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MIM Notes 310 · November 1-14, 2004 · Page 1

MIM Notes

Nov 1-14, 2004, Nº 310

The Official Newsletter of the Maoist Internationalist Movement (MIM)

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INSIDE: Indymedia under attack * Press lies sink in * Una Página en Español...

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ANTI-DRAFT

MOVEMENT

ACHIEVES

STRATEGIC

STEP FORWARD

by mim3@mim.org

A majority of U$ youth aged 18 to 29

believe that President Bush has the draft

in store for them. The self-activism of

the youth that has achieved this point is a

strategic victory, a step forward. MIM

itself takes some credit for stirring the

pot in literature distribution, face-to-face

discussion and the web site.

True, the youth are letting John Kerry

off the hook. The same National

Annenberg Election Survey showed only

8% believes Kerry wants to bring back

forced enlistment into the armed services

while 51% believe Bush does. However,

since Bu$h is the one actually in power

directing the military, we have to recognize

that the survey result does demonstrate

a small step forward in political

consciousness. The youth may not have

a path for how to get out of the current

mess the United $tates made-- with many

having illusions about Howard Dean,

Greens or libertarians--but they have

correctly placed the problem on the

agenda.

The conservatives rushed to Bu$h's

defense and said it was "ignorance"

caused by a "rumor"(1) regarding the

draft that started the current trend in youth

opinion. MIM would reply the following:

1) If it is all just a rumor, Bu$h can abolish

the Selective Service and end draft

registration and then there won't be any

disputes about what the Selective Service

administration said or did not say. 2) It is

not ignorance to notice what is going on

with troop shortages and war. Quite the

opposite, it's called paying attention. 3)

The government has no credibility on

IMPERIALISTS

CENSOR

SERGEANT

LORENTZ IN

CONNECTION

TO IRAQ

by mousnonya and

mim3@mim.org

A U.$. Army Reserve sergeant in Iraq

has written a cogent essay explaining why

Uncle Scam cannot win the war in

Iraq.(1) Consequently, he is being called

to the carpet and faces legal sanctions.

The charge is dereliction of duty--

defeatism! (2) That's right--just like in

Hitlerite Germany.

Wearing the uniform, thinking the wrong

thoughts and daring to put them to paper

leads to trouble in the United $tates. MIM

supports the struggle of oppressors such

as Sgt. Lorentz to cease taking action for

war. Sgt. Lorentz may have figured out

that he is on the wrong side.

As in the other long-running occupations

historically, we are also finding out about

the tip of the iceberg of military

resistance. CNN reported on October

15th that some of the reservists in Iraq

may have disobeyed orders: "The military

said all 19 members of the Army's 343rd

Quartermaster Company--which has

been in Iraq for nine months--were told

to report to duty Wednesday to deliver

fuel from Tallil to Taji, a dangerous area

north of Baghdad."(3) They did not carry

out the task and family members say the

vehicles and fuel were unsafe.

At the same time, indications continue

to arrive on the scale of the cover-up of

politics in Iraq in general. The pace of

casualties has increased since Bu$h

declared major fighting over, but it appears

that the government does not report all

the insurgent activities spread across Iraq

for fear of demoralizing the U.$. public

and the soldiers. Moreover, all the murder

and torture photos from the Abu Ghraib

prison scandal have yet to be released,

because the imperialists fear the global

counter-attack that would happen. The

fear of the counter-attack leads to more

public ignorance of what is really

happening in Iraq, and the war-mongers

hope to keep their war going that way.

"Freedom" and "democracy" hardly

Boston police admitted to shooting

Victoria Snelgrove on October 20th during

a Red Sox victory celebration. She died

hours later.

The parents justly said this: "`What

happened to her should not happen to any

American citizen.'"(1) They managed to

see Victoria at the hospital just before

she died.

A witness saw the police shooting in

the area. There were too many witnesses

and cameras around and Boston is too

intelligent to put up with the usual police

murk in a case where the whole world

knows the context, so we're not surprised

that Police Commissioner Kathleen

O'Toole confessed to the killing.

At the same time, O'Toole said this:

"`I also condemn, in the harshest possible

words, the actions of the punks last night

who turned our city's victory into an

opportunity for violence.'"(2)

On the one hand we have the academic

Resistance breaking out

Who's the `punk,' commissioner?

Boston police admit killing student

"radicals" in

Boston and

elsewhere who

think "violence"

is politically

i n c o r r e c t

language or a

threat to break

up by a man if

his girlfriend

does not have sex. On the other hand,

we have police commissioners who

confessed to killing of Victoria Snelgrove

and then proceeded to condemn "punks"

who tried but failed to overturn a car.

Earth to Commissioner O'Toole: you are

the "punk" leader. Your employees killed

a student for nothing. That should have

been your message of the day, period. You

should have started a process of

questioning: "if police shot someone in that

context to death, what else did they do

wrong?"

Under the dictatorship of the proletariat,

Continued on page 6...

Continued on page 7...

Continued on page 9...

Victoria Snelgrove

MIM Notes 310 · November 1-14, fa2004 · 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

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.

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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>

NYLP stands for the New Young

Lords Party, a Maoist organization

that's rekindling the revolutionary

legacy of the original, Black-Panther-

inspired YLP.

I'm 100% in total agreement with my

revolutionary comrade Don Pablo Pueblo

(re: MN July 2004). Not many individuals

understand that politics and imprisonment

are connected. Por eso, i'm frustrated

because instead of sitting here and

teaching ourselves and others about this

racist country and gobierno, we'd rather

sit around and gossip como putas about

someone else's failures. It is why I have

learned through the observation of

practice that misery loves company.

In my 9 1/2 years in DDU

(Departmental Disciplinary Unit) I have

learned to build with Don Pablo about el

entendimiento sobre la opresion knowin'

exactly what the fuck was going on. I

couldn't help but ask these so-called

"intelligent" folks that if they knew that

the U.$. gobierno had us bajo una

circumstancia insoportable porque como

luchadores que somos nos estabamos

dejando manipular por la administracion

de Bush-it and as usual no one had a

truthful answer.

I refuse to acknowledge anyone who

claims that this is some kind of criminal

recruitment or some gang of any kind.

The pigs and haters will use this type of

statement only to deter others from

learning about Marxism. Most Latinos

I've asked whether or not they wish to

experience some kind of revolutionary

change have admitted que ya es tiempo

for someone to step it up and make a

difference in and out of the world of

socialism. So we would appreciate if

ignorant kats would separate themselves

from the movement and allow Don Pacho

Pablo Pueblo & Beto Puñala and the rest

of the advanced Nobles to enlighten them

about our purpose so that they themselves

can correctly enlighten others.

When Don Pablo began expressing his

feelings to me about starting and founding

something so educational for Nuestra

Raza, I was surprised, because I've

never been asked to help re-organize such

a great legacy. I immediately said no

question, because, although I've never

been involved in any kind of revolutionary

organization, I have always had feelings

of engaging into an all out war with those

who assume Puerto Rico as part of the

United Oppressors of Amerika. But you

know what they say about assumptions:

they're the mother of all fuck-ups and

La Raza will make sure they realize that.

Did you know that the pigs were

actually attempting to murder me for

being so outspoken? They have even

claimed that I was running a drug

operation only to justify my placement in

the Intensive Treatment Unit (ITU). I

have sworn to seek vengeance against

the system that has done nothing more

than to literally allow pigs to abuse people

behind the wall.

It's a long time since I have seen you

Don Pablo but during my travels I have

started to share the word of the Nobles.

My friend and comrade, I have baffled a

lot of folks by the intro of the NYLP/

LNNA article. This one member

(codename "La Voz") is dying to read

more of your input on this legacy. I have

made it my obligation to enlighten him, no

matter how bloody the war may get. I

have my teachings as my principles. I'm

now speaking louder than before so that

others who may be curious will not be

shy to ask about the movimiento.

--By an NYLP/LNNA leader (MA)

NYLP/LNNA responds: We have

much love and respect for this comrade

member and we applaud him for his

strength in preaching the revolutionary

ideal We are aware of the oppression he's

receiving and both Pablo Pueblo and Beto

Puñala have advised him on how to

negotiate his "hole-time" and we hope he

embraces that advice. His responsibilities

to his people require him to minimize

interaction with those pig doctors and

we're glad he's doing just that. Since this

comrade is a valued member, we'll make

sure to get him a pre-published copy of

the PCM (NYLP/LNNA Political

Compendium Manual, soon to be

published and available for purchase).

We had to shorten his letter due to

availability of space, but this is the type

of dedication, enthusiasm, and leadership

that we appreciate from our leaders. We

wanted to add that the NYLP/LNNA not

only fights for Puerto Rico's liberation but

we also feel that the Settler society's

invasion of Mexico/Xicano lands is just

as important as well as the super

exploitation of Nuestra America South of

the Rio Grande. We hope to hear more

from our carnales in TX, CA, AZ, NM, y

CO regarding the NYLP struggle against

imperialism.

Noble Love!!!

MIM/NYLP

PO Box 40799

San Francisco, CA 94140

nylp@mim.org

NYLP Leader responds to Pablo Pueblo Article

MIM Notes 310 · November 1-14, 2004 · Page 3

by Mousnonya

Last year the New York Times

reported--falsely--that Iraq was

working feverishly towards a nuclear

weapon.(1) There was also a bout of

plagiarism at the Times, unsurprisingly

also beating the drum for more murder in

Iraq. More recently, Dan Rather reported

on George Bush's military service--

relying on fake documents;(3) although it

was obviously true to the people of that

era that National Guard service was the

privilege of the elite such as Bu$h who

had connections. And now the Fox News

Network has falsely "quoted" John Kerry

claiming he said things that he never did

about having a manicure and being

metrosexual.(4)

Readers, there is a pattern here. These

are just the obvious lies that the bourgeois

press is willing to admit it made! There

are more lies that they quietly sweep

under the rug. More importantly, these

major media did not have the guts or

concern for the truth to debunk all the

excuses for the Iraq War before the

invasion.

MIM tells it like it is: the corporate

media is biased and serves the corporate

agenda! The profit motive distorts the

truth, even the "news."

You cannot trust your government: it

lies to you all the time--just look at Iraq!

Now you should realize the corporate

controlled media lies too--and not just in

the advertisements!

Capitalism lies and distorts the truth in

the name of profit. The government is

corrupt. Work with MIM to build

independent media for the oppressed!

