and get involved in the cause

against what causes us so much
obstacles we face in our daily struggles.

--A New York Prisoner, January 2003

MIM Notes 277 · March 1, 2003 · Page 3

In late January the FBI sent an agent

to the home of a Filipino activist in the

Bay Area. Although the incident did not

result in arrest, this is just a small example

of the reactionary Patriot Act and other

"homeland security" measures that are

meant to bolster imperialism at home while

it attacks Third World peoples around the

world. At a press conference February 7

the Filipino activist issued a statement

which read in part:

"On the evening of Thursday, January

30, 2003 Special Agent William Root from

the FBI's Joint Terrorism Division came

to my house seeking information on

connections with Muslim extremists

groups in the Southern Philippines.

"As a community and peace activist, I

was aware that I did not have to provide

any information to the FBI agent. I knew

that my democratic rights were being

violated in my own home where I am

supposed to feel safe and secure. But

the element of surprise and the fact that

I have nothing to hide led to my full

cooperation in stepping outside and

answering questions as he requested.

"He asked me if I was born in

Mindanao and if I was Muslim. He asked

me if I had connections with extremist

groups in the Southern Philippines with

alleged links to the Al-Qaeda network. He

asked me if I was an American citizen

and if I was anti-American as he looked

over documents that the FBI had

researched on my background. He even

mentioned the fact that I have no criminal

record.

"I asked the agent what were the

reasons for this visit and he said that I

was among thousands of `tips' that the

FBI receives everyday since the 9/11

tragedy and I was chosen for further

investigation. Although he left without

incident, it was clear that the FBI wanted

to send a chilling message that "big

brother is watching" not just to me, but a

rapidly growing peace movement of

countless individuals, groups and alliances

who share a popular peoples sentiment

against the looming war in Iraq, the

Middle East, the Philippines and around

the world.

"The targeting of myself and other

peace activist are just the first in a

paranoid wave of racist federal programs

that are spending billions of taxpayer

dollars on so-called national security.

Intimidating peace activists in their

FBI harasses Filipino activist

A comrade claiming to be from the

Communist Party of India(M-L) has

written MIM repeatedly to assure us that

the pro-Lin Biao web page on the Internet

is genuine.(1) The problem involved nicely

demonstrates some security difficulties in

doing our work.

Recently two people approached MIM

under false pretenses asking for help

infiltrating an organization conducting

People's War. MIM brushes off most

such attempts with little difficulty.

Something we all have to understand is

that the enemy does not come out and

say "we are using a disguise"!

Most people in our camp do not think

through this and the logic of the struggle

it implies. We call it a matter of steering

between Liberalism (naivete) and

sectarianism. Fortunately, there is much

less trade-off than the bourgeoisie would

think. We can have both our security and

our non-sectarian approach.

To mention just two more recent

events, a member of the ruling class of a

Latin American country recently wrote

us to support Comrade Gonzalo in Peru.

He thought we were unaware of his other

activities, but he was wrong.

Of course, MIM has already written

about the Zionist hacker sending death

threats and provocations around the

Internet. In another example, MIM finds

itself the interest of police in Nepal. Yet

again, no one announces: we are police

from Nepal investigating what you are

doing!

There are two possible errors. One is

that we fail to work with people who are

genuine, because we suspect they are not

genuine. Two is that we work with

infiltrators and compromise security,

sometimes not even just in North America.

The bourgeois approach is to collect

dossiers on people and then decide

whether to "trust" them. Because we are

proletarian scientists, we ask instead "what

do we need to get done and can it be done

without `trust'"? If not, can we reorganize

the work so it can be done without "trust"

or individual hand-holding.

Those who are genuine must

understand: MIM does not answer pig

questions. It does not matter who you are.

If the question could be asked by a pig,

we don't answer it. In fact, if someone

answers it, it may not be a MIM member.

MIM also does not sponsor "revolutionary

tourism." People carrying MIM papers

or saying they are MIM members do not

have to be believed. MIM's line stands

or falls on its own merits independent of

the persyn claiming to uphold the MIM

line.

That does not mean we won't work

with people--even spies and infiltrators.

If you are actually proposing or assisting

us in work that can be done at arm's

length, then we should get along. If we

are not getting work off the ground with

you, it would be because we are too small

`Working together at arm's-length'

Indian subcontinent demonstrates security hurdles for communists

By a member of the

Revolutionary Anti-Imperialist

League (RAIL)

University of California at Los Angeles;

Wednesday February 5, 2003--Close to

1000 students, activists and professors

gathered at UCLA's Ackermann Grand

Ballroom for an anti war teach-in

sponsored by the student organization

"Speak Out!" The speakers were

Barbara Johns from Voices in the

Wilderness, Howard Zinn and Noam

Chomsky, the latter two present via

telephone.

As the teach-in got underway a few

pro-war protesters seized the stage with

signs that read: "Finish the Job!" and "No

war = No peace." They hardly resisted

the efforts of the organizers to remove

them and eventually slouched quietly on

the ground for the remainder of the-teach

in.

RAIL is pleased to report that Speak

Out! made overall correct claims about

imperialism, puppet governments and

Third World dictators like Saddam

Hussein. The emcee listed the top

imperialist State Department reasons for

war and divided them into half-truths and

outright lies. The half-truths were that

Saddam Hussein is a brutal dictator and

that Iraq has connections to Al-Qaida.

He correctly exposed the missing half of

the story that the United $tates has

historically supported the world's most

brutal dictators and was also the principal

supporter of Al-Qaida against the social-

imperialist Soviet Union's occupation of

Afghanistan. The outright lies were that

the United $tates harbors a profound

care for the people of Iraq--something

which doesn't square with daily U.$.

bombings of Iraq and barbaric U.$.-

supported sanctions which kill tens of

thousands of Iraqis each year. Another

outright lie is that the United $tates is

committed to the principle of stopping the

spread of weapons of mass destruction

(WMD). Even if the U.N. finds evidence

of WMD in Iraq, it was the United $tates

which sold these arms to Iraq in the first

place and hence bears principal

responsibility for making Iraq WMD-

capable.(6)

While Speak Out! did a good job

bringing some of the basic facts about

the impending war to UCLA students, it

still made some pragmatist, bourgeois-

democratic mistakes. For example, the

flyer they distributed carried the headline

"No war! That is what the majority says."

This contradicts polls which consistently

show that a majority of Amerikans support

a U.N.-endorsed war. A Speak Out!

member at first claimed that this showed

the strength of U.$. anti-war forces, but

later conceded that the U.N. would either

rubber stamp the war or be powerless to

stop it.

Generally Speak Out! chose its

arguments so they had broad appeal for

Amerikans--to the detriment of their

effectiveness. As we wrote in the last

issue of MIM Notes, what matters is that

we achieve the goals we have--peace.

If Amerikkkans are not ready to hear it, it

does not mean we can afford to dump

the goal!

Another example: Speak Out! argued

that an attack on Iraq is also an attack on

"us"--meaning Amerikans. The emcee

said that the principal reason for opposing

the U.$. war is that it is not in "our"

interests, which he cited as free health

care for Amerikans, low university tuition

and employment. This is another one of

those cases where Amerikans fantasize

about how bad things are in the U.$. and

how they can only get worse while failing

to grasp that imperialist war is the source

of the perks and comforts everyone,

including the poorest people in the United

$tates get to enjoy. This means things like

universities that don't get bombed by U.$.

manufactured weapons, hospitals (free or

otherwise) which are not bulldozed by

U.$. supported rogue states, high paying

jobs (most people on earth live on less

than $2.00 per day) and an employment-

ensuring militarized border to seal the

whole deal.

The first speaker was Barbara Johns

from Voices in the Wilderness, an

organization that struggles to end the

U.$.-imposed sanctions on Iraq by

documenting the effects that these

sanctions have on living conditions in Iraq.

She began by pledging her allegiance to

the unfortunate philosophy of moral

relativism which does not believe in truth

and consequently does not believe that

anything can be right or wrong. It's odd

that in spite of this ideology Barbara Johns

is out addressing a crowd of anti-war

activists and students. Opposing

Hundreds of students turn out to hear anti-war speakers

Continued on page 9...

Continued on page 8...

Continued on page 5...

MIM Notes 277 · March 1, 2003 · Page 4

Did you know?

There are more than

200 back issues of

MIM Notes available

on the MIM website?

Not only can you

browse more than 15

years of the

newspaper, you can

also keep up with the

very latest on MIM

agitation campaigns,

prisoner news, all the

latest on the U$ war,

and much more. MIM's

website is an

indispensable tool for

the revolutionary

movement. Get

involved!

www.etext.org/

Politics/MIM

by PIRAO Chief

February 1, 2003

January 2003 ended up having an

operational plan that would make it by

far the biggest month in MIM history in

all combined public opinion building.

