#90 miles from Cuba

[theknitpotato]

Pollepel Island /pɒlɪˈpɛl/ is a 6.5-acre (26,000 m2) uninhabited island in the Hudson River in New York, United States. The principal feature on the island is Bannerman's Castle, an abandoned military surplus warehouse.

Pollepel Island has been called many different names, including Pollopel Island, Pollopel's Island, Bannerman's Island, and Bannermans' Island. Pollepel is a Dutch word meaning "(pot) ladle"

The island is about 50 miles (80 km) north of New York City and about 1,000 feet (300 m) from the Hudson River's eastern bank. It covers about 6.5 acres (26,000 m2), most of it rock.

Francis Bannerman VI was born on March 24, 1851, in Scotland, and immigrated to the United States with his parents in 1854. His grandfather was from Dundee, Scotland where he worked as a 'linenman'. The family moved to Brooklyn in 1858 and began a military surplus business near the Brooklyn Navy Yard in 1865 purchasing surplus military equipment at the close of the American Civil War.

In 1867 the business occupied a ship chandlery on Atlantic Avenue engaged in the purchase of worn rope for papermaking. The store on the 500-block of Broadway opened in 1897 to outfit volunteers for the Spanish–American War. The business bought weapons directly from the Spanish government before it evacuated Cuba; and then purchased over 90 percent of the Spanish guns, ammunition, and equipment captured by the United States military and auctioned off by the United States government. Bannerman's illustrated mail order catalog expanded to 300 pages; and became a reference for collectors of antique military equipment.

Bannerman purchased Pollepel island in November 1900, for use as a storage facility for his growing surplus business. Because his storeroom in New York City was not large enough to provide a safe location to store thirty million surplus munitions cartridges,

In the spring of 1901 he began to build an arsenal on Pollepel. Bannerman designed the buildings himself and let the constructors interpret the designs on their own.

Most of the building was devoted to the stores of army surplus but Bannerman built another castle in a smaller scale on top of the island near the main structure as a residence, often using items from his surplus collection for decorative touches.

The castle, clearly visible from the shore of the river, served as a giant advertisement for his business. On the side of the castle facing the western bank of the Hudson, Bannerman cast the legend "Bannerman's Island Arsenal" into the wall.

[fuckyeahmarxismleninism]

By Melinda Butterfield

Returning from 12 days in Cuba in mid-May, I spent an uncomfortably long six-hour layover at the Miami airport, waiting for my connecting flight to New York.

It wasn’t uncomfortable just because of the usual inconveniences like overpriced food and crappy seats but because I was a trans woman existing in the state of Florida, where the far-right anti-trans crusade has been centered this year.

[magicaguajiro]

The first Cemetery I ever visited and was the Historic Key West City Cemetery. I was 5, I had a fixation on it and begged my mom to take me. A pull in my stomach to the gates. In the moment we entered, it felt like I was in a ancient garden full of Spirits. Little did I know this would be a catalyst to me beginning witchcraft. This also became one of our regular stops when we tale that route.

Growing up Cuban-American in Florida, going to the Keys was a holy tradition, a pilgrimage. This chain of islands is home to many Cuban Exiles, as well as to many other communities including one of the most vibrant queer and drag scenes in Florida.* We always go to the marker that says 90 miles to Cuba, and just look out into the Ocean. Sometimes we pray, or listen to stories told by our grandparents about life on La Isla, lamenting a Land some of us never touched and the rest have trouble remembering.

This is almost always followed by Cuban Food. Our tradition is to walk to El Meson de Pepe, a beautiful restaurant near the sea with art depicting Cuban and Cuban-American culture all over the walls. In one part of this restaurant, they have a small case that exhibits some Cuban history. Its full of historic documents and the such. My Abuelo always walks us through the exhibits to teach us our Ancestors’ history. This is where I learned who El Apostol, José Martí was, and Cuba’s long history of unrest and revolution. Martí inspired revolution against the fascist Spanish monarchy through his writings. I will go more in depth on Florida/Cuban Folk Saints soon.

José Martí, The Apostle.

