Mongoose Distro

UPDATE – 9/25/2021

PayPal has gotten back to us. We’re unable to ever use PayPal again.

The reason given by a customer service rep was that “…your account is too much of a risk to continue a relationship with PayPal. This decision is final and irrevocable.” No further information was given and we were told no more information will be forthcoming about what “risk” was posed or what triggered this decision.

We will be able to withdraw the funds that are currently in PayPal accounts after 180 days, if PayPal determines that we don’t owe any of that to third parties. We don’t owe any of this to third parties, but of course it’s worrying given the lack of transparency so far that they could just make something up and keep it.

We’re still trying to figure out how to move forward but, in the meantime, we’ve set up a Venmo account so that we can take in a bit of emergency funding to pay writers, sound editors, and translators for their work in September. Please direct any donations in the near future to this Venmo account:

@c4ss-dot-org

Revolutionary greetings! In this issue, I will review the movie ‘The Circle’, which is based off a hit novel by the same name. The movie/novel is about a huge tech company which introduces total transparency of social media. In short, any kind of privacy is all but eliminated, and all have instant total access to individual lives.

This is concerning because we, as humans, expect a measure of privacy in our lives. It is expected to have privacy in our sex lives and also in our health, to name just a couple of areas. We all have our individual private lives. For others, even for some of those close to us, it is offensive when boundaries are breached. Privacy to one degree or another, is crucial to our individual well being.

The fact is, technology is evolving to a degree that we lose privacy. We have advancing Artificial Intelligence, or “AI” technology. Remember, Siri and Alexa are always listening, standing by to be of assistance. Gaming devices such as Playstation and Xbox are equipped with capabilities mirroring Siri and Alexa. Even cable television is accessible by voicing commands into a remote to access what you want to watch.

Fairly recent court decisions have made “evidence” captured on one of these devises permissible in any criminal or civil proceeding. We are losing privacy when we purchase these services. I know, for me, this makes me extremely uncomfortable. ‘The Circle’ is what I like to call “prophetic”, as the events depicted are actually happening. How many of us can honestly say we can live without modern and ever-evolving technology where everything we dream of is accessible at a voice command or click of a computer mouse? Even those of us who really truly desire to live “off the grid” meets significant challenges to do so in our modern world.

We are living in dangerous times, and it is only going to get worse. It’s time society “washes up” and faces reality.

Until next time,

In struggle,

Harlequin

Thomas Flick LJ9467

SCI Mahanoy

PO Box 33028

St. Petersburg, FL 33733

Revolutionary greetings! In this issue, I will talk about Covid-19, vaccines, the Capitol Hill Riot investigations, and Hurricane Ida.

First off, Covid-19 and vaccines are widely being made a political issue. It began with Trump and his cronies, and it still continues. When are our governmental leaders going to realize and acknowledge that the pandemic is not a political platform and take this seriously? Governor DeSantis and other state governors are prohibiting mask and vaccine mandates, putting their citizens at further risk. The fact that masks and vaccines are crucial to saving lives doesn’t seem to matter to these people. Currently, the unvaccinated adults and children are dying and ICU beds are full. It’s high time that our leaders take this pandemic seriously and take action to curb the infection rate!

And what’s up with the Republicans scrambling to cover up the actions at the Capitol Hill riot? We have a Republican senator, who’s not to be named, threatening companies with legal action if they cooperate with investigators and turn over documents relating to the riot. I have to wonder, what are they afraid of? What do they stand to lose if everything comes to the light? Why not just let the truth come out?

Finally, we have the devastation caused by Hurricane Ida. All through the South and Northeast massive destruction was caused by Ida. At least 52 people died, and massive flooding took place in New Orleans, Philadelphia, New York City and elsewhere. Ida was a Category 4, just one step away from being the worst there could be. And yet politicians are divided about climate change and are reluctant to take necessary steps toward making changes to our care of the environment. Drastic action needs to take place, and NOW! We cannot afford to continue to procrastinate and wait. The next hurricane or other natural disaster may just be the end of humanity. We are living in the midst of a ticking time bomb. NOW is the time to act!

