MIM Notes 297 · March 1, 2004 · Page 1
MIM Notes
March 1, 2004, Nº 297
The Official Newsletter of the Maoist Internationalist Movement (MIM)
Free
INSIDE: Communists got religion? * Censorship * Una Página en Español...
MIM
PO Box 29670
Los Angeles, CA 90029
Return Service Requested
PRESORTED STANDARD
U.S. POSTAGE PAID
PERMIT #56365
BOSTON, MA
On the web: www.etext.info/Politics/MIM
CANDIDATE LEAST
OFFENSIVE TO
AMERIKANS AMONG
MOST OFFENSIVE TO
WORLD'S MAJORITY
By MC17 and MC206
J
ohn Kerry appears well on his way
to taking the Democratic party
nomination for Presidential
candidate in the 2004 election race. MIM
has never taken much of an interest in
the Presidential or even congressional
elections. There is little difference
between Republicans and Democrats
from the perspective of the majority of
the world's people who suffer so that
Amerikan imperialism can profit. We tell
people to do what is truly effective in
fighting imperialism: Don't Vote,
Organize.
But we recognize that many potentially
progressive-minded people are taken in
by the apparent differences between
Democrats and Republicans and believe
they must vote for the "lesser of two
evils." For MIM, that supposed lesser evil
is just a wolf in sheep's clothing. Often
the progressive-sounding rhetoric from the
Democrats is just window dressing on
fascist politics. The Democrats are
staunch promoters of imperialism, and for
MIM this is the fundamental problem. We
also point people to the historical record
of imperialist invasions and other terrorist
actions that demonstrate no practical
difference between Democrats and
Republicans, as well as the record at
home with regards to police and prison
growth under both administrations.
In other MIM Notes articles MIM
reviewed Howard Dean and Dennis
Kucinich, the two Democratic presidential
candidates that many perceive as
progressive. We do not find either of
those candidates worthy of anti-imperialist
praise. Here we review John Kerry, the
mainstream of the Democratic party.
Kerry's home page starts off with a quote
that sounds a lot like his campaign trail
sound bites: "I'm running for President
to make the country we love safer,
stronger, and more secure. I'm asking
every American to be a Citizen Soldier
again committed to leaving no American
behind."(1)
Such inane cheerleading is one reason
MIM dismisses Amerikan electoral
politics as little more than a popularity
Dems look to hog middle of road
AMERIKAN ELECTIONS
LOS ANGELES
UNWELCOMES
CHENEY; MIM
STUMPS
AGAINST
PATRIOT ACT II
Los Angeles, January 14
M
IM and RAIL handed out MIM
Notes and collected signatures
on our petition to Stop Patriot
Act II at a Beverly Hills protest of Vice
President Dick Cheney's appearance in
LA. The battle for our civil liberties is
heating up--230+ U.$. communities have
passed resolutions against the USA
PATRIOT Act, more activists are
becoming aware of and responding to the
reactionaries' campaign to shut down our
civil liberties, and the administration is
pursuing sneakier tricks to turn due
process into a distant memory. We found
the crowd overwhelmingly familiar with
news of the Patriot Acts, and people who
wouldn't sign our petition had already
signed it at other demonstrations or online.
Several demonstrators alerted MIM to
recent administration and congressional
moves to enact selected Patriot Act II
provisions under the cover of other
legislation. The reactionaries recently
succeeded in expanding the reach of so-
called National Security Letters
(described below) as part of the current
Intelligence Authorization Act; they have
so far failed to pass a raft of other PAII
provisions in the guise of the "VICTORY
Act."
A National Security Letter (NSL) is a
type of administrative subpoena issued by
a federal law enforcement agent; it does
not require approval from a judge, grand
jury or federal prosecutor. Until recently,
NSLs could be used to compel three types
of records: those of "financial institutions"
(i.e., banks and similar operations), credit
Struggles against
patriarchy and
imperialism are one
San Francisco, February 16
O
ver 2000 gay and lesbian couples
rushed to San Francisco city hall
to get married this Valentine's
Day weekend, after Mayor Gavin
Newsom defied a state law restricting
marriage to opposite-sex couples and
authorized city officials to grant same-
sex marriage licenses. Mayor Newsom
said the California law--passed in a
popular referendum--violates
Thusands of gay couples
married in San Francisco
constitutional protections against
discrimination. Two conservative
organizations have filed lawsuits to stop
the same-sex marriages, but City Hall
offices stayed open over the holiday
weekend to accommodate hundreds of
couples camped outside in the cold rain.
