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         THE MAOIST INTERNATIONALIST MOVEMENT

     MIM Notes 143               AUGUST 1, 1997



MIM Notes speaks to and from the viewpoint of the 
world's oppressed majority, and against the 
imperialist-patriarchy. Pick it up and wield it in 
the service of the people. support it, struggle 
with it and write for it.


IN THIS ISSUE:

1.  IMPERIALIST MILITARISM INCREASES UNDER GUISE
    OF AMERIKAN WAR ON DRUGS
2.  CIRCUS OR LAW? UPDATE ON THE STRUGGLE TO SAVE
    THE LIFE OF MUMIA ABU-JAMAL
3.  LETTERS
4.  PIRAO GREETED WARMLY
5.  IMPERIALIST COURTS CONDONE IMPERIALIST
    MILITARY BARBARITY
6.  AIDS SURVIVAL ABOUT ECONOMICS
7.  AMERIKANS WASTE "THEIR" FOOD WHILE PEOPLE
    STARVE
8.  WAR ON GANGS IS A WAR AGAINST THE PEOPLE
    INTERVIEW WITH MAPLEWOOD YOUTH
9.  MILITARY DOES DIRTY WORK FOR INS; MURDERS
    LATINO YOUTH
10. NEW TACK ON IMMIGRANT CRACKDOWN?
11. INS TARGETS LATINOS IN NORTHEAST
12. NEW HAVEN MASSES PROTEST PIG MURDER OF UNARMED
    BLACK MAN
13. WHAT'S IT TAKE FOR THE OPPRESSOR TO LISTEN TO
    THE MASSES? REVOLUTION.
14. UNION-NEWS & PIGS PUSH FOR WAR ON STREET GANGS
15. CLINTON DISGUISES NATIONAL OPPRESSION AS ISSUE
    OF ATTITUDE
16. SENATOR CALLS SOLITARY CONFINEMENT "BARBARIC"
17. PARISITISM INCREASES:
    ERRONEOUS LABOR ARISTOCRAT ANALYSIS HIDES
    TRUTH
18. FIGHT OVER THE SUPER-PROFITS IN ENGLAND
19. STOP WASTING TIME:
    FIGHT IMPERIALISM AND FIRST WORLD CHAUVINISM
    WITH MIM
20. STRUGGLE CONTINUES FOR POLITICAL ASYLUM FOR
    THE SISON FAMILY
21. WAR CRIMINAL MCNAMARA GETS ON NEO-COLONIALISM
    BANDWAGON
22. RAMOS COVERS UP EXPLOITATION OF FILIPINO
    OVERSEAS WORKERS
23. UNDER LOCK & KEY: NEWS FROM PRISONERS AND
    PRISONS


* * *


WHAT IS MIM?

The Maoist Internationalist Movement (MIM) is a 
revolutionary communist party that upholds 
Marxism-Leninism-Maoism, comprising 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 
Spanish-speaking Maoist internationalist parties 
of Aztlan, Puerto Rico and other territories of 
the U.S. Empire. MIM Notes is the newspaper of 
MIM. Notas Rojas is the newspaper of the Spanish-
speaking parties or emerging parties of MIM.

MIM is an internationalist organization that works 
from the vantage point of the Third World 
proletariat; thus, its members are not Amerikans, 
but world citizens.

MIM struggles to end the oppression of all groups 
over other groups: classes, genders, nations.  MIM 
knows this is only possible 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 
human history. (3) MIM believes the North American 
white-working-class is primarily a non-
revolutionary worker-elite at this time; thus, it 
is not the principal vehicle to advance Maoism in 
this country.

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


* * *


IMPERIALIST MILITARISM INCREASES UNDER GUISE OF AMERIKAN WAR 
ON DRUGS

by MC17

The United Snakes is expanding its use of the "war on drugs" 
both within illegitimate US borders and outside as an 
excuse, replacing the so-called communist threat, for 
expanding militarism. This has meant increasing 
militarization within US borders in inner cities and other 
areas disproportionately poor and occupied by oppressed 
nations. At the same time, rhetoric around the drug war is 
serving the imperialists' interests in other countries.


THE WAR AGAINST THIRD WORLD COUNTRIES


The drug war ally certification process was one example of 
the way the United Snakes is manipulating its neo-colonies. 
The annual certification ritual began in 1986, when Congress 
passed a law requiring the president to certify that key 
countries are cooperating in the U.S. war on drugs, and to 
"decertify" and sanction those which are not.(1) Those 
denied certification are denied most direct aid from the 
United Snakes and all U.S. Export-Import Bank financing.(2) 
Those denied certification this year include Afghanistan, 
Burma, Iran, Nigeria, Syria and Colombia.(2)

The US decertified Colombia as a "drug war ally" this year 
with some rhetoric from the drug czar that "Colombia is 
killing our children with heroin production." This is the 
second year the U.S. has denied certification to Colombia, 
citing "rampant corruption" in the government as the reason. 
Part of this criticism is based on information that 
"President (Ernesto) Samper is complicit in the 
international crime cartels in that he accepted millions of 
dollars to win that election." Washington has accused Samper 
of accepting $6 million from drug traffickers to finance his 
1994 presidential campaign.(3)

But certification is not meaningful since most U.S. aid to 
Colombia is for drug eradication and seizure, and that money 
-- $70 million -- is exempt from the ban on aid.(2) Earlier 
this year, the government of the United Snakes donated to 
Columbia 12 helicopters (Bell UK-1H), to be used to combat 
illegal drugs. These are worth 20 million dollars. This year 
the u.s. gave 120 million dollars in arms aid to Colombia, 
which appears to be aimed at convincing other countries in 
Latin America to increase their war on drugs to gain more 
aid from the United Snakes.(4)

Mexico did win certification this year and McCaffrey , the 
U.$. drug czar, said "It's our view right now that their 
national leadership is committed to confronting the (drug) 
threat."(3) There is overwhelming evidence that Mexico is a 
primary transit route for cocaine and a major producer of 
heroin, methamphetamines and marijuana, and that its anti-
drug agencies are steeped in corruption, even by bourgeois 
standards. Just before Clinton's announcement, Mexican drug 
czar Gen. Jesus Gutierrez Rebollo was arrested for 
cooperating with one of the country's most powerful drug 
lords, Amado Carrillo Fuentes.(1)

There are no clear criteria for certification that will 
reward countries for reducing drug trafficking and punish 
those that don't take adequate action because this is not 
the real purpose of certification. Instead certification is 
used as yet another political power tool by the United 
Snakes. It is likely that certification of Mexico was seen 
as important to help push forward NAFTA while control over 
Colombia was deemed more easy to achieve through de-
certification. And regardless, the real pressure and control 
comes from the aid (both military and financial) these 
countries will receive and the power of the multinationals 
operating within the countries.

Within US borders the war on drugs is a continuing excuse 
for expanded militarization which includes putting more cops 
on the streets and building more prisons. The result of this 
war is increased repression focused on internal colonies 
including the Black, Latino and Indigenous nations, as well 
as increased repression of youth.

As the Nation pointed out: "[T]he majority of the L.A.P.D.'s 
computer-enhanced surveillance concentrates on the same 
neighborhoods in which local schools lack basic P.C.s -- not 
to mention adequate textbooks. But the social causes of 
crime, such as poor education and lack of jobs, do not 
concern the National Institute of Justice(NIJ) or most 
police forces. Thus the N.I.J.'s director of science and 
technology, David Boyd (who sometimes writes for the Moonie-
owned magazine The World & I), is often quoted saying, 'This 
[police use of military high-tech] is the real peace 
dividend.'"(5)

The u.s. understands the use of drugs as a means of social 
control. It is useful to have poor people escaping their 
misery through drug use rather than organizing to change the 
system that causes misery. In addition, as MIM Notes has 
reported, the trafficking of drugs has been providing the 
imperialists with money for years. At the same time, drug 
use serves as a convenient excuse for arrest and 
imprisonment, furthering the agenda of social control over 
youth and oppressed nations.


A WAR TO LOSE


The United Snakes does not want to win the war on drugs by 
eradicating the use of illegal drugs. Instead, the u.s. wins 
battles in this war regularly, using it to increase control 
over the population within u.s. borders and to increase 
control over the governments of other countries, helping 
them to further control and repress their populations in the 
service of their imperialist master.

The Congressional General Accounting Office found that net 
coca and opium poppy cultivation has increased, despite the 
efforts of the United Snakes and its drug war allies. 
Between 1988 and 1995, more than 138,000 acres of coca were 
destroyed but production increased 15 percent. Global 
production of opium, meanwhile, has doubled in the past 
decade.(1) This should prove that the u.s. tactics in this 
drug war are a failure, but instead we see increasing 
funding for this war.

Taking drugs is not progressive or liberating but MIM 
opposes the criminalization of drugs by the imperialists. 
Instead we fight to overthrow imperialism and give all 
people a meaningful life from which they have no need for 
escapism. In socialist China under Mao the people built such 
a society and we learn from history that we can achieve this 
and much more once imperialism has been overthrown.

NOTES:
1. The Nation. The Drug War's Phony Fix "Why certification 
doesn't work." The Nation Digital Edition 
http://www.thenation.com
2. CNN US News, 1 March, 1996.
3. Reuters, July 3, 1997.
4. 
http://www.eurosur.org/rebelion/internacional/colombregalos.
htm  26 May, 1997, Estados Unidos regala armas a Colombia. 
Bogot. Agencia Informativa Plsar/Adolfo Mena. Rebelin.
5. The Nation, February 3, 1997.



* * *



CIRCUS OR LAW?
UPDATE ON THE STRUGGLE TO SAVE THE LIFE OF MUMIA ABU-JAMAL

The final remand hearing in former Black Panther Mumia Abu-
Jamal's bid for a new trial were held June 26th to July 1st 
in Philadelphia. The Supreme Court will use the evidence and 
arguments presented to decide if Mumia gets a new trial. 
Governor Ridge has pledged to immediately sign a new death 
warrant if Mumia is denied a new trial.(1,2) The hearing was 
presided over by the same blatantly biased Judge Sabo, and 
further exposed the lies and witness manipulation of the 
original trial.

Mumia was framed for the righteous 1981 killing of a Philly 
cop engaged in an act of police brutality. Someone else 
killed the cop, but the Amerikan system of injustice--backed 
up by the fascist anti-crime fever among a great majority of 
whites--demands that someone die for the killing of a pig. 
These fascists prefer to kill Mumia than the real killer, 
because Mumia is an outspoken leader who generates public 
opinion against the system. His political views, including 
his agreement with Mao Zedong that "power grows out of the 
barrel of a gun" were used as evidence against him in his 
trial and in the imposition of the death penalty.

Since the original trial, evidence of Mumia's innocence that 
was suppressed by the police from the defense has continued 
to be discovered by the defense and presented to Judge Sabo 
in appeals. Sabo laughs off the little evidence that he 
allows to be presented, but it is all being read into the 
record. Between the evidence itself and Sabo's bias, it is 
hoped that enough has been done in court to win Mumia a new 
trial.

The June hearing was no different than previous. It was a 
circus from start to finish. Sabo denied the majority of the 
defense's motions and objections and halted all potentially 
important witness subpoenas.

The most important piece of evidence was the testimony of 
Pamela Jenkins, a 15 year old prostitute at the time of the 
shooting. Jenkins had been sleeping with key prosecution 
witness and PA pig, Tom Ryan. Jenkins testified that Ryan 
tried to force her to testify against Mumia even though she 
was not anywhere near the shooting.

In 1982, Jenkins was friends with the only person to 
testifying seeing Mumia with a gun at the scene of the pigs 
death--Cynthia White. Jenkins corroborated the testimony of 
Veronica Jones a few months ago, who also testified that 
White was an informant and pressured to testify in exchange 
for freedom from prosecution.(2) The law requires the 
defense to be notified if prosecution witnesses are also 
informants. This by itself, should get Mumia a new trial.

White's location is unknown to the defense and it is trying 
to find her. Jenkins also testified that she saw Cynthia 
White getting into a car driven by police officer on March 
5. The prosecution claims White is dead and offered a 1995 
NJ death certificate for a "Cynthia Williams AKA Mildred 
Saunders."(2)

The death certificate was incomplete and there were numerous 
inconsistencies. Sabo wouldn't let a witness testify to 
Jenkin's felony prosecution for testifying for Mumia, or to 
a witness on the scene of the killing who saw two armed 
white men running towards the scene and one Black man 
running away. He denied two private investigators and one 
former District Attorney from testifying about their 
knowledge of White's whereabouts.

