Cuba Jails US Worker Handing Out Laptops, Cellphones 400
eldavojohn writes "An American citizen working as a contractor for the United States Agency for International Development has been arrested for giving away laptops and cellphones in Cuba. The intent was to enable activists to connect with each other and spread information of what's happening inside Cuba. From the article: 'Cellphones and laptops are legal in Cuba, though they are new and coveted commodities in a country where the average worker's wage is $15 a month. The Cuban government granted ordinary citizens the right to buy cellphones just last year; they are used mostly for texting, because a 15-minute phone conversation would eat up a day's wages.' A Representative on the House Foreign Affairs Committee said the arrest was 'no surprise' while a human rights watch group cited a report outlining the Cuban Criminal Code offense of 'dangerousness,' which is most likely the one for which this individual was detained. There is at present no way to contact the individual nor official word on why he was detained." The article quotes an actvist with Human Rights Watch who said that "any solution to the contractor's case would probably be political" and that "the Cuban government often provokes a negative reaction in the United States just as [the two] countries begin to move toward more dialogue."
Re:Embargo fails. (Score:5, Informative)
Cuba: $9500
People's Republic of China: $6000
So, the average Cuban is still richer than the average Chinese. In ten years it might be different, though. But all this is irrelevant to the parent's point: dropping an embargo doesn't necessarily lead to political liberalization, even if the people do become better off. You can be very rich and [wikipedia.org] still [wikipedia.org] dictatorial [wikipedia.org].
Re:Normalize with these animals? (Score:2, Informative)
People in this country were arrested and detained for the possession of cell phones during the previous two administrations. (Bush , Clinton)
http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Dissent/Crackdown_Dissent.html
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2000/aug2000/phil-a08.shtml
Re:Communism (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Communism (Score:3, Informative)
Now how are You going to back-pedal out of this one?
Re:Can't be true (Score:4, Informative)
Switzerland is 2nd and WELL below the US in total cost. The Cuba point is also well illustrated on those charts. It performs well above the curve, the US well below. Canada btw is spending a bit over half what the US is. Honestly, follow ANY modern country other than the US and you will be doing well.
Re:Embargo fails. (Score:4, Informative)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helms_burton [wikipedia.org]
Re:Communism (Score:2, Informative)
I can add more links to the House Un-American Activities Committee, the hollywood blacklist and the Japanese internment camps if you like. That's just a small listing.
Re:Communism (Score:2, Informative)
Text messaging is much cheaper outside of the US, even in western Europe. We're getting the short end of the stick on this one :(
Re:Pitiful attempt at moral equivilence (Score:3, Informative)
You are either displaying very subtle sarcastic humor or a MASSIVE amount of IGNORANCE here. Being /., I'm betting on the latter but apologize if it is the former.
Cuba provided "advisors", training, arms and money for thirty-plus years to SEVERAL communist revolutionary groups around the world, in such places as Angola, Bolivia, Congo, Nicaragua and Grenada just to name a few. These actions were a legitimate part of their government. Does Che Guevara not ring a bell?
Re:Normalize with these animals? (Score:3, Informative)
"Animals?" Come on now, if Taliban agents were caught handing out darknet cellphones and laptops through a mosque in NYC, you just know the same thing would happen. Heck, we recently arrested some midde-east looking people just for taking home videos at Disneyland.
I love how things are distorted to serve an agenda. People are dehumanized by referring to them as "animals". And situations are distorted by describing them in the most innocent terms ("taking home videos at Disneyland" - the defendants were being prosecuted for a collection of material to include the aforementioned video of Disneyland) and presented as "recent" when they actually occurred over 8 years ago.
Re:Communism (Score:4, Informative)
A quick google reveals:
http://www.fec.gov/pages/brochures/foreign.shtml [fec.gov]
"The Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) prohibits any foreign national from contributing, donating or spending funds in connection with any federal, state, or local election in the United States, either directly or indirectly. It is also unlawful to help foreign nationals violate that ban or to solicit, receive or accept contributions or donations from them. Persons who knowingly and willfully engage in these activities may be subject to fines and/or imprisonment."
Imagine how your government would react if it finds that a foreign nation (eg China) has been funding the opposition party.
I think Cuba's reaction is quite normal. Cuba does have human rights violations, but I'm not sure if this is one of them.
Re:Anybody out there? (Score:2, Informative)
Boy, that Chavez really must hate democracy. Imagine getting elected by 70 percent of the population in a ballot declared 'Free And Fair' by international observers, the nerve of that guy!
In fact, Chavez loves democracy, because when it doesn't work for him he can just twist it to his wishes.
See, at the beginning he was so popular that it was easy to win elections cleanly. But now that he lost support he rigs elections [slashdot.org], politically [europa.eu] persecutes [elpais.com] his [hrw.org] opponents [bbc.co.uk], or simply disregards [eluniversal.com] its [diariocritico.com] outcome [wikipedia.org].
In Venezuela you can't get a job in any of the state controlled companies if you have voted against Chavez. [hrw.org]
This is a serious problem in a country where the state controls the oil industry, electric companies, banks, telecommunications and most of the media, and where all the powers are subjugated to one man's desires. After such a precedent, how can anybody expect the people to participate freely in any elections against Chavez?
Now he's promoting Free And Fair elections in other countries too? Well, we just can't have that!
I don't think that sneaking suitcases with millions of dolars of Venezuelan money to his favorite candidates in Latin America counts as promoting Free And Fair elections.
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1654511,00.html [time.com]
http://english.eluniversal.com/2009/11/26/en_pol_art_venezuelan-businessm_26A3120691.shtml [eluniversal.com]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maletinazo [wikipedia.org]
I take it you approve of the military coup in Honduras then, with its sham elections conducted in complete violation of the country's constitution? Maybe we should just let the Pentagon decide who gets to be president of the Latin American countries again, like in Reagan's reign of error. Those people can't be trusted to elect someone who supports the interests of the multi-national mega-corps over their own citizenry like the Americans do.
I never even mentioned Honduras, in fact, I don't approve the coup, so try to keep your current job, cause mind reading is not your thing.
Re:Communism (Score:3, Informative)
That is not entirely accurate. From wiki [wikipedia.org] ...
.
I believe it's you who is deluded. The US has placed very large restrictions on how Cuba can trade with the rest of the world, much to the detriment of the Cuban people. They really can't conduct fair and open trade with the rest of the world -- in Cuba, this embargo is thought or more as a blockade, since it effectively has the same result. It means they can't import a lot of goods, so the average Cuban goes without unless tourists bring it down and give it to them.
Oh, that and the fact that at one time America imposed an amendment to the Cuban constitution [wikipedia.org] which gives the American government some control over Cuba that Cubans don't want and which violates their sovereignty.
Maybe you should learn a little more about Cuba instead of just spouting what you've heard and don't understand.
Cheers