Many anticipate these marriage
certificates will be invalidated by court
challenges. Even if that happens, the San
Francisco marriages represent a forward
surge in the struggle to legalize gay
marriage throughout the United $tates.
MIM supports this struggle as a step
towards ending heterosexist
by MC206 and MC17
February 18
A
violent uprising by gangs linked
to the U.$.-backed FRAPH
death squad has killed more than
50 Haitians in the last two weeks--
Haiti devastated by Amerikan
imperialism (yet again)
i n c l u d i n g
fourteen police
and three
h o s p i t a l
p a t i e n t s
waiting for
treatment.(1)
High-profile
g r o u p s
opposed to
President Jean Bertrand Aristide tacitly
support the violence. "If there are others
opposed to Aristide who chose [violence]
we can't do anything about that," says
Evans Paul, who, along with notorious
sweatshop-owner Andy Apaid, has led
anti-Aristide marches in Port au
Prince.(1,2) These opposition groups are
also covertly backed by the United $tates
and owe their high profile to corrupt and
sloppy reporting by the bourgeois
media.(1,3-4)
Publicly, the United $tates says it will
not intervene to support or oppose
Aristide's government. At the same time,
Continued on page 6...
Continued on page 6...
Continued on page 9...
Continued on page 7...
MIM Notes 297 · March 1, 2004 · Page 2
What is MIM?
The Maoist Internationalist Movement (MIM) is the collection of existing or
emerging Maoist internationalist parties in the English-speaking imperialist countries
and their English-speaking internal semi-colonies, as well as the existing or emerging
Maoist Internationalist parties in Belgium, France and Quebec and the existing or
emerging Spanish-speaking Maoist Internationalist parties of Aztlan, Puerto Rico
and other territories of the U.$. Empire. MIM Notes is the newspaper of MIM.
Notas Rojas is the newspaper of the Spanish-speaking parties or emerging parties
of MIM. MIM upholds the revolutionary communist ideology of Marxism-Leninism-
Maoism and is an internationalist organization that works from the vantage point of
the Third World proletariat. MIM struggles to end the oppression of all groups over
other groups: classes, genders, nations. MIM knows this is only possibly by building
public opinion to seize power through armed struggle. Revolution is a reality for
North America as the military becomes over-extended in the government's attempts
to maintain world hegemony. MIM differs from other communist parties on three
main questions: (1) MIM holds that after the proletariat seizes power in socialist
revolution, the potential exists for capitalist restoration under the leadership of a
new bourgeoisie within the communist party itself. In the case of the USSR, the
bourgeoisie seized power after the death of Stalin in 1953; in China, it was after
Mao's death and the overthrow of the "Gang of Four" in 1976. (2) MIM upholds
the Chinese Cultural Revolution as the farthest advance of communism in humyn
history. (3) As Marx, Engels and Lenin formulated and MIM has reiterated through
materialist analysis, imperialism extracts super-profits from the Third World and in
part uses this wealth to buy off whole populations of oppressor nation so-called
workers. These so-called workers bought off by imperialism form a new petty-
bourgeoisie called the labor aristocracy. These classes are not the principal vehicles
to advance Maoism within those countries because their standards of living depend
on imperialism. At this time, imperialist super-profits create this situation in the
Canada, Quebec, the United $tates, England, France, Belgium, Germany, Japan,
Italy, Switzerland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Israel, Sweden and Denmark.
MIM accepts people as members who agree on these basic principles and accept
democratic centralism, the system of majority rule, on other questions of party line.
"The theory of Marx, Engels, Lenin and Stalin is universally applicable.
We should regard it not as dogma, but as a guide to action. Studying it is not
merely a matter of learning terms and phrases, but of learning Marxism-
Leninism as the science of revolution."
