Re: [scifinoir2] OT: Cuban Government Releases Votes of Teenaged Elian Gonzalez
Keith, the Elian issue slipped into a near-Pythonesque level of comedy about two days after it began. That's when I washed my brain of it. On Tue, Apr 6, 2010 at 11:34 PM, Keith Johnson keithbjohn...@comcast.netwrote: Well, I'm not happy that little Elian is being indoctrinated into the Communist party of Cuba, nor that he's used as a propaganda tool for the government. But i also know that returning him to his father was the right thing to do. There was no real reason for his legal, biological father to be denied custody of his son--the late mother's feelings notwithstanding. While I understand his relatives and other Cubans wanting him to enjoy the freedoms of America, they didn't have a leg to stand on in this case. Elian wasn't abused, he loved his father, and, reports to the contrary, he wasn't starving. We can't start breaking the bonds of family across international waters just because we don't like the governmental system under which a child may be raised. I also must say I found all the wailing and teary-eyed celebs, ex-pats, and Americans decrying his horrible future a bit irritating, given all the children living here in the States who could use some of that concern. A lady at my old job was extremely upset with me when I said he should go back to Cuba. But Keith, he want even have milk to drink there! she cried, quoting that curiously oft-stated fact. I replied, I can take you to half a dozen spots not twenty miles away right here in Atlanta where black kids don't have milk, bread, or eggs, I replied, and I've *never* heard you utter one word about wanting to help them. The horrified look on her face as she walked away was memorable. She rarely spoke to me after that... Oh--and what's up with this Yahoo story talking about a paramilitary outfit menacing Elian? They weren't menacing the boy, they were simply following orders to retrieve him. Menacing would connote intentionally trying to threaten, frighten, bully, or hurt him... http://news.yahoo.com/s/ynews/20100406/ts_ynews/ynews_ts1481_4 Cuban government releases photos of teenaged Elian Gonzalez Ten years ago this month, the saga of a Cuban boy named Elian Gonzalezcaptivated the nation and much of the world. Elian, 6, was found floating on an inner tube off the coast of Florida, after his mother drowned trying to reach America. The Cuban immigrant community in Florida embraced the boy as a symbol of the struggle of ordinary Cubans to flee the oppression of Fidel Castro's communist regime, and rallied behind the boy's extended family in Miami, which sought custody of young Elian. But U.S. immigration officials insisted that the boy be returned to his father in Havana. Agents of the Immigration and Naturalization Service conducted an armed raid on Elian's adoptive Miami home - yielding a powerful imagehttp://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/ynews/ts_ynews/storytext/ynews_ts1481/35718970/SIG=12f5917sp/*http://pub.tv2.no/multimedia/na/archive/00188/Elian_Gonzalez_blir_188999c.jpgof paramilitary forces in America menacing a frightened 6-year-old. Florida's Cuban immigrant community brandished that infamous photo as a reminder of what they considered American power effectively doing the bidding of a heartless Castro government. A decade later, however, there are new photos of a nearly grown-up Elian Gonzalezhttp://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/news/ynews/ts_ynews/storytext/ynews_ts1481/35718970/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100405/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/cb_cuba_elian_gonzalez- and they present a very different kind of propaganda image. http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/news/ynews/ts_ynews/storytext/ynews_ts1481/35718970/*http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/slideshow/photo//100405/481/urn_publicid_ap_org_f9178cda03e14bf9a035dd63d5a7a82c/ (*AP*) The new pictures show a serious-looking 16-year-old sporting a closely cropped haircut, wearing an olive-green military school uniform with red shoulder patches, as he attends a Young Communist Union meeting. The Cuban government press released the images under the none-too-subtle headlinehttp://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/ynews/ts_ynews/storytext/ynews_ts1481/35718970/SIG=129oe16c6/*http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/apr/06/elian-gonzalez-cuba-pictureYoung Elian Gonzalez defends his revolution in the youth congress. Since winning Elian's return to Cuba in 2000, the Castro regime has closely tracked the boy and his father. (Indeed, Cuban State Security has a monitoring station next to their home.) In his homeland, Elian Gonzalez is hailed as a national hero who embodies the triumph of Cuba over the United States. Every few years, the Cuban government has floated news updates and photographs trumpeting Elian's progress as a model young citizen of the Castro regime. In 2004, NBC's Keith Morrison traveled to
