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ROB LOS RICOS COMMUNIQUE & UPDATEsteinwerfa

Info on Rob los Ricos upcoming release and Portland Oregon benefit

By ROB LOS RICOS & MARLENA GANGI

Oregon APOC political prisoner Rob los Ricos set for release June 29 2006, plans to continue writing and do Summer/Fall speaking tour.

Rob los Ricos Communiqué
By: Rob los Ricos
15.06.06
 
It's hard to believe that two weeks from today I will walk out of the gates of this concrete razor wired medium security facility and step into freedom. I've been moved four times in as many weeks but it's not likely that I'll be moved again with so little of my sentence left.

To my supporters; I want to send you all a great big thank you for helping me make it through this long and strange trip. Your letters and visits over the past seven plus years have meant more than I can ever convey. Your light at the end of my tunnel has helped make it possible for me to continue to stay true to my ideals. You have also helped me sustain the vision of that I hold dear in regard to my post prison activism.

I have had the love and support of people across the country, continent and world. I have made friends and have held on to them. I've made friends and have lost them, at times unintentionally driving people away. I've built a few bridges but unfortunately have also burnt a few. I have known love and I have caused pain.

Hmmm...

For now, the only thing that I have left to say is that it will be great to be out among y'all. It looks like there's a reading lined up for me on July 1st at the Laughing Horse Bookstore in Portland Oregon. It'll be interesting to see how I measure up to the image that some of you may have of me… In any case, I look forward to meeting all of you.

En Lucha,
Rob los Ricos
 

Rob los Ricos Update
By: Marlena Gangi
15.06.06

Hola,

Rob will be released from state confinement on Thursday June 29th. He will give a reading/speaking presentation at Laughing Horse Bookstore located at 12 NE 10th St. in Portland, Oregon on the evening of Saturday July 1st from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. We are asking for an $8.00 donation. Free refreshments will be available and there will be a raffle.

Rob's schedule is quickly filling up. He is still in need of funding and for now this is his priority.

Please contact me for questions regarding media and press. If you would like to schedule a reading or speaking presentation for your collective, community or student organization, workshop, forum or conference keynote address, please e-mail me at:

 en_lucha@riseup.net. Use subject heading *los Ricos presentation. *

Mailing address is:

En Lucha
1724 NE Broadway Ste. 554
Portland Oregon 97212-4115

Press packets containing photos, bio, speaking fees, honorarium, etc., will be mailed out upon request.

All other personal mail for Rob ONLY should be sent to:

Rob los Ricos
PO Box 50634
Eugene OR 97405

For now donations should be made out to ROB THAXTON and sent to this Eugene PO Box. Rob will soon legally change his name to Rob los Ricos.

Because of Rob's ODOC classification as a member of a Security Threat Group, i.e., *anarchist, * it is not known what restrictions might be applied regarding just what it is that he will be "allowed" to publicly talk about in terms of his case and prison experience until Rob meets with his Parole Officer on the 29th. He does have prepared a presentation on the police state, creeping fascism and the erosion of civil liberties. It is possible that he will not be able to travel further than a day's drive from the Eugene/Portland area for at least the first year of his post prison supervision.  If you reside out of state, I encourage you to contact me to coordinate future events.

Look for Rob's soon to be updated website at

 http://www.roblosricos.net

Pa'lante siempre, refugio
Marlena Gangi

Benefit for Rob los Ricos

WHAT: Reading and speaking presentation by Rob los Ricos, Oregon APOC political prisoner
WHEN: Saturday July 1 7-9 p.m.
WHERE: Laughing Horse Bookstore 12 NE 10th S. Portland Oregon

Copies of Rob’s prison writings including Manufacturing Dissent, Heart Check (written with Jeffery “Free” Luers) and Rob the Rich! will be available for sale.

Info: en_lucha@riseup.net

Dispatch Los Ricos for the New Year

Hola Comrades, Okay—we skipped a week because Rob was transferred back to Mill Creek. The New Year’s Day visit was short, sweet and holds absolutely nothing that I can share with y’all!...

Why was Rob transferred? Just because they can. Rob is doing well for 46 year-old man on the last five months and 13 days of a nearly eight year sentence served in four (is it five?) different maximum and minimum security facilities. He’s regaining his bearings, has a new job that pays all of $40 @ month. I will not miss visiting at Santiam…during one of my last visits there, an inmate beat another badly upstairs in one of the dorms, put the guy’s head through a window, tore up his scalp. Rob went back up to find the window smashed and blood on the remaining glass and walls and floor. Pray that his remaining months pass without incident… So, saw Rob at MC yesterday, Sunday the 15th. We went over the plan for the June 17 & 18 fundraisers. He wants the focus of the 17th to be on Indigenous people’s struggles for autonomy during a time when the failings of capitalism and the nation state are becoming obvious. Basically, he wants a forum on finding another way to live, a discourse on examples that have worked in the past; an examination of the attitudes, values and Indigenous social structure to find what we need in order to build a viable future. He wants this event to be held in Portland.

