The World of Computer Software/World_Of_Computer_Software-02-387-Vol-3of3.iso/m/mn30.zip/MN30

Text File | 1993-03-10 | 34KB | 651 lines

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| x   x x x   x   x  x  xx  xxx xxx  xxx                   |
| xx xx x xx xx   xx x x  x  x  x   x       Issue #30      |
| x x x x x x x   x xx x  x  x  xx   xxx                   |
| x   x x x   x   x  x x  x  x  x       x   05/29/87       |
| x   x x x   x   x  x  xx   x  xxx  xxx                   |
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|    Newspaper of the Maoist Internationalist Movement     |
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   UPHOLDING FAMILY, PROPERTY AND FAMILY PROPERTY
   The following is an essay to open discussion on a new
issue. As this issue has clear divisive potential, the reader
is reminded that MIM Notes is an unofficial forum.
   As the details of the Baby M case came out, the New York
Times reported that the opinion of feminists on the case was
split. Now that the court has made its decision, it seems
from an article in Off Our Backs that feminist opinion has
consolidated in favor of the natural mother Mary Beth
Whitehead, who agreed to a surrogate mother contract with
William Stern, who contributed the sperm.
   On narrow grounds, New Jersey Superior Court Judge Harvey
R. Sorkow ruled that the surrogate mother must uphold the
terms of the contract to sell baby M to the natural father
for $10,000. The feminist newspaper Off Our Backs criticized
this ruling and argued that the "biological mother's rights
must be protected and not be considered disposable by virtue
of a piece of paper." (Debra Ratterman, "Whitehead vs.
Sperm," Off Our Backs, 5/87)
   Certainly no communist should argue that a deal is a deal
and contracts under capitalism are fair, so this argument
seems a good one.
   However, Off Our Backs points out that the welfare of the
child is often important in custody battles as they currently
take place in the United States. On these grounds, no one has
presented a case that Whitehead would be a better mother than
Elizabeth Stern. (If anyone did, someone would stand up for a
woman's "right" not to bear children, her "right" to a career
and a her "right" to adopt surrogate children.)
   Indeed, Elizabeth and William Stern each make six-digit
salaries. Under capitalism, it would be hard to argue that
Whitehead would do better for the welfare of the child.
   Certainly, Off Our Backs is right that the court decision
was fundamentally class-biased, but what else is new? Off Our
Backs does not systematically develop this insight, which is
in reality an incipient critique of the family/cash nexus
under capitalism. If it did, OOB would have to conclude that
neither side of this hysterical pro-family struggle is worth
supporting.
   Unfortunately, the Off Our Backs position boils down to
the privileged position of women in reproduction: "A full-
term pregnancy can hardly compare with a momentary
ejaculation. The judge lacked this insight when he described
surrogate mothers as 'an alternative reproduction vehicle.'"
(Ibid.)
   This is another principle that communists have heard
before: I did the work, so I deserve the property. Usually,
workers and socialists make this argument against capitalists
who claim a right to make a profit, but Off Our Backs implies
that a person (baby) should be awarded as property to the
biological mother by virtue of her hard work to bear the
child.
   And then there were the Sterns. With millions of starving
children across the globe, William Stern wants to pay $10,000
plus court costs to obtain a child with his particular genes.
   Over in the Dark Ages, the Pope still opposes conception
by any means but the old-fashioned missionary-position
method. Yet, his less extreme pro-family followers can not
help but find the whole Baby M case perversely pleasing. In
this media spectacle, whether one takes the side of Whitehead
or Stern, one takes the pro-family, children-as-property
side.
   Much of the coverage given by the mass media concerned the
justifications of Stern and Whitehead for their extremist
actions on behalf of their property.
   Stern promised $10,000 and the cost of lawyers to obtain a
child with his genes. Whitehead threatened to kill herself
and Baby M, also in the name of family, if she did not get
custody.
   The Sterns have broken new frontiers in reactionary
thought by bringing psychiatric pseudo-science to bear on the
question of Whitehead's mothering capabilities, and hence the
validity of her property claims.
   Whitehead's lawyers implied that Elizabeth Stern, who is
41, was unwilling to make the necessary sacrifices of her
career as a pediatrician to bear and care for a child.
Lawyers disputed that Stern's case of multiple sclerosis was
a good enough reason not to attempt to have a child of her
own. This argument amounted to saying that women who pursue
careers are not good mothers.
   One gets the sense that if Whitehead were in the position
of the Sterns, she would do the exact same thing. Ultimately
William Stern and Mary Beth Whitehead only want the same
property rights.
   This is a case where the rhetoric of rights--"biological
mother's rights"--has not only obscured an issue, it has
caused Off Our Backs to take an incorrect political stance.
What sorely needs critique in the Baby M case, is the
selfishness of the adults seeking their very own kids with
their very own genes.
   The ridiculous behavior of Whitehead and Stern only proves
that raising children should not be left to individual
parents, who tend to have children to fulfill their own
ambitions. Children will only be free of the quirkiness of
their private owners when raising children is recognized as a
responsibility of society, not the family.

