WIND CHILL FACTOR 9.2 January-February 1994 electronic version Wind Chill Factor is a zine for ideas, action, news, anger, creativity, and more. The project is anarchist/autonomist/anti-authoritarian in content, process, and organization. Contributions, letters, hate mail, etc, are all welcome. We can especially use $donations$! For further info on WCF, contact us at: WCF, PO Box 81961, Chicago, IL 60681, U$A (312) 384-2991, email: thak@midway.uchicago.edu Use those addresses to also contact: Collective Chaos, Anarchist Black Cross--Chicago, Food Not Bombs--Chicago, and the Baklava Autonomist Collective. Those of you familiar with previous issues of Wind Chill Factor will find this unusual. Well, while we would love to be able to publish on a regular monthly schedule, the reality is that we are far too busy with our other projects, and the cost of printing 5000+ copies per issue on newsprint is prohibitive. So we did some brainstorming, fretted and wrung our hands, and then stole some ideas and decided on this: In between our regular newsprint issues (the next of which will be #10) which we hope to put out every 3 months or so, we will be putting out WCF Info-Bulletins, such as this one which you are now reading. These info-bulletins will be numbered as decimals (ergo, WCF 9.2), and will be available in 3 formats: as a page in the local radical monthly rag Lumpen Times, as a streetsheet distributed separately around the city, and as this electronic newsletter for Internet & BBS distribution (request it from thak@midway.uchicago.edu). (MAL)CONTENTS , issue 9.2 1) Insurgents Declare War In Chiapas 2) EZLN Declaration 3) Upon A Snowy White Day In Springfield 4) KKK Bitch? 5) Revolutionary Cells Attack 6) Campaign Against Nazi Papers In Berlin 7) Berlin's Anti-Olympic Resistance 8) Freedom For Mehmet, Abidin, Fatma, & Erkan! 9) Shut Down The Control Units! 10) Lenin's Brain Nothing Special 1) INSURGENTS DECLARE WAR IN CHIAPAS While many of the major newspapers in Mexico awaited the count down to the initiation of NAFTA, on Jan. 1st a group of combatants stole the headlines. Hundreds of campesinos naming themselves the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) declared war against the Mexican government and the national elite (see their manifesto, opposite page). In the state of Chiapas, EZLN devised & executed the occupation of five towns, then soon took 2 more. In one bold stroke the Zapatistas, for the most part indian peasants, jarred the conscience of millions around the world to the problems of the poorest sectors of Mexico. Close to 2000 well-armed guerrillas are believed to be involved in the uprising. The rebels occupied government offices, the headquarters of the ruling PRI party, and sacked government archives, throwing deeds and bank records of the land-robbers into the street. In Altamirano, 25 guerrillas took sledgehammers and destroyed the government building, piece by piece. The Zapatistas also took over a state radio station, broadcasting their demands and music. In San Cristobal the rebels stormed a local prison and freed 179 prisoners wrongly jailed over land disputes, then left the prison to be sacked by local townspeople. Major roads were blocked with cars and trees, and "war taxes" and sometimes cars were collected from passing journalists and the wealthy. The guerrillas also captured several landowners, including Absalon Castellanos, a brutal retired general who ruled as Chiapas' governor during the death squad campaigns of 1982-88, who will now face "revolutionary justice". Rebels besieged the army base at Rancho Nuevo several times, and have shot several military aircraft. For years the Mexican government has not only repeatedly ignored the problems of many of its poorest people, but also has repressed the popular movements for social justice. In the state of Chiapas alone the population, especially the indigenous population, suffers from the highest cases of death, malnutrition, illiteracy, underdevelopment of agriculture, lowest salaries, and crowded housing. Cultural and economic discrimination against the indians is constant and institutionalized. This uprising against the rich land owners and corrupt government was timed to coincide with the enactment of NAFTA, viewed as the latest step in government attacks on the peasants' ejidos communal system. NAFTA has been described as a "death sentence" for indians. Said one Zapatista, "There is no work, no land, no education. There is no way to change that in elections." After the initial declaration of war was issued, the Mexican Army belatedly recognized the threat and started to move into the area. Over 12,000 troops were sent into the area, with on-site direction from the Defense Secretary. Immediately there were reports of severe human rights violations. On Tuesday, Jan. 4th, the municipalities of Acala and San Cristobal were indiscriminately bombed, killing hundreds of civilians. Journalists have also reported evidence of mass executions and torture. After heavy fighting in Ocosingo, captured rebels were lined and shot in the head; many corpses have also been left in the open deliberately to rot as a warning. The Central Independiente de Oberos y Campesinos (CIOAC) has issued a statement claiming the local and federal government have "lost control over the army and that the situation was worsening in the areas of conflicts". The Mexican Army has once again shown its readiness to abuse its people. The government continues to cloak their actions by refusing to allow the press and human rights organizations in to monitor the activity in the areas of conflict. As one clergy member stated, "the civilian population is more scared of the Mexican Army then with the presence of the Zapatistas." Although the EZLN has been driven out of the towns and into the rainforests and mountains, blowing up bridges and blocking roads to hold off troops, they continue to attack the army. The conflict even appears to be spreading outside Chiapas. Electric power pylons have been destroyed in two states, and at least one car bomb has been set off in Mexico City. The Mexican government is protecting its international image by claiming that it is open to dialogue with the Zapatistas but continues to bomb civilians and deny access. Many respected figures of Mexican society have called for a stop to the bombings and human rights violations and demanded the withdrawal of the army from Chiapas. We too must make this call. We on the northern side of the imposed border must take actions to put pressure on the Mexican government to cease its blatant violations of human rights and implement the just demands of the Zapatistas. There have already been actions a dozen cities, including Chicago where the Mexican Consulate has been visited twice, with some interesting redecoration done. The EZLN takes its name from Emiliano Zapata, the uncompromising leader in the Mexican revolution of 1910. Zapata took back lands stolen and sold to sugar plantations that had one time been communally held by indigenous people. We fully support the EZLN and their refusal to have their land taken, their culture & language destroyed, obediently playing into the role of NAFTA refugees. As Zapata said, "It is better to die on your feet than live on your knees." Viva La EZLN! Tierra y Libertad! (portions of this article were blatantly plagiarised from other radical sources. Information wants to be free!) 2) EZLN DECLARATION The following is the full text of the declaration from the Lacandon jungle by the Zapatista National Liberation Army: TODAY WE SAY ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! TO THE PEOPLE OF MEXICO: MEXICAN BROTHERS AND SISTERS: We are a product of 500 years of struggle: first against slavery, then during the War of Independence against Spain led by insurgents, then to avoid being absorbed by North American imperialism, then to promulgate our constitution and expel the French empire from our soil, and later the dictatorship of Porfirio Diaz denied us the just application of the Reform laws and the people rebelled and leaders like Villa and Zapata emerged, poor men just like us. We have been denied the most elemental preparation so they can use us as cannon fodder and pillage the wealth of our country. They don't care that we have nothing, absolutely nothing, not even a roof over our heads, no land, no work, no health care, no food nor education. Nor are we able to freely and democratically elect our political representatives, nor is there independence from foreigners, nor is there peace nor justice for ourselves and our children. But today, we say ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. We are the inheritors of the true builders of our nation. The dispossessed, we are millions and we thereby call upon our brothers and sisters to join this struggle as the only path, so that we will not die of hunger due to the insatiable ambition of a 70 year dictatorship led by a clique of traitors that represent the most conservative and sell-out groups. They are the same ones that opposed Hidalgo and Morelos, the same ones that betrayed Vicente Guerrero, the same ones that sold half our country to the foreign invader, the same ones that imported a European prince to rule our country, the same ones that formed the "scientific" Porfirsta dictatorship, the same ones that opposed the Petroleum Expropriation, the same ones that massacred the railroad workers in 1958 and the students in 1968, the same ones the today take everything from us, absolutely everything. To prevent the continuation of the above and as our last hope, after having tried to utilize all legal means based on our Constitution, we go to our Constitution, to apply Article 39 which says: "National Sovereignty essentially and originally resides in the people. All political power emanates from the people and its purpose is to help the people. The people have, at all times, the inalienable right to alter or modify their form of government." Therefore, according to our constitution, we declare the following to the Mexican federal army, the pillar of the Mexican dictatorship that we suffer from, monopolized by a one-party system and led by Carlos Salinas de Gortari, the maximum and illegitimate federal executive that today holds power. According to this Declaration of War, we ask that other powers of the nation advocate to restore the legitimacy and the stability of