Looking Back........
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About this ebook
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 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. This was during the "cold war" era in my small island of Jamaica which lies only 90 miles away from Cuba was 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, looking back now, 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.
The world needs two or more superpowers for as Lord Acton said “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
In this memoir I also deal with my tragic loss of my only son; my experiences with various religions; visits to Cuba; experiences with racism; journalism; and on a lighter note, my experiences with marijuana.
Joan Williams
Joan Williams BSc. who was educated in Jamaica, Canada and the USA, is a retired Jamaican journalist who up to June 2016 hosted .the popular radio call-in program Joan Williams on Line on Power 106, Jamaica and was broadcast worldwide.During her over forty years in journalism, she was at one time or the other, a columnist for the current dailies; Gleaner, Jamaica Observer and Star newspapers. She also contributed to many of the other publications including the Amnesty International Magazine and the Miami-based Caribbean Today and along with a late colleague, revolutionized morning radio in Jamaica.Her latest series was with the Gleaner in Jamaica where she wrote a monthly column entitled “Enjoying the Jamaican Outdoors,” sharing her experiences at many interesting and breathtaking places to which she hiked, cycled or otherwise toured. Those articles formed the basis of her recent publication "Hidden Gems of Jamaica."As a political commentator she was regularly requested by both local television stations, to participate in their current affairs programs and up to when she left Jamaica, was a much sought-after election analyst immediately as a campaign was launched.In 1991 she had established Yard Publications to publish ethnic books and the books currently in print and available from Amazon.com are; Tour Jamaica, the Original Dancehall Dictionary, Hidden Gems of Jamaica, Talk Jamaican and Looking Back.Her most recent publication, "Looking Back....... the struggle to preserve our freedoms" which has received excellent reviews on Amazon, she gives an excellent overview of the period when there was an "undeclared civil war" in Jamaica in the 70's, as the cold war had spilled on to the small island. Ms. Williams was an active participant in politics at the time.Although still concentrating on writing during her retirement, Ms. Williams continues to be an active grandmother in the lives of her two grand kids, Shadrach and Madelynn; an accomplished artist; an avid cyclist and explorer of the great outdoors and a world traveler. She can be contacted at; greatestj@gmail.com.
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