The event on the 18th will take place in Eugene. There, the focus will be on the police state, police violence and also the surveillance of political activists. This forum will sum up Rob’s own motivations for being in Eugene on J18, his arrest and its’ aftermath. Both of these events will segue nicely into his upcoming speaking tour. Our goal is to raise his profile a bit and also establish a foundation to build in the future, to work on preparing a society, community, collective, whatever occurs, that can sustain itself as capitalism fails and the nation state comes crashing to an end. This is no ordinary time… I will need help in coordinating these events. I need your ideas, some speakers, your time. We are setting up connects in Eugene and have lots of time to get word out and make these events well attended. I’m looking at the PDX forum to take place at PSU, so: heads up student groups! Finals will be over by the 17th, so, the only homework y’all will have will be to help me make this happen, yes? You know who you are, so call me…I will also be mailing PDX and Eugene comrades individually for specifics.

Let’s see, what else…oh, Rob is quite happy in learning that one of his book reviews was referenced in the book Changing Anarchism: Anarchist Theory and Practice In a Global Age. And Heartcheck was referenced in the Earth First! Journal in a positive light, discussing revolution.

So, you can now write to Rob at:
Rob Thaxton #12112716
MCCF
4005 Aumsville Hwy
Salem, OR 97301

He loves getting letters, stuff to read, connects to the outside. Please let him know that he has not been forgotten… Okay—talk to you in one week, I promise.

Venceremos, Marlena

Update for Rob los Ricos, Oregon anarchist political prisoner. Six months and six days to go!

Prison visits Dec 16, 18, 23 & 24.

Late again! The following is abbreviated but concise.

D16. Interesting discussion about racism and ethnic identity/identity politics. Rob and I are both Chicano. For myself as educator and activist, everything begins with the color of my skin. It always has. Not so for Rob. Don’t think that we haven’t gone around on this topic a time or two.

I learned to organize in an ideology deeply entrenched in the lessons of the Chicano Movement. Rob’s organizing was born of an anti-capitalist ideology that for him crosses all ethnic lines. With this, in fighting capitalism, one is also fighting racism and all other isms and schisms without necessarily needing to identify one’s activism as such…I’m gonna refer you to Rob’s website and his piece "Multicultural Racism" for the rest of this.

D18. I visited Rob with Bad Sista Walidah Imarishi. This amazing young woman, formerly of Portland and now living in Philadelphia began corresponding with Rob way back when he was in the Lane County jail awaiting his trial. They hadn’t seen one another for a while and it was a joy to see them together. Things discussed; inexcusably fucked up treatment of Katrina victims and survivors, the Rob documentary, the creation of a Rob los Ricos action figure (halfway serious!), putting Rob’s J18 ’99 mug shot on a t-shirt with the caption “Rob los Ricos~One Hit Wonder Rock Star” (He hit a cop one time with a rock…get it?) Such shameless marketing thoughts…what kind of anarchists are we?

I also got Walidah on video with an interview before she left for the first part of the Rob documentary, she in her Rob los Ricos! crop top.
Filming has finally begun!

Walidah is in great part responsible for creating Rob’s website www.roblosricos.net with Dave Onion, for getting Manufacturing Dissent into print and for generally getting word out about Rob’s case to a very wide audience. She’s currently finishing editing on a documentary that she made while in New Orleans about the aftermath of Katrina. She blew in and out of town on her way to Chiapas to work in solidarity the sufferahs there for a month. Then there’s that cure for cancer she’s got in the works…kidding. Seriously, the child kicks ass daily. Check her out at www.poetryoffthepage.com.

D23. Discussion about the documentary and narrowing down my choice of iMac for video editing. Also much relationship stuff, personal.

D24. Fundraising. Yup, we all did so well the first time around that we’re talking about doing it again. Fundraiser 1: PDX May Day 2006. Fundraiser
2: June 18 2006 possibly in Eugene? I’ll send out more info as we continue this discussion. For now, we’re looking at May Day as being a low key event to get the word out far and wide about Rob and his case. June 18 will be a blow out of some sort. Rob will be released June 29 2006 and the mo' money the better...

Rob will be 46 on December 31.

You can send him a birthday greeting at:

Rob Thaxton
#12112716
SCI
4005 Aumsville Hwy
Salem, OR 97301

Venceremos,
Marlena

Dispatch Rob los Ricos Saturday and Sunday Dec 10 & 11 2005

I can't believe that I'm already set for a visit w/Rob tomorrow and am just getting this out to y'all-sorry!

Much of the conversation for these two days revolved around the Rob documentary project. Over vending machine cappucinos and cookies we found ourselves coming closer to a story outline. We want to start filming this month inside Santiam with a Rob interview and conclude with the end of Rob's speaking tour at the end of winter '06. So, we're talking about a year long project, hours of film to be narrowed to 90 mins or so...geez...

