History as noted on the Cuban Crisis.

[j.sabourn]

;Louis just tried what others have done and went on Google .if you do the same and google JFK . The smoking gun , it should come up as a free Audio. The author is called McClaren and if remember , as is about 15 years ago I read , was an ex Sydney detective sergeant who took 3 years off for interviews of witnesses who were called and those who weren’t called.one of them if remember and the book hasn’t been altered was the carrier of the bodyguard who carried the sniper rifle and travelled in the car behind Kennedy he was never called as a witness and was posted to Alaska. The rifle was never produced . There were 2 shots fired and the killing shot was the second in the back of the head , the first shot was fired from the front and was a non killing shot. The bodyguard carrying the sniper rifle was not the usual marksman , my view was and is it was a dreadful accident , but had to be covered up. However hopefully you can read or listen to the same account I read 15 years ago. Cheers JS

[Louis the fly]

The reason so many want to leave Cuba is the crippling sanctions imposed by the US. Obama lifted the sanctions briefly but they were re imposed when Trump became president. The sanctions have been in place from the revolution onwards, the US does not forgive and forget.
Venezuela and Iran are suffering the same fate because they do not kneel at the feet of the great USA.

[j.sabourn]

Cappy the embargo as regards the blockade was lifted after all the missiles and technicians were deported Back to Russia. Dont forget the US also has a naval base there Guantamino Bay ,have also been inside it as well in 1986, years after the Bay of Pigs. Felt a bit weird at the time. JS
Louis the sanctions were only on US goods , we still carried sugar out. Even during the blockade. The argument was with Russia. JS.

[cappy]

Cappy the embargo as regards the blockade was lifted after all the missiles and technicians were deported Back to Russia. Dont forget the US also has a naval base there Guantamino Bay ,have also been inside it as well in 1986, years after the Bay of Pigs. Felt a bit weird at the time. JS
Louis the sanctions were only on US goods , we still carried sugar out. Even during the blockade. The argument was with Russia. JS.

i believe the russians paid the cubans in dollars in actual cash as no one would take roubles .....not suprised shiploads of yankee dollars must have been securely gaurded...into cuba

[Louis the fly]

Iran and Venezuela cannot export their main source of wealth, which is oil, because of US sanctions. If the people suffer and starve the hope is they will turn against their own governments and effect regime change which is the desired outcome for US.
It failed in Cuba.

[cappy]

The reason so many want to leave Cuba is the crippling sanctions imposed by the US. Obama lifted the sanctions briefly but they were re imposed when Trump became president. The sanctions have been in place from the revolution onwards, the US does not forgive and forget.
Venezuela and Iran are suffering the same fate because they do not kneel at the feet of the great USA.

well of you trot louis there is plenty room for one more in iran venezuela russia china wales ...but you would be better off in lincs ...well thats my view and last post on this annual pilgrimage you aspire to....no hard feelings tovarich...cappy

[j.sabourn]

The first notable thing to seamen after Castro got in Ivan was that the beer and even rum went on ration. They also made their own beer. would think at least the Cuba Libre being made local would be no need to ration , think it was a mixture of reasons one of which would have been transport. In Santiago de Cuba Castro’s birthplace all the girlie bars were supposed to be stopped , all he did was drive them underground , The people of Cuba still danced and fornicated . As usual with any dictatorship the thing to be wary of was the secret police. JS.

[Captain Kong]

I went off Castro.
We were in Kai Tak , Hong Kong Airport, which was only a shed on a run way that stuck out over the harbour. We had left the GOOD HOPE CASTLE in the Scrapyard, June 1959
The Captain sat in the Bar with the CEng. with a bag of money , he refused to give us a sub.
and we were there for over 24 hours waiting for a Dakota to come from OZ to take us home.
Then Fidel Castro and three others , all dressed in military outfits walks in. W They were on their way to Peking to see Chairman Mao,
W e shouted,
"Fidel, you are our Hero, Buy us a Bevvy," He just said,k "Vamoose" or words like that,

So we all went off him, never liked him after that.
Brian

[Keith Tindell]

I was there 5 years ago, and as Ivan says, the things they value are kids books, tooth brushes , soap, all the normal things we expect. I did not see a huge amount of the country, but it was obvious there is a lot of poverty.with regard to Guantanamo, the lease that was signed with the Yanks and Batista, its due to run out in the next few years, when i suppose the Yanks will get the order of the boot. Its surrounded by 114 miles of fencing and no Cuban is allowed to work there, everything has to be flown in, down to the last pack of butter, all manual labourers have to be flown in, kt

[j.sabourn]

#20 It’s always the same in these communist countries Keith , Poland in 1969 was like that , a strip of chewing gum or a plastic biro pen was worth more than money . Gdańsk was then patrolled by Russian troops but did notice they were of the Mongolian regiments maybe put more fear into the populance China in Shanghai 1976/77 similar and Mao Tse Tung had just died. Slowly the Red Guards died with him . There were no or very few cars which were all government apart from a few taxis , everyone had a bike though .Today things must have changed because they all have motor cars. When you talk to people unless you are talking to someone with similar experiences , you might as well talk to yourself. Cheers JS.