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| x   x x x   x   x  x  xx  xxx xxx  xxx                   |
| xx xx x xx xx   xx x x  x  x  x   x       Issue #32      |
| x x x x x x x   x xx x  x  x  xx   xxx                   |
| x   x x x   x   x  x x  x  x  x       x   08/13/87       |
| x   x x x   x   x  x  xx   x  xxx  xxx                   |
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|    Newspaper of the Maoist Internationalist Movement     |
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   World War III continues
   
   U.S. buildup in Gulf largest since Vietnam
   World War III continued with last SaturdayÕs attack of 
U.S. Navy F-14 jets on Iranian F-4 fighter-bombers, which the 
United States built. The U.S. fired at least two Sparrow 
missiles, but there were no hits or further hostilities 
reported.
   Contrary to what most major papers implied, the Iranian 
planes were not preparing to attack a U.S. surveillance 
plane. The Iranians did not have their targeting radars on. 
(NYT, 8/12/87, p. 3, second to last inch in story) Instead, 
the U.S. activated its Òshoot firstÓ policy because Òthe 
speed of the Iranian planes, their low altitude, their 
direction of flight and their refusal to acknowledge warnings 
from ships and aircraft all indicated possible hostile 
intent.Ó (Ibid.)
   The P-3 Orion surveillance (spy) planes that the fighters 
rushed to protect do not usually perform duty in the Gulf. 
They may have attracted Iranian attention.
   The U.S. military has made many unusual arrangements for 
various kinds of aggressions in the Gulf. In fact, the U.S. 
military buildup in the Persian Gulf and now the Gulf of Oman 
is the largest U.S. military buildup since the Vietnam War. 
ÒBy early September, the military expects to have about 31 
ships and smaller vessels and more than 25,000 military 
personnel on duty in and near the gulf.Ó (Ann Arbor News, 
Molly Moore, ÒU.S. combat buildup in gulf becomes largest 
since Vietnam,Ó p. C1) That force will be slightly larger 
than forces assembled during the Iranian hostage crisis and 
the bombing attack against Libya last year. 
   Review of hostilities 
   Ironically it was the apparently accidental Iraqi attack 
on the USS Stark that killed 37 crewmen on May 17th that the 
U.S. used as a justification to start its Òshoot first, ask 
questions laterÓ policy. The supertanker Bridgeton hit a mine 
on June 24th and the United States started sweeping for mines 
in the Persian Gulf.
   The American-operated tanker Texaco Caribbean hit a mine 
on Monday, August 10th. The explosion ripped a 12 foot hole 
below the water line and caused its oil from Iran to leak. 
Apparently it is common for American companies to operate 
ships loaded with Iranian oil and headed for Western Europe 
and Japan. This ship had a Panamanian flag, but its 
destination was Northwestern Europe. (Ann Arbor News, 
8/11/87, p. B5)
   On August 11th, so-called Second World countries England 
and France announced they would send mine-sweepers to the 
Gulf of Oman. The fact that the Texaco Caribbean hit a mine 
in the Gulf of Oman indicated to these imperialists that the 
threat to their interests was more widespread than originally 
thought. (NYT, 8/12/87, p. 1)
   On August 12th, crews from the Sultanate of Oman, the 
United Arab Emirates and the U.S. Navy found a sixth mine in 
the Gulf of Oman. Who is setting the mines is not clear. Iran 
has offered to deploy the Iranian Navy to clear the mines, 
which it claims the United States has set. (Ann Arbor News, 
8/13/87, p. c1)
   U.S. imperialist concerns
   Iran has set up missiles in its territory capable of 
hitting ships in the Gulf of Oman and Persian Gulf. They are 
called Silkworms, which are part of IranÕs nearly one billion 
dollar a year arms trade with China. The United States has 
responded by sending surveillance planes capable of jamming 
the SilkwormÕs aiming mechanism.
   According to bourgeois columnist William Safire and 
Charles Krauthammer the Iranians are happy to let the United 
States patrol the Gulf because Iraq had the naval advantage 
in its war with Iran. The United States protects Iranian oil, 
thereby protecting Iranian revenues and arms purchases.
   Calling the Iranians Persians and the Iraqis and Saudis 
Arabs, Safire hopes to fan the flames of war, which he 
believes the ÒArabsÓ can win with U.S. help. (Ann Arbor News, 
8/11/87, p. A7)
   According to Krauthammer, who also advocates a more overt 
pro-Iraq tilt, the problem with the U.S. policy is that it 
forced Iraq to stop shooting, not Iran. On the other hand, 
the Reagan administration claims that its policy will make 
clear who is the aggressor in the Gulf while protecting U.S. 
oil. (Detroit News, 8/11/87, p. A11)
   