- Mao Zedong, Selected Works, Vol. II, p. 208.
Editor, MC206; Production, MC12
MIM Notes has seen a big spike in
circulation since the "war on
terrorism" began. It's not surprising:
MIM Notes is a free and independent
newspaper. Yes, there are especially
now knee-jerk patriots who believe
everything Bush says and pass by a
chance to read MIM Notes. There are
other patriots and internationalists
who realize that at this time papers
like MIM Notes can undo the huge
spectacle that Uncle Sam is creating
for its own benefit.
Sure, you have seen MIM Notes
around, but MIM Notes needs people
to do two simple things: 1) Pay for it
(postage and printing), 2) Distribute
it!
MIM is looking for sponsors,
distributors and officers. Sponsors pay
for papers; distributors get them onto
the streets and officers do both
distribution and financial support.
Distribute # Cost per year
12 (Priority Mail)
$120
25 (Priority Mail)
$150
50 (Priority Mail)
$280
100
$380
200
$750
900 (Express Mail!)
$3,840
900 (8-10 days)
$2,200
If you know you have some good
places to do distribution, we suggest
starting at 200 and working your way
up higher. If you are not willing to do
distribution, just send money. If you
are not willing to pay, then request
papers after somehow proving to the
party that you are serious (words
won't count). You who will cough up/
raise the money to distribute 900
papers each issue and then do the
distribution, you are what drives this
party forward.
A call for MIM Notes
sponsors and distributors!
Make anonymous money orders payable to "MIM." Send to MIM,
attn: Camb. branch, PO Box 400559, Cambridge, MA 02140. Contact
MIM in regards to this campaign by writing mim3@mim.org
MIM Notes
The Official Newsletter of The Maoist Internationalist Movement
ISSN 1540-8817
MIM Notes is the bi-weekly newsletter of the Maoist Internationalist Movement. MIM
Notes is the official Party voice; more complete statements are published in our journal,
MIM Theory. Material in MIM Notes is the Party's position unless noted. MIM Notes
accepts submissions and critiques from anyone. The editors reserve the right to edit
submissions unless permission is specifically denied by the author; submissions are
published anonymously unless authors insist on identification (prisoners are never
identified by name). MIM is an underground party that does not publish the names of its
comrades in order to avoid the state surveillance and repression that have historically
been directed at communist parties and anti-imperialist movements. MCs, MIM comrades,
are members of the Party. The Revolutionary Anti-Imperialist League (RAIL) is an anti-
imperialist mass organization led by MIM (RCs are RAIL Comrades). MIM's ten-point
program is available to anyone who sends in a SASE.
The paper is free to all prisoners, as long as they write to us every 90 days to confirm
their subsciptions. There are no individual subscriptions for people outside prison.
People who want to receive newspapers should become sponsors and distributors.
Sponsors pay for papers, distributors get them onto the streets, and officers do both
distribution and financial support. Annual cost is: 12 copies (Priority Mail), $120; 25
(Priority Mail), $150; 50 (Priority Mail), $280; 100, $380; 200, $750; 900 (Express
Mail), $3,840; 900 (8-10 days), $2,200. To become a sponor or distributor, send
anonymous money orders payable to "MIM." Send to MIM, attn: Camb. branch, PO Box
400559, Cambridge, MA 02140. Or write mim3@mim.org.
Most back issues of MIM Notes are available free on our web site. The web site con-
tains thousands of documents, with ordering information for many more.
MIM grants explicit permission to copy all or part of this newspaper for any reason, as
long as we are credited.
For general correspondence, contact:
MIM
P.O. Box 29670
Los Angeles, CA 90029-0670
eMail: <mim@mim.org>
WWW: <http//www.etext.info/Politics/MIM>
Dear MIM,
Granted that voting for imperialist
Tweedledum or Tweedledee (to
paraphrase Helen Keller) is a sucker's
bet that only lends legitimacy to the
bourgeois illusion of democracy, would it
not be correct, under certain
circumstances, to encourage people to
vote in referenda? I'm thinking of
KKKalifornia-style propositions that take
certain issues to the people in a restricted
way. It seems that these could potentially
be worth the trouble, provided that they
didn't distract attention and energy too
much from the principal issue or lead
towards a reformist trap.
