LWN: Comments on "Cuba to migrate to open-source software (ZDNet)"

Cuba?

rfunk — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 01:19:47 +0000

Yes, other than a few exceptions, US citizens are forbidden to travel to Cuba, much less
do business there.

I understand that there is a single plane flight per week between Miami and Havana, for
handling those exceptions. My ex-wife was once lucky enough to visit there as a
graduate student.

Cuba libre?

ncm — Wed, 21 Feb 2007 20:23:15 +0000

Go there and see. But do prepare to be disappointed.

People who live in mainland China say that, political speech aside, Shanghai is among the freest places in the world, albeit in a sort of wild-West "little people keep your heads down" environmentally destructive sort of way.

Cuba?

copsewood — Wed, 21 Feb 2007 18:41:47 +0000

Freedom is a mixture of relatives and absolutes. When Cuba was a very poor country, prioritisation of education and healthcare were thought by many to be more important than freedom of movement and speech. Now that Cubans are better off, no doubt they will want to put the same kind of pressure for greater freedoms on their government as occurred in Eastern Europe during the 1980ies. The right of citizens to travel and do business elsewhere is also significant. Are US citizens still forbidden to travel to and do business in Cuba ? I think that most Europeans are a little more free than US citizens if US sanctions which were in existence some years ago are still in effect. Some of my friends have been on holiday recently in Cuba. However, I would still agree that US citizens have greater freedom of movement than Cuban citizens.

Cuba?

deepfire — Wed, 21 Feb 2007 14:56:43 +0000

US propaganda works miracles..

I wonder if residents of socialist Cuba are actually more free than
citizens of that lighthouse of democracy.

In fact, i bet they are.

Cuba?

irios — Wed, 21 Feb 2007 07:28:08 +0000

They will say "libre" but think "gratis"

Cuba?

ldo — Wed, 21 Feb 2007 06:57:13 +0000

If I recall rightly, this is a government that does not allow its citizens to have private Internet connections--all access must be done through Government-controlled Internet cafes, where the PCs are set up to take screenshots of what you're doing every few minutes, to make sure you're not up to anything subversive.

I wonder how they reconcile this with their embrace of Free Software? Or maybe they just avoid calling it "Free".