Under Lock & Key

Jan. 20. 2010 - U.S. aid arrives at a Haitian hospital, ready to save lives.

As we embark on 2010 it seems that a tragic disaster has struck the Afrikan people. A few years ago it was hurricane Katrina and now Haiti. I was just building with the brothers on how in 1804 Haiti won its independence, defeating the French imperialists on January 1st. Twelve days later an earthquake rips trough Haiti at the magnitude of 7.0. Now, I’m not sure who is to blame, but I have my suspicions. You know, since 2006 there’s been a tsunami in South Asia, a hurricane in New Orleans, and now an earthquake in Haiti. All are dark skinned nations! Like I said, I have my suspicions, which I’ll get into later.

Sisters and Brothers, we need to come together and focus on Our people in Haiti! We, the brothers of a plantation in New York called Clinton [Correctional Facility], have got together and we were so moved by the horrible images on the news, newspapers and radio that we are willing to donate clothes, food and money from our accounts to help our Afrikan Haitian mothers, fathers and children.

As New Afrikans, we understand fully our purpose in life and it’s to help our people whether they be in the u$, Cuba, Afrika, Brazil, Jamaica, etc. We understand that the Amerikan Red Cross takes out a percentage from the money donated and we really don’t want that type of middle man pilfering from our donations. So we ask if you can have an outside agency that’s willing to come to this plantation and others throughout New York to pick up the items of clothing, food and an address that we can write to send our funds and condolences. We are talking with the Superintendent and hopefully by the time you respond we should be ready to go. We really do hope you can help us help those in need.

Bloods and Crips, I ask that we take a minute to understand that we as a people just lost close to 50,000 men, women and children in less than 24 hours! That number unfortunately will rise in this catastrophic event. Please, please, please stop the tribalism and join forces and help our people! At this rate we’ll be extinct in no time!

MIM(Prisons) responds: Many more than 50,000 have died and many more will. The situation in Haiti is horrendous and as this writer goes on to point out, this does not happen to europeans or amerikans. He draws parallels to the ethnic cleansing that took place in New Orleans and Southeast Asia following hurricanes and tsunamis. This comrade blames it on man correctly, but does so in a mystical way later in the letter (unprinted). These disasters are man-made because of economics. While climate change may increase extreme weather, earthquakes occur at a level humyns have yet to interfere with.
[see our correction for this article]

It was not long ago that the united $tates went into Haiti and kidnapped President Aristide, who has been in exile ever since. As the Haitian people call for his help in their time of need, 5 digits worth of u.$. troops march into their country, controlling everything and allowing little aid to get through. The history of u.$. “aid” to Haiti is well-documented and clearly not in the interests of the Haitian people.(1)

Real solidarity means supporting the self-determination of Haitians. If you want an organization that claims to send all its money directly to Haiti, you could donate to the Bush/Clinton fund. (It may end up being sent in the form of occupation troops though.) The real standard of where to send aid should be where the Haitian people are building their own institutions. Years ago the united $tates crushed programs that were developing Haitian medical personnel, and now amerikans want to pretend to be their saviors.(2) While we do not endorse any particular funds at this time, we have compiled some information on groups that may be able to get donations into the right hands.

Long Live International Solidarity!

notes:
(1)This article gives some more background: http://monkeysmashesheaven.wordpress.com/2010/01/23/haiti-beware-amerikkkans-bearing-gifts-aid-becomes-pretext-for-u-colonial-occupation/
(2)This article also gives good background and contemporary information: http://www.sfbayview.com/2010/earthquake-in-haiti-under-aristide-haitians-were-prepared-for-disaster/

Comrades, once again the Kay Kay Kay of Klinton has struck again. One of young brothers of 19 years of age was literally used to demonstrate Ultimate Fighting Champion moves while none intervened. This occurred on 1/12/2010 here at Clinton Correctional Facility in the Lower F Block. The little brother reports that these devils tried to lynch him by way of strangulation with their hands clasped around his neck.

Years ago, Lower F was the long-term keeplock. Four galleries of cells, 40+ cells a piece, straight dungeon. Then it became transit block. Now in 2010 it’s a transit and ASAT housing block.

Basically, the Lower F Block is the orientation program for new lumpen arrivals. It’s obvious that corrupt, racist, biased lynch men lurk about preying on the young brothers or elder child-like ones. Some forget how dangerous prison is supposed to be, which is a no-no for the oppressor in Blue/Grey and white.