Florida is a much different place from when I was growing up here. It seems we are progressing in the wrong direction more often than not. The Land and People are suffering. But Paradise is NOT Lost. Florida has always been full of people who’s history the current governor and his cohorts want erased, and we have always fought. We can’t give in to the voices saying to give up and flee. A freer Florida is just around the corner.

Bendiciones 🕯️

*(In Key West specifically. Instead of the ball drop every New Year, they elect a drag queen to be dropped in a high heel!)

[usafphantom2]

U-2 pilot recalls when a Soviet submarine nearly fired a nuclear torpedo at a US Navy ship almost escalating Cuban Missile Crisis into World War III

A U-2 pilot tells a scary story that took place during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Built in complete secrecy by Kelly Johnson and the Lockheed Skunk Works, the original U-2A first flew in August 1955. Early flights over the Soviet Union in the late 1950s provided the president and other US decision makers with key intelligence on Soviet military capability.

SR-71 T-Shirts

CLICK HERE to see The Aviation Geek Club contributor Linda Sheffield’s T-shirt designs! Linda has a personal relationship with the SR-71 because her father Butch Sheffield flew the Blackbird from test flight in 1965 until 1973. Butch’s Granddaughter’s Lisa Burroughs and Susan Miller are graphic designers. They designed most of the merchandise that is for sale on Threadless. A percentage of the profits go to Flight Test Museum at Edwards Air Force Base. This nonprofit charity is personal to the Sheffield family because they are raising money to house SR-71, #955. This was the first Blackbird that Butch Sheffield flew on Oct. 4, 1965.

In October 1962, the U-2 photographed the buildup of Soviet offensive nuclear missiles in Cuba, touching off the Cuban Missile Crisis.

The fear of World War III

As a result of the Cuban Crisis the fear of World War III was on everyone’s mind. The island of Cuba just 90 miles from Florida had installed nuclear missiles capable of reaching the US.

On Oct. 23, 1962, I remember my father telling my mother to go to the commissary and buy as much food as possible. At that time we were living in Texas at Carswell Air Force Base (AFB). Dad, Butch Sheffield said as he was leaving, to fly the B-58 Hustler bomber on red alert.

U-2 print

This print is available in multiple sizes from AircraftProfilePrints.com – CLICK HERE TO GET YOURS. U-2S Dragon Lady “Senior Span”, 9th RW, 99th RS, 80-329

Buddy Brown, one of only 12 men in the world that flew both of U-2 and the SR-71

Seven years later we were living at Beale AFB and Buddy Brown was our neighbor. He was one of the only 12 men in the world that flew both of U-2 and the SR-71. The following is an interview by Buddy Brown given ten years ago to Oakridger.

‘Now let me say something about that Cuban Missile Crisis. This is probably as close as this nation has ever come to being in World War III,’ Brown began. ‘When I say close, it was probably about that far from pushing a button to launch a nuclear torpedo,’ he stated, as he gestured with two of his fingers only a few inches apart.

The crew of a Soviet submarine thought that World War III had started

‘I was at a 50-year thing at George Mason University about a year ago, and they were celebrating (the 50th anniversary of) the Cuban Missile Crisis. Since I was one of the pilots, they had me talk to the group there about that. I sat next to Sergei Khrushchev — (Soviet Premier Nikita) Khrushchev’s son — who was around 30 years old during the Cuban Missile Crisis and is now a professor at Brown University. But he was telling us that the Soviets had some diesel subs inside the line there in case nuclear war started.

The story of Buddy Brown, the U-2 pilot that took part to O Club parties wearing fake bad teeth to joke about the ozone level effect on U-2 drivers

Buddy Brown in front of an SR-71 Blackbird Mach 3 spy plane

‘Well this one person running the submarine thought we were, in fact, at war — because they didn’t have any contact,’ Brown recalled. ‘They had a bunch of naval ships out there and, fortunately, somebody with a cooler brain stopped him from doing that — but he was about three inches from pushing and launching one of those nuclear torpedoes at one of our naval ships out there.’ He paused and stated: ‘Now that would have started it right there.’ The Soviets had, in Cuba, about sixty 1-megaton weapons that were ready to go. Cruise missiles and a few other things.’