- A reader, 3 February 2004
MIM responds: We agree with this
reader that there are some small-scale
elections where it might be possible to
win useful reforms. And in these cases
voting is not a waste of time. And we
share his/her concern that these
campaigns not lead towards a reformist
trap.
MIM has said that some municipal
elections are examples of potentially
winnable battles without misleading
people that electoralism works. For
instance, if there were several candidates
running for city hall who supported putting
up public bulletin boards all over town and
making public space available for
revolutionaries to hold educational events,
it might be worth supporting them. But
we should never confuse these potentially
winnable battles with support for
candidates who operate at the state or
continental level and who support
imperialism both in words and in practice.
Check out MIM's new web page
devoted to imperialist elections and
coverage of the 2004 presidential
campaign at www.etext.info/Politics/
MIM/elections.
Can local elections be
useful to revolutionaries?
For Imperialism!
Letters
MIM Notes 297 · March 1, 2004 · Page 3
I received your book "Marx and
Engels" as well as the other info you sent,
which I sincerely appreciate. ... I have
come across a subject that I would
appreciate more information on. It is as
follows: In the Manifesto of the
Communist Party is says: "But
communism abolishes eternal truths, it
abolishes all religion, and all morality..."
My main question is What is the stance
or position of communism on religion?
Must one who wishes to embrace the
struggle and teachings of our great
communist forefathers abandon his
current faith (Christianity, Islam, etc.)? I
would greatly appreciate information as
well as your feedback on this subject.
In solidarity,
-- A Texas Prisoner,
December 2003
MIM responds: First, you seem to be
quoting Marx out of context. The whole
passage reads:
"`Undoubtedly,' it will be said,
`religious, moral, philosophical, and
juridical ideas have been modified in
the course of historical development.
But religion, morality, philosophy,
political science, and law, constantly
survived this change.'
"`There are, besides, eternal truths,
such as Freedom, Justice, etc., that
are common to all states of society.
But communism abolishes eternal
truths, it abolishes all religion, and all
morality, instead of constituting them
on a new basis; it therefore acts in
contradiction to all past historical
experience.'
"What does this accusation reduce
itself to? The history of all past
society has consisted in the
development of class antagonisms,
antagonisms that assumed different
forms at different epochs.
"But whatever form they may have
taken, one fact is common to all past
ages, viz., the exploitation of one part
of society by the other. No wonder,
then, that the social consciousness
of past ages, despite all the
multiplicity and variety it displays,
moves within certain common forms,
or general ideas, which cannot
completely vanish except with the
total disappearance of class
antagonisms.
"The communist revolution is the
most radical rupture with traditional
relations; no wonder that its
development involved the most
radical rupture with traditional ideas.
"But let us have done with the
bourgeois objections to communism."
Therefore, the quote you read is Marx
paraphrasing the critics of communism.
He argues that religion and "eternal
truths" really represent the ideology of
the established power structure -- they
are the ones who can declare something
an "eternal truth." Instead, Marx was
urging the proletariat to put into practice
its own definition of morality, one based
on "from each according to ability, to each
according to need." In fact, this idea is
present in many religious texts, including
the Christian Bible.
On our web site we have said, "There
are atheist communists and there are
Christian communists."(1) In that
discussion, a person quoted from the
Christian Bible: "[Acts 4:32] And the
multitude of them that believed were of
one heart and of one soul: neither said any
of them that ought of the things which he
possessed was his own; but they had all
things common. [4:33] And with great
power gave the apostles witness of the
resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great
grace was upon them all. [4:34] Neither
was there any among them that lacked:
for as many as were possessors of lands
or houses sold them, and brought the
prices of the things that were sold, [4:35]
And laid them down at the apostles' feet:
and distribution was made unto every man
according as he had need."
