Posted on 07/23/2007 7:55:19 AM PDT by rhema
The unassuming international champion of universal health care, Michael Moore, was asked (New York Sun, June 29) whether, while filming "Sicko," he inquired about the condition of Cuban journalist Normando Gonzalez, a political prisoner since 2003. He has contracted severe chronic illnesses while in a Castro gulag. Moore answered that he asked only about Cuba's health care system while he was there.
Among other suffering prisoners in Cuban cells who would have added further dimension to "Sicko" are independent librarians, put away for more than 20-year sentences for the crime of giving Cubans access to books and other publications forbidden in state libraries. Dr. Jose Luis Garcia Paneque, for example, director of a Las Tunas library, is not being treated meaningfully for intestinal problems, hypertension and other ailments.
The caged independent librarians were, however, at the center of a protest at an American Library Association conference in Washington in June. These protesters are themselves long-term members of the ALA and call themselves Freadomistas, in contrast with Fidelistas (Castro admirers) on the ALA's governing council. That council steadfastly refuses to demand the immediate release of Cuban freedom-to-read librarians, whom Amnesty International designates "prisoners of conscience." Indeed, the council voted down an amendment to release them.
Bearing such signs as "Book Burning Is NOT A solution to Cuba's Energy Problems" and "Ray Bradbury (author of 'Fahrenheit 451') Says: 'Free The Jailed Librarians,'" the Freadomistas also handed out flyers that quoted the core ALA policy: "The American Library Association believes that freedom of expression is an inalienable human right ... vital to the resistance of oppression ... and the principles of freedom of expression should be applied by libraries and librarians throughout the world." Another ALA policy cited on the flyers "deplores the destruction of libraries, library collections and property."
(Excerpt) Read more at jewishworldreview.com ...
Dewey Decimated System?........
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
Yet the library associations of Poland, Estonia, Latvia, the Czech Republic and Slovakia have vigorously demanded their release. Those countries know what it is to live under communism.
Yet the library associations of Poland, Estonia, Latvia, the Czech Republic and Slovakia have vigorously demanded their release. Those countries know what it is to live under communism.
At the ALA conference, a Freadomista flyer ended with a reminder from Martin Luther King Jr., whose biography was burned by Castro judges: "In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies but the silence of our friends."
If you wait for significant numbers of leftists to rise against a communist state in defense of your liberty, youll die disappointed in prison.
Nat Hentoff will be there, but hell probably be by himself.
Well they dont have degrees in Library Science.
You dont have to purge books that were never on your shelves to begin with.
Remember these are the people that choose which books to buy.
The ALA is dominated by fringe nutjobs who are ignored by 90% of librarians.
I hate hate hate the Dewey Decimal System.
On a serious note, I thought people loved Cuba for it’s free healthcare. Cuba isn’t a wonderful country? I thought different
One of the Lefts most important tools of propaganda is asking the correct questions of the correct people so as to get the correct answers.
It is just like being a good lawyer never ask a question you dont know the answer to.
Of course Moore knows that if he asks the wrong questions in Cuba he never get invited back.
You can't make it much clearer than that. Hentoff is an old lefty who actually believes in the ideals that got him there and acts on them. This particular ALA cockroach believes in something that is incompatible with human freedom. Choose your side.
Some librarians swear by the Dewey.
Me, I prefer the Library of Congress system.
(I have yet to ascertain whether preference is guided by when the MLS degree was earned, or by what system one’s first job used.)
What is wrong with it? Are there any good alternatives?
I know nothing about the subject. All I know is that whenever I need a book at the library, I look it up in the catalog, then go find it in the stacks. Seems to work pretty well from my point of view.
I believe the reason you find so many petty and worthless librarians in the academic world is a totally undeserved inflated ego. I had the misfortune of working in the University of Kentucky’s library system, and your description is spot on. Fortunately, I’ve managed to move on.
Amazing how quickly librarians changed from nice little ladies with their hair in a bun, prim demeanor, and modest dresses, to a bunch of flaming leftists. Just like academia.
Makes me feel better that there are some sane librarians out there....other than me :)
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