As most of you already know, Mumia was transferred to SCI-Mahanoy in upstate PA. more than a month ago, directly after Phila. prosecutor Seth Williams announced that he wasn t pursuing the death penalty in Mumia s case.  This meant that Mumia s sentence went from death to life in prison without parole.  Since arriving at SCI-Mahanoy, Mumia has been in the hole, on AC (administrative custody) status, solitary confinement, even though there is no valid reason for him to be in the hole.  The conditions are tortuous and much worse than the conditions on death row.  These conditions have been condemned by the United Nations as tortuous.  Since arriving at Mahanoy, Superintendent John Kerestes and his staff have gone from one thing to the next to vent their fury and racism on Mumia.  First they claimed to be waiting on paperwork that Mumia s sentence is a life sentence and not death, but Mahanoy has no death chamber so Mumia would never be sent there if he still had a death sentence.  When people saw right through that, Kerestes said that Mumia has to cut his hair before going into general population, now he s saying that Mumia has to let them take his blood (something Mumia really doesn t want to do) before he can be in general population.  Mumia has been in prison for 30 years so why this sudden demand for his blood now.  It is crystal clear that Kerestes and his staff are doing everything they can to keep Mumia in the hole under these tortuous conditions, and it s all rooted in racism and their fury at all the world-wide attention that stays focused on Mumia, after all these years.  They re furious that their plan to legally kill Mumia ain t working.  They re torturing Mumia for the same reason the Romans tortured Jesus Christ, because he won t go along with the lies of the system and racism.  Prison policy has nothing to do with what they re doing to Mumia and everybody should be clear on this.  We must be vigilant over Mumia, including organizations that can visit him on an official basis.  We must continue to flood Supt. Kerestes with calls and emails.  Mumia is up in serious racist KKK territory and we must have his back.  We ve brought Mumia too far to get lax now.  Remember, the power of the people is a force to be reckoned with when the power of the people stays consistent and united.

International Concerned Family And Friends Of Mumia Abu Jamal and
The Move Organization

HOW TO TAKE ACTION:
Write, Phone, and Email the Secretary of Corrections. Demand that Mumia be transferred to General Population! And demand the shutdown of RHU (Restricted Housing Unit) Torture Blocks!
John Wetzl, Secretary Department of Corrections
2520 Lisburn Road, P.O. Box 598 Camp Hill, PA 17001-0598
(717) 975-4928
Email: ra-contactdoc@pa.gov

Write, Phone, and Email the Superintendent:
John Kerestes, Superintendent
SCI Mahanoy
301 Morea Road
Frackville, PA 17932
(570) 773-2158 – Fax: (570) 783-2008

Write, Phone, and Email the Philadelphia DA. Demand that they petition the court to free Mumia, based on suppression of evidence. They have buried evidence and the truth for 30 years. The police corruption and the frame up of Mumia must be exposed.
Seth Williams, DA Philadelphia
Three South Penn Square
Philadelphia, PA 19107-3499
(215) 686-8000
Email: DA_Central@phila.gov

Finally, send Mumia a note or a card:
Mumia Abu-Jamal
AM 8335
SCI Mahanoy
301 Morea Road
Frackville, PA 17932

Click here for the petition

The Jericho Amnesty Movement (JAM) is in solidarity with the Occupy Wall Street Movement (OWS)!  We come to you at a time when the corporations, which run our government, place profit over people, self-interest over justice, and oppression over equality.  As we gather together in solidarity to express opposition to mass injustice, we must not lose sight of what brought us together. We want all the people who feel wronged by the corporate forces of the world to know that we are your allies.  We acknowledge the reality that the future of the human race requires the cooperation of its members; that our system must protect our rights, and that upon corruption of that system, it is up to the individuals to protect our own rights, and those of our neighbors. Corporations do not seek consent to extract wealth from the people and the Earth. No true liberty is attainable when the process is determined by corporate economic forces.

Those who are imprisoned are locked up because of the same economic forces that fund Wall Street.  For example, there are private prisons and ICE detention centers that are run by companies such as GEO Corporation who are funded by big banks such as Wells Fargo.  There is also a struggle to free people who are incarcerated for their political beliefs and actions and who have resisted this monstrous economic system. And it is the same economic system that locks them up. This is our struggle for u.s.-held Political Prisoners (PPs) and Prisoners of War (POWs) and invites your participation.

OWS has and will continue to have Political Prisoners itself as long as there is a state to repress THE PEOPLE!  OWS has taken the initiative to confront the state head on just as the PPs and internal POWs who fought and continue to fight from captivity the good fight for Indigenous rights, Black Liberation, Puerto Rican independence, Chicano/Mexican people, Hawaiian sovereignty or Earth and Animal Liberation. These revolutionary causes all intersect in confronting state repression and addressing racial and socio-economic inequalities.  Just as today’s bankers and corporate/political elite are committing a grave injustice by turning a blind eye and deaf ear to the grievances of the 99%, the majority of the Amerikkkan body politic did the same thing to those young people who were at the forefront of the popular revolutionary movements of the 60’s, 70’s and subsequently. It is time to right those wrongs.

The Americas have been colonized for the past 500 years. In other words Wall Street itself has already been colonized. This means that the indigenous lands of the Native people also have a first priority.  We decolonize because we know this land is already occupied. We decolonize because communities of color have been on the front lines of the 99% here and globally for centuries.  We decolonize because the system is not broken; it is working exactly the way it was intended. We decolonize because any movement that doesn’t acknowledge this replicates oppression.  International law recognizes people’s right to struggle for decolonization.

