For those who have not read my bio, my father was a mining engineer who worked for Falconbridge nickle mines. He eventually became president of the La Luz Mines gold property, Rosita copper mines, and Coniaurum gold mines, chairman of Kilembe copper mines, and Giant Yellowknife gold mines, vice president of Ventures mines ltd., manager of metalurgy for Falconbridge, and held other unremembered titles as well.
Conversations in a Taxicab #1.
La Luz and Rosita were situated in Nicaragua, which is where I spent my childhood. I remember once when I was 6 or 7 years old, while riding in a taxicab from the Managua airport to the "Grand" hotel in Managua, I spotted a man with a burro sitting by the side of the road with a straw hat in his hand.
I asked my father : "Why is he sitting there like that daddy?"
My father said : "Because he is a beggar Jimmy."
I then asked : "Why doesn’t he get a job ?"
My father answered : "Because he is blind."
I next asked : "Why is he blind ?"
My father answered : "Because that is what the Somozas do to their political opponents. They take them into the basement of the presidential palace and gouge their eyes out, then leave them on the street."
I asked : "Then why do they elect the Somozas ?"
My father said : "Because when there is an election, there is a man sitting by the ballot box with a box of "I voted for Somoza" buttons in front of him. If they show that man their ballot; and the ballot is marked Somoza, then he gives them a button, if not, no button; and if they don’t have that button, then they don’t have a job."
Facts : Nicaragua is a poor country, with a population at that time of about 3.5 million people. The Somozas ruled the country from 1936 until 1979, at which time their corrupt rule was overthrown by the Sandinistas. The last Somoza (Known to all in Nicaragua as "Tachito Somoza"), escaped the country with $540,000,000 in a steamer trunk on his yacht. The "Contras" described by Ronald Reagan as "Freedom Fighters" were the remnants of the old Somoza regime bolstered by mercenaries.
To those of you who vote Republican, I ask you to think about what you are voting for.
Conversations in a Taxicab #1.
La Luz and Rosita were situated in Nicaragua, which is where I spent my childhood. I remember once when I was 6 or 7 years old, while riding in a taxicab from the Managua airport to the "Grand" hotel in Managua, I spotted a man with a burro sitting by the side of the road with a straw hat in his hand.
I asked my father : "Why is he sitting there like that daddy?"
My father said : "Because he is a beggar Jimmy."
I then asked : "Why doesn’t he get a job ?"
My father answered : "Because he is blind."
I next asked : "Why is he blind ?"
My father answered : "Because that is what the Somozas do to their political opponents. They take them into the basement of the presidential palace and gouge their eyes out, then leave them on the street."
I asked : "Then why do they elect the Somozas ?"
My father said : "Because when there is an election, there is a man sitting by the ballot box with a box of "I voted for Somoza" buttons in front of him. If they show that man their ballot; and the ballot is marked Somoza, then he gives them a button, if not, no button; and if they don’t have that button, then they don’t have a job."
Facts : Nicaragua is a poor country, with a population at that time of about 3.5 million people. The Somozas ruled the country from 1936 until 1979, at which time their corrupt rule was overthrown by the Sandinistas. The last Somoza (Known to all in Nicaragua as "Tachito Somoza"), escaped the country with $540,000,000 in a steamer trunk on his yacht. The "Contras" described by Ronald Reagan as "Freedom Fighters" were the remnants of the old Somoza regime bolstered by mercenaries.
To those of you who vote Republican, I ask you to think about what you are voting for.