Thanks to some breakdowns in the plan

regarding things being done for the first

time, January 2003 ended up being only a

record month, not a real breakthrough

type of month. On the plus side, the many

decent people demonstrating against the

war in Iraq boosted our circulation beyond

what was in the plan.

One thing I would point out about Table

1 is that it shows that almost 100 pages

went out to the public every single hour

of every day on average. Because I was

not happy with my report for last month,

I did some more research this month on

the question of slowing readership growth.

I'm still in the process of looking at some

leads into the question, to see if there is

something very basic that I am missing

from the picture. At the very least, I

thought this month I would break down

the results more to see if there were some

departments that were growing better

than 100% while others lagged. So for

the first time, we break down departments

into "movers & shakers," "pulling their

weight" and "laggards" (see Table 2).

In effect, some departments of the web

page are not growing anymore, because

there is not much development interest in

them. Other departments like Chinese

have done a stupendous job developing

but suffered a sudden loss of interest a

few months ago for reasons that are not

entirely clear but which must involve

someone with a great deal of social,

economic or political power somewhere.

This month I will take credit in two

areas where I have recently taken some

lumps. Our prison circulation is back on

track and in many ways doing better than

ever before. Though uneven, our print

circulation is also at record levels. We

are definitely back to the problem of not

having enough money instead of having

circulation bottlenecks and that's the way

it should be. I suspect some of January's

gains will not show up in statistics until

February.

January was a big month in terms of

proving to our web page developers their

effectiveness; even though overall growth

figures would not seem to prove it. While

Table 1. Summary statistics comparing January 2002 and January 2003

Statistic

January, 2002

January, 2003

% change

Number of different computers MIM served

15,388

23,536

+53%

Avg. MIM pages served per day

1,614

2,271*

+40.7%

MIM data transferred

2.285 Gb

7.148 Gb

+213%

MIM Notes printed copies compared with pre-911 (%)

+111%

MIM prison circulation averaged over two months compared with year earlier

-25%

Number of different MIM web page files actively chosen from

3,732

4,496

+20.5%

Amazon visitors sent from web page

163

273

+67.5%

NOTE: Starting with this report, we are not counting pages taken by search engines (robots), because they are taken more and more

often with more and more robots. This will result in an underestimation in the growth in pages taken per day.

Table 2. Web traffic broken down by department

Department

Jan. 2002 users

Jan. 2003 users

% change

Movers & shakers
Japanese

N/A

Korean

N/A

Vietnamese

N/A

About MIM

1,402

2,997

+114%

Bookstore

794

2,031

+158%

FAQ

817

1,763

+116%

Movies

308

1,718

+458%

RAIL

464

933

+101%

Notas Rojas (Spanish)

354

918

+159%

Agitation (campaigns)

388

904

+133%

Departments pulling their weight
MIM Theory

893

1,540

+72%

California

487

806

+66%

Contemporary Controversies page353

621

+76%

German

128

224

+75%

Finnish

130

212

+63%

Study packs

114

+97%

Laggards
MIM Notes

3,738

3,755

Art

2,078

2,954

+42%

Black Panther Page

2,273

2,659

+17%

Massachusetts

1,125

1,485

+32%

Under Lock & Key

834

1,204

+44%

French

605

726

+20%

Washington, DC

477

722

+51%

Chinese

839

651

-22%

Classic quotes department

353

563

+59%

Maoist Sojourner

203

293

+44%

Russian

136

212

+56%

PIRAO

103

153

+49%

Polish

-5%

Table 3. Top five movie reviews

Movie review

Requests

Spiderman

333

Lord of the Rings: II

250

Matrix

141

Black Hawk

118

Bugs Life

100

I was uploading a movie review--before

it had been done and advertised in

"What's New," someone read it,

reviewed it on his web page and criticized

it for spelling errors present in one version

but not the final version up on the web

page. That's how closely people are

watching the movie reviews page (see

Table 3).

I was also in the position to put up a

document that didn't seem particularly

special that quickly received over 800 hits.

Seeing things like that happen make it

difficult to turn away from web

development work. The fact that the

impact of developers can be seen should

remind us that our growth figures are

relative to ourselves--relative to our own

past development efforts. It's not that we

are having no impact, but to grow we have

to surpass what we ourselves did before.

Web traffic broken down by department

The above table counts the languages

all the same way, based on number of

visitors. It reveals that Spanish is now

language number two, French third and

Chinese fourth for our web page.

Central task report:

January, 2003

Militarism is war-mongering or the

advocacy of war or actual carrying out

of war or its preparations.

While true pacifists condemn all

violence as equally repugnant, we

Maoists do not consider self-defense

or the violence of oppressed nations

against imperialism to be militarism.

Militarism is mostly caused by

imperialism at this time. Imperialism

is the highest stage of capitalism--

seen in countries like the United

$tates, England and France.

Under capitalism, capitalists often

profit from war or its preparations.

Yet, it is the proletariat that does the

dying in the wars. The proletariat

wants a system in which people do not

have self-interest on the side of war-

profiteering or war for imperialism.

Militarism is one of the most

important reasons to overthrow

capitalism. It even infects oppressed

nations and causes them to fight each

other.

It is important not to let capitalists

risk our lives in their ideas about war

and peace or the environment. They

have already had two world wars

admitted by themselves in the last 100

years and they are conducting a third

right now against the Third World.

Even a one percent annual chance of

nuclear war destruction caused by

capitalist aggressiveness or "greed" as

the people call it should not be tolerated

by the proletariat. After playing

Russian Roulette (in which the bullet

chamber is different each time and not

related at all to the one that came up in

previous spins) with 100 chambers and

one bullet, the chance of survival is

only 60.5% after 50 turns. In other

words, a seemingly small one percent

annual chance of world war means

eventual doom. After 100 years or turns

of Russian Roulette, the chances of

survival are only 36.6%. After 200

years, survival has only a 13.4%

chance.

What is militarism?

MIM Notes 277 · March 1, 2003 · Page 5

imperialist war isn't a popularity contest.

In the struggle for a long and lasting peace

worldwide one should expect to make

both enemies and allies along lines that

divide. In a clear example of what wishy-

washy ideology gets you, her self-

contradictory position led her to encourage

the crowd to "welcome" the pro-war

activists as "humyn beings" and not as

people who support the use of weapons

of mass destruction to achieve the death

of Iraqis. The crowd cheered.

The politically watered down blanket

term "humynity" was a big deal to the

first speaker. She went on about the

"dehumynization" of society by the

imperialist mass media which creates

war-mongers like Madeline Albright and

Colin Powell. Because humynity comes

in classes of oppressors and the

oppressed we don't speak of it in the

abstract. Albright and Powell represent

a class in whose interest it is to carry out

war. The mass media represents that

same class and is therefore uncritical of

it.

After winning encouragement for the

pro-war activists and their "humynity"

Johns talked about her recent trip to Iraq

where she came to realize that the U.$.

war against Iraq has continued for 12

years with daily bombings and sanctions.

As a consequence of this ongoing war

there are few hospitals or universities in

Iraq. She says that for the first time in

her life she witnessed many children

dying, of cancer in particular.

Chemotherapy is non-existent in Iraq as

U.$.-supported sanctions prohibit the

manufacture or import of anything

associated with this potentially life-saving

treatment. The major preventable

diseases in Iraq responsible for the death

of thousands are radiation poisoning

(from living in a land littered with U.$.

bombs), cholera and typhoid. There are

not enough hospitals to admit the countless

victims of the ongoing U.$. war.

Johns claimed that Iraqis lack "the

ability to organize politically" and said,

"we are lucky to live in the United States

and should be grateful." But as MIM has

said: this is a fantasy. There is no statistic

in any country that compares to U.$.

imprisonment of Black people (1) and

MIM has to constantly fight against the

U.$. "freedom of censorship" (2) to

distribute MIM Notes and organize

prisoners.(3) Of all the speakers Johns

was the least scientific.

The next speaker was Howard Zinn

whose short talk could be favorably

summarized as "Don't believe U.$. lies

about war. The real reason for a war

against Iraq is oil." Zinn correctly pointed

out that the United $tates is the country

with the most weapons of mass

destruction and noted that the United

$tates is determined to concoct

"evidence" for why war is needed.

He did not develop the line about a U.$.

war for oil but said instead that he believes

that the principal danger to world peace

does not lie with Saddam Hussein but

Hundreds of students turn out to hear anti-war speakers

with George Bush. According to Zinn

war is useful for the Bush administration

to deflect attention from what he calls an

"attack against national wealth" and a

"crime against the Amerikan people."

Teaming up with Speak Out! Zinn thinks

that environmental degradation in the

United $tates, health care, education,

housing and hospitals are the real issues

being ignored by the Bush administration.

