*----------------------------------------------------------* | | | x x x x x x x xx xxx xxx xxx | | xx xx x xx xx xx x x x x x x Issue #18 | | 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 12/21/85 | | x x x x x x x xx x xxx xxx | | | |----------------------------------------------------------| | Newspaper of the Maoist Internationalist Movement | *----------------------------------------------------------* APARTHEID DOOMED IMMIGRATION TIDE TURNING AGAINST APARTHEID Since the riots in South Africa in Soweto in 1976, the number of jittery white South Africans who left the country equalled the number attracted by opportunities to exploit. Today, according to the Wall Street Journal, the tide has turned. ("Pulling Out: White South Africans Flee Country, Fearing A Grim Future There, 12/13/85, p. 1) 10% of South Africa's white population says it will get out by 1990. Many more are making efforts to find the means of selling houses and collecting up money to leave. Apparently, many would like to leave, but the position of the South African currency (rand) is so poor that whites do not have the means of selling their property and going anywhere else where they would have the hope of regaining their former lifestyle. (Ibid.) At the same time, South African businesses are failing at a record rate, twice that of four years ago. ("Bankruptcies Rise in South Africa As Strife Undercuts Economy," Wall Street J., 12/20/85, p. 19) This is a good lesson in dialectics: even when the capitalists think they have it so good, their success in exploitation unexpectedly blows up in their face. The pressure of the Black revolt supported broadly in world public opinion is too much for the white population of South Africa, which owes its middle class status to the sweat of Black laborers. The emigration of the whites leaves the white settler government in that much more of a desperate position. Already white men serve a three year mandatory service in the armed forces, which have duties in sabotaging Black African nations all over the southern half of the continent. In the latest action, South African troops moved further into Angola in pursuit of Namibian guerrillas trying to wrest control of their country from South African colonialism. (Wall Street Journal, 12/20/85) There will be a growing shortage of people to hold down the Black people. Apartheid is wearing thin. NEW RIGHT ORGANIZES WHILE REAGAN STALLS ON SOUTH AFRICA Joining the efforts of Jerry Falwell and Rev. Moon to rally public opinion to prop up South Africa is Accuracy in Media. Accuracy in Media is a New Right watchdog of the press that sees a liberal bias in most news-reporting. The extreme isolation of apartheid in public opinion has driven the New Right into desperate exhortations. Reed Irvine, who is chairman of Accuracy in Media published an editorial in USA Today that supports the ban of foreign mass media from South Africa and restrictions on all journalists covering riots. At the moment two British TV cameramen are being charged by a Johannesburg court for inciting riot. (Wall Street Journal, 12/20/85, p.1) In characteristic New Right fashion, the editorial nowhere makes the obligatory criticisms of apartheid that even Reagan makes to cover up his lack of effective action to end U.S. support for the white settler regime in South Africa (Azania). Reed Irvine comes right out for repression of coverage of oppression with the excuse that the Soviets do it, so why can't we? By contrast, even the South African ambassador, also published in the wonderful pages of USA Today--who next, the KKK?--felt it necessary to put up window-dressing. "Since 1980, South Africa has taken concrete steps to demonstrate what it has repeatedly declared--that the era of white domination has ended and political participation must be extended to blacks." Meanwhile, at the Wall Street Journal, disguised fascism won more air time. Accuracy in Academia, a spin off of Accuracy in Media, which has connections to the John Birch Society received top billing in a piece by David Brock on the Journal's opinion page. (A few days later the lead story for the Wall Street Journal was the new-found credibility of the Rev. Moon's newspaper--the Washington Times.) David Brock credits Marxism in several ways by his criticism. "About 250 ethnic-studies programs now exist on campuses, and women's history, written mostly by neo-Marxist feminists, is an accepted fixture at many schools." (Wall Street Journal, 12/12/85) Furthermore, Marxism's relevance or "present-mindedness is a sharp break with traditional intellectual standards." (Ibid.) In