1 MEGAton nuclear weapons

Brown concludes;

Former U-2 pilot tells the story of the Soviet submarine that almost fired a nuclear torpedo at a US Navy ship during the Cuban Missile Crisis

Soviet submarine B-59, forced to the surface by US Naval forces in the Caribbean near Cuba.

‘To make a comparison, the ones that they set off during World War II at Hiroshima and Nagasaki was about 15 kt (kiloton) — now we’re talking about 1 MEGAton and they were going to use them. Well, fortunately, none of that happened and it ended up that we didn’t go to war; but it was probably the closest this nation has ever been.’

Be sure to check out Linda Sheffield Miller (Col Richard (Butch) Sheffield’s daughter, Col. Sheffield was an SR-71 Reconnaissance Systems Officer) Twitter Page Habubrats SR-71 and Facebook Page Born into the Wilde Blue Yonder for awesome Blackbird’s photos and stories.

Photo credit: U.S. Air Force, CIA and U.S. Navy

@Habubrats71 via X

[head-post]

Russian ships in Cuba? Consequence of NATO’s eastward expansion

Four Russian vessels, including a nuclear submarine, would arrive in Cuba next week, Cuban officials reported.

Cuba’s Foreign Ministry stated on Thursday that the ships, none of which carrying nuclear weapons, would dock in the Cuban capital between 12 and 17 June. However, authorities assured that their presence “does not represent a threat to the region.”

This visit corresponds to the historical friendly relations between Cuba and the Russian Federation and strictly adheres to the international regulations.

At the same time, the deployment of the nuclear submarine Kazan and three other naval vessels so close to the United States comes amid serious tensions related to the war in Ukraine. The United States is only 145 kilometres (90 miles) away from Cuba.

The Cuban Foreign Ministry stated that in addition to the Kazan, the Russian vessels would include the frigate Gorshkov, the fleet oil tanker Pashin, and the salvage tug Nikolay Chiker.

Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that Moscow could take “asymmetric” steps if the Ukrainian ally NATO continued to supply weapons, which would then be used to conduct strikes on Russian territories.

What should we do in response [to NATO weapons strikes on Russian territory]? We will, of course, improve our air defence systems. We will destroy those [Western weapons].

Measures include supplying Russian long-range weapons to countries that could launch sensitive strikes against allies supplying Ukraine.

The president did not specify to whom Russia could deliver the missiles. However, he could be referring to Iranian-backed military groups in the Middle East. For instance, Houthis reportedly conduct regular strikes on European and US merchant ships, disrupting shipments in the region.

We think that if someone considers it possible to supply such weapons to a war zone to strike our territory, to create problems for us, why don’t we have the right to supply our weapons of the same class to those regions of the world where strikes will be carried out against sensitive facilities of those countries that are doing this against Russia?

In response, the US and other countries emphasised that Ukraine could supposedly use the missiles only in border regions where Russia had recently launched a retaliatory offensive.

Read more HERE

[mariacallous]

When U.S. officials complained at the annual Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore early this month that a Chinese naval vessel had dangerously cut off a U.S. destroyer in international waters as it passed through the Taiwan Strait, China’s defense minister had a ready-made answer for how such hazards could best be avoided in the future.

“For China, we always say mind your own business, take good care of your own vessels, your fighter jets, take good care of your own territorial airspace and waters,” said Gen. Li Shangfu. “If that is the case, then I don’t think there will be future problems.”

The United States has long used the standard, internationally ratified definition of what constitutes “innocent passage” to justify sending warships through the territorial waters of many other nations, and, in the case of China, patrolling the seas close to the Chinese coast. The same has been true of U.S. military aircraft flying near China in international airspace.

For China, which in recent years has acquired ever more impressive means to push back with a powerful naval fleet and sophisticated air force of its own, the U.S. position amounts to what Beijing calls “hegemony of navigation,” by which it seems to mean taking maximal advantage of international rules that were largely conceived in the spirit of Western legal traditions and enacted during a long era of scarcely challenged Western power.

From the instant one looks more closely, though, things become more complicated. For one, China has ratified laws of the sea that it now complains about, and the United States, remarkably—and I am tempted to say to its shame—has not.

