Federal Prisons

We are in a sad situation on Darrington Unit, they have a strong buddy-buddy system, male officers sexing with the female officers for favoritism. Then the woman over our grievance department is married to our disciplinary hearing officer… yeah - really true facts.

I did make parole back in March 2016 and it got taken from me; however, I passed the torch and gave the package to another comrades. I have gotten three majors by one asst. warden, then two by two different captains. I have this correctional officer always telling me to suck his penis, so when I filed my step 1 grievance, Darrington Unit Administrative retaliated by writing me two cases offense report I-210 on 29.0’s, which stop me from making parole.

This letter is to inform you to discontinue sending out the Under Lock & Key newsletter to me here. There is a very repressive regime established at this prison and indeed the entire state. The censorship of our materials goes without challenge. Why? Authorized violation of so-called rights! The grievance procedure is designed to be a stalling mechanism and as it stands now is actually depriving the prisoners here of redress of grievances and access to the courts!

I do not want relevant/useful information appropriated or destroyed by these foolish people so please do not continue to mail any of your publications for now. I am furious at these methods and practices this system is using to block our awareness and consciousness but I am unable to offer a real challenge because these South Carolinians are fast asleep! I grow weary of the incessant thought of the problem. Merely writing or filing actions to the courts who, with every degree of bias/prejudice, turn blind eyes. We need some direct action! Do not let our papers go to waste brothers and sisters! I do not have any reliable sources out there. Yet, but I guarantee I soon will.

MIM(Prisons) responds: It is always sad to hear from comrades hard at work behind bars who want their Under Lock & Key subscription terminated due to censorship problems. We appreciate this comrade’s desire to save us the cost of sending in a publication that will only be censored, but we have also noticed that in prisons that are usually censoring our literature, occasionally things will slip through. So if you are in this situation, we are willing to continue to send ULK, in the hopes that it will get to you.

If we look at the last 10 issues of ULK, the rate of copies reported received in censor-heavy states like South Carolina and North Carolina are the same as the average across the country. The reports of censorship in those states are higher, but we still have more people reporting ULKs received. We have also had isolated victories after appealing censorship in both states in the last couple years. Of course, if more subscribers told us which issues they received and which they did not, we would have more information so we could make a more accurate assessment. So please let us know specifically what you have received every time you write us.

Ultimately it is a tactical question of when we want to exclude a facility or state from our mailing list because we think we are just throwing money away. Overall, we know that only a small fraction of the prison population is exposed to Under Lock & Key and we will always face state repression in our efforts to expose them. So we have chosen tactics that increase our chances of exposing the greatest number of people.

This writer is setting a good example by fighting this censorship on all the fronts possible. And trying to organize others as well. Conditions change over time, and organizing is a dialectical process that involves many failures. This letter underscores the need for outside support for our comrades’ battles behind bars.

The PO Box 3476 is the only SHU yard and Ad-Seg yard address now at CSP-Corcoran. The 4B yard is closed, and was supposed to open up as a GP mainline, but hasn’t happened yet. All these buildings over here in 4A run a different program. My block is Ad-Seg, 4R is Ad-Seg with prisoners from SATF Corcoran. 3R and 3L are the debriefing buildings for the whole state of California, 2R and 2L are SHU blocks, and 1R and 1L are SHU blocks for people on medication.

…To answer your question on the SNY situation, yes and no. Most older folks are going for various different reasons. Some are giving up on the struggle, some have grudges with their comrades, and some youngsters are chasing drugs and don’t want to be revolutionaries or political, and are allowing the oppressor to stir strife. Yes! it’s mostly people coming out of the SHU and seeing a culture shock that is real sad and in poor condition. Then there’s the changing of the guard, and the youngster’s don’t want to change, and neither do the older folks that have been out there all this time. Opportunities can still be created on both sides of the razor wire, be it GP or SNY. Because it’s still up to the individuals how they want to live. Either combat change, or suffer defeat.

My opinion on how we should decide what tactics to use in our present day struggle is simple. First off, we must educate one another about past struggles that have a lot of similarities with our present-day struggles. Then we must find strategic ways in resolving problems with international support throughout the masses. Also we must carry a “by any means necessary” persona at all times, and will not compromise until we’ve reached an agreement with the oppressor that settles in our favor.