This report is the latest in a series on brutality at Clinton Correctional Facility. Also see:
Kkklinton Censors Article then Cracks More Skulls
Kkklinton Continues Persecution of New Afrikans
Victim in Clinton Brutality Needs Legal Help

Greetings to all who support what is right! My story goes like this: I recently noticed a friend of mine with a very large bump on his hand due to a brown recluse spider bite. I asked him, “what happened?” He told me that he filled out an emergency medical request form and informed medical staff of the type of spider and its location.

Well, no one responded to even look at it until 19 days had passed. I asked him if they were going to treat it and he said, “yes, they did.” They had given him a couple band-aids and a small packet of ointment. Well, this morning I saw him again. They had to amputate 3 of his fingers because the poison from the spider bite had caused severe damage over such a prolonged period of time. However, if they would have responded sooner, then he wouldn’t have lost his fingers.

A law came out some time ago called “The Plata Case” which entitles all inmates in CDCR to fair and prompt medical attention, as well as other medical treatments. For the most part, the staff are still negligent, and when they are confronted with that particular issue they say “due to budget cutbacks, we are short of staff!” They cling on to any reason to blame the budget so their job income can be more. A lot can be done to save my friend’s fingers, but when I see the attitudes of the medical staff and the way they treat the inmates in a non-professional manner, it’s obvious they are unloading their aggressions and animosities on the inmates needing medical attention.

MIM(Prisons) adds: Plata v. Schwarzenegger, docket no. 3:01-cv-01351-TEH (N.D. Cal.), is a federal class action civil rights lawsuit alleging that the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s (CDCR) medical services are inadequate and violate the Eighth Amendment, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. This case was filed in 2001 and as of early 2010 the state is still resisting as a federal receivership has recently taken over the CDCR’s medical care. MIM(Prisons) promotes long legal battles that are strategically chosen to create space for the oppressed to organize and to expose the system. Almost nine years of court and prisoners of the state are still losing fingers and worse unnecessarily. Now that the system is exposed, the other side of our struggle is building the independent institutions of the oppressed that demonstrate better ways to do things.

New York State Department of Correctional Services (DOCS) reports that Mr. Amare Selton (aka Ra’d) #93A3756 died on 9/17/2009. An Eritrean national, Ra’d was an active anti-imperialist who began working with MIM in the mid-1990s.

Comrades of Ra’d have communicated with the DOCS central office in Albany, local Imam’s, the statewide Chaplain in New York City and staff at Attica Correctional Facility, including the head counselor. The only information anyone could provide was the date he died. They all claimed to know nothing else and that they could not obtain further information. We print the following testimonies to honor Ra’d - Rest In Power comrade!

A comrade who studied with Ra’d:

Some of our readers will recognize Ra’d as someone who was an active and well-developed participant in our study cell. Contributing to this eulogy reminds me that the first time i remember Ra’d, a Sunni Muslim himself, struggling with MIM(Prisons) was in an extended debate over MIM’s eulogy for Saddam Hussein. And as someone who spent over two thirds of his time in various long-term isolation he wrote on mental health units and an article on solitary confinement that was circulated at national conferences addressing the topic.

While the DOCS refuses to release a cause of death, comrades can attest to the fact that he was not suicidal. He found himself placed in mental health units for “anti-social behavior” such as getting into physical altercations with staff.

The enclosed photo is from 2004 following an extended beating of Ra’d by CO’s E. Rizzo, M. Woodward, B. Smith and Sgt. T. Mitchell at Auburn Correctional Facility. After facing harassment including having his water shut off and no one responding to his complaints, Ra’d barricaded his door to trigger a cell extraction in hopes of getting the Sergeant’s attention. In his affidavit he describes the long series of beatings and abuse he faced as a result. Sgt. T. Mitchell dug his knuckles into his neck saying, “Does it hurt, you nigger, you piece of shit…does it hurt now, stinkin’ nigger…you fuckin’ nigger…”

A fellow prisoner at Attica wrote after Ra’d’s death:

The article in Under Lock & Key on censorship is an accurate description of what is going on at Attica Correctional Facility. They stop our mail from reaching certain destinations.

I recently wrote two complaints on officers in Attica. One was for an officer literally threatening me that if i was in general population i’d be going home in a body bag.

And the second complaint was regarding an officer who was serving my Kosher meal and while i was at my cell door for my hot water, he purposely tipped the cup over scalding my left hand and my private parts. This officer smiled the whole time at me. Attica is the most racist and dangerous prison in New York State. Everyday we are subjected to assaults by staff.