10-15-2011 marked the 45th anniversary of the date Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton wrote the first draft of the Black Panther Party for Self Defense (BPP) 10-Point Program and platform. That program became representative of the aspirations of many revolutionary groups of that era who were fully committed to eradicating the rampant injustices inherent in the bogus Amerikkan capitalist system, as they were dedicated to ushering in a social order of genuine peace and prosperity for all children, women and men transcending all class, cultural, ethnic and racial distinctions. They were driven by a set of standards and values rooted in genuine brotherhood and sisterhood. Likewise, they were motivated by a desire for an equitable distribution of wealth and a fair economic, political and social system; not at all unlike the one envisioned by those who are part of today’s OWS movement. Some lost their lives in that struggle in the u.s. domestic war known as COINTELPRO, such as Fred Hampton.  Others were forced into exile, such as Assata Shakur.  Others have been imprisoned for decades, such as Leonard Peltier, Oscar Lopez Rivera and Sundiata Acoli.

The role of the police in many of the occupations and related actions has been one is one of brute force, bullying, tasering and jailing.   We have seen them carry out, as ordered, various forms of brutality, political repression and other forms of state sanctioned terrorism.  Although the police are working people, for the state, we must remember that there might be potential allies within the police and intelligence services and probably a good number of them would rather not be doing their jobs.  Perhaps they would rather be farmers, ranchers, or small storeowners.  Moreover, all are not unconscious of the difficult moral and psychological sacrifices they make to carry out their job.  They really are human, despite the uniform that many hide behind. We can only hope that those people will break their own shackles and rid themselves of the galling yoke of capital.  And we must help them do that by defending our own human rights and those of others locked down during previous periods of struggle for equality, justice and human rights!

OWS has rightly refused to tie its movement to one or another demand that the system could try to satisfy while ignoring the fundamental problems that produce such symptoms. However OWS would be justified in raising the demand for freedom of those who have tread the path of resistance and, remain, to this day, unjustifiably imprisoned for pursuing the very same basic human rights that are at the center of the platform of today’s popular movement. We express our deep sense of mutual support and the spirit of mutual aid.

We are our own liberators! Free all Political Prisoners and Prisoners of War!
The Jericho Amnesty Movement 12/16/11

Jericho Co-Chairs
Jihad Abdulmumit richmondjericho@gmail.com
Paulette d’auteil albq.jericho@gmail.com

In 1945, the United Nations was created in the aftermath of the Second World War. Today a new world order is being established in the wake of a heavy sacrifice of African lives – after the shock of thousands of deaths registered in Ivory Coast, with 1,200 inhabitants of Duékoué massacred, and dozens of thousands of casualties in Libya, despite the fact NATO is still insulting our intelligence by claiming that there were no casualties from their bombing campaign, which included 26,323 sorties, 9,658 air strikes, 7,700 bombs and missiles fired by NATO on the Libyan people, with the complicity of the United Nations that was meant to protect them.

The British anti-war organization Stop the War Coalition certified the use by NATO of weapons of mass destruction in Libya through bombs and missiles containing the infamous DU (depleted uranium) in order to kill as many people as possible. Daniele Cardetta in the Italian newspaper Articolo3 reported that up to 60,000 people were killed. Furthermore, the Italian newspaper Nibiru2012 concluded that 60,000 deaths out of the Libyan population of 6 million means 1 percent of the entire population was killed by NATO in Libya. That figure would be equal to almost 3 million American citizens killed by foreign powers using unconventional bombs.

Instead of opening an inquiry into these war crimes, the United Nations looked elsewhere towards Abidjan in search of a so-called evil leader, Ivory Coast President Gbagbo. Given all this, China decided to take action by setting up a new world order. This article will tell you how:

1) The Chinese yuan to replace the U.S. dollar

China cannot set up a new world order without being the most powerful country in the world. There have been several claims in the past suggesting that China was the greatest power in the world. It is true indeed, but what many do not realize is that as long as the USA is able to print its money, the dollar, to serve the whole planet, which is desperately waiting for it to trade, the USA has an unfair financial advantage over any potential challenger to its throne.

And despite its true economic balance, the strategic position of its currency unconditionally seats the USA as the greatest power in the world. The potential perversity of the financial lever has been downplayed by many actors for many years.

But one turning point changed the game, and this was the two crises in Ivory Coast and Libya, where the USA and its European allies pressed the monetary lever to silence their current foes. By abusing international law, they went as far as first to freeze the assets of Ivory Coast and later Libya. They also decided to close down all private European banks operating in Ivory Coast without the agreement of the local government.

It was that new type of war initiated by the West and tested twice in Africa that alerted China, which thereby learned that it could not afford to wait any longer to create and drive the new world order and that in order to achieve that goal, it was necessary to put an end to the hegemony of the U.S. dollar as the reference currency worldwide.

It was during the war against Libya that China managed in June 2011 to convince Russia not to use dollars any more but the Chinese currency instead for their trades. It will be the same with African countries, where, for most, since the assassination of the Libyan leader and the delaying of the common African currency initially due to be released in 2016, the Chinese yuan, which is still not convertible, is gradually becoming the exchange currency with China, which is since 2010 the premiere trading partner of the African continent.

In Latin America, the Chinese initiative is welcomed with open arms by countries that are fed up with the arrogance of their powerful northern neighbour. In Venezuela, for instance, President Hugo Chavez went so far as to claim back all its gold reserves from Western countries that had been stored there for decades.

But the most difficult is yet to come: convincing a country under a U.S. military occupation for more than 60 years to join the new world order that China has decided to set up. The breakthrough eventually happened on Christmas Day this year during the official visit of the Japanese Prime Minster to Beijing, when an agreement was found to bypass the dollar.

This means that the second and the third greatest economic powers, China and Japan, will use the Chinese yuan for their exchanges. Tokyo’s U-turn can be explained by the military weakness of the West highlighted by cacophony and obstacles, especially financial ones, encountered during the Libyan war to topple Muammar Qaddafi, which lasted seven months.