The majority of our people in the struggle work on campaigns that they know isn’t going to be successful because they probably look at that certain leadership through one point of view. Like, a so-called leader might bring forth a front that seems to be totally for people of poverty but in all actuality the plan puts even more money in the pockets of exploiters while the people will suffer more after the smoke clears. For example, before 1776 America was a British colony. The British government had certain laws and rules that the colonized Americans rejected as not being in their best interests. In spite of the British conviction that Americans had no right to establish their own laws to promote the general welfare of the people living here in America, the colonized immigrant felt he had no choice but to raise the gun to defend his welfare. Simultaneously, he made certain laws to ensure his protection from external and internal aggressions, from other governments, and his own agencies. One such form of protection was the Declaration of Independence, which states: “…whenever any government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute a new government, laying its foundations on such principles and organizing its power in such forms as to them, shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness.”

MIM(Prisons) responds: This writer is correct that we need to focus our work on uncompromising struggle in the interests of the oppressed. And we should not waste our time on campaigns that have no hope for success. Although we do see value in smaller battles that can be used to educate people about the struggle, even if the chances of success are minimal, such as with the grievance campaign. But this writer is focused on the larger battles, and on that question we firmly agree. In fact this is why we are clear that electoral politics within the corrupt and tyrannical system of imperialism are a waste of time. We will never “reach an agreement” with the oppressor that is in favor of the oppressed. We will only put an end to imperialism through force. Today we are at the stage of building public opinion and growing our organization, but we can’t lose sight of the bigger picture and the need for revolution to liberate the oppressed.

Greetings MIM/ULK,

I am writing this short letter to send you some updates to sever addresses from the Texas Activist Pack that have changed since printing. They are as follows:

… All of my copies of complaints with cover letters to TDCJ Executive Director, PO Box 99, Huntsville, TX 77342 have been forwarded to the Ombudsman, who, in turn, sent me a pre-listed sheet stating they “do not accept mail from inmates.” It’s a dead end loop with this address.

… I want to give you an indication of what I am going through at the hands of these pigs. I have been subjected to sexual harassment by homosexual correctional officers. And when I complained, I was punished by the corrupt security staff Captain Cory Webb for making a false complaint.

All my efforts to contact the free world authorities - County Sheriff and District Prosecuting Attorney to file a criminal complaint of my Civil Rights violations have been stopped. Copies of this coimplaint to Governor Gregg Abbot, Senator John Whitmire, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington DC have gone unanswered with the cover letter. I am being censored??

Finally out of retaliation I am deliberately being harassed, retaliated against, charged with false TDCJ policy violations and straight out lies by the grievance investigator(s) Doyle Davis. My mail is being delayed and tampered with by the law library staff Garland Goodrum who processes the indigent mail – because I have filed many grievances against the medical department, security staff and his drinking buddy Doyle Davis.

The medical department is deliberately delaying my sick call requests up to 40 days before I am seen by a medical provider. The medical department is being managed by staffing nurses that are NOT registered by the Texas Medical Board or the Texas Nurses Board. I do have documentation (letters) to prove this.

At the moment I am seeking legal representation to file a 1983 Bivens Civil Complaint for the sexual harassement and deliberate denial and delay for medical care at this unit. I will at a later date send you an update on these two issues. Look forward to receiving the next ULK issue.

I recently landed here on Connally Unit, and I can already see tha tthe unit is sliding back to its old ways. I have only been here 2 weeks, and showers only get ran on one card which is 4 days, and not on the other card, so that’s 4 days of showers and 4 days of no showers,. I’m in “G5” which is closed custody (lockdown with a celly), it’s one step less than ad seg.

We getting jacked on “sides” and some of our main course on breakfast, such as we get one or 2 pancakes when we are supposed to get 3, plus 2 sides, when we only getting one side. It’s not every breakfast, but 2 out of 3 breakfasts we get jacked. In 2 weeks we only got milk twice (watered down), and never gotten coffee at all, most chows are no drinks available.

We’re locked in a cell all day, so everything comes to us. Rec been ran 1 time in 2 weeks. I only been here 2 weeks, came from Bill Clements, which that unit has turned completely around for the better, but it took a dead person to be found in high security to prompt a change and a outside force to ensure plus a infestation of rats. I’m only allowed to grieve one issue every 7 days, so it’s a slow process on getting change started.

