Al-Jazeera Shames the U.S. Media By Telling the Truth About Cuban Repression
As the Obama administration does little to free Alan Gross from imprisonment in Cuba, and at the same time acts to make it easier for U.S. citizens to travel there, we tend to forget the truth about the Castro brothers’ prison island. Our media does little to report about conditions there, about the state of their civil society, and about the continuing repression of its citizens by the Communist authorities.
Filling the gap is a bold and truthful report from an unexpected source: al-Jazeera.
Yes, that al-Jazeera — their reporters took dangerous steps to alert their audience to the truth about the Communist regime. In our country, had it chosen to do so, 60 Minutes might have been the outlet for this kind of brave investigative reporting. The last time it reported on Cuba, however, it was the usual kind of soft story carried out with the cooperation of Cuban government authorities. No one, it seems, loves Fidel and Raul Castro more than our American TV correspondents, who from Barbara Walters on down would do anything to gain the adoration and respect of our own hemisphere’s left-wing tyrants.
You must watch the amazing video linked above before reading further. “What is it like,” their reporter asks, “to live in such a pervasive culture of surveillance and fear?” To answer that question, the network sent a journalist from their program People and Power to the island. In order to protect his ability to gain access later, they did not give his name or show him on camera, something I suspect any U.S. journalist who wants recognition would agree to as a condition of an assignment.
He worked with independent Cuban journalist Ivan Hernandez — who is now in hiding, and the two prepared a video that would document how the state security forces carry out repression of the civilian populace. In 2003, Hernandez was sentenced to 25 years in prison for the crime of publishing what the regime called “false information.” Hernandez was put in a high-security prison, isolated from other prisoners, and deprived of contact with anyone except his guards. The “state secrets” he wrote about? Simply the truth about the tough conditions in which average Cubans live.
In 2011, he was set free as a gesture of good will towards Pope Benedict, who was coming to visit Cuba in 2012. (The pope refused, in return, to pay heed to the dissidents’ plea that he meet with them during his visit.)
His spirit undaunted, Hernandez willingly worked with al-Jazeera despite the assumed risk of future imprisonment. The report continued:
To Fidel Castro, Ivan is a “counter-revolutionary” working for the American right-wing Cuban lobby. In reality, Ivan is just an independent freelance journalist, albeit one with a very critical view of the Cuban Revolution. … The released prisoners were given the option of leaving the island. Most of them did. But not Ivan. “This is my country,” he told me when I asked him about his decision. “Why would I leave? This is my calling, my mission — to tell the truth. Life is terrible here. There’s a U.S. blockade against Cuba, and inside Cuba there’s a blockade of the government against the people.”
One out of every five Cubans, Ivan told the network, is most likely a police informer — something undoubtedly developed from the days in which East Germany’s STASI was brought to Cuba to train the island’s security forces. To avoid their suspicion, they decided to film with tiny mini-cameras that would escape detection. They gave human rights activists their own cameras in order to film a daily diary of their lives. In addition, they set up safe houses in which to conduct interviews.
They succeeded in doing five interviews without detection, until they filmed Antonio Rodiles, a 40-year-old man with a degree in physics who returned to Cuba voluntarily after living abroad in order to do his part to open up the regime. Rodiles set up a group called SATS, an organization of artists, intellectuals, and professionals who want what he calls “a better reality.”
There is a famous photo of Ernest Hemingway and Castro in segment 3 of my essay on Hemingway’s famous “spy mission” to China. (See http://clarespark.com/2011/06/30/links-to-review-essay-on-hemingway-spy-mission-to-china/.) But even more telling is the recent HBO movie about Hemingway and Gellhorn that could not be more consonant with the communist line on all matters regarding US foreign policy as told by either Soviets or Maoists.See http://clarespark.com/2012/07/09/hbo-does-gellhorn-in-red/. Though the HBO movie had mixed reviews, no detractor pointed out its ideology.
Excellent!
Perhaps because Mr Gross was himself a US employee he and his family assumed the Dept of State would act more forcefully on his behalf. Big mistake.The country and that Dept is led by not very bright ideologues who wouldn’t make the appropriately muscular move even if Gross were their own father.
Agreed.
