2017 MEDICAL ITEMS APPEAL-Starting out early this time, needed are (manual) wheelchairs, folding walkers, crutches, canes, slings, and boots and braces for feet, legs, and arms to take with me on my next annual volunteer medical brigade mission to Honduras, in Feb. 2017. If you have access to any of these items, we’ll have to figure out how to get them to me. None are made in Honduras, but all can make a big difference; photo is of some previous recipients. Also need un-expired medications, good at least through March 2017.
Feb. 2016 recipients
The Peace Corps will be
going to Vietnam, mainly to teach English. The Peace Corps is already in China,
so why not Vietnam? I've predicted Peace Corps in Cuba (as per my Huffington Post blog on that), but
that's a long way into the future. None of those 3 countries has a good human
rights record, but why not improve what we can through the "soft
power" and people-to-people exchange of Peace Corps? PCVs do not engage in
in-country politics and are NOT CIA (even if Evo Morales of Bolivia has
suspected that).
Even as a child, I never accepted the rationale for dropping the atomic bomb—twice even—on Japanese
civilians and always considered President Truman’s legacy tainted by his
approval of that action. So, I certainly welcomed President Obama’s overdue
visit to Hiroshima. For this, his
last year in office, he is completing many activities he might have wanted to
do all along. But, realizing his goal of closing the Guantanamo military prison
seems unlikely.
The Obamas have already
made plans to lease a DC mansion
when the President’s term ends: https://www.yahoo.com/news/obama-family-live-9-bedroom-162945981.html
Here is more on Amnesty
International’s controversial sex worker policy, controversial within, as
well as outside, the organization. (Many members not only object to the new
policy but feel that it was rammed through in an undemocratic manner):
Former President Jimmy Carter (someone I knew in my past life)
has come out for punishing the buyers of sex, not the sellers (Washington Post, June 1, 2016).
Kiluea, the volcano on Hawaii’s Big Island that has been
flowing for more than 30 years and which I have seen, very spectacular,
especially at night, has new eruptions:
Haiti still in turmoil:
Rather belatedly, Venezuela’s
Nicolas Maduro is holding talks with the opposition in the DR, where the
newly re-elected president has been one of his allies:
In Canada, glad that
the devastating fire, too close for
comfort to Alberta’s tar sands, is finally coming under control and that no
one died, which is a miracle. Alberta
was my late father’s birthplace, but his family lived there before the oli boom—they
were wheat farmers, a much more benign occupation.
In South Sudan, where I
had a mission in 2006, has a high maternal mortality rate, which does not
surprise me: http://www.newsweek.com/giving-birth-south-sudan-465020?rx=us
Here’s the NY Times changing its editorial tune as the mood and times change
in Latin America:
“The Left on the Run in Latin America,” now even promoting a comprehensive trade agreement
between the US and Latin American countries, an effort that had been abandoned
in the wake of resistance due to the alliances created by Hugo Chavez’s
“Bolivarian Revolution.”
Obama’s
outreach and accords with Cuba may have played a part in this changed mood in
Latin America, although the death of Hugo Chavez and the fall in the price of
oil are also important factors. Raul Castro saw it coming and decided to throw
in his lot with the USA.
Cuban foreign minister expresses solidarity with Maduro in Caracas
Fox News Latino Cuban Foreign Minister
Bruno Rodriguez met with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, in Caracas, where he traveled - he said Tuesday - to bring a message of
"solidarity" from Cuban President Raul Castro. "We were with
President Nicolas Maduro. We had an extraordinary meeting," said Rodriguez
on Venezuelan state-run VTV television regarding the encounter at which, he
added, he confirmed "Cuba's full solidarity, which is the message from
Raul, the embrace of Fidel and the Cuban people, which is what I've brought to
Caracas."
