Depending on your point of view, the scrolling electronic signboard that the U.S. Interests Section in Havana turned on in 2006 was a vital source of information for the Cuban people, or it was an ineffective attempt to disseminate opinion and information, or it was a silly use of a diplomatic building.
The State Department acknowledged yesterday that it was turned off in June, which means at least three and a half weeks ago. (See the State Department spokesman’s comments here.)
Until yesterday when the news broke in the Financial Times, no one outside Cuba knew. More important, during that time there’s no indication that any Cuban batted an eye – there’s no report from any dissident, not a single story on Cubanet or elsewhere from Cuba’s independent journalists, nothing from any Cuban blogger.
There’s more reaction in Miami-Dade than in all of Cuba. Pull the plug on TV Marti, and I’ll bet the same thing happens.
[Update: Radio Marti reports that “independent communicators” in Cuba – bloggers and others – applaud the demise of the signboard on the U.S. Interests Section; story here with link to audio.]
8 comments:
pull TV MARTI and give me my tax money back, millions to waste on that shit, millions more for CANF terrorists, millions and millions more to torture the cuban people but not one penny for universal health care. what a truly screwed up country i live in.
no mas
Hey anon, take the pretty meds and everything will be much beter.
anon, then please do us all a favor and leave. Even better, go live in Cuba where you can get your "universal health care"
hey Peters, you never answered the question...if the ticker was such a waste then why did the regime build the ridiculous flag farm and possibly request that it be turned off? commentate on that...
there's the pavlovian response -- how dare you criticize -- go and leave. obviously you're making lots of money from CANF continuing the crusade against Cuba.
the cubans built the platform and flags in front of the US interest section because the USA started the ridiculous ticker -- yet another diplomatic insult. it aint brain surgery goof ball. why should the cuban government have to put up with all that shit? if the cuban interest section in washington tried the same thing guess what would happen. oh sorry you can't think for yourself, ok, call your CANF handlers and they'll give you the answers
what a maroon
thank you for that penetrating insight.
If the Cuban section started the same thing in Washington with a display screen it would make the evening news and it would be an attention getter for tourists. No one would give two shits what it said on its screen,though. Therein lies the big difference. Our society can tolerate criticicism from any quarter, the Cuban regime can't.
I think the issue was with messages like the first one that ever appeared, cynically using a Martin Luther King speech to urge the Cubans to revolt. I don't think the Cuban government would ever dare put a message urging americans to revolt against their government on a 5 foot tall digital sign in Washington, DC.
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