American/ Russian interefernce in elections

Even if the Americans have themselves had a record of sometimes “interfering” in elections in other countries, they have every right to be upset that Russia interfered in their presidential elections, as all the intelligence agencies have agreed happened. Interestingly, president Trump has time and time again, chosen to believe Putin's word, although he is ex and probably still KGB, while dismissing the evidence provided by 17 of his own intelligence agencies, but that's another issue.

Anyway, the difference between what the Russians did to the USA in their democratic elections and normal "interference,"  is that the US and Russia are currently the two most powerful superpowers in the world and if one can gain unchallenged influence throughout the world because it has its surrogate in power as the head of the other superpower, it would be terrible for the rest of us. 

Especially if the one that ends up with total power is Russia!

For Russia is by no means a liberal democracy and thus their holding sway over what happens in smaller and weaker states would be tragic for people in the free world, who could see the freedoms to which they had become accustomed, being gradually diminished.

I have been there and speak from personal experience on the front lines.

This was during the cold war era in my small island of Jamaica which lies only 90 miles away from Cuba. We were forced to go through four years of turmoil because the democratically elected government of the day decided it preferred the Cuban system of government and the socialist philosophy to the Westminster system of government under which it had gained power. And the Cubans were only too happy to assist them in every way possible to  take away our freedoms. For after all, Jamaica being the largest and most influential island in the English speaking Caribbean, would give them great leverage in their quest to have the then USSR dominate the entire region.

So we saw our island being flooded by thousands of Cubans supposedly coming in to assist in agricultural development and the health service. They however were under the command of a general named Ulysses Estrada who was allegedly the head of their intelligence agency, the DGI. Also assisting the Cubans but covertly, was the Russian KGB and I know that as a fact as I did have an encounter with one.

On the other side was the American CIA which had allegedly heeded the opposition party’s cry for help, but they apparently operated very covertly, for although I was often on the frontlines, I never encountered a CIA agent on the ground.

However, I say without apology THANKS TO THE AMERICAN CIA FOR ASSISTING US, FOR IF THEY HADN’T, JAMAICA TODAY WOULD PROBABLY BE LIKE VENEZUELA where food shortages, hyper-inflation, no press freedom, government sponsored aggression and the silencing of the opposition are the order of the day.

Worse yet, we could be like Cuba itself. I have visited that country four times since 1980, because of its physical beauty and the fact that I have close family there. Their life is one of absolute misery and the younger ones who were born after the revolution, do not even know that there is an alternative world in which people can criticize their government, read and write what they want or even better, get a passport and travel to any place they wish, as long as they have the money. Sad.

I therefore thank the Americans for “interfering” and assisting us in defeating the Cuban DGI and Russian KGB in the elections that followed our four year period of turmoil…1976-1980.

For reducing the world to a position where one of the two super powers dominates totally because it succeeded in putting its surrogate in power, is extremely dangerous for the entire world. For what Lord Acton said in the 1800’s is still relevant today. “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

Essay; 1 The Venezuelan experience

Every time I see the news coming out of Venezuela, it sends a chill down my spine. For events there today bring back the terrible memories of our own trials and struggles in the island of Jamaica during the cold war period, when the government of the day tried to impose socialism on the country. With that socialist thrust, came the threat of the loss of our sacred freedoms including freedom of the press, religion and association.

Our dangerous period begun with the imposition of a state of emergency under which, like in Venezuela today, opposition politicians and activists were arbitrarily detained without charge and attempts were made to prevent the independent press from functioning without governmental interference.

On another level, the experiment with socialism led to massive foods shortages, loss of tourism revenue, hyper-inflation, government-sponsored violence and general oppression. Eventually these rapidly deteriorating conditions led to an undeclared civil war in Jamaica which lasted some four years, causing the deaths of thousands of people.

In the wake of the decline in the economy and pervasive violence, came the self-exile of many of our most valuable people including professionals, both small and large entrepreneurs and many members of the middle class. Up to today, some 30 years later, the Jamaican economy still struggles because of the departure of such valuable persons.

During that period (from 1976-1980), the Michael Manley government was overtly propped up by the Russian KGB and Cuban DGI. The American CIA was also alleged to have been involved in assisting the opposition. If they did, I have nothing but praise and gratitude for them, especially today when I see how rapidly conditions are deteriorating in Venezuela .