Sabo denied these witnesses saying: "that there was no point 
in hearing all this if Cynthia White was dead, so the only 
witnesses he wanted to hear were New Jersey state police 
officials who could testify to her death. In other words, he 
would only allow witness who would say that Cynthia is dead, 
and would not allow any witnesses who would say she was 
alive!"(3)

The next day a NJ trooper testified to the fingerprints 
matching, but Sabo wouldn't allow the defense to examine the 
fingerprints. Sabo said "As far as I'm concerned, she's 
dead. I'm making a ruling. We're finished."(2)

The war in the courts against Mumia is dangerous both 
because it is a continuation of the legacy of repression of 
Black nationalist leaders and also because it continues the 
flagrant use of a supposedly impartial judicial system to 
represent only the interests of apartheid Amerika. As Mumia 
said, "There are hundreds of thousands of Mumia Abu-Jamal's 
on death row and doing life bits in this country. These 
people are not well known."(4) We must carry on the support 
for activists like Mumia and support for all of the 
incarcerated victims of Amerika's war against the internal 
colonies as part of our overall revolutionary struggle.

NOTE:
1. International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu-
Jamal, Emergency Response Press Release for June 26 
demonstration. mumia@aol.com
2. Afrikan Frontline Network: Media Watch 
http://www.globaldrum.com/nattyreb/fnx700.html
3. Same as #2. This is a paraphrase in the document, not a 
direct quote. For more information, also see 
http://www.mumia.org/
4. New York Times 13 August 1995, p. A14.



* * *



LETTERS

ALLIANCE QUESTION

In a recent study, the United States Government has attacked 
(P.F.T.L.P.), "Popular Front for the Liberation of 
Palestine" a particular group which the government claims to 
advocate terrorism. Now this same group has somewhat the 
same line as MIM has except they Advocate World Communism. 
My reason for writing about this group is because I was 
drawn to there dialectic in comparison to your group.

I was just using them as a point, If the government were to 
attack every known above ground groups would these groups 
come together? I believe that most groups above ground can 
be targeted but also have shown great leadership ability. 
Since their papers in the right to the people who read them.

-- An Indiana Prisoner, 4 March 1997

MIM RESPONDS: MIM defends a wide range of left and even 
revisionist groups against attack by the United Snakes 
government. A good example of this is our coverage of the 
government attacks on the Brooklyn activists(MIM Notes #128, 
15 December 1996.) These activists uphold ideology that MIM 
disagrees with but we recognize the importance of fighting 
government "counter-subversion" attacks because of the 
ramifications this repression has for all activists in the 
United Snakes.

You are correct that above ground groups can be targeted by 
state repression, in fact even semi-above ground groups like 
MIM which take great precautions about security are targeted 
by the state. We can't speak for other organizations and 
their response to state repression:  many organizations do 
not even recognize that this is a serious problem and have 
learned nothing from the destruction of the Black Panther 
Party, the Young Lords and other victims of FBI COINTELPRO 
operations. But the lessons that MIM has learned from this 
history lead us to take government repression of all 
activists very seriously.


WHAT'S MIM'S LINE ON LIBERIA?

I'm interested in hearing your voice, MIM, on the struggle 
pertaining to Liberia's civil war in Afrika, in a Pan-
Afrika. It's important to us, as a colonized people, in the 
US who struggle against the injustice of "third world 
warlordism" and hegemony. As in the case of Liberia, 
President Clinton, this year must make Liberia a top 
priority on the US foreign relations agenda in Afrika. The 
approach to the UN's peace keeping process has been 
dependent on the nations economic community of West Afrikan 
State, (E.C.O.W.A.J.). For six years, Liberia's fourteen 
peace agreements have been largely brokered by the results 
of this peace agreement and the failure to produce a united 
front from mediation, negotiation, and implementation which 
has projected the atrocities we've witnessed in Liberia 
today.

In this socio-political struggle, elections are to be held 
May 31, 1997, with a turnover, to an elected government on 
June 15, 1997. Now this new scheme of the war calls for 
sanctions against members of the warring factions. These 
imperialist sanctions include restrictions on travel, a 
freeze on economic activities, exclusion of the people from 
the electoral process and war criminals.

The struggle in Liberia is very important to cadres, who 
study Maoism, and the international world community of 
oppressed people. MC's and MIM Notes is the vehicle to carry 
on this process. As a result of this civil war in Liberia, 
an estimated 800,000 Afrikans are internally displaced, 
another 800,000 are refugees in neighboring countries that 
are the poorest in the world. 50% of the population in 
Monrovia, 350,00 were forced to flee their homes. Liberia 
has been torn in this civil war and warlordism, since 1989. 
We as colonized people of oppressed nations mustn't allow 
this to continue to happen to our brothers and sisters in 
Afrikan Liberia. That's why we need continuous support and 
feedback from MC's and the international community through 
MIM Notes. There must be peace, security, educational and 
political justice in Liberia and all Third World nations. As 
we hope toward a new and transformed society in Amerika.

Any cadres who would like more information and education in 
support of the Liberian people's struggle can contact: The 
Liberian Social Justice Foundation, c/o Bro. Edwin G. K. 
Zoedua, Executive Director, PO Box 31438, Cincinnati, OH 
45231 or (513) 931-1872.

-- A California Prisoner, 19 February 1997

MIM RESPONDS: Liberia was scheduled to hold elections on 
July 19, under a West African peace plan. But MIM does not 
hold out hope that this process, which has been brokered by 
the imperialists and their lackeys, will lead to a just and 
lasting peace for the people. This process of negotiating a 
peace agreement in Liberia is nothing more than an attempt 
for interested imperialist powers to gain more leverage and 
a more stable position of power over the country.

Instead MIM understands the need for the people to gain 
control over their nations and kick out the imperialists and 
their lackeys. To do this a revolutionary struggle for 
Maoist revolution is necessary. This comrade is correct that 
we need to be discussing this and other colonized countries 
as we struggle against Amerikan imperialism and MIM Notes 
invites our comrades with information on Liberia and other 
colonized nations to write to this newspaper and help make 
it an even better tool of information and organizing.

CORRECTION

As MIM continues to fight against national chauvinism and 
neo-colonialism we occasionally find the ideology of the 
oppressor slipping into our newspaper due to lack of 
vigilance in the writing and editing process. This happened 
with two articles on First Nations in MIM Notes 142 (July 
15, 1997).

The first article "Amerikan war against Oglala continues" 
incorrectly referred to the "Ct. Pequot" as if there were 
such a thing. In reality there is a Pequot nation which 
exists on land surrounded by Connecticut. The nation has its 
own identity which has nothing to do with the imperialist 
occupiers in nearby territory except through conflict with 
the imperialists over national sovereignty.

A second article "Nationalist Pequot art targeted for 
censorship" repeats a quotation from a source that pits 
First Nations against one another when the real battle is 
between the imperialists and the First Nations. We must be 
careful when reporting on battles amongst the oppressed that 
we not just repeat the bourgeois line and "facts".

MIM recognizes the importance of the national sovereignty of 
First Nations within US borders and it is particularly 
important to fight against neo-colonial thinking that leads 
to errors such as these. We will step up our vigilance in 
this struggle and hope that our readers and writers will 
learn from this mistake.



* * *



PIRAO GREETED WARMLY

by PIRAO chief

The response to the formation of the MIM-led People's 
Internationalist Rear Area Organization (PIRAO) has been 
overwhelming. Many more people have offered to work in PIRAO 
than we have had time or circumstances to organize. The army 
chief apologizes to all supporters and reminds them to 
retain their patience.

In very recent weeks, there have been some notable advances. 
One reader made a four digit donation and mentioned PIRAO's 
formation as the inspiration. A homeless sympathizer has 
also stepped forward to offer aid to PIRAO. Meanwhile, the 
first and most difficult step of funding Maoist 
Sojourner(MS) has been accomplished with the work of a PIRAO 
irregular. There are two more steps to go toward 
implementing the agreement in principle that exists to fund 
MS regularly. This work will be completed by PIRAO in 
upcoming months.

We would like to list some accomplishments of the PIRAO or 
its predecessors of the last few months;  although these 
accomplishments are much smaller than what is possible:

#Provided personal computers to the revolutionary 
proletariat of the Third World

#Raised a four digit sum for proletarian literature in the 
Third World 

#Obtained some Mao books and sent them off to places of 
scarcity

In fact, we call on all PIRAO irregulars, infantry and 
officers to scour their areas for cheap Mao books. Those 
with any ideas of how to obtain large or small quantities of 
Mao books are urged to communicate this concrete possibility 
to MIM, which will pass on the info to the PIRAO.

PIRAO also thanks the party for its efforts to get the ball 
rolling. We note with pleasure the efforts of those not 
necessarily in PIRAO who help the party set up a non-profit 
organization, to thereby help with tax issues and collection 
of donations. We certainly consider it honorary PIRAO 
activity.

PIRAO is also thankful even to those with ideas for work to 
do, because it was not long ago that even ideas for doing 
our share of the concrete (non-public opinion building) work 
of the international proletariat were in short supply. Now 
we in PIRAO and party readership circles have much broader 
imaginations on what is possible for PIRAO to contribute to 
global revolution. While the PIRAO struggles through this 
bottleneck period of organizing itself, we ask all the PIRAO 
members and supporters to use their own brains to come up 
with sustainable skills and methods for supporting the 
struggle.



* * *



IMPERIALIST COURTS CONDONE IMPERIALIST MILITARY BARBARITY

by RC68

A Belgian court recently acquitted two Belgian paratroopers 
of all charges related to when they roasted a Somali boy 
over a bonfire. The charges were filed after the Belgian 
media published a picture of the two soldiers holding their 
victim by his arms and legs stretched over the fire. Their 
defense was that they were just playing. This defense and 
its success are indicative of imperialist and militarist 
ideologies -- which encourage brutality and callousness 
towards oppressed nationals.(1)

The Belgian troops' conduct was the status quo for the 
imperialist troops that participated in the Amerikan-led 
invasion of Somalia. On 4 March 1993, Kanadian paratroopers 
shot two unarmed Somali men in the back as they fled. Twelve 
days later, soldiers from the same regiment tortured a 16 
year old Somali boy until he died.(2) Italian paratroopers 
also killed and abused Somali civilians. The Italian 
investigations have yet to produce any charges, but two 
Italian Generals resigned, quite likely to avoid charges and 
a public trial.(3) And who can forget the world famous 
photograph of the French Foreign Legion paratrooper kicking 
a Somali child?

Amerikan soldiers were much more active in the killing of 
Somali civilians than anyone else. The Amerikan army killed 
at least 300 Somalis just on one single day.(4) But no one 
in the U$ military has had to face charges.

Not that these show trials matter much. The imperialists' 
armies serve the interests of the imperialists. Their armies 
secure their access to cheap (or stolen) raw materials, 
enforce the super-exploitation of the proletariat in the 
oppressed nations, and generally keep the oppressed nations 
from rebelling against imperialist domination. So the 
imperialists cannot "humanize" their armed forces, because 
these forces exist to carry out the "inhumane" task of using 
violence to defend oppression. Precisely because these 
armies serve reactionary ends, they must attack and 
terrorize the broad masses of those nations they invade.

The whole Somalia mission was an example of this. The U$ 
made no secret of Somalia's strategic importance due to its 
location on the Horn of Africa. What the U$-led imperialists 
really wanted was control of Somalia's resources which 
include uranium, phosphate, and an impoverished workforce. 
If the UN was truly a place where all nations were 
represented equally it would never sanction such an 
invasion. The UN only serves as a way for the U$ and 
imperialist partners and allies to justify and disguise 
imperialist takeovers and invasions as "humanitarian 
peacekeeping missions".

Anyone that still thinks the UN's "Humanitarian 
Peacekeeping" forces actually work in the interests of the 
people whose countries they invade should really take a long 
and serious look at Somalia. These outrageous acts of 
barbarism were not just one or two isolated incidents. 
Neither did they involve just a handful of soldiers from 
only one or two of the invasion forces. The string of 
investigations in Belgium, Italy, and Kanada as well as 
evidence implicating French troops and the mass murders 
committed by Amerikan forces shows clearly this mission had 
nothing to do with treating Somalis humanely or maintaining 
peace. The torture, assault, and killing of Somali civilians 
as well as theft and wanton destruction by UN/U$ forces in 
Somalia is well documented.(5) Anyone that was shocked as 
they saw the pictures of Somalis cheering as the body of a 
dead Amerikan stormtrooper was dragged through the streets 
needs to rethink the situation. Armed resistance to 
imperialist aggression is both justified and necessary. 
Successful wars for national liberation will weaken 
imperialism and in turn make anti-imperialist revolution in 
the imperialist countries possible.

Amerikan civilians -- and military personnel -- who 
recognize that Amerika achieved and maintains its privileged 
position through brutal wars of conquest have a special duty 
to make revolution here as part of the world-wide struggle 
against imperialism.

NOTES:
1. BBC Radio 30 June 97.
2. Reuters 2 July 97.
3. Reuters 26 June 97.
4. MIM Notes 82.
5. MIM Notes 80.



* * *



AIDS SURVIVAL ABOUT ECONOMICS

The U.$. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) says the rate of 
U.$. citizens dying from AIDS is going down, mostly because 
of some effective new treatments known as protease 
inhibitors.