   RULING CLASS WORRIES ABOUT NEW "LEFT" TREND IN CHINA
   China-watchers are currently worried that the Deng
Xiaoping clique may have lost state power to a group of
senior officials headed by Peng Zhen. Supposedly these
officials are substantially more Maoist in outlook and even
wear Mao suits at public functions as if to contrast
themselves their peers in Western suits.
   Genuine Maoists, however, should be wary. Peng Zhen may be
nominally to Deng's left, but so was Hua Guofeng, who
arrested Mao's followers--the Gang of Four. Indeed, Peng Zhen
was the first major target of the Chinese Cultural
Revolution. As mayor of Beijing, he suppressed writings by
Mao for the press (with or without the sanction of the
Central Committee this author does not know), allowed veiled
criticisms of Mao in the arts and tried to sidetrack the
Maoist counterattack in academic debate before he was finally
overthrown.
   Also, in a rare and interesting article, Edward Gargan of
the New York Times has found an overt two-line struggle in
the Chinese Communist Party. ("Mao's Home Province Proves
Stubborn," New York Times, 5/26/87, p. 6) Apparently, Hunan
officials knew that Westerner Hu Yaobang was to lose his job
as General Secretary of the party before other officials and
said so in public: "'We knew Hu Yaobang was going down,' said
Weng Hui, a deputy secretary general of the Hunan provincial
government...'We were not surprised because Hu Yaobang made
mistakes,' Mr. Weng said. 'Hu Yaobang did not oppose those
who wanted Westernization. That caused some unpleasant things
in China.'" (Ibid.)
   Furthermore, "in February, Hunan party officials ordered
the province to take as its 'two major tasks' the fight
against Western influence and the increase in economic
production." (Ibid.)
   Other leftist signs in Hunan are that the government is
still run by the party and not just by qualified experts;
students attend political study classes and factory workers
also engage in intensive ideological work.
   While the fall of Hu Yaobang marks a struggle against the
Right in China, Deng Xiaoping has just recently attacked the
left. He reportedly said that the "main struggle should be
against the leftist trend within the party." (Ibid.)
Meanwhile in Hunan, "the main target in Hunan is to educate
the people to take the right path, to follow socialism,"
according to Mr. Weng.
   It is difficult to assess how genuine the above
indications are of a resurgence of Maoism in China. It may be
worth the reader's while to look up this Times article
themselves and stay on top of the press.
   U.S. desperately intimidates members of its bloc to
support Contras
   "The campaign against Mexico, Argentina, Panama, Costa
Rica and Honduras suggests that protecting contra aid was
such an overriding goal of the administration that it
governed nearly all of the United States' contacts with its
neighbors in the Western Hemisphere." (Detroit Free Press,
5/10/87, p. 12A)
   This is strong and frank talk for a mouthpiece of the
bourgeoisie, but clearly the press must report the
desperation of the government in its efforts to rally the
U.S. bloc against the Soviet bloc and the Latin American
peoples.
   As usual, information on covert operations by the U.S.
government casts many previous actions in a different light.