At the time the disruptions were taking place in Jamaica, I had only recently become the mother of two young children but when I saw the threat to our freedoms which begun with the locking up of elected opposition politicians and activists, the threats to press freedom and other freedoms plus  how my family had to suffer because of the shortage of basic foods, I put my own safety on hold to get involved.

While the violent battles were being fought in the streets with weapons allegedly supplied by the covert agencies, I hit the ground taking part in the regular peaceful demonstrations while using both radio and the print media to not only spread the opposition’s position to the wider public but also to keep up the pressure on the government.

I have visited Cuba four times since 1980, (the last time being in 2014 when I went there to meet family that I had subsequently learnt lived there) when we held an election that ousted the socialist government from power, and every time I visited or see the news coming out of Venezuela today, I say a silent prayer of thanks that we were able to avoid their fate.

I continue to pray that the Venezuelan people will keep up the pressure and be as successful as we were in ousting the socialists and restoring democracy. And I hope that those who are in the position to assist them, will do so.

Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." Martin Luther King

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=LOOKING+BACK.........%3A+The+Struggle+To+Preserve+Our+Freedoms

It reads like a spy thriller but events written about in this intriguing book really happened in little Jamaica in the 70's where the author, now an outspoken talk show host, was forced to join other courageous, freedom loving activists in the struggle to preserve their freedoms. This was during the era when the cold war raged and Jamaica was caught up in the deadly struggle between the USSR and USA for world domination. During that period Jamaicans actually fought an "undeclared civil war" as political deception/intrigue, the massacre of innocents and even downright treason by a government minister became dangers that had to be overcome as the dominant international spy agencies, the Russian KGB, the Cuban DGI and the American Central American Agency (CIA) assisted their local surrogates to try to dominate Jamaica, then eventually the entire English Speaking Caribbean.

In looking back now, Joan boldly declares that she feels nothing but gratitude to the CIA for their surreptitious assistance to those who were not prepared to capitulate and lose their freedoms to the power hungry Michael Manley regime . She writes “In light of the fact that those who tried to sell out our country to the eastern bloc were armed and financed by the Russian KGB and the Cuban DGI, I reiterate even now, that had the CIA or whichever other US agency not assisted the JLP in the undeclared civil war that raged between 1978 and 1980, the freedoms we accept as normal today would not have been preserved." Her determination to remain a free citizen however, even meant her having to make the ultimate sacrifice of having to send her children away, but this lady reluctantly made the painful decision for she wanted them to enjoy the freedoms she had been accustomed to.

However, as she reviews the terrible economic conditions in Jamaica today compounded by the fact that the country is one of the top 5 "Murder Capitals of the World," Williams wonders out loud if it was all worth the effort? However, since she discovered close relatives in Cuba, she visited that country recently and concluded, “I have visited Cuba four times, including once in 2014 to get acquainted with and spend a few days with some cousins who were born there. Although the natural beauty of that country cannot be totally destroyed, life there is simply intolerable for the residents. And I am not talking about only the lack of freedoms but also how the system makes it impossible for people to advance economically no matter how hard they work. So poverty is pervasive while corruption and prostitution are rampant as people turn to any means necessary to survive. So if it’s the CIA that assisted us to win the battle that saved us from becoming a deprived, browbeaten and hopeless people like the Cubans, I feel nothing but gratitude towards them."

In Looking Back, Williams does not only reminisce about the past however, but more importantly, wonders about the future under what she describes as the “Bastardisation of the Westminster System"  as practiced in Jamaica today. For while Jamaica is theoretically a “democratic” nation,  she reveals how some 25% of their electoral constituencies are tightly controlled by gunmen aligned to senior politicians in the dominant parties, the JLP and PNP. This is what she sadly insists accounts for the fact that Jamaica’s murder rate remains frighteningly high while the young people lose hope.

This is a timely, thought provoking and insightful book which is a “must read” for persons interested in democracy, politics and international affairs.

In Part 2 of this mini- autobiography, Williams shares the torment she went through when her only son was murdered and the surprise possibility she is forced to face since 2014, that he was actually murdered by someone in the Police Force, which is paid by taxpayers to "serve and protect." She also shares some quite hilarious views on family, religion, marijuana and other matters, ensuring that readers are never bored.

https://youtu.be/LvUJXyiJKKM