Propaganda Battles

Here is a picture taken from a high rise apartment building called the Focsa? with a top floor cafe (great con leche). I thought the story of why the US building in Havana has a flag pole barricade might be interesting. Here is a snippet from Wikipidea.

Propaganda battles

The "Mount of Flags" in "Anti-Imperialism Park" which obscure the US interest section's electronic billboard
A billboard seen facing the US Interests Section in Feb. 2007, showing George W. Bush as "The Assassin".USINT has long been a focus for propaganda between Cuba and the US. In the late 1990s, this was little more than a billboard facing USINT with a cartoon revolutionary shouting to Uncle Sam "Señores Imperialistas ¡No les tenemos absolutamente ningun miedo!" - "Messrs Imperialists. We have absolutely no fear of you!" In 2005 that billboard was repositioned to a nearby site - now facing across the sea to Florida.[6]

During the Elián González case, the area to the east of USINT (previously a grassed area containing the above-mentioned billboard) was paved and a stage was built. It is known as the Permanent Anti-Imperialist Forum in Cuba. Whilst originally used for rallies and protest meeting (particularly those protesting against actions by the US government), this stage has also been used for concerts, such as Audioslave's concert released on their album Live in Cuba.

The grounds of the USINT annually feature a Christmas display - including a Santa Claus, a Frosty the snowman and a sleigh. In 2004, the display also included a large number "75".[7] This was in reference to the jailed dissidents (see above). The Cuban government, in response to Section Chief James Cason's refusal to remove the sign, placed several large billboards facing the building, carrying images of the abuse in Abu Ghraib and references to Nazis.[8]

In January 2006, USINT began displaying messages on a scrolling "electronic billboard" in the windows of their top floor. Messages include the George Burns quotation, "How sad that all the people who would know how to run this country are driving taxis or cutting hair."[9] Following a protest march, the Cuban government erected a large number of poles, carrying black flags with single white stars, obscuring the messages. In June 2006, Granma International referred to the billboard as the systematic launching of the crudest insults of our people via the electronic billboard, which, in violation of the most elemental regulations of international law, they think they can maintain with impunity on the facade of that imperial lair.[10]

Also during 2006, the Cuban billboards began carrying images of President Bush and Luis Posada Carriles as vampires and axe-murderers.