   Minority capitalism is still peanuts
   In an article on minority entrepreneurs, the Wall Street
Journal offers the statistic that minority-owned banks have
assets totalling $4.1 billion, "triple the 1976 amount--a
growth rate 40% higher than the rate of all banks." (3/25/87,
p. 31) Of course, compared with bank assets of white America,
the minority banks have but peanuts. Still, one should not
underestimate the illusion that even such limited success
will create. The example of Black business successes may
influence people towards imitation despite the overall
statistical picture. The job of communists here is to point
out there is only such much room in the capitalist class and
the success of the handful comes at the expense of the broad
masses of people.

   Aquino still in bind
   Although her party seems headed to winning 24 out of 25
seats in a Parliamentary election, it appears that Marcos and
Juan Ponce Enrile supporters may be enraged by not winning
the role of loyal opposition in the government. Aquino
supporters reportedly hoped that former Defense Minister
Enrile would at least win his seat.
   At the same time, Aquino has suddenly ordered paramilitary
groups to disband. They had become very prevalent as the
right organized to fight the New People's Army, which is
semi-Maoist in inspiration. Church leaders likened the
paramilitary groups to death squads in El Salvador. (Los
Angeles Times, 3/17/87, p. 1)
   Meanwhile in an interview with the magazine Iran in
Resistance, a supporter of the New People's said that the NPA
was wondering whether Aquino would turn out to be a Duarte or
an Ungo. Duarte is the liberal fascist Christian Democrat who
rules El Salvador on behest of the landlord class and U.S.
imperialism. Ungo is a former member of the Salvadoran
government who now serves as political spokesperson for the
rebel organization called the FMLN. Ungo and Duarte share
much common political history, but they have ended up on
different sides in the civil war.
   This line of thinking implies that El Salvador and the
Philippines require democratic, anti-feudal revolutions and
that Ungo and possibly Aquino can serve in major roles as
part of that revolution. Another somewhat conciliatory point
of view would be that Ungo and Aquino are members of the
national bourgeoisie, but they cannot lead the new democratic
revolution.
   Currently, the NPA apparently believes that Aquino may
continue to hold power in a shaky alliance with the
ultrarightist faction of landed classes and bureaucratic
capitalists. On the other hand, she may alienate her rightist
allies to such an extent that she may have to ally more
firmly with the left and push for a genuine anti-feudal,
bourgeois or new democratic revolution.
   Maoists have to wonder how it is that Ungo can be the
political leader of revolution in El Salvador. Isn't his
social democratic ideology too conciliatory to lead
revolution? On the other hand, if real power resides with the
military leaders of the FMLN and not Ungo, then are these
leaders leading political work in the organization on a
correct basis? Some people at MIM have concluded not. The
analysis of El Salvador and the Philippines by analogy may be
a significant line of demarcation between Maoists and the
NPA. The question is how genuine the struggles in El Salvador
and the Philippines are and are they sufficient to set back
imperialism and the landlord class and at least advance the
two countries to capitalist democracy.
   These issues deserve further discussion.

   Prisons are exploding in population and crime
   Imagine a small town of less than 20,000 where in the last
few weeks, a police officer and civilian were indicted for
murdering another civilian; two civilians were shot in
another incident and the state government just released a
report criticizing the town police for brutality. The average
of violent incidents is 35 per day and police officers are
often guilty of drug abuse.
   All this is despite a growth in the town government budget
from $150 million in 1980 to $500 million today.Even Pat
Robertson would find this intolerable and say that the town
should replace its government, right? This small town is the
prison system of New York City. (Robert Gangi, " The Jail
Bomb Ticks Louder and Louder," New York Times, 5/9/87), p.
15)
   The crimes committed are by the government, perhaps better
described as organized crime. Those crimes in the prison
system not committed directly by the state are still abetted
by the state, which seems to thrive on creating conditions
for crime.

   Official unemployment dips to 6.2% (New York Times,
5/9/87, p. 1)

   Israel represses internal critics
   Israeli police shut down the Alternative Information
Center in Jerusalem for allegedly supporting Palestinian
terrorism. No evidence of armed struggle by the group was
available in the New York Times article (2/18/87, p. 6)
   The police seized documents and copying machines.
   The center is composed of Jews and Arabs critical of the
Israeli human rights record.
   At the same time, Israel banned visitors including
journalists from towns in the occupied West Bank territory.
(Ibid.)