Rob and I both agree that the June 18 1999 G8 Summit and the resultant international protests and street fighting against the summit should serve as the film's foundation and backdrop. Rob is clear in wanting to show that Eugene OR was not the only city that saw anti-capitalist uprisings on this day. As we bring the story home to Oregon, we will move into the Eugene anarchist/activist/law enforcement climate before getting into the specifics of Rob's history and actions that led to his arrest. From there, we'll move into his trial and imprisonment.

Also to be covered is his day of release (six months and 16 days to go-goddamn!!), the summer planning, creation and preparation for the speaking tour and various other interviews and unplanned happenings interspersed throughout.

In discussing what will be "Rob's story," the thing that came up was not so much about what he does want covered in the film but rather, what he does NOT want covered. He also wants it to be funny...I don't know how familiar you all are with Rob and his writings. If you know Rob then you know that he can be funnier than shit. No lie. Many a drive back home to Portland after a visit has been spent chuckling and shaking my head about something that he said or did. His brand of humor was actually something quite offsetting to me at first; how can this guy find any humor in what he has had to indure in a brutal prison system, singled out and targeted because of his political leanings? As I have come to know him, I understand that this humor is part of his strength...Rob's strength is amazing, y'all. Just one of the many things that I admire about him.

Okay, guess that's it for now. Oh! One more thing. If any of you have or have access to J18 footage or photos, it would be so very cool if you might consider seeing your stuff in the doc. I would be deeply indebted and will note all credits and and copyrights.

Take care, talk to you in a few days.
Venceremos, Marlena en-lucha.blogspot.com

Dispatch Rob los Ricos, Oregon anarchist political prisoner for N24, 25 and 27.11.05 N24

thanksgiving day. I in no, way shape or form "celebrate" a date that marksthe genocide of my people; haven't for over a decade. For myself, as well as many other's worldwide, this day is marked as a National Day of Mourning. This year it also meant an extra Santiam visiting day.

The visiting room was less full than usual on thanksgiving. Rob is in good spirit, feeling well and happy as I am that we have an extra visiting day.

After a quick catch up and me getting dragged to the backdrop for yet another prison photo we talk about the web work and speaking presentation that Rob has in mind for next year. He asks that I send two books to him, one on html and the other on Power Point (already in the mail from Powell's Books). A lot of our discussion was also around activists and political trials and how those who go to prison because they put action to words too often lose the support of those on the outside who do nothing but talk and are incapable for carrying the conviction of action.

Friday evening and Sunday afternoon. inmates had thanksgiving dinner at Santiam. Was edible, much happiness abounds. Santiam Sunday Surprise for lunch, inedible and unrecognizable, "Is it meat, is it roast beef…what the fuck is it?" Taste test: "Famous Amos" vs "Grandma's" brand prison vending machine cookies (Famous Amos, hands down; given a real choice of which to eat, neither), Winter Solstice gifts for me to deliver to Rob's daughter Raven (a surpise!), Stupid But True Santiam Prison Rules.

Let me close with Stupid But True Santiam Prison Rules.

1. Visitors cannot wear blue. Clashes with prison décor. Jus playn. Blueis the color of inmate garb. No visitor over three feet tall can wear blue…clothes exchange may serve as foundation for…I have no idea, what; a prison break? Levi envy? I ask Rob the definitive reason for this rule as given to inmates. Answer: "Because it's prison.
2. Visitors cannot dress all in white. When inmates are in transit, they wear white uniforms. Same logic as color blue? Why? "It's prison."
3. On certain days, inmates are allowed to walk or run around the prison yard track one way, on other days they must go in the opposite direction.
How come? "Prison."
4. Inmates are not allowed to war hair ties. WTF? "Because it's prison."
5. Mail protocol (all communication is monitored and read, both incoming and outgoing): letters/envelopes must not have evidence of tape, lipstick, White Out. I sent Rob a card a while back. It was returned to me because some of the artwork contained glitter. I am not making this up.
Why can't glitter attached to paper be sent to prisoners? "Prison."
6. Inmates are allowed to have food and snacks in their bunk area that comes from vending machines and commissary but not food and snacks from the cafeteria. Where is the logic in this? "Doesn't have to be any logic. It's prison."
7. Books can only be mailed to prisoners in Oregon that come directly from the publisher or bookstore where books are purchased. "You need to ask?" Sorry for the tardiness of this dispatch, computer problems. Talk to y'all in one week. Be well, bring down Babylon.

Venceremos, Marlena

One more thing: Some of you I know and love, some I don't know, so...many of you know that I am working with Rob on a documentary about his case/experience. It would be great to get an idea from some of y'all about how you came to be on this list, how you came to be familiar w/Rob's case in terms of framing the questions, etc. that we hope to have the doc address. If you do already know me and have questions/suggestions about the doc in any case, feel free to mail me, please!

