Vamos a Cuba!

[CFLarsen]

A federal judge Monday ordered the Miami-Dade County School District to restore a children's book about Cuba to school library shelves, delivering a blow to fiercely anti-Communist Cuban exiles who complained the book sugar-coats contemporary life in their homeland.

"Vamos a Cuba," or "Let's Go to Cuba," had been pulled from elementary school libraries last month after Cuban-born parents and politicians denounced its depiction of life in the island nation ruled by Fidel Castro as misleading, propagandistic and a waste of taxpayers' money.

...

During Friday's hearing before Gold, school board attorney Richard Ovelman said the board's decision to ban the 24-book series was justified on the grounds that it "homogenizes and sanitizes" life in the countries portrayed, ignoring key differences such as the lack of individual rights in Cuba.

Source

O....K. Well, if we are going to have only books that tell the truth, why not start with banning books like the Bible, Sylvia Browne's books, books on faith healing, Creationism, and so on?

Or perhaps just ban those American children's books about American children that do not depict the poverty and abuse that also takes place in the US. "Spot" is clearly propaganda, so it must be banned!!

The school board had voted to remove the book following a complaint that photos of children in uniform, laughing and happy were not a fair depiction of life in the communist nation of Cuba.
Source

There are no happy children in Cuba? At all?

 

[The Don]

If it implied that all people who live in Cuba are happy all the time, then it's not a fair depiction of life in Cuba.

They should have had pictures of miserable kids too.

This should also be the approach for books about the U.S., U.K, Denmark etc.

The exception is France, everyone looks miserable in France.


On a serious note, the Cuban ex-pat community is very powerful in parts of Florida. They are rabid in their opposition to communist Cuba. What would you expect ?

 

[CFLarsen]

On a serious note, the Cuban ex-pat community is very powerful in parts of Florida. They are rabid in their opposition to communist Cuba. What would you expect ?

If they want Cuba to depict reality, then they are not helping themselves by being as rabid as those they criticize.

 

[The Don]

Of course they are helping their cause. Their rabidity (rabiditude ?) helps to maintain the vision of Cuba as a country failing because of the system of government (of course U.S. sanctions have nothing to do with it).

If they manage to maintain the flow of propoganda then they can maintain the pressure on the Cuban government and attempt to have the kind of quality government in place before Castro came into power returned.

They keep the massage very simple (Cuba very bad) which means that Joe Sixpack can take the message on board and doesn't question the opposition to the Cuban government (Jose Sixpack in the U.S. is already - and will forever - be convinced).

I notice that a recent edition of Car and Driver had another article extolling the bravery of those escaping the horrible conditions in Cuba. Perhaps the ex-patriate Cuban P.R community is making a final push for U.S. involvement in removing Castro, perhaps they're preparing for Castro's death or maybe, just maybe, they're trying to distract attention from other activities taking place on the island of Cuba.

 

[CFLarsen]

Well, we might soon have a first-hand account from Cuba. Stay tuned.

 

[Skeptic]

Of course they are helping their cause. Their rabidity (rabiditude ?) helps to maintain the vision of Cuba as a country failing because of the system of government (of course U.S. sanctions have nothing to do with it).

Yes, it's purely the US sanctions that stopped poor little Cuba from being a wonderful success story--like the rest of the Communist world.

 

[CFLarsen]

Yes, it's purely the US sanctions that stopped poor little Cuba from being a wonderful success story--like the rest of the Communist world.

Are you saying that the sanctions have nothing to do with it?

 

[The Don]

Yes, it's purely the US sanctions that stopped poor little Cuba from being a wonderful success story--like the rest of the Communist world.

Success compared to what ?

On an economic basis:

Compared to the U.S. unsuccessful

Compared to Haiti successful

What's your benchmark ?

Compared to other countries in the Carribbean ?

What are your measures ?

eta

from here

US President George W Bush has announced fresh measures designed to hasten the end of communist rule in Cuba.

Somebody thinks sanctions have an effect