addition to attacking minorities generally, Brock makes the disgusting comparison of university professors to people in the government. Brock comments that the Marxist professors condone the heckling of Jeanne Kirkpatrick and Caspar Weinberger. Brock sees the Marxist professors as a major danger or source of repression in society. As usual for New Right mythology, free speech is for people in the United States Government and not for people who criticize the government, never mind the Salvadorans and South African Blacks, who Weinberger & Co. murder regularly. Recently at a campaign puff speech, Bush retorted hecklers by saying "try that in Lenin [he means Red] Square"--in other words, be thankful for free speech and shut up! To George Bush and the rest of the Reagan Administration, MIM NOTES makes the following offer. "Go to South Africa!" JERRY FALWELL SUPPORTS MARCOS TOO Lest anyone think fundamentalist leader Jerry Falwell does not consistently support semi-fascist regimes like South Africa, Jerry Falwell announced that Americans should support the dictator of the Philippines--Ferdinand Marcos. The United States already plans a $900 million military aid package in return for continuing use of two military bases in the Philippines. (Detroit Free Press, 11/12/85, p. 4a) Question: With the divine backing of Falwell and Moon, why does Marcos make "his most important decisions on days that either have the number Ô7Õ in them or are divisible by 7?" (Chicago Tribune, 11/10/85, p. 7) INDEPENDENCE YET TO BE WON IN COUNTRIES BORDERING SOUTH AFRICA Lesotho receives over 50% of its national income from miners who "migrate" to South Africa. Mozambique has 60,000 workers in S. Africa in addition to important port and hydroelectricity agreements. As a result, Mozambique and Zimbabwe support economic sanctions, but can not afford to alienate S. Africa in practice. South Africa keeps all of its neighbors in line partly by threatening to expell foreign workers. (Detroit Free Press, 11/12/85, p. 1) THE BEAT GOES ON Cubans are fighting the U.S.-backed contras in Nicaragua according to Secretary of State Schultz. There are 2,500 Cuban military advisers in Nicaragua according to Schultz. (Detroit Free Press, 12/7/85, p. 1) Meanwhile, private American citizens are getting paid $1,000 a month to fight with the contras; Spanish neo-Nazis are also recruited as mercenaries and somewhere somehow the contras bought the capability to shoot down Soviet-made helicopters. Although Sandinista leader Ortega offered the USA to send home the Cubans if the U.S. ends aid to the contras, the superpower contention in Nicaragua is heading up a notch. Schultz hinted that more military aid will be next for the contras if the Cubans continue their role in Nicaragua. AMERICAN MEDIA DISCOVERS SOVIET MEDIA During the past year, Soviet television has shown seens of combat in Afghanistan. The coverage depicts the dangers and the pursuit of Afghanis by Soviet troops, who occupy Afghanistan. Like the American media, the Soviet media portrays the Soviet Union favorably. Soldiers in Afghanistan are seen as doing patriotic duty to the Soviet motherland. Grenada or Afghanistan, you be the judge: "The primary purpose of such reports has been to invest a little-known and little- understood conflict with some glory and patriotism." ("Suddenly, Soviet Media Discover Afghanistan," Detroit Free Press, 11/12/85, p. 7a) YEAR PASSES ON BHOPAL DISASTER--DECEMBER 3RD, 1984 The Union Carbide chemical gas disaster in Bhopal, India that left over 1,750 people dead is still in court. Now Union Carbide, threatened with take-over bids by companies that promise to run exploitation without being caught, is taking the classic blame the victim approach. "The Indians were to blame. 'When we put [the plant] there, we were outside the city,' Mr. Anderson says, but he adds that the Indians allowed the people to settle around it. 