My my, this must be "Dump Day".
Sounds like you got a heap off your back, so you should feel better.
So I'm guessing the phone number I have for you is not going to reach
you if I call it.
Any chance of your sharing your current number with me?
I still keep a few numbers as sort of an anchor. Sylvie, Penny, Bob
Hachey and Charlie Crawford. I have a number for Joe, but doubt I'll
ever call him. I've sent several emails to Charlie, but no answer.
But I'd like your number, just in case you get one of those horrific
storms and your power is down. Not that I could do much if you were
shivering in sub zero weather. Most of the folks I know in New York
City are living either in a nursing home or the local cemetery.
My Bill Reader came to me via the Library of Congress, NLS. It was
free. The ACB really did push on the Treasury, but we blind folk just
don't have enough Billionaires. The ACB won the lawsuit, but seem to
have lost the war. The unit they sent me has been going fine for
several years. I only use it when I'm out and about by myself, which
is less and less. But I even loaned it out for a while, to a fellow
who really did use it. You might call your regional library and see
if they are still passing them out at the free price.
Each Thursday Dean Martineau sends me the Top Tech Tips. It is a list
of about 18 techy posts that will help me stay independent...and flat
broke. Mostly I have not a single clue as to what the items are. The
few ones I know about, I can't afford. And my Braille reading has
deteriorated as my fingers become old, so I would never buy any of the
refreshible Braille devices. I still use my Braille 'N' Speak that I
was given when I retired from the Agency back in 1993.
There was a time when I fancied myself quite the techy. But that was
back in the days of reel to reel recorders, Braille Writers,
typewriters and box cameras. If it had screws in it, I could take it
apart, repair it and put it back together.
And speaking of Land Lines, I have my own paranoia. The phone
companies are trying to get rid of land lines, so they let the service
deteriorate. Because the cell service out here is suspect, Cathy
bought me a set of Walky Talkies. They are good at least for the mile
and a half that I walk. But since she bought them this Christmas...we
still need to put them together. We did test a set out for a client,
so we do know the range of the signal.
Take care and think about sharing your number.
As Always,
Carl Jarvis
On 1/3/19, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
I also liked the article. The thing is, the world is a very dangerous place
now. Cuba's place in it is extremely insecure. All of the countries
surrounding it, are moving to the right. Venezuela and Nicaragua are in
Peril. The US military policy is now set to compete with Russia and China.
Russia is hardly a haven for leftist governments and China is focused on
increasing its financial power in the world.
The real world is a cold and unfriendly place. People don't actually relate
to each other anymore. They just communicate through machines. We once
thought that this list was an unline community. But when people disappear,
we have no idea what happened to them because our connections are tenuous.
We don't know each other's friends or families. We attach and detach, as it
pleases us.
I got a new phone number when I moved here last year because I didn't want
my phone to be part of a cable package. If the internet goes down in your
neighborhood, so does your phone. So I wanted a phone which used the old
fashioned copper wiring that's been in this old house for 55 years.
Apparently, the phone number may have once belonged to a business called
Power Design which is located in Florida and had a branch here in Melville,
Long Island. It appears that the company is no longer located at its former
Melville address, but its phone number, which belongs to me now, was listed
on innumerable websites as still belonging to it. It has taken a long time
to figure out why I was getting these phone calls and to try to get my
number off all the websites, and to get it unlisted from Google which still
occasionally calls me from various numbers and wants me, the business owner,
to verify my listing. I have learned to answer these calls, listen to the
computerized message, and then press the correct number to be unlisted. I've
done this hundreds of times. I thought I was finally just about freed from
power design and then came 2019 and a new flurry of calls has appeared. Ive
also been getting deliveries from a promotions company of various foods in
which I'm not interested, addressed to a man at my address, who does not
live here or on my block. I thought I'd solved the problem when I talked to
someone at a company that sent him a huge amount of frozen food and
explained the situation, and UPS took away the food. However, other
deliveries have appeared so I guess there are other companies involved.
When I stopped being able to see the huge numbers on my paper money, I began
using the bill identifier that NLS sent us in lieu of the government
providing us with identifiable money as decreed by the Supreme Court. By the
way, ACB never fussed or protested about this when we had a possibly
sympathetic administration in power. But anyway, My bill identifier stopped
working properly after a short time. Changing the batteries didn't help.
