Blame Manuals/Tcpi-ug/Preface/overview.docbook

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<section id="preface-overview">
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    <title>Overview</title>
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    <para>
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        Since 1999, I've been working for cuban State as Webmaster and
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        lately as system administrator. On April 2009, I decided to
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        stop working for cuban State due the increasing feeling of
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        repression I experimented with the restrictions impossed by
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        cuban State in the information area when I tried to find an
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        alternative way to express myself different from what such
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        restrictions impossed. This environment made me find that the
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        cuban political system lacks of such independent alternatives
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        for cubans to use.  I don't pretend to use this book to detail
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        the political system I live on, but I do want to say that the
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        more I got involved with the cuban political system the more
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        distance I felt between the most pure of myself and the
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        actions the system expected from me to do as system
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        administrator, and what could be an alternative way for cubans
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        inside the island that, like me, feel the same need of
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        independent expression.
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    </para>
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    <para>
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        Everything in the human life is directly related to
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        information. Our actions are based on the information we have.
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        The information is the base of education and evolution. It is
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        the only way we can know how to do the right thing for us and
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        others.  I beleive that, in order to provide a good education,
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        the universal information must be accessable to everyone in a
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        transparent way, based on facts and without any manipulation
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        (i.e., in way others can reproduce or verify what the
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        information refers to).  That kind of information is good
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        information to based our lives on. However, there are also bad
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        information that we need to differentiate from good
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        information using our own conscience, not that one from
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        others. I like the idea of structuring my life over pragmatic
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        fatcs that I can verify together with a deep faith on what I
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        am that help me to persist along the duty. The pragmatic fatcs
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        provides the steps of the stair of my life and the faith, the
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        force my body needs to climb up the stair.
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    </para>
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    <para>
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        The years I worked for cuban State coincided with those years
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        I began to realized myself about the steps of my stair and the
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        faith on my movements. Lot of contradictions have been
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        appearing in front of me since then, but a magical thing
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        inside me (conscience) always tell me not to abandon the must
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        pure of my self and keep going with this travel I'm still
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        walking on; even when moving up one step in the stair feels
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        like rasping the skin of my body against a rough wall. I know
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        it will heal, but it hurts when happens. The only way to
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        support the pain is to have faith on the rightness of your
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        actions. That's the price of don't loosing oneself when
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        walking over pragmatic facts in a confussed and unarmed
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        society. That's the price of showing out that truth is inside
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        us, not outside us. It is the way of showing the truth is in
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        the one's faith, no matter what it be, but in feeling it
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        somehow, specially when it comes from understanding what we
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        are and the immense gift it is to have conscience of our
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        univeral existence as part of that unknown nature we, as
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        living humans, cannot ever have conscience of.
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    </para>
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    <para>
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        I've experimented faith in free software and the philosophy
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        behind it by mean of &TC;;, but no possible way to manifest it
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        independently from cuban State.  The cuban State controls all
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        the communication media and very few possibilities are
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        available for cubans to build up independent collaborative
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        networks using computers inside the island for sharing
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        information apart from cuban State restrictions and
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        conditions. One of these possibilities is the telepohne
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        network the cuban State provides, which has national scope.
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        Generally, cubans use the telephone network to talk among
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        themselves, but it is also possible to use this network to
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        transmit information that cannot be communicated using the
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        regular method of human talking. It is possible to attach
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        computers to the telephone network the cuban State provides to
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        transmit whatever information a computer can produce (e.g.,
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        images, documents, programs, etc.) from one location in the
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        island to another and encrypting the information traveling
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        along the wire to garantee its privacy (e.g., the source
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        computer protects the information in a way that only the
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        target computer is able to unprotect. If the information is
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        intercepted by a computer located in the transmission middle,
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        it would be useless for that computer since only the target
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        can use it once it has been unprotected). We'll see more about
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        this later.
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    </para>
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    <para>
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        In these last years (2009-2011), the cuban State has shown
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        signs to start using free software with the idea of
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        <quote>reaching a technological independency</quote> which is
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        quiet contradictory to me. What independency we are talking
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        about here?  Independency for whom, and from whom? Based on
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        the meaning of the word, independency is the lack of any
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        dependency, so the only way I see the cuban State will be able
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        to reach such technological independency would be creating and
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        maintaining an entire technological infrastructure (e.g.,
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        computers, communication devices, operating systems written
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        from scratch, etc.) inside its political boundaries without
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        any intervention from the outside world.  Otherwise, the cuban
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        State would be inevitably dependent from someone else that can
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        differ at some point of the production string and that would
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        be something unacceptable, because it would compromise the
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        idea the cuban State had about independency in first place
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        (i.e., no dependency).
