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“DEATH IS IRREVOCABLE”

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EDITORIAL: “DEATH IS IRREVOCABLE”

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall has allowed himself to be used for the commission of an infamy directly responsible for all those who die or are maimed from U.S. bombing in Cambodia between Saturday, August 4th and Wednesday, August 15th.

His action, in rallying the other Supreme Court Justices behind his order to nullify Chief Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas' injunction staying further bombing in Cambodia, is unprecedented. Further, it contradicts an earlier: assertion he made, when asked to uphold the lower court ruling ordering an immediate injunction on the bombing. At that time Justice Marshall claimed he lacked authority to so order.

Justice Douglas likened his injunction order to a capital punishment case. He wrote: "When a stay in a capital case is before us, we do not rule on guilt or innocence. A decision on the merits follows and does not precede the stay. If there is doubt whether due process has been followed in the procedures, the stay is granted because death is irrecovable."

Justice Douglas maintained that the Cambodian situation had "the grim consequences of a capital case", in that "we know that someone is about to die". Those condemned, he said, "may be Cambodian farmers…or the American pilot or navigator who drops a ton of bombs on a Cambodian village …Denial of the application before me would catapult our airmen as well as Cambodian peasants into the death zone."

For us, this is the central point. That one man, woman or child should die, be they American or Cambodian, as a result of actions whose legality, constitutionality and moral justifications are questioned is indefensible.

In requesting the injunction, New York Representative Elizabeth Holtzman and her colleagues challenged the Nixon Administration's contention that U.S. military involvement in southeast Asia represented a POLICE action. They argued that a military action by one nation against another constitutes WAR. And they further maintained that the police authority provided that the Executive in the Constitution is confined to the continental limits of the United States of America. The Constitution clearly holds that only the Congress is empowered to authorize this nation's participation in WAR.

Provided the initial opportunity, Justice Marshall failed to rise to the historic occasion. But, when Justice Douglas did by issuing the injunction,

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Justice Marshall became the instrument through which the Nixon administration seals the fate of those who are dying today in Camboida.

We condemn this move by the Nixon Administration and all those who contributed to it. We commend Justice William O. Douglas, and express our profound and deepest sympathy for the families of all those who die in Cambodia between August 4th and August 15th.

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Letters to the Editor

Hi,

I've been following serialization of Operation Gemstone in the Panther Paper and find it quite interesting. I hope you continue to publish this sort of investigative journalism. The findings about Operation Gemstone tend to bear out on a research level what's been happening to the Black Panthers, VVAW and other radical and revolutionary groups on a day-to-day level. This kind of information can help in the forming of criticisms and self-criticisms because previously unexplained failures could possibly be due to secret external intervention and not the seemingly internal causes.

The Panther Paper has gone through a lot of changes during the several years I've been reading it and I really enjoy the expanded coverage. I'd like to see you have even more international coverage but without sacrificing national or local coverage. Also, I'd like to see you publish more of the letters that you receive as there usually aren't too many.

Sincerely,
Al Hicks
La Jolla, Calif. 92037

Brothers and Sisters,

All Power to the People, First of all, I would like to say that the brothers in Germany are aware of what the Party is doing and we say Black Onl I have read any number of papers by the BPP, but as of yet I have not found any mention of the oppression that the Blacks in Germany face.

Being a Black in Germany puts you into a complex situation. The reason being that we have to deal with the typical American racism, while at the same time being subjected to German police and citizen's racism.

We are always getting people to come over and investigate the racial problem. People such as Roy Wilkins, Senator Edward Brook, etc…These people never even see a typical "Black" soldier because all of the top brass takes them on guided tours and coffee hours. So while our supposedly Black leaders are sipping coffee and being filled with honey-coated lies, we the people are still suffering under an unjust system. For example, a brother was sentenced to a year in prison plus a dishonorable discharge because he protested against American support of Portugal, and everyone should be aware of what Portugal is doing in Africa. He needs our support along with other political prisoners. I hope you print this letter as a sign to other Blacks in Germany, that oceans cannot drown the struggle for liberation.

Brother Alphonso Gill
(Army) Hanau, Germany

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Farmworker organizers told members of the Intercommunal Survival Committee yesterday that the editorial "The Choice is Safeway's (July 14th issue) really summed up Safeway's role in the Farmworker's struggle. On that subject it was the best article, in their opinion, they have seen come out.

Also, they gave very good feedback about the success of Friday, July 20th's picket line of Safeway in Oakland. POWER TO THE PEOPLE.

Miriam Cherry
Palo Alto, Calif.

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“OPERATION GEMSTONE: THE GREAT WATERGATE CONSPIRACY”

In this excerpt from "Operation Gemstone: The Great Watergate Conspiracy", unrevealed implications of the "Mexican connection" are treated and the over-all coverup strategy is layed out.

"Operation Gemstone" is a work in progress by the Beverly Hills, California-based, radical Citizens Research and Investigating Committee, edited by Donald Freed. THE BLACK PANTHER has been given exclusive advance publication rights to provide our readers with excerpts from the work.

PART 7

A question that baffles investigators is - why was the White House, and the President in particular, so frantic to hide "the Mexican connection". The Washington Post reported: "The nature of Mr. Nixon's anxiety is still perplexing to investigating Senators and Congressmen who have heard the testimony of all principal parties."

Only six days after the break-in, the "Mexican connection" was a major concern of the White House, President Nixon included. Over the next few weeks, the White House tried to use the CIA to stop an FBI probe of the "Mexican connection". H.R. Haldeman told a House committee this was done "on the President's request". John D. Ehrlichman testified: "The President was especially concerned about agency (CIA) activities in Mexico which might be disclosed."

CIA Director Richard M. Helms told Ehrlichman, Haldeman and acting FBI Director L. Patrick Gray III, "that no CIA activities would be compromised by the FBI inquiry". Haldeman and Ehrlichman went behind Helms' back and ordered his deputy, General Vernon Walters to see Gray and give him the message: "Further inquiries into the Mexican aspects of this matter might jeopardize some of the CIA activities in that area."

When Walters hesitated, he was called to the office of Presidential Counsel John Dean three times, and again asked to involve the CIA. He

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replied finally, he would rather resign. Yet on July 5, 1972, Walters was called again, by Gray, and asked for a formal letter from the CIA asking the FBI to "stop further investigation of the Mexican aspects of this matter".

Why did the White House become so profoundly involved…? Why was it pressing the CIA to lie about a relatively trivial matter for the President?

Long before Watergate, independent researchers became convinced that money for the assassination of President John F. Kennedy came through Mexico. The Warren Commission said Lee Harvey Oswald was in Mexico just before the assassination; the late Senator Richard Russell, a Warren Commission member, said on television, Oswald made several trips there. There is new evidence that meetings were held in Mexico City to plot the JFK assassination, and the murder "team" gathered there a few days before coming to Dallas.

Mexico figures in another assassination plot. There was a White House scheme to kill Panama's strongman, Omar Torrigo, because of his anti-American stand on the canal. The contract went to E. Howard Hunt…Hunt had his team in Mexico before the mission was aborted.

"COWBOY" SOURCES

The cash flowed from classic "Cowboy" sources: corrupt unions, organized crime, and giant multinational conglomerates into the clandestine intelligence front - the Committee to Re-Elect the President - and from there to the teams in the field. At this accounting, more than 15 million dollars, over one third of the total C.R.P. budget of $45 million, was spent on secret, illegal operations. The depth and breath of this corruption will occupy us more deeply in our study of the lceberg in Part II.

Operation Gemstone, the primary conspiracy, blew its cover on the night of June 16 - 17, 1972. The secondary conspiracy, the cover-up, began as the Watergate break-in team was being piled into squad cars for booking. The cover-up began within minutes of the arrests. It continues down to this day for the break-in, itself, was a cover-up. Only one of the men arrested knew the real purpose of the invasion, and the meaning of the forged documents he secreted while the others puttered about on a wild goose chase for incriminating documents.

An aroused media and long-suffering Congress, that had felt the unremitting lash of the Nixon Administration for four long years, took the opportunity to rake the mud over and over again until at last the footprints of some of the plotters came into clear public view.

PERHAPS EVEN MURDER

All the while the White House and the Department of Justice and its agency the FBI schemed without let up to cover-up, whitewash, plant false leads, and propagandize and bribe and, perhaps, even murder to cover the blood red footprints which led to the door of the highest office in the land.

Charles W. Colson continued as head of the White House "Attack Group". But now their task was not to re-elect the President but to protect him. The cover story was only designed to last from June until after the November election. Colson set up Magruder, Mitchell, Ehrilchman, Haldeman, and Stans to constitute a suicide squad who would literally lay down their political lives to make one last revetment between the public and the Oval Office of the President.

They knew from June 17 on that the CIA and FBI would provide only a temporary fig leaf, that after November all the rotten underpinnings of the C.R.P. would crash to earth. Colson urged a plan that was eventually adopted in desperation. This plan, the cover-up of the cover-up, was elementary: John Mitchell was criminally responsible for everything that had happened before June 17th, and John Dean for everything that had happened after.