The direct consequence of this event was that Tokyo knew that in the event of a military conflict with China, the USA would not be in a position to help them – hence the need to seek peace now and stay under the umbrella of Beijing. South Korea and India will soon join Brazil as part of this new camp.

This means that the second and the third greatest economic powers, China and Japan, will use the Chinese yuan for their exchanges. South Korea and India will soon join Brazil as part of this new camp.

After the vote of South Africa and Nigeria in favor of a United Nations resolution to trigger a war against an African country, are these two countries trustworthy enough to join the new world order that is being formed around China?

2) The strategic alliance with Russia

One cannot lead the world without a strong military alliance. It has been ages since specialists mentioned a new world governance driven by the USA and China named G2. For the West, it was a trade-off that would have meant it would not miss the waves of change of the 21st century, as it was represented in the so-called G2 by one of its allies, the USA. And so forth.

Because of a stupid and unjust war against Libya, it is all finished. That war has begotten a new G2, but in a new form that nobody would have predicted, a military G2 between Russia and China. Indeed, these two countries, because of what they called unfair aggression against Libya, have decided to reinforce their collaboration in various strategic sectors with the ultimate goal to stop the wicked West.

The celebration of 10 years of friendship between the two countries in Moscow from June 16-18, 2011, was transformed in a war council to launch the new G2. The West, which was hoping to steal African oil reserves starting with the Libyans’ to attempt to enforce a change on Chinese economic policy, will have to review its strategy, as the new G2 has already found another playing ground.

Indeed, Russia will become the major energy supplier to China; this will allow Russia to optimize the risk and the impact of Africa in its supplies and for Russia to be able to overlook its main client, Europe, without which Russia was unable to secure significant financial reserves for its growth. Therefore, the war in Libya has become a bottleneck for Europe.

Indeed, Europe thought that it could use unfair means to control African oil and gas in the long term; however, Europe is now facing blackmail from Russia for its gas supplies, as the tap could be shut down at any moment, especially in the winter. The new agreements with China allow Moscow to sever its gas supplies with the West for months without risking any financial penalty. As the authorities are saying in Moscow, “With the Chinese, we will have enough to overlook the West.”

Furthermore, after the new agreement signed by the Chinese president during that visit, the premiere consumer of energy in the next 20-30 years will become a challenger to the West as it cannot negotiate the price of oil as before; rather, it will have to prepare itself to pay a premium rate for its gas. And after the recent agreements between Russia and Algeria to form a gas “warehouse,” one can expect a surge in the price of gas sent to Europe.

This completely changes the picture, as the West initially went to steal Libyan oil, they have now lost Russian gas, which is 100 times more important. Those Western leaders were very clever indeed! If our Western advisors have been giving the same type of advice to African leaders, one can quickly understand why after 50 years of independence, fed with advice like this, Africa is still lagging behind and so impoverished.

The story kicked off on Nov. 18, 2009, when the Russian news agency Novotni triumphally came up with this headline: “NIET, NIET, NIET!” to describe “No” in Chinese to the American proposition brought forward by Mr. Obama during his first visit to the Middle Kingdom to form together with China the so-called G2 with the goal of collectively tackling governance challenges of the 21st century.

Back then, China noticed that its plan for the world contrasted with USA’s and that it could not see any similarity between the two countries on many hot topics, including the Iran crisis and the problem with North Korea. For Americans, bombs were the best solution to all world problems, whereas China felt that bombs were the evidence of the inability to find sustainable solutions to complex issues.

The Libyan war also gave a clear indication of the new shuffling of the world around the new world order. China and Russia have decided to consult each other regularly and to have a common voice on all important diplomatic matters by always giving the priority to dialogue. The Libyan war has put an end to the way things used to be done in the 20th century, the century of mutual wars of the West, the century of colonial war in Africa and in Asia and imperial wars in South America.

The double veto of China and Russia in the Security Council on the Syrian crisis is yet more proof of the new G2, as its goal is to counteract all Western suicidal plans. The whole world can only applaud this new G2.

3) The Libyan war has forced Russia to buy even more weapons

Just four days after the beginning of the bombing campaign against Libya, it was through Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin that the West was informed on March 23, 2011, of the end of the military agreements just recently signed by the USA and Russia. Indeed, Russia was concerned about what it described as a “medieval aggression” by concluding that it was beginning to be a landmark of U.S. foreign policy: Hundreds of bombs were fired in one night on an enemy who just happened to be identified.

The worst was announced by the same Russian prime minister, who said that the USA used aircraft designed for nuclear attacks – even if the weapons were not nuclear – such as the Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit that struck civilian targets in Libya, a “friendly” country that abided by all international agreements wanted by Washington to abort all nuclear programs for civilian or military purposes.

This is true cowardice: One who makes sure that you do not have any means to defend yourself before attacking you. And Mr. Putin concluded by saying: “This is why Russia should increase its weapons.” The next day, the Russian defense ministry also announced the end of the military agreement with the USA signed a year ago.

Therefore, for the period 2011-2020, Russia will pump $665 billion into its weaponry to build the following infrastructure: five spacecraft, 21 missile defense systems, 35 bombardiers, 109 attack helicopters and three nuclear submarines that can launch nuclear missiles within 10,000 kilometers.

Therefore, from 2012, the Russian army will be equipped with new intercontinental missiles and will benefit from an investment of $2.6 billion to build advanced types of missiles by 2013. As the Italian journalist Manlio Dinucci confirmed, with the first airstrike on Tripoli launched on March 19, 2011, in the afternoon, the West put an end to the new era of the friendly agreements between Russia and the USA, symbolised on April 8, 2010, in Prague with the signing of the infamous START initiative.

Why is this terrible news for the West? Simply because the West is bankrupt. Any single dollar spent by Washington to buy weapons is actually costing them at least twice the price because it can only borrow from the markets, as there is no guarantee it will be paid back. Interest over the years will surge to the point that $1 will actually cost $4 or $5, whereas the $665 billion spent by Russia will come straight from the trading of gas or oil!