WE RAISED A RUCKUS FOR ROB LOS RICOS
NOVEMBER 11-13, 2005 :Succesful events for Rob los Ricos went down across the continent . Read about them here ...

Check out the Rob page on Wikipedia !

RAISE A RUCKUS FOR ROB LOS RICOS
NOVEMBER 11-13, 2005

Rob los Ricos, aka Rob Thaxton, is a Tejano Chicano anarchist political prisoner currently serving most 88 months (over 7 years) for throwing a rock at a cop during the June 18, 1999 Reclaim the Streets celebration turned police riot in Eugene.

Rob is due to be released late June 2006. We're asking people across the country and the world to make the weekend of November 11-13, 2005 a day to support Rob, to celebrate, and to raise needed support money for Rob.

November 11th is the anniversary of the day four anarchists were hung in Chicago in 1887, despite their obvious innocence and international outcry for their release. This holiday is generally commemorated on May 1st all around the world. Rob wants to reclaim this as an anarchist festival day. And we're asking you to help make it happen!

Plan an event for Rob, to let him know he's not forgotten, and to help raise needed funds for when he is released from prison. Not just punk shows, but think creatively! Poetry readings, dance parties, karaoke night, quiz night, keggers, dinner parties, rummage sales, let your mind go free! Rob is a whimsical guy, and we're asking folks to do something political and revolutionary for cripe's sake fun!

So, to recap, ways you can help:
1. Plan a kick ass event Nov. 11-13, or get tapped into the planning already happening in your area (check out www.roblosricos.net for more information, or email roblosricos@defenestrator.org) PLEASE CONTACT US AND LET US KNOW IF YOU’RE PLANNING SOMETHING! We want to create a list and keep track of everything, and advertise it, so definitely let us know!
2. Send Rob a donation now (anything is better than nothing)
3. Read Rob's writings (His pamphlet Manufacturing Dissent is available on his website)
4. Spread the word


Rob has spent over 6 years in prison, and he's coming back to no resources. When you're paroled in Oregon, they open up the gates and let you out with nothing, not even clothes to change out of your prison garb into. We need your help to let Rob know he is not forgotten, that the principles he has struggled for for 30 years and that he will have spent over 7 years in prison for are still alive.

Donations to Rob should be sent to:
Rob los Ricos
PO Box 83904
Portland OR 97283-0904

Checks and money orders can be made out to “Rob los Ricos” or “Robert Thaxton.”
You can also make a paypal donation at www.paypal.com. The email address to use is roblosricos@earthlink.net.

You can write to Rob at:
Rob Thaxton
#12112716
MCCF
4005 Aumsville Hwy.
Salem, OR 97301
All mail sent to Rob must have a return address, including a full name of some sort.


Heartcheck: A new zine by Political Prisoners Jeffrey 'Free' Luers and Rob 'los Ricos' Thaxton.

Heartcheck is a 40 page zine with new, unpublished writings and artwork by political prisoners Jeff 'Free' Luers and Robert 'Los Ricos' Thaxton.

From the introduction:

"With millions of people dying, the environment being poisoned and destroyed by consumerism, there really are only three kinds of people: the victims, the problem, and the solution.

This zine is dedicated to the latter. The time for rhetoric is over. The time for action has arrived. We hope that the writings contained within will begin a much-needed discussion on real solutions and alternatives sorely lacking in radical circles. We hope these words will only be the beginning of something much larger."

*All* proceeds from the sale of this zine will benefit both political prisoners. Show solidarity for these political prisoners and get a copy [or 10!] today. How to order and where to buy one locally.

ordering info : http://www.freefreenow.org/heartcheck.html

see latest reviews of Heartcheck here.

SOLIDARITY FOR ROB LOS RICOS AND BRIAN MCCARVILL

Rob and Brian are two of my very good friends. Rob was the first person to reach out to me when I arrived at OSP. I had just received a 22 year sentence. I’d only been in prison for a little more than a month and I’d already lost my visits for alleged ELF activity and had the shit kicked out of me.

When I got to OSP I was fresh out of the hole. My canteen had been destroyed and I couldn’t go to store for 2 weeks. Rob gave me canteen. He helped get me out of the cell I was assigned to with a sexual predator. Rob showed me more than solidarity he showed me friendship.

During my time down Brian has been an invaluable friend and ally. He has helped me on legal issues. He has also helped me to grow by challenging me to improve myself. He has helped me hone my arguments and improve my solutions.

I’ve watched these two men continue to contribute to a movement and struggle that has largely abandon them. Because of my lengthy sentence I have been a high profile case. People call me a martyr or a hero. A title I do not claim, yet as the months pass I watch my support grow and for this I am eternally grateful. However, other prisoners are not so fortunate. As the months pass they may be forgotten. This is especially hard for people who have dedicated their life to this struggle.

Rob has given his life to this struggle for 33 years. Even after 5 years of prison enduring racial discrimination and harassment by the cops he has continued to agitate for a better world.