However, since these treatments cost about $15,000 per year, 
it is not surprising that the decrease in AIDS deaths is not 
equal across nations, even within US borders.(1)

The number of AIDS deaths dropped in the first nine months 
of 1996, by 28% for whites, by 16% for Hispanics, and by 10% 
among Blacks, the CDC says. Last year Blacks passed whites 
as the largest proportion of people with AIDS, 41%.(1)

There were also large differences in benefits from AIDS 
treatment and prevention between men and wimmin. Men did 
much better than wimmin, with the deaths of men falling over 
3 times as fast as for wimmin.(2)

Part of the overall differences in survival has to do with 
access to medical care over a lifetime. Healthier people 
will survive any disease longer because their bodies are 
better equipped. Those with the privilege that gives them 
access to regular preventive and curative medical care are 
going to survive longer with an HIV infection.

With AIDS treatment so expensive, the future is even more 
bleak for people with AIDS in Third World, especially 
African countries, where $15,000 might be the annual income 
of 100 average people combined.(1)

Stopping AIDS will first and foremost require massive 
investment in public health infrastructure in the poor 
countries of the world -- basic health care and clean water 
for starters. These changes are not happening under 
imperialism while Third World countries serve only as a 
source of cheap labor and resources. Even after improvements 
in basic health infrastructure, the treatment of people with 
AIDS may still be very expensive, as the limited success 
among the richest AIDS-infected people shows. But AIDS is 
preventable and effective education and prevention programs 
can address related health problems such as the necessity 
for prostitution as the only means many wimmin can earn 
income. Such programs can be successful in the fight against 
many preventable diseases, but this will require structural 
changes that include eliminating the patriarchy to 
effectively address the causes of poor health practices. MIM 
works to overthrow imperialism and change the system of 
medicine for profit to one of medicine for the people.

NOTES:
1. USA Today at http://www.usatoday.com, 14 July 1997.
2. Union-News, 15 July 1997, p. A3. 



* * *



AMERIKANS WASTE "THEIR" FOOD WHILE PEOPLE STARVE

byMC234

According to a new study from the United Snakes Department 
of Agriculture, Amerikans waste 96 billion pounds of food 
annually. The majority (97%) is wasted in restaurants and 
homes from spoilage or uneaten portions. The remainder is 
lost through improper inventory control in supermarkets.

Assuming the average person eats three pounds of food a day, 
almost 88 million people could be fed with that waste per 
year. This doesn't even begin to touch other kinds of 
inefficiency discussed in MIM Notes previously, such as 
wasting jet and truck fuel to ship out of season produce to 
the Amerikan shopping aisles. It also doesn't include the 
incredibly inefficient over-reliance on meat in the Amerikan 
diet, which consumes vast amounts of grain to produce food 
with one-tenth the nutritional content of the original 
grain.

This is because Amerika is an imperialist society which sees 
profit as the prime motive in society instead of a 
sustainable future. The whole system benefits from wasting 
food because it's profitable. The more food that is wasted, 
the more that can be sold. If people can't afford food, it 
is ok for them to starve. If anything, starvation keeps 
labor prices low.

Under socialism, the labor of the people who grow the food, 
as well as their ability to do so long term, are of prime 
importance.

During the socialist period in China, food was considered a 
basic right of the people, but wasting it was considered to 
be a terrible offense against the working people. Allyn 
Rickett, an Amerikan spy imprisoned in revolutionary China 
wrote in Prisoners of Liberation about his meals in jail. He 
was provided with as much food as he wanted to eat, but he 
had to finish it before he would be given another meal.

NOTE: Daily Hampshire Gazette, 1 July 1997, p. 4. 
Calculations based on numbers presented in article.



* * *



WAR ON GANGS IS A WAR AGAINST THE PEOPLE
INTERVIEW WITH MAPLEWOOD YOUTH

by MIM and MORAIL

MAPLEWOOD, MISSOURI -- Youth here report that Maplewood 
police have continuously harassed, beaten, taunted, 
detained, arrested and imprisoned youth in the community for 
the simple reason that the pigs have the power to commit 
these acts of brutality against the people. As Amerika 
increases the amount of money allotted to fight World War 
Three against the oppressed nations and youth within the 
illegitimate borders of the United Snakes, the white settler 
nation cheers the swelling ranks of pig departments and 
prosecuting attorneys. But resistance is growing: members of 
oppressed nations and youth are standing up saying they are 
sick of the brutality and repression. Youth from Maplewood 
had this to say when asked what they wanted to see happen: 
"I want people to start fighting back. I want a little Black 
Panther Party. I want the whole neighborhood together."

On 26 June 1997, four male youth were walking up the street 
in Maplewood. The pigs them pulled over and squealed, "Hold 
it right there." The youth reported that the pigs did not 
even ask for identification and did not make clear why they 
had stopped the youth. After fifteen minutes of standing 
there without being questioned, without being told why they 
were stopped, the youth started to walk away to return home. 
The pig grabbed one of the youth, X (we will not use real 
names in this article because this could contribute to 
increased pig harassment of those who contributed to the 
article), and threw him down on the ground, handcuffed him 
and kneed the youth's back. While doing this, the cop pushed 
the youth around saying, "Now tell me you are no punk" 
repeatedly. The pig then shoved the youth over to the car 
and pushed him into the hot hood of the pig mobile and 
arrested him.

Another youth merely asked "why you gotta do that?" The pigs 
then proceeded to handcuff, arrest and charge the second 
youth with interfering with police operations. The first 
youth was charged with assaulting a pig and bail was set at 
$500. The second youth's bail was set at $300.

While in jail, the pigs harassed the youth more. The youth 
were taunted by the pigs who walked by talking about food. 
Then the pigs said that the youth missed dinner. (In 
actuality, the youth were thrown into jail before meal 
time.) The pigs also denied the youth their right to use the 
phone because they were preoccupied with the harassment of a 
female prisoner, talking about her as a sex object. During 
the night, the pigs tried to deprive the youth of sleep. 
"They kept messin' with us in the night" slamming 
nightsticks against the bars and blowing loud whistles.

After leaving jail on bond, the pigs continued the 
harassment. Pig McCoy mocked X on the street making fun of 
the gash on his head that the pigs put it there when they 
beat him up. The cops drive by saying things like "you piece 
of shit." One cop said to the youth that they seemed 
colorful -- referring to the fact that the pigs were 
expecting the youth to be wearing specific gang colors.

In another case recently in Maplewood, two youth were picked 
up for drinking. During the arrest, Z was beaten so badly 
that he had to go to the hospital. He has a knee fracture 
and his wrists and shoulders are all cut up because of the 
pigs. The first youth (who was pounded in the back of the 
head by cops during arrest) was released later and Z remains 
in jail enduring the torture of the pigs. The pigs then told 
Z that the first youth had signed an affidavit stating that 
Z was the one that bought the alcohol. The first youth told 
MIM that he definitely did not sign any such thing. After 
being beaten and tortured, Z is being held for assaulting a 
pig.

When asked what they thought was the reason for the pigs 
stopping and harassing them, the youth said that they had 
all been detained around 25 times even before the above 
incidences. More recently, cops stopped in front of X's 
house, started to arrest him and X ran into the house. The 
pigs have been repeatedly trying to provoke the youth as if 
there is a quota for arrests of innocent youth to be awarded 
the grunter of the year award. X and his friends said that 
the pigs just harass them because the pigs think that they 
are in a gang. When asked when this started, the youth said 
shortly after the start of the Maplewood anti- gang and drug 
task force.

Some of the youth's parents have been supportive, but one 
youth's parents disowned him. Another youth's parent 
reported that the people of the neighborhood watch have been 
trying to get her and her son to move. The youth said that 
when their parents are around, the cops are fine, but when 
it is just the youth, the cops see it as a free for all pig 
brutality fest. Some parents seem to buy the false 
legitimacy of that the pigs are given by the imperialist 
government. The pigs recognize that youth are a dangerous 
force in that they have little attachment to the system and 
a strong desire to fight for justice and a better future.


WHO ARE THE ENEMIES?


When talking about the situation with the gangs and 
organizations locally, one youth talked about the 
differences between gangs and said, "We're not worried about 
gangs, we're worried about cops." Pigs like McCoy kick 
around youth and then say 'get up you fucking punk' but it 
is the cops who are the real punks/criminals. 

The youth asked MIM Notes to write that they urge the Bloods 
and the Folks/GD (Growth and Development) to call a truce. 
The youth explained that in this location they have a truce 
and they talk together about how it is the police that they 
need to be fighting -- it is the police who are the real 
enemies. The cops are notorious for attempting to split and 
pit one gang or organization against another and they do 
this to encourage youth killing other youth. But the youth 
realize that this is an attempt to weaken the opposition to 
pig brutality. 

We talked about the history of the FBI and police occupying 
forces using tactics to split up groups like the Black 
Panther Party, the American Indian Movement and other 
organizations which have challenged the system. Despite the 
fact that the youth said the teachers in school did not 
teach them anything and they are not interested in school, 
the youth were interested in studying the history of the 
Black Panther Party and the Young Lords Party because they 
recognized that these Parties have a history which we need 
to learn from in order to carry on their revolutionary 
legacy inside the belly of the beast.

This patriarchal society propagates the myth that youth have 
nothing to offer, but these youth (who have not finished 
high school) will contribute more than professors who decide 
that they would rather sit in their academic cafe houses and 
refuse to take up activism. These youth have learned that 
the Amerikan government is at war against the oppressed 
people of the world and have no illusions that what has been 
happening in Maplewood is isolated. They know that it will 
take organization and the study of history to stop the pigs 
and they are stepping up to the challenge to fight. Youth 
have the potential to organize for revolution and use their 
creativity and strength to bring about the end to 
oppression. Under imperialism and patriarchy, the potential 
of youth is held down and stunted, but MIM and RAIL work 
with youth to propel the development of revolution forward 
and to put an end to oppression whether it is the pigs 
attacking youth under the pretense of fighting gangs or the 
CIA attacking Colombians under the pretense of fighting a 
drug war.

The youth also asked that MIM Notes cover more on the war 
against gangs and the oppression of youth. MIM Notes 
welcomes gang or organization members to use this paper to 
publicize both the strength of the people and to expose the 
brutality and oppression against the people by the pigs and 
the entire Amerikkkan system.



* * *



MILITARY DOES DIRTY WORK FOR INS; MURDERS LATINO YOUTH

by MC234

"REDFORD, Texas -- It was an encounter between four 
camouflage-clad United States marines and a young man 
herding his family's goats on a rocky, desolate bluff of 
desert above the Rio Grande. It ended when one marine fired 
his M-16 rifle and hit the local teen-ager, Esequiel 
Hernandez Jr., who bled to death on a windswept hill 
overlooking his adobe home and the cemetery where he was 
buried a few days later."(1)

The Marines say Hernandez fired on them twice and was 
readying for a third shot when they killed him. 
Investigators have not been able to confirm that Hernandez 
was shooting. According to the local prosecutor, James 
Japson, "the marines had followed the youth for about 20 
minutes through the hills, and his fatal bullet wound 
indicates that he was not aiming at the soldiers when he was 
shot from a distance of about 230 yards." The prosecutor 
says the evidence at the scene and the autopsy do not 
support the Marine's story. Even Texas Rangers Capt. Capt. 
Barry Caver said, "It just doesn't sound like your typical 
self-defense case."(1)

Hernandez's had a .22-caliber WW1-era gun he inherited from 
his grandfather. Many goat herders carry weapons to protect 
their herd from javelina and other wild animals. If he was 
firing near the soldier's he might have been trying to hit 
or scare predatory animals.(1)

After the Marines shot Hernandez they waited 22 minutes to 
radio for medical assistance. Additionally, none of the 
Marines applied First Aid, other than taking the dying 
youth's pulse. Cover-up was apparently on the agenda as 
well. The Marines told the deputy sheriff when he arrived 
that the "youth had hurt himself by falling into a well."(1)

What were Marines doing in Texas on the border with Mexico? 
They were on a drug-surveillance mission. The program 
started when the "Reagan administration secured a historic 
loosening of 19th-century laws forbidding the use of 
military forces in domestic law-enforcement operations."(1)

According to Amerika's top pigs, the U.$. border with Mexico 
is the main entrance point for illegal drugs. (Ignoring of 
course, the legal drugs and the CIA importation of drugs to 
fund their secret wars.)