This tag-team of speakers suffers from

thinking that the main problem with war

is ignoring Amerikan concerns but only

internationalism can bring the fact that

the problem is U.$. expansion and

imperialism.

The problem of getting hung-up on

Amerikan concerns is closely followed

by the problem of getting hung up on

individual Amerikan leaders and ignoring

the systematic nature of imperialism and

the economic and political reasons

underlying all wars. George Bush is an

imperialist, but so is Gore and any other

politician in Amerika who supports the

continued exploitation and oppression of

other peoples under the illusion of

protecting Amerika's "national wealth."

Howard Zinn's glimmer of hope for

stopping the war is the fact that people

all over the world are opposed to the war

and "the common sense and sense of

decency of the Amerikan people." RAIL

is glad to see millions of people all over

the world protesting the U.$. war, but

Amerikan "common decency" gets you

37% of Amerikans who support war

without U.N. approval and the 30% who

want to see war start soon. The 63% who

want to see war only after U.N.

inspections is not a consoling "glimmer

of hope."

Noam Chomsky was only available for

a question and answer period. It went like

this (paraphrasing):

Q: Why is the U.$. government going

to war?

A: Weapons of mass destruction are

not the reason. The people in power now

in are the same people who sold the

weapons to Saddam Hussein. Also, if the

United $tates takes over Iraq weapons

production in Iraq will increase at least to

levels matching the armories of

neighboring states--especially I$rael.

Chomsky noted that war on Iraq, by

the admission of the U.$. military will

result in the proliferation of WMD, their

use and terrorism in the U.$.

Q: Why did Colin Powell not mention

Osama Bin Laden in his morning address

to the U.N. Security Council? What about

the Al-Qaida-Iraq connection?

A: He didn't mention it because it is an

embarrassment. As far as Al-Qaida and

Iraq, there are radical Islamic groups in

the Southern border of Iraq. But these

groups are opposed to Saddam Hussein.

The Iraqi government "tolerates" them

because it doesn't have the power to do

otherwise.

Q: How will the United $tates justify

this war? Will the international community

intervene?

A: The United $tates will not try to

justify the war. They will invoke

overwhelming military force. It is

extremely unlikely that anyone in the U.N.

will oppose the United $tates--people

throughout the world fear the United

$tates and the United $tates wants it this

way.

According to Chomsky Donald

Rumsfeld summed up the U.$. attitude

towards war and the international

community when he divided the world into

"Old Europe" consisting of Germany and

France who have qualms about a U.$.

war against Iraq and the "New Europe"

of Italy and Spain that show overwhelming

support for war. Rumsfeld said that the

"Old Europe" is irrelevant.

Rumsfeld is simply recognizing that

world imperialists are butting heads on

the re-division of the world. On the

question of U.$.-inspired fear we refer

to Mao Zedong who says that all

reactionaries are paper tigers. "In

appearance, the reactionaries are

terrifying, but in reality they are not so

powerful. From a long-term point of view,

it is not the reactionaries but the people

who are really powerful." (5) Peace-

minded people in the first world have to

realize that it is not the U.N. but the

overwhelming majority of people of the

world that have a fearless desire to

overthrow world imperialism altogether.

Q: Are pre-emptive strikes a shift or

continuation of U.$. foreign policy?

A: Let's clear up the terminology. "Pre-

emptive" is used by the government as a

synonym for "preventive." No strike can

be pre-emptive or preventive. It is a shift

in form of degree, but an extension of

past practice to a higher-more explicit

degree.

We agree with this. The luminaries in

power in the U.$. think that "if we hit

them before they hit us then they won't

hit us again." This is not nor has it ever

been true so long as there is injustice and

exploitation throughout the world. World

imperialists like the U.$. have been

waging WWIII against the world and on

September 11, 2001 they got hit. No

amount of carpet bombing and pre-

emptive attack strategies short of nuclear

annihilation can prevent the oppressed

from fighting back.

It is great that Speak Out! was able to

draw many people new to politics to this

teach-in. RAIL and SLALA handed out

MIM Notes after the teach-in. We think

that as people become involved in the anti-

war movement in the U.$. it is important

to argue for the revolutionary anti-

imperialist position, because that is the

historically-tested most effective way of

stopping imperialist wars and ending the

oppression they perpetuate.

Notes:
1.http://www.prisoncensorship.info/archive/etext/faq/
freecoun.html
2. "Google Pulls Plug on MIM Ads" MIM
Notes No. 247, January 15, 2003. http://
www.prisoncensorship.info/archive/etext/mn/mn274.pdf
3. http://www.prisoncensorship.info/archive/etext/agitation/
prisons/censor/
4. http://www.buzzflash.com/contributors/2002/
10/21_Polls.html
5. "Talk with the American Correspondent
Anna Louise Strong" (August 1946), Selected
Works, Vol. IV, p. 100. (http://art-bin.com/art/
omao6.html)
6. See e.g. "Bush's `State of Union' old news,"
MIM Notes 276, 15 Feb 2002.

Students were among those protesting the war in L.A. on February 15; see

banner from Cal State L.A. (MIM photo).

Continued from page 3...

MIM Notes 277 · March 1, 2003 · Page 6

Two University of Massachusetts

Amherst wimmin attempted to walk into

New York City's Times Square on

February 15th with paper signs opposing

war with Iraq written in magic marker,

but police turned them away by force. In

the minutes immediately before and after

6pm, MIM Notes witnessed police forced

some demonstrators to throw away paper

signs from the protest to be admitted into

the Times Square area.

The two University of Massachusetts

students kept their posters while arguing

with police: "what happened to my free

speech?" one asked. "I just want to go to

the restaurant. . . Don't you want us to

spend our money here?," said one of the

students. Officer Pascal (white male,

badge 5448) said, "do you know how

much you cost New York today?"

In this way, New York City tried to

blame protesters for the City's

overreaction that resulted in hiring 5,000

police to handle the demonstration. "More

than 5,000 on-duty cops, who used

radiation detectors and bomb-sniffing

dogs, were assigned to control the rally

participants."(1)

The Mayor arranged for 5000 police to

come out in order to stigmatize the

protesters as the worst pack of criminals

yet seen in New York. That is the mayor's

fault, not the protesters'. The last time

the City spent that much money mobilizing

police was in November 2001 "when

American Airline 587 crashed in the

Rockaways."(2)

Standing at 42nd and Times Square,

next to metal gates on the sidewalks,

With world-famous corporate neon signs blaring overhead,

police enforce `no protest signs' rule in Times Square

police told the protesters: "you have a

choice: either get rid of the sign or go in

another direction." The menacing officer

Pascal seemed to be in charge and

accused protestors of "blocking the

sidewalk"--even as they stood to the side

of the metal gate the police had made

which was truly blocking the sidewalk.

Black male officer Williams (badge 7949)

was there assisting as was another black

male officer and at least one womyn

officer.

Earlier in the day, police stopped

protesters on 1st Ave. for the slightest of

sticks attached to their signs. Police

determined that people would not be able

to hold up a sign on a stick of any kind. It

was the first sign of intimidation tactics

as demonstrators arrived.

Yet, in Times Square, the tactics were

different. The two wimmin were carrying

paper signs and there was no

demonstration at that moment to attend

anyway, so the officers' request

amounted to asking the wimmin to throw

away their signs before they could have

dinner in Times Square. When confronted

that stopping the wimmin for paper signs

was not the regulation, the officers had

nothing to say specifically, but they

continued to form a wall of officers

around the two wimmin to push them out.

Notes:

1. http://www.nypost.com/news/

regionalnews/54539.htm

2. http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/

1 6 / i n t e r n a t i o n a l /

16RALL.html?pagewanted=2

MANHATTAN, February 15

Organizers of various groups passed out

leaflets at the demonstration to prepare

people for the weeks ahead. It is clear

that some of the most active organizers

are going to try to give the movement a

labor component by organizing a U.$-wide

walk-out either March 1, March 5 or the

day after the invasion of Iraq starts.

Amerika's rulers are in a "bipartisan"

pinch because the Democrats voted for

the Iraq War along with the Republicans.

This cleared away the usual lies that the

Democrats are the hope of progressive

people, who might for example have a

slight bit of conscience about killing others

for oil. Such a conscience must arise

globally and quickly for the humyn species

to survive: that is not a moral statement

but a scientific one subject to scrutiny.

It's either true or not that killing for

exploitation will bring about the species'

demise if it continues. The fascists argued

in contrast that they could kill off whole

peoples entirely and leave only the master

race--and then there would be peace

(even though the fascists thought war

was the highest expression of humyn

nobility). The bipartisan approach in the

united $tates has created a relatively clear

opening for radical internationalists--

people who know the political system

offers no real choices and who also value

the lives of other peoples in the world

equally.

