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In Cuba, information revolution is a quiet one

Sandokan

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In Cuba, information revolution is a quiet one
In Cuba, information revolution is a quiet one - OrlandoSentinel.com

Poll shows only 2.9% of Cubans regularly surf the Web. It's the same story with cell phone use.

9:12 p.m. EDT, September 30, 2010
HAVANA (Reuters) - Cubans remain extraordinarily isolated from information technology, with only 2.9% reporting regular use of the Internet and 5.8% regular use of e-mail, according to a government survey released on Thursday.

Just 2.6% said they regularly used cell phones, according to the poll conducted by the National Statistics Office and posted on its web page (ONE.CU).

The statistics office, which queried 38,000 homes, found almost all users accessed the Internet at work or school, as few have it at home.

Internet access in the Communist-run country is highly restricted and users must obtain government authorization.
Most of the time you hear about the U.S. embargo on the island, but very little is say about the Castros regime blockade of information to the Cuban people. The bottom line is that in Cuba the majority of the people don’t have access to the internet. The regime operates its own Intranet and email service, which helps it through centralized control regulate access to the WWW and maintain control over the information available from the outside world on the Internet to the Cuban people.
 
Most of the time you hear about the U.S. embargo on the island, but very little is say about the Castros regime blockade of information to the Cuban people. The bottom line is that in Cuba the majority of the people don’t have access to the internet. The regime operates its own Intranet and email service, which helps it through centralized control regulate access to the WWW and maintain control over the information available from the outside world on the Internet to the Cuban people.

A couple of years ago a very good friend went to Cuba to visit he sister who mariied a Cuban and when she came back she just about almost close to nothing good to say about the place.

She and her husband had to go down to Mexico to fly over and she was told by her sister to be very cautious of what you say around any Cuban because you can never tell who will turn out to be a Government informant and they were at every place where tourists were permitted. She did say they made a few trips to places the were no supposed to go and most houses had no glass in the windows and very few furnishings.

She said the living conditions were deplorable and toilet paper was rationed in the hotel they stayed in and they were limited to so many sheets per day.

I would think that based on these low percentages of use of electronic devices that being able to make a cell phone call would be very limited and to a very few areas. The same would be true for connections to the web I imagine.

It's sad because i had a High School drama teacher who was born there and escaped with his sister about the time Fedel took power and Cuba even though quite corrupt was thriving and had lots of money and imports of all kinds and it all came to an end when Castro came to power and went full on into the redistribution of wealth and "From each according to his ability, to each according to his need." Which is the mantra we keep hearing from the White House and all the Czars or close to the same words but the meaning is clear.

It turns out the Cuban people are wonderful but they learned that the old adage be careful what you for are very real and meaningful words of wisdom.
 
I would think that based on these low percentages of use of electronic devices that being able to make a cell phone call would be very limited and to a very few areas. The same would be true for connections to the web I imagine.
The regime level of censorship over the Internet is intense. It censors everything, forcing the Cuban population to use approved “access points” in order to get on line. Users must provide identification and their addresses to gain access to internet cafes. In this way the regime monitor their online activity, controlling and blocking through IP filtering, user access to websites, monitor e-mail messages, filtering messages for specific keywords and checks of their browsing history.
 
The regime level of censorship over the Internet is intense.
Although it's only 90 miles away from the US mainland, I've never seen anyone post here at DP using a Cuban ISP.
 
Although it's only 90 miles away from the US mainland, I've never seen anyone post here at DP using a Cuban ISP.
You will not see anyone, unless approved by the regime to do so.The reason for this is that the Castro brothers military regime, based in its judicial system, can condemn Cubans Internet users up to 20 years in prison, if they post what is considered by the regime to be a “counter-revolutionary” post in a foreign website. They could face up to 5 years prison if connected illegally to the Internet.
 
Access to the state-controlled Intranet cost $1.50 per hour, and access from a hotel with Internet network cost $7 per hour. Very few can afford those high costs and low connection speed since the average monthly salary is $20. The main reason for this is the regime priority to exercise total control of information in and out of the island.
 
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