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Fidel Castro, Internet News Junkie
pickens writes "The LA Times reports that 84-year-old Cuban ex-President Fidel Castro consumes 200 to 300 news items a day on the World Wide Web. In a recent interview he called Web communication 'the most powerful weapon that has existed' and extolled its power to break a stranglehold on the media by 'the empire' and 'ambitious private groups that have abused it' adding that the Internet 'has put an end to secrets.... We are seeing a high level of investigative journalism, as the New York Times calls it, that is within reach of the whole world.' Well, not the whole world. Cuba has the lowest level of Internet penetration in the Western Hemisphere (lower than Haiti), plus severe government restrictions and censorship affecting those who do have access. In addition Cuban law bans using the Internet to spread information that is against what the government considers to be the social interest, norms of good behavior, the integrity of the people or national security."
I think the utter hypocrisy of his words is the point. Sure, Fidel gets to surf the internet and read worldwide news, raving about how great it is...while most people in his country aren't allowed to do so because it would threaten his power. I hardly find that good. I find that disgustingly hypocritical of him.
Well, even if he has somehow "healthy" internet habits he is still the old fart that causes suffering in the name of a decades ofd revolution.That, while alive in the poeple mind's is the complete opposite of the current situation.
He is the same old fart that, while praising the freedom that the flow of information the internet allows, keeps the citizens from that very same information with tight censorship and throwing anyone that slightly disagrees with his (self delusional) ways to prison.
He is the same old dictator that wilingly keeps his country adn citizens in a state of poverty by strict regulations,that while suposedly intetnded to bring communism, do instead fatten the pockets of a very select few.
So ,honestly, a retired ,(nearly senile?) dictator, who checks on nearly every way of opression you can put your people through, praising the freedom of the net?
I Call Bullshit
Indeed; despite the unpleasantness of the facts, the reporting is a pleasant surprise than the every-other-word-is-praises reporting on Cuba we've seen for the past decade+. "Free healthcare" my ass; that's somewhat meaningless if most people can't feed their families.
~/ssh slashdot.org ssh: connect to host slashdot.org port 22: too many beers
And gee, in your fervor to slam the US, did you miss the part about how Cuba has the least internet access of any country? Here, let me point it out to you:
In addition Cuban law bans using the Internet to spread information that is against what the government considers to be the social interest, norms of good behavior, the integrity of the people or national security.
Now let's think for a second, shall we? In the US, you can post about how Obama is a socialist Muslim terrorist and you won't get arrested for it. Do you honestly think that Cuba wouldn't care if a citizen slammed their government? Come on now, think in a historical context. Cuba isn't exactly nice to people who openly speak out against the government.
Just because the US can be asshats doesn't mean that the people who don't like the US can't be even bigger asshats.
Yeah right, I'll bet you anything he's like the stereotypical Fox News viewer, who only looks at and agrees with what he wants to see (and in the name of political impartiality, if you are one of those Fox idiots, yes, there are counterparts to your idiocy on the left). I'll bet he is reading Communist Times Online or other periodicals that reveal the "ugly truths of capitalism" with their investigative journalism. I wouldn't be surprised if we hear old Castro ranting one of these days about the Bilderbergs, or the Illuminati....the secret capitalist organizations that rule the world. Or maybe how AIDS is the fault of the US: I've heard that one from a latino-communist. Oh, look, Fidel has a blog, I'll look through it and report back if I find any treasures.
He kind of mocks the New York Times for their 'investigative reporting' but really investigative reporting is when the New York Times really shines. There are lots of things to not like about that paper, and it is really going down hill, but it's investigative reporting is top notch when they do it.
Qxe4
Ohh, that looks fun! Let me try:
Swastikas
Bunnies.
Porn.
Rainbows!
Terrorism Act 2006.
Lollipops,
Assange.
Richard Simmons!
Wheee!
Just one question: other than the sheer fun of it, why are throwing around random words?
You know, it's of course impossible that US government might want to paint a worse picture of their enemies than what they actually are! It's not even only Cuba.. It's China, Russia, North Korea, whatever country with different views, culture and society.
Seriously? I'll tell you what. As soon as China, Russia, North Korea, Iran, and any other country that the US wants to make look evil allows relatively unfettered access to a country and its population, I'll read the report and consider it to be the truth. Until then, I only have the stories from those starving individuals who risk their lives to escape such regimes.
There is no "I disagree" mod for a reason. Flamebait, Troll, and Overrated are not substitutes.
I see. Which ways? Assume that I consider the Republican and Democratic governments to be effectively the same, and try not to give an answer which comes down to, "Persuade over 100,000,000 people."
Yeah, that's about it. You have to persuade over a hundred million people (actually it's closer to 60 million people, based on how many vote). In democracies (and representative democracies, although they move slower), the majority wins, and if you want to win, you have to persuade the majority. Watch this happen over the next 10 years as gays begin to get the right to marry, assuming the public opinion continues to move in favor of them, as it has over the last two decades.
If you think persuading 60 million people to vote your way is hard, and it is, consider the difficulty of getting enough people to die for you in a bloody revolution. It's significantly harder. The main advantage of democracy is that it eliminates the need for bloody rebellions, because if you can command enough people for a bloody rebellion to succeed, you can easily gain control with a fair election (even if it's only mostly fair). From there, the quality of the government depends entirely on the people: if they have sucky desires for their government, they will lose.
To make a difference, you need substance and medium to your complaints to get people to listen. The warrant for your arrest will be your reward.
Oh, now you're talking like a crackpot. When was the last time anyone in the US was arrested for stating a political opinion? I'll tell you, the last time it happened in Cuba was this year.
Qxe4
Cuba just bans the other "extremists" per their own standards.
See, this is the problem with people like you: you make comparisons, ignore the differences, and use it to support the conclusion that the two things are the same.
I can do the same thing to you: Jeffery Dahmer was an awful person because of what he ate; you eat things too, according to your own standards, therefore you are just as bad as Jeffery. I can't believe how sick you are.
That is the same logical fallacy you are making. True, Cuba bans extremists according to their own standards, but it's their standards that makes them so awful. You can't just ignore that difference and say they are the same, it makes you look like an idiot. Use good logic.
Qxe4
Equality of outcome would only be a good thing if all people were of equal ability, otherwise it can only be achieved by oppression. The problem with socialism is that it sacrifices liberty in order to achieve equality which is a bad bargain to start with. Then it fails to achieve equality as well.
Negative moral value of force outweighs the positive value of good intentions.
You have it all wrong. First of all, go read about IRAN CONTRA, that will tell you that they did indeed, along with the brits, engineer that coup from A to Z. It's not a zany conspiracy theory, it's a well documented fact.
Read stuff you can't buy in the "People's Red Star Bookstore" sometime. I know that a ton of screeching has been done about Allende and the Shah. The alternative histories have been a mainstay for almost a generation now.
I'm sorry, how is bringing up that none of these countries have a free press "Troll"?
You're trolling a bunch of college-age types with Che t-shirts. They can't tolerate someone with an opinion like yours. They'd shout you off the lectern if you tried to give a speech on their campus. It's that simple. Same as it ever was.
Umm, where does he say something like that about beatles?
Dude, if you can't manage to read through to the fourth paragraph, you really shouldn't have tried posting a response.......
Qxe4