In Hernandez's town of Redford, people expressed surprise 
and anger to learn that armed Marines from California were 
patrolling their backyards. "It seems crazy to me now that 
they were even here. When you think about it, these are 
young marines brought in here from out of state. They've 
probably been told there are drug dealers all over the 
place, you're in enemy territory, protect yourself. But the 
result is, this good young man is dead," said a local 
schoolteacher.(1)

Redford is an impoverished community and residents report 
that no one from the town is getting rich off of the drug 
trade. No one is alleging Hernandez had anything to do with 
drugs. The biggest drug dealer in the county is the "former 
sheriff, Rick Thompson, sentenced five years ago to a life 
term for conspiracy to smuggle more than 2,000 pounds of 
cocaine."(1)

In these times when great political gain can be realized by 
appearing to "save" money, some elements in the Congress are 
proposing to expand the use of the U.$. military to aid the 
INS and in the drug war. One proposal would allow the 
secretary of defense to allocate up to 10,000 troops.(3) 
Other proposals are to allow the military to make 
arrests(1), or to have the National Guard do INS office work 
to free up INS agents for busting heads.

The President, on the other hand, wants to take tried-and-
true Clinton strategy of pledging to hire more cops. 
LatinoLink reported that Clinton is expected to announce in 
the fall a plan to triple the number of Border Agents from 
6,200 to 20,000 and phase out the use of the military.(1)

To the proletariat, whether the military is the appropriate 
tool for border control is the wrong question. The correct 
question is who controls the border and why? One of MIM's 
first actions upon taking state power would be to open the 
borders. We view the political borders as artificially 
constructed, and militarily enforced to preserve the status 
quo of inequality.

NOTE:
1. LatinoLink 29 June 1997 http://www.latinolink.com/
2. LatinoLink 13 July 1997 http://www.latinolink.com/
3. http://www.usbc.org/ This is the site for the reactionary 
"United States Border Control" organization.



* * *



NEW TACK ON IMMIGRANT CRACKDOWN?

Last year's "Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant 
Responsibility Act" is coming under increasing fire and 
might be changed slightly to disguise its highly touted 
"harshness" which is becoming more trouble than it's worth 
for the bourgeoisie.

For example, the law permits stays of only 120 days for so-
called humanitarian reasons. Because of its inflexibility 
one nine-year old boy in the Pittsburgh area undergoing a 
liver-transplant faces deportation. Allowing liver 
transplants is good public relations for Amerika around the 
world. Flexibility within the laws is necessary for the 
state's institutions of power to repress its opponents while 
allowing its allies (and public relations pawns) free reign. 
Lumping sick children in with exiled revolutionaries takes 
away too much from the INS for no real benefit, so the 
clamoring for change even within the bourgeoisie increases.

Soon, permanent non-citizen residents of the U.$ will lose 
their federal welfare benefits unless they naturalize. Some 
of these people are too elderly or disabled to take the Oath 
of Allegiance even if they wanted to, so they are being 
forced off of benefits. Some of these provisions have 
already been changed as part of the balanced budget 
agreements in May.

Bashing immigrants might play well with the settlers, but it 
offends other countries. In May, President Clinton told 
leaders of Central American countries he visited of his 
plans to "work with Congress to rollback some of the 
provisions of last year's immigration bill."

A report paid for by the Congressionally-sponsored US 
Commission on Immigration Reform said in May that, all 
things considered, immigration was a net positive gain for 
the US economy. According to this report, the benefits from 
better educated immigrants and the future contributions of 
immigrant children outweigh the cost of services consumed by 
less educated, poorer, immigrants. This is an interesting 
conclusion, especially given the severe bourgeois 
assumptions that hamper such studies, such as not 
recognizing the huge profits made from immigrant (especially 
undocumented) labor and counting those who end up in prison 
as receiving a $30,000/year "service."

Leaders of some cities and states with a large number of 
immigrants are leading the charge against the new law. These 
leaders, such as New York Major Giuliani are using the news 
of the Commission report, but are playing to much more 
pragmatic concerns. First, many of the people being forced 
off of federal welfare rolls are being forced onto the rolls 
of the State and City of New York. Secondly, as half of New 
York is either foreign born or first generation, defending 
immigrants is politically popular if it is done in the 
appropriate way. Florida is in a similar situation.


BIG BUSINESS WANT IMMIGRANTS


Last year the computer, chemical and financial industries 
kept Congress from cutting back on the number of immigrants. 
These large companies tend to be the most internationalist 
sections and find borders in general to be bad for business. 
So the idea of limited legal immigration is anathema to 
them.

Jennie Eisen of Intel phrased the issue in just those terms: 
"It's crazy in an ever growing business world to pass such 
isolationist legislation." When it became clear that the 
Congress was not going to restrict legal immigration last 
year, the business endorsed the bill. But according to 
Eisen, business still has problems with the law's lack of 
"due process". "Under the new law, people who overstay a 
visa now can be barred from re-entry to the United States 
for three to ten years without a hearing. She noted that if 
such a person had skills that were in short supply in the US 
it made no sense to apply such draconian provisions." 
Previously the INS would be very lenient in cases like this, 
but the law has changed this.

While this law isn't popular with Amerikan companies or 
Third World professionals, it's popular in India. The Indian 
National Association of Software and Service Professionals 
supports the more stringent laws because it helps stem the 
"brain drain" tide that sucks the most educated and skilled 
professionals out of the neo-colonies into the imperialist 
countries.

The sections of the bill not expected to be changed deal 
with so-called "illegal" immigration and beefing up the 
border.

NOTE: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 3 June, 1997, p. A10 Asia 
Times, 2 June 1997, p. 1.



* * *



INS TARGETS LATINOS IN NORTHEAST

Recent actions of the US Immigration and Naturalization 
Services(INS) in Boston show just how UNequal different 
nations within the illegitimate U$ borders are. The INS has 
disproportionately deported Latinos under the guise of the 
"illegal immigration" crusade in a city where the majority 
of undocumented are not Latino. The INS has raided several 
factories and workplaces -- including three recent raids in 
Boston resulting in 63 people arrested -- all Latino.

According to INS spokesperson Steve Fauquierson, "There may 
be the appearance that, ... we're picking on, ... a 
particular nationality, but that is just simply, I think, a 
natural outgrowth of the type of ethnic groups that decide 
to live in your area." However, according to INS statistics 
only one-third of the so-called "illegal aliens" in the four 
states the Boston office patrols are Latino. They lie when 
they say last year's statistic of 2/3s of the arrests being 
Latinos is "natural."

Faced with criticism, Fauquierson said:  "What gets lost in 
the discussion about worksite enforcement is this focus on -
- that you have apprehended these people who all's their 
trying to do is make a living to send money back home. And I 
understand that rationale, but what I have to say is:  it's 
still against the law to do that."

The state does not harass, brutalize, imprison or deport 
white nation immigrants as it does those from Third World 
nations fleeing the affects of imperialism. The crackdown 
against these immigrants serves to protect the interests of 
the illegitimate Amerikan government and the white settler 
nation. We organize to stop imperialist plunder of oppressed 
nations' land and exploitation of oppressed nation labor. 
This in itself is a partial solution to closing in on the 
hegemony of Amerika. But we also see that the end of 
Amerikan imperialism will necessitate the opening of the 
US's illegitimate borders to return the land to the peoples 
from which settler colonial rule originally stole it. In the 
mean time we support expansions in legal protection of 
Latino and other oppressed nations while struggling for 
national liberation.

NOTES: All Things Considered, National Public Radio, June 
16, 1997.
 


* * *



NEW HAVEN MASSES PROTEST PIG MURDER OF UNARMED BLACK MAN

New Haven, Conn., 14 July -- Six hundred people marched on 
the East Haven town hall to demand the prosecution of the 
white pig who fatally shot unarmed Black motorist Malik 
Jones on April 14. After a high speed chase from East Haven 
into New Haven, the pig shot Malik at least four times, 
"alleging Jones tried to run him over."

The march started at the scene of the murder, just three 
blocks from Malik's home. With a raised fist Malik's mother, 
Emma Jones led the march wearing a t-shirt with a picture of 
her son and walked behind a banner that said "Justice for 
Malik." "Never again will we allow someone to walk into our 
community and shoot and kill our children and walk away," 
she said. "No way will we allow the situation to be swept 
under the rug."

According to the Associated Press, people in New Haven 
"lined the streets to cheer the protesters." But in 96% 
white East Haven, where the high-speed chase began, the 
reaction was different. One 83-year-old woman "said she felt 
sorry for the police officer who shot Jones. 'That poor guy 
will have to get out of town.'"

In the 1960s, the Black Panther Party accurately compared 
the police to the actions of a foreign troop occupying 
territory. We don't know any additional details of this 
incident, but since a high speed chase obviously involves 
pigs in police cruisers, logic dictates that there would be 
many ways of apprehending a suspect without creating 
situation where the excuse "He was trying to run me down so 
I had to pump 4 bullets into him" can be used. But because 
the lives of the oppressed do not matter to the colonizer, 
the police have the power use whatever brutal methods they 
want.

We have no illusions that bringing cops to the white 
nation's courts to be tried will end the brutality against 
oppressed nations. The people must make revolution for 
national liberation and a just society. Only then, when the 
people control their own institutions including the police, 
will incidents such as these cease.

NOTES: Union-News 15 July 1997, p. A10.



* * *



WHAT'S IT TAKE FOR THE OPPRESSOR TO LISTEN TO THE MASSES? 
REVOLUTION.

by MC53

"Everybody was high-fiving and shaking hands and 
congratulating each other and patting each other on the back 
and bragging about how much butt you kicked."(1) This 
statement referring to pig rituals at a celebration dinner, 
is one which pig Ray McWhorter, a riot squad lieutenant at 
Hays State Prison in Georgia, said in a disposition 
admitting beatings and brutality against prisoners.

Our brothers in the Georgia gulag system have long been 
reporting brutality by the guards and now that the pigs 
themselves are admitting torturous treatment, some 
investigators and the mainstream press are taking these 
admissions more seriously. But this response from the press 
is no surprise considering that reports from prisoners of 
beatings and brutality are regularly dismissed.

Prisoners have reported to MIM and Under Lock and Key that 
they are repressed and brutalized when they make reports 
against the pigs for acts that range from denying basic 
needs, to physical abuse and mental torture, to murder. Pigs 
and the press ignore prisoners by claiming the prisoners are 
lying or that they are mentally unstable when they report 
abuse. Worse yet, pigs justify the violence against 
prisoners, like McWhorter did in saying, "We have to put up 
with a lot. In the years that I have been working here, I 
have been spit at. I have had urine thrown on me, I have 
been kicked. I have been punched. When you are dealing with 
that over and over and over and you are trying to restrain 
yourself... and all of the sudden they are saying 'Get them 
boys,' well, hell, you go in there and you get them."(1)

This response by the guards to the call of 'Get them boys' 
is no surprise. Guards in Amerikan prisons are drawn from 
the ranks of settlers, empowered as the armed backbone of 
the illegitimate settler nation which represses, brutalizes 
and exploits to retain its position in power.

In the quest for vengeance against prisoners, one prison 
guard reports witnessing another guard shove an inmate's 
face against a concrete wall. "He screamed. Blood went up 
the wall. Blood went all over the ground, all over the 
inmate. I heard it. It had a sickening, cracking sound." The 
New York Times reported that the guard said she did not 
report the incident because her superiors were there -- 
during the torture session.(1)

Pig McWhorter reported that a top aide to the prison 
commissioner "touched off a bloody attack on prisoners on 10 
July 1996 when he grabbed an unresisting inmate by the hair 
and dragged him across the floor."(1) On the same day, the 
pig Commissioner Wayne Garner watched another incident where 
the guards tortured inmates, some handcuffed. The guards 
punched, stomped on and kicked the inmates until "blood 
streaked the walls."(1) This is the very incident that 
Garner praised the guards for at the celebration dinner.

Garner reportedly is notorious for making life severely 
harsh for the prisoners, "by taking away privileges and 
conducting sweeps through cell blocks by black-clad riot 
squads."(1) Pig McWhorter said that when the prison aide 
started in, "We were all under the impression that it was 
o.k to do it. If Mr. Thomas can slam one, then we can slam 
one, too. ... It was a dad-gum shark frenzy in G building. 
It was a free-for-all. You know how sharks do. They see a 
spot of blood, and then here come the sharks everywhere from 
a mile around."(1) He went on to explain that some pigs 
stepped on prisoners' heads after the prisoners were already 
restrained.

Don't be fooled into thinking that it is only one of 
Amerika's concentration camps which has viciously engaged in 
the torture of prisoners. The letters and articles printed 
in Under Lock and Key (and in addition the ones we receive 
which are not printed) recount systematic torture, cruel 
conditions, denial of medical and basic needs and 
psychological warfare against prisoners. We're glad to see 
that the main stream press is covering these cases of 
attacks against prisoners, but this reporting is limited to 
only the most sensational and highly exposed incidences. 
Bourgeois press does not endorse investigative reporting 
that includes investigating the evils and abuses of 
imperialism, they prefer to accept the press statements from 
the government as fact.