   Soviets suffer in "their Vietnam"
   30,000 Soviet soldiers have reportedly died in fighting in
Afghanistan. (New York Times, 2/18/87, p. 7) For those who
say that the Soviets will move in where the U.S. pulls out,
we say let them and they'll pay the consequences of the
hatred of peoples in their anti-imperialist struggle.

   Homelessness rises
   The U.S. conference of Mayors reported that homelessness
increased by an average of 31% in 29 major cities.
   Estimates of homelessness range from 250,000 by the Reagan
administration to 3 million by the Committee for Creative
Non-Violence. (Los Angeles Times, 5/10/87, p.4)

   Robert Dube was a phony
   South African police recruited Robert Dube to pose as a
militant student anti-apartheid leader to infiltrate the
Soweto Youth Congress and the African National Congress
underground. Dube toured the West to give speeches. Charles
Mabasa and Vusi Gqoba were also police informers that had
high responsibility in the ANC. All six national leaders of
the Congress of South African Students (COSAS) were
informers. (Los Angeles Times, 5/6/87, p. 1)
   MIM provides this information as a reminder that a certain
amount of paranoia is justified.

   U.S. gets further into Gulf war
   Having supplied arms and military intelligence to the
participants in the Iran-Iraq war, the U.S. imperialists were
not content. Now they want to put American flags on Kuwaiti
oil ships, so that if Iran attacks the Kuwaiti ships, it will
be attacking the U.S. flag.
   There is an element of competition here because the
Kuwaitis have already received Soviet protection for some
ships.
   In addition, "Defense" Secretary Caspar Weinberger pleaded
with Arab countries to allow U.S. military bases near the
Gulf so that the U.S. could protect shipping lanes. (New York
Times, 5/25/87, p. 1)

   Seven revolutionaries already in prison
   Of the eight revolutionaries charged with sedition that
MIM Notes reported on in the last issue, seven are already in
prison. The new indictments are for bombings of corporation,
military and courthouse buildings in Westchester and various
other places in NY and Massachusetts.
   One of the eight has been convicted for killing a New
Jersey state trooper.
   "The latest indictment says the defendants describe
themselves as a 'revolutionary anti-imperialist organization'
and refer to themselves as the Sam Melville-Jonathan Jackson
Unit and the United Freedom Front."
   "Sam Melville was a radical prisoner killed in the 1971
Attica prison uprising. Jonathan Jackson was one of three San
Quentin inmates killed in 1970." (New York Times, 5/22/87, p.
8)
   As an assistant U.S. Attorney explained in regards to the
racketeering and sedition laws being used against the
defendants, "there is no restriction in the use of the
statute based upon the purpose of the enterprise." (Ibid.)
Laws passed under the guise of fighting organized crime have
ended up having far broader uses.
   Having already convicted the defendants for the bombings
and killing of the state trooper, the state pressed the new
charges just to link together previous convictions under new
charges of conspiracy.