There's an 800 number for the treasury department to call if one needs a new
device. When I called, I was given the third degree to determine if I
really, truly needed a new bill identifier. After finally convincing the
first government representative, I was transferred to a second one who asked
me more questioned. Finally, they said they'd send a new device. Eventually,
they did. And it didn't work. My old device began working minimally on
occasion for a week or so and stopped again. I sent them both back about two
months ago, explaining in a note about what happened, and asking for a
replacement. I was pretty sure they'd never send one. Someone on the BARD
Talk list told me where to get one. They cost $148 with tax and shipping. I
ordered one on line and then a while ago, received a phone call that they
can't fill the order because they won't get any in stock until the end of
March. This company, one I never use if I can help it because it has a
history of dishonesty, is located on Long Island. But the phone connection
was so bad that I could barely hear the person who called. Each time she
talked, there was a loud buzzing on the line. This wasn't my bad hearing.
I've noticed that there are a lot of really bad phone lines these days,
possibly because they're all on the internet. They're radio signals, not
voices going through wires?
Just think about how accurate all those drone assasinations are when they're
killing remotely, killing little shadows on screens.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of Carl Jarvis
Sent: Thursday, January 03, 2019 3:58 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: Report from Cuba: Insights from a visitor
after 60 years of socialism
An interesting viewpoint.
I remember my dad buying a slick cover magazine called, USSR. Life under
Stalin, , according to that attractive propaganda piece, was one step
higher than Paradise. But this writer paints a far more
believable picture of Cuba. It helps me to see how folks in Cuba
confront the issues that exist in most nations, rather than pretending
they don't exist. The author shows us the attitudes of the Cuban
People, how they confront problems and solve them, how they develop
solidarity. No glossing over and pretending all is right in their world.
Instead we see a People recognizing the nation's problems and taking
positive action to alleviate them. in all, it's a far more positive
approach than what we see here at home.
The difference might be summed up by noting that in America we are being led
back to our former greatness, while in Cuba, the People are looking forward
to a brighter future.
Carl Jarvis
On 1/2/19, Roger Loran Bailey <dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
https://www.peoplesworld.org/article/report-from-cuba-insights-from-a-`> Report from Cuba: Insights from a visitor after 60 years of socialism
visitor-after-60-years-of-socialism/
January 1, 2019| 2:04 PM CST| | By Special to PeoplesWorld.org
Report from Cuba: Insights from a visitor after 60 years of socialism
Girls pose as they wait to dance in an LGBT pride parade marking the
International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia, in
Pinar Del Rio, Cuba, May 17, 2018. | Desmond Boylan / AP
Richard Grassl lives in Washington State. He first went to Cuba in
1997 to attend a U.S./Cuba Labor Conference in Havana and has returned
periodically, most recently in August 2018. Richard’s wife is Cuban.
His visits there with her family have allowed him to see Cuba in ways
quite different from those of most North American visitors. Tom
Whitney of the Let Cuba Live Committee of Maine and a regular People’s
World correspondent, takes advantage of Richard’s unusual vantage
point and his analysis to ask him a few questions.
Tom Whitney: Many people in our own country seem more concerned about
things right at hand and not so much about the world. Is it that way
in Cuba?
Richard Grassl: Cubans are definitely concerned about what happens in
the world. The political atmosphere has an impact on economic
relations with their trading partners and may ultimately affect
balance of payments with their creditors.
What are people hoping for in their own lives and for their country?
People hope that peace prevails and that their country’s influence in
the world will continue to grow. They want adequate food, shelter, and
clothing to alleviate shortages and uncertainty that exist when
imports don’t suffice to meet hardships imposed by the U.S. blockade.
People carry pork and eggs away from an outdoor market ahead of their
traditional new year dinners in Havana, Cuba, Dec. 29. The government
sets up temporary markets ahead of certain holidays where consumers
can buy basic staples at government-subsidized prices. | Desmond
Boylan / AP
What are their main complaints about daily life?