Re: [scifinoir2] OT: Cuban Government Releases Votes of Teenaged Elian Gonzalez
I hear you, Martin. News junkie that I am, I followed it long past the point of sanity. I still remember when the government had to go in and get the boy. I am well aware of the excesses to which the government can go, but this time I was angered that the family forced them to do what was needed in this way. Worst of all was when they made Elian do that pathetic video where he said Papa, I do not want to come back to Cuba. The fact that the kid was smiling the whole time tells you it thought it was all a game. Disgusting how many people felt that was okay, even necessary. Ironic that, in the name of Elian's freedom from a society his family said would brainwash and manipulate him, they tried to brainwash and manipulate him to make that false video. - Original Message - From: Martin Baxter martinbaxt...@gmail.com To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Sent: Wednesday, April 7, 2010 8:17:51 AM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] OT: Cuban Government Releases Votes of Teenaged Elian Gonzalez Keith, the Elian issue slipped into a near-Pythonesque level of comedy about two days after it began. That's when I washed my brain of it. On Tue, Apr 6, 2010 at 11:34 PM, Keith Johnson keithbjohn...@comcast.net wrote: Well, I'm not happy that little Elian is being indoctrinated into the Communist party of Cuba, nor that he's used as a propaganda tool for the government. But i also know that returning him to his father was the right thing to do. There was no real reason for his legal, biological father to be denied custody of his son--the late mother's feelings notwithstanding. While I understand his relatives and other Cubans wanting him to enjoy the freedoms of America, they didn't have a leg to stand on in this case. Elian wasn't abused, he loved his father, and, reports to the contrary, he wasn't starving. We can't start breaking the bonds of family across international waters just because we don't like the governmental system under which a child may be raised. I also must say I found all the wailing and teary-eyed celebs, ex-pats, and Americans decrying his horrible future a bit irritating, given all the children living here in the States who could use some of that concern. A lady at my old job was extremely upset with me when I said he should go back to Cuba. But Keith, he want even have milk to drink there! she cried, quoting that curiously oft-stated fact. I replied, I can take you to half a dozen spots not twenty miles away right here in Atlanta where black kids don't have milk, bread, or eggs, I replied, and I've *never* heard you utter one word about wanting to help them. The horrified look on her face as she walked away was memorable. She rarely spoke to me after that... Oh--and what's up with this Yahoo story talking about a paramilitary outfit menacing Elian? They weren't menacing the boy, they were simply following orders to retrieve him. Menacing would connote intentionally trying to threaten, frighten, bully, or hurt him... http://news.yahoo.com/s/ynews/20100406/ts_ynews/ynews_ts1481_4 Cuban government releases photos of teenaged Elian Gonzalez Ten years ago this month, the saga of a Cuban boy named Elian Gonzalez captivated the nation and much of the world. Elian, 6, was found floating on an inner tube off the coast of Florida, after his mother drowned trying to reach America. The Cuban immigrant community in Florida embraced the boy as a symbol of the struggle of ordinary Cubans to flee the oppression of Fidel Castro 's communist regime, and rallied behind the boy's extended family in Miami, which sought custody of young Elian. But U.S. immigration officials insisted that the boy be returned to his father in Havana . Agents of the Immigration and Naturalization Service conducted an armed raid on Elian's adoptive Miami home - yielding a powerful image of paramilitary forces in America menacing a frightened 6-year-old. Florida's Cuban immigrant community brandished that infamous photo as a reminder of what they considered American power effectively doing the bidding of a heartless Castro government. A decade later, however, there are new photos of a nearly grown-up Elian Gonzalez - and they present a very different kind of propaganda image. ( AP ) The new pictures show a serious-looking 16-year-old sporting a closely cropped haircut, wearing an olive-green military school uniform with red shoulder patches, as he attends a Young Communist Union meeting. The Cuban government press released the images under the none-too-subtle headline Young Elian Gonzalez defends his revolution in the youth congress . Since winning Elian's return to Cuba in 2000, the Castro regime has closely tracked the boy and his father. (Indeed, Cuban State Security has a monitoring station next to their home.) In his homeland, Elian Gonzalez is hailed
