Foreign policy is best looked at through the lens of deeds. Cuba sends doctors and teachers, the US sends jet fighters and military weapons. Much of the dilemma in Cuba should be seen through the historical perspective of colonialism. Despite all that the US has attempted in the way of theft of dignity from the Cubans they are faring quite well. As energy sources dwindle we would be wise to listen and learn from the Cuban experiment in low energy living. More on peak oil and solutions being implemented in Cuba from Pat Murphy here:
"Cuba had to innovate rapidly when their oil supplies were halted. There was no time or money for light rail or any other development. They had to do something quick and cheap. They added incentives to agriculture, incorporated some free market principles, paying people well if they did well. It was a major change from the socialist system. The government stopped regulating many things. The change was much more of a social transformation than a technical one. There was no major move to solar panels or wind turbines although there are a few such devices. The transition worked to a great extent because of the Cuban focus cooperation. Competition is not their principal social driver, but rather cooperation, certainly an example of community spirit. I once wrote a long letter about Cuba to an energy web site pointing out what they had achieved. I got a response that they were socialists, and that's the only reason they survived and Americans won't do that. This was an amazing retort. I then sent these same people the address for the Fellowship of Intentional Communities, which is a great place for community information. Messages came back pointing out they too were socialist and communists. Some people would rather die than modify the American economic way of life."
Entire article at:
http://www.energybulletin.net/4381.html Perusing the web today I came across a few articles that shined some light in these days when fascism creeps closer to our doors. In these days of the American Military State it can be difficult to see any rays of hope. For me it helps to turn my gaze southward towards the peoples movement(s) in Latin America, particularly the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. This article, by Les Blough, gave me a bit of sustenance in the otherwise arid political arena here in El Norte. It will be the first of several articles which will draw from his recent visit to Venezuela where he spent time with folks on the ground. Let us hope that the spirit of the movement in Venezuela finds its way to higher latitudes. Here are a few excerpts:
• "The eyes of the world are watching the social development, economic growth and the power of the successful democracy in The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela - and once people have tasted real democracy, they never turn back. For 40 years the corrupt regimes in Venezuela had kept 80% of the people in abject poverty. Under Chavez, poverty is still quite evident, particularly in the barrios. But life is getting better. My soon-to-be-published interviews with poor people will show that to be the case. When you are with them, you can see it in their incomes and in their faces. Cheap labor has always been the darling of the empire's capitalists."
<snip>
"The U.S. wars against other Latin American countries are certainly not lost on Chavez. For example, in his lifetime, he observed the armed death squads, funded by Washington to crush democratic movements in El Salvador and Guatamala in the 1980s. What could be more fresh in his mind than the kidnapping of democratically-elected President Jean Bertrand Aristide in Haiti by U.S. marines last year? If the Venezuelan people clarified anything for me during my visit it is this: They are the most informed people I have ever met anywhere in my 61 years of life in the United States and travel abroad."
To read the entire article go to:
/www.axisoflogic.com/artman/publish/printer_15785.shtml
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