Furthermore, China frequently commits the very same acts that it objects to close to its shores. Most of these receive little international attention, such as sending warships into disputed waters around the Senkaku Islands, also claimed by Japan, or firing ballistic missiles into waters that form part of that country’s exclusive economic zone. The Chinese Navy has also trailed U.S. Navy vessels into seas close to Okinawa, Japan, where a Chinese submarine surfaced undetected near U.S. warships during drills there just to prove that it could. Chinese warships have also exercised the right of innocent passage close to U.S. shores.

For Americans, this shadow game has been powerfully brought home by two recent events. The first, which I would characterize as clumsy or ill-advised, involved the west-to-east transit of U.S. continental airspace by a Chinese balloon that reportedly carried sophisticated electronic signals-capturing equipment. One comedian joked aptly afterward that the Chinese could have at least painted the thing blue to blend in with the sky. The incident may have set U.S.-China relations back by at least half a year, prompting U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to postpone his first official visit to Beijing at a time of badly needed high-level communication between the two countries. In fairness, there was also an incommensurate response by U.S. politicians and media, for which China serves as all-too-convenient bogeyman and foil. Lest one think this is a one-sided problem, this reality is strongly mirrored in China as well.

Readers may be surprised for me to say that the second recent event along these lines is salutary. I’m speaking here of the reports that emerged last week that China has plans for or is already operating a major intelligence base in Cuba, an island that—as news stories have ritualistically reminded readers since the 1962 missile crisis between the United States and the Soviet Union—sits a mere 90 miles or so from Florida. In its most recent response to this revelation, the Biden administration has calmed the worst of the politicians’ predictable dudgeon by stating that China’s intelligence collection efforts this close to U.S. shores have been underway and known in Washington at least since 2019.

Here is why this is all a good thing: We would all do better—both Americans and Chinese—by dropping the pretense that only one side or the other, depending on one’s loyalties, gets up close and personal in collecting the other side’s electronic signals and other information. In fact, Li had it entirely wrong. In great-power competition there has never been such a thing as minding one’s own business. It has never existed, and it is dangerous to pretend that we expect it to.

So long as China is not installing offensive weapons in Cuba, Beijing having a listening post on the island should be treated as a mundane development, just as the United States would like China to stop getting hot about U.S. ships sailing wherever they like in international waters or taking advantage of the permissive rules surrounding innocent passage. There is, of course, a law-of-the-jungle way of thinking about this: that what goes around comes around. But there is also a more thoughtful way of framing things that can perhaps do more to enhance the safety of all concerned.

The United States and China have a lot of work to do to codify their relationship in ways that produce fewer surprises and less chance of violent conflict. U.S. Senate ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea would be a good place to start, signaling at a minimum that Washington does not expect Beijing to be bound by rules that it has not formally adopted for itself.

Amid the present climate in Washington, where hostility and suspicion toward China come cheaply, one should not hold one’s breath. In the scheme of things, though, this would be a mere baby step. And the present climate in Beijing, which is equally inclement, makes getting what follows all the more difficult to imagine. But that doesn’t mean efforts toward these ends should be postponed or abandoned.

For one thing, the two countries need to come to an understanding about the development and future deployment of new nuclear weapons. China has been reluctant to engage on this for one obvious structural reason: The United States still possesses a far larger arsenal of deliverable and accurate hydrogen bombs. Yet it is in the interest of both parties to recognize, given the reality of the scale of annihilation that these systems can produce, that they have no practical use in warfare. Where this should incline the two countries is toward a mutually agreed, managed reduction in their stockpiles as well as shared rules and limits governing their delivery systems.

If the Soviet Union and the United States, which were fierce adversaries and often closer to war than Washington and Beijing have ever been over the last seven decades, were able to engage in fruitful nuclear arms control, this should provide confidence to the two sides about what they can accomplish together.

Other urgent domains await—areas where there is no gainsaying the technical and economic capacity of the world’s two most powerful countries and largest economies to innovate in military affairs to an exorbitant and possibly catastrophic extent. These, quickly stated, include the militarization of space and artificial intelligence. Both are manifestly areas where, once a race gets out of control, the idea of minding one’s own business will sound hopelessly quaint and naive.