Now there is a new corruption going on in Attica by a lot of correctional staff. When any prisoner is brought to special housing, which used to be known as solitary confinement, all their stamps, cigarettes and even porno books are being stolen and given to snitches and ass kissers. This is done so that the stamps and pornos can be exchanged for cigarettes. Cigarettes cost almost $10.00 in New York State and you have officers robbing us to support their tobacco habits.

When you drop complaints, officers come to your cell threatening you with physical violence if you don’t sign off on your complaint.

Society labels us with the tag of criminals, and for many of us we deserve such a tag. But i have come to know that some of the worst criminals in the Department of Correctional Services are working for it.

A close comrade who lived alongside Ra’d in recent years:

O Allah, receive our brother and comrade Ra’d with open arms for he aspired to be a martyr. O martyrs receive your brother (Ra’d) for he is one of our beloved. O prophets smile at him and give him some sweet foods and drink and most of all receive us when our turn comes. Hopefully, as we fight back unshackled, uncuffed.

Latin Kings vs. Black Gangsters Disciples, Vice Lords vs. Gangster Disciples, Netas vs. Insectos, Crips vs. Bloods, Surenos vs. Nortenos, MS~13 vs Latin Kings, etc. This senseless and endless beef between us who are in rival street organizations does nothing for the revolution. It does nothing to help the oppressed people of the Third World order.

This message I write today is not for the ignorant amongst us but for the true revolutionaries. When it comes to any cause united we stand and divided we fall. This isn’t just a cliche. It’s as real as it gets.

To be specific, I address this to all the groups within the U.$. that the imperialistic federal troops have labeled “supergangs.”

As rivals I realize that there can never be no real truce between enemies (too much blood spilled and riders buried). However this isn’t about kissing and making up for I know that bad blood can’t turn good. It’s also real that this message won’t influence those of us who want to continue banging. However for those of us who have metamorphosed into bona fide revolutionaries and want to make a united stand against injustice, let us use all our influence and power to call a cease fire and turn our focus on the real enemy.

“In unity we can bring any evil system to its knees.” The divide and conquer tactic of war has been used by opposing forces for centuries. One out of the many of examples used by the Federal Bureau of Instigation (FBI) to divide and conquer stands out in my mind. The one they employed in the 70s when they tried to cause beef between Fred Hampton, a leader of the Black Panther Party in Chi-town and Jeff Forte, the head of the Black Peace Stones in the same town. (Both komrades were strong and had command over mass riders). The Feds attempted this by sending both groups false information about one another. When the plan failed, the pigs simply rushed komrade Fred’s apartment and executed komrade Fred and another Panther komrade Mark Clark, and shot at komrade Fred’s pregnant fiancee (she lived). Occasionally security employs this tactic within these modern day concentration camps. If we’re busy fighting one another it keeps our minds off of the real oppressors.

We need to start moving as one when it comes to the revolution. If you are strong enough to be a revolutionary, this means you’re prolific enough to move the masses within your own organization towards the cause of revolution. If you take roll call of the members we have within the largest street organizations within the U.$. we have what? 1/2 a million members? A million? If we ceasefire and move as one towards revolution we will become a force to be reckoned with. With all our different colors and ideologies we can become a united nations of revolution.

The biggest gang in the united $tates is the police. There are 660,000 police officers below federal level - state and local - 659,000 of them to the man has no trust in the FBI and yet when called upon they work together to oppress us. If they can work together in distrust then we can work as one headed in the same direction for the same goal.

When individual people work together for a common purpose there is power available to the group that isn’t available to individuals, union is a fundamental basis of power.

Genghis Khan once stated “one tribe is like a single arrow, easily broken. All tribes together we become unbreakable.” Even if you are alone within your group when it comes to revolution, you are armed with the knowledge that all it takes is one resolute revolutionary, one disobedient spirit to turn a flock of sheep into a den of lions. You must truthfully ask yourself are you ready if need be to die for the cause? Then you must truthfully answer yourself. This is important because part of the imperialist’s false superiority is their unwillingness to die. On our end I’ll repeat Andrew Young who said “it’s a blessing to die for a cause, because you can so easily die for nothing.”

Once we get started they can’t kill a cause. Fighting for a cause is everything, simply believing in a cause is not enough.

I read a lot of articles written to MIM by my fellow komrades in chains that basically add up to “po po whupped my ass” or “these CO pawns/administration are dogging us”, what I don’t read in those same articles is what did you do or are you going to do or are doing about it? Because if an act of action is not in your makeup and character then that’s when you voicing your grievance to MIM is a futile whine.