Notes:

1. The Times Scoops That Melted,

Cataloging the wretched reporting of

Judith Miller, By Jack Shafer. Friday,

July 25, 2003, at 3:49 PM PT http://

slate.msn.com/id/2086110/

2. Top New York Times editors quit,

Rose Arce and Shannon Troetel CNN

http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/

Northeast/06/05/nytimes.resigns/

3. Even Humbled by Error, Dan

Rather Has His Thorns,

ALESSANDRA STANLEY Published:

September 21, 2004 http://

www.nytimes.com/2004/09/21/politics/

campaign/

21tvwatch.html?ex=1096948800&

en=492ef28e51f0ce50&ei=5070

4. Faux News: Fox News Fabricates

Story, Washington Dispatch, October

01, 2004 http://

www.washingtondispatch.com/culture/

archives/000616.html; Fox bitten by

reporter's joke quotes, JO PIAZZA and

M. GEORGE STEVENSON NY

DAILY NEWS http://

www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/

story/237804p-204107c.html

Rash of obvious lies discredits mainstream press

The Abu Ghraib prison torture scandal

has helped illustrate the interlocking nature

of the U.$. military, civilian, and private

prison systems. The story of O. Lane

McCotter, which we have not previously

reported on, is a case in point.

A Texas prisoner pointed out to MIM

that McCotter, former director of

corrections in Texas (1985-87), New

Mexico (1987-91) and Utah (1992-1997),

was "part of a criminal-justice

reconstruction team appointed by the

U.S. Justice Department to assess the

Iraqi corrections system and help

implement improvements" in May

2003.(1) McCotter had left the Utah

prison system after multiple scandals,

including the death of a schizophrenic

prisoner tied to a chair for 16 hours, and

Abu Ghraib connections show interlocking prison systems

misuse of state resources.(2)

After leaving the Utah system,

McCotter became director of corrections

business development for Management

& Training Corp.(1) That company ran

a private prison in New Mexico that has

been investigated for unsafe conditions

and inadequate medical care. He took a

leave from the company to go to Iraq,

where he led the preparations for

converting Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison to

U.$. military use.(2)

The revolving door here is clear.

McCotter started his prison career for the

military, running U.$. military prisons--

including Leavenworth--for 10 years

before leaving to enter the Texas prison

system as assistant director.(2) After

running prison systems in three states, he

started running private prisons, and finally

returned to the military as a private

contractor to retool the Abu Ghraib torture

facility. His career reads like a history of

U.$. prison abuse.

The Texas prisoner concludes: "Where

did he learn to set up such a torture

facility/hell hole? . . . And this was George

Bush's point man to set up Abu Ghraib?

For shame. Done with malice

aforethought. And now the chickens are

coming home to roost. ... By definition a

barbaric prison system is run by

barbarians. Another Abu Ghraib. We will

either have socialism or barbarism."

Notes:
1. AP report from KSL TV in Salt Lake City,
http://tv.ksl.com/
index.php?nid=5&sid=27519.
2. Houston Chronicle 16 May 2004, p. A1.

McCotter's
old
letterhead.

Censorship is systematic

tool of repression

MIM received a stack of Publication Violation

Notices along with rejected copies of MIM Notes 303

from the Snake River Correctional Institution in

Ontario, Oregon. The reason for the censorship was

a brief letter in Under Lock & Key (ULK) from a

comrade in SRCI regarding the successes of their

recent hunger strike. In their own words, "Page 11

portrays information that is detrimental to security."

Censorship is nothing unusual for MIM, whether it

is within U.$. prisons, on U.$. campuses or in public

parks and sidewalks. It is a tool of repression to prevent

effective organizing on the behalf of the oppressed

and exploited under imperialism. Those who believe

we live in a free country in the United $tates are

among the privileged few who have persynal freedom

and have never fought for the freedom of others.

A crucial hindrance in the organizing efforts of

comrades behind bars is the inherent censorship they

face by being cut off from society in general. Then,

when organizations like MIM make a specific effort

to reach them and offer them a forum to share

information thru ULK, we are targeted for specific

censorship.

This recent case is worth mentioning because the

pigs were specific about why we were censored,

demonstrating the motivation behind the censors who

work for imperialism. They had no interest in allowing

prisoners to sum up their successes in a public forum

such as ULK and to acknowledge the unity of

comrades in that facility.

Software review:

"Rise of Nations" & "Rise of Nations: Thrones &

Patriots"

Microsoft

2003 & 2004

"Rise of Nations" (RoN) is game of the year for 2003,

according to a few industry writers. Behind it is one of

the same people who put together "Civilization II" and

"Alpha Centauri," which accounts for how "Alpha

Centauri" and RoN seem to borrow from the previous

game "Civilization." Others have said RoN rips off "Age

of Empires." From MIM's point-of-view, we are stuck

with games like RoN for now, so we have to give RoN a

grudging recommendation. When the proletariat seizes

power it will expand on and improve RoN greatly.

Militarist fascination and computers

The main advantage of the "Civilization"-type games is

that they are not the other mindless video and computer

games people could play that are pure excitement of

militarism for its own sake--the thrill of action-violence--

enhanced by computer graphics that are an important art

form. Strategy games used to be for programmers and

other nerds who stayed in front of computers long hours.

Now with Sony Corporation and others entering the fray,

more shelf space at the store goes to simpler militarist

games connected to the TV set.

The plus side of simple militarist games is that they are

more active than passive TV-watching of militarist

propaganda. On behalf of television, we might suspect

that MTV is less harmful than FOX News militarism--in

which case passivity might be better than twisted joy in

video-game militarism, in which there is often not even

an ideological reason to serve as a veneer for the glories

of war.

At the moment, MIM can not stop the decadent

fascinations of imperialism, but the spread of pornography

hooks men on the Internet and the spread of militarist

games is hooking some people on technical advances

such as computers. So the cloud of imperialist computer

culture may have a silver lining. Hopefully the masses

learn fascination with computer-related things instead

of just fascination with militarism and then graduate to

higher-level games like RoN.

In between the simple militarist games and games like

RoN are role-playing games where the brain may be at

work in a complicated maze and journey, but emphasis

is on the individual's combats or explorations. "Doom"

and "Myst" fall in this category. These games reflect

the state of the politics and economics of settler societies

that focus everything on the individual--though at least

"Myst" is non-violent. The entire category of role-playing

games can be written off as brainwashing of the sort

MIM seeks to avoid above- all; although in the future,

under socialism it will be possible to teach useful concepts

using role-playing games. Maybe in cultures where there

is a stifling group-oriented conformity, it may be

progressive to look at role-playing more before passing

into group-oriented communism.

Imperialist country art and video game consumers are

prone to believe they are not products of society and the

vast majority of existing games does nothing to counter

Strategy games alternative to first-persyn shoot-em-ups

Continued on page 8...

MIM Notes 310 · November 1-14, fa2004 · Page 4

Two weeks before we reported on the

Amerikan army's censure of reserve

Sergeant Lorentz for his essay "Why We

Cannot Win" the Amerikan Federal

Bureau of Investigation (FBI) seized

computers housing the European

Indymedia website. An Indymedia press

release described what happened.(1)

Thursday morning, US authorities

issued a federal order to Rackspace
ordering them to hand over Indymedia
web servers to the requesting agency.
Rackspace, which provides hosting
services for more that 20 Indymedia sites
at its London facility, complied and
turned over the requested servers,
effectively removing those sites from the
internet.

Since the subpoena was issued to

Rackspace and not to Indymedia, the
reasons for this action are still unknown
to Indymedia. Talking to Indymedia
volunteers, Rackspace stated that "they
cannot provide Indymedia with any
information regarding the order." ISPs
have received gag orders in similar
situations which prevent them from
updating the concerned parties on what
is happening. [...]

The last few months have seen

numerous attacks on independent media
by the US Federal Government. In
August the Secret Service used a
subpoena in an attempt to disrupt the
NYC IMC before the RNC by trying to
get IP logs from an ISP in the US and the
Netherlands. Last month the FCC shut

down community radio stations around
the US. Two weeks ago the FBI requested
that Indymedia takes down a post on the
Nantes IMC that had a photo of some
undercover Swiss police and IMC
volunteers in Seattle were visited by the
FBI on the same issue. On the other hand,
Indymedia and other independent media
organizations were successful with their
victories for example against Diebold and
the Patriot Act. Today however, the US
authorities shut down IMCs around the
world.

The list of affected local media

collectives includes Ambazonia,
Uruguay, Andorra, Poland, Western
Massachusetts, Nice, Nantes, Lilles,
Marseille (all France), Euskal Herria
(Basque Country), Liege, East and West
Vlaanderen, Antwerpen (all Belgium),
Belgrade, Portugal, Prague, Galiza, Italy,
Brazil, UK, part of the Germany site, and
the global Indymedia Radio site.

Indymedia had to learn through the

news wires that Rackspace turned over

their computers in response to an order

under the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty

(MLAT). Apparently the FBI subpoenaed

the UK-based internet service provider

in response to an Italian request. "The

U.S. authorities, going beyond the

requirements of the RFI [Request For

Information], then issued an order to seize

the drives," says an Indymedia press

release dated 14 October 2004.

"Indymedia's seized hardware was

mysteriously returned in the same way it

disappeared--without any information

provided as to who took it or why, and on

whose orders." Indymedia is currently

investigating whether the hard drives

were tampered with.

Several organizations of international

journalists correctly protested the FBI's

actions. "We have witnessed an

intolerable and intrusive international

police operation against a network

specializing in independent journalism,"

said Aidan White, the General Secretary

for the International Federation of

Journalists (IFJ). "The way this has been

done smacks more of intimidation of

legitimate journalistic inquiry than crime-

busting." David Dadge, editor for the

International Press Institute, said, "The

fact that the authorities' actions are

shrouded in mystery leaves Indymedia in

the Kafkaesque position of not knowing

the identity of its accusers or the nature

of their claim."

MIM adds that this is nothing new.

We've reported in these pages about

cyber attacks on MIM and pro-Palestinian

organizers.(2) Our newspaper is regularly

censored by prison wardens and college

administrators.(3) "You have the right to

free speech," the old joke goes, "as long

as you don't actually try to use it."

Amerikans need to re-learn some of

the their "founding fathers'" lessons

regarding a free press and the abuse of

governmental power. The Patriot Act and

similar new laws make it easier for

FBI seizes independent website's computers

government officials to censor or imprison

journalists on a whim, without having to

justify their actions publicly. This only

makes it more difficult for the Amerikan

public--who face attacks at home and

whose sons and daughters are dying

abroad because of their government's

actions--to learn the truth about the

world and their place in it, at a time when

"respectable" "established" news

organizations only parrot government's

spin meisters.