Apart from the civil libertarian material

about control of the streets and

demonstrations, the most common

material on the streets was either religious

or self-proclaimed "socialist." We

disagree with all the "socialist" groups,

but we would like to point out those areas

where we agree in this article.

U.S.M.L.O.: for non-intervention,

global economic cooperation

The former Hoxhaites of the "U.S.

Marxist-Leninist Organization" handed

out a leaflet. We like their program as

part of a real solution to the problems of

terrorism and war: "1) Outlaw any and

all U.S. involvement in wars of aggression

and use of force in settling conflicts

between nations and peoples; 2) No U.S.

Troops Abroad; 3) Cancel the Debts of

all the countries of Asia, Africa & Latin

America; 4) Pay Reparations Now for

all the crimes of the U.S. government,

present and past; and 5) End all support

for Israel and act to end the occupation

of Palestine now, beginning with

withdrawal to the 1967 borders." Those

indeed would be some good steps to

undercut the causes of war and terrorism.

We also appreciate the USMLO's

printed support for the Lackwanna Six,

which is a court case trumped up out of

almost nothing to make it appear there

was a big anti-terrorism bust in the

Buffalo area. It created the appearance

that Ashcroft was "doing something"

about terrorism, but it was actually

nothing.

Free Society Collective of Central

Vermont: against patriotism

We also agree with the entire pamphlet

from the anarchist "Free Society

Collective of Central Vermont" except for

the last two paragraphs. The pamphlet

attacks using patriotism in the peace

movement. Many people at the rallies

"wrap themselves in the flag" and chant

"peace is patriotic."

If patriotism is doing what is good for

one's people, then there is some possibility

for an argument and agreement with us

internationalists. Usually in the imperialist

countries the meaning of the word

"patriotism" is to put one's own nation

ahead of others. In today's world of

evermore sophisticated weapons but ever

closer economic integration, putting one's

nation ahead of others is going to result

in species destruction. That is what is

happening.

Saddam Hussein obtained chemical

weapons in the united $tates, because the

united $tates was putting itself first.

Likewise, Osama Bin-Laden received

U.$. military and technical aid in the 1980s

because the patriots put Amerikkka first.

Patriotism is something that belongs in the

"what goes around comes around"

category. Christians calling for the golden

rule should understand that almost all the

war politics of the Bush administration

do not abide even by the simple golden

rule. Patriotism can only bite you in the

butt when you don't expect it and the

consequences get more dangerous with

every passing year, even in the most stable

imperialist countries.

Progressive Labor Party: against

UN-sanctioned war

The Progressive Labor Party correctly

attacked the liberals and UN-backers

who simply want a larger coalition to

attack Iraq: "Kennedy & Co., in fact,

want to hit Iraq with as large and as

deadly a coalition as possible. This is

basically the line of many in the leadership

of the anti-war movement and of the

leading Presidential candidates of the

Democratic Party. . . ."

Those calling for delay of war or

coalition may march with us for now, but

they are long-term enemies. As PLP says,

"Our job as this struggle unfolds is not to

march over a cliff under the leadership

of our enemies but rather to grow as a

revolutionary political force independent

of all bosses" (Challenge, "Organize to

Smash Cause of War: Capitalism").

Workers World Party

The neo-Trotskyist Workers World

Party has some of the most experienced

rally organizers of the major cities. We

are not saying a general strike is going to

work, but we cannot disagree with the

idea of staying away from school and

work the day after the existing war in

Iraq intensifies. "To ensure no business

as usual, a countrywide `walkout and

stay-away' is called for the morning

after... Plans for protests at noon and at

5 p.m. that day are already taking shape

in many cities" (Workers World, 20 Feb

2003).

We applaud all struggles against the

war.

Socialist Alternative

"The Democrats are no answer. they

have consistently supported Bush's war

aims (despite a few half-waverers), and

they are in the back pocket of the

corporations. The Democrats supported

the USA PATRIOT act which strips

away the civil liberties of ordinary

Americans. . . The anti-war movement

and the labor movement need to break

all ties with the Democratic Party"

(Justice, February 2003).

Socialist Equality Party

"Whether or not the US has the official

sanction of the United Nations when it

attacks Iraq will not alter the imperialist

nature of this war. Far from representing

the `world community' the UN

constitutes--like the World Bank, the

International Monetary Fund and other

international institutions-- a tool of the

imperialist powers."

MIM would only add that it could not

be otherwise with the United $tates

always late in dues payments and

constantly setting new terms for

continued UN participation. Only a joint

dictatorship of the proletariat of the

oppressed nations over imperialism could

find the financial resources to establish a

reconstituted UN on an internationalist

basis, a basis of cooperation of the world's

peoples on equal terms.

MIM does not agree with any of the

above organizations. MIM handed out 12-

page papers at the rally that were larger

than any of the above explaining our

views and pointing to our own web page.

We stress for our readers that politics is

a matter of science. Good intentions are

not enough. People who want to end war

need to demonstrate, but they also need

to study thoroughly to advance their

Organizers get out message,

prepare to step up power struggle

Continued on next page...

MIM Notes 277 · March 1, 2003 · Page 7

political consciousness and scientific

understanding so that they put into action

an effective end to war, not just some

slogans.

Yes, we need to complain about the

totally apathetic people who are doing

nothing, but amongst those of us already

doing something against the war, we need

to raise the quality of our consciousness.

The combined Democratic and

Republican parties do not have as many

activists as marched in New York City.

If the New York activists advance

themselves enough, they alone--not even

to mention the other anti-war activists in

other cities demonstrating that day--

could defeat both the Republicans and

Democrats.

wars that cause the demonstrations to

begin with, which was Mao's solution, the

solution of socialism to remove most of

the economic causes of war. The other

is the approach that the united $tates uses,

which is to say it does not repress anyone

when it in fact does.

On the way up First Ave.,

demonstrators chanted "This is what

democracy looks like" at intersections

especially choked by police. Some

demonstrators carried a black- painted

coffin with the words "democracy" and

"free speech" on the side.

Throughout the day, demonstrators

chanted slogans that the streets are theirs,

and implicitly not the city government's.

There were countless confrontations

between police and demonstrators. No

one arriving at the demonstration had a

clear picture of how to arrive at the rally

or where to go. There were no maps and

the police simply lined too many blocks

for anyone to get the overall picture.

It was possible to march in certain

areas just because of the size of the areas

cordoned off, but most blocks were

Uncounted thousands march in New York City

actually closed. Typical was one

demonstrator being hassled by police:

"I'm just trying to get a sandwich," he

said as police told him he could not go

back to the place he just left.

One of the most often seen leaflets at

the rally was about civil rights in the

streets. Legal monitors appeared to take

notes and inform people of their "rights."

One page of a leaflet titled "Know Your

Rights" was most useful. It pointed out

that people had rights on the sidewalks,

but that the police had the authority to

close streets under the current judges'

interpretation of the law.

In fact, what judges occasionally say is

of little use in the streets where officers

take matters in their own hands through

ignorance or malice all the time. However,

the American Civil Liberties Union did

leave the phone number for the New York

Complaint Review Board, 1-800-341-

2272. The New York Civil Liberties Union

(www.nyclu.org) passed out the leaflets.

At some point, the U.$. population is

going to have to ask itself why more than

200 years after the Bill of Rights passed

police still think they have the right to stop

people carrying paper signs on sidewalks

(see story on page 6). While the ACLU

tries to support civilian police review

boards, at some point the public will gain

enough experience that it will know that

the system simply cannot deliver what it

promised in the "Bill of Rights," especially

the First Amendment--except for the

people who never try their "free speech"

rights by disagreeing with the

government.

Today the government spends billions

on repression, instead of organizing the

global economy for economic harmony

and prosperity. It simply does not know

how and does not care to know how to

solve the underlying problems leading to

repression, which is why the united $tates

has more people in prison percentage-wise

than any other country (see facts on our

prison pages, pp. 10-11). That is why the

libertarian world pointed to by the ACLU

does not and cannot exist.

Something that most Amerikkkans have

to get used to is the fact that chanting

"free speech" does not make it appear in

practice. The First Amendment is as clear

as day and part of the highest law to

which all other laws are supposed to be

subordinate, but the courts and police

create fabrications to get around it. There

was some irony in seeing ACLU

pamphlets dropped from the sky and all

over the ground as police cleared streets

and prevented demonstrators from

associating.

The real question is the question of

political power. It's impossible to have

free speech while some people have

strong motivations to kill others in wars

for profit. If there are governments willing

to kill for oil, of course those same

governments are willing to repress free

speech for oil, if need be. Just as the

united $tates required a horrible repression

of plantation owners to get over slavery,

the united $tates cannot have real free

speech until it addresses the underlying

motivations that the rich and rulers have

for promising and not delivering free

speech. In contrast to the hypocritical

U.$. government, MIM says openly that

we will have to repress some people to

create conditions necessary for freedom

of speech some day.