   Libya and Chad at war
   In what may figure into the Mideast conflagration, Chad 
claimed that Libya bombed Chad for the fourth day in a row. 
Meanwhile, Òon Saturday, Chadian troops, racing across the 
desert in jeeps, routed Libyan soldiers from the Aozou Strip, 
a 100-mile-wide band occupied by Libya since 1973.Ó (Ann 
Arbor News, 8/13/87, p. C2) Chad claims to have killed 427 
Libyan soldiers and taken 61 prisoner, while suffering 17 
dead and 54 wounded. France has military forces in Chad that 
have pledged to defend against Libyan attacks. (Ibid.) 
   
   Trade with Iran continues
   While claiming (perhaps correctly) that Iran set mines in 
the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman, the United States 
continues to operate oil tankers loaded with Iranian oil. 
Last year, the United States imported $569 million in goods 
from Iran including $468.2 million in oil and oil products. 
To the chagrin of the U.S. imperialists, Iran only imported 
$34.1 million in goods from the United States, not counting 
at least $30 million in secret weapons sales. ÒIn pre 
Khomeini days, Iran was one of AmericaÕs biggest customers in 
the Middle East,Ó moans AP. (Ann Arbor News, 8/13/87, p. C5)
   
   $1 million anti-Contra campaign is a drop in the bucket
   Three liberal groups--Witness for Peace, Citizen Action 
and Neighbor to Neighbor Action--have shown an understanding 
of what is required to determine U.S. policy--big money. The 
groups have raised half of $1 million expected in a 
television and radio campaign that targets Congressional 
representatives who have borderline positions on whether or 
not to support aid to the Contras, who are 
counterrevolutionary terrorists fighting to overthrow the 
Nicaraguan government. The ads will ask constituents to phone 
their Congressional representatives.
   Still, the funds from the State Department pro-Contra 
publicity campaign described in a previous issue of MIM Notes 
alone dwarf the liberalsÕ efforts. This is not to mention the 
free publicity given to every pro-Contra word of Reagan, 
North etc. Who ever heard of Neighbor to Neighbor Action? 
This group may have good intentions, but it does not matter 
much in a society where capitalists own the means of 
communication.
   
   South Korean workers take advantage of political situation
   ÒTens of thousands of workers at 192 companies across the 
country either demonstrated or stayed off the job today, 
according to Government estimates. The unrest has closed 
plants at some of the largest companies in the country and 
for several days halted shipments out of Pusan, the nationÕs 
largest port.Ó (NYT, 8/12/87, p. 1) In the last issue of MIM 
Notes, the lead article was on the situation that led to the 
June 29th declaration of democratic reforms in South Korea.
   Beyond the political situation is the long-standing 
economic condition of the proletariat in Korea. According to 
the U.S. embassy, the average wage in South Korean industry 
is $1.75 per hour. In addition, S. Korean regime statistics 
indicate an average work week of 57 hours. Moreover, Òthe 
pro-government Federation of Korea Labor Unions lists average 
wages at less than $370 a month. Some entry-level workers in 
fields such as textiles and footwear manufacturing say they 
earn less than $120 a month.Ó (Ann Arbor News, 8/13/87, p. 
E10)
   With these kinds of conditions the South Korean dependent 
bourgeoisie can afford a few days lost to strikes. Hyundai 
Motors settled its strike in four days, but strikes at its 
suppliers have stopped car exports for now. According to the 
Chun regime, S. Korea may have lost $55 million in exports 
because of strikes so far, but exports for the year should 
still exceed $40 billion. (Ibid.)
   Since small disruptions are affordable to the dependent 
state capitalist class of South Korea, the real question is 
how much further would the unrest go. And once again, the 
students are demonstrating far-reaching militance despite the 
June 29th announcement of democratic reform. On August 12th, 
2,000 students joined striking workers in battles with police 
in downtown Seoul.
   In Kwangju, which has a history of anti-imperialist 
struggle, riot police injured six people when they stormed a 
campus to rescue police captured by students.
   While many strikes are proving short-lived, many others 
are starting. 33 new strikes started on August 11th. On 
August 12th and 13th, at least 90 new strikes started. 
ÒNewspapers said the closure of major industries crippled 
more than 1,200 smaller suppliers dependent on them.Ó (Ann 
Arbor News, 8/13/87, p. C3) Hundreds of small companies have 
had to close.
   