In response to a letter from MIM(Prisons) struggling over some apparent points of disagreement, we received this commentary on movement strategy and tactics.

We believe in having a political branch and a military branch. It’s nothing wrong with being political, it is needed in the fight against imperialism and capitalism. So you doing public building of opinions and creating independent institutions is good. That’s what nonviolent people do who are coffee house revolutionaries. It’s nothing wrong with being coffee house revolutionaries. Everybody has a position to maintain. That’s why I support you and a few other people we deal with support you. So do your prisoner support work and lumpen organizing. That’s a good thing which I support. If me and others did not support it we would not contact you.

To my second point, I and others believe that MIMs and us can learn from each other. It’s not about just what MIMs can share or teach us. It’s about what we can share and teach MIMs also. It’s about real uniting for a common purpose against a common enemy. We call this networking, sharing lines, etc. Not being forced to accept someone’s line, but respecting it. We know war is fought using different strategy and tactics. We are not pushing anyone away who is trying to bring about revolution and establish socialism.

That’s what I and some others think MIMs do when they criticize people who are socialist or revolutionaries but belong to other orgs. MIMs see their way is the only right way. Not everybody believes that. That’s what Christians and Muslims believe and do and look at them, they fight each other over who is right but they have some things in common with slight differences. If you seek unity, stop criticizing other socialist revolutionaries and unite on common grounds. If something is expressed different than what you believe, you can state how you view something then leave it up to the people to decide what strategy and tactics they want to follow.

Everybody is not political, some people are militant and are about militarism. We accept MIMs being political. We want to share militarism spirit or values. For we are truly on the battlefield with weapons. People are dying and getting locked up. We come from the battlefield from street orgs, etc. We risk and sacrifice our lives every day. While some are scared to die or get out on the front lines, that’s where we are at on the battlefield or on these plantations. We are not nonviolent, we are violent. We contact MIMs so we can work together not apart. We are about unity for real, not about if you believe as me I unite with you.

There are white nationalist groups called the 3% who believe that 3% of the population went to war and won the revolutionary war in 1776. These white groups form militias and are militarized. They train for war. They building a militarized institution while MIMs are being political. All we’re saying is how you claim to be a vanguard and you’re not training and educating people to form militarized units instead of just spreading public opinion on socialism. If y’all just going to spread public opinion okay do that. I and others think at least work with those who are working on building militarized units who fight instead of just talk and read. Everybody don’t have to do the same thing.

So just so there be no misunderstanding, I and others respect your line and strategy. Keep up the good work. You’re just not militant from what we can tell. People who are militant are willing to support you, why don’t you support them and show some real unity? Then you can say you’re a vanguard and are real revolutionaries. What’s the point in being political if you have no military to enforce your laws, beliefs, etc. So that is why I write you to support you. The question is do you support militant revolutionaries or are you just a big study group who act elitist? Are you for the people or just people who are under your line and strategy?

MIM(Prisons) responds: This letter is particularly relevant to this issue of ULK focused on movement tactics. The writer raises some good points about unity that we want to address.

First, to clarify, MIM(Prisons) does not claim to be a vanguard party at this time, which is implied by this comrade saying we need an army to enforce our laws, beliefs, etc. We recognize the need for a vanguard party for the defeat of imperialism by the communists, but the strategic defeats of the movement over the recent decades have led us to conclude that cell organizing is more effective and appropriate to rebuild the movement. However, we would not split with anyone who disagrees on this point, it is a relatively short term strategic question. We do aim to be part of the vanguard movement, with the most advanced and correct line and practice.

With that said, we agree with this writer that it is important to build unity across revolutionary organizations that are working on different anti-imperialist strategies and tactics. The question of when to take up armed struggle, and even when to build an army for that battle, is also a strategic one. This is something that is relatively longer term, i.e. you don’t build an army today and disband it tomorrow. But it’s definitely not a disagreement over political line: we agree that the only way to overthrow imperialism is through armed struggle. The bourgeoisie won’t give up their wealth and power peacefully. We are also not nonviolent. The disagreement is one of strategic timing, not method.