The sheep mentality described by the guards in this account 
is merely an attempt to throw off responsibility. Human 
beings have the potential for rational thought and actions 
based on the interests of the people. Under Chinese 
socialism, prison guards criticized and heavily discouraged 
violence against prisoners, both by other prisoners and by 
the guards. The guards instead encouraged rational actions 
to convince criminals to reject their incorrect ideas and 
previous actions which hurt the people -- whether that was 
support for capitalism or murder.

Amerikan prison guards do have to deal with a lot of 
violence. They are engaged in a war, so they should expect 
it. Though MIM does not advocate that prisoners enact random 
threats or acts against prison guards, we definitely see 
that anger and hatred against the system and the guards are 
justified. Not only were most prisoners denied basic needs 
and adequate defense before ending up in prison, brutal 
guards, torture, forced labor and cruel prison conditions 
are the material reality of prisoners in Amerika. Treating 
humans in such a manner will make them mad and will create 
many revolutionaries ready to overthrow imperialism.

NOTE: The New York Times, 1 July 1997, p. A10.



* * *



UNION-NEWS & PIGS PUSH FOR WAR ON STREET GANGS

SPRINGFIELD, MA, June -- News reports over the last four 
months say that street gangs in the area are breaking with 
drugs and violence against the oppressed and taking up 
community service;  both as volunteers and organizing on 
their own to kick drug dealers out of apartment blocks. 
Chairperson of the Million Man March Committee, Minister 
Yusuf Muhammad has announced that a cease fire between the 
four local gangs is possible.

Minister Muhammad correctly said "We do not see these young 
men as criminals, as terrorists (or) as thugs. We see them 
as leaders, whose energy has been manipulated, and it is our 
responsibility to refocus them."

This is a correct analysis. These organizations formed 
because of imperialist oppression. The first street gangs 
were Irish immigrants who had to protect themselves from 
Amerika. Later, the Irish became part of the white nation, 
and in fact became much of the police force critical in the 
war against oppressed nations. But Blacks and Latinos are 
not being assimilated by apartheid Amerika, and their 
organizations are targeted for extermination.

A good part of this war against the oppressed is the 
instigation of violence between the gangs, and the 
recruitment of gangs to sell drugs as a way to make money. 
This directly weakens the oppressed nations and allows the 
pigs a legal excuse to start an open war on the oppressed, 
taking out the leaders and shipping them off to jail. It's 
also especially disgusting to see the pigs talk about gangs 
and drugs, when it's the their deadliest, sneakiest gang, 
the CIA, that's bringing the shit into the country in the 
first place.

The Union-News editorialized against street gangs 
volunteering and organizing on 24 June. The Union-News 
called Muhammad's statement "doublespeak" and ended "gang 
members cannot shirk responsibility for their reign of crime 
by having someone glibly call them victims of the system." 
These organizations are not shirking responsibility, but are 
actively working to make oppressed nation communities 
stronger.

The Union-News says "many of these gang members are 
criminals, ruthless in their rampages." Their evidence that 
the gangs have not changed? Two alleged gang members were 
just recently convicted in the white nation's court for 
something that happened two years ago.

What the Union-News would like to see the gangs do to "take 
responsibility for their actions" is, surrender to the 
police. But how come we don't see the Union-News writing 
equally harsh editorials about the police murder of Ben 
Schoolfield, or the police assault on youth at the Nubian 
Athletic Club, or the police kicking of Roy Parker? Because 
the Union-News likes that kind of violence and because the 
white nation wrote laws that made it "legal".

In March, one Latin King leader told the Sunday-Republican, 
in reference to community service: "We're trying to 
resurrect the spirit the Latin King nation was founded on in 
Chicago in the 1940s."

According to the Sunday-Republican, the Latin Kings have 
been openly attending political rallies, and have submitted 
to group photographs by the Massachusetts Gang Task Force. 
Cops have also been videotaping the Kings, to aid in future 
identifications. Organizations that serve the oppressed 
should fear repression from the state and should not make 
this repression any easier by giving the pigs identifying 
information. This is true regardless of whether your tactics 
are "legal" or not. Organizations which serve the people are 
the greatest threat to the system and are the primary 
targets of the state.

We encourage the street organizations of Springfield to 
write of their struggles for the Mass RAIL and MIM Notes, as 
they have in the past. Independent media is important, as we 
can not trust the bourgeois media like the Union-News to 
represent our struggles accurately.

NOTES: Sunday Republican 2 March 1997, p. A1, A17; Union-
News 24 June 1997, p. A8.
Readers can get more information about the murder of Ben 
Schoolfield in MIM Notes 91, August 1994. The kicking of Roy 
Parker was covered in MIM Notes 137, 1 May 1997 and MIM 
Notes 141, 1(b) July 1997.


* * *


CLINTON DISGUISES NATIONAL OPPRESSION AS ISSUE OF ATTITUDE

by RC93

SAN DIEGO, CA, 14 June -- President Clinton spoke about 
"race" at the UC San Diego's 1997 class commencement. He 
said that the graduates must change prejudice into unity -- 
stressing individual responsibility rather than the 
underlying system of Amerikan settler domination. It is true 
that students have the power to fight injustice in the 
United $tates and internationally, but mere attitude 
adjustments will not stop the domination of nations which is 
the material basis for white nation chauvinism carried out 
in personal interactions.

While focusing on the individual's attitude as the point of 
'revolution,' to eliminate racial prejudice, Clinton offered 
a second solution to the problem. He announced the formation 
of an advisory panel to educate and to "promote dialogue in 
every community." This panel includes mostly politicians, as 
well as the CEO of Nissan U.S.A. Clinton stressed the 
importance of "open dialogue" and tried to convince the 
audience that this panel will be a great resource in 
combating so-called prejudice.

Clinton painted a innocent picture of the U.$. and its role 
as an imperialist power:  "we in America simply have to sell 
to the other 95 percent of the world's consumers just to 
maintain our standard of living. Because we are drawn from 
every culture on earth, we are uniquely positioned to do 
it." It is not Amerika's diversity that maintains its 
parasitic standard of living;  it is the super-exploitation 
of the Third World labor and military occupation which 
supports it. The U.$. exploits and occupies internal 
colonies in a similar way.

As a result of imperialism, the people of Third World 
nations live in horrible conditions, resulting in the influx 
of refugees to the United Snakes, where they hope to eke out 
a living in Amerika. But they soon face the reality that 
even within U.$. borders they remain second class citizens 
exploited for the benefit of the white nation. Yet Clinton 
claimed that no matter what they faced, "even bigotry and 
violence, most of them never gave up on America." But this 
has not proven true in recent history. When Cuban and 
Haitian refugees came to Florida tension quickly arose 
between the people and settler nation forces. One man stated 
from his experiences, "I wanted to believe in the American 
system. No More! Not Again!"(2) Clinton had the audacity to 
state: "Even African Americans, the first of whom we brought 
here in chains, never gave up on America." It is doubtful 
that the more than 700,000 Blacks locked up by the 
Amerikkkan injustice system fall into this category. Nor the 
majority of so-called free Blacks who live in oppressive 
living conditions and whose communities are occupied by the 
pigs.

Clinton also talked about the Amerikan armed forces, 
proclaiming diversity goes hand in hand with "excellence." 
He said, "Our armed forces are diverse from top to 
bottom...[a]nd, more importantly, no one questions that they 
are the best in the world." By "best" Clinton is referring 
to the ability of imperialism's armed forces to murder, 
rape, and steal from the people of oppressed nations to 
maintain U.$. world hegemony. Clinton then acted like it is 
a great service that so many of the Black nation are allowed 
to participate in this. The reason there is a high 
percentage of Blacks in the military is because this is one 
of the only opportunities offered under Amerikan rule. And 
Clinton is fine with this, because it is a form of 
integrating the oppressed to serve the system, rather than 
allowing their opposition to swell. Clinton also seems to 
claim that diversity equals an environment free of 
discrimination. This is hardly the case, as in anything that 
is structured so closely to the U.$. system.

Addressing the U.$. law enforcement system Clinton stated 
that "respect for the law must run both ways." Clinton could 
not deny the occurrences of national oppression within the 
injustice system, but treated them as flukes that can be 
overcome. He ignored the role they play in maintaining the 
current status quo. He claimed that the "fight against crime 
and drugs is a fight for the freedom of all our people." 
Rather it is a war against oppressed nationals to maintain 
the freedom of the elite to exploit the world for its labor 
and resources.

Clinton argued that, "Being satisfied if we have what we 
want and heedless of others who don't even have what they 
need and deserve is not the American way." This was one of 
the biggest lies Clinton made that afternoon. Without 
exploitation of the oppressed, imperialism would crumble. 
This is the foundation of imperialism and it is the 
prevalent attitude among the Amerikan middle class who 
choose not to become involved in revolutionary politics and 
would rather enjoy the stolen riches.

While Clinton stressed the changing of attitudes in an 
individualist approach to making this world a better place, 
this will change nothing. No matter how many people work to 
change the attitudes of Amerikans, they will prove no avail 
as long as those in power remain. Not until the oppressors 
are removed from power can national oppression end. 
Therefore it is necessary for the people to unite in this 
struggle, and not rely on individuals running around doing 
good deeds. The people must work with MIM in the struggle 
against the imperialist power structure.

NOTES:
1. U.S. Newswire 16 June 1997.
2. Eyes on the Prize II: Back to the Movement PBS Home 
Video.
3. Times Union 18 June 1997, p.A-2.



* * *



SENATOR CALLS SOLITARY CONFINEMENT "BARBARIC"

by MC12

New Jersey Senator Robert Torricelli says Susan McDougal is 
in "barbaric" conditions in prison, where she is being held 
for refusing to testify in the Clinton's Whitewater case.

Torricelli said on the Senate floor:  "Any individual held 
in solitary confinement with no privacy, with no ability to 
consult with family or friends, denied access to a chaplain, 
shackled hand and foot, subjected to body searches, awakened 
during the night every 20 minutes in some circumstances by a 
flashlight in her eyes, could not possibly at this point be 
giving voluntary testimony that would be usable in a court 
of law," he said.

Torricelli's concern with the famous Susan McDougal is 
touching. MIM would like to know why her case -- with its 
short duration --merits such an emotional protest, while the 
hundreds and thousands of others held in similar conditions 
does not. As for the admissibility of her testimony, the 
whole point of the bail system is to imprison the poor 
before their trials -- something which has never stopped the 
injustice system from pretending it treats people fairly.

Certainly, McDougal's imprisonment is coercive, which is the 
point. But attempts to build sympathy for her in the absence 
of a criticism of the whole prison system only show the 
greater injustices at work.

NOTES: Associated Press 17 July 1997.



* * *



PARISITISM INCREASES:
ERRONEOUS LABOR ARISTOCRAT ANALYSIS HIDES TRUTH

In October, 1994, the Workers World Party printed some 
erroneous articles about the decline of median family 
income. The Filipino comrades of the NDF followed suit and 
reprinted the article. At that time MIM explained that 
family size was decreasing, and that as a matter of fact, 
median income was increasing.

Two years later, we re-published the critique in MT#10 in 
1996. It turns out that the same year, statistics came out 
to prove MIM's point.

If we look at median household (not family) income, it 
appears to have declined between 1972 and 1994, from $32,367 
to $32,264 in 1994 constant dollars to account for 
inflation.

However, a closer look shows MIM was right. It is only that 
families and households are getting smaller, not that 
incomes are not going up. Appliance ownership and college 
enrollments went up, not down.

Percent change in median income by size of household between 
1967 to 1994 in 1994 constant dollars:

One-person	+69%
Two-person	+33%
Three-person	+21%
Four-person	+27%
Five-person	+18%
Six-person	+16%
Seven or more	+8% (1)

The social-democrats and revisionists in the imperialist 
countries continue to argue with MIM, but they are either 
liars or severely misinformed. Their whining serves to cover 
up the huge transfer of value from the Third World to the 
imperialist countries, which is the central fact of our 
time, imperialist exploitation and super-exploitation of the 
neo-colonies.

This transfer of value to the imperialist countries is so 
large that the capitalist class alone cannot consume it or 
even invest it. That is why the median incomes continue to 
grow in the imperialist countries.

Instead of whining about the conditions of oppressor nation 
workers in order to get more gravy for them, the communists 
have the duty to point out what is really happening 
internationally. If we take the countries of the world and 
put them into big regions of 1) Western Europe 2) Offshoots 
of Western Europe like the United $tates 3) Southern Europe 
4) Eastern Europe 5) Latin America 6) Asia & Oceania 7) 
Africa, then we can talk about the growth of inequality 
between large groups of people. Inequality of income per 
person between regions was only 3:1 in 1820, but it kept 
growing: 5:1 in 1870, 9:1 in 1913, 11:1 in 1950, 12:1 in 
1973 and 16:1 in 1992. Since 1950, Western Europe and Japan 
gained ground on the U.$. leader, so we hope not to hear 
whining from social-democrats in those countries either.