   Reviews

   World Hunger: Twelve Myths, by Frances Moore Lappe and
Joseph Collins, Grove Press, 1986.
   This book seeks to prove that there is enough food in the
world to end world hunger, but political structures
perpetuate mass starvation.
   In a brief 149 pages, the authors bring potent facts to
bear to support numerous theories of theirs (taken from
others) that could fill several books. For example, Lappe
cites a World Bank study to show that overpopulation results
from the conditions of the poor. When the poor enjoy a secure
life, they no longer have so many children. (p.27) Another
example used to criticize export-led development is that
Kenyan export income quadrupled between 1970 and 1980, but
malnutrition increased. (p. 87) Also, Lappe and Collins make
an interesting feminist observation that where women are
central to the economy and enjoy reproductive rights, hunger
is lower. As such, women oppose the trend towards the cash-
crop economy in their own subsistence interests. (p. 90)
   Ultimately though, the book does not deserve to be on the
MIM literature list in this author's opinion because it has a
worked out line on capitalism and socialism. The Lappe and
Collins support a populist capitalism against landlord
oligarchies. They do not oppose private property, but only
want the peasants to be able to use the land as part of their
right not to be hungry. They do not oppose market society,
but they support income redistribution so that the world's
half a billion starving people can eat. (p. 81,82)
   They have praise for Nicaragua, Mondragon and China. They
side with the Eritreans. They criticize the struggle between
the East and West blocs as detracting from efforts to end
world hunger. Their line on the Soviet Union is that it is a
"statist" society.
   Lappe and Collins consciously oppose state intervention in
the market except where necessary to save the market from
statist revolution. They view "statism" as an "economic
dogma" and they support civil liberties as necessary to
ending world hunger.
   If there is such a thing as progressive capitalist
revolution against feudalism anymore, Lappe and Collins would
be spokespeople for the ascendant capitalist class. On these
grounds one could argue that the book deserves MIM's support
as part of the two-stage revolution still required in parts
of the Third World. Perhaps this review is only the beginning
of a debate within MIM about the book. If so, cast this vote
against distributing it.

   The Revolution in South Africa: An Analysis, by Azanian
Research Project, May 1986. 83pp. Send $1.50 to Boxholder, PO
Box 1854, Manhattanville Sta., NY, NY 10027.
   One of the main strengths of the pamphlet is that it has
the courage to instruct readers on the differences among the
various political organizations of the oppressed Blacks in
South Africa. For example, it points out that the Pan
Africanist Congress believes that South Africa has been
colonized by white settlers; therefore, mere democratic
integration of Black and white populations as proposed by the
ANC does not redress colonial injustice. On the other hand,
and contrary to widespread misconceptions, the PAC did
recruit white and other non-African members and would
recognize whites as part of a liberated Black ruled state.
   Particularly among ANC supporters, the rifts are almost a
taboo subject. Also, with the strength of the ANC abroad, one
gets the impression that the ANC leads all the struggles in
South Africa. This pamphlet helps dispel this political myth.
   Other strengths of the pamphlet include a brief history of
the white settler regime and indigenous struggles against it,
the economic ties to South Africa and a discussion of the
failure of reformism both in South Africa and the United
States.
   Among small objections to this pamphlet is that it has no
bibliography or footnotes. Like much revolutionary
literature, it leaves readers with no way of arriving at the
same analysis independently.
   Politically, it does not explain why the dissolution of
the South African Communist Party was a cowardly act (p 18).
One must know whether or not the party members' work
continued covertly once the party was outlawed.
   Also, the pamphlet takes a gut-level Marxist-Leninist
position that armed struggle is the only way to power in
South Africa, but it criticizes the ANC for its military
strategy without treating the question of what is militarily
possible in South Africa. People's War is of course the
correct principle, but the pamphlet does not prove that given
the chance that the ANC would not take up People's War.
   Finally, although it was written merely a year ago, it is
already out-of-date thanks to the intensity of struggle in
South Africa. It is the fault of MIM Notes for not reviewing
this work earlier.The line of the authors of the pamphlet is
perhaps best described as independent Marxist-Leninist. The
sole reference to the international situation beyond
criticizing Soviet revisionism is a supportive reference to
revolutions in Albania, China and Vietnam.
   Direct M-L leadership of mass movements: Is it
appropriate?
   Concretely, it is perhaps most significant that the
pamphlet calls for Marxist-Leninist leadership of the Azanian
solidarity movement in the United States. It correctly notes
that the leadership of the current anti-apartheid movement is
liberal/reformist.
   MIM's experience is that the position that there must be
Marxist-Leninist leadership of solidarity movements is
effectively liquidationist. MIM arose out of anti-apartheid
struggles in Cambridge first and foremost, in addition to
anti-militarist and other struggles.
   It became apparent to MIM members through years of
political practice that reformism has a natural basis of
support in the United States. That means there is a material
basis for reformism in the anti-apartheid movement which can
not be struggled away by revolutionaries in single-issue
groups. We found it necessary to form an independent
organization to further unleash various mass movements held
back by groups with majorities favoring a go-slow, don't-
alienate-anyone approach.
   The difficulty is simple to explain: Where there is no
vanguard party to organize the organizers, revolutionary
leadership of single-issue groups will not magically appear.
Only where outside revolutionary pressure and influences
exist will single-issue groups (and the larger mass
movements) move in a militant direction.
   Moreover, the masses often resent direct tutoring by
Marxist-Leninists in single-issue groups. They would like
time to work out their own positions, but Marxist-Leninists
in such solidarity and anti-militarist groups already know
the situation, what to do about it and what urgent tactics
are required at the moment. Sections of the masses will
retreat from political activity altogether while they
consider whether or not they can buy the outlook of the
Marxist-Leninists in a wholesale fashion. Many also detect
that they are at an inferior level of knowledge compared with
experienced Marxist-Leninist activists, and come to consider
their own efforts as not worthwhile. All these problems make
for bad intra-group dynamics wherever there is a strong,
nuts-and-bolts directing role of Marxist-Leninists.
   Not to mention accusations concerning "front groups,"
exploitation of single-issue groups, and the very real
temptation of right opportunism in single-issue groups, the
ultimate problem is that there is no strong vanguard party to
work with even if various activists do respond to the
revolutionary line! It becomes only a matter of time before
revolutionaries in the single-issue group make serious errors
in handling non-revolutionaries (usually out of impatience
and a definite and somewhat legitimate sense that they know
better) and suppressing the very movement they intended to
unleash! The single-issue organizers receiving Marxist-
leninist tutoring will burn out or drop out from a lack of
understanding the overall political situation.
   The line of the pamphlet is admirable in that it clearly
advocates close knowledge of the mass movements in the United
States. It is better to make this sort of liquidationist
error than to retreat to the irrelevance of armchair
theorizing. After all, as Mao said, practice is principle
over theory. At this point agitational and propaganda
practices are principle over theoretical practices.
   In many ways, the dispersal of MIM from its base in the
mass movements of the Boston area turned out to be a good
thing. Dispersal forced MIM to find "profitable" ways of
investing time and resources outside of local mass movements.
This led it to a more firmly international and even national
outlook.
   To the extent that MIM consolidates as a party, it will be
able to unleash mass movements all the more effectively.
While it consolidates an organization of organizers, MIM
should never forget its roots in the mass movements and the
lessons of those experiences.