Brian is a man of honor. He is not selfish. His actions are not inherently politically motivated. He believes in freedom and when he sees something wrong he does his best to fix it. He lives by a code many of us profess to fight for and from prison he has struggled along side anarchists and suffered because of it.

These men deserve your support. Write them, work with them, honor their sacrifices as you have honored mine.

Jeffrey Free Luers

Rob los Ricos statement
For April 18 Portland, Oregon fundraiser

As a child, I grew up knowing that the police and government were not my friends. In addition to seeing police attacks upon civil rights activists on TV, I witnessed actual police oppression of poor people in my hometown. And as the 60s defiance of authority evolved into armed struggle against the US government, I knew where I belonged: in the trenches.

Isolated in the Texas Panhandle - far from the front lines of the revolution - and being only 11 years old, I didn't get a chance to join in the fray. By the time I was old enough to go, the revolutionary impetus in this country had all but run its course. Which left me floundering, adrift during a time of uncertainty. The revolution I so wanted to fight in never occurred and I unexpectedly lived to be 20.

Instead of a people's revolution, I watched in horror as corporate, neo-conservative fascists took over the government, during the Reagan Revolution: a revolution carried even further by the Bush family's coup d'etat in 2000.

As the fascist neo-cons grew more arrogant during their 20 years of power, I turned to activism in order to oppose them. Though we achieved some modest gains, activism proved to be ineffective. Many, many of the activists I worked alongside have either given up hope and dropped out of oppositional politics, turned to drugs, committed suicide, sold out or stagnated due to inertia.

After a troubled period of re-evaluation and self-examination, I returned to activism at a time when it seemed like people were again willing to physically confront the ruling powers. Sadly, I was among the first casualties in the street fighting that swept across the country, from Seattle to Miami. As a result, I've had to impotently observe the fascists consolidate their power from a prison cell. Again, I've missed out on a historic moment, one perfectly suited to my inclinations.

I'll be out next year. These past 6 years were supposed to be the time to assert myself in my chosen sphere - the anarchist scene. Instead, here I am in prison until the middle of my 46th year.

Fortunately, I am more secure than I've ever been in being the man I am, and once out, I intend to live my passions. No matter where that leads me, I'll be fully engaged in living a life according to my heart.

It's going to be great, and I eagerly anticipate joining you out there in what could be one of the greatest adventures in human existence: reclaiming our world - our lives - from the ruling powers.

They offer us waste, ruin and credit. We choose life!

No se rende!

Thanks for coming out tonight.

Compatch Dispatch 106

Volunteers
Going to War Part I

By Brian McCarvill

I choose the term “Volunteers” because it is apropos to COMBAT. “Comrade” or “comrades” is another term that I like to use a lot in conjunction with COMBAT. I feel as though the two terms are generally applicable to Anarchists. I am an Anarchist. My Anarchism is what I believe it to be, not what I am told it should be. Still, my Anarchism is fluid. I constantly thirst for, and seek out, Anarchist literature and camaraderie, from anywhere I can. As a prisoner in the Oregon gulag, all contact with outside Anarchists was gradually being choked off. More on that in a moment. Let me close this opening paragraph by stating that “Volunteers” and “COMBAT” will tolerate and seek extra-Anarchist input.

Back to the situation with the Oregon prison system.

In 2000, the Oregon Department of Corrections (ODOC) “documented” Anarchists as a security threat group (STG) . At first, this STG designation, by ODOC definition, earned Anarchists the designation as a gang. Prior to this secretive documenting, interaction between myself and outside Anarchists was relatively free and open. Rejection of Anarchist publications was rare. As far as I know, no Anarchist publication has ever caused an actual security problem within an ODOC prison facility that I had the pleasure of being interned at. Once the documentation occurred, almost all Anarchist literature was intercepted and rejected by ODOC. The reasoning tendered for almost all of the rejections was the display of a circle A or Anarchist Black Cross symbol. It is the rare Anarchist publication that does not contain either a circle A symbol or an ABC symbol. ODOC was aware of this and they wrote a provision into their mail rule, which declared the circle A, the ABC cross, and the black flag depictions within Anarchist publication to be “gang/STG paraphernalia.” They followed up this declaration with a policy of “zero tolerance for any gang/STG related activity.” My interaction with outside Anarchists essentially ceased to exist. I was pissed.

I was not the only one pissed off. Other Anarchist prisoners, comrades of mine and yours, were equally pissed off. We all attempted to challenge the rejection problem by utilizing ODOC’s administrative review process. White I was at EOCI (Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution), every once in a while one of these administrative reviews would terminate in my favor. This did not last long before I was transferred to OSP (Oregon State Penitentiary). At OSP, not a single administrative review, for any Anarchist prisoner that I knew of, terminated in the Anarchist’s favor.