4) An even more isolated Europe

The most stupid decision made by European leaders over the last five years was to turn their back on Russia and force it to look for an alliance with China. Russia clearly showed its disagreement with the war on Libya – it even voiced its concern over the macabre project to assassinate the Libyan leader – but Europe overlooked it and instead decided to go forward with its plans to solve the Libyan crisis, thereby preferring to seal an alliance with its former friend, the USA, which also happens to be its enemy when it comes to financial matters.

From the moment that in order to bring peace in Europe, Russia cancelled the Warsaw Pact and did not veto any plan that would allow any of its strategic countries to join the European Union, the wiser decision made by European leaders would have been to ask the USA to dismiss NATO in order to build a true European army that would include Russia. Instead of doing that, they decided to humble Russia and force it to look to the East for an alliance, where it eventually found China.

This new alliance of these two powers is damaging Europe even more, as it is already a political dwarf. The mistakes of the Libyan war did the rest. Even the mere consolation by the Western media showing a small group of protesters in Moscow will not alter the new chapter of the history that is playing out without Europe.

The other consolation of humiliating an African head of state, Laurent Gbagbo of Ivory Coast – and exposing him to a European circus called the International Criminal Court – will not offer anything to Europe, as it is still surrounded by its obsolete principles and outclassed by a new world whose center has shifted to Asia. It is not an accident that Russia is deploying an important strategy in its Eastern city of Vladivostok.

Conclusion

Should Africa rejoice over this new reshaping of the world? When you are already lying on the ground, you do not fear falling down any more. In the system that was set up at the end of the Second World War, Africa, which was already under European occupation, has never really been set free despite the various projects to cover it up – one of which was the independence granted to African countries after Second World War.

Africa has nothing to lose in this new configuration of the world. One can only hope that the biggest provider of funds to various projects of the African Union, Algeria, will soon join this new circle so that one of us can carry out the will of more than a billion Africans to finally achieve sovereignty and dignity for our continent.

According to our African ancestral beliefs, the dead are not gone. They all become gods. Our dead in Abidjan, Bouaké, Duékoué, Syrte, Tripoli, Bani Walid, Zliten and so forth are gods who will look after us. Their sacrifice is offering to the whole world a new model, a new governance.

The itinerary is still very long, but we have already started the journey. So much pain has accompanied our martyrs in 2011 towards their divinity seats, they give us the lucidity to question ourselves on our future partners and identify our true friends, who just happen to be the people who are building the new world order.

The question arises now as to whether we will be united enough to take part in this new era? Are African youth sufficiently trained and aware to claim a significant part in this new world that is gradually being defined? The year 2011 has come to an end and it has been a dramatic year for Africa, but on a positive note the hated events woke up many Africans who were still in bed and snoring after a long dogmatic rest, as the Western lies were as big as an elephant.

Jean-Paul Pougala is a Cameroonian author and director of the Institute of Geostrategic Studies and professor of sociology and geopolitics at the Geneva School of Diplomacy, Switzerland. He describes his most successful book, “In fuga dalle tenebre [7]” (“Escaping from Darkness”), which is used by about 300 secondary schools in Italy, as “an autobiography of the life of an African on four continents, starting from my childhood in very deep poverty in Africa then breaking the invisible chains of modern slavery through knowledge hunting.” His email is pougala@gmail.com [8] and website is www.pougala.org [9]. Translator Franclin Foping is based in Douala, Cameroon.

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Thank each of you for such warm Birthday (Jan. 14th) greetings, they brightened my day immensely but frankly it’s hard for me to fully comprehend that i’m actually 3/4 of a Century old. That is old by any standard!

i was transferred from FCI Otisville, NY because they’re supposedly converting it into a “Sex-Offenders and Debriefed-Gang-Members” prison. Otisville population stands at around 1200 prisoners. Staff  said they planned to transfer out 500 prisoners, mostly gang members and replace them with sex offenders and debriefed gang members, i.e., prisoners who have gotten out of the gang and off the prison’s gang list as a result of them debriefing by telling what they know of their gang’s operations and pointing out other unknown gang members to the staff.

Otisville had transferred out approximately 20 gang members (1 bus load) each week for a month or more when they added “convicted murderers” to the transfer list. i departed Otisville on the 2nd busload of prisoners convicted of murder. At each stop along the way, MDC Brooklyn, NY and FDC Philly, PA the prisoners there were very welcoming and helpful altho federal men’s prison are so overcrowded that there’s a widespread chronic shortage of the most basic supplies, prisoners are literally stacked atop each other and as soon as any prisoner transfers out, another moves into his bed space that same day or the next.

At MDC Brooklyn i received a much welcomed visit from each of my long time attorneys: Florence, Soffiyah, Marisa and Joan. Attorneys can simply show up at the Detention Center and visit. Not so for family or friends, they must be on a new visit list created at the Center. None of my family or friends were able to get on my list before the week or so lapsed by which time i was long gone to the next detention center.

The same visit rules were in effect at FDC Philly, PA. After a week or so there our bus departed on a round-about trip to FCI Schuykill, PA, our final destination. The first stop was Harrisburg International Airport, PA which looked every bit like a modern day slave market. 40 to 50 bus and van loads of prisoners, mostly Black and Brown with a splash of White and smaller splashes of Red and Yellow, chained hand and foot, sat along the runway of a “Con Air” transport jet disgorging hordes of cuffed hobbling prisoners from it’s entrails.  Empty,  and refilling its belly with just as many new prisoners from the buses/vans until finally sated, it turned, waddled down the runway , belched, and lurched into the horizon.