"Indymedia is calling for supporters

to sign a solidarity declaration at

http://solidarity.indymedia.org.uk/

denouncing the hard drive seizure as

an unacceptable attack on press

freedom, freedom of expression, and

privacy. They are demanding a full

disclosure of the names of

organizations and individuals involved

in the seizure, a copy of the court

order, and an independent

investigation into any violations of due

process."

Notes:

1. Unless otherwise noted, all quotes

come from http://www.indymedia.org/en/

static/fbi.shtml. Coincidentally (or not),

their site was down when we went to

double-check the quotes just before we

went to press.

2. MIM Notes 273, 1 Jan 2003.

3. http://www.prisoncensorship.info/archive/etext/

agitation/censor/colleges/index.html;

http://www.prisoncensorship.info/archive/etext/

agitation/prisons/censor/index.html

Comparing August 2003 and August 2004

August 2003

August 2004

Change

Number of different computers MIM served*

26933

31730

+17.8%

Avg. MIM pages served per day

2085

2835

+36%

MIM data transferred (megabytes per day)

131

+43%

MIM Notes printed copies compared with pre-911=100

111

All language newspapers printed copies compared with pre-911=100

111

MIM prison circulation averaged over two months Jan 2002=100

Number of top 53 cites of U.$/Kanada receiving at least 1000 MIM Notes

Unknown

Average days after print date by which 80% of papers have been distributed

Unknown

Number of Art page users

4109

5212

+27%

Number of different MIM web page files actively chosen from

3584

5859

+64%

Amazon visitors sent from web page

442

570

+29%

Comparing September 2003 and September 2004

Sep., 2003

Sep., 2004

Change

Number of different computers MIM served*

34933

38738

+10.9%

Avg. MIM pages served per day

3033

3503

+16%

MIM data transferred (megabytes per day)

-11%

MIM Notes printed copies compared with pre-911=100

133

222

All language newspapers printed copies compared with pre-911=100

133

222

MIM prison circulation averaged over two months Jan 2002=100

Number of top 53 cites of U.$/Kanada receiving at least 1000 MIM Notes

Unknown

Average days after print date by which 80% of papers have been distributed

Unknown

Number of Art page users

4279

6430

+50%

Number of different MIM web page files actively chosen from

3501

5711

+63%

Amazon visitors sent from web page

546

720

+32%

*Results exclude art, graphics and some other users.

Report on the

expansion of

MIM's media

MIM's central task: "to create public

opinion and the independent institutions

of the oppressed to seize power."

We continue to lag considerably behind

our Five Year Plan goals. August 2004

compared favorably with August 2003 in

variety of files that our readers found of

interest, but the growth in users lagged

behind the growth in content as measured

by the number of different files touched

by readers. The variety of files offered

has allowed for a deepening of readership

-- more pages taken per reader relative

to growth in number of readers.

On the plus side, August is generally

our slowest month in the year. In August

2004 we reached two major milestones:

1) Our readership was over 1000 people

per day in our slowest month. 2) We

handed out over 100 non-art & non-

graphics files per hour on average in our

slowest month. Since we achieved this in

an August it is not likely we will go

backward from that level of traffic.

We suffered another unexpected

technical setback in August. We continue

to hear your clamour for the publication

of books (several of which are

forthcoming) and the establishment of

another Internet discussion group. We

also apologize to our French-speaking

readers: we have failed to print another

edition of Notes Rouges. It's not that we

forget our obligations. We simply fail to

meet them. We are not usually so far out

of line with our operational plans.

Hopefully we are in transition to a higher

stage level of operation.

A few oddball tidbits--outside the

English-speaking countries, MIM's art

page readers are heavily German and

Iranian. We also had over 350 hits on our

old review of "Sim City 3000," a complex

simulation video game.

MIM Notes 310 · November 1-14, 2004 · Page 5

MIM and RAIL continued our work

with the United Front to Shut Down the

SHU (Security Housing Unit) with a

series of protests, educational events and

outreach work in October. Our regular

first-Saturday-of-the-month protests in

San Francisco and Oakland were a

success. This month we were again out

on the streets downtown in both cities,

handing out literature, collecting petition

signatures, and talking to people about

these long term solitary confinement cells

and why we want to shut them down.

In San Francisco, we moved the table

to a new spot which turned out to be much

better for talking to people. Many former

prisoners and family members of former

prisoners stopped by to express support,

sign the petition, and take literature. A few

people familiar with the campaign also

stopped by the table to say hi and thank

us for our work and pledge their

continued support. We collected close to

50 signatures in the two hours of outreach.

In Oakland, RAIL was on the street in

various locations and doing outreach at

friendly events before, during and after

our monthly rally to build for our teach-in

around the SHU the following week. All

of our work around downtown brought

us in contact with former SHU victims,

family members and supporters. We

gathered dozens of signatures during this

time and handed out hundreds of fliers

for our teach-in.

The day after the first Saturday rally

we attended the Hip Hop Summit at

Laney college (in Oakland) and set up a

table featuring information on the SHU

and some "Don't Vote, Organize!"

propaganda. The latter was in stark

contrast to the overall theme of the event.

The upside was that there was a strong

focus by the Summit on local ballot

initiatives dealing with issues such as

putting more cops on the street and

reforming the Three Strikes Law. This is

a significant difference from the pro-

Kerry voting campaigns that most

organizations are taking up. Our reception

at the Summit was very positive. We

gathered several sheets of signatures and

gained a lot of good attention and new

allies. Many people there were familiar

with the criminal injustice system and

there were activists there supporting

Proposition 66 (the Three Strikes

amendment) and copwatch, among

others. We met a number of activists with

organizations in the state that were

interested in learning more about the

United Front and possibly getting involved.

The most encouraging voices at the

Summit were members of the Prisoners

of Conscience Committee (POCC), most

notably Mutulu from dead prez and

Chairman Fred Hampton Jr. Dead prez

performed that evening alongside five

other acts to close the summit. The POCC

were the only other people besides MIM

and RAIL putting out a "Don't Vote"

message at the Summit. As usual, dead

prez put on an excellent performance,

while stressing the POCC Code of

Culture--namely, that the performance

wasn't a "hip hop concert," but people

coming together to express their common

experience and organize to change that

experience. While it was discouraging

that the crowd surged in size after the

organizing programs were over, dead prez

brought a better message to the evening

crowd than a lot of people were putting

out during the day, and RAIL took the

opportunity to hand out fliers to hundreds

of young people.

Chairman Fred Hampton Jr. spoke at a

separate forum the following night in

Berkeley to promote the POCC and raise

funds to attend the International Social

Forum in Brazil, where they hope to

present their African Anti-Terorrism Bill

(AAT). The AAT is one of the POCC's

major tools in pressuring politicians and

media personas to make concessions to

the cause of liberating African people. The

theme of this event was "The Math of

the Masses: No position on political

prisoners + No position on reparations +

no position on the AAT Bill = NO

VOTE!" Throughout the night, Hampton

stressed that when people are so

desperate that they'll vote for anyone,

they open themselves to all kinds of

attacks. The POCC is taking a principled

stand on not voting, just as MIM has done

for decades. Neither of us has ruled out

voting as a possible tactic, but until it

becomes a tactic that can push

revolutionary struggle forward with we

will build allies by coming out in principled

opposition.

Fred Hampton Jr. is working in the

footsteps of his father who was killed in

his bed by the government at age 21 for

being a successful organizer for the Black

Panther Party. Chairman Fred Jr. spoke

about his father's successes. He helped

the Devil's Disciples become the Black

Disciples and take on work with the

BPP's breakfast for school children

program. Fred spoke about how these

organizations weren't joining the BPP, but

they were working with them where they

could find unity. This is the same strategy

the POCC is taking up today, apparently

successfully, in working with unpoliticized

street tribes. While Hampton spoke about

the many "coalitions" they are forming

with groups in Chicago, this is an example

of what MIM defines as a "United

Front." The difference being that the

POCC, as the BPP before it, is finding

unity with these organizations in action

while each group is keeping its

independence in terms of ideology and

what it stands for in general. A coalition

implies a melding of organizations into one

monolithic whole, the tragedy of this being

that the politics of the most advanced

sectors are watered down by the politics

of the rest.

The POCC also does a lot of prisoner

support work similar to MIM. Analogous

to MIM's Serve the People Prisoner Re-

Lease on Life program, the POCC has

"Welcome Black to the Community,"

which at this stage provides a care

package to recent releasees to help them

get on their feet. The POCC also has a

"One Prisoner, One Contact" program

that gets people on the outside writing to

prisoners on the inside. And as the

Chairman stressed its not just writing

about, "hi, how are you, can't wait for

you to get out." They're working to build

real contact between prisoners and

communities to build organization, just as

MIM does with its prison correspondence

work. The POCC does a good job of

putting politics in command of its work

and we look forward to their future

successes and potential alliances in our

respective work.

The following night we had our own

public education event in Oakland on the

SHU. Only a small group attended but it

was a good event with a lively discussion.

The speakers focused on the

contradictions within the prison system

and how the SHU and the criminal

injustice system as a whole fit into the

bigger picture of imperialism.

Opening the event, a RAIL activist

explained the dialectical nature of prisons

as tools of oppression and breeders of

resistance. S/he stressed the strategic

importance of the SHU campaign in

relation to all the other humyn rights issues

we could be taking on. On one side we

have the SHU as an extreme form of

repression that is isolating some of our

best leaders from the masses they are

trying to organize. This is why it is so

important that we win this struggle. It

would not just be a victory for one small

humyn rights struggle, but the relative

liberation of our comrades from these

SHUs (relative because they will still be

imprisoned) will push forward the long

term goal of guaranteeing all humyns'

survival rights by overthrowing

imperialism as a whole.

The other side of the SHU is that it is

so brutally repressive that as long as they

do exist our movement will only grow as

more family members and ex-prisoners

have had experience with the system.

These units have already been

condemned by the United Nations. Even

those who promote prisons can't deny

that about 90% of those in the SHU will

be released some day and that it is better

for society if they had spent that time

taking classes, working, exercising and

interacting with other humyns.

