Communism

[happy daze john in oz]

I think the attitude of the average Yank who wants to get rid of the commie b*s is way off line. There was a time when Russia was pure communism but times have changed and Russia is now more of a capitalist country than communist.

[j.sabourn]

Communism was at one time considered a legitimate party in the UK, and to all intents and purposes still is as far as I am aware. Anyone if had the right capital etc. could put the name forward to seek election of such. The bad names put about is more than a deterrent. Instead other parties are disparaged as being far left inferring they are communist and using the bad name they have been cast with since their inception. I don't know how the U.S. politics works, but is supposed to be the leader of the Democratic world, but believe they would not allow such a party to co-exist on U.S. soil. As Cuba went from one extreme to the other 50 odd years ago, it will be interesting how it is handled. The many thousands of so called free Cubans who sought exile in the likes of Florida and are now in a lot of cases heads of criminal gangs, will be interesting to see how Cubas president handles any return of these exiles who probably if the truth was known skinned out with Castro"s blessing all those years ago, as were probably a danger to his own rule of law and order. Maybe he wont let them back in again, which is probably against the U.S."s wishes, as may also want rid of them. Funny old world...Ruled by men in politics. JS...........As regards the Cuban Crisis it was as near to nuclear war as the world has ever been, I made 3 trips during the blockade put around the Island by the US. They were well inside international waters for those who today shout about such rights. All our movements were closely monitored ship wise. On arrival for the Canal transit (Panama) which was then under US control most of us were questioned as to our politics and any info we had about life ashore, and what Russian ships in port were discharging. As they nearly always discharged into barges on the off side to the quay, there was little information to give them. I believe the BBC put out documentaries and advice material that the US put out to its citizens in preparation for a nuclear war. Everyone seemingly frantic to build bomb blast shelters in their back yards. A lot of Merchant seamen myself included were put on rush courses by the Admiralty which included Atomic, Biological, and Chemical Warfare (ABC warfare) together with gunnery etc. and the reintroduction of the convoy system. Even got 5 guineas for doing it. War is never far away and only takes one lame brain to start one. JS

[John Arton]

I remember ship visiting a Russian Back Sea fleet ship in themed 70's whilst we were in Karachi discharging grain {horrible filthy place}. Two of there guys {they always had to go ashore in pairs, each reporting back to the Commissar on returning to the ship} came on board to see if they could do a movie exchange. They had some old John Wayne movies they wanted to swop with us whilst we were in port. They would only stay on our ship for an hour or so as that was the maximum time they had been granted to visit us. They invited us back to see there ship so myself and one of the engineers went over the next day. The ship was built like a brick outhouse and had a large crew, all of whom were friendly. We were taken to there mess room but not allowed to see the bridge or the engine room. The second mate invited us to see his cabin which he shared with another officer and he was very proud in the fact that he could offer us a coffee made with genuine Nescafe. There was no booze on board as due to rampant alcoholism at that time amongst the fleet they were all restricted to 1 litre of white wine only per month, no beer or spirits allowed. The whole time we were sitting in his cabin he had to keep his door open in order that he could be checked up on by the commissar to ensure no secrets were being passed. He was quite open about the conditions in Russia at the time and like nearly all the rest of the crew was friendly. We never got to meet any of the Senior Officers but spent a pleasant few hours chatting with the rest. It was a relief just to get away from the constant harassing by the Pakistani dockers on board our ship as on the Russian ship they were never approached or harassed any of the crew {that may have been due to the armed guard at the head of the gangway}. All in all is was a pleasant visit and a bit of an eye opener to see how the Russians built their ships with scantlings far bigger than anything I had ever seen and all the cargo gear looking very heavily built. The only downside was that the basic accommodation was dark and dingy and not particularly clean.
Sailing with mainland communist Chinese crews later was a whole different ball game as only one or two of them spoke pidgin English and it was impossible to get anything out of them regarding their home life. They too were only allowed ashore in pairs and they had to have meetings of all crew to decide if anyone was allowed to go ashore.
Their overtime was paid in cash on board and they would have meetings to decide how to spend it and it was only spent on items that the majority of the crew wanted, so if the majority of the crew wanted to buy a television to take home with them, all the crew ended up with a television whether they wanted it or not. This pee'd the bosun off as he told me that the little village he lived in, no one had a t.v. so when he went home with the t.v. he had to leave his door open so anyone from the village could come in unannounced to watch state run television. They were also the dirtiest bunch of sailors I have ever come across, personal hygiene being an alien concept to them.
rgds
JA

[j.sabourn]

In addition to #42. Looking back in retrospect I can imagine some of the jokers on board, describing to their stern faced inquisitors the delights of the many Senoritas still available if one knew where to go. How they had a great time ashore would in a lot of cases not gone down too well I suppose. JS

[j.sabourn]

#43... The Poles used to have the reputation in the UK about personal hygiene. In Australia it is the poms, the Aussies say we have a bath once a week whether we need it or not. Showering at least twice a day is the usual for a real blue dinky die Aussie. I am sure in both cases they are just a made up fallacy. Cleanliness is in the eye of the beholder personal and not a national habit. Unless one of course lived in the William Shakespeare era where a bath once a year was the norm. And fresh bandages smeared in goose fat was bodily swathed in for the next 12 months. Cheers JS

[Dennis McGuckin]

Just a minute now.
If I had a cold when I was a kid, my old Scottish mother used to smear goose fat on my chest.
No wonder I never had a girl friend.

[Captain Kong]

That used to happen to me Dennis,
Slapping goose grease all over my chest. Then a spoon of brimstone and treacle, and California syrup of figs.
It not only stopped the girls from coming near me also the germs.
Still it was better than the Jenson Violet all my mates had painted all over their heads when they had Impetigo.
Cheers
Brian.

[Lou Barron]

America is or was a bit iffy about the Russians so am i with all these Russian women appearing on my laptop wanting to marry me??

[j.sabourn]

#46 Dennis never heard of bread and dripping. Should of found some unsuspecting girl and told her it was beef dripping, and would she like some on her bread. Who knows she may of even finished up licking it off. You have to take advantage of everything put in ones way. Cheers JS

[Des Taff Jenkins]

HI All.
Anyone notice that despite the blockade that the American's have put on Russia over the Ukraine, a RUSSIAN rocket took of last week with an american astronaut on board, looks like the Russian are still in front in outer space.
Cheers DEs