China and the United States will inevitably compete more and more with each other across all domains and in almost every imaginable geography as the power differential between the two countries narrows. Of each side, this will require making less noise about the supposedly exceptional behavior of the other as the convergence of their efforts grows with each passing year. And the way to make that possible is to keep expanding the list of commonly agreed-upon rules.

[overanalyst556]

Official Intro.

The Cold War as we know lasted a long time from 1945 to 1991. A time when the world was split between the yoke of East and West. No Matter where you came from, You were living in two different worlds, one of freedom and one of oppression.

After the end of WW2, With the Nazis and Imperial Japan defeated, The only two powers that were in the strongest position to be superpowers were The United States of America

And the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, better known as the Soviet Union.

These two now knew that once the war was over, the guns would now be pointed at each other. The Cold War had begun.

For the duration of the 40s and 1950s decades just like our own timeline, The American and Soviets never fought one another, instead deciding to spread their influence on the global stage through proxy wars, Like Korea or the wars between Israeli and the Arab states.

All the while attempting to solidify their control over the spheres of influence. Thus they began the arms race with both sides developing atomic weapons. The Americans had a head start due to the Manhattan Project and the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki respectively.

For a bit, they were the sole nuclear power in the world. However, things changed in 1949 when the Soviets detonated their first Atomic bomb, The Rs. Now the balance had turned.

Mutually assured Destruction (MAD for short) became adopted by both sides as neither wanted to fight the other without getting destroyed. Yet this didn't stop the two from increasing the number of bombs and Military equipment.

The Americans, Under the administration of President Dwight D Eisenhower and Brainstormed by Secretary of State John Foster Dulles, adopted a massive retaliation strategy, which was to threaten severe retaliation on the Soviets, Including Nuclear weapons.

The Soviets, under the new leadership of Nikita Khrushchev, Who came to power after Stalin died, Tried to build up the nuclear forces while also pursuing Detente.

The invention of ICBMs in the late 50s as well as the production of strategic bombers like the B52 Stratofortress and the Tupolev Tu 95 And Tu 16 respectfully, Combined with repeated nuclear tests, Only escalated the tension further.

Now It's the 1960s, and the Cold War was at its hottest. The new US President, John F Kennedy is reeling back from the failed Bay of Pigs invasion.

The Landing, which was supposed to complete the objective of overthrowing Cuban leader Fidel Castro, Had failed miserably with all members of Brigade 2506 ( The Brigade made up of Cuban exiles) imprisoned or killed. It was a humiliation for The Kennedy administration.

The Us had once tried to place missiles in Turkey as a one-up over the Soviets in 1959, However, Turkey refused to authorize the installation of Jupiter missiles in their homeland, fearing retaliation by the Soviet Government.

Plus, The missiles would have been Obsolete by the time they were installed. They would have been useless in the event of a war. So after a lot of meetings and discussions, The US eventually decided to not put the missiles in Turkey.

Meanwhile, In Cuba, Castro slowly started to get paranoid. The Cia had first tried to assassinate him, and now they had tried to do a covert ops mission involving Cuban exiles to bring him down. For Castro, his position was in jeopardy. The Americans were proving to be the aggressor as he had believed. Thus the only way to preserve Cuban sovereignty was to have Soviet troops protecting him.

So in late 1961, He asked the Soviets to give him more Sa 2 Anti-air missiles, which generally looked like this.

The Politburo ( The Soviet equivalent to the Us Congress, although different from Congress) was At first hesitant to give the missiles to Castro and Cuba. But they knew that If they did not comply, they would risk ruining relations with Cuba and they would probably go to the Chinese Instead.

Also, Cuba was nearly 90 miles from the Us. That would serve as a perfect spot for naval bases, where the Soviets could position a fleet of ships there. they were also mostly obligated to help since Castro had come to them and requested aid. It would look bad on them if they were to abandon a fellow socialist brother country.

The Discussion between the members of the Polltiburo lasted almost the whole day. It was divided between pro-war members who wanted to send the Aa missiles to challenge the Americans and those who protested against the action, fearing war.