Colson's highly vocal defense of the President was, of course, merely a defense of himself and his "Cowboy" interests. While publicly apologizing for Nixon, Colson managed to privately leak that the politicos Haldeman and Ehrlichman were guilty along with Mitchell and Dean.

When a toughminded Republican judge pressed for the answers that the Washington Post, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, New York Daily News, Miami Herald and, indeed, all except the right-wing media were so relentlessly demanding, then James McCord the "Control" of the East Coast team rose above the bribes and threats to tell what he knew, and he knew plenty. Then, in quick succession, Jeb Stuart Magruder and John W. Dean III cracked wide open, turning their suicide daggers toward the White House, ready to let blood: the country was plunged into shock and the President faced a terminal crisis that could no longer be covered-up.

CONTINUED NEXT WEEK

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JONATHAN JACKSON: BLACK MAN - CHILD REMEMBERED

August 7th, 1970: a movement is born, founded by a 17 year old Black man-child, Jonathan Jackson.

That day a Black man, James McClain, was standing trial because he had defended himself from a San Quentin prison guard. With McClain in the Marin County Courthouse that day were two of his witnesses, fellow prisoners William Christmas and Ruchell Magee.

In walked the revolutionary - Jonathan. His objective: freedom, for the brothers in the courtroom and humanity at large. The prosecutor, Gary Thomas, the judge, Harold Haley, and several jurors became hostages. Their function: to prevent or deter the outright murders of the four men who bid for freedom.

However, the state, San Quentin guards and other police, turned out to be extremely vicious, even on this occasion when the lives of the hostages, who were thought to be allies of the state, were in danger. Within minutes, the escape van became bullet-ridden and blood-stained.

Within the van lay the murdered men: Jonathan Jackson, William Christmas, James McClain and Judge Harold Haley; and with them lay the critically wounded, Ruchell Magee and prosecutor Gary Thomas.

Four men, led by the man-child, Jonathan, had doffed the chains of slavery and are free -- revolutionary suicides.

About one year later, San Quentin guards assassinated Jonathan's brother, George Jackson. It made the second of Georgia Jackson's sons who had escaped to freedom in this tragic, yet heroic, way. Here is something of what George wrote two days after August 7th: "We reckon all time in the future from the day of the man-child's death.

"Man-child, Black man-child with submachine gun in hand, he was free for a while. I guess that's more than most of us can expect…"

In came the gentle man-child, Jonathan, and in minutes his blood spilled throughout the world, notifying all humankind that America the Beautiful had slaves who are in revolt: The August 7th Movement was born.

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CAMBODIA AT ISSUE: IMPEACH NIXON PROCEEDINGS UNDERWAY

(Washington, D.C.) - Resolutions calling for the impeachment of a U.S. president are rare, yet one calling for the impeachment of President Nixon was introduced in the House of Representatives last Tuesday.

Democratic Representative Robert F. Drinan, who presented the resolution, said it was time for the House to determine whether Nixon committed "high crimes and misdemeanors".

Representative Drinan cited the recently disclosed secret war Nixon launched in Indo-China in 1969 and 1970 without the knowledge or approval of Congress or the American people, as a major reason why Nixon should be impeached.

Representative Drinan said the House must determine if the $140

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million cost of the war was financed by money taken from Congress under "false premises" and spent unconstitutionally.

Representative Drinam, a Roman Catholic priest from Massachusetts, also objected to Nixon's tape recording of telephone calls and office conversations, and the creation of a secret White House spy unit which obtained information on congressmen, well-known Americans and others.

Nixon-supporters have tried to play down the call for impeachment as a mere gesture of protest against Watergate and the secret war, however, if it is only a "gesture of protest", it is one which brings Nixon a step closer to losing his office in the White House.

Secretary of Defense, James R. Schlesinger, speaking recently before the Senate Armed Services Committee, which has been investigating the secret Indo-China war, verified that U.S. bombers were secretly attacking Cambodia while the Nixon administration was publicly professing respect for her neutrality. In 14 months, 3620 missions were flown over Cambodia and 104,000 tons of bombs dropped.

Another witness, former Air Force Major Hal M. Knight, testified that he and others had deliberately falsified highly classified reports made after missions to prevent any official recording of the Cambodia bombings. He said he destroyed all evidence of the actual targets in a special "burner" constructed near his unit.

The pro-impeachment position was given further support when a federal court judge ruled two weeks ago that the U.S. bombing of Cambodia is unconstitutional. Judge Orrin Judd enjoined further U.S. military operations in that country without congressional approval, but stayed the execution of the injuction to allow the government to appeal.

"There is no existing congressional authority to order military forces into combat in Cambodia or to release

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bombs over Cambodia", said Judge Judd.

Meanwhile, a former Green Beret sergeant has recently accused the Nixon regime of contriving to cover up the extent of U.S. military operations in Laos and Cambodia. He charged that government officials deliberately understated the number of Americans killed on those operations.

Other evidence of administration crimes has recently been uncovered. Many government and non-government sources have revealed information concerning the Nixon spy unit, which used illicit methods to investigate individuals. One investigation involved a plot in which a good-looking man would seduce women friends of the late Mary Jo Kopechne, who was killed in Edward Kennedy's 1969 car accident at Chappaquiddick. Pictures would be taken and the women would be blackmailed into revealing details about Miss Kopechne and the party that took place before the accident.

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WIFE OF MARCUS GARVEY DIES

(Kingston, Jamaica) - Mrs. Amy Jacques Garvey, the widow of the early advocate of Black pride and nationhood, Marcus Garvey, died recently at the University Hospital here.

A noted author, speaker and human rights activist herself, Mrs. Garvey had been hospitalized for two weeks with a bursitis condition. She died however, as a result of hepatitis infection which she contracted while in the hospital. Mrs. Garvey was 77 years old.

Mrs. Garvey was the author of Black Power in America, Garvey and Garveyism and The Philosophies and Opinions of Marcus Garvey. Her literary contributions have also been published in magazines and periodicals throughout the world.

Mrs. Garvey was buried in Jamaica, and is survived by her son, Marcus Garvey, Jr.

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OKINAWA: 10 BLACK MARINES CHARGED FOR REBELLION

(Camp Hauser, Okinawa) - Ten Marine brothers have been charged here at Camp Hauser, with various "crimes" arising out of a justified rebellion against Marine racism, that occurred on the nights of May 3rd and May 4, 1973.

Word of the incident has reached THE BLACK PANTHER by letter from one of the ten brothers charged. Brother Victor Jackson writes that on those nights the Black members of Company "K", 3/43rd Marine Division stationed here, were the victims of a ruthless and sustained assault by the camp guards, battalion riot squads and disorder control units, with the Military Police held in reserve.

The ten brothers if convicted face maximum sentences each of six months imprisonment, six months forfeiture of pay and a bad conduct discharge.

Since the confrontation and charges, Brother Jackson writes, the brothers have been subjected to threats of jail, frequent searches, urine tests for drugs and attempts at dividing each against the other. "We feel this is part of an ongoing campaign, aided by our overtly racist company commander, to harass us to the point where our frustrations lead us to acts that will eventually land us in jail before the trial". Brother Jackson writes.

Almost two weeks ago, the brother writes, they were read the initial charges. Since then, with the aid of two progressive lawyers, Bill Shaap and Doug Sorenson, the brothers have been building an offensive to stop the Command's attempt to railroad them into jail.

Shaap and Sorenson, together with the G.I. movement on Okinawa, are responsible for the victory won in the case of the U.S.S. Sumter 3, three brothers who faced a similar fate as a result of their fight against racism on their ship.

"We have decided to remain united and to coordinate each move to defeat the corps' efforts at crushing us", Brother Jackson writes. "We are confident that we can win, but we need support. We are asking the interest of the Black Panther Party in our case and support of the Party towards another People's Victory."

Letters of support, inquiry and encouragement should be addressed to: L/Cpl. Jackson V6 2733853 "K" Co. 1st Plt. 3/43rd Mar. Div. FMF, FPO San Francisco, CA. 96602

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ARSONISTS DESTROY S.F. GAY CHURCH: NATION-WIDE CONSPIRACY SUSPECTED

(San Francisco, Calif.) - Arsonists using prayer books for fuel destroyed the gay-oriented Metropolitan Community Church here last week. This is the fourth fire to strike a Metropolitan Church Community facility in the country within the past several months. The church has a predominantly gay congregation.

The mother church was leveled by an arson fire in Los Angeles, last January. A recent fire in New Orleans killed 32 persons, many of them members of the church attending their customary Sunday night buffet.

"It's an old and tried fascistic technique, reminiscent of another time and another country, and we're not going to stand for it in San Francisco", City Supervisor Dianne Feinstein commented. Following the fire, the Rev. Ray Broshears, head of the Gay Activists Alliance, said someone had pasted a sign on the window of the group's community center here during the night reading: "Kill the Queers, You're Next".