So are we just coffee house revolutionaries afraid of or refusing to see the importance of armed struggle? Our analysis of recent history in the United $tates reveals the murder or imprisonment of revolutionary groups that have attempted any form of armed struggle, or even just the collecting of weapons for self-defense, even when this is done completely within U.$. laws. This study of history has led us to conclude that we are at the stage of building and educating right now. We know this will change, but we can’t say when, we just need to be ready and willing to change when conditions require it.

We do not agree that militarism is to be contrasted with being political. Rather than see MIM(Prisons) as political and this comrade’s organization as militarist, we call both groups political. We are both focused on fighting imperialism. The decision to militarize today or hold off until conditions are more favorable is a political decision. And it’s something we should struggle over, because through political struggle we all learn and grow.

And this brings us to the point of unity. Those who disagree with us on the appropriate timing of militarizing are well within the anti-imperialist united front. And we certainly don’t believe that we are the only holders of truth and cannot learn from others. Quite the contrary, we learn from our readers, other organizations that we work with, and even from our enemies. We are regularly publishing in Under Lock & Key articles explaining changes to our political line and/or strategy based on things we have learned through practice. And to be a viable political organization that survives we must always be open to learning more. But that doesn’t mean we will just accept what other people tell us without struggling over the facts and interpretations if we believe they are wrong. Political struggle is not about egos, it is about learning. We look forward to learning and building with this comrade and eir organization for many years to come.

While reading the ULK 51 I noticed an article titled “People Dying, Urgency to Shut Down Control Units.” This article is/was concerning an inmate named “Wiley” (if I’m spelling his name correctly) who was from my hometown, North Little Rock, who hung himself the day before he made parole. Right now in my current (Ad-Seg/ISO bound) I know/feel that silence on a lot of the issues will be my wisest strategem. But I think that it’ll be alright to disclose some of the details about what’s going on here at East Arkansas Regional Unit (EARU) and in the max. Drawing too much attention to myself, and revealing all of my hand, would only impede my efforts, more than augmenting them.

I met Wiley when I was in Administrative Segregation (aka “the Max”) when I was housed in Max 4, 30 cell on the 2nd tier. Wiley was in Max 4, 18 cell on the bottom tier. We could see in each other’s cells kinda. We were introduced to one another through mutual associations, when he asked me to draw up a tattoo pattern for somebody; one of his family members, or his wife, I can’t remember which. Long story short, basically Wiley had let the officers know ahead of time that he was having medical problems and suicidal thoughts before he hung himself. Like the night before, or a day or two before he died. And he was telling them that he thought that “everybody was trying to kill/poison” him. That same night he went to the Max infirmary (alive) with two escorts. I want to say that one of the escorts was a Lieutenant. I witnessed all that with my own two eyes and ears. And Wiley returned to the same cell that night, alive.

So Wiley killed himself the day before he made parole. The news hit my ears the hour that he hung himself. This is where it gets even crazier: last year alone, 2015, I was in the same barracks with two other inmates who hung themselves other than Wiley (3 total hangings that I witnessed first hand), and another hung himself in my homie’s barracks right behind mine. And they’re not killing themselves for no reason, I assure you. Not very many people are built to do a year or more back here.

The first hanging that I witnessed happened in my barracks while I was in Max 6, 32 cell on the 2nd tier during September or October 2015 – the guy that hung himself was in Max 6, 4 cell on the 1st tier. He had showed the guard the noose like 2 hours or so before he killed himself, as a warning, or so they say. That’s what the homies told me on yard afterwards, who could actually see inside his cell, and also homies who were in cells close to him. But remember that this is prison, and shit often gets twisted. So you got to take info as it comes. The same officer, who was supposed to be working Max 6 made no rounds at all. I remember that. He came around for mail call at 6pm (shift change) and to talk to certain inmates, and that was it. That’s nothing new though. That’s normal here. Real talk. Nobody gives a shit either.