the nation by overthrowing the dictator. We also ask that international organizations and the International Red Cross watch over and regulate our battles, so that our efforts are carried out while still protecting our civilian population. We declare now and always that we are subject to the Geneva Accord, forming the EZLN as our fighting arm of our liberation struggle. We have the Mexican people on our side, we have the beloved tri-colored flag highly respected by our insurgent fighters. We use black and red in our uniform as our symbol of our working people on strike. Our flag carries the following letters, "EZLN," Zapatista National Liberation Army, and we always carry our flag into combat. Beforehand, we refuse any effort to disgrace our just cause by accusing us of being drug traffickers, drug guerrillas, thieves, or other names that might by used by our enemies. Our struggle follows the constitution which is held high by its call for justice and equality. Therefore, according to this declaration of war, we give our military forces, the EZLN, the following orders: First: Advance to the capital of the country, overcoming the Mexican federal army, protecting in our advance the civilian population and permitting the people in the liberated area the right to freely and democratically elect their own administrative authorities. Second: Respect the lives of our prisoners and turn over all wounded to the International Red Cross. Third: Initiate summary judgements against all soldiers of the Mexican federal army and the political police that have received training or have been paid by foreigners, accused of being traitors to our country, and against all those that have repressed and treated badly the civil population and robbed or stolen from or attempted crimes against the good of the people. Fourth: Form new troops with all those Mexicans that show their interest in joining our struggle, including those that, being enemy soldiers, turn themselves in without having fought against us, and promise to take orders from the General Command of the Zapatista National Liberation Army. Fifth: We ask for the unconditional surrender of the enemy's headquarters before we begin any combat to avoid any loss of lives. Sixth: Suspend the robbery of our natural resources in the areas controlled by the EZLN. To the People of Mexico: We, the men and women, full and free, are conscious that the war that we have declared is our last resort, but also a just one. The dictators are applying an undeclared genocidal war against our people for many years. Therefore we ask for your participation, your decision to support this plan that struggles for work, land, housing, food, health care, education, independence, freedom, democracy, justice and peace. We declare that we will not stop fighting until the basic demands of our people have been met by forming a government of our country that is free and democratic. JOIN THE INSURGENT FORCES OF THE ZAPATISTA NATIONAL LIBERATION ARMY. General Command of the EZLN 1993 3) UPON A SNOWY WHITE DAY IN SPRINGFIELD... As many of you may have noticed, there has been a resurgence of racist and fascist activity both in Europe and the U.$. In Germany, a wave of neo-nazi violence has allowed the government to adopt more stringent immigration controls and other racist measures. In France, Le Pen's fascist National Front regularly gets 25% of the vote. In London, a British Nationalist Party member won a local government seat in East London (sparking a large anti-fascist riot which attacked the BNP's Headquarters). Here in Amerika, the white supremacist movement is slowly but surely growing, with both racist attacks, firebombings, & murders on the rise, and with a new breed of fascists taking up "respectable" looks so they can sleeze their ideologies into mainstream politics and push things even further to the right. Of course, militant resistance to this trend is also on the rise, and so we joined about 300 other anti-racists in Springfield on Jan 16th to oppose a planned Knights of the Ku Klux Klan rally. The snow and brutal 7 degree temperature (-16 with wind chill) did not keep folx from travelling from Chicago, St. Louis, Iowa City, Louisville, and other towns to confront the klan. The majority of the crowd was white, but there was a strange mix of socialists, liberals, union workers, anti-racist skins, anarchists, our autonomist group, everyday folx off the street, and even a few local Crips. We arrived about an hour before the klan's rally. Along the way we had been separated from our friends, and driving into the small town atmosphere complete with swastika graffiti and crawling with cops was an unnerving experience. Next time we'll make sure to arrive in a crowd. The cops had fenced off an area around the capitol's steps for the klan to protest in. Our first mistake was in not tearing it down when the pig presence was light, so that we could get to the klan later. As it was, when the klan was brought in safely from inside the capitol, we couldn't get at 'em, with the exception of a few well-thrown batteries from the side. Quite a few racists showed up separately from the klan, intending to join the rally, only to find that the cops