And they say Castro has balls...

Havana is up in arms about Christmas decorations adorning the U.S. Interests Section, the US diplomatic mission in Cuba that is equated with the Cuban Interests Section in Washington, D.C. The mere fact that there are decorations is not really all that important - after all, what's wrong with candy canes, lights and Santa Claus, right? [another issue to be discussed...] What IS the bee in the bonnet of the Cuban officials is a lighted decoration that states, merely, "75", which is a reference to 75 Cuban dissidents who were jailed last year (some of whom were recently released because of health and other reasons).

That's all fine and dandy...antagonize relations that are already strained and as we all know are an anachronism given the demise of the cold war politics and even the retirement and death of the staunch supporters of the embargo...clearly an idea who's time has come. And, granted, a sovereignty has the right to object to activities and expressions on the part of a visitor, an invited guest, that tend to undermine that sovereignty or be critical of it. Imagine if they had burning effigies of President Bush outside the Cuban Interests Section, or rallies for the "five heroes" who are in prison here in the US!!!

What is MORE disturbing is that the mission is supposed to represent THE UNITED STATES, and NOT the whim and particular religious affiliations of the chief of the mission...it's not the playground or private residence of the chief of the mission, JAMES CASON. As a place that is supposed to represent the United States, i.e., an embassy or a facsimile thereof, no matter what it is called, the US Interests Section should not be putting up ANYTHING like that, unless it recognizes ALL faiths that comprise the people of the United States...some people celebrate Kwaanza, others Hannukah, and perhaps others who observe Ramadan.

Not only are they rubbing a politically charged situation into the face of the Republic of Cuba, a sovereign nation who invited the mission to exist on its soil, and on its terms, this Cason guy is rubbing Christianity into the faces of all of us other heathens who may NOT celebrate Christmas, believe in Jesus, think that snow and pine trees really DO represent the birth of a savior, or feel that colored lights are appropriate decoration for a building...

Seems to me that there is some confusion here. I thought that our constitution separates church and state, and to advocate the celebration of Christmas as an official political agenda and an official celebration by representatives of the United States abroad is a violation of our constitution. I, for one, am offended. Not because of the "75" but because of the position taken by Cason!

Says Cason: "Our position is that our Christmas decorations are up through Christmas." "It's a matter of principle to us."

Ummmmmmmm, who is "us"? Who qualifies as "our"?

This is not just political correctness...this is an outrage.

Oh...and on what the diplomats in the Cuban Interests Section might do to protest? While the freedom of speech we guarantee all people (supposedly...) would enable them to burn effigees of President Bush, (a) they would not be so bold, and (b) the act of doing it would probably result in a military invasion of the compound! So...yeah...the Cubans have a right to object to something that undermines the State, and conversely, Cason has absolutely NO right to use the USIS as his own battleground by inserting religion into the role of the State abroad. This is unfortunate. The USIS has always been a beacon of freedom in Cuba, one that attracted Cubans to the freedoms we have. Now, Cason has single-handedly implemented a policy of rejecting and alienating the Cuban people...not merely the State the Mission obviously wants to undermine. Who wins? No one. Who loses? Everyone.

I volunteer Cuba to be invaded next. The people and cigars of Cuba need to be liberated.

Damn communist heathens!

That's why I just say Happy Holidays! Peace and Joy to all God fearing people and godless commies alike! I mean, really, we won't know who's right until we're dead, so let's just all try and get along.

And no more invasions unless it's absolutely neccessary, unless it's France.

Quite sad Bob.
I must agree with your point: 'Not the whim of any particular...of the Chief of Mission...'
Sad to see (or hear of) very senior Officers letting themselves get confused about their function and why they were put into a very sensitive position. Whatever he, personally, thinks on these matters is of no import.

I hope you carry on your good work.

I agree there shouldn't be any religous connotation, and frankly a little docoration means nothing to me either, if whoever is working in that mission is ok with it than its cool with me, after all they are the ones doing something in Cuba (of coarse there are debates on if its worth a damn). But my problem does lie with this POS Cason and his "position" of Christmas. GD psycho and makes us all look bad. sounds like the kind of guy that if every worker there were Jewish and wanted to put up Jewish decorations instead, he'd probably not let it happen.

But a tree, lights, decorations? that's not Christmas but a marketing scheme. that's not forcing Christianity down anyone's throat, hell, half my jewish friend have trees. its a different story if he's got a Cross or Jesus.

but the fact is that this d-bag IS trying to put a relgious face on these decorations, which is outrageous!!

