727Goon
7th September 2010, 05:20
I was wondering if any of you guys know of any sources that refute these claims or if this is an accurate portrayal of the situation.
A special permit is required for using the Internet in Cuba. Internet access is controlled and e-mail is monitored.[8] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censorship_in_Cuba#cite_note-cubainternet-7)[11] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censorship_in_Cuba#cite_note-cubaonline-10)
Two kinds of online connections are offered in Cuban Internet cafes: a "national" one that is restricted to use an e-mail service operated by the government, and an "international" one that give access to the entire Internet.[11] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censorship_in_Cuba#cite_note-cubaonline-10) The population is restricted to the first one, which costs 1.20 euros an hour. Most can't even afford the 4 euros an hour needed to browse the Internet, as this is approximately a third of the average monthly wage.[11] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censorship_in_Cuba#cite_note-cubaonline-10) To use a computer, Cubans have to give their name and address - and if they write dissent keywords, a popup appears that the document has been blocked for "state security" reasons, and the word processor or browser is automatically closed.[11] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censorship_in_Cuba#cite_note-cubaonline-10) Foreign visitors who allow Cubans to use their computers are harassed and persecuted.[11] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censorship_in_Cuba#cite_note-cubaonline-10)
Cubans cannot read books, magazines or newspapers unless they have been approved/published by the government.[16] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censorship_in_Cuba#cite_note-cubafacts42-15) Cubans can not receive publications from abroad or from visitors.[16] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censorship_in_Cuba#cite_note-cubafacts42-15)
In 2002, “Following the Hip Hop Festival held in Havana in August, the Casa de Cultura in Alamar received an order from the Ministry of Culture to review the lyrics of rap songs before the start of any concert.” [24] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censorship_in_Cuba#cite_note-23) Cuban rappers responded by altering their music/lyric styles. “Underground’s beat slowed down its tempo and rappers started changing up their lyrics. The strident notes coming from the barrios and caseríos that scared the State so much when they first came out started softening themselves to take advantage of the promotional opportunities offered by those same people who initiated the hunting spree.” [25] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censorship_in_Cuba#cite_note-24)
The Interior Ministry has principal responsibility for monitoring the Cuban population for signs of dissent. Reportedly, the ministry employs two central offices for this purpose: the General Directorate of Counter-Intelligence and the General Directorate of Internal Order. The former supervises the activities of the Department of State Security, also known as the Political Police, reportedly dividing its counter-intelligence operations into specialized units. One of the units—known as "Department Four"—reportedly focuses on the "ideological sector," which includes religious groups, writers, and artists.
Cuba's provision regarding contempt for authority (desacato) penalizes anyone who "threatens, libels or slanders, defames, affronts (injuria) or in any other way insults (ultraje) or offends, with the spoken word or in writing, the dignity or decorum of an authority, public functionary, or his agents or auxiliaries." Such actions are punishable by three months to one year in prison, plus a fine. If the person demonstrates contempt for "the President of the Council of the State, the President of the National Assembly of Popular Power, the members of the Council of the State or the Council of Ministers, or the Deputies of the National Assembly of the Popular Power, the sanction is deprivation of liberty for one to three years."
The Criminal Code mandates a three-month to one-year sentence for anyone who "publicly defames, denigrates, or scorns the Republic's institutions, the political, mass, or social organizations of the country, or the heroes or martyrs of the nation." This sweeping provision potentially outlaws mere expressions of dissatisfaction or disagreement with government policies or practices, clearly violating free expression. The protection from insult of lifeless entities, and state-controlled institutions and organizations in particular, appears designed solely to preserve the current government's power.