Fidel Castro once said “a revolution is not a bed of roses. A revolution is a struggle to the death between the future and the past.” As I strip down daily and look in the mirror I take notice of the many scars handed down to me by correctional goon squads from my numerous battles with them for standing against their tyranny.

I remember the few komrades who stood side by side with me against the OAK clubs, mace, tasers, etc. And went to the hospital with me after they tortured us for fighting them. There was never enough of us. We were always the minority. We still are the chosen few. Thus I reach out to all street organizations under the banner of revolution. This is a call to arms forsaking all others. Let men and women of courage fall in and under this banner.

Back in the dayz when Amerikka made their power move on our red brothers (indigenous people) to rob them of their land, one of the many tactics used to conquer these proud peoples was to give them and then sell them “firewater” (alcohol). This disabled many of our red brothers ability to fight for their freedom, thus making it easier for the imperialistic blue coated amerikkkan storm troopers to lead many red families into western concentration camps (reservations).

Now today as I look around me I see many potential revolutionaries and even vanguards for the revolution but they are disabled by a similar poison that disabled our red brothers ability to fight. Whether it be called alcohol, heroin, cocaine, meth, PCP, etc. Poison is poison. For a revolutionary to poison himself is to bring poison to the revolution. Don’t get it twisted, you are either a revolutionary or a drug addict. You can’t be both.

You can never be a valid asset to the revolution in an altered state of mind. And even if you don’t use poison but you sell it to the oppressed people of color for your own profit then you are still not a revolutionary but a death merchant who profits off of the weaknesses and misery of your own peoples. The same law applies here. You are either a drug dealer or a revolutionary. You can’t be both.

This strategy to feed us the oppressed nationalities poison is still used today by covert operatives of the united states of amerikkka. Don’t believe the hype? The CIA played a key part in introducing crack cocaine to the urban communities of Los Angeles, California. Does the name “Freeway Willie” sound familiar? These meat warehouses called “correctional facilities” are not concerned with how much drugs a prisoner sells or uses, their main concern is that we don’t escape, don’t commit acts of violence against their plantation keepers and that we don’t stack up arms. Their concerns are against the very characteristics which make up a revolutionary.

Revolution starts with our minds. If our minds are altered, there is no revolution. If you are down for the revolution, then poison is not in the equation and can never be. Be clean, strong and sober. Fight to win.

Today I write with extreme distress. I am sick of these racist pigs tyranny. On December 24, 2009 I received an order from the third circuit court of appeals stating that I have been denied relief from my wrongful first degree murder conviction and consequent life plus 7 to 20 plus 20 to 40 consecutive sentences, and that I only had 14 days to file a petition for an en banc rehearing. Due to the xmas holidays I had to wait until the 29th to go to the law library to do my research for the petition. While in the law library reading a federal rules of court book I was greeted by five hispanics that were also working on their street cases on the same table I was sitting in. Now in my legal folder I have the only two ULKs I’ve received in a while, which I gave to one of the hispanics on my table to read and pass on.

However there was a Sherlock Holmes wanna be CO who is an official KKK member who hit the panic button when he seen five hispanics educating themselves and they locked us all in the hole under so called investigation stating that I was possibly holding a Latin King meeting. Now on my DC-141-other report it states inmates are under investigation for a possible violation of institutional rules and will be held on AC status until the investigation is complete.

However, I was placed on a disciplinary cell without any of my legal work let alone property of any sort, no heat, no pen, paper, etc. Not even toothpaste. This was on Dec 29, 2009. Today is, I believe Jan 10, 2010, I could not have filed any paperwork because they do not hand out any supplies, I managed to get this pen because I fished it from under the cell door.

I have no idea what these pigs are doing with my property. Now I ask of you at MIM to assist me on succeeding in a 42 USC 1983 suit because the conditions I am under are meant to sabotage all my litigation efforts.

MIM(Prisons) responds: A good sign of whether you are a threat to the system is whether you are allowed to organize in your own interests. Union organizers in the united $tates are not put in isolation cells, Latinos with anti-imperialist literature, or even just legal books are.

With our limited resources we provide support to the legal efforts of our comrades that best target strategic battles that will benefit the most people. To be a part of the legal strategizing process write in to join our Jailhouse Lawyers group.