A presentation by the Barrio Defense

Committee(BDC) exposed the use of the

SHU for social control, particularly

targeting Mexican prisoners. The BDC

comrade also discussed how Mexican

community members are being targeted

by the police through programs called

"Weed and Seed" that are artificially

increasing the charges being brought

against people because they are being

picked up in neighborhoods the

government has decided to target.

Afterward, MIM gave context to the

repression in the SHU discussing why the

United $tates has the highest

imprisonment rate in the world and how

prisons and the SHU fit into the system

of national oppression within u.s. borders.

United Struggle from Within comrades

in the SHU participated in the event

through written statements read by RAIL

activists. The opening speaker stressed

the connection and similarities between

the SHU and Abu Ghraib and

Guantanamo Bay. The flier for the event

used Abu Ghraib photos in an effort to

make a point that this was a systematic

problem. Torture and terror are not new

to the United $tates, their use has only

increased over time. Black people have

seen this terror since the beginnings of

slavery, and today there are few parts of

the world you can go that have not been

touched by U.$. terror. It is only within

the context of ending all U.$. terror that

we can make the struggle to abolish the

SHU an effective one.

`Shut down the Security Housing Units!'

October report

MIM Notes 310 · November 1-14, fa2004 · Page 6

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?

issues of war and peace-- ranging from

the lies in Vietnam to the scare tactics

about Saddam Hussein's alleged nuclear

weapons. Not surprisingly, youth are

going to find a way to figure out things

for themselves.

In the first televised debate with Kerry

and since then, Bush has stressed that

like his "Secretary of Defense" Rumsfeld

he is opposed to the draft. At the same

time, Bu$h's hand-picked colonial

administrator L. Paul Bremer the 3rd who

headed Iraq from May 2003 to June 2004

just said that "the United States paid a

price for not stopping the looting in Iraq

in the immediate aftermath of major

combat operations and that we did not

have enough troops on the ground to

accomplish that task."(2)

The only way that the United $tates

could have landed enough troops in Iraq

to take control as it did in Germany was

to have a draft--and even then the

political plan with the details and the

general ideology in the air to create

change on the scale of Germany or Japan

after World War II were lacking.

Conversely, the Iraqi people are more

prepared to visit the United $tates and

straighten it out than the other way

around.

Bremer knows very well that Kerry's

side picked up his comments to prove that

Bu$h never knew what he was doing, but

Bremer made the comments anyway

because he is desperate to get in his two

cents in recent Congress discussions of

ANTI-DRAFT MOVEMENT

ACHIEVES STEP FORWARD

the military's size and budget. The

"competence" faction of the rulers is

somewhat upset right now, but we cannot

trust any of the "increase the size of the

military" politicians as having a real

solution. Quite the contrary, their plan will

exhaust the all-volunteer military while

expanding the budget deficit.

In an attempt to fool the youth just prior

to the 2004 election, Bu$h's buddies in

Congress sponsored a vote for the draft.

It lost 402-2. This was the way the

Republican Party tried to stop youth from

massively voting against it.(1)

To get the draft, the imperialists know

they need some dramatic events like 911,

so the politicians can say they had "no

choice" but to turn to a draft, just as they

said they "had no choice" to go to war to

back their lies and distortions about the

UN weapons inspections in Iraq.(3) We

say to ignore the politicians. They only

reflect what is already happening. Just

because the politicians talk about how

Bu$h did not plan ahead for the peace in

Iraq does not mean youth should also fail

to plan ahead. It is the casualties in Iraq

and the threats Uncle $am makes against

other countries that determine the

question for those yet to serve.

Notes:

1. http://www.time.com/time/

magazine/article/0,9171,1101041018-

713207,00.html

2. http://www.iht.com/articles/

542686.htm

3. www.prisoncensorship.info/archive/etext/

bookstore/books/violence/milanrai.html

Continued from page 1...

The following is a list of quotes from a

web page. At first the Vietnam War

required no draft. It ended up with 500,000

troops in Vietnam. The list of quotes

shows that all of the major authorities

aside from having completely wrong

ideological values also either did not know

what they were doing or lied to the public

to keep it stoked up for war.

"The training, transportation and

logistical support we are providing in

Vietnam has succeeded in turning the tide

against the Vietcong."--General

Barksdale Hamlett (US. Army Vice

Chief of Staff), October 10, 1962

"The spearhead of aggression has been

blunted in Vietnam." --John F. Kennedy,

January 14, 1963

"Victory is in sight." --General Paul

D. Harkins, March 5, 1963

"The Vietcong is going to collapse

within weeks. Not months but weeks."

--Walt Whitman Rostow (Chairman of

the Policy Planning Council of the US.

Department of State), July 1965

"Its silly talking about how many years

we will have to spend in the jungles of

Vietnam when we could pave the whole

country and put parking stripes on it and

still be home by Christmas." --Ronald

Reagan, October 10, 1965

"We must never forget that if the war

in Vietnam is lost. . . the right of free

speech will be extinguished throughout the

world." --Richard M. Nixon, October 27,

1965

"Hold on a little longer and pretty soon

we will have them on their knees at the

bargaining table." --Sen. Everett

Dirksen, January 9, 1966

"The North Vietnamese cannot take the

punishment anymore in the South. I think

we can bring the war to a conclusion

within the next year, possibly within the

next six months." --General S.L.A.

Marshall, September 12, 1966

"I believe there is a light at the end of

what has been a long and lonely tunnel."

--Lyndon B. Johnson, September 21,

1966

"The military picture is favorable." --

Gen. William C. Westmoreland, April 24,

1967

"We have reached an important point

when the end begins to come into view."

--Gen. William C. Westmoreland,

November 21, 1967

"The troops will be brought home in 18

months." --General Harold K. Johnson,

August 12, 1967

"If I'm elected we'll end this war in six

months." --Richard M. Nixon, 1968

"The enemy is about to run out of

steam." --Gen. William C.

Westmoreland, February 2, 1968

"We have the enemy licked now." END

--Admiral John S. McClain, February

1969

"I think we've certainly turned the

corner." --Melvin Laird (US Secretary

of Defense), July 15, 1969

"The enemy is reeling from successive

disasters. . . . We are, in fact. . . winning

the war." --William Buckley, December

20, 1969

"We're on our way up . . . the pendulum

is beginning to swing." --Gen. William

C. Westmoreland, April 16, 1972

"Militarily and politically, Hanoi is

losing." --Richard M. Nixon, June 26,

1972

Like their "war on drugs," the

imperialists' "war on terror" and war on

Iraq are really matters of the spiritual

foolhardiness of the middle-class and poor

people they seek to misguide. Without

understanding places like Vietnam and

Iraq better, it is impossible for the public

to really know what the rulers have in

mind, other than the usual genocide and

oil theft. That's why the Iraq War is a

reason for youth to study politics more

deeply.

If oil and military contracts are not good

reasons for a war in your mind, and if

you or someone you care for is draft-age

(and that includes wimmin who will be

drafted), then you need to study the

politics of war more seriously.

If it were up to our current rulers

descended from J.F.K and Reagan, the

United $tates would still be fighting in

Vietnam. It was only the deaths of so

many young men that caused any

rethinking, any independent investigation.

Thanks to Mike Rodriquez for his

quotes archive: http://

www.allthepages.org/archives/

cat_quotes.html

Don't trust the authorities

Youth need to figure out the wars for themselves

General Westmoreland's statements to the

press and presidents over years in the face

of the obvious dangers and immorality of
genocidal bombing are proof that strong

spirituality is not a good thing.

MIM Notes 310 · November 1-14, 2004 · Page 7

The U.$. Government Census Bureau

determined that there were 26.4 million

living veterans in the United $tates as of

2000. That is 13% of the population and

includes approximately one in four men

over age 18.(1)

A large portion of society becomes

acclimated to repression in the military

as youth. A militarized country is not a

free country, and on this MIM does not

say anything particularly new.(2) The

"founding fathers" while guilty of

genocide and slavery knew from

European experience why they opposed

having too many veterans and a standing

army that is large and permanent. It's

cause-and-effect that militarization leads

Fight censorship in the military!

MIM starts webpage on censorship in the military

www.prisoncensorship.info/archive/etext/agitation/censor/milit/

to despotism, and this is now such a

problem that MIM itself does not believe

it is possible to leap straight into a

peaceful and state-less world.

The continual necessity for their

services enhances the importance of

the soldier, and proportionably

degrades the condition of the citizen.

The military state becomes elevated

above the civil. The inhabitants of

territories, often the theatre of war, are

unavoidably subjected to frequent

infringements on their rights, which

serve to weaken their sense of those

rights; and by degrees the people are

brought to consider the soldiery not

only as their protectors, but as their

superiors. The transition from this

disposition to that of considering them

masters, is neither remote nor difficult;

but it is very difficult to prevail upon a

people under such impressions, to

make a bold or effectual resistance to

usurpations supported by the military

power.

--Alexander Hamilton, "Federalist

Papers" #8, November 20 1786.(3)

It is imperative to fight the degradation

of the whole society by militarist

brainwashing and censorship, but we

have to admit that with the number of

veterans, police and prison guards in the

United $tates, the situation has gone

beyond anything Alexander Hamilton

imagined happening. The perpetual war

of the United $tates on the Third World

has led to a situation where 1) the United

$tates attacks other countries in the name

of "freedom"; 2) yet, soldiers learn to do

without freedom in practical life in the

military and 3) the United $tates can land

a hundred thousand troops anywhere, but

it can't run its own elections.

Notes:

1. www.census.gov/Press-Release/

www/2002/cb02ff18.html.

2. www.prisoncensorship.info/archive/etext/faq/

freecoun.html.

3. www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/

federal/fed08.htm

seem meaningful when the government

is able to keep its citizens ignorant about

the war it is supporting or having second

thoughts about.

That is also the reason that George

Bush said in the presidential debates that

he does not want to debate the war

because he's worried about the "message

it sends" to the troops. There is a solid

40% of the United $tates that, once it gets

into a war, has no way of getting out,

because that substantial minority

considers it unwise or even unpatriotic to

criticize any war. Permanent war is the

thinking of much of Amerika: a substantial

minority of people will simultaneously brag

about belonging to a "free country" while

simultaneously trying to shut up critics.

When MIM points out that capitalism

censors the press all the time, we usually

send readers straight to our prison literacy

outreach programs.(4) Our attempts to

bring education to those imperialism chose

not to educate are usually sabotaged by

the pigs; however, there are dozens of

other examples of capitalist pig

censorship: all press under capitalism must

sell advertising to survive--and so

advertisers have a major impact on the

editorial policies of journals.