When the fish stinks from the head (the Radical-in-Chief wagging State…on down) up all manner of see no evil is tolerated. Heck, it is even encouraged. And the fact that State is lock-step, with all things radical revolutionary, makes it impossible to glean the truth about Castro’s regime and elsewhere in the third world. It is also the case, due to a veritable joined-at-the-hip media, nothing is off limits.
And this is what happens when radical revolutionaries hold the reins of the US body politic – http://adinakutnicki.com/2012/10/07/when-authentic-revolutionaries-hold-the-reins-of-american-power-centers-via-the-most-radical-regime-in-u-s-history-commentary-by-adina-kutnicki/
The fact that Al-Jazeera recognizes its dangers is proof positive that the Obama regime is out-sized in its radical left bent.
Hey Chicago Tribune, what kinda Journalism is that?
http://illinoispaytoplay.com/2012/12/12/hey-chicago-tribune-what-kinda-journalism-is-that/
At the root of Al-Jazeera’s interest is the deep islamic hatred of Atheism. Atheists don’t get the choice of paying the Jizya. Also, Atheistic Communists are global competitors against the coming Caliphate.
Very perceptive. We should all wonder at alJazeera’s motives in everything they report, it’s safe to assume that they’re well trained and very skillful propagandists, occasionally appearing “balanced”….. but this idea of athiests being competitors of the practicing Muslims is a new twist that should be explored.
Interesting to speculate if a paste of my comment here emailed as a Letter To The Editor of the Washington Post mentioning:
”
by Ron Radosh
Page 1 of 3 Next -> View as Single Page
Al-Jazeera Shames the U.S. Media By Telling the Truth About Cuban Repression
December 11th, 2012 – 9:54 am”
….would yield any response from The Post. It’s worth a try.
Here it is pasted below”
”
To:
Cc:
Subject: Al-Jazeera Shames the U.S. Media By Telling the Truth About Cuban Repression
Date: Tue 11.12.2012 08:34 PM
Attachments
Name Type Save View
Part 1 text/plain Save
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Editors:
Here’s a subject to be explored by the Washington Post which would be an interesting topic in conjunction with Hugo Chavez’ current hospitalization inside Communist Cuba for another cancer surgery.
Please see the following headline from PJMedia which I’ve pasted here.
“Al-Jazeera Shames the U.S. Media By Telling the Truth About Cuban Repression.”
“
by Ron Radosh
Page 1 of 3 Next -> View as Single Page
Al-Jazeera Shames the U.S. Media By Telling the Truth About Cuban Repression
December 11th, 2012 – 9:54 am”
If alJazeera has such an intrepid and resourceful reporting team with gumption, why not you guys at the Washington Post? I challenge the Washington Post.
Sincerely,
Charles Griffith
tel.301.371.4491
charlieg@emailaccount.com”
END PASTE
…..for some reason the “TO and CC” lines simply will not re-print here, and remains blank, I tried this twice…. as is shown accurately in my original email copied to myself. Anyway, I assure readers here that I did send this as a “Letter to The Editor” via email to the Washington Post.
I was going to comment but vangrungy said it perfectly. Why atheists still hate Christians when a freight train named Islam is headed their way I have no idea.
I don’t care how well it could have turned out: the term “workers’ paradise” is an oxymoron.
Al-Jazeera is just full of surprises.
On all things including the middle east, al-Jazeera is consistently more questioning than any UK based tv news service. In particular their in depth investigation into modern slavery, exposing unsavory practices in north Africa and debt ridden indentured labour in Pakistan was unflinching. Their coverage of the London riots last year was exemplary, unlike local stations which focussed on the few white middle class participants, rather than the gang subcultures involved. In the age of internet, whoever desires a broad perspective should read and watch events from as many viewpoints as possible.
For what it’s worth, I’ve stopped watching CNN, MSNBC and BBC, and for international news only watch al-Jazeera English on my computer. As I see it, three things make AJE stand out: first is their focus on “hard” news, no stories about Paris Hilton or kittens trapped in trees; second is their coverage of areas such as Africa and Latin America that other stations only focus on when there’s a crisis; and third is their opinion shows that tackle topics in an in-depth way. The down side of course is that the slant in the opinion shows is usually far to the left. But they’re only a fraction more left-wing than the BBC’s opinion shows and the hard news coverage is far better. And as the article points out, when they DO break out of the left-wing mold, the results are great. Weird that I’m such a fan of that station, but there it is!