From December 7 through 18, 2009, the UN-sponsored 15th Conference of Parties (COP15) was held in Copenhagen, Denmark. COP15 was a gathering where world powers came together to discuss the impending doom of climate change and what they will, or won’t, do about it. This series of semi-annual COP talks began officially in November 1994, and in 1997 the group adopted a document called the Kyoto Protocol, which is a supposedly legally binding agreement that targets an average reduction of 5.2% from 1990 levels of greenhouse gas emissions (GGEs) by the year 2012. In 2009, the u.$. offered to lower GGEs by 4% of 1990 levels, while the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change wants developed countries to curb emissions by 25-40% of 1990 levels.(1) The u.$. is the only imperialist country in the world that hasn’t signed the Kyoto Protocol, while other imperialist countries have officially agreed to the document, but have not obeyed it, such as klanada who raised their GGEs by 26%(2).

According to the Kyoto Protocol, the primary way the polluters of the world are supposed to reduce their GGEs is through emissions trading, what is also called “cap and trade.” Based on their current pollution levels, governments grant a certain amount of permission to companies to pollute, the “cap,” in the form of emission reduction credits. Companies that want to pollute more than the amount of credits they have can buy them from companies who don’t max out their own. Hypothetically, companies who pollute more are paying the price, and companies who pollute less are benefiting. In reality, there are so many loopholes in the “cap and trade” that a 15% reduction of GGEs on paper can actually equate to a 10% increase.(3) Before the Kyoto Protocol, global GGEs went up 1.5% per year. After the Kyoto Protocol, they went up 3% per year.(4) The only reason this backwards strategy is even on the table is because of attempts to submit to those who worship the capitalist market as a god that can solve all problems.

The system of carbon emissions trading is also limited by focusing on one form of pollution only. There is an incorrect assumption here that everyone has equal access to polluting and suffer from pollution equally. As many parties at COP15 pointed out, whole nations face extinction due to climate change they didn’t contribute to creating. Twenty percent of the world population have emitted more than 2/3 of emissions, and caused more than 90% of the increase in temperatures.(5) Plus, pollution from factories doesn’t just contaminate the air with greenhouse gases, it contaminates drinking water and soil and has more local affects on the atmosphere as well, as evidenced by increased occurrences of asthma. So companies who are higher-polluting and are on the buying end of the emission reduction credits scheme create “hot spots” with lots of pollution of all kinds. These “hot spots” have been largely exported to the Third World where production for the exploiter nations is now centered. Even in the united $tates it is disproportionately ghettos and reservations that are ravaged by environmental pollution.

In 2009 a new document came out of the COP talks, called the Copenhagen Accord. It was crafted by the u.$. in negotiation with other imperialist consumer nations and some major neo-colonial producer nations.(6) The Copenhagen Accord is pathetic in that it’s not legally binding and is basically an outline of some generic judgments on climate change (essentially, “it’s bad”), and a simple form where countries write in their emission goals for each other to examine. The u.$. is trying to legitimize the existence of the Accord by obtaining as many signatures on it as possible. Hillary Clinton’s tactic to accomplish this goal is to withhold aid from countries who do not sign. Yet, the aid proposed, not even guaranteed, is just $100 billion from all developed countries combined. To compare, President Evo Morales of Bolivia released a document requesting developed countries pay a minimum of 1% of their annual GDP into a UN fund for underdeveloped countries.(5) For the u.$. alone, this would be a $144 billion annual contribution according to its 2008 GDP.(7)

Another solution being pushed at COP15, presented by the climate negotiator Miguel Lovera of Paraguay, is for more countries to give money to REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation). REDD is an international fund to pay poor nations for saving or replanting forests instead of cutting them down for timber or cash crops. Obama called REDD “cost effective” because instead of reducing u.$. emissions, they can buy their way out of public pressure by giving money to REDD. Yet, REDD is just a formula to give money to people who already have money, who can afford to clear cut a forest in the first place. In the words of Camila Moreno of Friends of the Earth in Brazil,

REDD is a mechanism designed to avoid deforestation but we know, and they say, indigenous people do not deforest because their life depends on the forest and they live with the forest. So the whole point is that REDD is designed [for] the guy that has the chainsaw, or the money to buy the chainsaw, or the big bulldozers and can say “Okay, I’m going to do this. How much you pay for me not doing?” (8)

The Copenhagen Accord and REDD are the two major deals that were discussed in the mainstream “left” press regarding COP15. Both serve the economic interests of the oppressor nations, and neither will significantly affect climate change.