Continued from page 1...

REVIEW, from last page...

on police and not the other way around,

but it did get one point right: "The mostly

peaceful protesters clogged the avenues

from the East Side to the Theater

District."(4)

The Washington Post added one snippet

that was correct as well. Police first

clogged the sidewalks by closing various

streets and then galloped in with horses

to break up the clogs! The Washington

Post quoted a police officer who said, "It's

nuts. If the city gave them a set march

route down an avenue, you wouldn't have

these problems."(5)

Hence, the fact that police alternately

clogged and opened the streets and even

forced them open with mounted police is

not in dispute in the mainstream media.

As usual, the bourgeois media make it

sound like the demonstrators attacked the

police, and even told a story where a

horse showing great political

consciousness threw a cop off its back,

thus causing police to wrestle and arrest

more demonstrators.

In fact, witnesses saw police beating a

man held down by four officers after he

was handcuffed and arrested. The major

media all quoted the police side of events

that day but none mentioned that report,

only one report of police firing pepper

spray.(6)

MIM Notes witnessed two mounted

officer attacks, while standing at 52nd and

2nd and again at 52nd and 3rd. There was

also a variety of staged police incidents

designed to intimidate the crowd and

impress the general public as if

demonstrations were some emergency

that justified all the wasted money spent

on police that day. While the police kept

control of the streets and would not let

marchers use them in most cases, they

still managed to make a big show of being

blocked in their travels by demonstrators.

They kept driving emergency vehicles in

all directions, even as they had control of

the streets. In other words, they were

using their many vehicles to intimidate

people.(7) We saw one white police truck

pushing a blonde womyn by driving too

close behind her down the sidestreet. A

cop grabbed the crying womyn who

surrendered saying "all right, all right."

People who think the First Amendment

applies in Amerika just don't have much

experience. When it came to the

demonstration, police admitted to breaking

up the rally into smaller pieces and no

one denies that thousands of people never

got to the rally. That is called violating

one's right to "freedom of association"

as the "founding fathers" would say. It

was the police who decided how big the

demonstrations would be (by breaking it

up into pieces) and what each

demonstrator would hear from speakers,

by preventing demonstrators from having

their choice of speakers that spoke that

day. Protesters did not have the "freedom

of association" to congregate in one place

with each other.

Notes:
1.USA Today http://www.usatoday.com/news/
world/iraq/2003-02-15-protests_x.htm ; a similar
story seeing only two avenues involved ran in
the Boston Globe, http://www.boston.com/
news/daily/15/ny_war_protests.htm
2.http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/16/
international/16RALL.html

NYC Police intentionally jam, then spread out demonstrators

3. http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/15/
nyregion/15PROT.html Conversely stating the
same thing, the Mayor Bloomberg said that
security procedures would have meant he could
not guarantee the safety of demonstrators in a
march.
4.http://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/
54539.htm
5.http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/
articles/A14348-2003Feb15.html
6.See CNN on pepper spray:http://
www.cnn.com/2003/US/02/15/
sprj.irq.protests.main/index.html ; See reports of
police violence here: http://nyc.indymedia.org/
front.php3?article_id=47372&group=webcast
7. For another report along these lines and other
reports on the NYC demo, see: http://
nyc.indymedia.org/
front.php3?article_id=47387&group=webcast

Continued from page 1...

MIM Notes 277 · March 1, 2003 · Page 8

should not discourage us as there are

many more in that last one-third who

have not yet come into contact with

MIM's line.

As we argued in MIM Notes 276, even

the small minority marching against war

is sorely in need of confrontation with

revolutionary politics.(4) Among the anti-

war marchers we saw on February 15,

the most common slogans reflected the

liberal wing of the Democratic Party. The

"impeach Bush" folks (who clarified to

MIM that they are also calling for

Cheney's, Rumsfeld's and Ashcroft's job)

were out in force. We also saw signs

sporting the slogan "duct tape this," with

a picture of Bush with his mouth taped

over; and others saying "hey Daddy, I can

make war too."

MIM does not spend a lot of time

skewering Bush as an individual because

we are concerned with the system of

imperialism. After all, Amerika's last

Democratic president signed the so-called

Iraq Liberation Act supporting what is

politely called "regime change" -- George

Bush's acknowledged goal in going to

war. But Amerikans have short memories,

and the unfortunate truth is that many

people at the anti-war marches believe

this war would not be in the making if Al

Gore were in the White House. Another

way of saying this is that the anti-war

demos would be a lot smaller with a

Democratic president.

Similarly, protesters have raised the

slogan to "win without war" or to "use

the UN" instead of using bombs on Iraq.

Which really begs the question: use the

UN for what? And what, to these people,

is so wrong with waging a hotter war

against Iraq in the first place? MIM is no

more in favor of "coercive diplomacy"

than we are in favor of quickening the

bombing campaign against Iraq. We are

agitating against the u.$. military presence

in the Middle East, not to negotiate its

form.

Some protesters told MIM they do not

"trust" the polls that say two-thirds of

Amerikans support going to war in Iraq.

To see more opposition to the war

pollsters had to throw in the conditions of

substantial Iraqi civilian casualties,

substantial u.$. military casualties, or a

lengthy and expensive occupation.

Amerikans would also prefer to wait for

UN approval on a war (though it is not

clear from the polls if this is more out of

concern for international opinion or the

expense of a war).(5) To the people who

say Amerikans have more anti-militarist

credentials than all that, we point out the

gap between numbers of Amerikan anti-

war demonstrators and their counterparts

in Europe.

Using the rally totals from

indymedia.org for the 15 February demos,

less than 700,000 Amerikans, or less than

one-quarter of one percent of the

population, came out for anti-war

demonstrations. Compare that to the 1.5

million, or 2.5% of the British population,

who rallied in London. Pundits pointed to

enormous demonstrations in European

countries whose governments oppose the

war as well. Even though these

populations seemingly had less need of

demonstrations, 1.5% of France's

population rallied, along with 4.3% in Italy

and 6.8% in Spain.(6) Looking at it

another way, with less of a reason to

march and one-seventh the population,

the Spanish people came up with four

times as many anti-war demonstrators as

the Amerikans. It stands to reason that

the most parasitic country would have the

worst record on protesting military

aggression.(7)

RAIL and SLALA comrades caught

their share of flak from Zionist opponents

of our UC Divest petition. One critic told

our comrades that never having been to

Israel they could not understand its

politics. A RAIL activist responded that

even though he'd never been to the moon

he was quite certain it was a large barren

rock. Our critic called Israel the only

democracy in the Middle East and

stressed the importance of supporting the

Israeli peace movement.

We have heard this racist, war-

mongering myth about Israeli democracy

before. Zionism's liberal wing uses it to

exaggerate the importance of the tiny

minority of Israelis who are "brave"

enough to challenge their government,

even in the midst of a "hostile" Arab

world. But the history of I$rael is one of

land grabbing, genocide and aggression

towards everyone in the region. Already

U.$. foreign aid to I$rael is $18 million

per day, six times as much as the U.$.

spends on "famine relief" for the entire

world.

Anti-war protesters should be especially

wary of the myth of the exclusive

democracy of the Israeli state as Amerika

prepares for war in Iraq. The U.$. has

every intention of installing a quisling

regime in the place of Saddam Hussein,

and of supporting this regime with a

military presence more intrusive than that

in Afghanistan, if necessary. Talking

democracy in the Middle East is code for

supporting U.$. interests -- interests that

include free and easy access to the oil in

the Persian Gulf.

Many Zionists slandered RAIL as anti-

semitic, some saying of the UC Divest

petition: "I'm Jewish, I can't sign this."

One confused and reactionary banner had

the slogan "Anti-War, Pro-U.S., Pro-

Israel." Divesting from Israel has much

less to do with Jews than with the fact

that the one-quarter of Palestinian children

are living with malnutrition under Israeli

occupation, border closings and

curfews.(8). Divesting means refusing to

support the humiliation of the Palestinian

people under the daily brutality of the

Israeli occupation.

Notes:
1. http://www.prisoncensorship.info/archive/etext/cal/

Anti-war protestors jam Hollywood boulevard

DivestIsrael.htm http://www.etext.org/Politics/
MIM/agitation/philippines/
sisonpetitionoct02.htm
2. http://www.prisoncensorship.info/archive/etext/pirao/
mndistrocampaign.html
3. MIM Notes 275, Los Angeles Times 16
February, 2003.
4. www.prisoncensorship.info/archive/etext/mn/mn276.pdf
5. New York Times 14 February, 2003.
6. Look for Feb 15 coverage at indymedia.org It
is true that the numbers are not perfect, but they
generally reflect the pull between the low
estimates of the police and the high estimates of
demo organizers.
7. For those who question the big national polls
and MIM's analysis of the anti-war movement,
we recommend conducting your own poll. MIM
has done this, and has refined and suggested
some questions for future polls. www.etext.org/
Politics/MIM/mn/mn271.pdf
8. http://www.prisoncensorship.info/archive/etext/mn/
mn269.pdf

communities is only part of the

reactionary hysteria which has given birth

to the Patriot Act and the Department of

Homeland Security.