   CORRESPONDENCE
   Editor's note: as someone who literally refused to attend
rallies in Washington, DC or anywhere else because of all the
work that needed to be done in the Cambridge area, I would
like to confess a conversion of sorts. After MIM dispersed
from Cambridge, I came to learn more and more what needed to
be done nationally and internationally. Although we don't now
whether or not the following letter is genuine and not a joke
from a foreign country (because it's our first
correspondence), letters like it convinced me that there is
work to be done on an international as well as local plane.
Our energies and resources can not go solely to local
struggles.

   Dear Comrades,
   I am writing to you on behalf of the above-mentioned
Revolutionary Marxist-Leninist organization--X X--which was
recently established with a view to remedying the historical
absence of any other local organization with a similar
ideological orientation. We hope to publicize our appearance
on the local political scene through the publication of a
declaration of principles which will also contain all the
requisite information as to our policy, both local and
foreign, as approved by our Congress.
   As work upon the drafting of this declaration of
principles is intended to begin shortly, we would greatly
appreciate your movement...to forward us with a copy of your
declaration of principles or manifesto. Such a document would
help us to formulate as clearly as possible our ideological
position and, thereby, clarify any difficulties which may
arise in this regard when drafting our aforesaid declaration
of principles.
   --A comrade from an incipient organization in another
country