They worry about the price and availability of meat, dairy products,
tomatoes, onions, and other vegetables necessary for a balanced,
nutritious diet. The ration card does not compensate for family needs
each month. Disposable income is insufficient to cover the cost of
construction materials for housing repairs and replacement of
household appliances without remittances from relatives living in other
countries.
Yet Cubans share from what little material abundance they have with
others in need.
Are they tuned into politics? Where do they get their information?
Cubans pay very close attention to politics. They get their
information through television, radio, print news, social media, and
from the world around them. Expectations of the United States were
high when diplomatic relations resumed in December 2014, but now they
are reduced. But Cubans have maintained their sense of identity and
they focus on what got them to where they are. Trump’s shortsighted
attempt to thwart improved political and commercial relations have by
no means led to homelessness and begging in the streets of Havana.
Intensification of the blockade in order to bully trading partners has
not shaken the confidence and resolve of the Cuban people. In fact,
the recent UN General Assembly vote (189-2-0) to support the Cuban
resolution against the blockade shows how much the U.S. is isolated in the
world.
The “Mesa Redonda” (Round Table) television program provides detailed
political analysis by professors, respected journalists, and
government officials on international news, domestic politics, and
local events. At a press conference in Havana, for example, Foreign
Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla stated that, “In Cuba there is no
room for interference from a foreign power, now or any time in the
future.”
People talk about the need for improvements to garbage collection,
public transportation. They complain about long lines at government
offices and cost of living, etc. These subjects all have a political
connotation that cannot be separated from what I just said.
Do political developments overseas matter to Cubans you spoke with?
What about identification with Latin American countries?
After the triumph of the Revolution and the subsequent U.S. attempt to
isolate Cuba from the world, the Cuban government made foreign policy
an important priority. Cuban people have great respect for Hugo
Chavez, Evo Morales, Daniel Ortega, Nicholas Maduro, and other leaders
who have espoused revolutionary change to make their countries more
independent and sovereign. Economic, cultural, and political ties were
essential to overcome centuries of exploitation and plunder by imperialist
nations.
[Venezuelan-based television network] TeleSur is a prime source of
information and news about Latin America, and Cubans strongly identify
with TeleSur. In my opinion, other formations like the Bolivarian
Alliance for the Peoples of Latin America (ALBA), the Union of South
American Nations (UNASUR), the Common Market of the South (Mercosur),
and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC)
illustrate the necessity of cooperation and collectivity for the
common good.
In this Nov. 21, 2016 photo, garbage is piled up on a street corner in
Havana, Cuba. Infrequent garbage collection is one common complaint
among Cubans. | Desmond Boylan / AP
During the “Special Period” following the fall of the Soviet Union and
other Cuban trading partners in the 1990s, infrastructure and
transportation facilities suffered and supplies of essential goods
were short. What about shortages and their continuing impact on
people’s lives and attitudes?
No one in Cuba starves or is left unattended and suffering. The Cuban
government spends 51 percent of its revenue on education and
healthcare and 25 percent on programs like social security, senior
citizen housing, and child daycare. Problems like street potholes,
water pipe leaks, inadequate transportation, shortages of construction
material, and delayed garbage collection do not dampen the enthusiasm
of either Cubans or visitors. Though they may be short of means, there
is no lack of political will and determination on the part of
authorities and residents to talk about and resolve these concerns.
What would you say about consumerist longings among Cubans?
Consumerist longings, a symptom of individualism, result from a lack
of education and awareness. This problem is mitigated somewhat by
access to free education and healthcare accessible to all. As Fidel
pointed out, one must imagine a better world before it can exist. From
what I saw, people of every age and description are active in the
street, plazas, and neighborhoods conducting business, buying and
selling goods, reconstructing homes, traveling to and from work. And
they are participating in the discussion on constitutional reform. The
pride and exhilaration instilled by the Centenary Generation among
younger workers is manifested with shirts that bear the phrase “No Mas
Bloqueo.”
Leadership in Cuba has changed with younger people now being involved
and more women and Afro-Cubans. How do Cubans regard the older
generation of revolutionary leaders?
The older generation is passing the torch to younger, more energetic
cadre. Due to the presence over many years of many revolutionary
leaders, most people have a deep familiarity with their achievements.
