History as noted on the Cuban Crisis.

[j.sabourn]

You don’t have to agree Louis as said before your thoughts are your own, the same as mine are. They are personal thoughts and not trying like some to implant their own as correct all the time. They usually belong to the rabble rousers of today and are the consequences of a bad education and bad mentors we have criminal bikey gangs in WA at the moment with the same intellect doing what they want and breaking what ever law including murder that they want .Fortuanetley there are laws against such people and they will pay the penalty, which in my thoughts are not severe enough. Cheers JS.

[j.sabourn]

Brief history of Venezuela as believe this is one of the ones brought up previously.
1498 Columbus claims for Spain.
1811- 21 Liberated by Simon Bolivar ; part of Greater Colombia
1829. Full Independence
1917 Oil production begins
1958 Violent protests force Dictator Marcos Perez Jimenez to flee; Democratic Rule established.
1976 Nationalises 21 oil companies
1989 300 die in riots over price rises ; Martial law imposed.
1992 Two attempted military coups fail
1994-5 Economic crisis: Civil rights suspended.
You can take what you think from there.

JS. Or/and
Colombia
1525 Spanish settle
1538 Named New Kingdom of Granada
1819 Liberated by Simon Bolivar , forms Greater Colombia
1829-30 Venezuela and Ecuador break away.
1903 Loses Panama
1948-62 La Violencia 200,000 die in political riots, rebellions etc.
1957-74 Coalition Rule
1978 Begins offensive against drug trade
1989-90 Three presidential candidates assassinated.
1993 Police kill drug baron Pablo Escobar .
1996 Emergency to fight leftist guerrrillas.

Once again there is ample room in these two countries who would probably welcome you as a freedom fighter or maybe on the other side , so be careful how you choose, these countries have a long way to go even today.

Bon voyage Cheers JS.

[Michael E Harrison]

I was homeward bound from west coast of S. America as JOS on SS Potosi of PSNC we came through the canal, bunkers at Callao and then had an American destroyer escort for 24 hours, as a 17 year old we thought it was a bit of an adventure, not too sure it was now.

[Peter Harris]

I had just failed second mates and sat up until the early hours to listen to Kennedy,s speech. The next day my Aunt read my cards and told me I would be at sea before Christmas. Shortly after received a rail voucher to go to London for an interview with LOF and then joined London Independence in Stockholm, sailing to Odessa to load for Havana. Did two trips bunkering in Augusta outbound and Ceuta in return. Told not to tell anyone our destination in port, VHF , ALDIS OR Radio. Had three choices for trip and we mixed and matched The Mayaguano, Caicos and Florida Straits. Got used to the USAF coming up astern to take pictures, being shadowed by darkened ships at night and having to pass close to the intelligence ship anchored on the heading into,port. We were black listed and our name mentioned in Tiger radio Miami. A Russian tanker was attacked along the coast and the odd bomb dropped on Havana. I have to say that while we were there we taken to the Rum factory, Cigar factory, Xoo snd the beaches all free of charge. The second mate had a huge beard and was treated like royalty. I kept an LP of Fidel addressing the masses for ages

[Robin Younghusband]

Remember 40,000 Cuban troops backed by Russia fighting South Africa in Angola. Remember Mao and his involvement in Rhodesia. We are seeing the communist rise again.

[Dennis McGuckin]

#45.
Hi Peter, I had similar*experiences*as yours. You mention a beard. I recall most of the Cuban men wore beards. We went ashore with some of us wearing Yankee style bomber jackets .Turned out not to have been a good idea.

[Doc Vernon]

Remember 40,000 Cuban troops backed by Russia fighting South Africa in Angola. Remember Mao and his involvement in Rhodesia. We are seeing the communist rise again.

Castro decides to send troops to Angola to fight South Africa | South African History Online (sahistory.org.za)

The Military Defeat of the South Africans in Angola by Horace Campbell (Monthly Review), Africa, Angola | South African History Online (sahistory.org.za)

[happy daze john in oz]

No defending Louis but there was a period when Cuba did haves some good times and infrastucture.

As to JFK, there in lies a story, too much read into it maybe but look at the facts with L.H. Oswald and how he ended up, just a guy in the wrong place at the wrong time.

But we were bound for Cape Town and the ship changed course for about 24 hours.
We later found out word from the Admiltry was to go to the nearest port ,discharge bloods and come back to be used as a troop carrier.
Thankfully it never happened but it was scary times indeed back then.

Things have not changed that much when you look around the world today, wars everywhere, sanctions against nations,where will it end.
Maybe in a big bang!!

[Louis the fly]

It is impossible for a country to modernise, undertake infrastructure projects and build the economy when it is under the the most crippling sanctions imposed by the US, the worlds most powerful nation.
In 1960 the CIA offered Salvatore Giancana, head of the largest US mafia family, $150,000 to kill Castro. There were 8 attempts between 1960 and 1965. The following US presidents ordered the assassination of Fidel Castro and the attempts made.

Eisenhower 38 attempts
Kennedy 42
Johnson 72
Nixon 184
Carter 64
Reagan 197
Bush (Senior) 16
Clinton 21

Castro said "If surviving assassination attempts were an Olympic event I would win a gold medal". He died of old age.
No matter what you think of Castro he did more for the Cuban people than the US puppet dictator Batista who kept them in poverty without education or health care.

[j.sabourn]

I found this old post one of the very interesting ones of the past as showed peoples different views , this even included the trolls working the site and returned again under different names. You don’t get any points for guessing them as is too late in the day. But were that obvious , that you will only get an A minus in your school report. I went back to it to add the time table for the MN Defence course in 1961/2 but have misplaced it again. When shows up again will add to this post about Cuba as that is what set the ball rolling , and the nearest thing to modern day Crimea and surrounds. Others must have done the same course as got 5 Guinea’s for it. JS.