This is Part 2 to the Story

It was movie night and I was watching some 007 show I think. All the sudden the police radios start going wild. Stretchers pull up, with the lil oxygen thing, about 15-30 minutes after the initial call. Which really surprises me that they got there that fast. They don’t have a relevant nurse station with nurses already on stand-by within a mile’s walk from the max. The nearest nurses station is found by walking through several long ass hallways, all the way out in “population” GP unit; so it always takes forever for them to get down the hallways and through 8-9 riot gates, etc., with the stretchers and equipment. I used a mirror on a slit in the side of my “bean trap” to watch all this play out. But the angle of the 2nd tiers floor blocked a lot of my view. The officer never got fired. I remember seeing him a whole year afterwards. I’m not sure if he got suspended or anything. And I’m not sure what happened after that, as far as “news coverage” goes. But there were no changes when it comes to the general guard behaviors, and their grossly negligent practices. That’s probably due to that particular inmate not having any family or a support system. If he’d of had family press the issue it would’ve been regarded with more concern, and seriousness.

Now fast forward to the day before Thanksgiving, 2015. I was in max 5, 30 cell, on the 2nd tier. The kid, named Tyler, who hung himself, was in 14 or 15 cell, on the 1st tier. I can’t go too far into details on paper, or in the wrong company. But I will say that he’d been notifying the officers about some legitimate “problems,” trying to get a cell change either the night before, or maybe 2 nights before he died, and about 30 minutes to an hour or two before he died, for the second time. He was in a “corner cell” where your neighbors can not only see all of your cell, but you and your closest neighbor are both literally 2-3 feet apart, facing each other (almost) at a 90 degree L shaped angle, and can reach your arm/hand out and touch each other’s doors. Inmates can “dash” each other with anything you can think of – boiling grease/magic shave mixtures; shit, piss, cum, spoiled milk, and some ingredients I won’t name, etc. Happens all the time. Or neighbors can even take a knife and fashion a spear shaft and cut or stab one another. What y’all think Mr. Rogers would think about that neighborhood?

I went to yard that same day, (right before Tyler died). In the freezing cold (I was frozen and drove), stuck standing in a small, chain-link dog cage for what turned out to be an extra 3 hours (it’s supposed to be one hour). All because of the “holidays” and a “staff shortage,” (and the fact that they knew it was cold and that I had to piss.) I was trying to meet up with one of my homies in 7 barracks. I came back inside, (numb, half-frozen), and 30 minutes later staff starts swarming into the barracks (everybody from the warden on down – like a lil piggie holiday family reunion) with nurses and stretchers/the weird oxygen thing. The guy in the corner cell next to Tyler knew about his suicidal/paranoid comments that he’d been yelling out all night, and during that same morning right before shift change, (I had been up for a few days and also heard of it all), and had noticed Tyler had a sheet over his door. He eventually figured out that Tyler was back there behind the sheet, hanging.

What a phone call his momma, and incarcerated father (who’s also in the ADC) must of got the day before thanksgiving….all because some police, can’t even do a simple job.

Due to the fact that Tyler had a family (that pressed the issue) as well as some “friends” around here, this incident actually made the channel 3 news. If he’d of been somebody without family or friends then that would’ve never happened. The warden over the unit and the max even started making the officers stay in the barracks without leaving out all day, (which never usually happens/happened) and he started making sure they do their 30 minute rounds. That lasted 2-3 months before they started slipping back into old, familiar, neglectful ways.

The other hanging (which happened like June or July of 2015), which happened in max 4 (my homie’s barracks) while I was in max 6. All of the max barracks (except max 1 and 2) are set up to where the small windows in our cells above our racks (they’re about 4 feet long and 5-6 inches tall) are facing one another. So if i’m in max 6 looking outta my window I can see most of the windows in max 4 (unless I’m at the front of the barracks or at the under end of the barracks in a corner cell. I was in 32 cell, a corner cell. Me and one of my homies used to talk to each other through the windows by using different versions of sign language with our hands (I’m fluent in several versions of sign – American sign language and a few different, improvised street signs, I’ll call ’em). Everyday. We can hold entire conversations like that. I had come back in from yard and climbed up on my bed and got in the window and was trying to catch my homie so that I could figure out why he didn’t go to yard that morning. Once I got his attention he told me the reason was cuz they (all of max 4) was on lockdown for a “state police investigation” for “hanging.” Some young kid, who, similar to Wiley, had just made parole, or was about a month away from going to the house, I guess got tired of people picking on him and offed himself. From what I understand, anyways. He’d been hanging for hours, with a sheet over his door. Ms. Jones, a female officer, found him. She told me about it later on. And those are just the recent hangings that I, with my limited knowledge, can attest to personally. I know for a fact that there’s been more since then, and tons more in the past. (At least 2 more this year alone, 2016). I can tell y’all tons more crazy shit in time. This is the worst prison in the ADC, hands down.