Then he quoted a dictionary definition
of communism: "A system of equalizing
the social conditions of life; specifically, a
system which contemplates the abolition
of inequalities in the possession of
property, as by distributing all wealth
equally to all, or by holding all wealth in
common for the equal use and advantage
of all."
Thus, if you support the social system
described in that passage of the Bible, you
are in a basic moral sense a communist.
If we agree on such a bedrock moral
principle, we have much in common and
should work together to realize that vision
for humynity.
Of course, Maoists--as Marxists--are
also materialists, and have disagreements
with religious thinking on many issues. For
example, some Christians oppose the
teaching of evolution in schools and want
to force everyone into their religion by
making the government a theocracy--
ideas Maoists obviously disagree with.
Ultimately, atheist communists like MIM
don't believe in a higher power directing
the universe or "eternal" moral principles
beyond the reach human agency. Instead,
we engage the earthly struggle over who
gets to determine the direction of society
and which ideas will become the dominant
ideas--the ideas of the imperialists or the
ideas of the communists.
But in practice, Maoists work with
many religious people on everything from
opposing the Amerikan injustice system
(including its repression of Muslims and
their right to practice their religion) to
releasing Third World countries from their
debts to imperialist banks. This is part of
the policy of Maoists to unite all who can
be united, and to build the broadest
coalition possible for the defeat of
imperialism.
Notes: The whole exchange is at: http:/
/www.etext.info/Politics/MIM/contemp/
leftover/newtestamentdebate.htm
Do communists have to give up religion?
Letters
Fog of War (2003)
Errol Morris, dir.
This movie consists solely of interviews
with Robert McNamara, former
Amerikan "Secretary of Defense" during
the Vietnam war. The film's themes
overlap considerably with McNamara's
earlier book, "Argument Without End."
We called that book "very satisfying ...
very useful" (1) and similarly recommend
"Fog of War." McNamara admits that
millions died in Vietnam alone, in part due
to his "mistakes." He is honest about the
scale of the violence used by Amerika in
wars throughout the last century and even
suggests that he should be considered a
war criminal for his role in the bombings
of Japanese civilians during World War
II.
Before explaining what we don't like
about the film, we want to say something
about the fog-of-war concept in light of
recent debate about the war in Iraq.
Bush: lost in fog or hiding in
smoke screen?
The fog of war refers to the fact that
in a battlefield situation, commanders do
not have 100% information about the size
and position of the enemy (or even their
own troops) due to limitations in
perception, problems in communication
and conscious enemy deception. MIM
has no disagreement with the fog-of-war
concept. In fact, we believe it applicable
beyond purely military matters. It's one
reason we caution readers to evaluate
historical leaders relative to their
contemporaries (e.g. Galileo should be
compared to other renaissance physicists,
not Einstein).
Lately, however, while discussing what
he terms "intelligence failures" in Iraq,
President Bush has been using this
scientific concept in an unscientific way.
Now he admits that his numerous
assertions that Iraq possessed stockpiles
of weapons of mass destruction were
wrong, but he excuses himself with his
version of the "fog of war." "I expected
to find the weapons. ... I based my
decision on the best intelligence
possible."(2)
We'll skip the obvious criticism that "the
best intelligence possible" did not leave
"no doubt" that Iraq had stockpiles of
biological weapons and a nuclear
weapons program, as Bush often claimed
while building support for the war.(3)
Instead, we note that, taken together, the
statements coming out of the Bush camp
are a form of sophistry that grants the
United $tates carte blanche to use
military force whenever it damn well
pleases. When critics demand proof that
country X is about to use (or develop)
weapons of mass destruction, "Secretary
of Defense" Donald Rumsfeld waxes
philosophic and cites the fog of war:
"Proof? What is proof? Can we ever be
certain we know anything? If there are
unknown unknowns how can there be
known knowns?"
Bush and his posse are playing an
incredibly dangerous game of Russian
roulette in the name of averting a
devastating nuclear or biological war. If
they attack a country they claim has
weapons of mass destruction and it turns
out they were correct, then that country
will almost certainly use those weapons.
If they were wrong, then they have shed
Fog of War worth seeing -- but not for excusing Bush
Continued on page 8...