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    </para>
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    <para>
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        If the vision described above about what the cuban State tries
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        to mean by <quote>reaching a technological
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        independency</quote> sounds appropriate to you, the cuban
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        State is misunderstanding or trying to distort the real
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        meaning of free software and the philosophy behind it.  The
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        free software is built from people and dedicated to people who
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        might be in need of it, with the hope of being useful and
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        garantee the freedom of computer users paying or not a
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        monetary price for it.  The cuban State, on the other hand,
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        introduces free software at convenience because there are
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        entire operating systems free of charge which the cuban State
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        can study and change as needed, not in the sense of
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        guaranteeing the freedom it provides to people, but as a way
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        to control what software does cubans use and the way they do
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        that.  It is another impositions cubans should comply with, no
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        matter what they think about it.<footnote>
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        <para>
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            When I was working in the health sector of cuban State
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            (2003-2007), my superior told me once that I couldn't keep
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            using &TC;; on servers any longer, because system
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            administrators at central level stopped using Red Hat
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            related distribution and started to use Debian. I don't
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            want to enter in a debate why one or another distribution,
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            that's not the point. But I do want to mention that this
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            decision shouldn't be taken from one day to another
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            without any consideration about all the time people spent
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            studying (and working for) one specific GNU/Linux
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            distribution. My opinion was rejected and they kept
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            themselves showing me that it was a matter of politics one
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            should follow, no matter what one thought about it. I
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            couldn't accept that and fired up myself from that
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            institution. I cannot change from one operating system to
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            another just because someone else wants to.
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        </para>
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        </footnote> Some people might think that there is no problem
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        in that because it is free software anyway. Yes, that's true,
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        but think that again: Shouldn't you have the freedom to decide
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        what free software to use, and also what community you join
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        to? No one must impose you anything about which social
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        community you participate in, that is a decision you need to
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        take by yourself, not from someone else.
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    </para>
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    <para>
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        The free software isn't free because of its name, but the
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        legal, social, economical and political environment it is used
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        in. If licenses used by software producers to release their
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        works (either freely or privatively) aren't protected somehow
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        in that environment, software producers wont be motivated to
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        create any software at all (either free or privative).
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        Consider what is happening in Cuba with Windows, the operating
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        system produced by Microsoft corporation: when someone install
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        the Windows operating system, one of the first screens in the
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        installation process is the License Agreement under which
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        Microsoft corporation releases its product. This agreement
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        relys on the copyright concept, a legal instrument that was
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        initially created to motivate authors to create more.
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        Likewise, the Free Software Foundation relys on the copyright
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        concept to distribute free software. The fact the License
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        Agreement of Windows operating system isn't complied in Cuba
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        (e.g., no cuban pays Microsoft corporation for using its
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        operating system) as Microsoft imposses in its License
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        Agreement, is a clear sign of international copyright
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        violation, no matter if Cuba can or cannot establish
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        commercial treatments with Microsoft corporation because of
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        the Embargo impossed by United States of America against Cuba.
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        It is an ethical matter cubans need to comply with in order to
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        help reducing the tension against both nations by showing
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        respect for their creators and the way they expect their
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        products to be distributed world-wide.  Personally, I don't
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        use Windows operating system since 2003 when I discovered the
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        free software philosophy,<footnote>
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        <para>
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            I want to thank my teacher Jesús Aneiros Sosa for
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            intructing me in the free software philosophy and for
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            leading the Linux User Group (LUG) of Cienfuegos during so
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            many years and transmiting the feeling of freedom.
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        </para>
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        </footnote> but I am worried about the legal issues cubans
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        might face when developing free software. For example, will
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        the cuban State treat the free software license in the same
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        way it treats privative software licenses? If the cuban State
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        has no legal regulation to protect the international copyright
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        concept (i.e., letting authors to publish their works the way
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        they want to and provide the legal protections needed to
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        deprive people from using those creations in a way different
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        from that one conceived by their authors), it would be very
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        difficult to truly motivate people to create free software (or
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        anything else) in Cuba.  The main problem here is that you can
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        write free software, but what instrument you have to protect
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        it from others to make your code privative and forbbid you,
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        this way, from using further improvements over the code you
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        wrote yourself.