“The imperialists export fascism to many Third World countries via puppet governments. And imperialist countries can turn to fascism themselves. But it is important to note that there is no third choice for independent fascism in the world: they are either imperialist or imperialist-puppets. Germany, Spain, Italy and Japan had all reached the banking stage of capitalism and had a real basis for thinking they could take over colonies from the British and French. … The vast majority of the world’s fascist-ruled countries have been U.$. puppets.” – MIM Congress, “Osama Bin Laden and the Concept of ‘Theocratic Fascism’”, 2004

What MIM wrote about Osama Bin Laden in 2004 is just as true for the Islamic State today. Those who call the Islamic State fascist use an unsophisticated definition of fascism that may mean anything from “bad” to “undemocratic” to anti-United $tates. But the idea that it is in the Third World where we find fascism today is correct.

Much funding for the Islamic State has come from rich Saudis. For this, and other reasons, many people have tried to put the fascist label on the obscurantist monarchy of Saudi Arabia. Despite having almost the same per capita GDP (PPP) as the United $tates, it is by geological luck and not the development of imperialist finance capital that Saudis enjoy such fortune.

A word often associated with fascism is genocide. More recently Saudi Arabia is getting some “fascist” rhetoric thrown at it from the Russian camp for its war on Yemen. What is currently happening in Yemen is nothing less than genocide. A recent analysis by the Yemen Data Project showed that more than a third of the “Saudi” bombings in that country have targeted schools, hospitals, mosques and other civilian infrastructure.(1) We put “Saudi” in quotes here because the war to maintain the puppet government in Yemen is completely supplied by the imperialists of the U.$., UK and Klanada, along with U.$. intelligence and logistical support. The United $tates has been involved in bombing Yemen for over a decade, so it is a propaganda campaign by the U.$. media to call it the “Saudi-led coalition.” In October 2016, the United $tates bombed Yemen from U.$. warships that had long been stationed just offshore, leaving little doubt of their role in this war. A war that has left 370,000 children at risk of severe malnutrition, and 7 million people “desperately in need of food,” according to UNICEF.(2)

This is another example where we see confusion around the definition of fascism feeds anti-Islamic, rather than anti-Amerikan, lines of thinking, despite the majority of victims in this war being proletarian Muslims in a country where 40% of the people live on less than $2 a day.

In countries where the imperialists haven’t been able to install a puppet government they use other regional allies to act as the bad guy, the arm of imperialism. It is an extension of neo-colonialism that leads to inter-proletarian conflict between countries. We see this with Uganda and Rwanda in central Africa, where another genocide has been ongoing for 2 decades. While Uganda and Rwanda have their own regional interests, like Saudi Arabia, they are given the freedom to pursue them by U.$. sponsorship. And we are not anti-Ugandan, because Uganda is a proletarian country with an interest in throwing out imperialist puppets. Even Saudi Arabia, which we might not be able to find much of an indigenous proletariat in, could play a progressive role under bourgeois nationalist leadership that allied with the rest of the Arab world, and even with Iran.

Sometimes fascism is used as a synonym for police state. Many in the United $tates have looked to the war on drugs, the occupation of the ghettos, barrios and reservations, gang injunctions and the massive criminal injustice system and talked about rising fascism. We agree that these are some of the most fascistic elements of our society. But many of those same people will never talk about U.$. imperialism, especially internal imperialism. This leads to a focus on civil liberties and no discussion of national liberation; a reformist, petty bourgeois politic.

If we look at the new president in the Philippines, we see a more extreme form of repression against drug dealers of that country. If the U.$. injustice system is fascist, certainly the open call for assassinating drug dealers in the street would be. But these are just tactics, they do not define the system. And if we look at the system in the Philippines, the second biggest headlines (after eir notorious anti-drug-dealer rhetoric) that President Duterte is getting is for pushing out U.$. military bases. This would be a huge win for the Filipino people who have been risking their lives (under real fascist dictatorships backed by the United $tates like Marcos) to protest U.$. military on their land. This is objectively anti-imperialist. Even if Duterte turns towards China, as long as U.$. imperialism remains the number one threat to peace and well-being in the world, as it has been for over half a century, this is good for the masses of the oppressed nations.

