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Cuba Getting Internet Upstream Via Venezuela

Posted by samzenpus on from the welcome-to-the-80's dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Seems like Cuba is working around the US internet embargo by teaming up with Venezuela: A confidential contract released yesterday on Wikileaks reveals Cuba's plan to receive internet upstream via an undersea cable to Venezuela, thus circumventing the enduring embargo of the US, denying Cuba access to nearby American undersea cables and overcoming the current limits of satellite-only connectivity. The connection, to be delivered by CVG Telecom of Venezuela, is to be completed by 2010 and will provide data, video as well as voice service for both the public and governmental services."

6 of 486 comments (clear)

  1. You know... by RudeIota · · Score: 4, Informative
    While the U.S has reasons for the enduring trade embargo, providing them access to such information could very well have positive effects for the U.S., not to mention the cuban public.

    And yeah, it is kind of idealist, but making information readily available (potentially) gives the Cuban public a powerful tool to guide their own country... I could see how that would benefit both America AND the Cuban people. "The pen is mightier than the sword"

    What we've been doing so far has just been punishment for being non-democratic, but what could be far more useful and helpful would be only offering Cuba the tools of undoing their very own dictatorship, such as access to the Internet and other forms of communication. This is also fits nicely with Cuba's new found freedoms under Raul, including access to some new technologies (cell phones, in particular).

    --
    Fact: Everything I say is fiction.
    1. Re:You know... by Reality+Master+201 · · Score: 4, Informative

      What we've been doing so far has just been punishment for being non-democratic

      Horseshit.

      What the US has been doing so far is largely punishment for nationalizing property during the revolution, somewhat overlapping with the ongoing pander to the Cuban exiles in South Florida; there's a bit of legacy anti-communist paranoia there, too. Anyone who thinks that the US maintains the embargo against the Cubans is because they're undemocratic is ignorant or deluded.

  2. Re:Surprised? by Maxmin · · Score: 4, Informative

    one advantage of socialized medicine is that the government gets to decide when further treatment doesn't make "economic sense"

    Oh really? Have you got anything to back that statement up?

    You believe that doctors in countries with state-run medicine can say to patients and their families, "Look, this is getting expensive, and it looks like s/he is going to die in a few weeks anyway. Checkout is on down the hall on the left" ... etc.?

    I can't imagine where you're getting your ideas from. Personal experience: my ex is a doctor from a country with "socialized medicine" ... from what I saw and heard during my time there (Germany), it doesn't work like that at all. End-of-life was one of the biggest issues she dealt with, because -get this- they saw patients through to the end. Preventative care and perhaps the much lower obesity rates probably have a little *something* to do with their lower per-capita medical costs..

    --
    O lord, bless this thy holy hand grenade, that with it thou mayest blow thine enemies to tiny bits, in thy mercy.
  3. Re:Surprised? by vidarh · · Score: 5, Informative
    There's a vast difference between not wanting to be a puppet state controlled by a US supported dictator who hands property over to US corporations whenever he felt like it, and not wanting Americans.

    If you can't understand that difference you'll have a big problem understanding Cuba.

    Castro was fiercely nationalistic, not unlike a lot of US politicians, and had a lot against US influence on that basis. His opposition to the US and to Americans only strengthened as a result of the US response after he took power and started taking back what had been stolen from the Cuban people by Batista, a lot of which had been handed over to US companies.

  4. Re:Surprised? by vidarh · · Score: 4, Informative
    Batista was elected in '40, yes. But he lost the '44 election, and then took power again in '52 through a coup. He was then overthrown in '58. So Cuba was "free and democratic" under Batista for 4 years, and a dictatorship for 6.

    If you are trying to imply the '54 election when he ran unopposed was free and fair, then the other reply you got comparing him to Mugabe was quite fitting.

  5. Re:Surprised? by mrogers · · Score: 5, Informative

    > The groups that murdered their way into power hated the US with a passion

    Ever wondered why? In both cases, the groups were fighting to overthrow dictatorships supported by the US:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fulgencio_Batista#The_Second_Coup
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Ajax

    I'm no fan of Khomeini or Castro, I certainly don't support their repressive governments, but the US-backed governments they overthrew weren't necessarily any better.