VIGOROUS INVESTIGATION DEMANDED

At a service held a few blocks away at the Mission United Presbyterian Church, three nights after the fire, the Metropolitan Community Church congregation and supporters protested the obvious, nation-wide conspiracy against the church and called for a "vigorous investigation".

One participant pointed out that such acts were the natural consequence of the attitudes expressed by former Nixon aide John Ehrlichman before the Senate Watergate committee last week justifying clandestine and illegal inquiry into the sex habits and morals of Americans in public service.

The Rev. James E. Sandmire, pastor of the Metropolitan Community Church, said the church has a congregation numbering about 500 persons who participate in regular services, choir programs and weeknight social gatherings at the church.

During the protest worship meeting it was announced that San Francisco Sheriff Richard Hongisto and San Francisco Supervisor John Molinari are launching a campaign to raise the $100,000 needed to rebuild the burntout church.

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“I hear you Panthers are going to rip me off?”

(Vacaville, Calif.) - "Did you know you guys were out to rip me off?" The question baffled David Hilliard. He didn't even know the prison inmate asking the question.

"Who are you?", David asked.

The 28-year-old White man, eight years an inmate of California prisons, then told David why the question.

Robert B. Viles had been before the California Adult Authority for a parole hearing in June. He'd just received the results of that hearing. His application for parole had once again been denied.

Among the reasons for denial listed on the work sheet:

"Subject threatened by Panthers."

The "subject", Robert Viles, was completely unknown to David Hilliard, leading member of the Black Panther Party and a prison inmate at Vacaville since July, 1971.

Robert Viles has had no contact of a negative nature with any member of the Black Panther Party to his knowledge since his incarceration and no member of the Party has expressed even an awareness of Robert Viles' existence, let alone threaten him.

"WHY AND WHAT FOR"

In a letter to Raymond J. Sherwin, Judge of the Superior Court of Solano County, Robert Viles replied to the reasons given for denial of his application for parole by the Adult Authority. He writes: "Petitioner has no personal knowledge of being threatened by Panthers, but would assume that if indeed he were, that the state of California would at least make him aware of why and what for, if they are in possession of such knowledge."

When learning of this assertion by the Adult Authority, prison inmates at Vacaville were quick to point out that it is in these ways that the California Department of Corrections is responsible for creating an atmosphere of hostility and racist antagonisms within the institutions it runs.

Had Robert Viles taken this alleged threat at face value, he would naturally have prepared to protect himself from any Panther he knew of in the institution, and may well have struck out first himself in what he would have believed to be self-defense.

Instead, he brought the matter to the attention of the one Panther he knew at Vacaville and further raised serious question as to the truth of the claim in his letter to the sentencing judge.

The Black Panther Party has consistently maintained that violence in America's prison emanates originally from the prison authorities and the prison system. Here is a clear example of one of the many ways this occurs.

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SEATTLE, PHILADELPHIA: BLACK FAMILIES RAIDED

The cities are different but the treatment isn't - police brutality is the same everywhere - from north to south, east to west, Seattle to Philadelphia - it's the same. The Edwards family in Seattle and the Nelson family in Philadelphia can testify to this - they were recent victims.

(Seattle, Washington) - At 2 a.m. on Friday, July 20th, Eddy Lee Edwards and his sister Jerri, were home sleeping. Suspicious noises at the front door woke Eddy, who went downstairs to investigate. Upon reaching the door, Eddy saw police kick in the screen door glass, kick in the front door and pry it open with a long metal rod.

Hearing the noise, Jerri ran downstairs. She was greeted by police who searched her brother and then her. One officer asked Eddy: "Where is the stuff? Tell us or we'll tear the house up." Eddy replied that there were no narcotics in the house. Meanwhile, other police had already begun ransacking the home.

Mrs. Edwards, mother of the family, was in the hospital. She would surely have suffered a heart attack, Eddy said, upon seeing her stereo kicked in, drawers pulled out of every clothes closet, clothes covering the floor, broken tables, lamps, kicked in walls with gaping holes where plaster had fallen to the floor, ripped up mattresses, and a demolished toilet that allowed water to flow freely over the floor.

NO NARCOTICS

It was not until after the search, which turned up no narcotics, that Eddy was presented with a search warrant. He was then booked for suspicion, and charged later with possession of narcotics.

After spending 72 hours in jail, Eddy had an arraignment in which he was not charged. He was released and told that if they decided to charge him, they would send him a summons.

Raymond, Mrs. Edward's 12 year old grandson, who was home during the raid, is now under a doctor's care. As a result of the raid he cannot sleep, is hypertense and has high blood pressure. Eddy has also suffered similar effects from the raid.

Misfortune, brought on at the brutal hands of uncaring police, seems to constantly plague the Edwards family. One of Eddy's brothers, Alvin, who is incarcerated in a prison hospital, is having epileptic seizures

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from a police beating he received two years ago. The beating left him with scars on the head, face, back and neck, and with only one tooth left in his mouth.

(Philadelphia, Pa.) - At 5 a.m., the morning of July 15, police and members of ACT (Anti-Crime Action Team) kicked in the door of the Nelson home in West Philadelphia. When Mrs. Nelson asked the police what they wanted, she was told to shutup and go back to bed.

The police then went upstairs and kicked in the bedroom door of 16 year old Pamela Nelson. Shining a flashlight in her face, they asked her if she knew Aaron. A few moments later police burst into 17 year old Aaron Nelson's room, and told Aaron to dress because they were going to take him in.

Two other members of the household, 16 year old Maurice and 20 year old Tyrone, were also arrested. As a result of the attack, Tyrone suffered an emotional breakdown. At the station, police said Aaron's former White employer, Sam Shore, felt Aaron was responsible for burglarizing the Sam Shore Warehouse.

When Aaron said he knew nothing about the burglary, a detective began intimidating him by bouncing a ping pong ball around his head. At one point the detective pointed to a nail on the wall and told Aaron that if the nail was high enough, he would hang Aaron by it.

When Mrs. Nelson went to the police station to inquire about her son, she was told to go home. She could not get any information about Aaron, who police held for several hours and charged with burglary and receiving stolen goods. He was released on $500 bail. As a result of the obvious display of racism by the police, lawyers are investigating the possibility of filing a discrimination suit against the police department.

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AIKEN CO., S.C.: DOCTORS DEFEND STERILIZATIONS

(Aiken, S.C.) - The only three obstetricians (baby doctors) in Aiken County, South Carolina, have self-righteously performed sterilization surgery on the welfare mothers because of their, the doctors', "social views".

Drs. Clovis H. Pierce, Niles A. Borop, Jr. and Kenneth N. Owens sterilized 18 Medicaid welfare mothers following the fascist policy that pregnant women on welfare who have three children or more must agree to be sterilized before they would deliver their babies.

Of the 18 mothers, 17 are Black and ten are under 25 years of age. Aiken County hospital administrator J. Sam Nesbit said, following disclosure of this policy: "It is well within accepted standards." He said 17 of the 18 were unmarried, one had 12 children and the rest had at least three.

However, reports quote George Anderson, Aiken's only Black lawyer and president of the Aiken-Edgefield Community Action Commission, as declaring that girls from 17 and up have been sterilized and that even one girl at age 14 was given the operation. The claim, therefore, that

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only mothers with three or more children are involved, is a blatant lie.

Medical authorities in Aiken County took no action because they accept the policy as a physician's prerogative. The chairman of the Aiken County Hospital's board of trustees, Dr. George Poda, said, "It's not my business to tell another doctor how to practice medicine".

Repeated attempts to reach the three doctors directly involved met with failure all last week. But earlier, the three had talked to local reporters. Pierce is quoted as having said: "I feel that if I'm paying for them as a taxpayer, I want to put an end to their reproduction".

Records at the State Social Services Department show that Pierce has received $60,826.40 in the past 18 months, for treating Medicaid patients. One of his former Medicaid patients, 30-year-old Sister Dorothy Waters, said that when she was eight months pregnant with her fifth child in June, 1972, Pierce told her she had a choice of being sterilized or getting another doctor.

The sister said Pierce told her he worked hard to pay his taxes and was tired of having people come to him to have babies that he would have to support with his tax dollars. Ms. Walters was sterilized in July, 1972.

The powerful American Medical Association has not acted, using the excuse that the South Carolina Medical Association should act first. But, that association's president, Dr. Harold Hope, said early last week, "This matter is strictly between the doctor and the patient -- the association has nothing to do with it."

Following revelations of this wave of sterilizations, the government has imposed a moratorium on the use of federal funds to sterilize minors and "legal incompetents". This hold on funds awaits the issuance of new guidelines by the Department of Health, Education and Welfare (HEW).

But, what continues to go on with state and local financing, as well as private, is clearly a racist, genocidal extermination directed at poor, Black girls and women. Every evidence of such a policy, in every corner of this country must be exposed, condemned and destroyed.