Gen. Cliver Alcala, retired from the Venezuelan
military and once a strong Chavez supporter, apparently now has turned against
Maduro, but doubts there will be a military coup because of all the
benefits given to the military—the same thing that happens in Cuba. Why would a
military leader risk sacrificing that at the risk of his life and freedom if he
should end up on the losing side? http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-36399648
Cuba campaign to diminish Obama’s visit: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-government/white-house/article78499207.html
One of
my correspondents, a retired academic
librarian, sent me an article about the recent visit to Cuba by a group
described as “the first official delegation of American librarians” to Havana’s
International Book Fair. One member of the delegation was identified as a
retired director of the American Library Association’s (ALA’s) “Office for
Intellectual Freedom.” The group was reportedly impressed by Cuban librarians’ apparent
pride in their profession and with the results of the long-ago literacy campaign
which, the article said, had “turned Cuba into the most literate country in
Latin America.” That might possibly be true, but is questionable. My late
foster son Alex, from the eastern province of Holguien, was barely literate,
even in Spanish, but eventually became so in English and eventually attended
college in the US. I met some Cubans in the 1990’s who had been taught to read
during the literacy campaign but said they had later “forgotten,” not so
surprising since there are few books in circulation in Cuba and because
independent libraries have had their books confiscated and even burned. As
recently as 2014, copies of my own book have been reported confiscated at the
Havana airport. So is that the sort of “intellectual freedom” ALA stands for?
And what about Argentina and Chile? Is there less literacy there than in Cuba?
I would doubt it. So many Americans are now excited about going on Cuban
government sponsored tours, returning home none the wiser. Another of my
readers, who recently went on a religious-themed Cuba tour, said their guides
assured them that dissidents were few and not well-respected. That’s probably true,
given the draconian attacks against them. In my book, I recount how my own
Havana friends in the Gil family, certainly no supporters of the regime,
steered clear of the home of a local dissident (whose place I recognized
without telling them I knew him), whom they described disparagingly as a
“rightist person.”
Cuba’s campaign to diminish Obama’s visit:
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-government/white-house/article78499207.html
http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2016/05/18/texas-shelters-churches-fear-sudden-influx-cuban-migrants-will-overwhelm-them/ Cubans
migrants stuck in Panama and Costa Rica are now able to fly to Ciudad Juarez on
the border with El Paso, Texas. Local churches and refugee agencies are not
equipped to handle such a large influx, up to 350 Cubans per day, when
previously, they were processing only 60-100 per month.
Cuban
authorities may have initially resisted cruise ship travel because of the
potential for stowaways. Perhaps it didn’t happen on the cruise ship’s maiden
voyage, but 3 hidden Cuban migrants suddenly disembarked in Florida from a
cargo ship returning from the filming of “Fast and Furious.” Ships leaving
Cuban will now be meticulously searched before leaving. As readers of my Cuba
book may recall, I once sailed to Cuba with my daughter, a friend, and a feisty
Canadian called Captain Dave. Soon
after that trip, Captain Dave was barred from Cuba, because, my friend thinks,
he used to often smuggle people out with him after his frequent sailing trips,
perhaps for a price.
Its verges on the obscene for the
Kardashians, fashion shows, and movie shoots to invade impoverished, so-called
“socialist” Cuba, especially when local people are kept away by barricades and
police, and receive none of the financial benefits. That three stowaways managed to
escape Cuba on a transport ship for the filming of “Fast & Furious” is
poetic justice.
Cuban democracy
advocates are discussing running opposition candidates in that country’s 2017
elections;
can the Cuban Communist Party continue to claim exclusive jurisdiction over
promoting the goals of “socialism” and “the Revolution”? If the idea of other
parties and candidates better able to promote the goals of socialism and the
revolution is able to actually pick up momentum, it will either result in a
stronger crackdown or a wider citizen revolt and clashes. President Obama may
have planted a seed when he advocated voting for the leadership in his
televised address—indeed, the Cuban Communist Party was right in reacting
defensively against his visit, characterizing it as undermining “the
Revolution” (code for those now in power) by friendly means. In the short term,
such resistance may continue to result in more and harsher attacks. “Nos vamos
a presentar a las elecciones y vamos a ganar”, [we’re going to present
ourselves for election and we’re going to win] said opposition leader Manuel Cuesta, spokesman for a
collective of small dissident organizations not recognized by the government.