Re: [scifinoir2] OT: Cuban Government Releases Votes of Teenaged Elian Gonzalez
You are absolutely right. There was no child abuse, no legal proceedings, nothing. His mother just up and left with the kid. Again, i get wanting to raise him in America versus Cuba. This just ain't the way - Original Message - From: Tracy Curtis tlcurti...@gmail.com To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Sent: Wednesday, April 7, 2010 9:19:26 AM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] OT: Cuban Government Releases Votes of Teenaged Elian Gonzalez If I remember correctly, this was also a case of custodial kidnapping. The father had primary custody and the childcare responsibilities in Cuba. No one even bothered to come up with a legal justification for treating this case differently than we would any other kidnapping. On Tue, Apr 6, 2010 at 10:34 PM, Keith Johnson keithbjohn...@comcast.net wrote: Well, I'm not happy that little Elian is being indoctrinated into the Communist party of Cuba, nor that he's used as a propaganda tool for the government. But i also know that returning him to his father was the right thing to do. There was no real reason for his legal, biological father to be denied custody of his son--the late mother's feelings notwithstanding. While I understand his relatives and other Cubans wanting him to enjoy the freedoms of America, they didn't have a leg to stand on in this case. Elian wasn't abused, he loved his father, and, reports to the contrary, he wasn't starving. We can't start breaking the bonds of family across international waters just because we don't like the governmental system under which a child may be raised. I also must say I found all the wailing and teary-eyed celebs, ex-pats, and Americans decrying his horrible future a bit irritating, given all the children living here in the States who could use some of that concern. A lady at my old job was extremely upset with me when I said he should go back to Cuba. But Keith, he want even have milk to drink there! she cried, quoting that curiously oft-stated fact. I replied, I can take you to half a dozen spots not twenty miles away right here in Atlanta where black kids don't have milk, bread, or eggs, I replied, and I've *never* heard you utter one word about wanting to help them. The horrified look on her face as she walked away was memorable. She rarely spoke to me after that... Oh--and what's up with this Yahoo story talking about a paramilitary outfit menacing Elian? They weren't menacing the boy, they were simply following orders to retrieve him. Menacing would connote intentionally trying to threaten, frighten, bully, or hurt him... http://news.yahoo.com/s/ynews/20100406/ts_ynews/ynews_ts1481_4 Cuban government releases photos of teenaged Elian Gonzalez Ten years ago this month, the saga of a Cuban boy named Elian Gonzalez captivated the nation and much of the world. Elian, 6, was found floating on an inner tube off the coast of Florida, after his mother drowned trying to reach America. The Cuban immigrant community in Florida embraced the boy as a symbol of the struggle of ordinary Cubans to flee the oppression of Fidel Castro 's communist regime, and rallied behind the boy's extended family in Miami, which sought custody of young Elian. But U.S. immigration officials insisted that the boy be returned to his father in Havana . Agents of the Immigration and Naturalization Service conducted an armed raid on Elian's adoptive Miami home - yielding a powerful image of paramilitary forces in America menacing a frightened 6-year-old. Florida's Cuban immigrant community brandished that infamous photo as a reminder of what they considered American power effectively doing the bidding of a heartless Castro government. A decade later, however, there are new photos of a nearly grown-up Elian Gonzalez - and they present a very different kind of propaganda image. ( AP ) The new pictures show a serious-looking 16-year-old sporting a closely cropped haircut, wearing an olive-green military school uniform with red shoulder patches, as he attends a Young Communist Union meeting. The Cuban government press released the images under the none-too-subtle headline Young Elian Gonzalez defends his revolution in the youth congress . Since winning Elian's return to Cuba in 2000, the Castro regime has closely tracked the boy and his father. (Indeed, Cuban State Security has a monitoring station next to their home.) In his homeland, Elian Gonzalez is hailed as a national hero who embodies the triumph of Cuba over the United States. Every few years, the Cuban government has floated news updates and photographs trumpeting Elian's progress as a model young citizen of the Castro regime. In 2004, NBC's Keith Morrison traveled to Cuba to interview Elian's father, Juan Miguel Gonzalez, and filmed footage of a communist museum that houses a bronze statue of Elian raising
Re: [scifinoir2] OT: Cuban Government Releases Votes of Teenaged Elian Gonzalez