'That's what they do in the Third World.'" (Wall Street Journal, 12/26/85, p. 22) Union Carbide's anti-Third World consciousness is revealing. "It could never happen here," said Chairman Anderson to the Congress. However, on August 11th, another leak developed, this time in W. Virginia, where 135 people were injured. (Ibid.) In the American case, chairman Anderson suggested that the 135 are hypochondriacs. "'I think that if we had a release of Aperge [at a plant], 135 would go to the hospital.'" (Ibid.) Now Union Carbide claims that the Bhopal disaster was sabotage by Sikh militants. (Ibid.) On the upbeat side, the Wall Street Journal published cheery reports that freedom of exploitation is as great as ever in Mexico, India, South Korea and elsewhere. "'The disaster didn't result in a generalized attack on multinationals,' says Edward Stumpf, the commercial counselor at the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi." (Ibid.) In case anyone was having second thoughts, the race for profit is still on. He who hesistates will lose a take-over bid. ANY CAPITALIST CAN BE SENATOR The 33 senators elected in 1984 spent an average of almost $3 million in their campaigns. House members averaged $288,636. (Detroit Free Press, 12/8/85) MILITARY BUILD-UP PROFITABLE The Navy released a study that shows that capitalists make more profits on "defense" contracts than in non-"defense" work. Some of the Pentagon's 22 major contractors make as much as 20% more profit on their war supplies than on other commodities. Overall, in 1984 the profit rate for defense work was 9.2% compared to a rate of 7.7 to 8.0% for non- military sales. As measured by return on assets, General Dynamics made 49% on its military aerospace work while military shipbuilding yielded a 44% return. At Boeing, 90% of all profits comes from the Pentagon. (Wall Street Journal, "Defense Contracts Yield Higher Profits Than Private Work, Navy Study Says.") The report shows that the higher profits went along with the recent acceleration in military spending. MERGER MANIA CONTINUED In the cut-throat competition to outproduce and undercut competitors, companies find it most convenient to buy competitors and spread into new areas. An ever smaller number of capitalists runs ever larger pieces of the economy. Texaco has lost two legal battles in its takeover of Getty Oil. Penzoil has charged Texaco with dirty dealing. Forced to choose between two members of the capitalist class, who should the government award? In this case, Texaco was apparently lax in pulling government strings. ("Courting Disaster: How Texaco Turned Big Takeover Victory Into Bigger Legal Loss," Wall Street Journal, 12/20/85, p.1) Penzoil has won a $11.1 billion judgement against Texaco in court. General Electric acquired RCA for $6.28 billion. (Wall Street Journal, 12/12/85, p. 3) GAF offered $4.13 billion for an additional number of shares to takeover control of Union Carbide. (Wall Street Journal, 12/13/85, p. 5) READERS CRITICIZE AND PRAISE MIM NOTES MIM NOTES MAKES SELF-CRITICISM In using MIM NOTES as an unofficial tool of collective organizing, MIM has sought reactions to MIM NOTES from all who read them. Carrying out the mass line, MIM has collected up your opinions and is now going to present them back as a comprehensive critique of MIM NOTES. Most controversially, MIM NOTES started to append typeset editorials of a radical/liberal nature that had to do with a number of topics. Praise for the editorials is universal in that they clearly serve the masses in a very broad, informative and comprehensible fashion. The editorials are also in service of mass organizations and liberation struggles that Maoists would want to serve. However, as one person said, "this stuff is worthwhile, but it is not revolutionary." With this simple criticism, it is clear that MIM should continue to serve the masses, but not confuse that service work with MIM NOTES as a collective organizer for the creation of a party. Generally, MIM NOTES has been attacked for not doing enough theoretical work and for not connecting the news to a grasp of Marxism-Leninism Mao Zedong Thought. In response to these criticisms, MIM NOTES will continue to distribute obscure editorials that are in the service of the peoples in Eritrea, East Timor or those that the government comes down on in Central America solidarity organizations. On the other hand, radical/liberal editorials are not to be attached to MIM NOTES and MIM asks that the typeset editorials not be distributed as part of MIM NOTES. In this way, a political error can be chocked up as good experience. As for other criticisms of MIM NOTES, the editors make self-criticism for laxness. The pace of publication is not fast enough; MIM THEORY, the essays for working out programmatic positions and theories has been neglected. The only way that the problems with MIM's publications can be overcome is through reliance on broad numbers of people. Once again, we at MIM call on you the reader to support the publication with articles and news sources and through distribution and contributions. Distribution is the key link because only through distribution can the power of Mao's mass line be realized. Only then will enough political resources come together to make MIM NOTES what it should be.