   South African mine workers go on strike
   The South African regime arrested 78 union officials on 
August 12th in what the U.S. press is billing as the largest 
ÒlegalÓ strike in S. Africa.The National Union of Mineworkers 
(NUM) claim to have shut down 44 out of 46 targeted coal and 
gold mines in part for a 30% wage increase. In contrast, Òthe 
Chamber of Mines, which has unilaterally implemented pay 
raises ranging from 15 to 23 percent, says about 230,000 of 
the nationÕs 600,000 black miners are striking at 31 mines.Ó 
(Ann Arbor News, 8/13/87, p. C3)
   On August 11th, the apartheid regime announced that it 
would introduce laws against Òpolitical strikesÓ and Òunfair 
actionÓ and laws for the compensation of employers by unions 
engaged in Òillegal strikes.Ó On August 12th, security guards 
at one mine shot rubber bullets and injured 15 people to 
bring the total of injured people to 52. (Ibid.) Miners also 
killed one scab in Natal Province. (NYT, 8/12/87, p. 5)
   According to NUM, workers wages average $165 a month. The 
Chamber of Mines claims $245 a month, but in either case, the 
Black workers make one-fifth or less of what white mine 
workers make. (Ibid; Detroit News, 8/11/87, p. A3)
   In the editorÕs opinion, when MIM talks about the 
international proletariat, it should mean the South Korean 
workers and South African Black workers, not Americans who 
make 10 and 20 times the salaries of the truly revolutionary 
class. The next double issue of MIM Theory will discuss the 
issue of where to draw the line between the proletariat and 
the bought-off labor aristocracy and what this means for 
revolutionary strategy. (Send 60 cents.)
   
   ÒFive Jackson guards fired for abusing inmate who diedÓ 
   Jackson State Prison corrections officials suffocated 
Oscar Rowls Jr. when he refused to strip in front of female 
officers on May 8th. Nonetheless, the Jackson County 
prosecutor refused to push criminal charges Òafter a 
citizenÕs inquest jury concluded RowlsÕ death was 
accidental.Ó (Detroit News, 8/11/87, p. A4) The Rowls family 
has said it believes criminal charges are warranted. 
   Others disciplined besides those involved in the violence 
include a captain who did not open the cell immediately for 
first aid and a nurse for delaying resuscitation efforts. 
   Rowls was serving a life-sentence for armed robbery. 
(Ibid.)
   Once again the state has perpetrated a greater crime than 
the one it supposedly was attempting to correct.
   
   Reagan Commerce appointee is pro-Soviet trade
   Occasionally our liberal friends say that U.S. foreign 
policy is motivated by ReaganÕs blindly anti-communist 
ideology. This theory does not wash; however, because U.S. 
imperialism is driven by the imperatives of capitalist 
competition, no matter who is president. The proof of this is 
that both the late-Secretary of Commerce and the new Reagan 
appointee favor increased trade with the Soviet Union. Is 
this part of a sneaky effort to gain influence over the 
Soviet Union?
   This seems unlikely because the Soviet Union is not a one-
crop, one-export country like so many countries dependent on 
the United States. The United States can not hope to do much 
to hurt the Soviets via trade. Surely the wheat embargo 
proved a nuisance, but it did not bring the Soviets to their 
knees. Indeed, to the chagrin of ideologues and Australia and 
the delight of farmers, it was Reagan who ended the grain 
embargo.
   The U.S. imperialists see possible gains from war against 
the Soviet Union, collaboration with the Soviet Union as in 
the suppression of the Eritrean liberation struggle and 
cooperation with the Soviet Union in business matters. Right 
now military conflict is principal in the U.S. agenda, but 
collaboration and cooperation never completely disappear.
   Why is former steel company executive C. William Verity 
Jr. pro-Soviet trade? The bottom line is that he Òhas opposed 
government restrictions on doing business with Moscow on 
grounds that American companies have lost at least $10 
billion a year.Ó (Detroit News, 8/11/87, p. A3) 
   