What ARE they doing in Cuba? It's supposed to be a diplomatic mission. Unfortunately, their actions, unlike those of their predecessors, have the net effect of alienating the Cuban PEOPLE, not enticing them to like the things America stands for, or instill in them a desire to be 'free' or to rise up against the State so as to follow the US model.

My outrage is not simply that we (represented by our diplomats abroad) are doing something that flies in the face of and tends to undermine the sovereignty that invited us and permits us to stay there; rather, that this marketing scheme, such as it is, or whatever else you want to call it (and of course the decorations are not just colored lights - there IS a distinct religious aspect to them), is keyed to, is based upon, is designed specifically to be tied to, the celebration of the pagan holiday based on stories that not everyone here believes, and thus is based upon something that is NOT representative of WE the people. And to hold it out as such in the context of a diplomatic mission abroad smacks of State sponsored religion and/or worship...and why? Because of this guy Cason, who is a loose cannon among the loose cannons that comprise the Administration.

Here's the story minus some of the spin.

Where is the righteous indignation over the anti-American propaganda that lines the Malecon, rj? Or the giant poster of President Bush dressed as Hitler? Or Cuba's recent military drills? You talk as if Cuba and its government is this innocent group of peaceful, loving people who get picked on by the big bad US. With Christmas lights and a sign, no less!

Send the ACLU down there. They'll get it straightened out.

U.S. Ignores Cuba's Christmas Warning

HAVANA - U.S. diplomats on Wednesday refused to take down their offices' trimmings of Santa Claus, candy canes and white lights wrapped around palm trees, ignoring a demand by Cuba to remove Christmas decorations that include a reference to dissidents jailed by Fidel Castro (news - web sites)'s government.

The element that irked the Cuban authorities most was a sign among the decorations that reads "75" — a reference to 75 Cuban dissidents jailed last year, according to U.S. Interest Section Chief James Cason.

Parliament Speaker Ricardo Alarcon called the sign "rubbish" on Wednesday, and told reporters that Cason seems "desperate to create problems."

Cuba had warned the U.S. Interest Section in Havana to remove the decorations or face unspecified consequences, but Alarcon did not say what the consequences would be. No other officials from Castro's administration have commented on the spat.

In Washington, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher defended the decorations, and said there are no plans to take them down until after the holidays are over.

The "75" sign "shows our solidarity with Cubans who struggle for democracy and freedom, when we think it's appropriate, at the holiday season, to remember ... these people who are missing because of political repression," Boucher said.

A reporter who drove past the Interest Section on Wednesday saw the sign and the other decorations still displayed along Havana's coastal Malecon highway. There were no onlookers and little traffic because of a tidal surge that threatened the area with flooding.

"Our intent, in the spirit of Christmas, was to call attention to the plight of these 75," Cason told reporters. "We're prepared to pay whatever price for the things we believe in."

Cuban Foreign Ministry officials insisted in meetings Saturday and Tuesday that the decorations be taken down, Cason said.

"They could expel us, they could continue to hinder our activities," Cason said. "We don't know what they're going to do."

Sen. Max Baucus (news, bio, voting record), D-Mont., in Havana for trade talks between American agribusinesses and the Cuban government, declined to comment specifically on the Christmas decorations.

Baucus, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, said instead: "I just believe that we have a great future ahead of us, both the United States and Cuba, if we just stay on a positive course, and work to build relationships."

U.S. relations, never good during four decades of communist rule, have deteriorated under President Bush (news - web sites), whose administration has toughened economic sanctions and publicized its plan for a democratic Cuba after Castro.

The United States and Cuba have not had diplomatic relations since shortly after Castro took over. In lieu of embassies, interest sections provide consular services and limited official contact.

The dissidents imprisoned last year were accused of receiving money from U.S. officials to undermine the island's system — a charge the activists and the U.S. government denied.

They were sentenced to up to 28 years in prison, but 14 have been released for medical reasons.

Baucus, in opening remarks at the trade negotiations Wednesday, thanked Cuba for releasing those prisoners.

He later told reporters that both the United States and Cuba should "refrain from actions which tend to incite, which tend to give ammunition and fuel to those who want to complain."

Cason also on Tuesday applauded the release of some of the political prisoners, but said all of the original 75 should be freed. He also said fundamental changes in Cuba — such as freedom of expression — were still necessary.

There's quite a difference between how a foe is portrayed as propaganda within one's boundaries (and don't feed me this crap about how an embassy is a boundary...that's not what I mean and you know it), and how things are done in a similar vein to undermine a government ON ITS OWN SHORES and IN ITS OWN CONFINES!