Until next time,

In Struggle,

Harlequin

Thomas Flick LJ9467

SCI Mahanoy

PO Box 33028

St. Petersburg, FL 33733

The American reformers who first devised the penitentiary believed that criminals could ‘reformed’ through solitary confinement, labor and religious indoctrination. The use of solitary confinement and isolation-sensory deprivation began at Philadelphia Eastern State Penitentiary in the 1820s. What was actually discovered was that conditions of sensory deprivation caused mental deterioration and psychosis. Leading writers like Charles Dickens and Charles Darwin, upon touring the penitentiary, spoke out against its conditions of mental torture. As Dickens observed, “I hold this slow and daily tampering with the mysteries of the brain to be immeasurably worse than any torture of the body.” The U.S. Supreme Court ultimately rules such solitary confinement ‘mentally destructive’ and outlawed it.

It stated, “A considerable number of prisoners fell, after even a short confinement, into a semi-fatuous condition, from which it was next to impossible to remove them, and others became violently insane; others still committed suicide, while those who stood the ordeal better were generally not reformed, and in most cases did not recover sufficient mental activity to be of sufficient service to the community.” (see; RE Madley, 134 U.S.160,168 (1890) )

Since that time, however, solitary hasn’t ceased. This is even after courts and legislators in the 20^th and early 21^st centuries have outlawed even the new and more ‘scientifically’ designed forms of solitary confinement.

TX T.E.A.M.O.N.E. was founded by persons who have endured years and decades of solitary in the forms of SHU (aka EOB) and Ad. Seg. (now called restrictive housing).

Many modern courts have found that the same conditions and injuries to prisoners from confinement in modern control units as did the high court of 1890 in the Madley case. see e.g. Madrid V. Gomez, 889FSupp.1146 (1995)

“Mant, if not most inmates in SHU experience some degree of psychological trauma in relation to their extreme social isolation and the severely restricted environmental stimulation in SHU. This court concluded that confinement under such conditions may press the outer bounds of what humans can psychologically tolerate. The psychological consequences of living in these units for long periods of time are predictably destructive, and the potential for these psychological stressors to precipitate various forms of psychopathology is clear cut. Another court found that isolating human beings year after year or even month after month can cause substantial psychological damage, even if the isolation is not total. Davenport V. DeRoberts, 844F.2d 1310, 1316 (1999)

As a study of sensory deprivation by a team of 4 psychiatrists at Harvard conducted for the CIA revealed:

1. The deprivation of sensory stimuli induces stress
2. The stress becomes unbearable for most subjects
3. The subject has a growing need for physical and social stimuli
4. Some subjects progressively lose touch with reality, focus inwardly, and produce delusions, hallucinations, and other psychological effects

Segregation is the modern form of solitary confinement. Segregation inmates are almost completely deprived of the commonplace incidents and routines of prison life. In theory, RHU is not a punitive measure. In practice, it can only be described as punishing.

It is with the preceding information that TX T.E.A.M.O.N.E. has been inspired to put our lives on the lins in the most literal sense, by refusing the necessary nutrients for survival, and good health. This coming Black August 21^st, the 50^th anniversary of the assassination of George L. Jackson, TX. T.E.A.M.O.N.E. will be leading the masses of TDCJ’s Allred Unit in a hunger strike to protest and bring attention to the fundamental injustice that is embodied in the mere use of isolation-solitary confinement. We ask the inside community to join us in struggle as we already have a case in the courts challenging TDCJ’s use of RHU. We ask the outside community to join us in solidarity. (Solidarity actions will be listed at the end of this pamphlet.)

What is BP-3.91

Board policy 3.91 has recently been revised and is set to take effect August 1^st. These revisions seek to create an asexual environment in prison. If the penal system has its way, all publications or pictures which may possibly cause arousal will be considered contraband.

While We recognize the needs of some to rehabilitate themselves from what may be considered perverse sexual behavior, the same can not be said for all, nor even most, prison captives. For factually speaking, each individual inmate has individual needs in regards to the realm of recovery and redemption.

TDCJ, when it benefits their agenda, seems to agree. For, in recent years, they have mandated that each captive complete an “individual treatment plan”. All captive persons must complete the plan prior to their release on parole or risk remaining in prison.