The government has reacted on Granma,
the official newspaper and website, saying that debate is open as long as it
does not try to undermine socialism and replace it with an outdated capitalism
and that debaters are not provided (moral or financial?) support from outside
the country. Under those rules, can the
opposition say, with some justification, that it is promoting the original ideas
of the revolution: equality, justice, freedom of expression? They should
emphasize that they are not capitalists, but true socialists wanting a more
equitable distribution of wealth. That message might resonate even with some
members of the Communist Party.
21 Cuban rafters who made it to a
Florida lighthouse are clinging there claiming “dry-foot” privileges, while a Miami benefactor has filed
suit in court asking that they be allow to stay. The lighthouse is located several
miles south of the Florida Keys—is it dry land or not? http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/politics/2016/05/25/cuban-rafters-who-clung-to-lighthouse-off-florida-keys-in-legal-limbo/
A series
of vignettes about Cubans crossing the border at El Paso http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/31/us/border-cuban-migrants-el-paso/index.html
Cuban dissident and former prisoner
of conscience Jose Daniel Ferrer was in DC, but I missed him because our
meeting place was changed—will try again if he comes back later: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/cuba/article80391027.html
Here
he is in the Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/cuban-dissident-leader-takes-his-message-to-the-united-states-were-not-afraid/2016/05/31/d6250978-2764-11e6-ae4a-3cdd5fe74204_story.html
His biography from Wikipedia: José Daniel Ferrer García (born
July 29, 1970) is a fisherman and Cuban dissident from Santiago de Cuba.[1] A
member of the Christian Liberation
Movement (MCL) founded by Oswaldo Payá, he participated in collecting
signatures for the Varela Project, in which 25,000 signatories
petitioned the Cuban government to guarantee freedom of speech and freedom of assembly as
well as institute a multi-party democracy. Ferrer was detained during the subsequent Black Spring crackdown of March
2003 and sentenced to 25 years' imprisonment. His brother Luis Enrique Ferrer García, also
an MCL activist, was sentenced to 28 years. In May 2003, José Daniel began a
hunger strike after he was allegedly refused medical treatment for an
intestinal issue. He was also subjected to punishment cells for refusing to
stand in the presence of military or prison guards. The prison cells are
reportedly and habitually below the international standard and the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners.[3]
Amnesty International declared both Ferrer
brothers to be prisoners of conscience.[3] US
President Barack Obama called for Ferrer's release in 2009,
urging the Cuban government to allow him to "fully participate in a
democratic future in Cuba."[4]
Ferrer remained in prison until
2011.[5] He
and Félix Navarro Rodríguez were released on 23 March
2011 as part of an agreement between the Cuban government and the Catholic
Church. They were the last two prisoners of the Black Spring to be
released. Ferrer refused the option to emigrate to Spain, stating, "I want
to see a free people, and the best place to fight is here inside."
Ferrer was detained again in
April 2012 for "public disorder", and again for two days in August
2012 for his work with Unión Patriótica de Cuba (UNPACU). Amnesty International
described the arrests as part of "a pattern of harassment by the Cuban
authorities against UNPACU members and other political dissidents." In
2009, Ferrer and fellow Cuban dissidents Librado Linares García, Iván Hernández Carrillo, Jorge Luis García Pérez, and Iris Pérez Aguilera were jointly
awarded the Democracy Award of the US National Endowment for
Democracy. Ferrer was unable to attend, as he was still in
prison. Ferrer's wife, Cantillo Belkis Ramirez, is a member of the Ladies in White, a group of wives of political
prisoners protesting every Sunday for their release. She was herself detained
for 48 hours in March 2012.
Honduras
A baby
with microcephaly was born in NJ to a Honduran mother who had contracted the
virus on a visit to her home
country--http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/01/nyregion/girl-with-zika-virus-is-born-at-a-new-jersey-hospital.html?mabReward=A6&action=click&pgtype=Homepage®ion=CColumn&module=Recommendation&src=rechp&WT.nav=RecEngine
Fabio Lobo, the son of
former Honduran President Porfirio Lobo was arrested in Haiti and extradited to
the US on drug trafficking charges.
