Cuba gets Internet Access

Well, I'll be fair: they already had internet access. But only by satellite.

Actually, all international calls and internet access in Cuba had to be routed through satellite connections, which is damn expensive.

Due to this and the extensive government control, only 3% of the population has internet access.

The Communist government has always blamed this on the US economic embargo, as Florida is less than 100 miles away.

Now, Chavez has funded a 1,000 mile fiber optic cable from Venezuela to Cuba.

Interestingly, they say that they will still limit access and are trying to play down what this will offer, because they don't want everyone getting on the internet all of a sudden.

This to me is another example of where freedom leads to freedom, and where capitalism and open trade would be more likely to lead to revolution and democracy rather than embargoes and limited freedom of expression.

Quite simply, look at Egypt, where Mubarak has just fled Cairo. I think the US giving the internet to Cuba rather than Chavez would have been a good thing.