You're nail on the head, Tracy. If memory now serves me as well, the mother's family (she died during the boat passage from Cuba to Florida) said that she took the boy to give him a better life here in America. Oddly enough, the publicity this all engendered resulted in his having a far better life in Cuba than he would ever have had, had he beeen allowed to stay here. Had he done so, he'd be an afterthought, a Dateline story years after the fact. Whatever Happened to Little Elian? On Wed, Apr 7, 2010 at 9:19 AM, Tracy Curtis tlcurti...@gmail.com wrote: If I remember correctly, this was also a case of custodial kidnapping. The father had primary custody and the childcare responsibilities in Cuba. No one even bothered to come up with a legal justification for treating this case differently than we would any other kidnapping. On Tue, Apr 6, 2010 at 10:34 PM, Keith Johnson keithbjohn...@comcast.netwrote: Well, I'm not happy that little Elian is being indoctrinated into the Communist party of Cuba, nor that he's used as a propaganda tool for the government. But i also know that returning him to his father was the right thing to do. There was no real reason for his legal, biological father to be denied custody of his son--the late mother's feelings notwithstanding. While I understand his relatives and other Cubans wanting him to enjoy the freedoms of America, they didn't have a leg to stand on in this case. Elian wasn't abused, he loved his father, and, reports to the contrary, he wasn't starving. We can't start breaking the bonds of family across international waters just because we don't like the governmental system under which a child may be raised. I also must say I found all the wailing and teary-eyed celebs, ex-pats, and Americans decrying his horrible future a bit irritating, given all the children living here in the States who could use some of that concern. A lady at my old job was extremely upset with me when I said he should go back to Cuba. But Keith, he want even have milk to drink there! she cried, quoting that curiously oft-stated fact. I replied, I can take you to half a dozen spots not twenty miles away right here in Atlanta where black kids don't have milk, bread, or eggs, I replied, and I've *never* heard you utter one word about wanting to help them. The horrified look on her face as she walked away was memorable. She rarely spoke to me after that... Oh--and what's up with this Yahoo story talking about a paramilitary outfit menacing Elian? They weren't menacing the boy, they were simply following orders to retrieve him. Menacing would connote intentionally trying to threaten, frighten, bully, or hurt him... http://news.yahoo.com/s/ynews/20100406/ts_ynews/ynews_ts1481_4 Cuban government releases photos of teenaged Elian Gonzalez Ten years ago this month, the saga of a Cuban boy named Elian Gonzalezcaptivated the nation and much of the world. Elian, 6, was found floating on an inner tube off the coast of Florida, after his mother drowned trying to reach America. The Cuban immigrant community in Florida embraced the boy as a symbol of the struggle of ordinary Cubans to flee the oppression of Fidel Castro's communist regime, and rallied behind the boy's extended family in Miami, which sought custody of young Elian. But U.S. immigration officials insisted that the boy be returned to his father in Havana. Agents of the Immigration and Naturalization Service conducted an armed raid on Elian's adoptive Miami home - yielding a powerful imagehttp://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/ynews/ts_ynews/storytext/ynews_ts1481/35718970/SIG=12f5917sp/*http://pub.tv2.no/multimedia/na/archive/00188/Elian_Gonzalez_blir_188999c.jpgof paramilitary forces in America menacing a frightened 6-year-old. Florida's Cuban immigrant community brandished that infamous photo as a reminder of what they considered American power effectively doing the bidding of a heartless Castro government. A decade later, however, there are new photos of a nearly grown-up Elian Gonzalezhttp://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/news/ynews/ts_ynews/storytext/ynews_ts1481/35718970/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100405/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/cb_cuba_elian_gonzalez- and they present a very different kind of propaganda image. http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/news/ynews/ts_ynews/storytext/ynews_ts1481/35718970/*http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/slideshow/photo//100405/481/urn_publicid_ap_org_f9178cda03e14bf9a035dd63d5a7a82c/ (*AP*) The new pictures show a serious-looking 16-year-old sporting a closely cropped haircut, wearing an olive-green military school uniform with red shoulder patches, as he attends a Young Communist Union meeting. The Cuban government press released the images under the none-too-subtle
[scifinoir2] OT: Cuban Government Releases Votes of Teenaged Elian Gonzalez