We were in a quandary as to what to do about this problem. It became obvious to me that only a court injunction was going to get us any relief. I was loath to file such an action. I tried pleading our case with all the ODOC brass whose sphere of influence touched upon the mail rule, or to whom could influence the mail rule. It was totally fruitless. It appeared that the lawsuit avenue was to be our only chance at relief. It was a big chance. I was an experience prison litigator and prison legal assistant. I knew that the courts were not friendly to prisoner litigation. Coupled with the bad press that the Anarchists were getting in Oregon, it seemed hopeless. Still, nothing ventured, nothing gained. We were already in a position of total repression. We could only improve our situation. However, a loss in court would only seal our fate in the form of our current dilemma. I filed suit, McCarvill v DeHann, et. al., United States District Court, District of Oregon, case No. 02-1167-KI, Portland Oregon.

The combat was begun. I do not want to bore you with the ins and outs of litigating the suit. Anyone truly interested in this aspect of the combat can access the court file and gain a pretty good idea of the massive effort required to prosecute such a suit, from the perspective of a prisoner.

It was formidable, I can tell you.

We won the suit. Notice that I said “we.” I could not have accomplished this win alone. This is the point that I wish to make. Had I been alone in this effort, I would have lost.

There was all manner of support in this combat. This is Anarchism at work. This is revolution at work. In the matter at hand, this was victory. Of course, not all Anarchists, particularly those who pose themselves as ethically pure Anarchists or principled Anarchists, chose to participate. This is certainly OK. I support them in their principalities. They are often the keepers of the flame, the ones who can be relied upon to perpetuate both theory and history, to pacify with knowledge and truth, noble, pertinent and necessary tasks to be sure. But, bet hat as it may, there is war in progress, the litigation that I started was a battle in that war, military-speaking, an engagement.

Once started, the litigation was, in fact, approached as a battle. It was all or nothing, this was no skirmish. As in any battle, militarily-speaking, to win against a formidable enemy, a firmly entrenched enemy, an enemy with superior firepower that holds the high ground, the tactics would necessitate creating multiple fronts and out-flanking the enemy on all of those fronts. This required more than me as the litigator, much more.

My cellmate at the time, and comrade, Rob los Ricos, came up with a plan to mobilize outside forces. A second front was born. Rob, with myself in full agreement, organized a campaign wherein outside supporters were requested to protest ODOC’s repression by sending both of us postcards with a large circle A symbol displayed over the words, “This is not a gang symbol.” Hundreds of postcards flowed in. ODOC reacted by throwing both of us in the hole for one hundred and twenty days, convicting us of “unauthorized organization I.”

The hole time turned out to be a blessing in disguise as far as litigating the lawsuit was concerned. Approximately ninety percent of the written discovery efforts were conducted by me from the hole. Yes, I had to hand print it all on unlined paper with a miniature pen about the size of a run-of-the-mill birthday cake candle, but I had plenty of time to accomplish it all. Had I been in general population, I would have been working a good sixty to sixty-five hours a week, and would not have had the opportunity to perfect the tremendous amount of written discovery. This proved to be a key downfall in the enemies’ defenses on the central front.

As I hammered at the enemy with the full frontal attack of the litigation, the outside support network kicked into full mobility. The Anarchist Prisoners Legal Aid Network (APLAN), with us from the beginning, both raising and supplying monies that supported the litigation, went online, and otherwise organized massive publicity for the battle. APLAN also coordinated the continued postcard campaign, as well as an effort to arrange declarations in support of the litigation from interested Anarchists from all over the world. Break the Chains and Green Anarchy of Eugene, Oregon mirrored APLAN’s efforts, providing a position statement and kicking the bushes for declarations. John Conner and Green Anarchy of London, England provided in-depth position statement. Joanne Rankin and comrades of Dublin, Ireland held a fundraising event and provided much appreciated moral support, thank you, Joanne. Ryan Foote and Mishap zine of Eugene, Oregon provided an in-depth position statement and support considerably freed up ODOC restrictions on zines. John Zerzan provided much needed declarations that substantially took the legal substance away from ODOC’s position. Countless others, from everywhere, contributed declarations, postcards, and probably most important for me, moral support.

It turns out that had I approached the litigation on my own, the cause would have failed. Had ODOC been approached without the litigation, the cause would have failed. Because we approached the battle multilaterally, with full force and conviction, we won. Anarchist camaraderie was the binding influence. In this age of information, we are a power to be reckoned with. The isolation that accompanied Anarchist individualism in the past is no longer a detriment. Organization, as verb, not an entity, as in this instance, is a proven battle winner.

Winning the war is next. It involves COMBAT. Fuck Uncle Sam, the revolution needs you.

Combat begets casualties. War is hell. How true. Revolution is not a dinner party after all. Casualties were suffered by us all around. Impact, both immediate and long term, varied by degrees as to the participants. I am reminded of a conversation that I had with two of the defendants from the lawsuit, Greg Atkin - OSP safety officer, and Jacy Duran – the then central mail administrator. Prior to my actual filing of the suit, I had told Duran and Atkin (to his credit, Atkin had brought Duran to my cell door in an effort to solve the circle A problem), that the only avenue of relief that I had left was to actually file the suit. I asked them both if there would be any hard feelings in the event that I did file suit and of course they both professed that there would not be any “paychecks.”