MIM Notes 297 · March 1, 2004 · Page 4
July 2003 -
December 2003
This censorship report covers the period
July through December 2003. It is the
fourth of MIM's regular reports on
censorship in the Amerikan prisons. In
this six-month period we see a decline in
overt reportable censorship. In some
cases we can see real victories where
MIM and our comrades behind bars have
fought and won censorship battles. But
we also know that a victory in one battle
often just results in the prison changing
their reason for censoring.
Some of the victories in censorship
battles were won in court while others
were settled through administrative
appeals or outside protests. These
victories are very important to us as they
allow us, at least temporarily, to resume
sending revolutionary literature to our
readers behind bars who are hungry for
this material. One issue of MIM Notes
will be read by many prisoners, and one
book will pass through many hands, as
we are one of the few sources of reading
material, particularly political literature,
available to prisoners. The prison libraries,
where they exist at all, contain mostly
trash novels and access is limited.
Revolutionary literature is among the most
in demand and hardest to come by in the
prisons.
We caution readers from thinking the
trends in this report represent a real
decline in censorship. In many cases,
active censorship of MIM mailings leads
to us losing contact with prisoners in the
censoring states. As a result we send in
less literature and it appears the
censorship has stopped. Then more active
prisoners get in touch with us again
requesting revolutionary literature and we
again face prison censorship. We hope
that through these regular bi-annual
reports we will be able to track real trends
in censorship in the prisons.
States that censored MIM Notes or
MIM Theory over the past 6 monthes:
California, Alabama, Kentucky, Georgia,
Colorado, North Carolina, Massachusetts,
Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
States that censored books, letters or
other non MIM-published material in the
past 6 months: California, Oklahoma,
New York, Rhode Island, Georgia,
Oregon, and Florida.
MIM has not given up sending MIM
Notes or MIM Theory to any states, but
there are several states where MIM no
longer sends literature we do not publish
because of prison regulations. More and
more states are implementing policies that
require all literature to come from the
publisher or to come from a few selected
distributors like amazon.com. This is just
another excuse to censor revolutionary
literature and deny prisoners access to
alternative education. Amazon.com and
other similar big capitalist distributors are
not running books for prisoners programs,
and the price of books there (as well as
the inaccessibility from prison) keeps
virtually all prisoners from receiving books.
States where MIM no longer sends
literature it does not publish include:
Massachusetts, Wisconsin, and Oregon.
State by state examples of
censorship
Oklahoma - Articles from MIM's web
site on Nepal and Peru were rejected.
The prison stated that they were rejected
for being from the internet.
Alabama - One prisoner leading the
fight against censorship in this state
reported his victories in our last report on
censorship. Unfortunately, as he reported
in July of 2003, that victory was
overturned: "As you are aware, MIM
Theory 8&14 were recently denied entry
into Limestone prison. This was after I
was informed that the ban on MIM
literature was lifted. This was done after
I had received information from an
attorney with the Southern Poverty Law
Center (SPLC) who had taken on the
case against censorship of political
publication. The SPLC attorney wrote to
the attorney general notifying him that
prison officials were censoring political
publications in violation of the settlement
in Prison News vs. Haley, a settlement
involving the censorship of political and
legal publications. The attorney general
notified that this practice would cease and
that there would be no more problems in
receiving MIM Theory and other political
publications. But prison officials are
continuing to censor MIM Theory and
other political publications that are critical
of the U.$. political system. I've been told
that no communist literature will be
allowed. So, you can be assured that the
struggle continues and will do so until
victory. The SPLC is filing papers to go
back to court on this issue. In the
meanwhile, please re-add my name to
you mailing list for MIM Notes. Again,
the struggle continues without doubt."
New York - A letter from MIM was
held for 6 months by the facility Media
Review center.
Rhode Island - Mao's Little Red Book
was rejected. The prisoner who did not
receive this book was not even notified
by the institution of this censorship. After
we notified him of the censorship he
wrote to us in August of 2003: "This is
part of a campaign by the prison
administration to harness me. Counting
the Red Book, this is the 6th time books
were sent here only to be rejected on
security or other frivolous grounds. I have
been grieving all of this only to be denied.