The richest country went from being over three times richer 
per person in income in 1820 to 72 times richer in 1992.(2) 
For us communists, this is not a mystery. Africa and Latin 
America actually suffered declines in income in the 1980s, 
because of imperialist exploitation. Countries that would 
grow richer do not, because of the transfer of wealth to the 
imperialist countries.

The Workers World Party has been arguing with MIM a long 
time. It never ceases to be wrong and it never rebutted our 
rebuttal. The Filipino comrades of the NDF who only knew us 
for a year at that time were wrong to print the Workers 
World article, not because they were wrong to intervene in 
"our" business, which is taking down the imperialists, but 
because they were scientifically incorrect. Only the MIM 
line is correct for the imperialist countries' conditions.

NOTES:
1. Thomas G. Exter, The Official Guide to American Incomes, 
2nd ed. (Ithaca, NY: New Strategist Publications), p. xxi.
2. Angus Maddison, Monitoring the World Economy: 1820-1992 
(Paris: OECD, 1995), p. 22.



* * *



FIGHT OVER THE SUPER-PROFITS IN ENGLAND

Trotskyists and anarchists in England are arguing over how 
to unite the working-class in connection to the welfare 
system, the main thrust of which will not change under the 
new Labor Party government. The anarchists claim -- and we 
believe that it is true universally in capitalist states -- 
that the office workers Lenin called semi-proletarian harass 
the unemployed trying to sign up for the dole.

The Trotskyists argue that office workers administering the 
dole are workers too and should not be antagonized. 
Meanwhile the anarchists claim the unemployed should take 
precedence. The anarchists have devised a policy for 
handling harassing bureaucrats [italics and graphics 
removed]: "Aimed at managers, client 'advisers' and other 
officers who REPEATEDLY and VERIFIABLY go out of their way 
to harass and persecute individuals for signing on. First 
Offence -- A written warning is given to the offender and 
their manager -- Strike One! Second Offence -- Final written 
warning given to the offender and their manager -- Strike 
Two! Third Offence -- The offender is exposed as a dole 
bully. Their name and photo are distributed widely and they 
can expect an angry demo at their office. Strike Three and 
Out!"

The Trotskyists of Socialist Outlook came out in opposition 
to three strikes policy for dole-workers. Trotskyist and old 
Khruschev revisionist-led unions also apparently opposed the 
Three Strikes policy in the name of uniting the office-
workers against the national policy.
MIM has no doubt that the position of the Trotskyists is 
petty-bourgeois. If these office-workers are actual allies 
in the struggle, then a little confrontation should win them 
over. If the office-workers are not material for progressive 
alliance, then having someone demonstrate against them will 
cause them to take up consolidated petty-bourgeois 
attitudes, and if we were to worry about such consequences 
all the time, the proletariat would never do anything in the 
imperialist countries because of the prevalence of office-
workers.

Nonetheless, MIM also doubts the anarchists. In passing, the 
anarchists say they oppose work requirements for the 
unemployed to receive welfare benefits that the Labor Party 
has suggested. This position seems to MIM to glorify a 
parasitism very similar to that of the dole administration 
workers. MIM does not oppose workfare in principle;  
although no matter what policy the capitalist government 
claims to carry out, it will do so in some particularly 
anti-proletarian way like in the United Snakes where 
workfare allows the government and corporations to obtain 
cheaper laborers than if these workers had been hired in the 
first place. Neither government workers nor unemployed 
workers produce surplus-value and neither is likely to in 
their lifetimes in England.

We have found that in practice the unemployed are closer to 
the line of the international proletariat than office 
workers are. The unemployed may have parasitic aspirations 
themselves, but they seem more open-minded than the office-
workers who hold themselves high and mighty above the 
unemployed and the international proletariat as well. The 
anarchists are correct that we must fight the petty-
bourgeois manifestations of the government workers or the 
proletariat itself will lose its orientation.

We urge the anarchists of the Anarchist Communist Federation 
to look into this more deeply -- raise revolutionary 
consciousness as they say -- and avoid taking up one 
parasitic stance against another. Without a clear 
understanding of the oppressed nations and the existence, 
size and distribution of super-profits, much time will be 
wasted fighting over super-profits.

We communists are not the ultimate champions of the 
lumpenproletariat. The better anarchists tend to take that 
stance, because the lumpenproletariat provides temporary 
illusions of having dropped out of the capitalist system as 
a lifestyle. Anarchists are usually suckers for 
individualism of this sort and easily lose track of the 
class structure. As a result they fail in mobilizing the 
people and targeting the enemy.

NOTE: Organize! For Class Struggle Anarchism, Issue No. 45 
Spring 1997, pp. 14-5. ACF, c/o 84b Whitechapel High St., 
London E1 7QX



* * *



STOP WASTING TIME:
FIGHT IMPERIALISM AND FIRST WORLD CHAUVINISM WITH MIM

MIM is a collection of parties of the English-speaking 
imperialist countries and their internal semi-colonies. We 
cover the United $tates, where we originated, Kanada, 
Australia, New Zealand, England, Ireland, Israel, the Black 
nation, Aztlan, burgeoning Asian enclaves and the First 
Nations surrounded by imperialism.

This announcement by MIM is not made lightly. There are 
concerns that MIM is becoming a new COMINTERN, a world 
party. Another problem is the fact that MIM is dominated by 
its basis in North America and the United $tates in 
particular.

However, "freedom is the recognition of necessity." MIM's 
announcement has the benefit of making clear that the 
international communist movement is in low ebb, particularly 
in the imperialist countries. Too many continue to hold 
illusions about revisionism or social-democracy or have 
failed to regroup at all.

MIM's announcement that it is the vanguard in several 
countries simply means that MIM is the most scientific pole 
concretely active in those countries. It is MIM opposing 
Soviet revisionism and Chinese revisionism.

While some countries have no pole other than MIM opposing 
Soviet and Chinese revisionism, there is no organization 
other than MIM in the imperialist countries taking up 
Lenin's correct line on the labor aristocracy and parasitism 
generally. Organizations exist that speak of "the working 
class" and "the proletariat" day and night without ever 
defining what they are talking about or applying it 
concretely. For this reason, MIM exists -- not to hold back 
the development of the understanding of concrete conditions 
in each imperialist country and its internal semi-colonies -
- but to expedite this process and to rally the elements in 
need of re-grouping.

Concretely-speaking, having regular publications is a major 
advantage in the struggle. In What Is To Be Done? Lenin 
insisted on weekly publications. MIM has weekly publications 
and has assisted localities in establishing more than weekly 
publications. We see no difficulty in continuing this 
expansion in all the English-speaking imperialist countries.

At this time, there is also an ebb in the imperialist 
countries in general, not just the English-speaking ones. 
MIM is not yet in a position to assist concretely in all of 
them, though it is happy to exert influence in those 
countries.

We call on all individuals in the English-speaking 
imperialist countries to rally around MIM and stop wasting 
time in dejection or coaxing hopeless revisionists, social-
democrats or outright liquidationists. The would-be party 
leaders in the imperialist countries who cannot see the 
truth about Soviet and Chinese revisionism by now will not 
be won until much later in the revolutionary process.



* * *



STRUGGLE CONTINUES FOR POLITICAL ASYLUM FOR THE SISON FAMILY

by RC35

The fight for asylum for Jose Maria Sison, founding 
Chairperson of the Communist Party of the Philippines, and 
his family, still looms in the Netherlands courts. Sison, 
Julieta de Lima-Sison, and their son Jasm are seeking asylum 
based on the political persecution they faced in the 
Philippines, persecution which they expect will only be 
worse if they are forced to return. Incredibly similar to 
cases in the U$, the Dutch court used false testimony to 
label Mr. Sison a terrorist. The Dutch Law Unity Chamber 
held a hearing on the asylum case on 19 June. No decision 
was is expected to be reached for somewhat longer than 6 
weeks.

The threatened deportation is an attempt to destroy 
revolutionary leadership and to disrupt the peace 
negotiations between the Government of the Republic of the 
Philippines and the National Democratic Front, to which 
Sison is the Chief Political Consultant.

In February 1995, the Dutch Council of State recognized the 
Sisons as political refugees according to the Geneva 
Convention of Refugees. According to Article 3 of the 
European Convention of Fundamental Human Rights and 
Freedoms, the Sisons can not sent back to the Philippines. 
The Justice Ministry, under pressure from Amerika and the 
Philippines, wants to deport Sison and his family.

The prosecuting lawyer for the Netherlands has ceased 
arguing that Sison can be deported to the Philippines and 
the Justice Ministry now recognizes the Council of State 
ruling that Sison is a refugee. The Justice Ministry's new 
tactic is to claim the right to deny Sison a permit to stay 
in the Philippines. This is a microscopic change in position 
for the Netherlands, from pushing for Sison to be deported 
to the Philippines to pushing for Sison to leave the 
Netherlands. The larger imperialist goal is for the Sisons 
to be eventually forced back to the Philippines for further 
repression remains unchanged, although Sison's lawyers will 
try to use this change to their advantage.

Mr. Hoogvliet, lawyer for the Netherlands, alluded to 
pressures from imperialist Amerika to not grant the Sisons 
asylum. Though the Dutch Ministry of Foreign affairs denies 
foreign pressure, Hoogvliet said the Dutch government as a 
state would have to consider unhappy foreign reactions to a 
grant of asylum. This correctly reveals the imperialist tie 
supposed "liberal" Netherlands has to the rest of the 
oppressor world.

This struggle exposes the specific role countries like the 
U$ and the Netherlands play in relation to the oppressive 
Ramos regime. The imperialists get free reign of the 
Philippines land, labor and resources with the puppet 
dictator Ramos and don't want to jeopardize that parasitic 
relationship.

The lawyers have tried to play Sison off as a terrorist and 
have tried to compare him to war criminals. The Dutch 
government has no evidence of any illegal activity committed 
by Sison, nor are there any criminal charges in the 
Philippines against Sison, so the Dutch government is 
resorting to made up allegations.

MIM supports the struggle to grant asylum for the Sison 
family as part of our work to support the Communist Party of 
the Philippines-led struggle of the toiling masses of the 
Philippines for national liberation.

NOTES: "Report on the Court Hearing on 19 June 1997 on 
Asylum Case of Sison Family, 22 June 1997" International 
Campaign for the Asylum of the Sison Family in Maoist 
Sojourner 19, July 1997 or http://www.geocities.com/~cpp-ndf



* * *



WAR CRIMINAL MCNAMARA GETS ON NEO-COLONIALISM BANDWAGON

by MC234

In June, former Secretary of Defense during the height of 
the Amerikan war against Viet Nam, Robert McNamara, and 
other top pigs had a conference with Vietnamese leaders 
about the war. While he isn't being direct about it, 
McNamara apparently now believes that neo-colonialism is a 
more effective strategy to control Third World nations than 
direct military intervention.

The United States spent billions and lost 58,000 Amerikan 
soldiers in the failed effort to retain the former French 
colony. Over 3.6 million Vietnamese people were killed by 
Amerikans, as well as thousands in Cambodia and Laos when 
the war spread. From direct costs to the imperialists to the 
(quite just) hatred against Amerika that such a bloody 
strategy breeds, imperialists such as McNamara argue that 
direct intervention isn't an effective way to run an empire. 
McNamara first sang this tune in his 1995 memoir.

McNamara is blaming the length and depth of the Vietnam War 
on "misunderstandings" and resulting missed opportunities to 
end the war. According to McNamara, it would have been 
possible to avoid the war, or to end it much earlier without 
these errors on both sides. McNamara stressed that both 
sides made these mistakes, but when pressed by a National 
Public Radio interviewer, couldn't provide any real details 
for Vietnamese mistakes.

The Vietnamese negotiators were blunt, saying that the 
opportunities were missed by Amerika only. "War was imposed 
on us," said Tran Quang Co, a senior member of the 
Vietnamese delegation. "This was not our decision. It did 
not take place in U.S. territory. Given that fact, who 
suffered more? It was our people."

McNamara replied:  "I submit to you that the Vietnamese 
mindset was just as firm (as ours), and I think firmly 
wrong." The Vietnamese "mindset" was for the return of their 
country from foreign occupation. This so-called "mindset" 
was clear and just.

Reuter news service mocked the political rigidity of the 
Vietnamese at this meeting, saying that the 1975 victory 
over Amerika has "remained a central theme of state 
propaganda and is considered a mainstay of the Communist 
government's claim to legitimacy," thereby preventing the 
political and academic leaders at the meeting from "viewing 
the conflict in any other way."

MIM does not believe that the current regime in Viet Nam is 
Communist, although during it's armed struggle against the 
French and later Amerika, the National Liberation Movement 
led by Ho Chi Minh was close. Ho Chi Minh and the Communist 
Party of Viet Nam disagreed with the Maoist idea that a new 
bourgeoisie can arise from within the party to restore 
capitalism. And this is precisely what happened when the 
Amerikans were defeated, with Viet Nam quickly becoming a 
neo-colony of the Soviet Union.