weren't letting anyone into the contained area, pro-klan or not. Thus several groups of them ended up wandering about on the wrong side of the fence, mingling with the anti-racists. This created a strange dynamic, since everyone was bundled up it was hard to tell whose side some people were on. We went for the direct approach, going right up to suspicious looking people and asking "Are you anti- racist?". If they said no, we took it upon ourselves to confront them verbally, and sometimes physically. There were 263 state, county, and local police (many in riot gear armed with heavy wood clubs and tear gas squirters) and 1500 feet of fencing to protect the 55 or so klansmen. The costs of this protection ran around $84,000. For the most part the cops were relatively tame (partly because most of the demonstrators were), and well versed in crowd control. Groups of riot cops would regularly walk politely right through groups of anti-racists, in effect breaking the group up and offering a bit of intimidation at the same time. After the rally, when we were getting in our cars to leave, we were stopped and frisked by local cops who also took everybody's name down off their IDs and ran spot computer checks. When we asked what the gestapo tactics were about, we were told "standard procedure." While we arrived somewhat prepared, our organization could have been better. We did have maps of the local area for everyone in case things got crazy, phone numbers for lawyers, and vaseline in case we got maced (you smear some on your eyelids so it seeps in and puts a slightly protective coating over your eyes). We did a good job of sticking together and watching out for each other, but our affinity groups could have been better defined, and we should've used a buddy-system inside those groups, as they inevitably get split up in hectic moments. We also could've been better armed with innocuous but useful weapons (eggs, batteries, keys on a string, heavy sticks with a sign stuck on them, etc.). We also could've used a good discussion beforehand on what to expect and how far people were willing to go, as there were times we could've acted but didn't cuz we weren't sure about backup. We also should've scouted the whole area right away and found where the klan's escape route & bus were located... Before the core of the klan even arrived we had chased off over a dozen klan supporters successfully, including a group of WAR skins (White Aryan Resistance), one of whom took a rock to the head. The younger klan supporters we ran into we tried to argue with to show how absurd the racist ideologies are. The older Klansmen, neo- nazis, and Aryan Nations supporters were more set in their ways and were dealt with in a more militant manner. At least five of them met up with some street justice. One Klansman who was video-taping us got his camera destroyed, steel toes to the ribs, and a general beatdown. When the police moved in to this incident we successfully unarrested 2 anti-racist activists. Chalk one up for militant youth action. Of course all demonstrators present did not agree with these tactics. Others chose to sell their papers and shout slogans like "Death to the Klan", but when we pointed out klan and nazi types in the crowd they remained in their sedate picket circles and spewed more dogmatic slogans minus much action. The notable exceptions were us and some black militants from the Progressive Labor Party. What it seems to come down to is many folx (usually white) view the klan as a problem, not as a direct threat to and attack on their persons, as blacks, gays, jews, and others feel. The Klan's ideology is based on hatred and fueled by violence. Confronting these scum is not so much an assault on them as it is an act of aggressive self-defense (Malcolm X didn't even call it that, he called it intelligence). Racist violence and violence used against racists are not the same, because you cannot view them both without taking into account the power dynamics of this society, with its racist institutions and disenfranchised under classes. If we ever fail to confront the Klan or other racist scum like this, then we are allowing a crime to be committed on others. And we risk all our futures in letting them by. In Springfield we took matters directly into our own hands, and you can be sure some of those racists will never show up at a public Klan event again. A message to white liberals for future reference: we won't get in your way, so don't get in ours. Plain and simple. There are of course many ways to confront racism, of which militant actions like this are but a small part (remember, we can only give this from an anti-racist white perspective because we could never know what its like to be black growing up under the racist-classist power structure). Educating our own communities is critically important. The slogan "kops and klan go hand in hand" definitely has a significant amount of legitimacy to it. We must not allow ourselves to only focus on these extremist hate groups. We have to acknowledge where the most powerful and detrimental racism lies: in the hands of the state. Like Chuck D says, "Now the KKK wears 3 piece suits." The U$ jails blacks at a rate six times (!) higher than South Africa, and right now 60% of all women prisoners are black and 1 of every 4 black males in the U$ are in the prison or judicial system. Lets also not forget that the cops kill more non- whites than the Klan do. And the state continues to encourage racism with anti-immigrant hysteria, and cuts in education and social programs (ooh lets get risky and say class warfare), yet they go to extreme measures to protect groups like the Klan when they rally. The state screams for freedom of speech for the KKK but when its the Black Panthers the state offers gestapo style covert programs like COINTELPRO where activists are harassed, jailed, and even murdered. A message to white folx: Check yourself, your family, your friends. Confront racial stereotypes any of your peers might try to enforce. Realize that what society (parents, peers, school, media) has taught us is to feel superior because of our skin. Once we recognize where the roots of this (mis)lead, where hate and ignorance come from, we can stamp it out. Don't try to fool yourself like "oh my parents taught me not to think like that", but take a look at your impact on your community and others' lives. You and your parents outlooks are affected by socialization in a society full of racist institutions. Do not self proclaim yourself (or your group) as "leaders" in the anti-racist struggle. That is not only arrogant and condescending but racist as well. Take a good look at history, at the colonial reality of this country, and how historically whites have sold out non-whites to keep the power and privilege the status quo insures them. The Klan took the stage playing recordings of "Dixie" and spewing White Power rhetoric. The main speaker Basil "Red" Sitzes, Grand Titan of the Southern Illinois Knights read a ridiculous story entitled "Proud to be White". Like they have in previous rallies this year in Indianapolis, Columbus (Ohio), and New Hope (Penn.), they stated they will be back next year. Well, so will we, and not only in Springfield but anywhere else they rear their ugly heads. Sprite & MC Think 4) KKK BITCH? I got to see something interesting and annoying this weekend, and it made me do some thinking. I saw an anti-racist skinhead use the word "bitch" when addressing a young, female racist. I took offense to the use of such a gender-specific derogatory term, no matter what her politics, and I said something at that point. When I consider the fact that HALF the population has been systematically oppressed through law and cultural mores for THOUSANDS of years, worldwide, I get disgusted when I see blatantly sexist behavior from men who claim to fight oppression. To actively fight racism is important, but we are not doing so for just the African-American male, the Latino male, the Asian male or any other male of a racially oppressed group. We are also fighting for the WIMMIN. The way I see it, oppression is oppression, and if I hear a man with an anti-racist agenda spout sexist language, I think he's a hypocrite. At least racist males are consistent, they believe in oppressing everyone that isn't a white, heterosexual male. So I think men need to take a harder look at their attitudes relating to oppression. They need to realize that the fight for the equality for wimmin doesn't involve a specialized, specific minority, that in Amerikkka it involves OVER HALF the population. The anti-racists and anti-fascists who still have sexist attitudes also need to take a closer look at the attitudes toward wimmin that the racist organizations have, and they will find that they aren't very different. And since no anti-racist wants to be compared to the kkklan, they had better start getting their heads on straight when it comes to wimmin. Remember, there are more of us. 5) REVOLUTIONARY CELLS ATTACK GERMAN BORDER PATROL! The following is a communique from the Revolutionary Cells on an action against the shutting of Germany's eastern border. On the 4th of October, in the night, a power transformer on the lands of the Border Police at Frankfurt on the Oder was blown up. No one was injured, the power supply to the border protection facility was shut off for a short time. The German Border Police and the Criminal Police informed the press that this was the first terrorist attack in the region of Frankfurt. The District Attorney had not been aware of any terrorists being recruited from this area. In the beginning of September there was a demo in Frankfurt against the new asylum laws. Around 700 people (according to police) made a stand against racism and xenophobia. The Border Police arrested some autonomist demonstrators who had broken through the border in a boat. Revolutionary Cells Communique Every since the Right to Asylum was repealed in Germany on July 1, 1993 the powers that be want to stop the immigration of refugees at the external borders of the European Community. The measures taken to accomplish this are being unified within the framework of the Schengen Agreement. One component of this is the eastward advancement of border controls. The German government for example has paid 120 million German Marks ($70 million) to the government of Poland for the strengthening of controls at