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INVESTIGATIONS UNDERWAY AT RETRIEVE PRISON

(Angleton, Texas) - Two official investigations have been launched into the brutal beatings in June of ten prison inmates held at Retrieve Prison Farm here. (See THE BLACK PANTHER, July 14, 1973.)

A delegation of concerned state representatives, and the FBI, have begun looking into the June 17th and 18th incidents, as reports leaked into the local press that the ten prisoners, including well-known political prisoner Ernest McMillan, had been forced to "run the gauntlet" between prison guards and officials armed with rubber hoses enclosed in steel mesh, ax handles and baseball bats. Prison officials, including the director of the Texas Department of Corrections and the warden of Retrieve, do not deny that the beatings occurred; however, they justify the attack because of "mutinous" behavior.

MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR SUIT

A Houston attorney, Ms. Frances Jalet Cruz, representing the prisoners, said last week that she intends to file a multi-million dollar damage suit against the Texas Department of Corrections on behalf of the ten men, one of whom was a 58-year-old Black man with a known medical record of heart pathology.

The state representatives, Mickey Leland (Houston), Eddie Bernice Johnson (Dallas) and Neil Caldwell (Alvin), along with Wayne Oakes, a member of Texas Senator Chet Brooks' Human Resources Committee staff, visited the prison two weeks ago. While there, the representatives held face-to-face interviews with the 10 men involved, five of whom are Black, two Chicano, two White and one Native American. From their statements, the prisoners unequivocally disputed the written report of the racist prison warden, Bobby L. Taylor, known through the prison as a notorious drunkard.

While Taylor's report claims that the men were in a conspiratorial "act of mutiny" -- more specifically, organizing a work stoppage -- the prison inmates state that this is not the case. Rather, the men came to their decision not to work, individually. Each was outraged that they were told to work without prior notice on a Sunday, which is visitors day and an official day of rest from the grueling work in the fields. What happened is that for refusing to work they were beaten while in their prison unit, and beaten enroute and in the cornfields. They also told the representatives that the elderly Black man, Woodrow Winkfield, was beaten so badly that he was unable to work, passed out in the fields, and when another prison inmate went to aid him, both were beaten again. As a result of their visit, representatives Leland and Johnson, along with Mr. Oakes, have issued a joint statement saying that they feel that justification for the beatings is "in doubt".

W. J. Estelle, head of the state Department of Corrections, like racist Warden Taylor, has arrogantly made no attempt to deny the beatings, pointing to "a crop of sweetcorn that had to get to the cannery" as justification. This answer was obviously not good enough for the state representatives nor the FBI, who are now compelled to continue their investigation into the possibility that the prisoners' civil and human rights were violated.

Meanwhile, in a closely related incident, Brother Ronnie E. Sargent has sent a letter to the Black Panther Party describing his inhumane treatment in Harris County Rehabilitation Center in Houston. Writing secretly, while in solitary confinement, Brother Sargent describes spending five days in the "lawyers booth", a four foot by four foot room without water, food or toilet facilities, 26 days in solitary confinement and now suffering in isolation, all for protesting the pain caused by a broken identification bracelet which penetrated his skin. He writes: "…I need assistance from a reliable source, or organization, most of all, my Black people."

Brother Sargent is filing a $970,000 suit against the Harris County Sheriff's Department for cruel and unjust punishment by the administration.

Support for Brother Ronnie E. Sargent can be given by writing Federal Judge John V. Singleton, United States District Court/Southern District of Texas, United States Courthouse, Houston, Texas 77002; or the Federal Building at 511 Rusk Street, Houston, Texas.

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MARYLAND STATE PENITENTIARY: PRISONERS FILE SUIT AGAINST PRISON OFFICIALS

(Baltimore, Maryland) - On July 26, 1973, a press conference was held here to announce the filing of a civil suit against officials and guards of Maryland State Penitentiary for their roles in the July 12th attack upon five prisoners. This vicious attack resulted in multiple injuries to these prisoners, requiring hospitalization. The five, members of the Black Panther Party and the Maryland Penitentiary Intercommunal Survival Collective, may also have criminal charges brought against them.

Penitentiary Warden Gerald McClellan and Warden of Custody, McLindsey Hawkins, along with five prison guards are named in the civil suit.

Following the stabbing of a guard, J. D. Johnson, during an earlier scuffle, other guards were told by Johnson that "Panthers" did it. Past events have indicated that the prison's administration and guards suspectfully half of the prison inmate population of being Black Panther Party members.

Having only Johnson's generalized accusation, Brothers Robert Foulks, Marshall Conway, Clifton Wiggins, Robert Austin and Thomas Gaither were taken from their cells along with several others and individually beaten and tortured. This happened in the prison's segregation unit called "Death Wing" by prison inmates. Of these five who required hospitalization, only one, Brother Foulks, could be established as being present during Johnson's stabbing.

Johnson had just led the beating of two other prisoners and, having finished with them, had taken Brother Foulks for similar treatment. It was then that a group of unidentified prisoners surrounded the area and punished Johnson for his constant abuses.

Brother Marshall Conway received a compound fracture of the jaw from the beatings, among other injuries. This was so serious that the prison hospital was unable to treat him. However, he was not moved to an outside hospital. After pressure from his lawyer and family, eight days later, the prison administration reluctantly agreed to send Brother Conway to the University of Maryland Hospital. It was two weeks after the injury was inflicted before the necessary surgery to rest the broken jaw was finally performed.

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The beatings are not the first attempt to stop or undermine the organizing efforts of the Maryland Penitentiary Intercommunal Survival Collective. The MP ISC has instituted four operative programs for prisoners. These are: the Free Commissary Program, the People's Free Library, the People's Exercise Program and the People's Political Education Classes. A fifth program, the People's News Service, is inoperative because of the harassment it received from the administration.

Despite the threat of serious criminal charges being brought against them, the MPISC's membership will not be intimidated. They have mailed this appeal to the community: "We will continue to organize and extend our programs, demanding humane conditions in the Maryland Penitentiary…

"We are calling for the aid of the people in the community in establishing a defense committee to support the incarcerated inmates. We urge the community to support this defense committee, which can be contacted through:"

Black Panther Party
Washington, D.C. Chapter
418 H Street, N.E.
(202) 544-9100

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FUNDS FOR CONTROVERSIAL “VIOLENCE CENTER” APPROVED

FUROR OVER ILLEGAL BRAIN
SURGERY CONTINUES

(Burlingame, Calif.) - Ignoring the protests of numerous community and professional organizations, ignoring an administrative complaint filed by a San Francisco attorney and disregarding completely the advice of a state senate committee, the California Council on Criminal Justice (CCCJ) voted 19 to 0 on Friday, July 27th, to approve the allocation of funds for the controversial Center for the Study and Reduction of Violence.

The "Violence Center", as it is called, is slated for construction on the campus of UCLA in southern California, and involves over $1.5 million in taxpayers' funds. Serious and growing controversy surrounding the Violence Center is based, primarily, on the probable involvement of the Center in human experimentation; particularly in those behavior modification experiments known as psychosurgery. This type of brain surgery, with its permanent mind-altering, brain destructive effects, has aroused nation-wide concern and outrage.

Among the individuals speaking in opposition to the proposed Violence Center were: Dr. Philip Shapiro, representing the Medical Commission of Human Rights; Dr. Terry Kupers, representing the Federation of American Scientists, L.A. Chapter; "Popeye" Jackson, representing the S.F. Prisoners Committee; a female representative from the American Friends Society; Willie Holder, representing the California Prisoners Union and Michael Fultz representing the Black Panther Party.

Attorney Fred Hiestand, representing the NAACP, Western Region; the National Organization of Women; the United Farm Workers Organizing Committee; the Mexican - American Political Association; the Committee Opposed to the Psychiatric Abuse of Prisoners; the California Prisoners' Union; the California Mental Health Coordinating Council and the Black Panther Party, filed the administrative complaint, thus temporarily at least, blocking the project.

Prior to this meeting, the California State Committee on Health and Welfare, in a letter to Robert Lawson, Executive Director of the CCCJ, stated that approval of funding for the proposed Violence Center would be "ill-advised". The senate committee, following six weeks of open testimony, both pro and con, reached the conclusion that "adequate procedural safeguards are not yet in place to absolutely insure against the potential abuse of human subjects". The CCCJ is comprised of the top echelon of repressive and ideological fascists in the state, including Attorney General Evelle Younger and Department of Corrections head Robert Procunier, among its members.

THE BLACK PANTHER PARTY'S CONCERNS

It was this same concern over human experimentation that was echoed before the CCCJ on the 27th. Brother Michael Fultz, reading a prepared statement, forcefully put the Black Panther Party's concerns this way: "…the whole thrust of the Center… will not be to study, understand, and most importantly, help alleviate the social forces that produce so-called `violent behavior' -- forces such as unemployment, indecent housing, inadequate housing, and improper and non-preventative health care…Without adequate safeguards, without necessary community controls and community input, and without the strictest certainties of adherence to fundamental legal, social and moral considerations, the Black Panther Party has no choice but to oppose the funding of this project."