Well, I'm not happy that little Elian is being indoctrinated into the Communist party of Cuba, nor that he's used as a propaganda tool for the government. But i also know that returning him to his father was the right thing to do. There was no real reason for his legal, biological father to be denied custody of his son--the late mother's feelings notwithstanding. While I understand his relatives and other Cubans wanting him to enjoy the freedoms of America, they didn't have a leg to stand on in this case. Elian wasn't abused, he loved his father, and, reports to the contrary, he wasn't starving. We can't start breaking the bonds of family across international waters just because we don't like the governmental system under which a child may be raised . I also must say I found all the wailing and teary-eyed celebs, ex-pats, and Americans decrying his horrible future a bit irritating, given all the children living here in the States who could use some of that concern. A lady at my old job was extremely upset with me when I said he should go back to Cuba. But Keith, he want even have milk to drink there! she cried, quoting that curiously oft-stated fact. I replied, I can take you to half a dozen spots not twenty miles away right here in Atlanta where black kids don't have milk, bread, or eggs, I replied, and I've *never* heard you utter one word about wanting to help them. The horrified look on her face as she walked away was memorable. She rarely spoke to me after that... Oh--and what's up with this Yahoo story talking about a paramilitary outfit menacing Elian? They weren't menacing the boy, they were simply following orders to retrieve him. Menacing would connote intentionally trying to threaten, frighten, bully, or hurt him... http://news.yahoo.com/s/ynews/20100406/ts_ynews/ynews_ts1481_4 Cuban government releases photos of teenaged Elian Gonzalez Ten years ago this month, the saga of a Cuban boy named Elian Gonzalez captivated the nation and much of the world. Elian, 6, was found floating on an inner tube off the coast of Florida, after his mother drowned trying to reach America. The Cuban immigrant community in Florida embraced the boy as a symbol of the struggle of ordinary Cubans to flee the oppression of Fidel Castro 's communist regime, and rallied behind the boy's extended family in Miami, which sought custody of young Elian. But U.S. immigration officials insisted that the boy be returned to his father in Havana . Agents of the Immigration and Naturalization Service conducted an armed raid on Elian's adoptive Miami home - yielding a powerful image of paramilitary forces in America menacing a frightened 6-year-old. Florida's Cuban immigrant community brandished that infamous photo as a reminder of what they considered American power effectively doing the bidding of a heartless Castro government. A decade later, however, there are new photos of a nearly grown-up Elian Gonzalez - and they present a very different kind of propaganda image. ( AP ) The new pictures show a serious-looking 16-year-old sporting a closely cropped haircut, wearing an olive-green military school uniform with red shoulder patches, as he attends a Young Communist Union meeting. The Cuban government press released the images under the none-too-subtle headline Young Elian Gonzalez defends his revolution in the youth congress . Since winning Elian's return to Cuba in 2000, the Castro regime has closely tracked the boy and his father. (Indeed, Cuban State Security has a monitoring station next to their home.) In his homeland, Elian Gonzalez is hailed as a national hero who embodies the triumph of Cuba over the United States. Every few years, the Cuban government has floated news updates and photographs trumpeting Elian's progress as a model young citizen of the Castro regime. In 2004, NBC's Keith Morrison traveled to Cuba to interview Elian's father, Juan Miguel Gonzalez, and filmed footage of a communist museum that houses a bronze statue of Elian raising a clenched fist. After Elian's return home, his father was made a member of the Cuban National Assembly , and Castro has been known to show up at Elian's birthday parties and school graduation ceremonies. In 2005, in an interview with CBS' Bob Simon for 60 Minutes, Elian referred to Castro not only as a friend, but also as a father. In 2008, Elian joined Cuba's Young Communist Union. While Cuba has played up Elian Gonzalez's symbolic value in stoking nationalist sentiment, he still remains a more divisive figure in the United States, provoking fierce reactions on the American left and right. After the latest batch of photos went public Monday, the American Thinker weighed in with a rallying cry from the right, no doubt seconded widely in the Cuban immigrant community: If Elian had been granted asylum, today he would be a teenager
Re: [scifinoir2] OT: Cuban Government Releases Votes of Teenaged Elian Gonzalez