Think you have free speech?

Think again!

This case of imperialist censorship

should make clear the illusory character

of "freedom" under capitalism. Here we

have a career soldier who likely wants

the imperialists to win and even has some

insights about how they could. But instead

of being listened to he is getting what he

deserves: a slap in the face! MIM just

wishes we could be the ones to slap Sgt.

Lorentz to his senses. Instead, he is being

victimized by his (former?) imperialist

masters for his insolence and probably

getting a lot of double-talk, and mixed

messages. Sgt. Lorentz is now learning

IMPERIALISTS CENSOR SGT.

more wrong lessons from a system of lies

that can only teach wrong lessons. Our

sympathy for Sgt. Lorentz is a direct

function of his commitment to eradicating

his 20 years of crimes by taking up the

anti-imperialist banner.

The lesson here is clear: the imperialists

even censor their own ilk. Consequently,

those who care about civil liberties should

not expect the imperialists to defend them.

Speaking of independent media, MIM

generally does not talk about Libertarian

or "Old Right" sites like

"LewRockwell.com" or "antiwar.com."

These sites are examples of a minority

strand of capitalists who think that war is

bad for business and that it should be

opposed in the name of the market. It

makes for interesting, principled, but

theoretically incoherent, reading. The

"libertarians" have not yet realized that

capitalism engenders and even requires

the wars that they rightly oppose. So while

MIM can salute capitalists like Murray

Rothbard for their anti-war stance the fact

is that capitalism generates wars because

the arms industries stand to profit from

them as do the banks! No amount of

wishful thinking will change the facts:

greed is indifferent to the suffering it

engenders.

Notes:
1. Why We Cannot Win, by Al Lorentz 20

September 2004, http://
www.lewrockwell.com/orig5/lorentz1.html

2. Operation American Repression? By

Eric Boehlert 29 Sept. 2004 http://
archive.salon.com/news/feature/2004/09/29/
military_justice/

3. http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/

meast/10/15/military.investigation/
index.html

4. Fight Censorship in Prison! http://

www.prisoncensorship.info/archive/etext/agitation/
prisons/censor/index.html; Books for
Prisoners, http://www.etext.org/Politics/
MIM/agitation/prisons/booksforprisoners/

Continued from page 1...

MIM Notes 310 · November 1-14, fa2004 · Page 8

that deluded belief. The predominance of

militarist and role-playing games is the

reason that MIM finds something to cheer

in RoN, because at least in RoN there is

an entire economy, a political system and

history. The outcome of the game does

not depend on the action of one super-

robot constructed by the player: as in

"Tropico," we see all the citizens

scurrying about their work and that work

determines whether the player wins or

loses.

Economy

Like most other strategy games, RoN

cuts through the dense fog of bourgeois

economics which focuses on consumer

choices, markets and profits. In RoN the

workers produce five goods and

services--food, wood, metal, oil and

knowledge plus various exotic elements.

Five goods and services provide a

dynamic underpinning for the whole

game.

The RoN economy does not depend on

individual choices, sales or profits. The

marketplace does exist but it plays no

directing role. It is the player who directs

the economy and (if for no other reason)

that is why MIM has to recommend

RoN.

Something we like is that the game

starts with food and wood. These are

analogous to what Marxists call the

"productive sector" agriculture and

industry. With work in these two sectors

in the economy it is possible to expand.

Universities and white collar production

come only later in the game.

In "Tropico" we liked the effect of

having transport workers included. In

both "Tropico" and RoN we see the

difference between role-playing games

and strategy games: workers will set

about work themselves and not each unit

has to be programmed. In a role-playing

game, each action of each individual is

the key to the enjoyment of the game. As

a strategy game, RoN goes the extra step

and says that there is no need to program

someone to deliver food or wood. That is

the sort of choice that strategy game

programmers make to allow focus on the

bigger picture.

If the player completely bungles the

economy, competitors will come to destroy

him/her literally. Most likely, the player

will achieve economic surplus and expand

business into more territory. In all of this

so far, Marx would have found himself in

familiar intellectual territory.

The gloomy side of the game is that it

is inevitable that some will expand the

economy and that appears to lead to war.

Economic surplus makes war possible, but

RoN has no socialist solution. Even

diplomacy is severely limited by the

overall logic of the game. The most one

can do is start the game by checking off

the computer options that the computer

competitors will be driven to economic

expansion as their strategic focus. In this,

RoN follows along in the recent trend

toward non-violent options--not as arising

from the game itself but by programming

choice at the beginning of the game. For

this, RoN again deserves some credit.

There are some parents who would like

to buy the game that excludes the war

option. We have to note that RoN does

have scenarios where the "mission" is for

an army to kill civilians--what is known

today as "terrorism." The reason given

for the slaughter is that they are settlers

stealing "your" land. On the one hand,

the mission terrorism will desensitize some

people, but on the other hand, the depiction

is historically accurate for many places

including Palestine today. Hopefully

people will question whether it is worth

"conquering the world" or participating

in a world with "rules" like that.

The other side of the coin is that

diplomacy in RoN is undeveloped--

perhaps a good thing that does not

promote illusions. In fact, one section of

the game makes explicit that conquering

the world is the solution to the problems.

Perhaps as a concession to the market,

the detailed emphasis ends up on military

battles. The military strategy is limited to

what types of units to produce and what

formations to put them in where. It is not

connected the way Mao connected

military science to politics and moving

forward.

Perhaps RoN can bundle together with

games that have non-violent options and

create a pacifist combination pack.

Although anyone able to play the game is

"adult" enough to decide for him or

herself whether war is fun or not, as a

matter of gift-giving some would like the

pacifist option.

History

As in a theater production, RoN makes

use of historically specific props and

images. The expansion pack offers

Alexander the Great, Napoleon and the

presidents of the United $tates during the

Cold War--probably months worth of

playing time. The correct names of many

political leaders pop up in the game--so

at least at that slight level the game can

acclimate players somewhat to

international history.

When we play the "Cold War"

scenario, an icon of Lenin pops up and

recommends war to take over countries

because the Communist Party is short on

cash. It's another way of pressing the

player to "conquer the world."

On the other hand, the cynicism is

even-handed. Regardless of ideology or

history, in the Cold War game, bribing

states or taking them over by military

force is the way to win.

The even-handed cynicism deserves to

be called bourgeois internationalism. RoN

has African civilizations--Nubia and

Egypt, Middle Eastern civilization--

Turkey and Persia, European imperialists,

China and Korea etc. The expansion pack

even makes it possible to fight as Lakota

Indians or as members of the Iroqois

Confederacy.

Of course we appreciate the attention

to the various nations. What we find

reactionary in the RoN context is the idea

that civilizations just rise and fall. That

could be a possible explanation for the

focus on military conquest that will cycle

on forever as it seems to have in humyn

history as depicted by RoN. What is

lacking is a sense of advance as opposed

to circular conquests. This circular view

of history especially suits Amerikans right

now who can say, "they had their turn

rampaging; now it's ours." RoN can be a

typical excuse for conservatives with a

species-death-wish: "that's the way it is."

That's the way it cannot be anymore or

the planet can say bye-bye.

In the "Conquer the World" scenario

of the "whole world," all the players are

trying to become global dominators. Those

that do not can be wiped out. Those left

standing are good at economic surpluses,

diplomacy and military tactics. In a certain

sense, the economy and technology

advance in the survivors, but the question

is whether "victors" geared to war can

obtain peace. History answers that no

empire has ever conquered the whole

world and all attempts have ended in war.

Even if Hitler's Third Reich had

conquered the whole world, it would not

have survived without internal war leading

to new nations and another cycle of

wasteful violence. Marx & Lenin turned

to economics and science and said the

dialectic would bring about peace

unexpectedly by giving rise to an

advanced class of proletarians.

In the expansion pack, there is a clock

ticking toward nuclear doom--another bit

of realism. What is missing is a realistic

sense of how people can fight it. In this,

RoN reflects the past, but does not

develop or synthesize a theory about it to

move forward. That's what Marxism

offers. There is still no other answer for

that clock ticking toward nuclear doom.

The Cold War

Historically-speaking, RoN is the most

realistic of the games by the same people

overlapping with "Civilization."

Nonetheless, "Superpower" is far more

realistic, an example of a competitor of

RoN. RoN fans would probably reply that

RoN covers far more history while

"Superpower" is just recent times.

In playing the RoN Cold War scenario,

again, peace or a new idea for peace was

not an option. In the one scenario the

reviewer played, the Amerikans attacked

while the Russian side tended to

economic matters. The Amerikans passed

on the Korean War, but they did invade

Vietnam. Eventually President Reagan

also invaded Cuba in the game.

Summary

The marketplace knows about

armaments and past wars. To sell a game

modeling how to achieve peace and

harmony is a lot to ask our gaming

bourgeoisie at the moment. It was an

advance for RoN and others to "assume"

the world is non-violent and that the game

occurs in that context, either as economic

competition or cultural competition. Along

these lines, "Galactic Civilization" is

perhaps better in putting the problem on

the table, because it builds the pacifist

option into the existing world of

competitive militarists. Although pacifists

in that game arm themselves, they can

compete directly with the militarists. The

problem there is that most pacifists might

not see the "pacifists" as very pacifist.

There is a vicious cycle where art

imitates life and life imitates art. To

become fully humyn, we must intervene

to break the cycle of history, no matter

how true up to this point. That's why we

criticize the video games people play.

RoN has a "something for everyone"

approach to strategy--with politics,

economics, history and military science.

Strategy games alternative to first-persyn shoot-em-ups

Continued from page 3...

MIM Notes 310 · November 1-14, 2004 · Page 9

had O'Toole said something like that to

her comrades, she would have been asked

for self-criticism. Had she managed to

say something like that to the media, she

would have been fired and found another

job. That is the correct model of

community-to-police relations. Nothing

less will ever produce the optimum non-

violent social order.

Red Sox ownership should see that this

incident ruined the Red Sox celebrations

and should pressure the police and city

officials. In celebrations after a Los

Angeles Lakers championship victories

some fans turned over two police cars.

Lakers star Shaquille O'Neal could see

where his bread is buttered and he paid

for the police cars. In that incident over-

hyped by the media, a media van also

suffered along with $750,000 worth of

other business damages.(3) MIM says

"so what?" The police deployment costs

more than that and none of it compares

with the death of Victoria Snelgrove.

The fear of cars being turned over or

some wild grafitti or drunken scuffles did

not justify Boston's police deployment.