the Polish eastern border. In addition, the German Border Police (BGS) was strengthened in the beginning of 1993 with 1500 so called police assistants to watch over the borders with Poland and the Czech Republic. At the same time, the BGS is being technologically armed. Mobile radar and infra-red devices are now being tested to optimize their effectiveness in detecting refugees fleeing over the border. Every night the BGS patrols the eastern border of Germany in chase of those who against all odds manage to cross the border. In the night of October 2nd to October 3rd we blew up the power supply of the BGS-barracks in Frankfurt on the Oder and set on fire the BGS vehicles at the Rotenburg Airport. For Free Floods, Revolutionary Cells (Translated by Slingshot from Megafon #144) 6) STOP THE NAZI PAPERS Because the various warnings and actions at several businesses and stores apparently didn't work about 50 newspaper stores were visited in 11 districts of Berlin Germany on the night of October 4th to 5th, 1993. Three kiosks were torched and several were covered with a foul smelling substance. Many locks were also glued and the reason for the attack left behind in spraypaint and stickers. For almost one year a campaign has been waged against the public sale of fascist newspapers in kiosks. By fascist papers we mean those which work toward a new dictatorial or fascist social order. They deny or downplay the holocaust, demand the return of the former "Eastern Regions" to Germany, spread racist agitation and see the only role for women in "peace times" at the home and in front of the oven. These papers more or less deny the right of existence for all Jews and all who aren't white, German and healthy as well as all leftists. These papers have different approaches; they speak to different sections of the population and are openly fascist to varying degrees. One of the papers we targeted, the Junge Freiheit (Young Freedom) is especially dangerous, and not just because it will move to a weekly format in 1994. The Junge Freiheit was started in 1986 as an internal theory organ. Since then it has a print run of 30,000. An important goal of the Junge Freiheit is promoting contact and cooperation among conservatives, extreme rightists, Christian Democrat functionaries, right wing Professors, Republikans, Nationalists and national revolutionaries. Many present and former functionaries of fascist groups write in the Junge Freiheit. The Junge Freiheit intellectualizes fascist positions nadand packages them as conservative. In this way the makers of the paper want to attain not only political power, but most importantly cultural dominance. Anti-fascism for us is more than just fighting against Nazis and their press. Practical anti-fascist work for us is a part of the struggle against bosses, politicians, sexists and racist, against this imperialist normality. A part of this normality is the mass of softpornshit which lie around in almost all kiosks. This marketing of women's and children's bodies, this sexist and heTERRORsexist propaganda makes us sick. We don't however fight the fascist papers in order to defend this mock democracy, but because they are an obstacle on the path to liberation, because they support and legitimate the arsonist murderers with their racist agitation and because they are a motor which pushes this society increasingly rightward. FIGHT THE SYSTEM! NO FOOTHOLD FOR THE FASCISTS! PREVENT THE WEEKLY PUBLICATION OF THE JUNGE FREIHEIT. Antifascist lesbian/women groups and other antifascist groups Translated from Interim 258 7) BERLIN'S ANTI-OLYMPIC RESISTANCE With the selection of Sydney, Australia as the site for Olympic Games in the year 2000, a years-long campaign of resistance to the Olympics has come to an end in Berlin, Germany. Berlin's anti-Olympia resistance reached its peak with four bombings on September 15, just days before the IOC (International Olympic Committee) was set to make its decision. One bomb exploded outside a office of the corporation Daimler-Benz, another outside a Hertie warehouse, and two more outside branches of the Berliner Bank. The four bombings resulted in minor damage. The bank and the two corporations were big financial sponsors of Berlin's push to host Olympia 2000. A spokesperson for the left-wing Anti-Olympia Committee said that more attacks could follow. He termed material damage a "legitimate means" of preventing Berlin's selection as the site for the Olympic Games. Anti-Olympia resistance in Berlin - which mobilized two recent demonstrations of more than 10000 people and scores of guerrilla diffusa sabotage actions - focused its ideological opposition to the Olympic Games on concerns ranging from urban fears of the yuppification and gentrification of the city to the fascist-continuity of German history. Germany hosted the 1936 Olympics in Berlin under Adolf Hitler, something which was no doubt pleasing to IOC chairman Juan Anton Samarnach, himself a fascist minister in Franco's cabinet in Spain. Germany's right-wing leader, chancellor Helmut Kohl, had also been an outspoken supporter of bringing Olympia 2000 to Berlin. But it seems that the left-radical resistance paid off: Berlin won only 8 out of 90 