   What did you expect column
   
   Reagan to appoint Moon supporter to UN
   Former Michigan Congressional representative Mark 
Siljander, who spoke at a recent conference organized by 
Reverend Moon is ReaganÕs choice to serve as one of the 
United States' five non-voting delegates at the UN according 
to Siljander.
   Moderate Republicans in Michigan sent a letter to Reagan 
asking him to withdraw the nomination.
   Siljander lost his House seat in 1986 when he called his 
opponent in the Republican primary a representative of Satan 
in a reference in which he asked voters to Òbreak the back of 
Satan.Ó (Ann Arbor News, 8/13/87, p. A12)
   
   Michigan National Bank chairperson steals money
   A jury found the chair of Michigan National Bank guilty of 
ÒmisapplyingÓ hundreds of thousands of dollars in the words 
of the mass media. (Detroit News, 8/11/87)
   
   44 Government officials accept bribes
   The FBI charged 44 highway superintendents and purchasing 
directors with accepting 105 out of 106 bribes it offered 
through the guise of a steel company salesperson. ÒÔAnd on 
the other occasion he turned it down because he didnÕt think 
the amount was enough.ÕÓ (NYT, 8/12/87, p. 1) The municipal 
officials in the New York area accepted bribes in return for 
ordering steel from the FBI agentÕs company.
   The FBI also charged 14 suppliers.
   Under communism money will not have this kind of appeal.
   
   Correspondence
   
   Reader uses literature list in library
   Thank you kindly for the book and literature list and the 
no. 29 MIM Notes ÒWhy Study the Cultural Revolution?Ó From 
the book list, I have checked out (from the library) the 
following titles: Global Reach (a thick one), Selected 
Readings from the Works of Mao Zedong, and HintonÕs books 
Turning Point in China (small and easy to read) and Fanshen. 
I plan to visit some larger libraries and look for the 
others.
   I have been studying Marxism-Leninism for about three 
years now. This is not very long, and I do have much to 
discover. I have always been curious as to the Maoist point-
of-view. The RCPÕs paper, Revolutionary Worker, is too 
expensive. However, I am not a Maoist; but a Trotskyite. 
Nevertheless, I am not a sectarian and as I have said, I am 
interested in the Maoist point of view, even though I 
disagree on many points. I am not a member of any party and I 
have not found any that I am 100% satisfied with.
   I believe there are Maoists, Trotskyists, anarchists, and 
others who want a fighting movement as opposed to the Moscow 
liners, the social-democrats, and other reformists. I hope 
your efforts are fruitful--for a fighting movement against 
the capitalist offensive!
   --A reader in the South
   May 9, 1987
   
   Prisoner wants any free books having to do with Mao
   IÕm presently incarcerated and IÕm writing to you because 
IÕm highly interested in learning about Mao Zedong. 
Therefore, IÕm writing to you hoping that you can provide me 
with any free books and/or literature pertaining to this 
great man.
   Any material that you are able to send me in order to 
further my knowledge of him will be greatly appreciated.
   --A writer from the Northeast
   July 24, 1987
   [MIM sent The Political Economy of Counterrevolution in 
China: 1976-83 and Quotations from Chairman Mao, ed.]
   
   Writer wants our literature on Philippines; upholds 
pacifism
   I want to thank you for the information packet you 
recently sent me--the Founding Documents of the MIM.
   After reading the material, I can say that I am in 
agreement with many of the points expressed. I too am anti-
apartheid, anti-nuke, anti-racist and against the U.S. 
foreign policy in Central America. For that matter I am 
opposed to U.S. foreign policy in general. It seems that the 
U.S. has a knack for backing dictators. I am a Filipino-
American and having been born and raised in the Philippines I 
know first hand how the U.S. backed a corrupt dictator named 
Marcos for many years....
   I understand the thinking of replacing the system of 
government, but I am left wondering if you advocate the 
overthrow of the government by peaceful or violent means. I 
am of the belief as was Martin Luther King, that nonviolent 
means are the best methods to use to gain the most sympathy 
for a cause.
   --A friend from the South
   July 27, 1987
   [EditorÕs note: MIM Notes has reported on events in the 
Philippines, but currently our literature list does not carry 
anything on the Philippines. Our last list contained a 
declaration dated 1984, but since then no one has reviewed 
any revolutionary literature on the Philippines. Hopefully, 
our readers will take up this task soon.
   As for nonviolence, MIM officially upholds Mao Zedong so 
of course it upholds armed revolution as a necessity in 
ending the world wars wrought by imperialism; although, the 
editor admits he has not read any of what Mao had to say 
about the United States' possibilities of revolution.
   In any case, pacifists who direct their energies against 
U.S. militarism and imperialism are certainly our allies. The 
problem only comes up when imperialists use violence to 
repress peoples across the world and the pacifist counsels 
nonviolence. As Malcolm X used to say, if you can convince 
the government to be pacifist, weÕll be pacifist in return.
   For a critique of pacifism as petty-bourgeois ideology, 
see Christopher CaudwellÕs Studies and Further Studies in a 
Dying Culture, available from MIM for $5.]
   