Other buses and vans mixed and matched, switched and swapped  prisoners till each bus was loaded only with prisoners going to the same destinations across the Northeast: NY, NJ, PA, DE, MD, VA, WV; the whole operation was surrounded by a cordon of federal marshals, prison guards, state troopers and county sheriffs.

It was here that all the prisoners on my bus were switched to a bus bound for FCI Schuykill…except me. Shortly, a guard i vaguely recognized from long ago came, took me off the bus and escorted me to another filled with different prisoners. Once seated i asked where they were headed. They said “Cumberland.” My property and traveling papers continued on to Schuykill. We arrived at FCI Cumberland and i was immediately put in SHU (the Hole) because they had no papers for me. I did 10 days semi-incommunicado in “the hole” until my papers arrived and was then let  out into general population. i thank all those who expressed concern about my welfare during the transfer, particularly Mumia Abu-Jamal, Pam Africa, the Jericho Movement and numerous others. i’ve since learned that at least 5 convicted murderers who left Otisville on the bus with me were rerouted back to FCI Otisville before reaching their transfer destination. They were all White.

i and SAFC support the OWS/OCCUPY MOVEMENT and i thank them for the evolving mutual support they’ve shown at various times and places for the Jericho Movement, the Black Movement and other Movements of People of Color and the Oppressed.

–END–

The following is the outline (fleshed out) of a speech i would have delivered for BLACK AUGUST had not Hurricane Irene shut down the Compound.

1. BLACK AUGUST originated in the California prisons to honor the fallen FREEDOM FIGHTERS: GEORGE JACKSON, JONATHAN JACKSON, WILLIAM CHRISTMAS, JAMES McCLAIN and KHATARI GAULDEN. All/most were killed in the month of AUGUST, in California in the ’70s.

2. BLACK AUGUST is rooted in the wanton killing of Black prisoners by California prison guards and in those prisoners’ resistance to that lethal repression.  On Jan 13, 1970, a prison guard shot down W.L. NOLEN, CLEVELAND EDWARDS, and ALVIN “Jugs” MILLER  in the  SOLEDAD PRISON yard then let them lay where they fell until they bled to death.

3. NOLEN was a prison leader who had agitated and protested the recent past killings of WILLIAM POWELL and CLARENCE “Dopey Dan” CAUSLEY, who was a friend of GEORGE JACKSON’S.

4. So what we had in California in the ’70s was a history of Blacks being blatantly shot down by prison guards with impunity. And when it came across the radio, 2 weeks afterwards, that the guard had been exonerated of the triple killing of NOLEN, EDWARDS and MILLER, the prisoners retaliated by throwing a guard off the tier.

5. Enter GEORGE JACKSON, as he, FLEETA DRUMGO and JOHN CLUCHETTE were charged with the guard’s killing and came to be known as the SOLEDAD BROTHERS.

6. California prisoners solidified around the defense of the SOLEDAD BROTHERS and created the BLACK GUERILLA FAMILY (BGF) which was co-founded in 1970 in the SAN QUENTIN Adjustment Center by BIG JAKE, ULYSSES and LITTLE JAKE GORDON, who were all BLACK GUERILLAS who GEORGE JACKSON had spoken of that he met. JAMES “DOC” HOLIDAY was an early BGF member. Also the BLACK PANTHER PARTY spearheaded a massive Defense Campaign for the SOLEDAD BROTHERS that united the many local, separate and disparate  Defense Committees across country into a massive NATIONAL PRISON MOVEMENT.

7. Enter JONATHAN JACKSON, younger brother of GEORGE, on AUGUST 7, 1970, when he brought a duffle bag of weapons into  a Marin county court and distributed them to trial prisoners: RUCHELL MAGEE, JAMES McCLAIN and WILLIAM CHRISTMAS. They bound the judge, prosecutor and 3 jurors as the media took photos, then herded their hostages into a van and headed out of the court complex. A SWAT team was waiting and riddled the van with bullets. JONATHAN, McCLAIN, CHRISTMAS, and the JUDGE were killed, the PROSECUTOR was paralyzed and MAGEE and 3 wounded JURORS survived.

8. JONATHAN’s weapons were traced to ANGELA DAVIS: a striking, Afro-ed, PhD Prof at UCLA , open member of the COMMUNIST PARTY and regular visitor and companera to GEORGE JACKSON. ANGELA had purchased guns for JONATHAN’S use as her bodyguard but he had used those same guns at the Marin County Courthouse which triggered an immediate nationwide “womanhunt” for ANGELA. Months later she was captured in NYC and returned to Marin County to face a Capital Murder trial with RUCHELL MAGEE. The COMMUNIST PARTY initiated and orchestrated a colossal Defense Campaign on behalf of ANGELA.

9. GEORGE JACKSON took about a year to finish his book: “BLOOD IN MY EYE” and on AUGUST 21, 1971, at SAN QUENTIN prison he returned from an ATTORNEY visit with a gun supposedly concealed under his wig which the guard discovered but he was taken back into the CONTROL UNIT by GEORGE and there 3 guards and two trustees (inmates who worked for the guards) were then killed.

10. GEORGE knew the officials were mainly gunning for him so he took a vial of liquid, purported to be nitroglycerine, and bolted from the CONTROL UNIT toward the wall. A tower guard shot him in the heel and the bullet was said to have traveled thru his artery to his head, killing him instantly. The vial of liquid turned out to be battery acid. A nationwide “manhunt” went out for the young White-radical ATTORNEY, STEPHEN BINGHAM, who was suspected of providing a gun and wig to GEORGE JACKSON.

11. GEORGE’S assassination stunned and outraged the revolutionary world. His legend was such that less than 3 weeks later ATTICA PRISON erupted in rebellion, partly in protest of GEORGE JACKSON’S assassination, in which they took 10 guards hostage. NY State Troopers killed 9 guards and 31 prisoners in retaking ATTICA; 43 people died altogether.