MIM however, celebrates the armed struggle and victory of 
the Vietnamese people against French and Amerikan 
imperialism. In the 1960s and 1970s, China supported the 
armed struggle of the Vietnamese people with political and 
material support.

At the June talks, McNamara expressed gladness that Amerika 
did not invade North Vietnam, learning from the Vietnamese 
negotiators that:  "Viet Nam's late President Ho Chi Minh 
and its former Prime Minister Pham Van Dong had visited 
Beijing twice during the early 1960s and received assurances 
from Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai that Chinese combat forces 
would help counter any U.S. invasion."

NOTE: Reuter 23 June 1997, National Public Radio 21 June 
1997



* * *



RAMOS COVERS UP EXPLOITATION OF FILIPINO OVERSEAS WORKERS

by RC68

Philippine President Fidel Ramos' recent meeting with hand-
picked representatives of the Hong Kong Filipino community 
was an attempt to cover up the increasing exploitation and 
oppression of Filipino overseas contract workers (OCWs). 
With the blessing of agencies like the IMF and the World 
Bank (and therefore with the blessing of U.$. imperialism), 
the Philippine government has used the trade in OCWs to 
raise some quick foreign cash. As a result, the most 
lucrative export of the Philippines today is Filipinos, who 
generally work under harsh and unfair conditions.

The questions submitted at Ramos' meeting were screened and 
then forwarded to the president. No additional questions 
were allowed. If Ramos and his dogs had not screened the 
questions and hand picked the audience, it is quite likely 
that his "meeting" would have been disrupted by justifiably 
angry Filipinos asking questions that would publicly expose 
Ramos for the fascist and imperialist running dog that he 
is.

Ramos knows that Filipino migrant workers all over the world 
are angry with him. Memorandum of Instruction No.8 requires 
Filipino migrant workers to pay US$25 on top of the fees 
that every applicant must already pay when s/he first 
applies to work abroad. This money is supposed to be used to 
improve on-site Overseas Workers Welfare Administration 
services. Instead it lines the pockets of corrupt government 
officials. Filipinos are currently working in 168 countries, 
yet not even 15 of these countries even have OWWA offices.

Memorandum Circular No.41 stops direct hiring. Instead, all 
Filipinos applying to work as migrant workers must go 
through government-certified recruitment agencies. This way 
the Philippine government can avoid the responsibility of 
protecting and upholding the rights and welfare of these 
people by passing this duty off to the recruitment agencies. 
The Ramos regime can only defend Filipino OCWs with vague 
and ineffectual words, as it does not want to alienate 
foreign employers.

Filipino migrant workers also must pay a mandatory Medicare 
fee. Payment of this fee is supposed to entitle the migrant 
worker and family members to medical services in any 
hospital in the Philippines. Many family members who have 
tried to use this faced hospital administrators who would 
not honor it.

People do not normally seek to travel hundreds or thousand 
of miles from home to work unskilled, low paying, labor 
intensive jobs simply out of boredom. The fact is that 
decades of comprador dictatorship and almost a century of U$ 
imperialism in the Philippines have created an impoverished 
nation of oppressed and exploited people forced to migrate 
because of a lack of jobs at home.

The main reason Ramos' recent trip to Hong Kong was to speak 
at a meeting of powerful investors. This was really just an 
attempt to sell off even more Filipino land and sell out 
more Filipino people.

The National Democratic Front and the Communist Party of the 
Philippines are currently leading the masses in armed 
struggle against the pro-imperialist illegitimate Ramos 
government. Only a real revolutionary movement based on the 
majority of the Filipino people -- peasants and workers -- 
can eliminate the power of the imperialist toadies in 
authority and establish a government to serve the people. 
And only socialist economic development can eliminate the 
socio-economic base for this super-exploitation of the 
Filipino people.

NOTE: News Page, Website for the National Democratic Front 
of the Philippine, May 22 1997 (www.geocities.com/~cpp-
ndf/index.html).



* * *



UNDER LOCK & KEY: NEWS FROM PRISONERS AND PRISONS

This issue's Under Lock and Key focuses on the state of 
Texas. Some may believe that Texas is one of the most brutal 
states in Amerikkka, below is the data and first hand 
accounts of what it means to be behind bars in Texas.

STATS FROM THE TEXAS GULAGS

At the end of 1996, Texas was holding 132,383 people in 
behind bars, the second highest number of prisoners in the 
U$.

Texas along with California held one-third of all prisoners.

Among the 50 states, Texas had the highest incarceration 
rate, 686 prisoners serving sentences of more than one year 
per 100,000 population. This is higher than the national 
incarceration rate of 427 sentenced prisoners per 100,000 
residents.

From 1991 to 1996 the prisoner population has increased by 
43.2%. During this period Texas led the country in 156.2% 
increase in prison population.

In addition Texas has the second highest female 
incarceration rate, incarcerating 102 wimmin per 100,000 
female state residents. (Second only to Oklahoma with 115). 
Texas led the Nation with a 25.2% increase in wimmin 
incarcerated (from 7,935 female prisoners in 1995 to 9,933 
in 1996).

Statistical information was obtained from U.$. Department Of 
Injustice Bureau of Justice Statistics, Bulletin - Prisoners 
in 1996, June 1997, NCJ-164619, 
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/

IN REMEMBRANCE OF GARY LEE CRENSHAW

***MIM mourns the death of Gary Crenshaw. He was a prisoner 
in Abilene, Texas who was murdered by his jailers. The next 
few letters all relate to his death. MIM works to publicly 
expose such atrocities to build support for revolution.***

FELLOW COMRADE MURDERED BY GUARDS

Also I'd like to raise comrades awareness on the latest 
happening over here on this plantation. Almost 4 months ago 
an inmate and fellow comrade of mine was brutally murdered 
by the guards. His last name was Crenshaw. The unit was 
placed on lockdown due to the uprising of the brave soldiers 
on Maximum Custody who mounted an attack in retaliation on 
the staff/guards here.

Crenshaw was known for fighting with his pen against 
injustices that go on daily on the French Robertson 
Plantation in Abilene, Texas. Fortunately the investigation 
uncovered and ruled it as a homicide. Crenshaw was murdered 
while handcuffed in his cell by the administration of a 
strangle choke-hold that the guards still use despite the 
injuries to the throat area it causes.

The riot ended with no casualties to the brave soldiers of 8 
building who now have just been released from lockdown 
status. Which means they ate one hot meal a day, usually 
breakfast, and a sandwich or two one made of Peanut butter 
and the other either a single slice of cheese or bologna.

Crenshaw, may he rest in peace. I will continue to fight 
within the foulest belly of this system.

-- A Texas Prisoner, 29 April 1997 Abilene

THE KILLING OF GARY CRENSHAW

On January 25, 1997, at about 4:00 pm I witnessed Officer 
Mike Helm Co III, 2 G.P. order inmate Gary Lee Crenshaw, to 
step out of his cell while they conducted an illegal cell 
search. This was the second time I witnessed inmate 
Crenshaw's cell shaken down in week by Co III Helm.

Co III Helm aggressively ordered inmate Crenshaw to walk 
over to the wall, he was being pushed in the back by Co III 
Helm. After he complied with these orders Officer Helm told 
him to place his hands behind his back. Crenshaw complied. 
The next thing I knew he was being assaulted by Co III Helm, 
who struck Crenshaw with his fist on the side of the head.

After assaulting Crenshaw, Co III Johnson rushed over and 
joined Co III Helm, and the two slammed Crenshaw to the 
floor and started immediately restraining him with 
handcuffs. Then both officers began to beat this inmate as 
if he was a dead horse or something. The majority of blows 
were to his head. During this assault, Crenshaw stated, "You 
all don't have to do me like this." Yet his request went 
unheeded as these two mad murderers began to persistently 
beat Crenshaw even after he was visually and clearly 
restrained.

This man was wrongly being beaten because he pursed the 
grievance system time and time again, [against] Co III Helm 
and others Co III's and ranks for them harassing, 
retaliating, discriminating against him, denying him food 
and etc. And each grievance was filed in good faith.

Officer Templeton, Officer Benauides, and Prisoner W, stood 
by the food card in the day room watching the entire 
massacre, as Co III's Helm and Johnson continued to beat 
Crenshaw while [he was] handcuffed. Then Sergeant Baker, 
Supervisor of all CoIII's, and CoIII Davis came into the 
dayroom. Officer Davis was carrying the video camera as he 
and Sgt. Baker walked over to the area of abuse. Sgt. Baker 
never insisted that the camera be turned on. Then inmates 
started yelling from their cell doors, "Turn the camera 
on!!! Why are you all just standing there with the camera 
off." Then Sgt. Baker and Officer Davis left and returned a 
short time after this.

[When they returned] Sgt. Baker ordered Co III David to turn 
on the video camera. I could hear inmate Crenshaw say, 
"Please, let me breathe. I can't breathe. I can't breathe." 
Sounding very short of breath. Then Sgt. Baker stated, "What 
is your TDC number?" But inmate Crenshaw didn't answer 
because he was unconscious. Sgt. Baker asked Crenshaw again 
for his number, but he was still unconscious, probably dead. 
Then Sgt. Baker went over to Crenshaw's cell and ordered his 
cellmate to give him Crenshaw's ID card. He then went back 
to the assault area and ordered Officers Helm, Johnson, 
Templeton and Benauides to pick up Crenshaw's dead body and 
carry him away.

Now why would Sgt. Baker order Crenshaw's body to be 
immediately carried away if he was not dead? This was 
inappropriate handling of Crenshaw's body. Medical personnel 
were supposed to have been informed before they moved 
Crenshaw. How come Sgt. Baker didn't request that someone 
call infirmary for nurses or doctors, so Crenshaw could be 
treated properly before he died?

In the past Crenshaw had been treated for respiratory and 
cardiovascular problems, but Warden Drewry does not know 
whether those problems were connected to Crenshaw's death.

Prisoner A noted that Crenshaw had big knots and lumps 
upside his head as they carried him off. Judging from 
prisoner A's testimony, you can see that he, not only 
witnessed an inmate get assaulted, what he actually observed 
was another inmate get deliberately and brutally murdered by 
their own keepers. Crenshaw is the first inmate killed in 
the last six months.

Statistics show that in 1996, five prisoners died of natural 
causes, one from a shooting and three by suicide. In 1995, 
three prisoners died from natural causes and two committed 
suicide. I don't believe all these inmates died as stated. I 
honestly believe a majority of these inmates were indeed 
arbitrarily murdered.

This is the bogus [false] statement that they gave the 
neighborhood news staff. They say: Crenshaw swung at 
officers and missed. He swung again and connected. He was 
then restrained and taken down by officers, where they 
believe he hit his head on the ground. He was then taken to 
the Hendrick's Hospital where he later died. They say a 
major force was necessary. They say he became belligerent. 
This is something they day every inmate does.

Crenshaw was clearly killed because he sought the grievance 
system for help and they probably had him murdered along 
with this administration. The Legal 7 Handbook states, 
"Inmates shall not be subject to retaliation, reprisal, 
harassment, or discipline for the good faith use or 
participation in the grievance procedure" and surely not 
murdered as Crenshaw was.

These Co III's Helm, Johnson, Templeton, and Benauides have 
a known history of assaulting inmates on this unit. Gary Lee 
Crenshaw has a lawsuit in the federal courts against many 
correction officers. Could this have been a premeditated 
killing? A slight possibility, huh? I would like to know how 
many more killings have to occur on this unit before outside 
officials make some major indictment [of the officers] on 
this unit? Who knows what officer is contemplating on 
killing the next inmate? As long as these officers keep 
killing inmates and get away with it, and are not indicted, 
they are going to keep murdering. If they started indicting 
these cruel and murderous officers, and finding them guilty, 
then the next murderer would thing twice about killing.

-- A Texas Prisoner, 15 February, 1997 Abilene

BEATINGS AND BRUTALITY

On May 2, 1997, I was attacked by two guards as I was in my 
cell on the third shift. This shift is not, at any time, 
supposed to open any doors, unless it is an emergency.

I suffered back pain, a swollen jawbone, and a bruised knee 
with scratches. I was not given any medical attention, nor 
was a rank called on, or a camera brought in to this 
excessive and unnecessary major force.

I am doing better now. We are still on lock down for the 
murder of Gary Lee Crenshaw on January 15, 1997. We have not 
been allowed to make comments on anything.

 -- A Texas Prisoner, 15 May 97 (Abilene)

SHOWER ASSAULT

I'm in lock-down in one of Texas's worst units. And when I 
say worst, I'm not referring to the Prisoners, I am speaking 
of Officers. They are violating Prisoners and nothing is 
done about it. 

Such as this: I was assaulted by two TDC [Texas Dept. of 
Corrections] Officers who pushed my heard into a shower door 
and then slammed me and dragged me back to my cell without 
any medical attention. And no use of force was reported 
which is policy.

So you see how Texas Prisoners are being violated and 
"Nothing" happens to the officers to stop this behavior.