Many of the other speakers also raised the danger that the proposed Violence Center will engage in psychosurgical operations on political activists, prisoners, women and Black and other minority communities.

Attorney Hiestand's carefully prepared and thorough administrative complaint cited that this was an action on the part of his clients to prevent the allocation of taxpayers' funds for the Violence Center. Of paramount concern were: "(1) enforced safeguards to guarantee the protection of human subjects from dangerous, abusive and cruel experimentation and (2) (insuring) that the nature and scope of each and every Violence Center project is scientifically sound and potentially beneficial to the public interest."

Despite the CCCJ's unanimous approval for funding, the Violence Center still must pass through the California legislature, where a bitter floor fight is expected.

-- 7 --

“NO TRIAL BY JURY… TRIAL BY COMBAT”

RIZZO'S SPECIAL POLICE HIT PHILLY STREETS

(Philadelphia, Pa.) - A new undercover police team modeling itself after Detroit's infamous STRESS (Stop the Robberies, Enjoy Safe Streets) squad has hit the Black community of Philadelphia.

The Anti-Crime Action Team, or ACT, conceived by Philadelphia Mayor Frank Rizzo in January, 1972, already boasts 180 arrests and one murder in the short time its been in operation.

Rizzo said he is proud of its work so far. With ACT, he said, "There will be no more trials by juries. Now it's going to be trial by combat; for every one of us, we'll take two of them."

Established allegedly to reduce crime in high crime areas, ACT presently functions in the Black communities of West, North and North Central Philadelphia. Like STRESS, ACT's 175 specially trained agents dress causally or pose as drunks, drug addicts, truck drivers, college students or insurance salesmen in order to blend into the background. All agents are equipped with bugging devices.

The Law Enforcement Assistance Administration (LEAA), a federal government agency, funds ACT with $1 million a year, and supplies it with the most modern and sophisticated weaponry, including all types of surveillance equipment.

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When two ACT agents claimed the life of John Calhoun in a North Philadelphia restaurant May 17th, it was ACT's first murder, and only the beginning.

ACT's Detroit counterpart, STRESS, has thus far murdered about 20 Blacks. If ACT follows the same path as STRESS, and it is likely it will, it will find itself facing a storm of community protest.

In attempting to quell the outrage of the Black community and parts of the White community over racist harassments and murders, and illegal abuse of police power, STRESS has had to publicize reforms.

Police officals claim that STRESS officers have been involved in fewer shootings recently, undercover decoy officers are said to be under much tighter command control, and many STRESS policemen now perform routine police duties. The officials complain that much of the change in STRESS has escaped public notice -- but this is probably because no real change has taken place.

STRESS agents posing as all types of civilians continue their foul harassment of the community.

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HAVE ANY COMPLAINTS?

The Intercommunal News Service is constantly striving to improve our service to our readers. If you are having any problems with your subscription or home delivery of THE BLACK PANTHER, please contact Central Distribution at 8501 E. 14th Street, Oakland, California 94621, or call (415) 638-0195.

-- 8 --

PEOPLE'S PERSPECTIVE

UFW PICKETER SHOT

(Delano, Kern County, Calif.) - A United Farm Workers picketer, 18-year-old Joe Villalobos Monzon, was shot in the right shoulder last week as he was leaving a UFW picket line near the Tudor Ranch vineyards. Three men were seen in the area from which the shots came. Teamter Union goons and strike-breakers have attacked UFW picketers in southern California with iron pipes, chains and other weapons. This is the first reported incident involving the use of a gun.

F.B.I. BUGGERS CAUGHT

(Gainesville, Fla.) - Carl Ekblad and Robert Romann, two FBI agents, were discovered in a closet-size telephone connection room adjoining the office set aside for defense use in the Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW) Gainesville 8 case that opened here last week. They had in their possession a suitcase full of bugging equipment and are presumed to have been engaged in bugging the defendants telephones. Public pressure compelled U.S. District Judge Winston Arnow to hear evidence against the two FBI agents preceeding the taking of testimony for the trial.

NIXON FUNDS FOR NAZI'S

(San Gabriel, Calif.) - Self-proclaimed Nazi, Lt. Joseph Tommassi, has said the National Socialist White People's Party bought its $28,000 swastika - decorated headquarters building in EI Monte, California, with funds from the California Committee to Re-Elect the President. Tommassi said he was offered $5,000 to use his storm troops as registrars.

NATIVE AMERICAN
LEADER ARRESTED

(Chicago, Ill.) - Vernon F. Bellecourt, national coordinator of the American Indian Movement, was arrested by FBI agents last week as he arrived at O'Hare International Airport here from a two-month fundraising tour of seven European nations. He is charged with violating federal anti-riot laws because he urged students at Colorado State University and at the University of Colorado in Boulder, to take supplies to beseiged Wounded Knee, So. Dakota, during the Native American occupation there.

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REVOLUTIONARY SUICIDE

BY HUEY P. NEWTON

"CHINA"

CONCLUSION

This week, THE BLACK PANTHER reprints the third and final segment of "China", a chapter of Brother Huey P. Newton's critical and exciting politico-autobiography, Revolutionary Suicide. Summing up his experiences in China, Brother Huey reminds us of the old slogan "if you want to know the theory and methods of revolution, you must take part in revolution", and, in doing so, provides a timely answer to a too-frequent question in our present movement: can the revolution be imported?

We also visited as many embassies as possible. Sightseeing took second place to Black Panther business and our desire to talk with revolutionary brothers, so the Chinese arranged for us to meet the ambassadors of various countries. The North Korean Ambassador gave us a sumptuous dinner and showed films of his country. We also met the Ambassador from Tanzania, a fine comrade, as well as delegations from North Vietnam and the Provisional Revolutionary Government of South Vietnam. We missed the Cuban and Albanian embassies because we were short of time.

When news of our trip reached the rest of the world, widespread attention focused on it, and the press was constantly after us to find out why we had come. They were wondering if we sought to spoil Nixon's visit since we were so strongly opposed to his reactionary regime. Much of the time we were harassed by reporters. One evening a Canadian reporter would not leave my table despite my asking him several times. He insisted on hanging around, questioning us, even though we had made it plain we had nothing to say to him. I finally became disgusted with his persistence and ordered him to leave. Seconds later, the Chinese comrades arrived with the police and asked if I wanted him arrested. I said no, I only wanted him to leave my table. After that we stayed in a protected villa with a Red Army honor guard outside. This was another strange sensation - to have the police on our side.

We had been promised an opportunity to meet Chairman Mao, but the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party felt this would not be appropriate since I was not a head of state. But we did have two meetings with Premier Chou En-lai. One of them lasted two hours and included a number of other foreign visitors; the other was a six-hour private meeting with Premier Chou and Comrade Chiang Ch'ing, the wife of Chairman Mao. We discussed world affairs; oppressed people in general, and Black people in particular.

On National Day, October 1, we attended a large reception in the Great Hall of the People with Premier Chou En-lai and comrades from Mozambique, North Korea, North Vietnam, and the Provisional Government of South Vietnam. Normally, Chairman Mao's appearance is the crowing event of the most important Chinese celebration, but this year the Chairman did not put in an appearance. When we entered the hall, a band was playing the Internationale, and we shared tables with the head of Peking University, the head of the North Korean Army, and Comrade Chiang Ch'ing, Mao's wife. We felt it was a great privilege.

Everything I saw in China demonstrated that the People's Republic is a free and liberated territory with a socialist government. The way is open for people to gain their freedom and determine their own destiny. It was an amazing experience to see in practice a revolution that is going forward at such a rapid rate. To see a classless society in operation is unforgettable. Here, Marx's dictum - from each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs - is in operation.

But I did not go to China just to admire. I went to learn and also to criticize, since no society is perfect. There was little, however, to find fault with. The Chinese insist that you find something to criticize. They believe strongly in the most searching self-examination,

-- 15 --
in criticism of others and, in turn, of self. As they say, without criticism the hinges on the door begin to squeak. It is very difficult to pay them compliments. Criticize us, they would say, because we are a backward country, and I always replied, "No, you are an under developed country."

I did have one criticism to make during a visit to a steel factory. This factory had thick black smoke pouring into the air. I told the Chinese that in the United States there is pollution because factories are spoiling the air; in some places the people can hardly breathe. If the Chinese continue to develop their industry rapidly, I said, and without awareness of the consequences, they will also make the air unfit to breathe. I talked with the factory workers, saying that man is nature but also in contradiction to nature, because contradictions are the ruling principle of the universe. Therefore, although they were trying to raise their levels of living, they might also negate the progress if they failed to handle that contradiction in a rational way. I explained that man opposes nature, but man is also the internal contradiction in nature. Therefore, while he is trying to reverse the struggle of oppsites based upon unity, he might also eliminate himself. They understood this and said they are seeking ways to remedy this problem.