12. Meanwhile back at SAN QUENTIN, six prisoners: FLEETA DRUMGO, DAVID GIAPPA JOHNSON, HUGO “YOGI” PINELL, LUIS BATO TALALMANTEZ, JOHNNY SPAIN AND WILLIE SUNDIATA TATE, were charged and later tried as the SAN QUENTIN 6 for the killings and assaults that arose out of the takeover of the SAN QUENTIN CONTROL UNIT. SPAIN was convicted of murder and the rest were either acquitted or convicted of assault. Of the 6, only HUGO “YOGI” PINELL remains in prison; 40 years later.

13. ANGELA and MAGEE started trial together on Capital Murder charges but  couldn’t set horses on a trial strategy and their cases were severed. ANGELA was represented by an attorney at trial and was acquitted. MAGEE represented himself at trial and was convicted of lesser charges.

14. Thirteen years after the fact, ATTORNEY STEPHEN BINGHAM surfaced, stood trial on the gun/wig smuggling charges and was acquitted.
15. Over the years the Commemoration of BLACK AUGUST has spread to prisons all across the u.s., outside to the streets and even into other countries. Today BLACK AUGUST is used to honor those original Californian fallen FREEDOM FIGHTERS  plus notable Black events that occurred in the MONTH OF AUGUST plus other deserving FREEDOM FIGHTERS who fell at different times and places thru out our long struggle for BLACK LIBERATION and SELF-DETERMINATION. Prison observances during the MONTH OF BLACK AUGUST include fasting during the daylight hours, studying revolutionary works, especially those of GEORGE JACKSON’S, working out, wearing black arm/wrist bands and refraining from boisterous and frivolous activities. But wherever BLACK AUGUST is observed: whether inside, outside or overseas, it is a time to embrace the PRINCIPLES OF UNITY, SELF-SACRIFICE, POLITICAL EDUCATION, PHYSICAL TRAINING AND RESISTANCE.

My sincerest appreciation to San Quentin 6, David Giappa Johnson, for his Oct, 2011 S.F. Bayview article, “The 40th anniversary of the Assassination of George Jackson,” which enabled me to correct some inaccuracies in my original script.

—END—

12,000 California prisoners on hunger strike

October 4, 2011
Strikers’ families denied visits, attorneys banned

by Jay Donahue

Oakland – As the renewed prisoner hunger strike enters its second week, the federal receiver’s office released information that at least 12,000 prisoners were participating during the first week. Prisoners are continuing a hunger strike that they temporarily suspended in July. Originating from Security Housing Units (SHUs) and Administrative Segregation Units (Ad-Seg and ASU) across California, prisoners held at Pelican Bay State Prison, Calipatria, Centinela, Corcoran, Ironwood, Kern Valley, North Kern, Salinas Valley, California Rehabilitation Center in Norco, Pleasant Valley State Prison, San Quentin as well as West Valley Detention Center in San Bernadino County are currently participating. Over 3,000 California prisoners held in out-of-state facilities in Arizona, Mississippi and Oklahoma have also refused food.

This corridor of the Pelican Bay SHU is the epicenter of the hunger strike. – Photo: Michael Montgomery, California Watch
“This is the largest prisoner strike of any kind in recent U.S. history,” says Ron Ahnen of California Prison Focus. “The fact that so many prisoners are participating highlights the extreme conditions in all of California’s prisons as well as the historic opportunity the  state has been given to make substantial changes to SHU and Ad-Seg policies.”

Family members of striking SHU prisoners reported that their visits this weekend were denied by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) citing security concerns. “A number of family members received notice that they were not going to be allowed to see their loved ones as long as the strike continues,” says Dolores Canales who has a son in the Pelican Bay SHU. “Denying visits only heightens the isolation that the prisoners and family members experience, especially at this critical time.”

Advocates and lawyers have expressed concern that banning visits, along with other tactics including the possibility of violence on the part of CDCR are being used in attempt to break the strike. “Historically, prison officials have used extreme measures, including physical violence to break strikes,” says Dorsey Nunn, executive director of Legal Services for Prisoners with Children and a member of the mediation team working on behalf of the strikers.

“As this peaceful protest continues, it’s essential for lawmakers and the media to monitor the actions of CDCR. The department should not be allowed to use underhanded methods to resolve the strike.” Late last week two of the mediation team’s lawyers were banned from CDCR facilities with the prison administration citing unnamed “security threats.”

The prisoners resumed their hunger strike on Sept. 26 after the CDCR failed to address demands made when prisoners initially went on strike for almost the entire month of July. They have also reported heightened levels of intimidation and retaliation from prison officials since July. Prisoners are demanding changes to long-term solitary confinement, gang validation and debriefing processes and other conditions in the state’s Security Housing Units as well as in other parts of the prison system.

Representatives of the hunger strikers have indicated that this may be a rolling strike, with prisoners coming on and off strike periodically, allowing for the possibility of a protracted struggle. Activists and family members internationally are planning protests in support of the hunger strikers in the coming weeks. For continued updates and more information, visit www.prisonerhungerstrikesolidarity.wordpress.com.

California Department of Corrections threatens prison hunger strikers, bans lawyers
by Jean Casella and James Ridgeway

In response to a renewed inmate hunger strike to protest conditions in the California prison system, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has taken a hard line, threatening participants with disciplinary action and banning two lawyers who represent the strikers. According to the Contra Costa Times:

“Prison officials are investigating the two lawyers for ‘alleged misconduct,’ said Terry Thornton, spokeswoman for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

“Letters faxed Friday to San Francisco lawyer Carol Strickman of Legal Services for Prisoners with Children and Berkeley lawyer Marilyn McMahon of California Prison Focus said they were banned from inmate visits as the department investigated whether they had “jeopardized the safety and security” of the prisons.