   Socialist greetings comrades!
   I've received MIM Notes #28. What I need is some books,
mainly on the United States. I'm presently out of funds, so
if possible send the following free of charge: 1) Black
Panthers Speak. 2) Seize the Time by Bobby Seale 3) The
Weatherman 4) A People's History of the United States by
Howard Zinn.
   [The above books are in shortage except the Zinn book
which is still in print but expensive. Anyone who has access
to these books in damaged or used or new condition should
contact MIM. Indeed, anyone who finds bargain deals on any
books on our literature list should contact MIM. Shopping is
probably not the strong point of most communists, but to
provide everyone who needs them these books we really must
become good book shoppers!--ed.]
   I'm trying to learn about this country's history, so those
books are very important. I'm mainly concerned with the armed
struggle that took place in this country. Anything on
military strategy will be of great help. New, used, it
doesn't matter, just readable, OK? Also if you know a book by
George Jackson, I'd very much appreciate it.
   Your brother in the struggle....All power to the people,
by any means necessary! --A prisoner from the Northeast

   Greetings comrade,
   I hope when this epistle reaches its destination it finds
one remaining strong and striving for the liberation of all
oppressed people. I'm a 19 year old revolutionary of African
descent being held hostage in the state of X. Any literature
sent to me will be passed around and shared with the next
brother to enlighten him to our plight and struggle. Power to
the People! --A prisoner from the Midwest

   Dear MIM Distributors,
   I am writing as a poor comrade in prison needing
literature to study and further my grasp of the Revolutionary
Internationalist Movement. [That is our old name which is
still on some of our literature. A different association has
taken the name RIM, so we now call ourselves MIM--ed.]
   I don't have any money to really get the books in your
book list. The ones I desire to read are expensive
considering my difficult stay at this prison camp hell hole
called XX. Do you have any damaged or old copies of the books
and papers I will list below? Also, could you send me another
list of books like the first you sent me in case I can get
some money from somewhere in the future?
   Comrades in revolutionary theory and struggle unite in
Marxist-Leninist Maoist thought and action!--another comrade
from the Northeast

   [Lists eleven items from the list, most of which MIM can
not afford to send at the moment--ed.]

   Dear Sirs Comrades!
   I'm a prisoner of USA neo-fascism in XX harassed and
abused routinely so I would enjoy writing an article to you
if possible.
   Yours in the struggle--Another comrade from the Northeast

   Comrades:
   I wish to thank you very much for the three books that you
sent me. [Lists three books in Spanish--ed. Also, most
letters from prisoners are this polite, but communists who
recognize the duty of enabling everyone to have the weapons
of Marxism-Leninism Mao Zedong Thought need no thanks.
Communists must struggle to find literature for prisoners as
in the two requests above.]
   I have already begun to devour them avidly! Please let me
know if you have any more works of this nature in Spanish
especially any work written by the great Chairman Mao.
   I must tell you that I was quite ignorant of dialectical
materialism and do not now claim to be in the least
knowledgeable as I need to be. However, upon reading the
Cinco Tesis Filosoficas de Mao Tsetung I have already gained
a greater understanding of an appreciation for it. Study,
study, and more study! That is what is required. I will
continue to absorb this only true and workable philosophy and
correct all of my previously erroneous ideas of life by
applying these principles to my life...and anxiously await
the day of my release to the "free" world and the return to
my country, whereupon I will unite my efforts with those of
the already existing group or groups who espouse these same
ideals. I am convinced, now more than ever, that Marxism-
Leninism Mao Zedong Thought is the only correct way to live
and I know that one day, as Marx said, that "what the
bourgeois capitalist produces...is his own grave...The
elimination of the bourgeoisie capitalist, and the triumph of
the proletariat are equally inevitable." (Carlos Marx=El
Capital)
   This inevitable decline of the bourgeoisie is apparent
more and more every day. So too is the obvious victory of the
proletariat. All over the world people are shaking off their
shackles of oppression and beginning to see the light--not
the metaphysical light of ignorance, but the true and correct
light of Marxism-Leninism Mao Zedong Thought. The
revisionists of the Soviet Union and China have temporarily
set us back by their treacheries, but with continual
struggle, we can and will be victorious once more. On to
victory and freedom!
   Viva el Marxismo-Leninismo Pensamiento Mao Tsetung!
   Hasta La Victoria Siempre!
   Venceremos!
   --"A comrade in chains" from the South