A very reasonable theory–and exactly what I had in mind when I alluded to an “e-book underground.” Of course, I wonder about Cuba’s computer count, period. But I wouldn’t be surprised if,yes, some were used for e-booking.

Thanks–interesting links.

David

Sneakerware and CD’s are easily to distribute, and I wouldn’t be surprised if lots of old PC’s are used for reading banned literature. Same for movies, which are probably more subversive than literature.

Googling around shows that overall Internet usage is low , aggravated perhaps by Cuba’s inability to take advantage of fiber optic telecom cables supported by the US. (more here ).

My experience in Eastern Europe is that literature was esteemed there more than usual because of the scarcity of fine literature. I suspect that because Havana hosts a well known poetry festival and literature festival, the state allows selected authors without restrictions (probably Marquez and Jack London). i suspect the state’s censorship apparatus would have more to fear from Milton Friedman books than John Updike books.

BTW, Andrei Codrescu wrote a hilarious travelogue about visiting Cuba called Ay Cuba . also, you might notice that Global Voices is hosting some Cuban bloggers who blog in Spanish .

It’s quite an eye opener. I’d thought appeasement was born out of fear, since the fear of war with an aggressive and rearmed Germany is clearly what drove appeasers in the late 1930s. Chamberlain, for instance, used that as his excuse for betraying Czechoslovakia in 1938. His betrayal, he thought, meant ‘peace in our time.’

But that wasn’t true of appeasement in the early-to-mid 1930s, when it also drove British foreign policy. At that time, Germany was virtually defenseless. Their army was limited to 100,000 men. They had no armor or air force and only a small navy. Their industrial heartland in the Ruhr had no troops and could be occupied by the French in a matter of hours. There was no reason to fear Nazi Germany. There was every reason to be firm as Germany repressed dissent, persecuted Jews, and prepared for the next war.

And yet in those years the appeasers were eager to give Hitler virtually anything he wanted and, in the case of Germany’s former African colonies, things he didn’t want. Why? Because they thought Germany had been the “victim” of the Treaty of Versailles. All the brutal political repression, the concentration camps, his harsh treatment of the Jews, and even his aggressive plans were, they thought, the result of how unfairly Britain and France had treated Germany after the war. Treat Hitler nicely, they believed, and moderation would return to Germany. Their delusions led to the bloodiest war in human history.

As you will note, the situation is remarkably similar to today. Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Al Quaeda, Islamic terrorism, and the troubles in the Middle East are all said to have “root causes” that will go away if we understand the ‘nuances’ of world politics and adopt more enlightened policies toward these tyrants and murderous ideologies. The possibility that these countries are repressive and violent because their leaders and governing ideologies are repressive and violent is beyond them. There’s even a democracy to be sacrificed to this ill-fated cause. Israel is appeasement’s new Czechoslovakia.

I’d strongly suggest, David Rothman, that you stick to writing about ebooks. You know little about politics and even less about history.