“Both women have been active advocates for the rights of prisoners at Pelican State Bay Prison, the Crescent City supermax facility at the epicenter of the hunger strike this week and another one in July.

“’It’s under investigation. I really can’t comment any further on that,’ Thornton said.”

California Watch reports that the attorneys were banned under “temporary exclusion orders” that were signed by Corrections Undersecretary Scott Kernan on Sept. 29. The order states that an investigation is underway to determine whether the lawyers “violated the laws and policies governing the safe operations of institutions within the CDCR.”

“The document does not provide details about the allegations. It cites a section from the California Code of Regulations that reads:

“’Committing an act that jeopardizes the life of a person, violates the security of the facility, constitutes a misdemeanor or a felony, or is a reoccurrence of previous violations shall result in a one-year to lifetime exclusion depending on the severity of the offense in  question.’

“Corrections spokeswoman Terry Thornton confirmed the department had banned ‘some specific attorneys’ from one facility for alleged misconduct. She declined further comment, citing an ongoing investigation.”

Shortly after it banned the lawyers, the CDCR issued a memo to all striking prisoners, informing them that “the department will not condone organized inmate disturbances.” The memo indicated that disciplinary action could be taken against inmates participating in the hunger strike and that those identified as leaders could be placed in isolation in a Security Housing Unit. The memo did not state what might be done to those strike leaders already locked in solitary in the Pelican Bay SHU, where the strike originated.

The current hunger strike, according to inmate organizers, is not a new protest but rather a renewal of the three-week strike that began on July 1. That strike ended after prison officials agreed to some limited concessions, including a review of the policies by which prisoners are placed and held in indefinite solitary confinement in the state’s SHUs. The initial hunger strike also resulted in a hearing in the California Assembly on the treatment of inmates in the SHUs, where thousands of inmates languish in 22- to 23-hour-a-day in isolation in windowless cells, some for 10 years, 20 years or more.

According to a statement issued in mid-September, strike leaders in the Pelican Bay SHU saw little indication or promise of real change:

“As of September 2011, these SHU prisoners continue to be subjected to CDCR’s torturous human rights violations, in spite of the July 2011 peaceful protest via hunger strike, wherein thousands of prisoners of all races and groups united in their effort to bring mainstream exposure and force an end to such barbarous policies and practices. [CDCR has responded with more propaganda, lies and vague double talk promises of change in time].

“SHU prisoners are dissatisfied with CDCR’s response to their formal complaint and five core demands, and therefore will continue to resist via peaceful protest indefinitely, until actual changes are implemented.”

The state is clearly taking an even harder line on this round of the hunger strike. Scott Kernan told California Watch: “Unlike in the first instance where we certainly evaluated their concerns and thought there was some merit to it, this instance appears to be more manipulative, and it certainly has the possibility of being a real disruption to the Department of Corrections and the security of its staff and inmates.”

Last week, the CDCR stated that close to 3,400 inmates at six prisons were participating in the hunger strike, which the department defines as refusing state-issued meals for three consecutive days, according to the most recent data from the corrections department. On Saturday, Prisoner Hunger Strike Solidarity reported that “numbers released by the federal receiver’s office” that monitors health care in California prisons “show that on Sept. 28, nearly 12,000 prisoners were on hunger strike, including California  prisoners who are housed in out of state prisons in Arizona, Mississippi and Oklahoma … Prisoners are currently on strike in Pelican Bay State Prison, Calipatria, Centinela, Corcoran, Ironwood State Prison, Kern Valley State Prison, North Kern State Prison, and Salinas Valley State Prison. Throughout the last week prisoners at California Rehabilitation Center in Norco, Pleasant Valley State Prison, San Quentin as well as West Valley Detention Center in San Bernardino County were participating.”

James Ridgeway and Jean Casella are co-editors of Solitary Watch, an innovative public website aimed at bringing the widespread use of solitary confinement and other forms of torture in U.S. prisons out of the shadows and into the light of the public square. A unique collaboration between journalists and law students, Solitary Watch’s mission is to provide the public – as well as practicing attorneys, legal scholars, law enforcement and corrections officers, policymakers, educators, advocates and prisoners – with the first centralized, comprehensive source of information on solitary confinement in the United States. This story first appeared Solitary Watch.

Support the hunger strikers

1) Pressure Gov. Brown to ensure the CDCR implement the changes set forth in the prisoners’ five core demands and that the CDCR cease ALL retaliation on hunger strikers. Call Gov. Jerry Brown at (916) 445-2841.

2) Build and join a massive crowd in Sacramento for the Day of Action Oct. 5, 12-2 p.m. Protest outside CDCR Headquarters, at 1515 S St. in downtown Sacramento. For carpooling and transportation needs from the Bay Area, contact (415) 238-1801 or prisonerhungerstrikesolidarity@gmail.com.

Dear Friends,

As many of you know, after serving over 38 years in prison, Sundiata was denied parole for the third time on March 4, 2010. He was also given a ten year hit. Last December, an administrative appeal was denied by the NJ Parole Board. Sundiata will be 75 years old in January.

Sundiata’s legal team is focused on pursuing his appellate remedies through the courts. They are seeking to appeal in state court, and then if necessary the federal courts. His legal team has expanded over the years and currently in the process of raising the 10 thousand dollars needed to file the appeal.

The Appellate Court has set the briefing deadline of November 4, 2011.  Thus, time is of the essence.

We now have an active PayPal account so supporters and make secure, online contributions online. Please consider doing so today.

CLICK HERE for PayPal link for SAFC

People who are interested in the parole and release efforts should contact SAFC @ thesafc@gmail.com to inquire about ways to assist us with this urgent fundraising need. We still believe that he can and will receive his freedom.