I am currently sitting in ODOC’s showcase isolation unit prison, Two Rivers Correctional Institution (TRCI). How and why did I arrive here? If you have had enough wherewithal to read this far, you are obviously able to rationalize the answer. I am getting ahead of myself here somewhat, let me back up.

The first casualties in the battle were absorbed by you, our supporters, and us prison rank and file, in the form of monetary cost. Court filing fees were $150.00. Legal copies and postage expenses quickly took off exponentially, costing multiple hundreds of dollars all totaled. You raised these funds for us. Your actions and support in doing so constituted a state defense. Although the state complains of costs, there is no impact upon its individuals, it simply squeezes the taxpayers a little harder. The costs to you and I are intended to deter, Capital at work controlling us. For me, this has never been an obstacle. For you, well, I must say, thankfully, that those of you who were not deterred, occurred, and hopefully will continue to occur, in adequate numbers to move the revolution forward. To those of you who were deterred, by either financial cost, time incurred or simply by the necessary work, I implore you to get the f___ out of the way, take your social-climbing non-committal a__ elsewhere, there is no place in the revolution for you.

I recognize that outside support for us prisoners, whether it be monetary, physical effort and/or moral support, takes away from other valuable life experience. I think I speak for more than myself when I say that we prisoners deeply respect and appreciate your efforts. Economic impositions upon us, the prisoners involved (Rob los Ricos and I here) are, of course, amplified very quickly as we deal with very small amounts of money in our lives. We were immediately impacted when we lost our jobs and were thrown in the hole for the postcard campaign. As long term prisoners, it was rather easy to take this in stride, particularly because of the outside support we receive. Still, the state imposes the penalty as a deterrent, it is all that it knows. Personally, I lost one hundred or so days of good time as well as my prison job. In the long run, the loss of income will become a considerable hardship factor in my quality of life and my ability to interact with the outside. The hole time (one hundred and twenty days) and the loss of good time are somewhat inconsequential deterrents.

The greatest casualty suffered by me is my transfer to TRCI. The state knows this, it is why they did it. There was a clamor from the outside, and from me, to ODOC high rankers, to restore Rob and I as cellies, and to our jobs. Even the Attorney General office recommended return of the jobs and no transfers. But authority must have its pound of flesh, gained in this case through the mental anguish inflicted upon me through the transfer to TRCI. Not only did they knowingly separate Rob and I, the worst thing they could do to me, they transferred me to the only prison in Oregon that has no means of ever sitting with back support. They did this with the full knowledge that I suffered from severe spinal trauma and wedged discs. So they know they are torturing me mentally and physically .still, separating Rob and I was and is a tremendous blow to my good mental health. We pose absolutely no threat to ODOC of any kind. Filing of the lawsuit, your support, the engagement, was an affront to ODOC securities’ fascist ego, nothing more, nothing less. They simply cannot stomach that they were wrong, both morally and legally. Authority, like a tread upon viper, must bite, and bite it has.

Conclusion

I am currently in physical and mental agony as I write this piece. Perhaps by the time it is read, conditions will have improved. I know that comrades at APLAN have put out a call for a write-in campaign to ODOC officials on my behalf, asking that I be returned to OSP and be given adequate medical treatment, via indymedia on the net. Irregardless, I am a casualty of war, of COMBAT, a willing casualty. We must not be daunted by authority, by capital, or by combat. It has been said that history is written by the winner. My friend, we should have, and maintain, every intent to write that history.

Brian McCarvill
51st Volunteers
c/o TRCI
11037967
82911 Beach Access Rd.
Umatilla, OR 97882

COMBAT dispatch 2.02 - Revolution is struggle
By Rob los Ricos

There's a disgusting trend among trendy activists and it's well past time to cut it the fuck out.

In publication after publication, there are articles espousing some activity as being "the" revolution: dance parties, the music itself, traveling festivals, fucking, masturbating.

At the risk of being robvious, let me tell you - you'd be doing all of that stuff under any circumstances. And it's wonderful to do all that. but it's not revolutionary, and labeling these common occurrences as such is a SELL OUT!

If you are not in imminent danger of being killed or disappeared for your actions, you're not doing anything revolutionary. Right now, people are being slaughtered in Africa, Papua/New Guinea, South and Central America Central Asia, to provide first world consumers with diamonds, cheap oil, coffee and wireless communications devices. While privileged first worlders literally dance, fuck and travel over the bodies of the only people on Earth who are living sustainable, until they were driven from their homelands by corporate armies and military bandits.

Look, I'm not a prude. I plan to play music at traveling festivals and do lots of fucking when I get out of prison. But I won't call any of it revolutionary.

