Young Cubans Set Up Mini-Internet

An anonymous reader writes: Internet connections remain illegal for Cuban households, but many of the country's citizens still want to tap into the power of networked information exchange. A group of tech-savvy young Cubans has set up a network comprising thousands of computers to serve as their own miniature version of the internet. They use chat rooms, play games, and connect to organize real-life activities. Cuban law enforcement seems willing to tolerate it (so far), but the network polices itself so as not to draw undue attention.

One of the engineers who helped build the network said, "We aren't anonymous because the country has to know that this type of network exists. They have to protect the country and they know that 9,000 users can be put to any purpose. We don't mess with anybody. All we want to do is play games, share healthy ideas. We don't try to influence the government or what's happening in Cuba ... We do the right thing and they let us keep at it."

Comments

Saddest line ever

[Crashmarik]

We don't mess with anybody. All we want to do is play games, share healthy ideas. We don't try to influence the government or what's happening in Cuba We do the right thing and they let us keep at it.

If you ever want to see how soul destroying communism is there it is. Might as well still have the country controlled by the Mafia, at least it would be more fun.

Re:Saddest line ever

[captainpanic]

Let's see you try to overthrow your government and post about it on the internet. Let's see how long you keep your free internet access (and your freedom in general).

Re:Saddest line ever

[houghi]

This has nothing to do with Communism. It has everything to do with oversight and more about agencies abusing that oversight.
Mind you, many western countries are running towards the same model where everybody is being watched and the slightest will make your life miserable. People will soon start to whisper. I already notice how I am wording things, because I know that in a few years what I said now WILL be used against me.

Re:Saddest line ever

[halivar]

When every article about a communist, pseudo-communist, or crypto-communist country has to have a post like this (and it's in every thread), it's time to start thinking about why and how all communist countries (save, perhaps, India) become totalitarian hell-holes, and whether communism as a pure ideology is too hopelessly broken to implement in reality. Not to mention that it seems to me that no Scottish communism on earth is True Scottish communism.

Western democracies are heading in that direction, but so far every country with a communist economic model has to start there.

Re:Saddest line ever

[rmdingler]

It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried. {Winston Churchill}

As you sit comfortably in your home and life sheltered by a Western democracy, it is all too easy to take for granted the freedoms you enjoy. Stories like this are about the rest of the World's citizens, and what happens when individual rights go away.

Relish this when you have a moment, but never, ever, stop struggling to protect the erosion of these inalienable rights. Totalitarian regimes aren't all born beneath a single governing style or philosophy.

Re:Saddest line ever

[Anonymous Coward]

The only two options are not "complete and total freedom to do anything you want" and "complete control by a dictatorship". no country is going to allow folks to plot a violent overthrow of the government. But being able to criticize the government is a basic human right that does not exist in Cuba. Granted the US is not perfect, or close to it, but we are a lot more free than our Cuban counterparts.

Re:Saddest line ever

[drinkypoo]

Let's see you try to overthrow your government and post about it on the internet. Let's see how long you keep your free internet access (and your freedom in general).

Right now, any dickwad in America is free to put up a website advocating abolishment of the American government. And indeed, many of them have. Further, there is in fact a completely legal process for elimination of the constitution; you could pass an Amendment replacing it with another document. Nothing prevents anyone from starting a political party on this basis. I bet if I were less lazy I could find some really batshit crazy examples right now, but I equally bet that some people out there in Slashdot-land already know of some. I hope they will help out and link them here.

Re:Saddest line ever

[LWATCDR]

The difference is every few years in democratic nations you have the chance to over through the government legally.
It is called a free election.

If by "some fucked up stuff"

[MikeRT]

You mean like torture and murder of political dissidents, people being routinely thrown into prison for speech that is not only legal but won't have US law enforcement even raise an eyebrow and various other tyrannical sundries then yeah. They can't own a cell phone or computer without the state's permission, but hey... free healthcare people!

This just goes to show how pathetic a lot of leftists are. But but Cuba has some great, free healthcare. Yeah? Cuba's also politically and economically FUBAR to the nth degree compared to even most of Latin America. There's a reason Cubans are more likely to expatriate than people in, say, Guatemala, the Dominican Republic or Honduras to try to sneak into Cuba.

Re:If by "some fucked up stuff"

[drinkypoo]

This just goes to show how pathetic a lot of leftists are. But but Cuba has some great, free healthcare. Yeah? Cuba's also politically and economically FUBAR to the nth degree

Leftists including myself bring up Cuba's health care system to show that even a country which is totally busted politically and economically can manage a national health care system which provides outcomes as good as what we have now (which ain't that great, but bear with this argument) for pennies on the dollar. It's not that we should go commie, it's that even the commies can manage health care. Here in the allegedly greatest nation in the world, the only magnificent part of our health care system is the size of the bill.

Re:outsider question: why the USA embargo on Cuba?

[will_die]

It stays because there is a large group of voters in Florida who still want it and the rest of the country that could care less if it is there or not. Then on the Cuba side they have always done what they can to keep it because it gave Fidel a ralleying cry on why Cuba is in so bad of shape.
With current talks will have to see what happens.

Re:outsider question: why the USA embargo on Cuba?

[will_die]

The embargo against cuba did nto really start until the 1960s, before then there were arms embargoes.
It did start as you mentioned after Cuba seized a few US companies assets, US did a minor embargo, Cuba went in seized all other companies and the US started embargoing most trade.
Since then the embargo has been attempted to be lifted but the political backlash from Florida and a decent amount of voters in the rest of the US has stopped it. With Fidel gone and the communist threat basically dead it is now just the voters in florida, and sugar producers who really care about it.
As for all those properties that is something that is being discussed now and will have to be decided upon. Another major problem is going to be who owns the trademark names to various products. For example Bacardi, now USA but originally cubian, has trademarks they say they own while a company in Cuba also claims it; while there is an embargo and neither company can sell in other place it is meanless legal fight once the embargo is gone now it is a major international legal dispute.

Thanks everybody for reasoned answers!

[fantomas]

Thanks for your reasoned and sensible answers, really good insights. I appreciate your time in giving me some perspectives I'd not considered.

Not something you hear on slashdot every day :-)