The lawsuit with the ACLU has yet to be
filed... My mail in particular has been
tampered with both incoming and
outgoing."
Kentucky - A warden rejected MIM
Theory 11 (a magazine entitled
"Amerikan Prisons on Trial") for cover
art he described as "inaccurate" and
"inflammatory." He claimed the
publication called a "threat to institutional
discipline or security."
Pennsylvania - MIM Theory 11 was
censored for containing articles that "can
be considered as inciting violence and is
racially inflammatory in content."
Wisconsin - MIM Notes was rejected
as "inciteful and advocates violence and
threatens institutional security."
Georgia - MIM Notes and the book
Black Panther Party Speaks were held
by the administration.
Colorado - A prisoner is suing prison
officials over censorship of MIM Notes
and MIM Theory. The administration
there also censored a letter MIM sent
this prisoner.
Oregon - Various prisons use strict
return address requirements to censor
letters that are stamped or hand written
with a return address of MIM or MIM
Distributors, claiming they need a full
name.
North Carolina - Censoring MIM
Notes on an issue-by-issue basis. They
send an issue they don't like to their
"publications review committee." Months
MIM Prison Censorship Report
In California,
MIM's study
group
material was
deemed
"unacceptable"
without
"prior
approval
from the
Education
Dept." The
California
prisoncrats
are literally
making free
education
illegal. See
more images
of censorship
documents at:
www.etext.info/
Politics/MIM/
agitation/
prisons/
censor.
MIM Notes 297 · March 1, 2004 · Page 5
San Jose--On February 7, MIM and
the Barrio Defense Committee hosted a
statewide organizing meeting to push
forward the struggle to shut down Security
Housing Units (SHUs) in California
prisons. Representatives from numerous
groups working to oppose the injustice
system attended the meeting, as well as
unaffiliated individuals new to the issue
of Control Units/SHUs. Family members
of SHU inmates and former prisoners also
attended.
MIM opened the meeting with an
introduction to the campaign, briefly
describing the torturous conditions in the
SHUs and how the SHU targets politically
active and oppressed-nation prisoners.
We followed with a summary of actions
from the past few years, including
demonstrations, petitioning and legal
struggles. Recent responses from state
legislators suggest some have a small
amount of sympathy for at least reforming
the use of the SHU. However, those
sympathizers do not have the power to
make such reforms.
California Prison Focus (CPF) was
unique among the attendants because of
its involvement in the courtroom. At this
stage MIM sees legal struggles as a vital
method of putting pressure on the state
and winning small battles (most attendees
seemed to agree). In the long run legal
battles will prove limited and will help build
extralegal means of organizing. One of
CPF's legal representatives went over
the three reasons prison administrators
put people in SHUs: 1) HIV-positive
status; 2) disciplinary offenses; and 3)
gang validation. The third reason leads to
indefinite sentencing and is used to target
anyone who may be organized politically
as well, since it is completely arbitrary
and up to prisoncrat discretion.
The CPF discussed their recent legal
battles including one where the California
Department of Corrections (CDC) has
banned 5 languages (including Swahili,
Naohtl, and sign language) claiming they
are used as codes. Effectively, they are
banning the cultures of the oppressed,
most of which have already had their
culture repressed and erased by
colonizers for hundreds of years. The
state court upheld this law and it will be
going to the appeals court in the future.
During the second half of the meeting,
organizers planned to coordinate efforts
Movement to shut down isolation prisons marches on
on this campaign. Our goal is not to create
a new organization, but to coordinate
action to shut down the SHU. As a result,
an important outcome of the meeting will
be a system of communication between
all who are interested in joining this SHU
fight.
At the meeting participants divided into
groups to focus on several areas of
organizing: media, legal/legislative,
outreach/activism, and mobilization of
prisoners. The subgroups came back with
suggestions for actions and ideas for
coordinating our work.