"This visit was a drop in the bucket

compared to the recent mass detainment

and deportation of immigrants from

oppressed countries who are forced to

leave their families and find economic

survival abroad. INS special registrations

and collaborations with local police and

authorities are devastating our

communities with Operation Absconder

and Operation Tarmac. Many other

victims are also experiencing the brunt

of a vicious Bush Administration which

bears it's ugly face in secret military

tribunals and has pushed many to commit

suicide rather than face torture.

FBI harasses Filipino activist

"These tactics are shameful reminders

of some of the darkest periods of history

in this country such as the Black Power

Movement in the 60s and the McCarthy

Era where neighborhood snitch systems

were implemented. The fear of

concentration camps during the Japanese

internment is also more real than ever to

repeat itself."

MIM unites with this activist, and we

remind him and others to assume that the

government is always watching us, as long

as we are fighting imperialism. We cannot

do our work entirely underground, but we

can take steps to make it more difficult

for them to compile information and

disrupt our work.

The Filipino activist correctly

concluded: "We cannot have national

security while dropping bombs for oil

around the world. We cannot have

national security without international

peace and security. And we cannot be

safe in America with an oil hungry

warmonger in the White House." MIM

agrees: imperialist attacks on people

around the world will only stir fury against

Amerika. Although imperialism provides

for the wealth and standard of living

enjoyed by the vast majority of people

within U.$. borders, it also threatens all

of the worlds people with on-going

violence and ultimately possible nuclear

destruction. Even for those only acting in

their own persynal interests, this alone

should be incentive enough for all people

to oppose imperialist militarism.

Continued from page 3...

Continued from page 1...

The crowd mills around before the L.A. March (MIM photo).

MIM Notes 277 · March 1, 2003 · Page 9

and thus too busy or because we don't

quite agree with you that your project is

conceived correctly. In actual fact, the

ability to judge these matters is never

infallible. Yes, the less naive our leaders

the better and yes, many in our camp lack

even basic notions of power struggle.

The two things are separate questions

and we can say: 1) no, we won't answer

pig questions. 2) yes, we will work with

everyone and give them their due when

they act. The problem for the capitalist

class is that we can afford this strategy

and it cannot.

The capitalist class needs pig questions

and needs to be able to divide the world

majority on a "who is this" basis. As long

as our people keep working to put out the

truth, raising their own consciousness,

getting organized and learning the armed

struggle, there is no way the capitalist

class can win.

Why the capitalist class cannot win

The fact that the enemy has disguises

should not paralyze us. While we have

the task of sorting out the true from the

false, so does the enemy. Proportionately,

this is more of a drain on the enemy than

on us, because there are more people in

the proletarian camp and the number of

loyal imperialist lackeys is a minority

percentage-wise and globally. More

importantly, we need only spread the

truth, but the imperialists need to find truth

about certain individuals and spread lies

about them. That is actually more work.

As MIM explained in post-911

coverage, the u.$. government already

owns sophisticated data-collection

`Working together at arm's-length'

Indian subcontinent demonstrates security hurdles for communists

devices and networks that cross the

globe. It takes satellite "photo" images,

monitors all electronic communications,

mechanical sounds and emissions of gas

and nuclear particles. Despite listening in

on our telephone conversations and

emails and building evermore powerful

weapons that can be operated by ever

fewer people, the U.$. government

cannot always win its battles.

Since the Gulf War in 1991, "friendly

fire" has killed more U.$. troops than

organized war resistance by bourgeois

states. Recently, we heard the case of

the U.S. Air Force personnel who bombed

the four Canadians in Afghanistan to

death, saying that they thought the

Canadians were Taliban. One would think

that the work of the air force and ground

troops could not be more clear to the U.S.

Government, but still, the U.S.

Government has bad information and

discipline and kills its own side.

Truly accidental military deaths are an

example of something actually much

more common on the imperialist side.

While they cannot sort out who is who

even when everyone is wearing a uniform

and located in the place where they are

supposed to be by imperialist dictates, the

imperialists have a much harder time

sorting out the intelligence they get on

targets that are not so straight-forward.

It is inevitable that while the people will

never spend as much money on

intelligence and counter-intelligence per

persyn as the imperialists do, the people

will win, if there is no nuclear or

environmental catastrophe for everyone.

The imperialist treatment of the

revolutionary movement globally as

"terrorism" and "crime" is exactly why

the imperialists cannot win, for everyone

knows that "crime" has never ended

under imperialism. The "who is this one

and who is that one" approach suits the

rulers' individualistic needs, the needs of

a class that excels in one-on-one fighting,

but which faces doom on a group level.

Hence, we call our policy "working at

arm's length" for people we do not know

that well. It is the appropriate motto for

our class in the imperialist countries where

we are building public opinion and can do

so without close bonds of trust.

We wrote this article so that all our

friends, all the people who are in our camp

will know why we do what we do. MIM

is not here giving up because of the array

and assortment of disguises the enemy

assumes. It is important that we all realize

that we too can spread false information

to the enemy. Whether totally invention,

a silence where there should be none--

anything that prevents the enemy from

understanding is good. Even the truth

delivered in such a way that the enemy

doubts it can cause plenty of difficulty.

To return to the Lin Biaoists, one could

say MIM reduces the number of people

who attend to the Indian Lin Biao page

by saying we cannot prove its

authenticity. In contrast, we would say

that the proletariat's success over the

bourgeoisie does not rely on knowing

which web page is authentic and which

is not. We should do our best to know,

but ultimately, MIM can address the

political substance of the Lin Biao page

in India without knowing its authors. The

fact that 2+2=4 no matter who says it is

a profound security advantage of the

proletariat, one that the imperialists simply

cannot afford to utilize. The proletariat

rises in strength the more the truth spreads

and the more its unity builds. The

bourgeoisie must divide people on an

individual basis.

The challenge to the people in our camp

of course is to work well with the people

we do know; however, when it comes to

working internationally or in difficult

security situations that could easily involve

government intelligence agents, the true

challenge is: "can I work with this persyn

without knowing who she or he is?" If

not, "is there something wrong with how

I do my work, if I really need a dossier

on someone?" MIM would say those

doing political work in the imperialist

countries who need "trust" or the

equivalent of a dossier on someone are

probably going about their work

incorrectly and should rethink it.

Again, there are high trust situations

when people pretty much do have dossiers

on each other. However, in today's world

when someone from India writes to North

America claiming to be from the original

pro-Lin CPI(ML), "do I really need to

know who this persyn is to work with him

or her?" is the real question, from the

proletarian scientific standpoint.

Notes:

1. MIM reviews that web page in its

"What's Your Line?" at our own ETEXT

web page, www.prisoncensorship.info/archive/etext/

wim/wyl.

Continued from page 3...

This passage from the

autobiography of the famous

abolitionist Frederick Douglass gives

more reasons for not answering "pig

questions," whatever their intentions.

I now come to that part of my life during

which I planned and finally succeeded in

making my escape from slavery.

But before narrating any of the peculiar

circumstances I deem it proper to make

known my intention not to state all the

facts connected with the transaction. My

reasons for pursuing this course may be

understood from the following:

* First, were I to give a minute statement

of all the facts it is not only possible, but

quite probable, that others would thereby

be involved in the most embarrassing

difficulties;

* Secondly, such a statement would

most undoubtedly induce greater vigilance

on the part of slaveholders than has

existed heretofore among them, which

would of course be the means of guarding

a door whereby some dear brother

bondman might escape his galling chains.

I deeply regret the necessity that impels

me to suppress anything of importance

connected with my experience in slavery.

It would afford me great pleasure indeed,

as well as materially adding to the interest

of my narrative were I at liberty to gratify

a curiosity which I know exists in the

minds of many by an accurate statement

of all the facts pertaining to my most

fortunate escape.

But I must deprive myself of this

pleasure and the curious of the

gratification which such a statement

would afford. I would allow myself to

suffer under the greatest imputations

which evil-minded men might suggest

rather than exculpate myself and thereby

run the hazard of closing the slightest

avenue by which a brother slave might

clear himself of the chains and fetters of

slavery.