CONCRETE ANALYSIS

My experiences in China reinforced my understanding of the revolutionary process and my belief in the necessity of making a concrete analysis of concrete conditions. The Chinese speak with great pride about their history and their revolution and mention often the invincible thoughts of Chairman Mao Tse-tung. But they also tell you, "This was our revolution based upon a concrete analysis of concrete conditions, and we cannot direct you, only give you the principles. It is up to you to make the correct creative application".

It was a strange yet exhilarating experience to have traveled thousands of miles, across continents, to hear their words. For this is what Bobby Seale and I had concluded in our own discussions five years earlier in Oakland, as we explored ways to survive the abuses of the capitalist system in the Black communities of America. Theory was not enough, we had said. We knew we had to act to bring about change. Without fully realizing it then, we were following Mao's belief that "if you want to know the theory and methods of revolution, you must take part in revolution. All genuine knowledge orignates in direct experience."

-- A --

OAKLAND - A BASE OF OPERATION! PART 55: BLACK PANTHER PARTY FILES SUIT AGAINST IKE & TINA TURNER

All weekend long, the media had a field day. "Panthers, Show Folk, In Scuffle", read a front page headline in the Oakland Tribune. KDIA, the Black "soul" station, broadcast the police report of the "incident" early the following morning. Their news reports throughout the day stressed Ike Turner's head lacerations. "Panthers Deny Beating Ike Turner", screamed the scandal-filled Sun Reporter. The small caption, beneath a picture of Tina Turner in the middle of one of her "numbers", missed none of the melodrama: "Tina's man still screams".

The substance of the articles which accompanied the sensationalized headlines was essential the same. Ike Turner, rock entertainer with the Ike and Tina Turner Revue, claimed that members of the Black Panther Party had instigated a fight over the receipts of the Black Panther Party-sponsored benefit on Friday, July 27, and that Ike Turner, along with five members of his revue, had been beaten.

It was not until the following Wednesday, August 1st, that Bobby Seale and Ms. Elaine Brown set the record straight. In a frank and straight-forward press conference, Ms. Brown read the following statement:

"The Black Panther Party announces today that we are filing a lawsuit against Ike and Tina Turner Productions, Incorporated.

"This suit results from a series of events that began at a show the Black Panther Party sponsored, through our affiliate corporation, Oakland and World Entertainment Incoprorated, last Friday at the Oakland Auditorium.

"In an effort to raise funds to serve more people through its well known community survival programs, the Black Panther Party engaged the services of rock entertainers Ike and Tina Turner. We did not ask them to give to the people, but engaged in a legal, contractural agreement for their performance. Under contract Ike and Tina Turner were to receive $7500 dollars for a one hour performance.

"Having received $7000 in cash, before stepping foot onto the stage, the Turners insisted that a $500 balance check offered them was not good enough. Finally agreeing to accept the small check, having kept the audience waiting one hour, they began their performance. Within approximately 15 minutes, the Ike and Tina Turner band members lept from the stage, with the announcement by Ike they would perform no longer, because he "felt threatened to perform". This was a clear violation of the contract. With the angry audience jeering, the Turner band and the Turners violently pushed through the crowd to leave the stage, a melee ensuing.

"News reports the following day indicated Huey P. Newton, leader of the Black Panther Party, and Elaine Brown, an officer of the Black Panther Party and a performer herself who was also a part of the Friday evening program, as having instigated the fight. In general, news reports imply that the Black Panther Party had instigated the entire fight.

"It is the view of the Black Panther Party that Ike and Tina Turner and their review deliberately attempted to destroy the aim of the program, which was to provide more funds to benefit the Black and poor of Oakland and elsewhere.

"More than that, however, it is for the reasons stated and for the fact that people who had paid hard earned money have been robbed of the show they came to see, that the Black Panther Party believes that our contract was violated and libelous statements were made against our Party and some of its individual members in a continuous effort on the part of some to slow progress for the liberation of all human beings."

The show itself, up to the last act, the Ike and Tina Turner performance, had been all an audience could hope for. The Bishop Norman Williams Quintet, fast making a nation-wide name for itself, won more fans playing some very mellow jazz in their opening set. The group, led by Brother Norman Williams on tenor sax, remained on to back-up the show's next performer, Ms. Elaine Brown, who proved why Brother Huey Newton has called her "the first, genuine People's Artist America has produced".

Undoubtedly, Elaine surprised many people in the enthusiastic audience with her excellent performance; particularly those who were unaware that she had just released her second album, "…Until We're Free", produced and arranged by Motown. They must have been amazed to hear her full and resonant voice fill the auditorium. Others, who only knew of Ms. Brown in relationship to her recent

-- B --
34,000 vote garnering campaign for City Councilwoman in Oakland, saw evidence of Elaine's many talents.

Dressed in a beautiful, floor-length pink gown, Elaine sang and occasionally accompanied herself on piano. Many of the songs she did were taken from her new album, and all were written by Ms. Brown herself. From her swinging opening number, to the soft and sweet love ballad, "No Time", which she dedicated to "all people involved in the struggle for the liberation of all oppressed people", Elaine Brown's performance was joy to behold.

Graham Central Station, a fairly new group led by Larry Graham, formerly with Sly and the Family Stone, followed the brief intermission. Playing in a manner similar to Sly and the Family, but yet uniquely their own, Graham Central Station had the auditorium rocking with a 15 minute version of "Love and Happiness" Their performance drew a long and worthy applause.

The stage was properly set for the main attraction of the evening, Ike and Tina Turner. Arriving late -- their plane was not scheduled to come in at San Francisco Airport until 9:30 p.m., although they were scheduled to begin their performance at 10:00 -- for some reason, the Turners delayed over one hour before coming onto the stage. Perhaps they, themselves, were disappointed by the fact their "name" only drew between 1,600 to 2,000 customers, perhaps they expected the audience to just patiently wait while they got ready; yet, for whatever reasons, because of the unnecessary delay, the warm and pleasant atmosphere in the auditorium changed.

When, after performing for approximately 15 minutes, the revue's band members jumped from the stage and like announced that the show was over, the audience began to "boo" loudly, and were obviously angry. What actually touched off the melee is still unknown, but many people have reported that the rough manner in which Turner revue members pushed through the crowd that had gathered near the stage was certainly a major contributing factor. The last thing most people can remember is seeing Brother Bobby Seale on center stage telling the audience that "You have a right to a full show. We demand our money's worth. We want a full show". Just as Bobby finished these words, fighting broke out to the lower left of the stage, where the Turners had exited.

At the press conference, Ms. Brown was asked to comment on why, in her opinion the Turners acted the way they did. Her answer reflected a sad but obvious truth. "Ike and Tina Turner have not had a hit record in maybe the last five years", Ms. Brown said, "and perhaps they were looking for some publicity, using the Black Panther Party's image as a stepping stone to more publicity for themselves." Bobby Seale who joined Elaine at the press conference, added that this was not an action to counter a possible suit by the Turners. He was careful to emphasize that everyone, including the Turners', knew that the show was a benefit for Black Panther Party community survival programs, and that a good deal of money had been spent, both in cash payments to the performers as well as in promoting the event.

In view of this consideration, and in view of the fact that people spent their hardearned money to see a full show, Bobby explained, the lawsuit is unfortunately necessary.

-- 11 --

Intercommunal News: NEW REVELATIONS: PORTUGAL MURDERS 50,000 ANGOLANS

EX-AIR FORCE MAJOR REVEALS NEW ATROCITIES

(London) - Another massacre by Portuguese colonialists has been reported. The new disclosure follows right on the heels of the one exposing the Portuguese Army murders of 400 Mozambicans last December(see the July 28, 1973, issue of THE BLACK PANTHER) and concerns the indiscriminate murders of more than 50,000 human beings in Portuguese ruled Angola.

Ex-Major Jose Ervedosa, a former Portuguese Air Force pilot, saidin a recent interview in London that soldiers and police killed Angolans without distinction of age or sex within 15 weeks between March and June of 1961.

He said information about the massacre was contained in an intelligence report he saw while working as deputy operations officer to the staff of the Portuguese air regiment in Angola in 1961.

PORTUGUESE FRONT FOR LIBERATION

Jose Ervedosa, who now lives and works in Algiers as a pilot, is a member of the Portuguese Front for National Liberation, which has conducted a campaign against Portuguese war atrocities from Algiers. He said the killings were carried out over a wide area in coffee-growing bush territory from 50 miles north of the Quanza River to the extreme north of Angola.

The ex-major said he himself had taken part in bombing operations against villages for two years while he was in the air force in Angola. "I do not know how many people I killed, but I know I was responsible for many deaths", he said.