There is a lot of propaganda here too. On Tue, Apr 6, 2010 at 8:34 PM, Keith Johnson keithbjohn...@comcast.netwrote: Well, I'm not happy that little Elian is being indoctrinated into the Communist party of Cuba, nor that he's used as a propaganda tool for the government. But i also know that returning him to his father was the right thing to do. There was no real reason for his legal, biological father to be denied custody of his son--the late mother's feelings notwithstanding. While I understand his relatives and other Cubans wanting him to enjoy the freedoms of America, they didn't have a leg to stand on in this case. Elian wasn't abused, he loved his father, and, reports to the contrary, he wasn't starving. We can't start breaking the bonds of family across international waters just because we don't like the governmental system under which a child may be raised. I also must say I found all the wailing and teary-eyed celebs, ex-pats, and Americans decrying his horrible future a bit irritating, given all the children living here in the States who could use some of that concern. A lady at my old job was extremely upset with me when I said he should go back to Cuba. But Keith, he want even have milk to drink there! she cried, quoting that curiously oft-stated fact. I replied, I can take you to half a dozen spots not twenty miles away right here in Atlanta where black kids don't have milk, bread, or eggs, I replied, and I've *never* heard you utter one word about wanting to help them. The horrified look on her face as she walked away was memorable. She rarely spoke to me after that... Oh--and what's up with this Yahoo story talking about a paramilitary outfit menacing Elian? They weren't menacing the boy, they were simply following orders to retrieve him. Menacing would connote intentionally trying to threaten, frighten, bully, or hurt him... http://news.yahoo.com/s/ynews/20100406/ts_ynews/ynews_ts1481_4 Cuban government releases photos of teenaged Elian Gonzalez Ten years ago this month, the saga of a Cuban boy named Elian Gonzalezcaptivated the nation and much of the world. Elian, 6, was found floating on an inner tube off the coast of Florida, after his mother drowned trying to reach America. The Cuban immigrant community in Florida embraced the boy as a symbol of the struggle of ordinary Cubans to flee the oppression of Fidel Castro's communist regime, and rallied behind the boy's extended family in Miami, which sought custody of young Elian. But U.S. immigration officials insisted that the boy be returned to his father in Havana. Agents of the Immigration and Naturalization Service conducted an armed raid on Elian's adoptive Miami home - yielding a powerful imagehttp://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/ynews/ts_ynews/storytext/ynews_ts1481/35718970/SIG=12f5917sp/*http://pub.tv2.no/multimedia/na/archive/00188/Elian_Gonzalez_blir_188999c.jpgof paramilitary forces in America menacing a frightened 6-year-old. Florida's Cuban immigrant community brandished that infamous photo as a reminder of what they considered American power effectively doing the bidding of a heartless Castro government. A decade later, however, there are new photos of a nearly grown-up Elian Gonzalezhttp://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/news/ynews/ts_ynews/storytext/ynews_ts1481/35718970/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100405/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/cb_cuba_elian_gonzalez- and they present a very different kind of propaganda image. http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/news/ynews/ts_ynews/storytext/ynews_ts1481/35718970/*http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/slideshow/photo//100405/481/urn_publicid_ap_org_f9178cda03e14bf9a035dd63d5a7a82c/ (*AP*) The new pictures show a serious-looking 16-year-old sporting a closely cropped haircut, wearing an olive-green military school uniform with red shoulder patches, as he attends a Young Communist Union meeting. The Cuban government press released the images under the none-too-subtle headlinehttp://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/ynews/ts_ynews/storytext/ynews_ts1481/35718970/SIG=129oe16c6/*http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/apr/06/elian-gonzalez-cuba-pictureYoung Elian Gonzalez defends his revolution in the youth congress. Since winning Elian's return to Cuba in 2000, the Castro regime has closely tracked the boy and his father. (Indeed, Cuban State Security has a monitoring station next to their home.) In his homeland, Elian Gonzalez is hailed as a national hero who embodies the triumph of Cuba over the United States. Every few years, the Cuban government has floated news updates and photographs trumpeting Elian's progress as a model young citizen of the Castro regime. In 2004, NBC's Keith Morrison traveled to Cubahttp://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/ynews/ts_ynews/storytext/ynews_ts1481/35718970/SIG=1159rdlhd/*http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5540113to interview Elian's father, Juan Miguel
Re: [scifinoir2] OT: Cuban Government Releases Votes of Teenaged Elian Gonzalez