The importance of the united front against fascism during World War II, which was an alliance between proletariat and imperialist forces, was to point out the number one enemy. While we don’t echo the Black Panther Party’s rhetoric around “fascism,” they were strategically correct to focus their attack on the United $tates in their own United Front Against Fascism in 1969. And it was reasonable to expect that the United $tates might turn fascist in face of what was a very popular anti-imperialist movement at home and abroad. What dialectics teaches us is the importance of finding the principal contradiction, which we should focus our energy on in order to change things. Without a major inter-imperialist rivalry, talking about fascism in a Marxist sense is merely to expose the atrocities of the dominant imperialist power committed against the oppressed nations.

Rather than looking for strategic shifts in the finance capitalist class, most people just call the bad sides of imperialism “fascism.” In doing so they deny that imperialism has killed more people than any other economic system, even if we exclude fascist imperialism. These people gloss over imperialism’s very existence. But MIM(Prisons) keeps our eye on the prize of overthrowing imperialism, principally U.$. imperialism, to serve the interests of the oppressed people of the world.

In our last update letter to United Struggle from Within (USW) comrades in California, we announced that the California USW Coordinator would be working with the California USW Council to provide better, more regular updates in ULK to coordinate our campaign efforts in the state. This will also reduce the need to send out separate letters except in time-sensitive instances. This issue of ULK is the first with such a CA-focused section.

One issue that came up among CA USW recently is restrictions on mailing stamp donations. This was happening at CSP-Sacramento, and more recently reported from West Valley Detention Center. In ULK 36 (3 years ago), we printed a report from San Quentin where they successfully campaigned against the same issue through a combination of 602 appeals and letters to the press exposing these restrictions on freedom of expression.

Appeal #CSQ-J-13-03205 was submitted October 27, explaining exactly how operational procedure 608 article 7 was being illegally circumvented. This appeal was rejected by appeals coordinator puppet M.L. Davis on November 1. Davis offered to process the appeal if appellant directed a CDCR 22 to the mailroom. Davis also demanded appellant remove copies of Article 7 and OP0212 which are in fact the official rules/directives regarding “items enclosed in incoming first-class mail.”

If readers have other examples of successful tactics around this issue, or rules to cite, send them to MIM(Prisons) for the next issue.

Santa Clara County Strike a Success

In “Broad Participation in September 9 FAM Prison Strike” we refer to the challenge of organizing in California with more comrades in county jails not under CDCR control. Perhaps this will be a temporary setback though, as prisoners organized a recent strike in Santa Clara County. On 17 October 2016, over 300 people went on hunger strike, according to the Prisoner Hunger Strike Solidarity coalition. The demands were around ending solitary confinement, inadequate clothing, a faulty appeals/grievance process and the overcharging at commissary. The strike was suspended after less than a week, when the sheriff’s department agreed to the demands. Comrades will maintain the strike in suspension until the changes are actually made. MIM(Prisons) commends the organizing efforts of these comrades and the focus on key campaign issues of solitary confinement and the grievance process.

Ashker Settlement Hearings Done, SHU Victims Decrease

The number of people being held in SHU has dropped sharply since the Ashker settlement (see “Torture Continues: CDCR Settlement Screws Prisoners” in ULK 46 for more background). The review process has been completed, and 1,512 of the 1,557 people covered by the settlement have been released from SHU according to CDCR, with the remaining given dates for release. The number in SHU cells in California is about 1/6 of what it was before the settlement, with less than 500 SHU prisoners as of August 2016 (according to CDCR statistics). But we know a number of our readers are still in SHU, and many more are in other forms of long-term isolation in California, which is not covered by the settlement.

We must remain vigilant now to continue the fight against solitary confinement in California. As we’ve always pointed out, these reforms with such narrow focus only make it harder for those who remain in these torture cells to get out. SHU cells represented less than a quarter of the prisoners in California in long-term isolation according to our last count prior to the recent decrease in SHU (see www.abolishcontrolunits.org/research). But as the comrades in Santa Clara have demonstrated, this battle is still alive in the hearts of prisoners.