I have never approved of the very public

manner in which some of our Western

friends have conducted what they call

the underground railroad, but which I

think by their open declarations has been

made most emphatically the

upperground railroad. I honor those

good men and women for their noble

daring, and applaud them for willingly

subjecting themselves to bloody

persecution, by openly avowing their

participation in the escape of slaves. I,

however, can see very little good resulting

from such a course, either to themselves

or the slaves escaping; while, upon the

other hand, I see and feel assured that

those open declarations are a positive evil

to the slaves remaining, who are seeking

to escape. They do nothing towards

enlightening the slave, whilst they do much

towards enlightening the master. They

stimulate him to greater watchfulness, and

enhance his power to capture his slave.

We owe something to the slaves south of

the line as well as to those north of it; and

in aiding the latter on their way to freedom,

we should be careful to do nothing which

would be likely to hinder the former from

escaping from slavery. I would keep the

merciless slaveholder profoundly ignorant

of the means of flight adopted by the

slave. I would leave him to imagine

himself surrounded by myriads of invisible

tormentors, ever ready to snatch from his

infernal grasp his trembling prey. Let him

be left to feel his way in the dark; let

darkness commensurate with his crime

hover over him; and let him feel that at

every step he takes in pursuit of the flying

bondman, he is running the frightful risk

of having his hot brains dashed out by an

invisible agency.

From Frederick Douglass,

"Narrative of the Life of Frederick

Douglass, An Amerrican Slave",

Benjamin Quarles, ed. (Cambridge &

London: Harvard University Press,

1960), pp. 136-7.

Frederick Douglass on discretion and security

MIM Notes 277 · March 1, 2003 · Page 10

MIM on

Prisons & Prisoners

MIM seeks to build public opinion

against Amerika's criminal injustice sys-

tem, and to eventually replace the bour-

geois injustice system with proletarian jus-

tice. The bourgeois injustice system im-

prisons and executes a disproportionately

large and growing number of oppressed

people while letting the biggest mass mur-

derers -- the imperialists and their lack-

eys -- roam free. Imperialism is not op-

posed to murder or theft, it only insists that

these crimes be committed in the interests

of the bourgeoisie.

"All U.S. citizens are criminals--

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

MIM does not advocate that all

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

Under Lock & Key

News from Prisons & Prisoners

California USW
interviews SHU
prisoner

MIM is waging a campaign to abolish the

Security Housing Units (SHU) in the
California prisons. These torture units house
prisoners labeled as "gang members"
including many who are active organizers
helping others to fight for their rights, those
who fought legal battles, and others
targeted by guards as "troublemakers." The
prison collects evidence against prisoners,
using informants. Then, during closed-door
hearings where no self-defense is allowed, it
routinely convicts them. Evidence used to
entrap prisoners into gang validation and
transportation to indefinite hell can be
anonymous snitch notes, group photos,
tattoos, innocent letters from home, or other
flimsy items. Once charged, all are found
guilty. Prisoners designated "a threat to
institutional security" are sent off to be
warehoused inside a bare SHU cell. The only
way out is "parole, snitch or die." Working
with other activist organizations, we have
been staging demonstrations, collecting
petition signatures, distributing literature
and working with our comrades behind bars
to build public opinion against these torture
units. Our comrades behind the bars in
United Struggle from Within (USW) are
providing valuable information for the
campaign in the form of interviews, flyers,
art, testimonials, and legal advice. For more
information or to get involved contact us or
visit http://www.prisoncensorship.info/archive/etext/
agitation/prisons/campaigns/ca.html

Q: How long have you been entombed in

SHU?

A: It will be 9 years in a couple of months.
Q: Why exactly are you being held captive

in the SHU?

A: Assisting other prisoners with legal work

who the California Department of Corrections
(CDC) alleges are gang members. And,
because confidential informants claim that I
am an "associate" of a prison gang. It's
important to note that the CDC refuses to
give a clear definition of an "associate." It is
defined only as "being involved regularly with
gang members." Nevertheless, I do associate
with prisoners of all races which the CDC
alleges to be gang members because of my
work as a jailhouse lawyer.

Q: Can you comment on the current struggle

against CDC regarding the SHU and arbitrary
gang policies?

A: The struggle has been going on for 25

years or more. The reason it has gone on so
long is because (1) courts refuse to meddle in
the administration of prisons (2) the issue of
"gang policies" is not politically appealable
to courts, legislators and most attorneys, and
(3) the issues have not been properly litigated
in court nor lobbied in the political arena.

In July 2001, myself and nearly a thousand

prisoners began a hunger strike in protest of
the CDC gang/SHU policies. However, after
five days we agreed to suspend our protest
pending the intervention and commitment by
Senator Richard Polanco to resolve the
issues. Over the next year and a half, several
meetings between the CDC, Senator Polanco
and several religious and community leaders
took place. But it soon became clear that the
CDC had no intention of making any
necessary changes and that they were merely
stalling until Senator Polanco's term ran out.

Thus, in October 2002, we recommenced

our protest. And after 38 days we ended our
protest because a different legislator stepped
forward to take Polanco's place in these
matters. Her name is Gloria Romero.

Immediately Senator Romero called a

meeting with the CDC, legislative aides and
religious and community leaders, however,
the CDC refused to attend. For that reason,
more protests are set to occur this year, and,
they won't be hunger strikes. It has become
obvious to us that the CDC does not care if
we starve ourselves today. In short, prisoners
have basically lost patience with the CDC and
are tired of the CDC arbitrary and oppressive
policies and practices.

Q: Additionally, can you please describe

SHU conditions?

A: It's not bad for a short term (though I

have seen many prisoners physically and
psychologically decompensate within a
relative short period of time.)

The SHU is designed for strict isolation

and sensory deprivation. No windows or view
of the outside world. Prisoners, unlike in older
prisons where there were 60 cells on a tier
and five tiers high, are segregated in small
pods of eight cells. The design is obviously
to create a sense of isolation, even from other
prisoners. The cell doors are made of
perforated steel, and thus, easier for guards
and other prisoners to hear someone talking.
We spend 22 1/2 hours a day in our cells and
we're allowed one and a half hours of exercise
time in a small concrete yard that is approx 3
times the size of our cell. The yard is attached
to the back of the pad. The design and
conditions of the SHU have a detrimental
effect on prisoners, and upon society, when
we are released from such places. You see,
prisoners can become even more anti-social
and learn to have a great disrespect for
authority.

I've seen a lot of frightening things in

prison. But the most frightening was passing
by a cell and watching a prisoner calmly
playing chess with pieces made out of his
feces. And prior to that, when I spoke to him
over the tier there was absolutely no
indication that anything was wrong with him.

I've seen prisoners becoming more

distrustful of not only the guards, but each
other. This place was designed to be stressful
and to take a toll on prisoners. And once it
begins to work, prisoners tend to internalize
that negative effect within themselves and
each other.

On a personal level, I don't know that I'll

ever fully understand the effect that these
conditions have had on me, but I know that
there has been some detrimental effect. I can
look at some of my friends who have been
around here as long or longer and what this
place has done to them. When I listen to them
speak and watch how they act, I become
concerned, for I've never see that of them. I
don't know if it's stress being burned, mania
or psychological decompensation. But it
makes me think about myself. And so I become
concerned that maybe there is some

detrimental effect that I suffer like some of my
friends.

I believe the work I do and your reporting

on these issues are critical. We need to
continue our efforts in educating society on
the true reality of why this laboratory of
human experimentation exists.

Q: How would you characterize the mood

of prisoners? Can you comment on the
importance of solidarity?

A: Rebellious at times, though rarely. For a

while I carried a lot of frustration over
prisoners seemingly being indifferent or
stagnating in their existence almost as if they
accept their oppression. But as time went by
I learned that they can't necessarily be faulted
for that. The design of this place precludes
communication, unification and the ability to
maintain a higher level of solidarity. That
doesn't mean that I don't encourage prisoners
to snap out of the daze and focus on what we
should be doing to get out of here and end
the oppressive CDC policies and practices.

The mood of prisoners in general is like the

seasons and changes too frequently. It is
acceptance, then rebellion, indifference, and
uncertainty.

Demand a legislative
hearing to shut down
the SHU

The following letter was drafted by a

prisoner in the SHU at Pelican Bay. Sign and
send in a copy to Senator Romero or write
your own protest letter to her.

Senator Gloria Romero
State Capitol Room #5051
Sacramento, CA 95814
Tel: 916-445-1418
Fax: 916-445-0485
Request for legislative hearing regarding

gang and segregation policies by the
California Department of Corrections (CDC)

Dear Senator Romero,
As you are aware prisoners, their families,

and citizens in general have for years been
trying to get the CDC to cease its arbitrary
and capricious gang and SHU policies.
However, it does not seem likely -- even after
the intervention of Senator Richard Polanco
following the July 2001 and October 2002
hunger strikes -- that the CDC will make the
necessary changes that are immediately
required. They're not even willing to create
the three or four sentence definition for what
constitutes "gang activity."