Sure, but, bad as things are here in many ways, it's infinitely preferable to the Castro regime. Still, like it or not, it wasn't our place to try and take him from his dad. - Original Message - From: Mr. Worf hellomahog...@gmail.com To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Sent: Tuesday, April 6, 2010 11:44:58 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] OT: Cuban Government Releases Votes of Teenaged Elian Gonzalez There is a lot of propaganda here too. On Tue, Apr 6, 2010 at 8:34 PM, Keith Johnson keithbjohn...@comcast.net wrote: Well, I'm not happy that little Elian is being indoctrinated into the Communist party of Cuba, nor that he's used as a propaganda tool for the government. But i also know that returning him to his father was the right thing to do. There was no real reason for his legal, biological father to be denied custody of his son--the late mother's feelings notwithstanding. While I understand his relatives and other Cubans wanting him to enjoy the freedoms of America, they didn't have a leg to stand on in this case. Elian wasn't abused, he loved his father, and, reports to the contrary, he wasn't starving. We can't start breaking the bonds of family across international waters just because we don't like the governmental system under which a child may be raised. I also must say I found all the wailing and teary-eyed celebs, ex-pats, and Americans decrying his horrible future a bit irritating, given all the children living here in the States who could use some of that concern. A lady at my old job was extremely upset with me when I said he should go back to Cuba. But Keith, he want even have milk to drink there! she cried, quoting that curiously oft-stated fact. I replied, I can take you to half a dozen spots not twenty miles away right here in Atlanta where black kids don't have milk, bread, or eggs, I replied, and I've *never* heard you utter one word about wanting to help them. The horrified look on her face as she walked away was memorable. She rarely spoke to me after that... Oh--and what's up with this Yahoo story talking about a paramilitary outfit menacing Elian? They weren't menacing the boy, they were simply following orders to retrieve him. Menacing would connote intentionally trying to threaten, frighten, bully, or hurt him... http://news.yahoo.com/s/ynews/20100406/ts_ynews/ynews_ts1481_4 Cuban government releases photos of teenaged Elian Gonzalez Ten years ago this month, the saga of a Cuban boy named Elian Gonzalez captivated the nation and much of the world. Elian, 6, was found floating on an inner tube off the coast of Florida, after his mother drowned trying to reach America. The Cuban immigrant community in Florida embraced the boy as a symbol of the struggle of ordinary Cubans to flee the oppression of Fidel Castro 's communist regime, and rallied behind the boy's extended family in Miami, which sought custody of young Elian. But U.S. immigration officials insisted that the boy be returned to his father in Havana . Agents of the Immigration and Naturalization Service conducted an armed raid on Elian's adoptive Miami home - yielding a powerful image of paramilitary forces in America menacing a frightened 6-year-old. Florida's Cuban immigrant community brandished that infamous photo as a reminder of what they considered American power effectively doing the bidding of a heartless Castro government. A decade later, however, there are new photos of a nearly grown-up Elian Gonzalez - and they present a very different kind of propaganda image. ( AP ) The new pictures show a serious-looking 16-year-old sporting a closely cropped haircut, wearing an olive-green military school uniform with red shoulder patches, as he attends a Young Communist Union meeting. The Cuban government press released the images under the none-too-subtle headline Young Elian Gonzalez defends his revolution in the youth congress . Since winning Elian's return to Cuba in 2000, the Castro regime has closely tracked the boy and his father. (Indeed, Cuban State Security has a monitoring station next to their home.) In his homeland, Elian Gonzalez is hailed as a national hero who embodies the triumph of Cuba over the United States. Every few years, the Cuban government has floated news updates and photographs trumpeting Elian's progress as a model young citizen of the Castro regime. In 2004, NBC's Keith Morrison traveled to Cuba to interview Elian's father, Juan Miguel Gonzalez, and filmed footage of a communist museum that houses a bronze statue of Elian raising a clenched fist. After Elian's return home, his father was made a member of the Cuban National Assembly , and Castro has been known to show up at Elian's birthday parties and school graduation ceremonies. In 2005, in an interview with CBS' Bob Simon for 60 Minutes, Elian referred
Re: [scifinoir2] OT: Cuban Government Releases Votes of Teenaged Elian Gonzalez