If you would like to write Sundiata please send your letters to:
Sundiata Acoli (#39794-066)
(Squire)
P.O. Box 1000
FCI Otisville
Otisville, NY 10963-1000

Funds supporting his legal defense can be sent to:
FLORENCE MORGAN
120-46 QUEENS BLVD.
KEW GARDENS, NEW YORK 11415
(Florence Morgan has served as one of Sundiata’s legal advisors for over 10 years and is the Chairperson of the New York City Chapter of the National Conference of Black Lawyers)

Checks and money orders should be made out to The Sundiata Acoli Freedom Campaign. The SAFC is a 501(c)3 organization. All contributions go directly towards Sundiata’s legal fees and are tax deductible.

From: Sis. Fayemi

Many of you know, after serving over 38 years in prison, former Black Panther member Sundiata Acoli was denied parole for the third time on March 4, 2010. But he was also given a ten year hit by the New Jersey State Parole Board.  Last December, an administrative appeal was denied by the NJ Parole Board and a letter affirming the denial of Sundiata’s parole was received.

Considering Sundiata’s age and his right to freedom, Sundiata’s legal team is focused on pursuing his appellate remedies through the courts, seeking to appeal his repeated denial of parole. His legal team has expanded over the years and currently in the process of raising the 10 thousand dollars needed to file the appeal.

The good news is, the Appellate Court is ready to set a briefing deadline in spite of the State’s improper delays and callous disregard for Sundiata’s rights. Keep in mind, Sundiata will be 74 years old in January.

People who are interested in the parole and release efforts should contact SAFC @ thesafc@gmail.com to inquire about ways to assist us with this urgent fundraising need. We believe the film, A Power Sun, is important and should be supported. Monies raised on Sundiata’s behalf should go towards his appeal. We still believe that he can and will receive his freedom with the right support.

The SAFC is a 501c3 organization. All contributions go directly towards Sundiata’s legal fees. Volunteers of SAFC are not paid and do not request or receive any of the contributed funds.

If you would like to write Sundiata please send your letters to:

Sundiata Acoli (#39794-066)
(Squire)
P.O. Box 1000
FCI Otisville
Otisville, NY 10963-1000

Funds supporting his legal defense can be sent to:

FLORENCE MORGAN
120-46 QUEENS BLVD.
KEW GARDENS, NEW YORK 11415

(Florence Morgan has served as one of Sundiata’s legal advisors for over 10 years and is the Chairperson of the New York City Chapter of the National Conference of Black Lawyers)

Checks and money orders should be made out to The Sundiata Acoli Freedom Campaign

To all those who continute to show love and support to Sundiata and all political prisoners, here’s my favorite poem I share with you…

Like You

(a poem by Roque Dalton, a Salvadorian poet and guerilla fighter for freedom in the 60s and 70s. He was killed for revolution.)

Like you I

love love, life, the sweet smell

of things, the sky blue

landscape of January days.

And my blood boils up

and I laugh through eyes

that have known the buds of tears

I believe the world is beautiful

and that poetry, like bread, is for everyone.

And that my veins don’t end in me

but in the unanimous blood

of those who struggle for life,

love,

little things,

landscape and bread,

the poetry of everyone

Love & Respect.

NEW YORK 21
The Black Panther Party New York Chapter & The Struggle of Sundiata Acoli

We have an online fundraising campaign going on RIGHT NOW!!

There has been around 1,000.00 raised so far.

Our goal is to raise over 5,000.00.  Every dollar raised will go towards the last of filming expenses.

We have very little time left!!

There are REWARDS for each PLEDGE!!!

1.  GO TO www.fieldup.com

2. CLICK Kickstarter Campaign at the top of the page.

3.  CLICK Green Button — “Back This Project”

4.  Enter the Amount to be Pledged.

5.  Follow the Rest of the Directions to Completion.

Without reaching the minimum goal of $5,000.00…

… We don’t receive any of the pledged money.

So please pledge, and ask your comrades, family, network, etc. to pledge.

Support at: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/newyork21/new-york-21

“New York 21″:The Black a documentary exploring the Black Panther Party (herein BPP) Movement and the climate in New York (herein NY), including the states’ most expensive trial in its history, commonly known as the New York 21 (herein NY 21). The jury acquitted all defendants on all 156 collective counts. After their release, many of the activists were forced underground by the acts of law enforcement agencies and the COINTELPRO. This film pays homage to the cadre and introduces the Liberation Movement. This exploration is highlighted using the struggles of Sundiata Acoli, New York’s Lt. of Finance. Acoli shares his story through the depths of hell and back in the Liberation Movement in America; and brings into focus blatant cover-ups by a government who turned its back on justice.

The plot is navigated by the conversation between a grandmother, played by Irma P. Hall (Meet the Browns, Soul Food) and grandson, played by Omar Wiseman (Disney Channel), as she teaches him about the BPP NY Chapter in a game of chess. An exploration of Acoli’s life is revisted. Mutulu “M1″ Olugbala (Dead Prez) portrays Sundiata Acoli.  Through the narratives, the film shares diverse and independent voices that have never been heard, but written about in many books and periodicals.

All monies raised using Kickstarter will go towards the last production expenses, which includes, but not limited to; filming, props, actors, editing, stock footage, color corrections, audio, fees, marketing, etc. Although we set our minimum at $5,000, there is no maximum amount of resources pledged that we won’t use in this production. Since this is a SAG film, it is eligible for awards not typical of standard films and can be distributed through a major network. Our efforts will ensure every door is knocked on to give a major network an opportunity to showcase this never-seen before footage.

“We decided to use Kickstarter because of its impeccable reputation of fundraising and promotions.” – Jamal Joseph

“Every dollar pledged will be used for end-of-production and post-production expenses.” – Pamela Hanna

“This film is a one-of-a-kind. It’s been in the making for 10 years. We must support this film and have it released NOW!” – Bonnie Kerness

“I am honored to donate my time and celebrity for this film.” – Irma P. Hall