What penological reason does BP-3.91 serve?

At the date of this writing TDCJ has refused to state any reasoning for this policy amendment. This refusal in itself is unlawful, by the standard set by the Supreme Court’s Turner case. That aside, since they’ve left the reasoning up to interpretation, let’s interpret it:

Why on Earth would anyone want an asexual environment? One where, in theory only, sexual desire doesn’t exist? We say in theory only because factually speaking, no matter the variations of sexual expression, desire and arousal are as natural as breathing. What then happens when large masses of people are warehoused, cut off from all social stimuli, as we are in RHU? Frankly, this act falls in line with historical missions of the American establishment, in terms of genocide, a slow and deliberate depopulation of outcasted sectors?

Remember eugenics? The selective breeding of persons in order to weed out unwanted social characteristics that were thought to be founded in ones genetics. Remember forced sterilization of both women and men who were largely held captive, were mentally unequipped, or otherwise considered a liability to the social order. This BP-3.91 is aligned with this grim history. But that’s not all! BP-3.91 will ban any material which depicts a person with their face covered! We are still in the middle of a pandemic. Enough said.

Solidarity Actions:

Those outside persons who’re not local should call the Texas Board of Criminal Justice on August 1 at 512-475-3250 demanding BP-3.91 be annulled as it has been revised, as it is an unlawful use of prison censorship.

On August 24 supporters should call the Executive Director of TDCJ at 936-437-2101. On the 24^th we will have been on strike for 3 days, which makes it official. Demand that TDCJ begin to rectify it’s inhumane confining of RHU inmates indefinitely and without meaningful review. Express your support for the hunger strikers on Allred.

Those who’re local to this region: we ask to come out in droves to support our cause via an outside noise demonstration at the grounds of the Allred prison colony. We NEED and appreciate your support.

TX T.E.A.M.O.N.E. Triumphant

Q: How do you know when a politician is lying?

A: Their mouth is open and speaking!

This may be a quirky quip designed to get a chuckle out of people, but it certainly speaks the sinister truth! The truth is that politicians lie and scheme each step of the way to convince the people to vote for them and get them in the office they’re running for. Time and time again, these same politicians fail to follow through with their promises to the people, although it was the people that put them into the seat of power. Then the game playing begins., Have you noticed that, especially a lot lately, that every time something goes haywire in this country, politicians are quick to blame everything on another country. Lately China and Russia are the USA’s favorite scapegoats. It never occurs to these corrupt people in power that the problem may come from within.

When Trump got into office as POTUS everyone looked at Russia for somehow rigging the election results. China was blamed for the Coronavirus pandemic. Russia was blamed for the attack on a vital pipeline system in the country. Yet, this isn’t something new. This practice of scapegoating has been going on since the beginning of the inception of capitalism and imperialism. The blame is always shifted.

Lets touch on Trump. What an utterly incompetent, egotistical maniac! He terrorized the nation when in office in 2016 and he refused to accept that he lost in 2020. Fascism will always attempt to gain power at any means necessary. In 2016, we were given the option of voting for two fascist idiots to be “commander in chief” of the nation. We live in a country where we are told who we can vote for. Biden is no better. Yes, he stepped in and pushed for trillions of dollars in aid, but it’s not free money, people! We will be paying for that for generations. Our taxpayer money will pay for both the CARES Act and the stimulus money. Also, a little known fact: The 1.2 trillion dollar bill that Biden signed payed for a nonessential subway system for speaker-of-the-house Nancy “Piglosi” Pilosi. She now has a subway system essentially in her backyard for use in commuting into work every day. We are paying for a luxury gifted to Piglosi.

We live in a world of greed. At the start of the pandemic, millions of tons of food was dumped, all because capitalist corporations couldn’t make a profit from it. Yet, we have millions dying from hunger daily across the globe. This nation produces enough food in one day to feed the entire world for a year.

We need a revolution to overthrow the capitalist pigs! How long will we stand by and allow all of this to happen? I know my conscience will not allow me to just sit back and watch this unfold. I am involved in teaching others, helping them to WAKE UP to reality. So – won’t you join me in this struggle to save our world before it’s too late?

