Cuba Forms a CS Professional Society -- It's No ACM

lpress writes: The formation of the Unión de Informáticos de Cuba (UIC) was announced at a Havana conference and a 7,500 person teleconference (no mean feat in Cuba). My first reaction was "cool — like a Cuban ACM," but there are significant differences between ACM and UIC. For example, one must apply to the Ministry of Communication to be accepted into the UIC and the application form asks about membership in political organizations like the Communist Party or Young Communists League along with technical qualifications. A CS degree is required (sorry Bill Gates). UIC members must be Cuban, while ACM has chapters in 57 nations. ACM has student chapters, but they are less needed in Cuba, which has over 600 youth computer clubs where kids take classes and play games and promising students are tracked and channeled into technical schools.

Comments

Open Access

[phantomfive]

Are their journals open access? That seems like the communist way to do it, and it would be better than the ACM.

Re:Academy of Country Music

[khallow]

Thanks for clearing that up. I was trying to figure out what the Associated Colleges of the Midwest had to do with Cuba. The country music connection is an obvious one with Cuba's own folk music. When country bars are playing good, proletarian Cuban music on their digital jukeboxes, it'll be a glorious time to be alive.

Re:Academy of Country Music

[PopeRatzo]

When country bars are playing good, proletarian Cuban music on their digital jukeboxes, it'll be a glorious time to be alive.

You really don't realize that American country music has always been the music of the proletariat? Do you know anything at all about the "Father of Country Music"?

https://youtu.be/Miy4io-rGo0

Or maybe something a little more recent:

https://youtu.be/VfiJEfBNRqg

And yes, good old Kenny Chesney is singing "union made". Yes, country music has always been the music of the proletariat, even with the "New Country" flag-waving "I believe in Amurka" mass-produced crapola that was sold to the yokels after 9/11. It was Tennessee Ernie Ford that stated in no uncertain terms that he "owed his soul to the company store". Country music wasn't only the music of the proletariat, it was the music of the revolutionary, pro-union, anti-corporate proletariat. And if you could take off your elitist goggles for one second, you'd see that the people in those country bars have a lot more in common with the people in Cuba than they have differences.

And as far as Cuban music over current country music, there's something wrong with you if you'd rather hear Carrie Underwood than this.

https://youtu.be/bZ2mJehaNbE?t...