"Between 50,000 and 80,000 Angolans were killed between March 16th and June 30, 1961, without distinction of age or sex by military police and civil repression", Jose Ervedosa said. "I saw the intelligence report and I can vouch for its accuracy." He said he wanted to publicize the massacres so long after they occurred because "we must not let the ferment against Portuguese colonial repression die".

Jose Ervodosa said he reported the murders to a United Nations committee in Algiers in 1966. He said he was arrested by Portuguese police in Angola in 1963 for "making a military movement" against Portugal with some friends after witnessing the atrocities.

Concerning the Angola massacre and the one in Mozambique that was disclosed recently, Jose Ervodosa remarkeds, "The disclosures are much too serious to be forgotten."

As a matter of fact, they have not been forgotten. The United Nations Special Committee of 24 on Decolonization has recently called for an on-the-spot investigation of atrocities committed by Portugul in Mozambique, Angola and Guinea-Bissau.

Marcellino Dos Santos, vice-president of the Mozambique Revolutionary Liberation Front (FRELIMO), told the committee that massacres were standard practice for the Portuguese Army.

In calling for an inquiry, the committee said that the massacres demonstrated Portugal's total disregard for human life and basic human values.

-- 11 --

PORTUGUESE GOV'T. SUPRESSES TRUTH

(Lisbon) - Two weeks ago, four members of the Popular Movement for Anti-Colonial Resistance in Portugal were imprisoned for "subversion", because they had distributed information about the Portuguese war massacres in Africa.

A special court set up for "political crimes" sentenced Martins Da Cunha, a student, and Careira Iglesias, an office worker, to three years imprisonment plus loss of their "political rights" for 15 years. Two others, Caetano Ramlho and Lima Rego, both lawyers, received 20 month sentences.

In an interview published recently in the European Business Magazine, Portuguese Prime Minister Marcello Caetano explained why the government takes repressive measures against its citizens. "Liberalization (freedom of speech) has had to be halted in our country", he said. "Its future is seriously threatened by anarchists and by anarchistic socialist ideas."

-- 11 --

U.S. DEFENDS ISRAELI AGGRESSION

(United Nations) - The U.S. cast its fifth veto in the history of the United Nations Security Council last week to kill a resolution that reaffirmed U.N. Resolution 242, adopted unanimously in 1967, demanding Israeli withdrawal of all Arab territories occupied in the June, 1967 Israeli aggression.

The resolution, submitted by India and seven other non-permanent members of the Security Council, received 13 of the possible 17 votes of the Council in favor. China refused to participate in the vote because the resolution was not strong enough in its condemnation of Zionist policies in the Middle East and did not express strong enough support for the Palestinian liberation efforts.

The resolution would have had the Council oppose any changes in the Arab territories occupied by Israel and ask the Secretary-General of the U.N. and his special representative, Swedish Ambassador Gunnar Jarring, to resume their peace efforts.

Ambassador Huang Hua (China) said, following the vote on the resolution, that he had not taken part because of the draft did not fully reflect the Charter and the position of

-- 12 --
his country. Basic issues, he said, were "aggression versus anti-aggression", the struggle of the Palestinians and others for national independence and opposition to super power interference.

Yakov Malik (Soviet Union) said that a settlement in the Middle East was impossible without the complete withdrawal of Israel from the occupied territories.

Sir Colin Crowe (Britain) said he hoped that a "genuine negotiating process" could be started, and said that the Secretary-General and Ambassador Jarring had both the right and the duty to resume their efforts without a specific Council request.

Mr. Mohammed El Zayyat (Egypt) said that the draft resolution reflected the will of five continents and of 14 of the 15 Council members, as China had not taken part in the vote only because it through the draft insufficient. He said a negative vote(referring to the U.S.) meant telling his country to surrender to Israel -- or go and fight.

Meanwhile, one of the U.S. oil giants, Standard Oil of California, has urged its stockholders and employees to support "the aspirations of the Arab people" and "their efforts toward peace in the Middle East". In letters to stockholders, Standard Chairman Otto N. Miller said the U.S. should support the Arab position because Middle East oil reserves are vital to "the future welfare of the Western World".

It should be noted that Standard Oil of California has extensive holdings in Saudi Arabia and the Arab Gulf area. Saudi Arabian King Faisel, in the past a staunch friend of the U.S., has recently shown serious indications of agreeing to progressive Arab demands to limit U.S. oil operations in the Arab Gulf region, searching out new markets in Europe and Asia and using Arab oil to compel the U.S. government to alter its policy of unqualified support for Israel in the Middle East.

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REP. BARBEE DEMANDS MORE AID FOR AFRICAN DROUGHT

Wisconsin state legislator Lloyd Barbee, a proud and astute Black commentator, once again presents a clear analysis: the plight of six drought stricken West African nations and our responsibility.

The famine disaster currently affecting large portions of West Africa impells us to act quickly. Unless assistance is brought to these African nations, an estimated six to ten million human lives will be lost by October.

I introduced Assembly Joint Resolution 104 (in Wisconsin State Assembly) urging that the federal government take immediate steps to assist the people of these African nations in alleviating mass starvation. Support is necessary from all parts of our country to get our federal government and the private sector to assist in solving the food and water shortages in Western Africa.

African nations most affected by the famine are part of the ever creeping Sahel Desert, the southern fringe of the Sahara Desert. These Sahelian countries include Mauritania, Mali, Senegal, Upper Volta, Niger and Chad. Worse yet, the disaster is seriously affecting other parts of the continent. By going further south into Africa, the disaster is spreading into Nigeria, Ethiopia, Ivory Coast and Ghana, to name just a few.

What is being done by the federal government so far?

Worrying more about low fund appropriations than human lives, Nixon has committed only $24 million in relief to these impoverished African nations. An additional 450,000 tons of grain have also been provided as relief. This is not enough.

-- 14 --

The amount of U.S. aid to Africa represents only 10% of the total foreign aid budget. This money, however, goes only to 10 of the 4l African nations. At the same time, the federal government provides approximately $436 million to Portugal which uses these funds to butcher innocent Blacks in Mozambique.

An additional $30-$50 million is needed in West Africa to relieve the general famine which the native people are experiencing there. Only the U.S. government has the apparatus to provide immediate relief in the area. If relief is not forthcoming, African people will drop like files.

The African nations in the western portion of the continent have suffered through three consecutive years of drought. The rainy season have not occured as frequently or to the extent which has occurred in the past.

The physical climate has not been the only factor leading to famine in West Africa. To see what has given rise to this human tragedy, we must examine West Africa in its true political and economic picture. The murder and forcible removal of many of its people, the establishment of racist, bureaucratic governments which fail to meet the realities of the majority peasant populations, the subdividing of its lands…all have contributed to Africa's present state of economic poverty and downfall.

We need a program of massive action to demand that the U.S. government respond to this crisis. Direct assistance in the form of food, water, and medical supplies is the first necessary item to halt the spread of death and starvation. This, however, will only be a stop gap measure for solving the overall problems existing in West Africa. Priorities in our country are in desperate need of rearrangement. It is time that we also begin an aid program for the development of this impoverished land. The government and private enterprise have the materials. But the people must provide the impetus and support.

Write to your federal representatives calling for the passage of an amendment to the foreign aid bill which would make special provisions for relief and reconstruction of the Sahel region of Africa. Also urge your congressman to support the passage of a proposed amendment to the House Foreign Assistance bill now awaiting action which would permit U.S. funds to be used in the African nations most in need of assistance.

Private profiteers who raped, pillaged and exploited human and natural resources of the African continent should make amends now.

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Africa In Focus

UNITED NATIONS

In Geneva last week, the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations unanimously endorsed the U.N. Secretary-General's recent appeal for generous international aid to Zambia. Earlier this year, Zambia decided to make no further use of the Rhodesian rail line -- traditionally her main link to the outside world -- and thus comply fully with United Nations sanctions against the White minority regime of Salisbury, Rhodesia. While some countries of the world have provided Zambia with assistance, there are no reports that the U.S. government has done so.

ZAMBIA

A letter from Zambia to the United Nations Security Council published last week detailed 31 border incidents involving Rhodesian, South African or Portuguese army units from the beginning of the year through mid-June. A total of 17 Zambians had been killed and 40 injured. Thirteen Zambians and 22 African Angolans had been kidnapped by racist forces.

ISRAEL

Israel has declared that athletes from Rhodesia who took part in the so-called Maccabiah Games had no official status and had not been allowed to march under any flag showing their country of origin. The Israeli Mission to the U.N. statement was issued after the U.N. Security Council's Committee on Sanctions against Rhodesia had said that the team's participation in the games was in conflict with the Council's sanctions program.

COMMON MARKET

At the recently concluded two-day ministerial conference on relations between the European Common Market and the world's developing countries, in Brussels, Belgum, the 34 African countries in attendance spoke with one voice, through a single spokesman, Mr. Wenike Briggs, Nigerian Federal Commissioner for Trade. The British newspaper, Times of London, said the meeting will probably mark an epoch in the history of relations between Africa and Europe. Negotiations for association are to begin October 17. The Brussels meting was exploratory.