In Struggle,

Harlequin

Write Harlequin at:

Thomas Flick LJ9467

SCI Mahaonoy

PO Box 33028

St. Petersburg, FL 33733

Is this the “land of the free”? The land that was promised to our ancestors that died fighting to create “this land”? I thought this was the land where dreams of fairness and mutual respect lives on. The land where you are defined by your actions, not your looks or beliefs! But for too long these ideas have taken refuge inside works of literature, television programs and dreams. In this land “Equality should have no boundaries; opportunity should have no boundaries”. Worth should outshine color. The ball should bounce the same for everyone on “this land”. Funny how in this “land of the free” the only time we are treated equal is once you’re incarcerated. Ones name is replaced with a number. You’re given the same food, jumper and shoes, undergo the same subjugation and humiliation. If we can be equals in prisons, then we should be equals everywhere.

David is currently being charged for his participation in last summer’s George Floyd uprising in Philadelphia and is need of a new attorney. Please donate at: https://gofund.me/53f3ddb1

You can write David at:

David Elmakayes 77782-066

FDC Philadelphia

PO Box 562

Philadelphia, PA 19105

June 19, 2021

Hello friends, allies and comrades alike! My name is Acre. I briefly occupied a long standing aerial blockade known as a “treesit” against the Mountain Valley Pipeline. I was sentenced to 4 months real time (more on paper). The judge said, “A day for each day in the tree”. However, the physical blockade lasted much longer than my stay – a little over 2 ½ years! The physical stand I and many others have taken against the MVP represents much more than just fighting climate change. My occupation and extraction from pipeline property symbolizes a larger struggle against settler colonialism. The police told us we were on land that didn’t belong to us, but the truth is we are all on stolen land. The inherently unethical nature of capitalism and expansionism assigns arbitrary values to invaluable things and poses real violence to the earth and its occupants (two legged, four legged, winged, gilled alike). How do you put a price on a persons time as the prison system does? Or the contents of soil or the purity of the water? These are things we never get back, yet they are constantly taken without our consent. It’s a violation of the autonomy of our natural world. I encourage you to see my actions as a guide to stand up for what you believe in.

Love and Rage,

Acre

One day I was staring out the window with a smirk on my face as I looked across the farmland hat surrounded the prison on all sides. Another inmate came over and asked what I was laughing at. I responded with a question of my own, “Have you ever thought about the origins of prison?” He said “no” and I told him, “I was laughing at the irony of this priso being built in the middle of a giant farm.”

For most of our existence, us humans were hunters-gatherers. Basically this meant our food came from hunting wild animals and gathering wild plants. We would follow the herds and growing seasons of plants as we moved across the land in pursuit of them. Such a nomadic lifestyle required us to have few possessions because, as our food source moved, we had to pack up and move with them if we didn’t want to starve. The human species spent several million years living this year until about 10,000 years ago when a major shift in the way we obtained our food occurred and it dramatically changed the way we lived. This shift was the invention of farming and since then things have never been the same.

Now we no longer have to travel across the land hunting and gathering our food. With farming, we could just simply grow what we want to eat, so we gave up the nomadic lifestyle, settled in one place and became agriculturalists. This was the birth of our modern civilization. But, something happened that, likely, noone had foreseen. Having control over our food supply meant we could grow more than we needed, and that’s just what we need. For the first time in our existence we had an excess of food, something that was not possible with our nomadic hunter-gatherer past. But, when you have an excess, you have to store it somewhere, and if it can be stored, it can be stolen, and if it can be stolen, you need someone to guard it. This could be seen as the origins of policing. Then, you need to do something with the people these guards caught. This is the origin story of prisons. It’s something that most of us don’t ever think about, not even those of us that are stuck spending years inside a prison.

Of course, this is an overly simplistic description of events. An entire book can be written on the subject, and many have. But for now, as I sit in my bunk and stare out the window, I can’t help but laugh at the irony in the placement of this prison.

Scott Bodnar 25434-014

Federal Prison Camp

PO Box 2000

Lewisburg, PA 17837

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