Due to the fact that you are now familiar

with the issues, I respectfully request that
you convene a legislative hearing as soon as
practical to bring to light all of these issues of
the CDC's gang policies. Their non-
compliance and false promises have gone on
long enough. It is time to bring this issue to a
legislative hearing and public forum so that
prisoner's and their family's and supporter's
voices can all be heard. I wish to thank you
and all of your colleagues for your attention
and effort in this matter.

California prisons
close education and
rehab programs, give
money to COs

I am interested in studying the conditions

we are living in here in prison, and in exposing
the prison system of where the money is really
going that is supposed to be used for
prisoners rehabilitation, vocational classes
that are being closed, but tax payers are still
paying the state thinking these classes are
still open. The budget problem should not
affect prisoners, because the correctional
officers are constantly getting unnecessary
overtime, and then they take from the
prisoners such as clothing, less food, less
privileges, old mattresses, and no new ones.
We are supposed to receive new things at
least one time a year. We do not. We get
someone else's old things so the corrections
officers can get more overtime money.

-- a prisoner in California, December 2002

MIM Notes 277 · March 1, 2003 · Page 11

Facts on U$ imprisonment

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

California allows
books from Barnes &
Noble, denies books
from MIM

I have read, reread and reread the material I

have at hand because your books were not
the only ones I did not receive. I wrote to
ascertain what the problem was, I was
interviewed and told that I could only receive
books from Barnes & Noble, Amazon.com and
Walden Books. I wrote again and asked if it
was a policy to monopolize book sales to big
bookstore corporations and stop prisoners
from getting alternate political literature. They
wrote and told me I am allowed to receive
new books from legitimate bookstores but I
cannot receive used donated books, so I
interpret it to mean I can receive new donated
books.

- a prisoner in California (Centinela State

Prison), February, 2003

California governor
paroles one man,
denies all others

On January 2002 the governor of California

did an about face and stated "critical new
evidence" showed that elderly inmate Chu
Ly is worthy of release. Actually no new
evidence was unveiled at all, in fact all info
was made obtainable to herr Davis during that
previous January 2002 review of Ly's case
which resulted in a parole veto.

While Chu Ly's release is a very good thing,

I think Gray Davis' decision was political
motivated. Justice is not on the governor's
agenda. He continuously vetoes parole for
many other lifers and that are pronounced
"rehabilitated" by the kangaroo board.
According to the San Francisco Daily Journal
(Jan 10, 2003) the governor has only paroled
3 people and vetoed more than 220!

- a prisoner in California, January 2003

Minimum sentencing
in Oregon leads to
funding cuts

We are caught in the binds of the Measure

11 law which subjects us to minimum
sentences of 70 months. Because of this law
that took effect on April 1st, state's budgets
have been depleted and this particular
institution is experiencing drastic changes in
education, the meals and the mail. The
institute's directors are so much in the DOC
strain caused by the budget that it now has
to eliminate DOC staff. Teachers were the first
to go, on November 15, 2002, because they
were not allowed to lay off DOC officers.
Instead a lot of inmates are suffering program
failure due to lack of a GED program.

Along with this the meals have gone from

full course meals and the regular menu to a
day by day conservation of low caloric meals
thrown together for a quick and cheap serving.
This is also a DOC money making tactic to
purchase brands of food (generic brands)
which changes inmates dieting, forcing us to
buy more canteen and boxes to store our
groceries. Even on top of that, some foods
cannot be stored for long so we get fined $15
to $25. Along with this is a change in mailing,
we now pay 44 cents on 37 cent envelopes
and 90 cents on envelopes weighing over an
ounce.

-- a prisoner in Oregon, January 2003

Not one typewriter for
personal use

Recently I was fined $25 and had a loss of

privileges for 7 days. This was due to typing
a personal ad on a word processor in the law
library. There are no other type writers or WPs
unless you're in school. But the story is the
same. If caught doing your own work, you
face a minimum of 7 days LOP and $25, and a
max of 180 days seg time plus fine. Our
canteen profits at last count was $9000. Less
payroll and expenses.

We cannot access our general library

unless we put a request in for research only.
You may not check books out at that time.
General reading material must be selected by
catalog. Which are worn and in disrepair. The
local Ontario public library refuses to assist
in giving information or do periodical
research. The Boise city public library
returned my letter to the assistant warden with
a note that said to tell Mr. Jeffries we do not
help out of State prisoners. I wrote asking for
information on any local pen pal club. I'm
told the local papers won't print request for
pen pals by prisoners. We are 13 miles from
Boise ID and less from Ontario Oregon.

We are sold envelopes, stamped envelopes

at 44 cents each with bright red address labels
that state Oregon Department of Corrections
- Inmate Mail. Overseas envelopes are off
colored and 88 cents per ounce. The difference
in color I'm told is so that they can be metered
and separated easier. But regular postage mail
is pre-stamped.

All these things are interconnected to three

things. And that's containment, control and
connivance by imperialistic dogma that
operates on the basis of enslavement, self-
enrichment and power. Greed bagot greed.
Why are there no typewriters or word
processors? Maybe so any plea's for help
look awkward handwritten. We can't even buy
a typewriter. What libraries do you know
would refuse service unless they were
instructed to do so. Why else did they return
my correspondence via the warden? How
about a newspaper refusing to place a
personal ad? Since when does a newpaper
not want money? Maybe there's much bigger
money in the largest employer in miles of farm
land: Snake River Corrections Center. And
what's up with these envelopes? Easier
tracking and censorship. Just pull the
overseas envelopes, note where they're going
and to who, read them and send them on.
Then place an official looking letter "typed"
to the recipient and alas no more pen pals!
Paranoia; not likely.

Snake River is an appropriate name for a

correctional facility that's had more money
come up missing in the construction of a
prison, that's ever been noted in Oregon
history and maybe U.$. history. It's said that
contractors routinely billed the state for
employee luncheons at $250 a pop and got
paid. Have you been to Ontario Oregon? This
prison is 10 years old. Ontario was a dust
bowl then at the end of a farm belt, dependent
on Nampa and Boise Idaho for subsistence.
Potatoes were the game then. Now it's human
bondage. The money is so good here that
former construction employees are living in
housing supplied by Oregon State and have
jobs at this prison. But our prior Warden
pushed the envelope too far and left this post
under charges of sexual harassment in a cloud

of dust, to a demotion at another post in
Oregon. TexasDon't y'll know Lampert, didn't
he leave there in a cloud too

-- a prisoner in Oregon, November 2002

State funds wasted on
prison bureaucrats

When you say magic words like crime and

punishment everything is possible. State
government's funds flow even when it means
needless bureaucracy which comes at the
expense of education or other programs
needed by poor and working class people.

One example of this is found in Olympia

Washington among those employed at a
regional office funded by correctional
operations. Prison officials offer a flimsy
justification for their work done at this office.
But it's impossible to really buy if you know
there's correctional personnel just down the
road and any work being done by a regional
office could be done for less by those at
headquarters.

This is true when it comes to all the regional

facilities situated around Washington State.
And there's no doubt that this accounts for
just a small portion of the bureaucratic
spending covered by a prison budget that
comes to nearly 1 billion dollars.

What makes for good politics is decidedly

bad policy as far as schooling and other
programs are concerned. This is especially
true where there are less expensive ways to
deal with crime. Yet reforms aren't viewed as
an option because politicians have more to
lose than gain by putting programs ahead of
prison bureaucrats. Or anyone else who seeks
to profit from a high rate of crime in a capitalist
society.

Students or others who want to change

any of this must organize and join our fight
for better education or prison reforms in
Washington State.

-- a prisoner in Washington, August 2002

Another Struggle

As a seed before it is planted
An easy life isn't always granted
Pushed down into the soil of earth
Comes the first struggle towards its birth
Mother nature plays out her role
Nurturing this newborn soul
As it rises to come from within
Another level of struggle will begin

Now experiencing the elements firsthand
Through senses, one begins understanding
The extensions of roots begin to take place
For education has just picked up the pace
Reaching skyward as branches on a tree
To stand on its feet, assuming it is free
Here the new level of struggle starts
For you become aware of the degrees of the

heard

Swaying with the wind, yet standing tall
A constant struggle trying to understand it

all

Though a toll takes place every passing

season

You must continue on, you know the reason
If by chance you haven't realized it yet
Without a struggle, there's no growth to met
So the next time another struggle rears its

head

Rise to the occasion and meet it head on

instead
--a prisoner in California, October 2002

MIM Notes 277 · March 1, 2003 · Page 12

Notas Rojas

marzo 1, 2003, Nº 277 Fragmento del Periodico Oficial del Movimiento Internacionalista Maoista

Gratis

¿Que es el MIM?

El Movimiento Internacionalista Maoísta (MIM) es un partido revolucionario

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 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

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

¡Defiendan los derechos

democráticos de José María Sisón!