From our Bureau of Shifty Preludes to Total Capitulation with some assistance from our Bureau of Extreme Déjà Vu
NBC News has let a cat out of the bag, so to speak. While all eyes have been fixed on the Cuban migration tsunami, the U.S. State Department has been quietly paving the way for the launch of Obamapalooza 2.0.
The paving is being carried out by “cultural exchanges”, a euphemism similar to “people-to-people” encounters, through which the crimes of dictatorships are not only overlooked, but made to look benign, benevolent, admirable, and lovable.
Get ready. Obamapalooza 2.0 seems unstoppable. Thanks for the heads-up, NBC….
From Rockefeller Center Granma (NBC News)
After years of relatively no cultural exchanges between the U.S. and Cuba, the U.S. Embassy in Havana has been hosting events, at times in collaboration with the Cuban government. Together with recent meetings between the two governments and delegations traveling to the island, a modest shift in the relationship has emerged.
One recent event, with American singer-songwriter Tonya Boyd-Cannon, was held in conjunction with Cuba’s Ministry of Culture. Documentary filmmaker Dawn Porter visited Havana in February for a series of exchanges with Cuban filmmakers. Porter’s visit, which was sponsored by the American Film Showcase of the State Department, was part of Black History Month celebrations, as was Boyd-Cannon’s.
A State Department spokesperson told NBC News, “As the embassy continues to expand its staff in Havana, we are developing public diplomacy programming to increase our direct engagement with the Cuban people.”
American jazz saxophonist Ted Nash played at the Jazz Festival in Havana in January and participated in a cultural event with music students at the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes. Although his visit was organized by the U.S.-based Barbash Arts Foundation, it relied on help from both the U.S. and Cuba.
“The support that we’ve had for this project has been in some aspects groundbreaking, because we have had support from the highest levels of the two governments,” Cathy Barbash, the foundation’s president, told NBC News during one of Nash’s events.
A spokesperson for the State Department said, “Cultural programs are a longstanding, integral part of our public diplomacy activities and are designed to connect directly with the Cuban people.”
more HERE
Oh, don’t worry. Biden will get due cover from the usual Cubanoids, like Obama did, and that will be that.
And the white jerk in that photo is not upholding or enjoying racial stereotypes or anything. It’s all in fun.