Many speakers correctly recognized capitalism as the main cause of climate change, and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez accurately noted that to have true environmental protection, we need to go from a capitalist economy to a socialist economy. In oppressed nations where pollution is dumped and forests are destroyed, if the polluters are pushed out by national liberation struggles, eventually they will run out of places to pollute. Therefore environmentalists must build and support national liberation struggles in an internationalist effort to reduce greenhouse gases and defend natural resources of the oppressed.

Environmentalism as Mysticism

Many of the speakers and representatives at COP15 were referring to an inherent responsibility of humyns to protect “Mother Earth.” As materialists, we know that all ideas and moralities are created by humyns, and MIM(Prisons) does not believe in or support mysticism. On the other hand, we are communists, and believe in ending power of people over people. So then, what is revolutionary environmentalism? To further explain, we will quote from page 32 of MIM Theory 12: Environment Society Revolution:

It is no more wrong for a human to dig up something useful from the earth than it is for a meteorite to strike a planet somewhere in space. The moral question is the question of human relations first. The idea that it is wrong to exploit, oppress and kill a human being is a human idea, and like all human ideas it occurs only on the basis of class and gender relations. From the oppression and exploitation of some humans by other humans, the oppressed and exploited have developed a morality that condemns this, and we develop a practice to end it… [W]e do not at present believe there is a basis for calling the “destruction” of the Earth as a planet itself immoral, apart from its relation to humanity and, possibly, other life.

Tuvalu is a small island nation in the Pacific ocean about halfway between Hawaii and Australia. Along with most other islands and many coastal areas, it will be submerged under water by the end of the century if the global temperature exceeds a 1.5 degrees Celcius, or 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit, rise above pre-industrial temperatures. “Genocide” is defined by the United Nations as “the acts that lead to the disappearance of a people” and the u.$. plays a direct and leading role in this oppression. It is not so much the island of Tuvalu itself, as the Tuvaluan people whom we need to advocate for on this issue.

Reparations & Refugees

Although the official deal that came out of COP15 is a commitment to more of the same from the imperialist countries, the event was unique in that it was the first time that much of the Third World united demanding reparations, and the imperialists had to directly say “no” to these demands. The G77 is a group of over 130 underdeveloped countries, and was the largest united front to enter the talks. Although the G77 didn’t ask for direct payment from imperialist nations, they called for a 60% reduction of current GGEs of the imperialist countries by 2020.(8) With a limit on global carbon emissions, such a reduction grants more “atmospheric space” for exploited countries to utilize to meet their own people’s needs.

On the topic of direct transfer of wealth as reparations, the UN estimates that it will take at least $500 or $600 billion per year for underdeveloped countries to sustain their people without the development of outdated and heavy polluting industries. This number is backed by another study that came out of London. Even surpassing Evo Morales’ call for 1%, Martin Khor, executive director of South Centre think tank, estimates that it will require at least 2% of the GNP from rich countries, which totals about $800 billion per year.(5) Stemming from our understanding of exploitation and the transfer of wealth from the Third World to the First World, we support the demand for reparations in all forms.

However, the united $tates has explicitly stated that they will not pay their dues. As u.$. climate negotiator Todd Stearn clumsily explained,

We fully recognize that our historic role in putting emissions up in the atmosphere and we also fully recognize our responsibility to be part of an overall global effort to help poorer countries, both with the regard to the need to adapt to the impacts of climate change and the need to help them develop on a sustainable path, which at this point in our collective history means low-carbon path. Reparations to me conveys of culpability, guilt, that kind of thing. And I don’t think that’s a legitimate way to look at it. (9)

Aside from the problem we have with Stearn’s attempt to lump the rest of the world into amerikkka’s “collective history” of exploitation and genocide, we ask, what the hell is “responsiblity” and “recognition of a historic role” if it isn’t also an admission of guilt? We know we will never get a logical answer to this question, so instead we ask the Third World and revolutionaries everywhere, how will the u.$. pay for its past and continued contribution to climate genocide?

To show exactly how the imperialist settler nations see the rights of First Nations peoples to land and liberty, and by extension of all oppressed nations to the same, we will quote from part of a speech that Naomi Klein gave at COP15. Naomi Klein is the author of No Logo and The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism. This anecdote tells about when she accompanied First Nations representatives to discuss klanada’s debt to them with a credit rating agency called Moody’s:

I was with the very powerful First Nations spokesperson for the Haida, named Gujao, and Arthur Manuel, who is a former chief for the Nuu-chah-nulth First Nation in British Columbia. And Arthur had decided that one way to get Canada to acknowledge the debts that it owed to First Nations people was to meet with the credit agencies that give Canada its triple-A credit rating, which is the highest possible credit rating, and explain to Moody’s that actually Canada carries a huge unpaid debt in the form of the lands that it stole, without treaties, from First Nations peoples.

