tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1419558703918975245.post4142432401853533382..comments2024-03-18T05:11:45.069-04:00Comments on Notes from the Cuban Exile Quarter: Eric Schmidt's Potemkin Village Tour: North Korea, Burma and CubaJohn Suarezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11333798474560217548noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1419558703918975245.post-64259283067068596182014-07-04T00:40:29.412-04:002014-07-04T00:40:29.412-04:00Thanks for your comments Mr. Davidow and we are ag...Thanks for your comments Mr. Davidow and we are agreed on the importance of internet freedom for Cubans, but the devil is in the details. High tech companies going into business with the Cuban government as Mr. Schmidt is advocating - when he calls for the lifting of Economic sanctions is not unprecedented. We've seen this rodeo before in Mainland China. The end result was the building of a great and effective firewall of censorship with the help of U.S. companies.<br />John Suarezhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11333798474560217548noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1419558703918975245.post-64150774399582763752014-07-02T17:01:27.823-04:002014-07-02T17:01:27.823-04:00Hi Mr. Suarez,
I was surprised by the timing of G...Hi Mr. Suarez,<br /><br />I was surprised by the timing of Google chairman Eric Schmidt's visit to Cuba, but I didn't find it hard to imagine Schmidt going to Cuba and demanding that Havana allow internet freedom because Freedom House ranks Cuba as one of the world's top ten worst online oppressors. <br /><br />Just as Ronald Reagan famously said in 1987, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down that wall," someday when Barack Obama visits the CANF headquarters in Miami, he should deliver a powerful message to the authorities in Havana like this: "Mr. Castro, tear down the Berlin Wall of censorship!" I'm making this recommendation because free internet access is important for economic growth and someday, a future Cuban leader will realize that the cost of maintaining the censorship apparatus will no longer be sustainable (the leaders of Eastern Europe failed to realize that the cost of maintaning their countries' repressive apparatuses, which was the short-term reason why communism was doomed to fall in Eastern Europe).Davidowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06099864739987549261noreply@blogger.com