Lobo was president after I left Peace Corps in Honduras, but was in office
during my subsequent medical brigade trips. He was a member of the conservative
National Party, as I recall. https://www.yahoo.com/news/son-honduran-ex-president-pleads-guilty-us-194527385.html
A friend just forwarded me yet
another internet item, this one from TruthOut, tying Hillary Clinton to the
Zelaya “coup” in Honduras and, by extension, to the murder of environmental
activist Berta Caceres. Is this an effort by Bernie Sanders supporters to
further tarnish Hillary’s reputation? All this blaming of Hillary Clinton for
supporting a "coup" in Honduras and for the murder of environmental
activist Berta Caceres is a total stretch and a figment of an overactive
imagination. First of all, Manuel
Zelaya, now a member of the Honduran legislature, who ran his wife in an
unsuccessful presidential bid, was thought to be going against the Honduran
constitution in seeking a second term and ordering the army to support him.
Whether or not there was actually a "coup" in 2009 is therefore a
matter of debate, but a debate that has long been over in Honduras itself,
where people have moved on. As for lawlessness in Honduras, it existed before,
during, and after Zelaya's presidency. Caceres, touted as an indigenous Lenca
leader, was not actually Lenca, but supported Lenca people opposing the
building of a local dam. Of those arrested for her murder, two are associated
with the dam project. So, is Hillary to blame? Hillary may have other faults,
but this is not one of them. If you don't like Hillary, don't vote for her, but
don't pin the so-called Honduran coup or Caceres' murder on her. Zelaya won the
presidency with the financial backing of an American who had been supporting
the establishment of local libraries in Honduras, but suddenly diverted his
money to Zelaya, a candidate of the traditional Liberal Party, who governed in
a traditional way until halfway through his presidency when he struck up an
alliance with Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, who gave Honduras free LED light bulbs
and low-priced oil--this allowed Zelaya to raise the minimum wage--even Peace
Corps volunteers there asked for a raise as a result.
Bernie Sanders’ supporters
are unhappy now that it looks like their candidate won’t win the Democratic
presidential nomination. They feel “the system” is against them. (I do not argue with my
friends who still support Sanders, as they certainly get an “A” for passion, something
rare among Hillary supporters.) While both Sanders and his supporters may feel strongly
and sincerely that he is not only the most principled candidate, but the best
one to win against Trump, I think he is now on a quixotic quest. When the
campaign started, I was willing to support either Hillary or Bernie, whoever
got the nomination. Now, with Trump rising dangerously in the polls (why??!!)
and Hillary falling, it’s time for the Democratic Party to unite behind their current
front runner. I would make the same plea to Hillary supporters were Bernie
ahead now in terms of delegates. Voters have often been faced with voting for
the lesser of evils and no candidate is without faults. Sanders, who has an
appealing, but fairly predictable, stump speech, has already made his point
about Wall Street and income inequality. He might actually have more influence
on the platform if he were to gracefully withdraw now instead of fighting on,
which he may be doing not only to further his own ambitions and influence, but
in order not to disappoint his fervid supporters. As a declared “Socialist” for
all his years in the Senate, he has not made a big splash previously, though he
has always been beloved in Vermont; now he is enjoying a national platform and
may want to make the most of his moment in the sun. However, his persistent fight
may come to be seen not so much as a defense of principles, but as a stubborn
and grudging effort to hang on, not the best way to unify the Democratic Party
to defeat Trump. Sanders’ attacks on Clinton now may actually be weakening her against
Trump. I considered it a mistake for Sanders to agree to debate Trump, but he had
wanted to give himself more visibility in a last-ditch effort to win in
California. If he wins there, we will have an even more divided Democratic
Party and electorate, but Hillary will still be ahead in delegates. It’s hard
to make the case for changing the rules because you are losing according to the
existing rules. As a septuagenarian myself, I understand Sanders’ need to make
an impact on the world while he’s still living in it. But Donald Trump, in my opinion is not just not “politically correct,” he is “politically incorrect.” He and his supporters must be resoundingly defeated,
not only for the sake of our country, but the world. Bernie, do the right
thing. It’s too late now for you to get the nomination.
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