Cell phones in Cuba...? Eavesdropping on conversations...? NO-O-O-O-O-OOO...! Say it isn't so...!

this might seem a bit trivial in the high-impact news department and maybe it is... however, i think it's right up at the top of the list in the ironic propaganda spin department... read it and see if you agree...

First microwaves, now cell phones. Is this the new Cuba? Raul Castro is revolutionizing his brother's island in small but significant ways — the latest in a decree Friday allowing ordinary Cubans to have cell phone service, a luxury previously reserved for the select few. The new president could be betting greater access to such modern gadgets will quell demand for deeper change.

Many Cubans hope cell phones and new appliances are only the beginning for a post-Fidel Castro government that will improve their lives. Communist bureaucracy currently limits everything from Internet access to home ownership.

Could cellular phones in dissidents' hands give state security forces an edge in monitoring their conversations or tracking their movements by satellite? Perhaps, but government opponents — including the few who have cell phones — already assume someone's always listening.

Until now, the only people legally allowed to have a cell plan were foreigners, Cubans working for foreign companies and top government officials. Thousands more illegally use phones registered to foreign friends or relatives.

"Finally. We have waited too long for this," said Elizabeth, a middle-aged housewife waiting in line to pay her home telephone bill. She wouldn't give her last name because she already has a cell phone through a foreign co-worker of her husband.

so, accusing raúl of tossing bread and circus to the masses, eh...? accusing raúl of monitoring phone conversations, eh...? accusing raúl of tracking citizens' whereabouts, eh...? tell me... does this ring any bells at all...?

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Presidential press conference [UPDATE] [UPDATE II] [UPDATE III] [UPDATE IV] [UPDATE V]

honest to god, this will be the first one i've watched... not sure i'm going to be able to take it...

[UPDATE]

"abusive lawsuits"

gag me with a spoon...

[UPDATE II]

fear, fear, terror, terror, iraq, "the surge is working," "democrats just want to retreat," "the same old call for withdrawal"...

[UPDATE III]

"you can't expect telephone companies to participate if they think they're going to be sued..."

they're not going to be sued if they're operating within the law...

btw, i'm not doing very well watching this bastard... i may not last very much longer...

"my judgment happens to be the will of the people..."

oferchrissakes...

[UPDATE IV]

i've got the "And, yes, I DO take it personally" radio show coming up in 15 mins on blog talk radio with co-blogger brother tim... thank god... i'll have to shut george down...

[UPDATE V]

you miserable, rotten, son-of-a-bitch... you refuse to talk with "tyrants" like raúl castro but you feel perfectly comfortable talking about religious freedom with the chinese premier, arguably a tyrant on a much greater scale than the castro brothers...

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Raúl

raúl, pronounced rah-OOL...

The Cuban National Assembly voted Raúl Castro as its new president on Sunday, the first time the country has had a new leader since his brother Fidel seized power in 1959.

Mr. Castro, the 76-year-old armed forces minister, had been widely expected to be named president by the 614 members of the assembly. Mr. Castro, dressed in a gray suit and steel-colored tie, cast the first vote for president of the assembly with a smile and wave at about 11:15 a.m. Fidel Castro was said to be too ill to attend the meeting, and he voted through a proxy.

hey... no problem... now nobody has to stop referring to cuba's president as castro...

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