Anyone with an ethical sense of

proportion can see that.

Even among more moderate writers in

the press, Brian McGrory of the Boston

Globe seems to have no grip on what

causes what. The death of a man at the

Super Bowl celebration in February was

by a drunk driver. Unless the city is going

to successfully ban alcohol or driving and

deploy police for that, there are going to

be drunk-driving related deaths. Putting

riot cops on the street is not a solution for

that problem. Using the Super Bowl death

of a man killed by a drunk driver to justify

riot police deployment is oink-speak in two

senses.

The reason that police never see that

is that they earn money to abuse the

public. Police Commissioner O'Toole's

"punks" rhetoric is nothing but a

justification for police pay. The tally for

the Democratic National Convention held

in July is still not done, but already it is

clear that just Boston police alone (and

there were other police agencies

involved) have received at least $5 million

in overtime pay from that.(4) Not

surprisingly the police and their friends in

the media are constantly hyping non-

existent threats--not to mention the

threats that do exist but police cannot

solve.

Some of the same cold-hearted knee-

jerk police supporters who will sweep

Victoria Snelgrove under the rug will also

complain about taxes even as their

beloved police bilk the public with hyped

fears about demonstrators or Red Sox

crowds. These same sicko cheapskates

will be lining up to send troops to Iraq

with the hope of cheaper gas so they can

afford the taxes to pay for more cops.

Their attitude is not much different than

that of the pirates of yore. They are for

force to settle questions, not for improved

production to make everyone better off.

Boston police admit killing student

If all the people they favor having as

police and prison guards had real jobs,

they would not need to be sending youth

to die for oil.

Under the dictatorship of the proletariat

there won't be police unions or anything

of that kind, no police cliques. Police and

prison officials will be public servants or

they will find other jobs, and other jobs

will be guaranteed under socialism. The

people of Boston should put MIM in

power as our current politicians do not

have a sense of proportion in life-and-

death matters.

The difference between Pedro

Martinez and city officials

After losing a game to the New York

Yankees, star Boston Red Sox pitcher

Pedro Martinez said that the writers could

call the Yankees "my daddy." It was a

way of showing a self-critical spirit in a

sporting way--to admit defeat by an

opponent. The statistics showed that

Pedro fared relatively poorly against the

Yankees all season and Pedro was man

enough to admit it. People without a grip

on reality and a self-critical attitude do

not have achievements like Pedro's.

In contrast, ego-tripping government

officials in Boston deployed police that

killed Victoria Snelgrove and the next day

could not focus themselves on the

appropriate message of the day which

was that they and their police were wrong

and they were going to do something to

prevent being wrong again. If Pedro can

say the Yankees are "his daddy," then

Commissioner O'Toole can say that she

was the leader of the "punks."

Meanwhile, Boston Mayor Thomas

Menino was busy threatening to arrange

expulsion of students for celebrating in

too rowdy a fashion. "`The students have

no sense of responsibility

whatsoever,'"(5) he had the gall to say

just after his police killed one. Earth to

Menino: you should be expelling police

rioters and maybe then you would earn

students' respect.

We at MIM told you so. In our live

coverage of the "crowd control" at the

Republican National Convention in New

York City we said: "One thing we did not

see in the labor aristocracy media--a

comparison of how much violence has

been carried out by police as compared

with demonstrators. The reason we do

not hear that subject talked about is that

police riots against the public are much

more common than violent riots by

demonstrators. Hiring fewer cops and

providing existing ones something else to

do is the surest road to reducing violence."

Commissioner O'Toole and Menino

bear responsibility for provoking the

crowds into minor mayhem and for

lacking any sense of proportion regarding

the major disorder that caused the death

of Victoria Snelgrove.

The role of spectator sports

MIM opposes commercialized

spectator sports. The couch potatoes

should glorify their own competitive

exploits with one tenth what they give to

spectator sports now and we would have

an amazing people.

It's also unavoidable to ask in a situation

like this one--why there is such an

outpouring regarding the Red Sox. The

answer is the manipulation of sports

corporations.

People bored with their own lives under

capitalism find intense vicarious pleasure

in the achievements of others. Not

surprisingly, that basic kind of alienation

leads to the sports bar and alcohol. People

in charge of their own workplaces and

leisure lives would not feel that kind of

alienation that leads to spectator sports

mania and alcohol and other drugs--

problems that police under capitalism can

never solve.

As we can see from the Victoria

Snelgrove case, police cannot solve

crowd control issues either. Someone died

at the Super Bowl too and prohibition of

alcohol does not work in the United $tates,

because capitalism creates black

markets. The only real answer to this

whole knot of problems is socialism--

self-actualization at work, self-

actualization in sports and other leisure-

time activities. Puncturing the whole

spectator sport myth is important for the

same underlying resaon as puncturing the

myth of the importance of the capitalist

class in production.

Notes:

1. http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/10/

22/fan.death/index.html

2. Metro Boston Edition 22Oct2004,

p. 1.

3. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/

nba/02playoffs/2002-06-13-lakers-

fans.htm

4. http://www.boston.com/news/

politics/conventions/articles/2004/10/11/

convention_overtime_at_66m_may_top_9m/

5. Metro Boston Edition 22Oct2004,

p. 6.

What is the

dictatorship of

the proletariat?

The proletariat is the group of people

who are propertyless and thus have

"nothing to lose but their chains." The

proletariat is the least conservative

element of society. The bourgeoisie is the

class of people who appropriate the labor

of wage workers through their control of

the means of production.

Dictatorship is organized force.

According to Marxism, all governments

are dictatorships. When classes are

abolished, it may be possible to have no

dictatorships because governments will

be abolished and replaced by voluntary

cooperation. We communists admit to

having dictatorship governments until we

achieve our goal of classlessness. It's a

matter of accountability.

Dictatorship of the proletariat is the

government of socialism. Dictatorship of

the bourgeoisie is the government of

capitalism.

Concretely and with reference to North

Amerikan ideas, dictatorship of the

proletariat is government implementation

of "survival rights" above "property

rights."

The realization that the right to life itself

can not be negotiable favors the

proletariat. Along with that realization

comes the notion that a non-negotiable

"right" implies the use of force to protect

it from those who profit abusing those so-

called rights. The use of force or law

backed by force (government) to feed,

clothe, shelter and otherwise protect

survival rights is dictatorship of the

proletariat.

The dictatorship of the proletariat is the

most central question of socialism. We

do not water it down or evade it. The

whole Cultural Revolution in China (1966-

1976) was about how to maintain and

strengthen the dictatorship of the

proletariat so that it would not be

corrupted. We communists are not

Liberal. We do not tolerate those who put

profit or such goals above survival rights.

We favor repression or control of such

people until the causes of their twisted

thought have been removed and

bourgeois thought has become completely

impossible to the whole people. That will

only happen under advanced stages of

communism.

Because there is no exploited white

working class in North Amerika, MIM

favors the joint dictatorship of the

proletariat of the oppressed nations

(JDPON). This amounts to putting u.$.

imperialism into receivership by

something like a proletarian United

Nations. The whole dictatorship of the

proletariat idea or its current form required

as JDPON is a strategy for advance from

capitalism toward communism, in which

dictatorship is only a stage existing until

certain tasks eliminating classes are done.

Continued from page 1...

What questions do YOU have?

Wasn't Mao a butcher? Why do you spell it "Amerika"? Shouldn't you try
non-violence first? What is internationalism? Isn't hating white people reverse
racism? Why don't you leftists work together? Why don't you tone it down?
What is a cardinal principle? What is your program? What is necessary to
join MIM? What concrete actions can I take? How do I write articles for
MIM? What is your copyright policy?

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

and get real answers to these and other questions.

MIM Notes 310 · November 1-14, fa2004 · 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

The real truth about Three Strikes

and mandatory minimums

Three strikes is a failure, enacted to

allegedly remove violent offenders from

society; this law brought to life by a mentality
of vengeance is but the result of sophisticated
manipulation.

There is a combination of forces at work to

further erode family, societal and state
structures; to raise them to a level of all out

fascism. The kidnap, savage rape, and murder
of Polly Class by Richard Allen Davis are just
one spectrum of what led to the policy's

creation. The "1992 Riots" played a
significant role due to the widespread chaos
and destruction of Los Angeles. Once the

anger spread, it reached cities in other states.
The truth is the fear of an all out conscious
uprising of America's semi-internal colonies

brought fear to its highest levels of
manipulative authority: the state, city, and
federal government.

It's been ten years practically since the

invention of this law. Take a look around your
neighborhood, has crime increased or

decreased? Read the sanitized media of
newspapers and watch the television, has that
changed much? The real crooks are the

corporations who subconsciously convince
millions of people in this land and the world
that they care and they provide some service

to the world community. Has not the
landscape of this land steadily progressed to
its current state of venomous capitalism?

While many advocate three strikes for the
oppressed nations of America, what about
the corporate three strikes? We won't begin

to make progress in this country until the real
criminals are brought to socialist justice; our
hypocrisy to say we're against crime, and not

against it "in all forms."

So what has mandatory minimum's

sentencing guidelines improved? These

guidelines have improved the systematic
attack on the occupation of America's semi-
colonies right to life and liberty. If the wealth

of any nation can be concentrated in the
hands of a few, and denied the many, you can
only have a system of unfair implementation.

Currently, the president and his crew have
formed an oligarchy, concentrating Capital
and force to have a monopoly on wealth and

influence. Monopoly capital controls
America's affairs not democracy, liberty or
anything else.

The media has proven to be a powerful tool,

guiding the impressions and sentiments of
the populace of this land. Media is also used

to stereotype, degrade, and assault whole
nationalities of people. This brings me to
George Hegel who propagated a philosophy

of (1) creating a problem or "convincing a
significant portion of the population that there
is a problem," (2) generating opposition to

that problem, and finally (3) people would be
ready for a phased solution to the supposed
though actually created problem.

This is what has happened, and is

happening to those inside U.S. prison camps.
The generation that proceeded this one was

hooked on crack and dope and the state not
only provided the dope, but supposed help
for the mothers and fathers to buy the dope

they imported. How? Welfare in the 80's and
90's. Is it any wonder that three strikes came
as the next phase? There are minds at work

that have significant enough foresight to plan
far into the distant future. These minds
construct and continually revitalize what I call

social, political, economic, genetic, spiritual,
mental, and psychological weapons to keep
America's semi-colonies in their place of

master-servant relations based on historic

oppression.