Fidel was a legend in his own time. Their humility and modesty
overshadow any distance which may have existed as the nation faces new
challenges. The memory of the Cuban people is nourished whenever
commemorations are held of historic dates. Those leading the events
are seen to be following the example of their predecessors. For
example, the new Cuban president, Miguel Diaz-Canel, has taken the
reins of government with sincerity and purpose. And his reaching out
to friends and allies has strengthened Cuba’s influence in the world.
It’s not the same without Fidel. Yet he is still present. Cubans are
interested in results and what the government can do to improve their
lives and overcome difficulties with their northern neighbor.
The U.S. and Cuban peoples have been bound together for generations,
for good and for bad. What do they think about the United States?
Many times I have heard Cubans say the words “Estados Unidos” in the
street spoken without any tone of animosity or anger. The respect
shown by Cubans for the working class and U.S. tourists overshadows
differences that we may have. The closeness of our two nations
provides a unique opportunity to engage in discussion with a view to
improving relations.
As I traveled around in a cab, I observed that people, places, and
things like landmarks and buildings may have changed, but Cubans
maintain a consistent face. They don’t hold a grudge against the
“Americanos” on account of politics, language, or cultural differences.
The respect shown by Cubans for the working class and for U.S.
tourists made me feel welcome, even with complete strangers. The
closeness of our two nations provides a great opportunity to engage in
discussion with a view to improving relations.
Why do Cubans want to migrate?
Economic necessity seems to be the overwhelming reason that Cubans
pick up stakes and try their hand at opportunity in another country.
With migratory regulations now more lenient, they are welcomed back to
their homeland and share their experience with family and friends.
What about racial bias among Cubans?
Racial bias has no place in Cuba.
It is not characteristic of the Cuban people to betray the ideal of
the new men and women who have helped construct a society based upon
dignity, solidarity, unity, and the good of all.
What do Cubans you know think about the proposed constitutional changes?
In conversing about Cuba’s reform process, a Cuban friend stated that
“Cuba is a Titanic, adrift in the sea.” Though many problems persist
from the Special Period of the 1990s, Cubans survived the economic
blow through sheer willpower and intelligence, guided by their
revolutionary leadership. There is no lack of disdain for Trump’s
threat to use Monroe Doctrine tactics to expropriate the destiny of
the Americas and destroy Cuban sovereignty through an imperialist
venture based on hatred, greed, and revenge.
In the face of economic difficulty, Cuban citizens have flocked to
workplaces, schools, and public institutions to discuss changes to the
constitution. In this milieu, I came away with a sense of satisfaction
that the first law contained in the preamble of the Constitution of
the Republic of Cuba is at work. It’s from Jose Marti. It says that
the full dignity of all people and the legal, cultural, and ethical
wellspring of Cuban resistance to foreign interference are one and the
same thing.
What do Cubans think about their new president, Miguel Diaz-Canel?
When I asked a couple of family members about this, they asked me what
I thought about Donald Trump. The conversation went nowhere. My
thought is that it’s too early to make any kind of judgment. We have
no moral authority when it comes to determine what Cubans think of
their government or leadership. Cubans have the ability to resolve
problems like availability of food, adequate housing, decent
healthcare, good education, access to culture, and the normalization
of relations. We can learn from them only if we develop the ability to
listen, which is the best way to earn their respect.
To what extent do Cubans’ ideas about prosperity in the United States
and elsewhere feed into discontent with their lot?
The best answer to that question is to buy a ticket and visit Cuba.
You’ll learn directly from the horse’s mouth.
Tags:
capitalism
Cuba
socialism
CONTRIBUTOR
Special to PeoplesWorld.org
Special to PeoplesWorld.org
Peoplesworld.org is a daily news website of, for and by the 99% and
the direct descendant of the Daily Worker. Published by Long View
Publishing Co., People’s World reports on the movements for jobs,
peace, equality, democracy, civil rights and liberties, labor,
immigrant, LGBT and women’s rights, protection of the environment, and
more.
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Carl Sagan
“ Who is more humble? The scientist who looks at the universe with an
open mind and accepts whatever the universe has to teach us, or
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literal truth and never mind the fallibility of all the human beings
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― Carl Sagan