Eventually, a decision was made: the Soviets would send the Sa 2s plus a huge amount of guns, tanks, and aircraft to the island under a defense pact treaty. In return, the Cubans would have to pay them back in sugar exports and cotton. They presented this to the Cubans, who came to accept the deal (though there were those that protested against it)

Thus what would become known as the Cuban- Soviet Mutual Treaty of Defense and Friendship was born and put into effect on December 18th, 1961, with deliveries starting in February of 1962.

Meanwhile, Kennedy was planning another invasion of Cuba, But not with Cuban exiles. This time, It would be American boots on the ground. He began laying the groundwork for Operation Ortsac( Castro spelled backward) All the while unaware that Soviet supply ships were reaching Cuba.

The Clock ticks a second more to Midnight.

[freakscircus]

hi there! i’m just curious, what led you to want to study the Cuban Revolution specifically? did you have an inspiration?

sort of! my parents worked in latin america for a decade before i was born, so i was always surrounded by books about all sorts of different countries. i always loved history and learning, so when i started exploring these books and stories cuba always stuck out to me the most. i was fascinated with the idea of a socialist revolution 90 miles away from the united states and had so many questions about how it happened, why, and who made up the revolution. i think there is also a relative romanticism about the cuban revolution, although it is debatable whether or not that holds up under scrutiny. then as i got further into my college career, i started becoming very interested in the intersections between gender, feminism, and revolution which spurred what i do now. thank you for asking!

[nsfwhiphop]

Fun Fact about Cuba.

Question:

Was Cuba a highly prominent nation that gained worldwide attention during the Cold War era?

ChatGPT Answer:

Yes, Cuba was indeed a major focus of global attention during the Cold War, especially following the Cuban Revolution in 1959, which brought Fidel Castro to power and aligned the country with the Soviet Union. Several key events made Cuba a prominent player in Cold War geopolitics:

Cuban Revolution (1959): The overthrow of the U.S.-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista by Fidel Castro's revolutionary forces was a turning point. Castro's subsequent alignment with the Soviet Union transformed Cuba into a key player in the ideological and geopolitical rivalry between the U.S. and the Soviet Union.

Bay of Pigs Invasion (1961): This was a failed invasion of Cuba by CIA-backed Cuban exiles aimed at overthrowing Castro. It was a major Cold War event that further solidified Castro’s ties with the USSR and embarrassed the U.S., strengthening Castro's position in Cuba.

Cuban Missile Crisis (1962): Perhaps the most significant event, the Cuban Missile Crisis occurred when the Soviet Union placed nuclear missiles in Cuba, just 90 miles from the U.S. coast. This led to a tense 13-day standoff between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, which brought the world to the brink of nuclear war. The crisis ended when the Soviets agreed to remove the missiles in exchange for a U.S. commitment not to invade Cuba and the eventual removal of U.S. missiles in Turkey.

Cuba's involvement in these key Cold War confrontations, as well as its role in supporting revolutionary movements in Latin America and Africa, made it a symbol of resistance to U.S. influence and a central figure in Cold War-era politics.

[unwilting]

Socialist Cuba may be only 90 miles from South Florida, but it’s a world away, especially when it comes to dealing with storms. The whole of Cuban society is mobilized to deal with hurricanes, and the aftermath is about recovery, not greed. Regular preparedness drills are conducted everywhere. The focus is on risk reduction with an integrated response from local fire departments, health, transportation, and other public services. Before storms occur, Cuban government officials, police, and military personnel help people move their belongings to safer locations. The government also guarantees replacement of all lost property. Most impressively, they have a 100-year plan to move towns further inland in response to climate change. Cuba is carrying out major reforestation efforts. They have increased forest cover to 30.6% of the island, up from the mere 14% that existed at the time of the 1959 revolution. The country is a leader in urban agriculture, with 35,000 hectares being used for farming in the capital city, Havana. These are only a couple examples of Cuba’s proactive approach to dealing with the ecological crisis that is driving more frequent and intense storms.

[fuckyeahmarxismleninism]

Pride Month Webinar: Eyewitness Report from Cuba's Queer Rights Revolution

Just 90 miles from Ron DeSantis’s Florida, socialist Cuba is making huge advances in LGBTQ+ rights with its new Families Code.

How did Cuba achieve the ‘most advanced policy in the world’?