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FREE SOUTHERN THEATER TOURING COMPANY

FST has performed for thousands of people across the South in its first ten years. Now the struggle continues and we intend to meet it every step of the way. Select your membership today. It's important for all of us.

Available for..

High School, College, University and Community Touring Dates

1. Original Productions

2. Poetry

3. African Dance Company

4. Musical Groups

5. Workshops

Contact: Bro. Jesse Morrell
Free Southern Theater
1240 Dryades Street
New Orleans, La. 70113
(504) 581-5091

…A NON-PROFIT, TAX EXEMPT ORGANIZATION WHICH OPERATES A BLACK THEATER TRAINING WORKSHOP AND A TOURING REPERTORY THEATER COMPANY FROM A BASE IN NEW ORLEANS, LOUSIANA, THE FST PERFORMS FOR COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS, CLUBS, SCHOOLS AND UNIVERSITY GROUPS.

-- 14 --

Support the Intercommunal Youth Institute

THE CHILDREN ARE OUR FUTURE. WITHOUT THEIR GROWTH, WE, AS A PEOPLE, CANNOT SURVIVE.

The Intercommunal Youth Institute is designed to help our children think. All instruction is made relevant to the survival of Black and poor people. We expand the concept that the whole world is the children's classroom.

The youth receive instruction in language arts, mathematics, science, health, physical education, political science and people's art. Our objective is the development of the well-rounded human being.

We need more instructors with ever expanding ideas to cope with the everexpanding ideas of the children. If you have teaching skills and can donate some time, please contact the Black Panther Party at 8501 East 14th Street, Oakland, California; or phone (415) 638-0195.

ALL POWER TO THE PEOPLE

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WATERGATE LOW LIGHTS

H. R. Haldeman, former White House chief of staff, testified last week that last February 10th he gave orders to circulate a story linking Democrats with anti-war demonstrations and foreign or communist money. He admitted he had no facts to substantiate the story.

As a counter-move to the Senate Watergate hearings, H.R. Haldeman, while White House chief of staff, in a memo, proposed leaking a story to the press that Senator George S. McGovern, Democratic Party presidential nominee, was the father of an illegitimate child.

John J. Wilson, attorney for both John D. Ehrlichman and H.R. Haldeman, former Nixon aides, has been compelled to issue a partial apology to Watergate committee member Senator Daniel K. Inouye of Hawaii, for referring to the World War Two Distinguished Service Cross winner as "that little Jap". Hawaiians reacted with outrage to the remark and committee Chairman, Senator Sam Ervin, Jr., in public tribute to Inouye, called him "…one of the most gallant Americans in the history of the Republic".

Richard Helms, former CIA director, testified last week before the Watergate committee, conflicting sharply with sworn statements made by Ehrlichman and Haldeman. Helms claimed that he had to resist White House pressure to keep the CIA out of involvement in the Watergate cover-up.

Lawrence Higby and Alexander Butterfied, former White House aides, have told the Senate Watergate committee in secret testimony that Ehrlichman and Haldeman, contrary to their testimony before the committee, ordered FBI checks on persons other than those being considered for federal appointments. Among those included are Frank Sinatra, actress Helen Hayes and CBS newsman Daniel Schorr.

The Washington Post's role in uncovering the Watergate scandal has led to challenges to two television stations in Florida, WPLG and WJXT, owned by Washington Post owner-publisher Katherine Graham. The people challenging the licenses are all administration supporters, Mrs. Graham said last week. One had been counsel to the Committee to Re-Elect the President.

-- 16 --

BOYCOTT SAFEWAY

Those stores in Oakland where U.F.W. picked grapes are sold are:

FOOD FARM - 2547 E. 14th Street

VERNS - 5011 Telegraph

EMBY - 6925 E. 14th Street

EMBY - 10111 E. 14th Street

LUCKY'S - ALL

P&X - ALL

THE BLACK PANTHER urges all our readers to buy only U.F.W. picked table grapes!

-- 16 --

BOYCOTT FARAH PANTS

Over 3,500 Chicano workers, the vast majority of whom are women, are on strike against Farah Mfg. Co., one of the world's largest manufacturers of men's pants.

Wages range from $1.70 an hour to $2.20 an hour after 20 years, high production quotas are used to deny raises and older workers are forced to quit before retirement and thus lose benefits. We urge you to join the growing number of people actively fighting for an end to social injustice. Boycott Farah Pants.

-- 16 --

JO-NEL'S LIQUOR STORES SUPPORTS THE COMMUNITY

JO-NEL'S #1 AT 7940 E. 14TH ST., OAKLAND, OPEN 6 AM - 2 AM MONDAYS THRU FRIDAYS 8 AM - 2 AM SATURDAYS AND SUNDAYS EVERYTHING ALCOHL LUNCH MEATS AND DAIRY PRODUCTS, HOT AND COLD SANDWICHES.

JO-NEL'S #2 JUST OPENED AT 6504 E. 14TH ST., OAKLAND. EVERYTHING ALCOHOL, LUNCH MEATS AND DAIRY PRODUCTS, HOT AND COLD SANDWICHES. (NO DELIVERIES)

-- 16 --

FREE BUSING TO PRISON PROGRAM

OAKLAND SCHEDULE

FOLSOM/VACAVILLE

Saturday, August 11

depart 8:00am - return 6:00pm

SANTA RITA

Sunday, August 12

depart 10:15am - return 1:30pm

SOLEDAD

Saturday, August 18

depart 8:00am - return 6:00pm

SANTA RITA

Sunday, August 19

depart 10:15am - return 1:30pm

FOLSOM/VACAVILLE

Saturday, August 25

depart 8:00am - return 6:00pm

SANTA RITA

Sunday, August 26

depart 10:15am - return 1:30pm

ALL TRIPS SCHEDULED FOR LEAVING ON SATURDAY'S WILL BE DEPARTING FROM ALLEN TEMPLE CHURCH, 8500 A STREET (AT THE CORNER OF 85th AVE, & A STREET), AND ALL TRIPS SCHEDULED TO LEAVE ON SUNDAY'S WILL BE DEPARTING FROM 8501 EAST 14th STREET (FREE LUNCHES WILL BE PROVIDED).

for further information, call 638-0196

-- 17 --

A PROGRAM FOR SURVIVAL

PEOPLE'S FREE MEDICAL
RESEARCH HEALTH CLINICS

Provides free medical treatment and preventative medical care for the people.

PEOPLE'S SICKLE CELL ANEMIA RESEARCH
FOUNDATION

Established to test and create a cure for Sickle Cell Anemia. The foundation informs people about Sickle Cell Anemia and maintains an advisory committee of doctors researching this crippling disease.

PEOPLE'S FREE DENTAL PROGRAM
(Being Implemented)

Provides free dental check-ups, treatment and an educational program for dental hygiene.

PEOPLE'S FREE OPTOMETRY PROGRAM
(Being Implemented)

Provides free eye examinations, treatment and eyeglasses for the people.

PEOPLE'S FREE AMBULANCE SERVICE

Provides free, (24-hour) rapid transportation to people in need of emergency medical care.

FREE FOOD PROGRAM

Provides free food to Black and other oppressed people.

FREE BREAKFAST PROGRAM

Provides children a free nourishing hot breakfast every school morning

PEOPLE'S FREE COMMUNITY
EMPLOYMENT PROGRAM

Provides free job-finding services to poor and oppressed people.

FREE PEST CONTROL
PROGRAM

Free household extermination of rats, roaches and other disease-carrying pests and rodents.

PEOPLE'S FREE PLUMBING AND MAINTENANCE PROGRAM

Provides free plumbing and repair services to improve people's homes.

DAVID HILLIARD PEOPLE'S
FREE SHOE PROGRAM

Provides free shoes made at the David Hilliard Free Shoe Factory to the people.

PEOPLE'S FREE CLOTHING PROGRAM

Provides new, stylish and quality clothing free to the people.

INTERCOMMUNAL YOUTH
INSTITUTE

Provides Black and other oppressed children with a scientific method of thinking about and analyzing things. This method develops basic skills for living in this society.

LIBERATION SCHOOLS

Provides children free supplementary educational facilities and materials to promote a correct view of their role in the society.

INTERCOMMUNAL NEWS
SERVICE

Provides news and information about the world and Black and oppressed communities.

LEGAL AID AND
EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM

Provides legal aid classes and full legal assistance to people who are in need.

FREE BUSING TO PRISONS PROGRAM

Provides free transportation to prisons for families and friends of prisoners.

FREE COMMISSARY FOR PRISONERS PROGRAM

Provides imprisoned men and women with funds to purchase necessary commissary items.

SENIORS AGAINST A
FEARFUL ENVIRONMENT
(S.A.F.E.) PROGRAM

Provides free transportation and escort service for senior citizens to and from community banks on the first of each month.

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