I agree. On Tue, Apr 6, 2010 at 9:26 PM, Keith Johnson keithbjohn...@comcast.netwrote: Sure, but, bad as things are here in many ways, it's infinitely preferable to the Castro regime. Still, like it or not, it wasn't our place to try and take him from his dad. - Original Message - From: Mr. Worf hellomahog...@gmail.com To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Sent: Tuesday, April 6, 2010 11:44:58 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] OT: Cuban Government Releases Votes of Teenaged Elian Gonzalez There is a lot of propaganda here too. On Tue, Apr 6, 2010 at 8:34 PM, Keith Johnson keithbjohn...@comcast.netwrote: Well, I'm not happy that little Elian is being indoctrinated into the Communist party of Cuba, nor that he's used as a propaganda tool for the government. But i also know that returning him to his father was the right thing to do. There was no real reason for his legal, biological father to be denied custody of his son--the late mother's feelings notwithstanding. While I understand his relatives and other Cubans wanting him to enjoy the freedoms of America, they didn't have a leg to stand on in this case. Elian wasn't abused, he loved his father, and, reports to the contrary, he wasn't starving. We can't start breaking the bonds of family across international waters just because we don't like the governmental system under which a child may be raised. I also must say I found all the wailing and teary-eyed celebs, ex-pats, and Americans decrying his horrible future a bit irritating, given all the children living here in the States who could use some of that concern. A lady at my old job was extremely upset with me when I said he should go back to Cuba. But Keith, he want even have milk to drink there! she cried, quoting that curiously oft-stated fact. I replied, I can take you to half a dozen spots not twenty miles away right here in Atlanta where black kids don't have milk, bread, or eggs, I replied, and I've *never* heard you utter one word about wanting to help them. The horrified look on her face as she walked away was memorable. She rarely spoke to me after that... Oh--and what's up with this Yahoo story talking about a paramilitary outfit menacing Elian? They weren't menacing the boy, they were simply following orders to retrieve him. Menacing would connote intentionally trying to threaten, frighten, bully, or hurt him... http://news.yahoo.com/s/ynews/20100406/ts_ynews/ynews_ts1481_4 Cuban government releases photos of teenaged Elian Gonzalez Ten years ago this month, the saga of a Cuban boy named Elian Gonzalezcaptivated the nation and much of the world. Elian, 6, was found floating on an inner tube off the coast of Florida, after his mother drowned trying to reach America. The Cuban immigrant community in Florida embraced the boy as a symbol of the struggle of ordinary Cubans to flee the oppression of Fidel Castro's communist regime, and rallied behind the boy's extended family in Miami, which sought custody of young Elian. But U.S. immigration officials insisted that the boy be returned to his father in Havana. Agents of the Immigration and Naturalization Service conducted an armed raid on Elian's adoptive Miami home - yielding a powerful imagehttp://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/ynews/ts_ynews/storytext/ynews_ts1481/35718970/SIG=12f5917sp/*http://pub.tv2.no/multimedia/na/archive/00188/Elian_Gonzalez_blir_188999c.jpgof paramilitary forces in America menacing a frightened 6-year-old. Florida's Cuban immigrant community brandished that infamous photo as a reminder of what they considered American power effectively doing the bidding of a heartless Castro government. A decade later, however, there are new photos of a nearly grown-up Elian Gonzalezhttp://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/news/ynews/ts_ynews/storytext/ynews_ts1481/35718970/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100405/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/cb_cuba_elian_gonzalez- and they present a very different kind of propaganda image. http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/news/ynews/ts_ynews/storytext/ynews_ts1481/35718970/*http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/slideshow/photo//100405/481/urn_publicid_ap_org_f9178cda03e14bf9a035dd63d5a7a82c/ (*AP*) The new pictures show a serious-looking 16-year-old sporting a closely cropped haircut, wearing an olive-green military school uniform with red shoulder patches, as he attends a Young Communist Union meeting. The Cuban government press released the images under the none-too-subtle headlinehttp://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/ynews/ts_ynews/storytext/ynews_ts1481/35718970/SIG=129oe16c6/*http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/apr/06/elian-gonzalez-cuba-pictureYoung Elian Gonzalez defends his revolution in the youth congress. Since winning Elian's return to Cuba in 2000, the Castro regime has closely tracked the boy and his father. (Indeed, Cuban State Security has