I write this from a prison cell (camp). They

gave me 25 to life for vandalism. I've only
had one prior arrest, but 2 charges: assault

and alleged robbery. The tax payer will foot
the $23,000-25,000 a year bill to house and
feed me, basically lock me out of a promising

future with my two daughters, two brothers,
and three sisters.

California under the leadership of Governor

Grey Davis accelerated occupation,
militarization, and open fascism. The CCPOA
has only been a monster using its statistics

and lobbying with capital to pass draconian
sentencing schemes to fill its warehouses.
Crime and justice is not its sole motive, profit

is. I tell you this from a position inside one of
America's prison camps, where there can be
found Prison Industrial Association (PIA)

sweatshops. There is a whole host of
predatory economic ploys, where prisoners
are warehoused, exploited, and

psychologically abused. We are denied
cosmetics, clothes for warmth, solitude,
education, or food that sustains a normal

weight. We have to buy everything on top of
the state receiving $23,000-25,000 a year to
supposedly house us. The money is not spent

on us. It's being funneled to others. We are
also taxed an inmate welfare fund tax outside
of government taxes. This tax is 10%. So they

pocket that too, outside of buying balls,
basketballs, racquetballs, and board games;
not using the revenue as it is intended. I'm

surprised that the CCPOA has gotten away
thus far with its deception and political science
tactics. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to

realize Hegellian deceit at work.

Crime is sensationalized to the point of

public outcry with over-dramatizations,

sensationalisms and attacks on the U.S.
population. A crime doesn't need to be made
into a short 2 to 3 minute deceptive movie

just to catch a perpetrator. Utilization of the
airwaves in this fashion amounts to deceptive
trickery to keep you looking for a monster of

their creation and not the real life, blood-
sucking monsters who steal daily, not only
cash but minds and futures. Don't be fooled,

America has over 2 million captives in these
dungeons. I often characterize this as the
American holocaust. Is a slow degenerative

death less torturous than an immediate
execution? In the event that I do survive and
others who are serving these mandatory

minimum sentences, what is the product that
you or society will be sending back? Will it
be better or worse?

I'll close this by saying George Orwell

("1984") was often asked if he could give a
description of rights in or during the process

of the new world order, what would it be like?
He replied: the clearest picture I could give
you would be a combat boot stomping a face.

If your position is to assist the progression
of change concerning these issues, join MIM
in collective conscious struggle, because

procrastination is the thief of time.

--California Prisoner, December 2003

SHU repression in California

This letter is written on behalf of myself

and all the prisoners housed here at 4B1R,

Corcoran State Prison "SHU". This missive

is a grievance, and a plea for help in order to
prevent mass hunger strikes and/or clashes
with these dirty pigs. We the prison class

here at Corcoran State Prison hope that by
bringing attention to the ill practices of this
administration and its staff, that we may at

least bring to an end the Eighth Amendment
violations of the practice of cruel and unusual
punishment for being housed in the SHU.

We understand that we may not be able to

stop this administration from engaging in its
corrupted ways. We also understand that we

may be retaliated against for sending this
letter. It's the only way we, or should I say "I"
on behalf of the prisoners of 4B1R, felt our

issues would be best handled and given full
attention without violence. I also hope that
by writing this missive that the prison class

wouldn't feel so helpless and defenseless.

We would like to state that we as a whole

have been very patient about the lack of a

laundry system that would allow our clothes,
"underwear, socks, t-shirts, etc.", to be taken,
cleaned and returned. When myself and a

prisoner by the name of X first arrived we
asked for laundry bags. We were told that if
we sent out our laundry it would not come

back. This would have been a big problem
being that we only had 1 pair of socks, 1 issued
state underwear, 2 sheets, 2 blankets, 1 t-shirt,

and 1 jumpsuit. It took us almost 6 months to
receive a proper issue of clothing.

We asked around, we found out that "no"

laundry was being collected for the purpose
of cleaning. All laundry had and has to be
washed/cleaned by hand with only bathing

soap that is provided by the state at 1 bar per
week. This single bar of soap for those who
cannot buy the extra bars from commissary is

supposed to last 7 days, and within those 7
days this single bar of soap is to be used to
clean your body 3 showers a week, to clean

your cell floor, sink and toilet. There is no
other cleaning supplies made available for
keeping our living quarters clean which is

essential to maintenance of physical and
mental well being.

It is our belief that "if" the Health

Department were to come out to do tests on
the levels of bacteria and germs living and
growing in these cells, toilets, sinks, etc. that

they would find the levels are very unhealthy
and dangerous for any living human being.
This we believe is also true for the bacteria

growing and living in our food. More times
than I care to even mention, hair has been
found in my food.

Food is being served cold in violation of

the Department of Corrections Rules and
Regulations which clearly states that two out

of three meals are to be served "HOT". Not
only is it cold, but it's being served on paper
plates which are stacked one on top of another

to the point where the next prisoners portion
of food is smashed and stuck to the bottom
of the paper plate that was placed on top of it.

It should be mentioned that these paper plates
develop leaks when moist food is placed
inside not to mention the food stuck to the

bottom from the plate it rested on top of. For
those reasons we ask that this info be passed
on to the "Department of Health Services

Environmental Health Specialist."

I was also asked to bring to the attention of

this newspaper and its readers, the practice
of handcuffing, then beating, kicking,
spitting, to name a few, that is subjected to

prisoners housed here at Corcoran SHU. This
administration and its staff also is in the
practice of retaliations against the prison

population housed here.

This letter may cause me to be beaten and

kicked around, of course after I've been

handcuffed. I am already without power that
allows my TV to show. This is being done
only to provoke me into becoming

unbalanced, which will not happen. We will
try to keep the peace and we ask readers to
call, write, fax and/or e-mail "A.K. Schribner,

Warden of Corcoran State Prison" in protest
of the ill and unconstitutional ways they are
forcing us to live in.

We thank you MIM for giving us avenues

such as this one, in which we can tell the
world about such ill treatments such as these

that has been addressed within this missive.

Letters of protest should be sent to the

Chief Director of Corrections:

MIM Notes 310 · November 1-14, 2004 · 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.

Join the fight against

the injustice system

While we fight to end the criminal

injustice system MIM engages in

reformist battles to improve the lives

of prisoners. Below are some of the

campaigns we are currently waging,

and ways people behind the bars and

on the outside can get involved. More

info can be found on our prison web

site: http://www.etext.org/Politics/

MIM/agitation/prisons

Stop Censorship in Prison: Prisons

frequently censor books, newspapers

and magazines coming from MIM's

books for prisoners program. We need

help from lawyers, paralegals and

jailhouse lawyers to fight this

censorship.

Books for Prisoners: This program

focuses on political education of

prisoners. Send donations of books and

money for our Books for Prisoners

program.

End the Three Strikes laws: This

campaign is actively fighting the

repressive California laws, but similar

laws exist in other states. Write to us

to request a petition to collect

signatures. Send articles and

information on three strike laws.

Shut Down the Control Units: Across

the country there are a growing number

of prison control units. These are

permanently designated prisons or cells

in prisons that lock prisoners up in

solitary or small group confinement for

22 or more hours a day with no

congregate dining, exercise or other

services, and virtually no programs for

prisoners. Prisoners are placed in

control units for extended periods of

time. These units cause both mental and

physical problems for prisoners.

Write to us to request a petition to

collect signatures. Get your

organization to sign the statement

demanding control units be shut down.

Send us information about where there

are control units in your state. Include

the names of the prisons as well as the

number of control unit beds/cells in

each prison if that is known. Send us

anti-control unit artwork.

MIM's Re-Lease on Life Program:

This program provides support for our

comrades who have been recently

released from the prison system, to help

them meet their basic needs and also

continue with their revolutionary

organizing on the outside. We need

funds, housing, and job resources. We

also need prisoner's input on the

following survey questions:

1. What are the biggest challenges

you face being released from prison?

2. How can these problems be

addressed?

3. What are the important elements

of a successful release program?

Chief Director Rick Grenz
Dept. of Corr.

P.O. Box 942883
Sacramento, Ca. 94283

Censorship, Assault, Transfers,

threaten Study Cell

One MIM-led study cell has seen a

significant increase in activity over the past
year and all participants and session leaders

deserve commendation for the advances we
have made. However, with these advance has
come many setbacks in the forms of

repression. As our study cell discussed
effective means of organizing a revolutionary
cadre organization (RCO) behind bars, one of

our biggest challenges raised its ugly head:
State Repression. Below are recent letters from
participants in this study cell.

My deepest apologies is given first off... I

haven't been able to respond to the study
guide #1.2 (if I'm not mistaken) but the

oppressors and sadistic pigs have caused me
great pain, in which was not physical. But in
this place called [xxx], I was attacked where it

was most felt; my literature and photos were
misplaced purposefully during a cell search.
Yes, cowards move as of such, but it's

nothing, I have to take the good with the bad.
I was attacked due to the amount of literature
I have, and no bullshit magazines (ie. pussy

books, XXL, Source, etc.) The stuff they keep
our mind frame on the negative, stagnant
bullshit(false self-worth, etc) They hate to see

a "convict" spending his time wisely, every
time they walk past my cell, I'm either reading,
working out or at peace, and these cracker

hate that shit, which I know, so that's why I
said, "take the good with the bad."

So keep this in mind comrades, that when

one doesn't respond as swiftly as supposed
to, don't always think the worst, ie. that one
has dropped out because he/she couldn't

handle the classes. Because that isn't the
case, I look forward to our classes, I will
always partake in such, I love to network,

and build because this is what helps one grow
and learn. This is what I seek truthfully, so
again pardon me for missing the class, I'm

still interested, so please include me in the
next.

--September 2004

I received the OMC study material, as well

as some of the responses. Unfortunately, I've

been unable to participate w/ the study group
due to some legal matters I'm currently
dealing with. I've been moved around from

SHU to SHU, my property has been lost, and
I've been assaulted. Since I didn't have my
property, I was unable to contact you because

I didn't have the address. I continue to
understand different aspects of struggle and
can only stand firmly in my convictions.

Though I'm unable to participate in the

current study group, I'd like to continue with

our communication. Enclosed please find a
small donation ($10).

--September 2004

Unfortunately the latest materials you sent

me were violated, so I won't be able to
properly respond to this section of the study.
Hopefully you can print this letter in place of

my responses. I suspect the violations were
probably due to the responses to study guide
#1.2 and wouldn't be worth fighting because

I wouldn't get a review on it for about a month
or so and knowing the way they operate I
would gain nothing but losing and bringing

more unwanted attention on myself (which I
already have more than enough of!) so I'm a
let this one go, but any further censorship I

plan to challenge.