 -- A Texas Prisoner, 19 February 97 Livingston

BRUTAL AND SAVAGE ATTACKS

I am writing in regards to the brutal and savage attacks 
which are being imposed on the prisoners by the diabolical 
hands of the TDCJ [Texas Department of Criminal Justice] 
Security Officials in Administrative Segregation. Prisoners 
who are in Administrative Segregation on the Charles T. 
Terrell Unit are subject to severe brutal and savage attacks 
on a daily basis. Such as:

Prisoners are denied their food for no given reason. 
Prisoners are denied their shower and recreation. When a 
prisoner complains about the foul/inhumane treatment he is 
receiving or asks to speak to a supervisor, the prisoner is 
written bogus disciplinary infractions and in most cases he 
is immediately physically attacked by 2, 3 or more security 
officials. Prisoners that are physically attacked usually 
sustain swollen eyes, nose and/or their entire face is 
swollen beyond recognition. But in a few cases the prisoner 
suffers broken bones, an arm, nose, ribs or fingers. 
Numerous grievance complaints have been filed with all 3 
wardens, starting with the senior Warden Mr. Robert Treon, 
than with his 2 assistant Wardens, Mr. Zeller and Mr. Curtis 
McKnight, but to no avail.

Prisoners who do not know how to read or write and who do 
not have any family on the outside are left to defend 
themselves the best way they know how. Which is usually by 
trying to stab a security official or throwing human waste 
on them, which is something security officials do not like, 
so this form of strategy usually keeps them away.

Can you honestly imagine throwing human waste on another 
just in attempt to keep the other party from brutally and 
savagely attacking them?

Most of the prisoners who are subjected to this treatment 
usually end up going insane. Even though it is evident that 
a prisoner has gone insane, the security officials in 
Administrative Segregation do everything in their power to 
cover it up. There are seven prisoners with me right now who 
have lost their sanity to this capitalist and imperialist 
system, a system that's built on the foundation of White 
Supremacy. No, it doesn't make a difference concerning race, 
as long as you wear a white prison uniform you're subject to 
these attacks, period. The security officials who are 
responsible for these brutal and savage attacks in 
Administrative Segregation on the Charles T. Terrell Unit 
are as follows. Co III's: Brunett, R.; Burnum, E.; Byerly, 
L.; Childers, R.; Lee, T.; Lilley, C.; Johnston, J.A.; 
O'Neal, D.; Pacousky, W.; Pady, K.; Paske, S.; Pode, S.; 
Renfro, R.; Ripper, G.; Rittinger, T.; Scott, B.; Smith, D.; 
Snider, J.; Sorrells, M. Ross, W.; Wyers, C. and Sergeants: 
Ludwig, J.; Jefferies, P.; King; Fly; and Wilson.

Me and my Brother's along with hundreds of more prisoners 
are desperately seeking help. Please show the world how 
corrupt the Texas Prison System really is.

-- A Texas Prisoner, 20 January, 1997 Livingston

RESISTING BRUTALITY

Dear MIM, I am being held hostage in a Texas prison. And 
this unit, I'm on (John B. Connally) is outta control. Just 
the other day 3 officers opened the door and let 3 Mexicans 
kill another one.

I'm in Ad-Seg. cause I won't kiss the pig's ass. Just the 
other day an officer told me that I was a Black spot in the 
streets, and if I come out for rec.[recreation] they would 
put me on my face. Well as everybody knows, they just wanted 
me to refuse my rec. so they wouldn't have nothing to do. 
And when I came out, 2 officers (white) tried to slam me.

Well I fell on one of the officers and they beat me did not 
take me to medical and did not feed me the next chow. [So] I 
wrote my locs and they raised some hell in pop life [general 
population].

After they heard about who I was, they came back and did me 
up again, but this time the Major was with them. One officer 
(Johnson), the only Black with them, kicked me in my nutts. 
They tossed me back into the cell and gave me a food loaf. 
Now I have a problem with my nutts, but they just tell me to 
lay off the tea they give us without meals.

I filled out an inmate grievance form and the Ward and 
I.A.D. called me down there. And they told me that inmates 
need to be whipped every now and then. And they told me, 
ain't no bodily harm, so there's no proof - so ain't nothing 
they could do. So what can I do besides nothing?

Will somebody help me please?

--A Texas Prisoner, 21 March 1997 Kenedy 

MIM RESPONDS:  One of the best things you can do, is what 
you have been doing, which is exposing the oppression. 
Getting information about pig brutality out to the public 
can organize support from the masses. The masses can put 
pressure on the imperialist institutions to change. And 
though we help to fight reforms within the system that are 
possible and beneficial to the oppressed, our primary task 
is to organize against this system and build support for 
revolution. So keeping using your pen to write about the 
problem you and all prisoners face behind the walls this 
aids the struggle in waking people up and organizing to stop 
both oppression against the people now and systematic 
oppression.

Remember also that you are not alone in this struggle. There 
are many people who face similar oppression. You may be able 
to talk to others around you and see what they have done to 
combat brutality. There may be a jailhouse lawyer closer 
than you think who can give you some effective legal advice 
for your particular situation.

Don't give up hope or the struggle. Remember that MIM and 
the masses are on your side, and oppressed people outnumber 
the rest of the world's population. 

A SLICE OF LIFE IN TEXAS WIMMIN'S PRISON

Now I do have a problem. I haven't seen very much from the 
ladies, but there's a lot unspoken in this system. I'm a TDC 
[Texas Department of Corrections] Inmate stuck on a state 
jail transfer unit for a year now. I'm doing a 20-year 
sentence and since I've been here, I've been denied the 
right to go to school, because of my time at first, then 
they say this is a confinee unit. Confinees are doing state 
jail time and I'm considered an inmate, only being housed 
here!

I want to go to school. I want my G.E.D. There is nothing 
positive here for me.

Then there is this problem with the doors always being 
broken. They are operated by a switch in the picket that 
doesn't work so they have to use a key. I feel it is very 
unsafe cause when it rains, water leaks in and into the 
light fixtures. I feel this is a hazard. And they know about 
it and haven even attempted to try to fix it.

This system is a joke. I've been keeping up with the piece 
on the boy who was running backwards (trying to escape) Yea 
Right. Just goes to show - I bet the squad boss was white! 
[Refers to the 19 July 1996 Murder of Daniel Avellaneda. 
More information about this murder can be found in ULK 
article "Texas Prisoner exposes the Murder and Brutality in 
Prison" in MIM Notes 135 -- MIM]

I'm white and feel we all bleed Red. What's wrong with this 
nation. It makes me sick. Why can't we all just get along. 
We're all humans. Remember the 60's. Make Love, Not War!

-- A Texas Prisoner, 26 April 1997

MIM RESPONDS: This letter does a good job at pointing out 
how prisons are just a form of social control. Imperialists 
don't want prisoners to get educated or improve themselves, 
but only to take them out of general society in the name of 
injustice. In addition, the author describes how prisons 
conditions are often hazardous.

Where MIM disagrees with this prisoner is in the last 
paragraph. We all can't just get along because there are 
oppressed people in this country and world. In this country 
the white nation as a group has oppressed, the First 
nations, the Black nation and Latino nations for its own 
benefit. Oppressed people refuse to make love with their 
oppressors. It will not bring them freedom. We must struggle 
to build revolution to end the oppression of the majority of 
the world's people.

This does not mean that white individuals can not be 
revolutionary. The author of this letter has demonstrated 
revolutionary actions by exposing the imperialist atrocities 
behind the walls. In contrast the white prison guard who 
shot Daniel Avellaneda is an obvious example of a white 
individual who demonstrates the oppressive nature of the 
white nation.

MIM would encourage people to remember the revolutionary 
aspect of the 60's with the progressive work of the Black 
Panther Party and the Young Lords Party. Work with MIM 
toward revolution by exposing the truth about our 
oppressors.

MODERN DAY SLAVERY

I am a incarcerated Black African American Man who is a part 
of the revolution and down for fighting for my black people 
locked up in the white man's made hell, which is also his 
paradise. Not only me but all minority races get oppressed, 
beaten and sometimes killed in here. You know some brothas 
who are incarcerated like me have fallen weak to the white 
klansman's ways. They go as far as fighting another brother 
for one funky ass cigarette, extra food, etc. Or will give a 
brotha up to the white klansman just for some class and good 
time, that they will take from them with the snap of the 
fingers.

Right now, we are on lockdown cause the Black and Hispanic 
inmates came together and rebelled against the correctional 
officers because two Klansman officers killed one innocent 
black man and one innocent Hispanic for not apparent reason.

As blacks and Hispanics come together as one, the White 
Klansman sits back in his throne and think of evil ways to 
try and destroy their unity. And most times his evil ways 
work. They (white klansmen) put us on lockdown and feed us 
sack lunches with 2 sandwiches in it that wouldn't get a 
kindergartner full, and take our property as a way of making 
us suffer. But we have to stand tall like Malcolm X, Martin 
Luther King, Rosa Parks, Nat Turner, Sojourner Truth, etc 
and show the klansmen that they cannot break down the 
strong.

We got to stand and fight as an organization, as a family. 
We must fight with strength, pride, Blackness and strong 
Black African Brother Power. We have to not only believe [in 
the revolution] but be a part of the revolution, my brothas. 
We cannot worry about the weak for one day they will feel 
the vibe, come along, and jump on the bus where their true 
love and people are at.

Last but not least, they put us in prison and take us to 
work outside in a plantation field with a shovel or grubbing 
hoe. They also make us pick cotton, peas, potatoes, okra, 
etc. If you look at it there are more Blacks and Hispanics 
working in the fields than whites. They put their white 
inmates out there to make it look good because they know it 
is modern day slavery. And if no whites were out there, 
working in the prison fields, the Black and Hispanic inmates 
would file on it. 
But a lot of us are blind to the white man's evil way of 
operating.

I believe in revolution for a change for my Black African 
People.

-- A Texas Prisoner, 12 April 1997 Abilene

PROFITS FROM PRISON-MADE PRODUCTS

My last thought concerns the vast expansion of TDCJ (Texas 
Department of Criminal Justice) in less than tree years from 
60,000 prisoners in 60 prisons to 130,000+ prisoners in 109 
prisons. These men and women are forced to work for free in 
the production of prison-made goods shipped to the other 49 
states. 42USC 1994 makes peonage, the forced labor of a 
person in payment of debt such as food and shelter a felony, 
yet Texas convicts mush work for free. 18USC 1781 prevents 
prison-made goods from shipment our of the state they were 
produced in to stop unfair competition with private 
businesses who have higher labor costs and must charge more 
for their products.

By Amendment, Texas is the only state permitted to legally 
break this law. New York to California taxpayers must 
support the growing Texas prison system with their federal 
tax money and by permitting Texas' unfair business 
competition. I believe the purpose of the law was violated 
by Texas. Repeal this amendment! Help keep Texas prison-made 
goods inside Texas. Write to your newspaper and US 
Congressmen citing this law and ask why mush your state 
support 109 Texas Prisons?

 -- A Texas Prisoner, 4 February 1997 Amarillo

* * *


MIM ON PRISONS AND PRISONERS

MIM seeks to build public opinion against 
Amerika's criminal injustice system, and to 
eventually replace the bourgeois injustice system 
with proletarian justice. The bourgeois 
injustice system imprisons and executes a 
disproportionately large and growing number of 
oppressed people while letting the biggest mass 
murderers - the imperialists and their 
lackeys - roam free. Imperialism is not opposed to 
murder or theft, it only insists that these crimes 
be committed in the interests of the bourgeoisie.

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 ñ 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.

***WHAT NON-PRISONERS CAN DO TO SUPPORT 
PRISONERS***

*1. Struggle with, work with, finance and join 
MIM. 
The best way to support prisoners is to overthrow 
the system under which capitalists profit from the 
exploitation of prisoners. History shows that the 
best way to do this is to build a Marxist-
Leninist-Maoist party. The oppressors will not give up their power without a fight.
*2. Finance MIM's prison work. Our biggest bill 
each month is postage. Most of the prison comrades 
who read MIM Notes have no way of paying for it. 
So if you have money, send what you can afford. Every cent helps, and stamps are as good as cash to us.
*3. Distribute MIM Notes and Notas Rojas. Bring 
the voices of prisoners and their supporters to as 
large and wide an audience of people as possible. 
Contact MIM for bulk rates and distribution tips.
*4. Start or join a prison support group. MIM can 
provide advice and resources to help you build 
public opinion for prisoners and their struggles.
*5. Fight censorship, beatings, torture and other 
fascist outrages. Under Lock and Key often 
features the addresses of prisoners' friends and enemies. Work with the friends and let the enemies know you're watching. (Don't expect to win the fascists to the side of humanity, however. See #1 in this list).
*6. Stay in touch. Keep us informed of pro-prisoner work you do. Our readers might find it educational or inspirational.