Everyone agreed to initiate regular
monthly public actions to shut down the
SHUs the first Saturday of every month
in cities across the state. These actions
will start March 6th and are currently
scheduled in San Francisco, Oakland, San
Jose, Santa Cruz, Monterey Bay, and Los
Angeles. These coordinated actions will
focus on distributing literature and
collecting petition signatures, and bringing
the struggle to the attention of the people
on the streets. Organizers stressed the
need to train people in doing outreach and
tabling. MIM agreed to head up that
effort. In addition we will be building for
a conference or tribunal on the SHU later
in the year and organizing forums at
colleges attended by meeting participants.
There is a legal battle in the courts
scheduled to reach trial in federal court
on April 26 in San Francisco. The case is
based on a first amendment challenge to
the Security Housing Unit classification
regulations. Meeting participants decided
to schedule a protest that day outside the
courthouse.
Discussing the need to involve prisoners
in the struggle, participants agree on the
importance of encouraging prisoners to
get families involved and using our
networks to build networks of family
support. We will also continue our efforts
to provide our comrades behind bars with
much needed legal and political
information in print and through radio
broadcasts.
If you are in California, contact MIM
to find out how to participate in one of
these cities or to get information and
materials to help make your efforts
successful in your own town.
MIM often encounters people who
express agreement with some or all of
our work, but are reluctant to get involved
because they say they're too busy, not
sure it's the right work, and so on. We
urge these people to consider the work
done by several Texas prisoners --
people working harder on the crucial
political issues of the day, in circumstances
that are, to put it mildly, much worse.
One prisoner recently sent back a
Patriot Act II petition filled out with 15
signatures from fellow prisoners.(1) He
wrote: "Thanks for your letter and info
and petitions. I'm returning the petition
to `Stop Patriot Act II.' I can't believe
we're having to fight for the rights that
we already have, the rights that we've
spent so many centuries and lost so many
millions of people to. It's like our own
president, congress and government is
saying `fuck all those dead people, fuck
your rights, and fuck you, too, America!'
I don't understand why so many people
think our country is so great. As for
forming a study group [which MIM
suggested], I'm locked in a two-man cell
for 23 hours a day for now."
Another prisoner wrote to tell us that
he was able to share his copies of MIM
Notes with "some fellows who had not
seen them," and he collected seven
signatures on the Patriot Act petition. "I
am sorry I only got a few guys to put
their names on it," he said. "I have been
very inefficient."
Finally, another prisoner from Texas
wrote simply: "Dear Revolutionaries: For
the betterment of humanity I have
enclosed my monthly contribution of five
stamps. Being incarcerated, this is one
of the only ways I can help the
movement."
If you are considering the conflicting
demands on your time, energy and money
-- and not working with MIM while you
think it over -- we urge you to consider
the example set by these prisoners. They
understand that the imperialists don't sit
still while they consider questions of
strategy.
You learn by studying and by doing. Go
ahead and challenge MIM on our ideas,
but if you don't have a better strategy for
ridding the world of imperialism, work
with us at the same time.
Notes: http://www.etext.info/Politics/
MIM/agitation/civlib/PApetitionlong.PDF
Prisoners step up on civil rights
later, they will either decide that it is
acceptable or they will finally admit they
have decided to censor it. It seems
designed to prevent the prisoner from
taking any timely action.
Florida - Censors letters we send to
prisoners.
Massachusetts - Censored an issue of
MIM Theory.
California - MIM Theory 11 was
censored. One prisoner reported in
August of 2003: "Here is an update on
the appeal of the censorship of MIM
Theory 11. The appeal was denied at the
2nd level of review for the following
reasons: 1. They say an article about C/
O violence against Blacks and Latinos
promotes racism. 2. They say MIM's
doctrine of armed struggle against
imperialist U.S. promotes violence." After
filing a director's level review this
prisoner reported in December 2003:
"The appeal I filed was denied at the
director's level, which exhausted my
administrative remedies. They determined
that the institution is in compliance with
departmental policies. As soon as I can
obtain a copy of the denial I will send one
to MIM for your review. The next step is
to file suit. I would like to bring a lawsuit
against the director of corrections as
opposed to just the institution so that a
favorable ruling by the court would effect
departmental policy state- wide, not just
an order against an individual institution."
Another institution in California
censored MIM Theor