Like defamation of public institutions and symbols, clandestine printing appears as a crime against public order in the Criminal Code. Preserving public order does not sufficiently justify the law's extremely broad prohibition on free expression and a free press. Anyone who "produces, disseminates, or directs the circulation of publications without indicating the printer or the place where it was printed, or without following the established rules for the identification of the author or origin, or reproduces, stores, or transports" such publications, risks from three months to one year in prison.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censorship_in_Cuba
A special permit is required for using the Internet in Cuba. Internet access is controlled and e-mail is monitored.[8] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censorship_in_Cuba#cite_note-cubainternet-7)[11] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censorship_in_Cuba#cite_note-cubaonline-10)
Two kinds of online connections are offered in Cuban Internet cafes: a "national" one that is restricted to use an e-mail service operated by the government, and an "international" one that give access to the entire Internet.[11] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censorship_in_Cuba#cite_note-cubaonline-10) The population is restricted to the first one, which costs 1.20 euros an hour. Most can't even afford the 4 euros an hour needed to browse the Internet, as this is approximately a third of the average monthly wage.[11] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censorship_in_Cuba#cite_note-cubaonline-10) To use a computer, Cubans have to give their name and address - and if they write dissent keywords, a popup appears that the document has been blocked for "state security" reasons, and the word processor or browser is automatically closed.[11] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censorship_in_Cuba#cite_note-cubaonline-10) Foreign visitors who allow Cubans to use their computers are harassed and persecuted.[11] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censorship_in_Cuba#cite_note-cubaonline-10)
Cubans cannot read books, magazines or newspapers unless they have been approved/published by the government.[16] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censorship_in_Cuba#cite_note-cubafacts42-15) Cubans can not receive publications from abroad or from visitors.[16] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censorship_in_Cuba#cite_note-cubafacts42-15)
In 2002, “Following the Hip Hop Festival held in Havana in August, the Casa de Cultura in Alamar received an order from the Ministry of Culture to review the lyrics of rap songs before the start of any concert.” [24] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censorship_in_Cuba#cite_note-23) Cuban rappers responded by altering their music/lyric styles. “Underground’s beat slowed down its tempo and rappers started changing up their lyrics. The strident notes coming from the barrios and caseríos that scared the State so much when they first came out started softening themselves to take advantage of the promotional opportunities offered by those same people who initiated the hunting spree.” [25] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censorship_in_Cuba#cite_note-24)
The Interior Ministry has principal responsibility for monitoring the Cuban population for signs of dissent. Reportedly, the ministry employs two central offices for this purpose: the General Directorate of Counter-Intelligence and the General Directorate of Internal Order. The former supervises the activities of the Department of State Security, also known as the Political Police, reportedly dividing its counter-intelligence operations into specialized units. One of the units—known as "Department Four"—reportedly focuses on the "ideological sector," which includes religious groups, writers, and artists.
Cuba's provision regarding contempt for authority (desacato) penalizes anyone who "threatens, libels or slanders, defames, affronts (injuria) or in any other way insults (ultraje) or offends, with the spoken word or in writing, the dignity or decorum of an authority, public functionary, or his agents or auxiliaries." Such actions are punishable by three months to one year in prison, plus a fine. If the person demonstrates contempt for "the President of the Council of the State, the President of the National Assembly of Popular Power, the members of the Council of the State or the Council of Ministers, or the Deputies of the National Assembly of the Popular Power, the sanction is deprivation of liberty for one to three years."
The Criminal Code mandates a three-month to one-year sentence for anyone who "publicly defames, denigrates, or scorns the Republic's institutions, the political, mass, or social organizations of the country, or the heroes or martyrs of the nation." This sweeping provision potentially outlaws mere expressions of dissatisfaction or disagreement with government policies or practices, clearly violating free expression. The protection from insult of lifeless entities, and state-controlled institutions and organizations in particular, appears designed solely to preserve the current government's power.
Like defamation of public institutions and symbols, clandestine printing appears as a crime against public order in the Criminal Code. Preserving public order does not sufficiently justify the law's extremely broad prohibition on free expression and a free press. Anyone who "produces, disseminates, or directs the circulation of publications without indicating the printer or the place where it was printed, or without following the established rules for the identification of the author or origin, or reproduces, stores, or transports" such publications, risks from three months to one year in prison.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censorship_in_Cuba