Why isn’t the U.S. media reporting it?

Why does Biden maintain Trump’s punishing blockade measures and keep Cuba on the state sponsors of terrorism list?

Hear from LGBTQ+ activists from across the U.S. who went to Cuba to see for themselves.

Learn how queer rights are being prioritized from the grassroots to the National Assembly.

Why U.S. queers should work to end the U.S. blockade of Cuba, and how you can join next year’s delegation.

PANELISTS

Lizz Toledo • Women in Struggle-Mujeres en Lucha • Atlanta

Serena Sojic-Borne • Real Name Campaign & FRSO • New Orleans

Jordan David • Lavender Guard • Los Angeles

Deirdre Deans • Women in Struggle • Atlanta

Gregory Esteven • Socialist Unity Party • New Orleans

Kiana Fok • Peoples Power Assembly & Friends of Latin America • Baltimore

Melinda Butterfield • Women in Struggle • New York

Hosted by Women in Struggle / Mujeres en Lucha, an affiliate of the Women’s International Democratic Federation

[williamchasterson]

Russian warships leave Cuba after five days

The Russian fleet had been anchored just 90 miles from the US state of Florida. from BBC News https://ift.tt/mzbyMOP via IFTTT

[usafphantom2]

Backwash 202, turn right to heading 170.”

Bill responded with typical professionalism: “Backwash 202, Roger, 170.”

What? I turned to a heading of 170 degrees, wondering what was happening.

The next thing I heard only made my heart beat faster: “Backwash 202, your bogey five right, 22.” Bogey?!

Bill, calm as ever, responded, “Backwash 202, roger.”

I learned we had been launched to shoot down a U.S. Air Force U-2.

By 1966, President Johnson had stopped overflying the island of Cuba. They continued flying reconnaissance operations “close” to Cuba; as you may remember, in 1962, during the Cuban missile crisis the Cubans shot down an American officer, Rudolf Anderson. (My neighbor at Beale Air Force Base, Buddy Brown, was slated to be Major Anderson's backup driver if the weather wasn’t clear enough. Buddy's earlier pictures of the island proved that the Russians had planted their ballistic nuclear missiles in Cuba just 90 miles from Florida.)

Rudolf Anderson’s body was recovered and laid to rest at Woodland Memorial Park.

Now, on July 28, 1966, Captain Robert Hickman took off from Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana to make a regular over-flight of the island of Cuba. He was told not to violate Cuban airspace.

His U-2 did violate Cuban airspace and flew directly over the island.

Unfortunately, Captain Hickman was dead due to the failure of the aircraft's oxygen supply. He suffered from HYPOXIA. USA Air Force was monitoring this flight and scrambled two 4F Phantoms from Cuba to shoot down the U-2!

They were convinced that the pilot was dead and because they didn’t want another incident over Cuba. They tried to shoot down the U-2, but the U2 was out of range..

Had I shot down his U-2, it certainly could have been filed away as one of those unfortunate incidents that occur in the fog of war. But even knowing that Hickman was already dead, had I shot him down, I would not be telling this story today. Why? Because the aircraft bearing his body would have landed in Cuba, and his wife and six children would not have had his remains to mourn and to bury. I could not have abided that written by John Newlin. He was one of the men tasked to shoot down the U-2.

Hickman’s widow Pauline received the Air metal. She never remarried and raise their six kids alone.

I am glad that U-2 was not shot down. There was no incident. The Cubans didn’t say anything. The next day, farmers in a remote area of Bolivia found the wrecked plane and the remains of its pilot.

Written by Linda Sheffield Miller

Source “Hunt for the U2 “by Krzysztof Dabrowski

@Habubrats71 via X

[nawapon17]

Russian warships leave Cuba after five days

[alaturkanews]

Go inside the Russian warship 90 miles away from US

A group of Russian Navy ships, including a nuclear-powered submarine, arrived in Cuba in a sign of strengthening ties between the two Cold War allies. CNN's Patrick Oppman gained access to one of the Russian warships just 90 miles from Florida. #CNN #news Want to stay up to date on the day’s top stories? Sign up for CNN’s 5 Things newsletter, and we’ll give you the 5 biggest stories you need to…