There are lots of anti-Bush cartoons in Cuba...and rightfully so with how the Administration treats the fiasco that is the embargo. But do the Cubans put up burning effigies of Bush in front of the Cuban Interests Section in DC, on OUR doorstep, on OUR shores, where WE permit them to hang THEIR hats? NO! And that is the point concerning the outrage that the Cubans feel about the "75".

The LARGER issue here is how Cason calls the perspective "ours" as if he speaks for ALL Americans (oops...I mean, US Citizens), or that the Christmas decorations with a very poignant and obvious religious slant is sanctioned by "we" or that the principles behind stuffing it in the face of the Republic of Cuba is somehow representative of the "principles" of us all. That is not the case, and THAT is where MY outrage lies. Yeah, the bantering, the tilting, the fist pounding, the rhetoric, the propaganda...that will happen on both sides. But "we" overstepped our boundaries big time in this instance by doing something to undermine the sovereignty of a country where our presence is as guests in a mission of a diplomatic nature...that is an unprovoked aggression indeed.

If you read my take of the situation again, you will see the following: "I, for one, am offended. Not because of the "75" but because of the position taken by Cason!"

So, without any spin, and much could be put on this depending on the slant you want to take, this concerned one primary issue...the separation of Church and State, and the unilateral action of a renegade and out of control diplomat advancing his own personal agenda, using an instrumentality of the United States Government (i.e., its embassy on foreign soil) to do so in an effort to incite and antagonize, just like Baucus said.

Cason also was quoted in the article you site: "We're prepared to pay whatever price for the things we believe in." Well, WHO IS "WE"??? Again...not just the plight of jailed dissidents (and we have plenty of those in our prisons!!!!), but the religious connotation that has absolutely no place in politics.

So...THAT is MY story...the story that ran in the press is different.

YMCA! You can stay at the YMCA....

that makes sense...cross pollenation.

They’ll piss on our legs
And we’ll piss on their legs
And I'll never see the end of the embargo
And me and my true love will never walk again
On the bonnie, bonnie stones of the Malecon


Seriously...
Not to belittle your point, but what does your average Cuban think about this issue? My guess would be about as much as your average u.s. citizen passing a nativity scene, menora etc. set up along property occupied by a foreign embassy -- Most wouldn't sweat it.

True...but this is a diplomat using an instrumentality of the Government to advance an agenda that is not necessarily representative of the State in such a way as to antagonize and provoke their host without due regard for the domestic implications of what he is doing. Here, the guy purports to be on high moral, ethical and, under the circumstances, religious ground, objecting to the imprisonment of dissidents whom the State viewed as a threat (just as we jail dissidents here in the US). In doing so, he tied it all into the observance of a religious holiday, with the rituals and symbols of what may be his faith and the faith of many. Is an embassy abroad the right place to make such a stand and advance what is obviously a personal agenda?

quote:

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If you read my take of the situation again, you will see the following: "I, for one, am offended. Not because of the "75" but because of the position taken by Cason!"

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That's a legitimate point. You have every right to be offended.

I firmly believe that we ALL have every right and much reason to be...

I'm not offended by Cason. But you are allowed to be. I am, however, offended by this. Well, more amused than offended.

Cuba Erects Sign Linking U.S. and Fascism

World - AP Latin America

HAVANA - Cuba responded Friday to U.S. diplomats' refusal to take down Christmas decorations by putting up a huge billboard in front of the U.S. Interest Section emblazoned with a swastika and showing photographs of Iraqi prisoners being abused by American soldiers.

The billboard, put up overnight, had a large swastika in red and the word "fascists" covered with a "Made in the U.S.A." stamp. It sat prominently on the Malecon, Havana's coastal highway, facing the mission's offices.

An American diplomat in Havana speaking on condition of anonymity said Friday that the torture of prisoners at Iraqi Abu Ghraib prison has been reported and discussed openly, and that those responsible are being prosecuted.

"On the other hand, the Cuban government does not allow a single word of dissent in its media, jails those who dare espouse different ideas and has not allowed (anyone) to visit Cuban political prisoners since the late 1980s," the official said.

The U.S. Interest Section, headed by chief James Cason, ignored a demand earlier this week to remove Christmas decorations that included a reference to dissidents jailed by Fidel Castro (news - web sites)'s government.

The trimmings included a Santa Claus, candy canes and white lights wrapped around palm trees — and a sign reading "75" — a reference to 75 Cuban dissidents jailed last year.