…[A]rthur and Gujao presented all the documents, the writs, the legal rulings by the Supreme Court of Canada, that proved their case that this land was stolen and that they were owed billions in unpaid debts. And they said, “Canada is not a great place to do investment, because what if we called in these debts?” And it was very interesting, because the guy from Moody’s nodded, and he said, “You’re right. We’ve been following these court rulings, but we have decided that you are not going to collect on these debts. So it is not affecting our credit rating.”

And that’s a very important thing for us to remember, because debt is political. Right? You can make your argument. And when we make these arguments, frankly, no one even bothers arguing with us, because it’s so obvious. The science is there. The legal treaties are there. But really what they’re saying is, “You and what army? How are you going to get this money out of us? You are not powerful enough to get the money out of us.” (2)

It is historically proven that any serious measures taken to acquire adequate repayment for destruction caused by imperialism, or even efforts to protect what few forests we have left, will be met with guns.(10) They are even willing to kill their own: in 2005 an amerikan-born nun was murdered by land grabbers who were connected with endangered hardwood trade with the u.$, Europe, and Asia.(11) Some groups have already recognized the need for armed resistance to protect their livelihoods, such as indigenous peoples in the Amazon who protect their forests with spears, and those in Kenya who use guns.(12, 13) The Communist Party of China proved through their liberation struggle the tactics necessary to win warfare against an enemy who has more numerous and powerful weapons. To catalyze the process, we encourage them to study the CPC’s military guerilla theories and practices.

In addition to demanding reparations, some speakers are calling for an opening of borders, and permission for people who are refugees due to climate change to be allowed to relocate to territories that are less affected. It is yet to be seen if the imperialist countries will fulfill this request, but considering the fat wall that’s being built through Aztlán, and how the wars in Darfur are portrayed as religious wars in the u.$. media, when in fact they are due to fighting over water shortages because of climate change, we doubt they will take a progressive stance on the issue.

Amerikan Consumerism

While a majority of amerikans accept that global climate change is something that is occurring due to humyn activity, and most think the government should do something, with recession looming the majority said economic growth should be given priority over the environment. The Gallup Poll from March 2009 was the first time that amerikans favored economic growth over the environment in 15 surveys asking this question dating back to 1984. The trend showed a general decline in environmental popularity leading up to the final victory of economics this year.(14)

It is a simple fact that justice and amerikan consumption levels are mutually exclusive. To have justice everyone would have access to such consumption, which would require 6 Earths worth of resources. A decrease in consumption is a major fear of the capitalists right now as they struggle to keep financial markets from crashing, so TV personas have begun crying about the Third World trying to destroy the amerikan standard of living. While the desirability of amerikan lifestyles is a question of subjectivity, the need for its elimination is objective based on the question of climate change alone. For decades, imperialist overproduction has been backed by such overconsumption. In contrast, a socialist economy does not require overconsumption and does not face periodic crisis leading to humyn suffering.

As one example of this overconsumption, The New York Times reports that on average, amerikans consume eight ounces of meat per day, which is twice the global average.(15) At least eighteen percent of GGEs are associated with the livestock cycle, and at COP15 Rajendra Pachauri, chair of the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, advocated that if we stop eating meat once per week, it will reduce GGEs by 3, 4, or even 5%.(8) This is just one example of how amerikan lifestyles will necessarily change under the Socialist Dictatorship of the Proletariat. Meat will be rationed, and cars will (largely, if not completely) be replaced by public transportation and bicycles. While this may not sound like the ideal lifestyle for some, it is even more true that amerikans stand to lose life, not just luxury, by postponing the replacing of their culture with an ecologically sustainable one. On an individual level, MIM(Prisons) is opposed to lifestyle politics as a replacement for revolutionary work. Not only are the consumer nations unwilling to follow suit on a large scale, but the system of capitalism depends on ever-increasing production that must also be profitable. Organizing large scale
changes in culture and consumption patterns will require a system that puts humyn survival over profits and such changes will not be accepted voluntarily by the First World before it’s too late.