At any rate, I thought I should let you know

what was going on and that I still want to

remain in the study group. I enclose the `mail
violation' for your records and hopefully this
was an isolated incident. One thing, this act

of censorship does show is evidence of the
difficulty we face building an RCO, but
nevertheless "our passion for freedom is

stronger than their prison." In the struggle...

--September 2004

Anti-imperialism from

the `gang pod'

I am a Latin King of the Almighty Latin

Kings Queens Nation being held captive in
the State of Texas injustice system. I am

housed in a "gang pod" because of who I am
a part of, not for anything I allegedly did.
There is nothing but Blacks and Latinos in

this pod of allegedly various gangs. This
administration seems to not recognize white
supremacist gangs, which roam freely in

population, working in all the better jobs,
covered with tattoos of pentagrams, devil
symbols, racist symbols and swastikas, but

there are people in these "gang pods" who
have no gang tattoos or no tattoos period.

Anyhow, I would like to request my

message be placed on your Under Lock &
Key pages, please:

To all my Lions across the globe of the

ALKQN and fellow comrades of the same
struggle: International Revolution! Awake
from your sleep. Now is not the time to lay

down, but to stand tall, elevate to reality. Will
we continue to allow the enemy -- the
imperialist oppressor -- to label us as

"dangerous criminals," when by historical
facts the U.S. Snakes are the most murderous
dictatorship to roam our lands? Educate your

minds, my brothers and sisters, learn their
laws and system and use it against them. Use
MIM's opportunities to educate yourselves

and contribute to the movement. There will
be times when the pigs will try to break us or
our unity, but do not be discouraged -- resist

their hate! Remember, we fear none, but let
your strikes be against the only true enemy,

the imperialist oppressor. Let the revolution
be the struggle for the global community of

Third World peoples, not for a select few but
for all in common of oppression! ... A clenched
fist to all comrades of the same struggle --

let's mobilize and multiply!

--A Texas Prisoner, August 2004

New comrade joins Oregon

censorship struggle

Greetings. I am an inmate at the Snake River

Correctional Institution (hereinafter SRCI).
Due to the Department of Corrections

(hereinafter DOC) refusal to follow their own
agency rules, those on your mailing list at
this institution neither received, nor were

informed of any violation of your last issue.
Please understand and know of the fact that
your newsletter was NOT refused by any of

the intended recipients. The DOC and SRCI
have made it a practice, policy and custom to
claim that notification of refused mail is only

necessary when the mail item is opened. This
brings into question that idea of inflammatory
material can only be known after it has been

opened.

The above isn't the first time that the DOC

and its institutions have had an exaggerated

response to prison concerns. Inmate mail is
constantly "lost" or "misdirected." Mail is
returned to senders (including family

members) marked "refused by inmates" when
the inmate was never even informed that the
mail item ever existed. Many legal actions

have been litigated concerning such acts by
Oregon's DOC, including, but not limited to,
Wayne D. McGee and Roy G. Cheney II V.

Cook, Appellate no. A110036, Prison Legal
News v. Cook, (cite unknown), and many
more.

My point is, if you require any type of

assistance, I have a professional degree from
XYZ school as a paralegal, and am interested

in any assistance I can give.

--an Oregon Prisoner, October 2004
RAIL responds: We did receive notice from

SRCI for the recent censorship of MIM Notes
indicating that it was "detrimental to security."
So we were not given the "refused by inmate"

excuse. In fact, SRCI has been consistent in
censoring our stuff with political reasoning
as well as petty regulations about the

appearance of the envelopes we send to
prisoners.

The fact that things are being censored as

being inflammatory without being opened is
further evidence that MIM is being targeted
for censorship across the board, in this

country where we are promised free speech.

We welcome the offer to help us in litigating

this case with SRCI, as we are in constant

need of people with knowledge of the law
and time to work on the numerous censorship
cases we have to deal with.

MIM Notes 310 · November 1-14, fa2004 · Page 12

Notas Rojas

nov 1-14, 2004, Nº 310 Fragmento del Periodico Oficial del Movimiento Internacionalista Maoista

Gratis

¿Que es el MIM?

El Movimiento Internacionalista Maoísta (MIM) es un partido revolucionario

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Traducido por Células de Estudio

para la Liberación de Aztlán y
América Latina

El 26 de mayo de 2004, el sitio web

Fox News publicó un artículo reiterando
la declaración del New York Times

sobre un error en su reportaje sobre

armas de destrucción masiva antes de
la invasión de Irak iniciada por Bush en

2003. A diferencia del New York Times,

el MIM Notes dio a conocer los errores
del New York Times en enero del 2003,

antes de la admisión propia por parte

del New York Times.

En su reseña del previo reportaje

sobre Irak, el New York Times dijo:

"Hemos encontrado una serie de
comentarios que fue menos rigurosa de

lo que debería haber sido. En algunos

casos, cierta información, controversial
en aquel entonces y cuestionable hoy en

día, no calificaba para ser publicada o

no fue desafiada. Ahora que estamos
echando un vistazo al pasado,

lamentamos el no haber llevado a cabo

una investigación más agresiva de las
aserciones conforme iba surgiendo nueva

evidencia".

Nuestro artículo del 2003 sobre el

discurso de Bush sobre el Estado de la

Unión, en el que despellejamos tanto a

Bush como al New York Times, en
seguida se convirtió en uno de nuestros

artículos más populares, con miles de

búsquedas en el Internet en el transcurso
de varios meses. Dicho artículo puso el

dedo en la llaga ampliamente apelando

a las sospechas de la gente.

En cuanto al tema de los tubos

metálicos supuestamente utilizados en la

producción de armas atómicas, en enero
de 2003, el MIM Notes señaló lo

siguiente: "El New York Times también

habla de tubos de aluminio e intentos de
Irak de comprar uranio, pero [el ex

marino de EE.UU. y el ex-inspector de

armas de la ONU Scout] Ritter señala
que un verdadero programa de armas

nucleares no tiene nada que ver con

pocas cantidades de aluminio y uranio;
cuesta decenas de miles de millones de

dólares y emite sustancias detectables

por el Tío Sam- tecnologías de espionaje
estadounidenses. Discusiones sobre los

"altos" servicios de inteligencia británica

que supuestamente atraparon a alguien
quien intentaba comprar uranio son un

show perfecto, pero estas discusiones

son deshonestas si los mismos servicios
de inteligencia saben que se necesita más

para elaborar una bomba nuclear. Lo

que el New York Times omite es la
discusión del punto de vista de Ritter

aseverando que el Tío Sam debería

saber si Irak produce armas nucleares".

Ahora el New York Times está

admitiendo lo siguiente: "El 8 de

septiembre de 2002, el artículo principal

del periódico salió bajo el título "EE. UU.
dicen que Hussein intensificó su

búsqueda de partes de bombas tipo A."

Este informe habló sobre tubos de
aluminio que, según obsesivas

declaraciones de la administración, se

usaban como componentes para la
producción de combustible para armas

nucleares. Esta declaración no fue

emitida por tránsfugas, sino por las
mejores fuentes de la inteligencia

americana disponibles en aquel

momento. De todas maneras, esta
declaración debió haber sido hecho de

una manera más cuidadosa."

Es bueno que el New York Times haya

admitido sus errores. Definitivamente

algo sospechoso estaba pasando con

todos estos alarmantes editoriales "pop-
up" en la página web del New York

Times, poco comunes aún según los

estándares imperialistas. "Artículos
basados en declaraciones tajantes sobre

Irak tendían a recibir mucha publicidad,

mientras que subsiguientes reseñas de
los mismos que cuestionaban la

información transmitida por sus

antecedentes estaban medio enterrados.
En algunos casos, ni siquiera había

reseñas." La persona que sacó estos

editoriales "pop-up" debería ser
despedida como un posible agente de

Bush/ Sharón; los editores que esconden

noticias que se oponen a la "Revolución"
neo-conservadora deberían ponerse a

escribir reseñas de restaurantes.

Habría que añadir que el New York

Times todavía no se deshizo de la ilusión

de que es posible que armas de

destrucción masiva sean encontradas. Si
bien el New York Times reconoce que

muchas de las declaraciones pasadas

respecto a armas de destrucción masiva
resultaron erróneas, no tiene ningún

problema en decir que un año más tarde

es posible aseverar con certeza qué fue
lo que paso en el caso de que armas de

destrucción masiva aparezcan en Irak.

En esta guerra contra Irak se está

cambiando el enfoque. Desde que el

Internet adquirió mucha popularidad, el

New York Times ha tenido que prestar
más atención a su público. Los

intelectuales que componen parte de los

lectores del New York Times, no han
sido engañados por el clamor de los

tambores de la guerra. Ojalá el New

York Times hubiera reaccionado antes
de la guerra o por lo menos antes de la

reciente campaña en contra de Chalabi.

Cualquier persona que no sea lo

suficientemente inteligente como para

entender las motivaciones de los
tránsfugas para diseminar información

falsa con fin de abogar por una guerra,

no tenía que meterse en la administración
del gobierno o la industria noticiera.

No podemos darnos el lujo de no leer

el New York Times, el periódico récord
de los imperialistas. Sin embargo, el

MIM Notes tiene un trasfondo más

confiable con respecto a todas las
preguntas fundamentales: 1) armas de

destrucción masiva; 2) el papel de los

demócratas; 3) la probabilidad de la
resistencia de Irak; 4) y hasta el hecho

de que nuestro movimiento a favor de la

paz no supo impedir la invasión de Irak
porque resultó demasiado pequeño

burgués. Lo hemos dicho antes y lo

volvemos a repetir: el público se
beneficiará mejor leyendo el MIM

Notes porque, aunque Bush gaste miles

de millones de dólares anuales en la
"inteligencia" y aunque el New York

Times apele a más gente que el MIM,

tanto el gobierno como sus voceros
carecen por completo de una capacidad

para juntar los pedazos de información

sobre la guerra y la paz u otros temas
políticos fundamentales que tienen a su

disposición, de una manera fructífera. El

capitalismo corrompe el proceso de la
producción de la verdad.

Fuentes consultadas:
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/26/

i n t e r n a t i o n a l / m i d d l e e a s t /

26FTE_NOTE.html?8dpc

New York Times admite errores sobre Irak