All of the decorations will stay up until after the holidays, the U.S. official reiterated Friday.

Cuban Parliament Speaker Ricardo Alarcon called the sign "rubbish" this week, and said Cason seems "desperate to create problems."

Cuba had warned the U.S. Interest Section to remove the decorations or face unspecified consequences.

No other officials from Castro's administration have commented on the spat.

Yeah...I saw that. And the pictures. Not pretty. But IMAGINE if they put those billboards up at the Cuban Interests Section in Washington, D.C. How would we react?

2 wrongs do not a right make.

Things would be a heck of a lot more simple if we did not instigate. Neither side will capitulate...the further right the Administration goes, the more virulent the response. I've posted about this extensively in the past, but I was there in early 1996, when relations were great, and it was a virtual certainty that the embargo would be lifted and relations mended. That was until the fiasco in February, 1996, when the Cuban Air Force shot down a couple of cessnas buzzing the malecon as they frequently did...a group called "Brothers to the Rescue" which had as its lofty and laudable mission the rescue of emigrants at sea, but which frequently overstepped its bounds, provoking the Cuban government, but flying over Havana dropping pamphlets and propoganda. When they were being escorted out of Cuban airspace, as the story goes, they turned back towards Cuba, and were shot down. That changed everything.

An international incident was necessary to preserve the embargo that was sure to end. The so-called 'exile' community could not stand capitulating to Castro, and would do ANYTHING (including a suicide mission!!) to preserve the embargo. Castro also needed the embargo, because he would not capitulate to the US, but more importantly, because without the embargo, he would have no one to blame for the conditions of the people...in essence, the embargo which was designed to undermine him was THE thing that kept him in power. So, drastic measures were necessary and drastic measures were employed by BOTH sides.

After that, Clinton enacted the pending Helms-Burton legislation that, among other things, strengthened the embargo, but more importantly, took out of the exclusive control of the president the ability to terminate the embargo (the Executive otherwise has the exclusive power to enter into treaties, enact economic sanctions such as an embargo, and to terminate them...the Helms-Burton legislation usurped that power and gave it to Congress). The legislation had other impact as well, but that is the overview of the net effect.

So, the games continue...one side continually provoking the other. Wouldn't it have been easy for the US representative abroad to respect the sovereignty of our host and take down items that are offensive and tend to undermine that sovereignty? Is it not easier to PICK YOUR BATTLES, rather than to raise rubble all the time, for no particular reason?

Choices were made, and with each action, as we have seen for the past 40+ years when it comes to Cuba, there are actions, and then reactions.

Incidentally, a 'spin' is something done to manipulate the facts - done to make something look differently from what it otherwise appears - a distortion of fact. On the other hand, a comment or editorial analysis takes thought and a development of an idea or point of view based upon the facts and circumstances, rather than merely provides a recitation of a bunch of fluff. Think. Discuss. Allow thoughts to be provoked. Even develop your own based on the provocation thereof.

Oh, and yes I am offended by the portrayal of the US as fascist and nazi - even though the photographs displayed on huge billboards are reproductions of actual photographs (I wonder where the stockpile of the murderous circumstances of the revolution are...complete with Castro's bloodied hands). While perhaps overbearing, imperialistic, chauvanistic, callous, and bombastic, that does not qualify as fascist or nazi, nor meritorious of advertising making such a depiction. Well, perhaps the way the Administration treats some situations, playing much of the time by its own set of rules without regard for the REAL rules that DO exist, might give rise to the appearance that we live under an autocratic leader, we still have SOME safeguards left in place that the Founding Fathers contemplated and put into the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Indeed, it is Castro who is the true autocratic, egocentric, dictatorial, oppressive, and overly proud leader...one who has had his thumb firmly over and upon his people for the past 40+ years. Nevertheless, none of this should ever have been provoked THERE, on THEIR soil, under the pretense of and within the context of the observance of a pagan ritual that is not universally part of our State. Cason is the WRONG guy in the WRONG place at the WRONG time making the WRONG decisions giving out the WRONG messages in the WRONG way. This kind of crap only serves to STRENGTHEN Castro, not undermine him as the embargo is supposed to do. Such a policy has not worked until now, and it will NEVER work. The existence of opposition creates the tension. Only if we open things up will we be able to see real change in Cuba...just as it was starting to do under the prior Administration, up through and until about 1997 (after the Helms-Burton Act). We're going in the wrong direction, repelling the people we are supposedly trying to free.