votes during the first round of IOC voting. from NN #145) 8) FREEDOM FOR MEHMET, ABIDIN, FATMA, & ERKAN! At least four members of a militant, anti-fascist, anti-racist, turkish-kurdish youth group called "Antifa Genclik" (anti-fascist youth) have been arrested for murder, aid to murder, attemted murder and assault. The alleged victim is Gerhard Kaindl, stabbed in April 1992 during a fascist meeting. Kaindl was a high ranking member of "Deutsche Liga fur Volk and Heimat" (DL, the German League for People and Hometown), a fascist party coalition that attempts unification of a variety of fascist groups. The arrests result from evidence given by a purported member of Antifa Genclik, who was not identified and may not exist. The investigation was shallow, centering only on the AG, and police are seeking still more unspecified persons. In the past, other well known antifas have had thier apartments searched and were kept under surveillance. Police information, with the addresses and photos of several of these persons, was published in the October 1992 "Deutshe Rundschau", the Deutsche Liga party newspaper. The paper claimed that the 8 people involved in the action are known by the police. This makes it obvious how well the cops and fascists work together. The federal police have shown their intent to damage and destroy the antifa resistance, and especially the AG. Their strategy is to arrest and prosecute some supposed "leaders", while blaming the entire group. This creates a repressive climate which is supposed to prevent collective political action. The media supports it by making it intensive and including more people, thus trying to prevent solidarity work and split the movement. Thus this attack on the Antifa Genclik is an attack on the entire anti-fascist movement. 9) SHUT DOWN THE CONTROL UNITS! Update On The Committee To End The Marion Lockdown (CEML) This has been the busiest of times for CEML. First, work continues to prevent the opening of the new control unit at Florence, Colorado, or at least to alter its destructive impact. The bulk of the work is being done by the Coalition to Shut Down Control Units, a statewide organization in Colorado (they also publish an excellent newsletter, "Shut Them Down", available for $10.00 from the Rocky Mountain Peace Centre, P.O. Box 1156, Boulder, CO 80380, U.S.A.) CEML is continuing to press this work as well as trying to find sympathetic audiences within the new administration. Additionally we along with the folks in Colorado are continuing our petition campaign. We now have over 4,000 signatures but would like to double that number. Please write for copies of the petition. Second, our work continues to combat the control unit prison in nearby Westville, IN. As if the brutality of that prison were not enough, the comparatively tiny state is apparently now planning to build a second control unit since the first has not succeeded in stifling dissent there. Third, since the coming October will mark the tenth anniversary of the lockdown at Marion, we are trying to construct a fall conference that is suitable for the event. In this context, we are in touch with several prominent speakers. We will tell you more of the details as they become available. Fourth, we continue our battle against the state of Illinois in its plans to build a control unit prison. Thus far, the proposal has been made by Gov. Jim Edgar's Task Force but Edgar has not yet been able to find the money for such a project. There is evidence that our work has played a part in keeping Edgar from building this prison. As a result of all this activity, we must once again appeal to you for financial assistance. We know that many of you give generously. We apologize for asking again, but we simply cannot proceed otherwise. Already we have cut back. For example, we have not published "Walkin' Steel" recently due to a lack of funds. Meanwhile expenses continue to mount. We spent over $300 producing literature that we provided to the governor's task force. The upcoming program and demonstration will also generate expenses. So please help if you can. CEML, P.O. Box 578172, Chicago, Illinois 60657-8172, USA. Phone: (312) 235-0070 10) LENIN'S BRAIN NOTHING SPECIAL Lifting a veil on 70 years of secret research on Lenin's brain, Russian scientists exploded another myth Tuesday, revealing it was much like anyone else's. "In the anatomical structure of Lenin's brain, there is nothing sensational," said Oleg Adrianov, director of the Moscow Brain Institute, where experts have spent most of this century trying to establish the secret of the Bolshevik leader's genius. The brain of Vladimir Ilich Lenin, Adrianov told Itar-Tass news agency, was "undoubtedly the brain of a talented man." "But, he said, the area of the right hemisphere's outer surface was only just bigger than average, and the weight of the brain, at 2.95 pounds, was less than two-thirds that of 19th century novelist Ivan Turgenev's. Lenin's brain, dissected into thousands of slices, has lain in exalted company at the secretive institute. It was joined over the years by those of such figures as revolutionary poet Vladimir Mayakovsky, film-maker Sergei Eisenstein and dictator Josef Stalin. :)