Do you want to do something revolutionary? Stop the genocide against the last remaining indigenous cultures and peoples of the earth. For fuck's sake, have you no hearts?

Cibolero volunteer Rob los Ricos


May 2003

Anarchists Settle Oregon Department of Corrections Repression Suit

Salem, Oregon - 22 April, 2003 - Oregon Anarchist's federal lawsuit against the Oregon Department of Corrections (ODOC) has been settled by compromise.

Filed pro se by Anarchist prisoner Brian McCarvill, personally, and on behalf of others similarly situated, versus Ben DeHaan, Acting Director ODOC; Mike Beagen, Inspector, Security Threat Groups, ODOC; Jacy Duran, Central Mail Rule Administrator; and seven other ODOC employees, McCarvill v DeHaan et al, USDC OR, Case No. 02-1167-KI, was settled by contractual compromise on April 22, 2003. The Lawsuit alleged that the ODOC was unconstitutionally rejecting Anarchist and other publications, simply on the basis that they portrayed the Anarchist circle-A symbol, the Anarchist Black Cross symbol, the Anarchist Black Flag, and the terms "Anarchism" and "Anarchist", without any substantive review towards determining whether or not the rejected publications constituted an actual "security threat" or "detriment" to Oregon prison facilities.

The lawsuit further alleged that Anarchists were being unconstitutionally "documented" (ODOC's verbiage) as a "gang" and a "security threat group" (STG), a documentation that allowed ODOC to characterize Anarchist symbols as "STG Paraphernalia." The Oregon mail rule, OAR 291-131, contained a provision that allowed ODOC to reject mail and publications for displaying "STG Paraphernalia." Plaintiff contended that ODOC had unconstitutionally constructed a shortcut - the simple appearance of an Anarchist symbol - means of rejecting mail and publications that ran afoul of even state-friendly Thornburgh v Abbott, 490 US 401 (1989).

The lawsuit further alleged that ODOC had an unconstitutional pattern and practice of rejecting Anarchist mail and publications for "unrecognized publisher," on an ad hoc basis, for Anarchist publications only; as well as mischaracterizing Anarchist zines as magazines and / or pamphlets, at will, depending upon which classification would earn the zine a rejection.

After conducting massive amounts of written discovery, the parties agreed to settle the dispute by contractual compromise. Plaintiff attributes ODOC's willingness to settle to a combination of the massive amount of support from the Oregon, US, UK and Eire, Anarchist diaspora, in the form of affidavits, declarations, and positive statements. The Anarchist Prisoners' Legal Aid Network (APLAN) of Portland Oregon provided financial, moral and campaign support from the beginning, allowing the initial filing and prosecution of the lawsuit. Break the Chains prisoner support Anarchist collective of Eugene Oregon, and the Anarchist Black Cross Network of Austin Texas, rounded out collective organizational support for Plaintiff. Green Anarchist newspaper of London England, Green Anarchy collective of Eugene Oregon, and Mishap zine of Eugene Oregon, all provided in depth position statements. Individual Anarchists from everywhere contributed, and continue to contribute, documentation in favor of Plaintiff's position.

In the course of prosecuting the lawsuit, Plaintiff and his cellmate, Anarchist Rob los Ricos, were placed in Disciplinary Segregation at Oregon State Penitentiary, for "unauthorized organization I". Both individuals earned 120 days "hole time" for their efforts. Almost all of the written discovery was conducted from the DSU environment despite ODOC's intent to hinder. As part of the settlement agreement, Plaintiff agreed not to divulge the terms of the agreement without ODOC permission. Negotiations as to what can be divulged by Plaintiff are currently taking place. However, in an April 13, 2003 communication to Plaintiff, los Ricos stated:

"Just before lights out, correctional officer Birch [ODOC STG] came by for a chat. He says you're about to win your lawsuit… It looks like they are in the process of re-writing the mail rules, so that we can have most anarchist literature regardless of circle-A's."

The compromise settlement gives Plaintiff and similarly situated persons the relief that they could reasonably have expected from the US District Court. Being a contractual compromise, the settlement is revocable should one or the other of the parties default from the agreement. There were no monetary damages sought in the lawsuit.

The success of Plaintiff and similarly situated persons here provides twenty-first century proof of the viability of the viability of the decentralized, individualist, and collective Anarchist ideal. Viva la revolucion!
23 April
Brian McCarvill
51st Volunteers


Combat is an open forum. Takes and discussion on the foregoing dispatch are not only welcome but encouraged. Dispatches are encouraged from the front lines everywhere in the revolutionary diaspora, on any subject that is calculated to move the revolution forward. Please write:


Brian McCarvill 11037967
TRCI
82911 Beach Access Road
Umatilla, OR 97882

Anarchist Prisoners' Legal Aid Network
818 SW 3rd Ave. PMB 354
Portland, OR 97204 (USA)
weneversleep@ziplip.com