notes:
(1) Democracy Now! 8 December 2009 http://democracynow.org
(2) DN! 11 December 2009
(3) “How to Cure the Copenhagen Hangover” by Links http://links.org.au/node/1426
(4) DN! 22 December 2009
(5) DN! 9 December 2009
(6) “5 common mistakes in the coverage of the Copenhagen Accord” http://www.grist.org/article/2009-12-22-5-fallacies-in-the-coverage-of-the-copenhagen-accord/
(7) Wikipedia page for “United States” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States
(8) DN! 18 December 2009
(9) DN! 16 December 2009
(10) “Peruvian police fire on unarmed indigenous tribes’ oil and gas protest” http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jun/05/amazon-tribes-police-protest-deaths
(11) “Farming the Amazon” http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/habitats/last-of-amazon.html
(12) “The real Avatar story: indigenous people fight to save their forest homes from corporate exploitation” Amazon Rainforest News http://www.amazonrainforestnews.com/2009/12/real-avatar-story-indigenous-people.html
(13) “Arm Sengwer Indigenous Peoples with guns to guard their lives and property” https://www.fpcn-global.org/node/118
(14) http://www.pollingreport.com/enviro.htm
(15) http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/27/weekinreview/27bittman.html

Medical Apartheid: The Dark History of Medical Experimentation on Black Americans from Colonial Times to the Present
by Harriet A. Washington
Doubleday Press, 2007.

I would like to contribute to ULK by adding to every issue a book of the month club to bring consciousness to those already down with MIM. My first book is called Medical Apartheid. It is about J. Marion Sims, a doctor (mad man), who operated on Afrikan wimmin here in the u.$. without anesthesia. He used at least 9 people to hold these sisters down against their will while he took out their ovaries. This caused a medical condition known as Vaginal Fistula, and earned him the moniker of “the father of gynecology.”

The people who benefited from his experiments are none other than Caucasian women at that time. Caucasian women make up most of what MIM calls the gender aristocracy. While the patriarchy represents male power over the oppressed female gender, the gender aristocracy are those who support the patriarchy because they benefit from it despite their biological sex.

There is a statue of Sims erected in Central Park honoring his inhumane acts. Those of us living in NYC need to explain the true her-story of what he did to our children who may visit this statue on a field trip. We need to teach them her-story from the perspective of the real gender oppressed, not those who pose as “feminists” and attack the oppressed peoples.

It is important that our people become enlightened about this practice, which was just one example in this book of what we had to endure just for being Afrikan in the united $tates. From the times of slavery to examples in the 1990s, Afrikans have been used as guinea pigs and targeted for racist experiments. It is the gender oppressed who are especially targeted: wimmin, children and prisoners.

The author discusses “iatrophobia,” which is the continued fear of doctors that Afrikan people experience under patriarchal imperialism. This fear is based in real life experience, but it also contributes to decreasing our access to needed medical care.

This book is very sad and will open a floodgate of tears for its readers. Hopefully through promoting books like this we can reach our brothers and sisters who wear blue, red, black and gold to stop thinking white!

The current problem that we prisoners here in CCI Tehachapi are facing at the moment is that our captors are ignoring and deliberately going against the same Title 15 Rules and Regulations manual that they expect us, the prison population to abide by.

Our captors are in violation of these Rules and Regulations by not delivering or issuing out our property, packages, newspapers, periodicals, magazines, and books as stated in Title 15 rules and Regulations section 3134 General Mail Regulations. “Inspection of ingoing mail and outgoing packages will occur as follows: (4) Delivery by staff of packages, special purchase, and all publications shall be completed as soon as possible but not later than 15 calendar days, except during holiday seasons such as Christmas, Easter, and Thanksgiving, and during lockdown of affected inmates.”

In consequence to our captors unwillingness to abide by their own Title 15 Rules and Regulations manual, they’ve now created an oppressive environment for new arrivals to this institution by placing them in a cell for long periods of time (sometimes nearly up to three months) without their property, which includes their appliances and reading materials.

Other ways our captors violate our rights is by not honoring the following:

Title 15:
Section 3060: “Institution will provide the means for all inmates to keep themselves and their living quarters clean and practice good health habits.”

Section 3061: “Inmates must keep themselves clean, and practice those health habits essential to the maintenance of physical and mental well being.” Note, we can’t because we only get one small bar or soap per week for both our body and laundry.

Section 3095: “A newly arrived inmate may within 30 days of arrival submit CDC form 184, canteen draw order for any scheduled draw.”

Section 3031: “Each inmate shall maintain issued clothing and linen as neat and clean as conditions permit. Weekly laundry exchange shall be provided on a one-per-one basis.”

I as well as other prisoners here with me, find ourselves under these oppressive circumstances. We have sent in numerous request slips for our property, packages, and books, but to this date they have all gone unanswered.