Cuba Places Iraq Jail Abuse Photos at U.S. Mission

[Mika]

Cuba Places Iraq Jail Abuse Photos at U.S. Mission
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=339231

Dec 17, 2004 — HAVANA (Reuters) - Cuba on Friday put up two huge billboards in front of the U.S. mission with pictures of abused Iraqi prisoners, a swastika and the word "fascists" in bold red letters.

The photos of hooded and bloodied Iraqis at the Abu Ghraib prison were apparently placed in retaliation for a U.S. Christmas display which includes the number 75, in reference to 75 pro-democracy activists imprisoned 20 months ago for long terms.

There was no immediate comment from U.S. and Cuban officials.

Cuba had demanded the display be taken down earlier this week. The president of the National Assembly, Ricardo Alarcon, called it "rubbish" and "a provocation."

-

The U.S. mission sits on Havana's busy sea-side drive, and now the big number 75 and the Abu Ghraib billboards face each other from opposite sides of the avenue.

[Name removed]

1. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Mika]

2. A glitch took it out

I put up the link and story quotes, and previewed the post.. but a glitch removed them. :shrug:


I reposted the link and quotes.

:hi:

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

3. Damn ABC! No pictures?

when are these idiots gonna learn what the web is for?

[KurtNYC]

13. Here is one

http://search.news.yahoo.com/search/news?p=fidel+castro&c=news_photos

[Minstrel Boy]

4. You beat me to it, Mika.

A very smart tit for tat there by Cuba. The hypocricy of the US mission and US policy needs to be called out at every opportunity.

This is from a surprisingly sensible editorial today in The Decatur Daily about the US "Christmas decorations":

...

We struggle enough with international relations without deliberately provoking hostility. As guests in Cuba, our diplomats should abide by that government's wishes.

...

Mr. Cason ignored a recent request from the Cuban government to remove the decorations.

There are times when Cuba takes actions that the United States correctly opposes. This is not one of them. We are a guest in Cuba. If our diplomats are not capable of honoring the wishes of their hosts, it is time they returned home.

Mr. Cason is regularly demonstrating his confusion about his role in Cuba. Just weeks before his decorating binge, Mr. Cason made a public appearance at an anti-Castro meeting. Just days before, he organized a ceremony in which he placed the names of jailed dissidents in a time capsule. Just hours before that, he publicly proclaimed the imminent end of communist control in Cuba. http://www.decaturdaily.com/decaturdaily/opinion/editorials/041217a.shtml

[Vidar]

12. Chimp looked up the definition of "diplomat" and found "agent provacateur"

[Rose Siding]

20. The US calls Cason a "diplomat"

I say, go for the abbreviation. What a crappy GUEST!

[countryjake]

5. I was hoping...

someone would do something like that. When I saw the other article about the Xmas lights display with the big 75, I thought they should make a sort of neon cage with "Gitmo" emblazoned across it & a big red 632 or whatever the figure is now, glowing inside the bars. Right across the street...perfect!

[Mika]

6. Funny thing is.. its not 75

The Cuban gov released 19 of the 75 recently. The number of traitors found guilty and currently imprisoned for their treasonous activities is 56, actually.

[Warren Stupidity]

7. no offense but...

'treasonous activity' is a bit disingenuous. While I think it is wonderful that the Cubans have demonstrated the hypocrisy of our supposedly democratic government and its supposed respect for human rights, that hypocrisy is exposed by the equivalence of our disrespect for humand rights with that of the totalitarian cuban regime. Pot->kettle->black means both the pot and the kettle are black.

[Bridget Burke]

8. Their "dissidents" are being bankrolled by the USA.

Would the US government allow a group advocating its overthrow to be supported financially by a foreign regime.

(Saudis taking flight lessons are OK; that was in Florida, where Castro is the only enemy.)

[genieroze]

9. Yeah well, you maybe right but it was still funny as heck.

You can call it "The pot calling the kettle back" and we do the same thing to other countries. How about the Ukraine exit poll? Talk about hypocrisy.

[Mika]

10. Warren, there is no pot->kettle->black comparison to the US & Cuba

Imagine Al Queda running "independent" libraries run by "independent journalists" on Al Queda's payroll in your neighborhoods, seeking to overthrow the system of government in the US.

That is the equivalent of US amb James Cason's US financed and supported "independent" libraries run by "independent journalists" in Cuba. Their (and the US's) stated intent is to overthrow the Cuban government.