   Feminist comrade writes on Baby M case
   Your issue #30 of MIM Notes was most interesting. In 
particular, the Mary Beth Whitehead case as interpreted by 
Off Our Backs. Since I also publish a feminist newsletter, 
and since I have sent for and read a sample issue of the 
latter Off Our Backs, I would like to comment on both.
   Firstly, although it is advertised as primarily concerned 
with women over forty, I found that the issue I read seemed 
primarily concerned with Lesbianism.
   Further, I would like to add here my editorial comment on 
the Whitehead case with this article which will come out in 
the spring Õ87 issue.
   ÒThe Baby M Case--has generated much publicity and is a 
prime example of how our high tech lives now make medical and 
legal professions rich and bring tragedy to others.
   We shall not go into the legal technicalities nor the 
morality nor ethics of mothering a child for profit, or as 
Ms. Whitehead said, ÔTo do something nice for someone.Õ (To 
which we might add, was it doing something nice for the 
child?)
   In our own heretical opinion, we might best let nature 
take its course and stop meddling in an already messed up 
world. Medical intervention might best be left out of 
procreation.
   However, since it is done, we do wish to comment on the 
selection of care-givers/parents for the baby. From the 
beginning, we felt that Ms. Whitehead was not the most 
emotionally stable person in the case. The prime example of 
this was her reported and acknowledged threat on the 
telephone to kill both herself and the baby. This she lightly 
glossed over in a TV interview during the week of March 30, 
1987. The televised interview with her after the judge 
awarded custody to the Sterns, was the clincher for me. She 
appeared to be the least qualified parent as to emotional 
stability, ethics, morals, and concern for the child. She 
came across to us as engaging in maudlin sentimentality, and 
kept emphasizing the family them in that she and her family 
would be deprived, and the biological connection between her 
and Baby M.
   I was not impressed with her sincerity or concern for the 
baby herself. This writer has been a child welfare librarian 
for ten years, a teacher for thirteen and has read in the 
fields of psychology and psychiatry for 35 years. We are 
convinced that the judge made the right decision for the 
baby, a certain radical feminist element notwithstanding.
   The newspapers put in quotes the term Ônarcissistic 
disordersÕ used by a courtroom psychologist as though this 
were some fancy, contrived term. It is not; there are very 
serious implications of the narcissistic disorders; they are 
very real, and create havoc with those who live with patients 
with these disorders.
   We would hope to see some legislation prohibiting the sale 
of babies in this fashion in the near future. No matter what 
other name it goes by, it is a form of slavery. Slavery, you 
may recall, is a profit-making venture on the backs of other 
human beings. There should be no ÔcontractsÕ to bear a child 
for others. The human race seems to have enough brains to 
screw us up, but not enough to straighten us out again.Ó
   In my opinion Mao Zedong had the right idea about 
professional profiteering and their place in the culture--
that they should take their turn at hoeing the potatoes. the 
professional in our society make top dollar and most often do 
more harm than good. Long live the revolution and the Red 
Guards! This is a case in point.
   --A comrade
   Florida Womans World
   PO Box 28253
   Kenneth City Contract Sta.
   St. Petersburg, FL 33709
   [EditorÕs note: The MIM literature list in its updated 
form includes the address for Off Our Backs along with 
subscription information and a recommendation.
   Although we look forward to the day when MIM Notes gets on 
top of all the struggles that communists must support, for 
now it is important to take the Marxist approach of working 
with the best of what is at hand and not waiting for perfect 
revolution to fall on the silver platter. In this spirit, MIM 
comrades must admit that Off Our Backs does a better job than 
MIM on many issues regarding womenÕs liberation, if only 
because MIM itself is too limited and is not involved in all 
the struggles. Off Our Backs is an extensive, if not 
exhaustive effort to cover all the news bearing on womenÕs 
liberation in a month. Its non-sectarian approach (e.g., 
listing addresses of various feminist groups) is also 
especially helpful since no one group is really doing the 
all-round job required on womenÕs liberation.]