...politics, pop culture, and self-deprecation...

3.07.2008

I just read this article on how people in Cuba use technology to get around the bans on internet connectivity put in place by the government ("Cyber-Rebels in Cuba Defy State's Limits," in NYTimes). While I do think the writer is a little bit leading ("cyber-rebels?") in his language and whatnot, it's an interesting glimpse at how information technologies evade containment, and at the ways people will use whatever they can to communicate and share information. It's an open information world (or at least, it's headed in that direction) which will force closed and controlling governments (including, in some ways, our own) to react, and hopefully change.

And oh, I thought this was pretty funny, in my anti-capitalist way: Some students forced a government official into an impromptu press conference, demanding to know the reasons for some of the restrictions placed on them. His answer regarding travel limitations set on Cuban citizens: He "suggested that if everyone who wished to were allowed to travel, there would not be enough airspace for the planes." Heehee. Well, we take care of that here in the capitalist world by ensuring that not everyone who wishes to travel can afford it! Problem taken care of, plenty of airspace for the planes.