There is no Cuban equivalent to this scenario, because Cuba doesn't sponsor "independent" libraries run by "independent journalists" in the USA seeking to overthrow the US system of government.


:hi:

[Minstrel Boy]

11. Pot, kettle? There is no equivalency here.

After all, it was Cuba, wasn't it, which waged an unprovoked invasion of a sovereign nation, killed 100,000 innocents, sewed the wind with tons of toxic metals, and is holding the nation and its petroleum wealth hostage in perpetuity. Where was my head?

And it is Cuba which threatens the neighboring states of the Middle East with more war, and endangers the world with its weapons of mass destruction and reckless environmental degradation. Right?

It was a Cuban official who termed the Geneva Convention "quaint," wasn't it? Let's not forget, the black hole of Gitmo is on Cuban territory. What more does the world need before it brings the monster Fidel to heel?

[Bono71]

14. I think Warren's point is this...

1) Bush is horrible.
2) This does not exonerate Castro from his crimes.

[VegasWolf]

15. Gotta be happy that Castro is continually pummeling bush. n/t

[tsuki]

16. I wish Castro would have added "moral values" to the sign.

I got into a fight with a bunch of Refundies about Abu Ghraib. They are the moral bunch, the Xian bunch. I was the bleeding heart librul.

Seriously, this is how low we have sunk in esteem, not just in Cuba, but world wide.

[Cooley Hurd]

26. Every single repuke I've thrown Abu Ghraib at said the same thing...

"WHO CARES?!? They're all TERRORISTS!"

"Yep, and WE'RE ALL torturers, right?" I shot back...:eyes:

[joanski01]

17. When I saw that on CNN a little

while ago, my first reaction was to crack up laughing. I don't get to laugh very often any more.

[0007]

18. Beautiful fucking beautiful!!

[malaise]

19. This was too funny

I'm still ROTFL. You want Christmas decorations bro - here's a dose of reality.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

21. That is hysterical!

I had a good belly laugh from it!

[HEyHEY]

22. Man...say what you want about Castro...but the man's got style

[Tinoire]

23. Toast to Castro

a Greek traveler said it simply represented the truth.

"These are the crimes in Iraq, the torture of Iraqi people by the Americans," said Antonio Nankoudis. He then pointed to the U.S. mission, saying, "And there are the assassins."

Cubans also supported the billboard.

"This is well-placed, so the whole world understands that what's most important is humanity"

Oh lol, the freepers aren't going to like this one bit.

Well here's a toast to Castro and here's another to EVERYONE exposing the US' hypocrisy and filth.

[malaise]

24. Another priceless comment

From Wayne Smith:

Wayne Smith, who headed the U.S. mission here during the Carter and Reagan administrations and has long advocated restoring normal diplomatic relations with Cuba, said he thought the images of prisoner abuse in Iraq were an appropriate response by Castro's regime.

"If I were in their shoes, this is what I would do _ call attention to the fact that the United States is now guilty of torture, of massive violations of human rights," Smith said by telephone from Washington.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6089851

[Judi Lynn]

25. Update! Cuban students to protest U.S. Christmas display

Dec. 19, 2004, 11:50PM

Cuban students to protest U.S. Christmas display
By MARC FRANK
Reuters News Services

HAVANA - Cuban students plan to protest outside the U.S. mission in Havana today against a Christmas display that supports imprisoned dissidents, which a communist youth leader described Sunday as aggressive provocation.

During a televised program on the escalating spat over the holiday decorations, which have already been countered with barbed government billboards, leaders of Cuba's communist youth league and university and school students criticized the head of the U.S. diplomatic mission, James Cason.

"We are responding to the aggressive, meddling, arrogant policy of Mr. Cason," said Union of Young Communists chief Julio Martinez.

"We are ready to respond to every provocation and every aggression," he said.
(snip/...)

http://olympics.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=7134499

[0007]

27. The man with the long long long long nose and empty head speaks;

Secretary of State Colin Powell, in a press interview on Friday, termed the Cuban reaction "unwise."

[Mika]

28. A nation of anti imperialist activism

Bravo Cuba!

---

From - History Will Absolve Me - By Fidel Castro Ruz

Yes, we set out to fight for Cuba's freedom and we are not ashamed of having done so, they declared, one by one, on the witness stand. Then, addressing the Court with impressive courage, they denounced the hideous crimes committed upon the bodies of our brothers.

www.freethefive.org