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    </para>
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    <para>
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        It is important to remember that the free software movement
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        was initiated by Richard Stallman in the United States of
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        America, based on the legal system of that country,
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        specifically in the copyright concept being in force. In order
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        to use free software, in the sense of freedom thought by
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        Richard Stallman, it is required that a similar underlaying
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        legal system in matters of copyright concepts be present in
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        Cuba, or an agreement be complied among all countries (e.g.,
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        The Berna Treatment) for this matters.  I've heard that Cuba
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        signed The Berna Treatment, however what is happening with
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        Windows operating system gives the impression that cuban State
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        is not complying with the agreement it signed on there. For
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        cuban society to understand what free software and the
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        philosophy behind it really are, it is required to force a
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        strong concept of copyright in the cuban legislation, even
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        when some authors might want to deny the cuban State from
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        using the work they produce or use it under conditions the
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        cuban State doesn't agree with. It is required to give that
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        legal power to cuban authors, the people who create. I wonder
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        if the cuban State is ready for that; and if not, why? I
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        really would like to know in order to find a solution.
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    </para>
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    <para>
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        Free software communities are the place where free software is
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        produced. There are international, national and local
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        communities grouped under the free software philosophy. In
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        Cuba, because all the communication media are controlled by
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        the cuban State and conceived to its own benefit, it is
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        difficult for anyone differing from cuban State to have access
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        to communication media where the free software communities
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        live in.  I strongly beleive that for the free software
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        philosophy to touch the heart of cubans, all free software
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        communities must be accessable to cubans.  However, while the
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        cuban State keeps itself being inbetween, controlling how the
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        cubans can or cannot integrate any specific way of living,
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        there will not be free software in Cuba, nor any freedom for
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        cubans to make use of.
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    </para>
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    <para>
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        Another frequent topic mentioned by the cuban State
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        information media is the migration from privative software to
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        free software.  The migration from privative software to free
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        software must be initiated from people's deepest comprehension
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        of what they are doing, not from impositions of another
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        inquestionable order everybody needs to comply with.  So,
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        cubans need to feel what freedom is and express it in order to
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        perceive a deep impact of free software in cuban society.  We
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        cannot pretend that cubans will use free software based on a
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        lie or a distorted idea about the freedom it provides, an idea
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        like that wont last much before it falls itself into pieces.
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        People need a way of identifying themselves apart from any
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        social or political system in order for them to be able of
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        decide whether or not to be part of one.
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    </para>
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    <para>
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        It is impossible to truly defend freedom if one doesn't have
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        felt what it is. The cuban State never talks (at least
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        officially) about introducing free software for freeing the
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        cuban society from privative software. In fact, if you compare
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        the privative software and the way cuban State restricts the
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        information management,<footnote>
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        <para>
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            See resolution 129 emitted by cuban Ministerium of
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            Informatics and Telecommunications (MIT).
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        </para>
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        </footnote> you may find them very similar.  The resolutions
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        emitted by cuban State are specific to statal instituions that
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        use computers to share information.  I don't know of any legal
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        estipulation about using information and communication
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        technologies by nautural people outside the statal sector and,
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        spite of it, I've heard of cubans that has been called by the
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        cuban State security departament to explain why they built a
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        computer network in the neighbourhood to share information
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        (isn't that obvious) and finally they were intimidated to stop
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        doing so.  There isn't a legal instrument in either direction
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        that one can use as pattern to act legally. The cuban State
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        has all the legal power to condemn you as cuban, but you are
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        completly unarmed against it. If the cuban State really wants
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        to be democratic, it needs to give to cubans the arms they
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        need to fight against it without fear of being defeated.
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        Indeed, there would be no defeating at all, but evolution into
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        new political states based on cubans needs. It is the majority
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        of cubans who should define how The Cuban Tree evolves, not a
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        few minority that opresses the unarmed masses.
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    </para>
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    <para>
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        Internet access is another obscured issue inside Cuba.  Around
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        2008, Cuba and Venezuela signed up an agreement to connect
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        both nation with a trasatlantic fiber optic cable for high
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        speed Internet access. In 2011 the cuban State announced the
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        arrival of such cable to cuban national territory, but nothing
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        more has been mentioned since then.  There is a terrible
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        silence about it that make people woundering what happend with
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        that millionary invertion. Some people ask themselves why to
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        spend so much money on that if cubans cannot make use of it
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        and others prefer to think that the entire project failed. It
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        is difficult to know what happend exactly because, again,
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        there isn't any alternative way of communication but those
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        provided and controlled by the cuban State.  The fact is that,
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        at present time (2011), there isn't a legal way for cubans to
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        contract an Internet service at home, nor even a viable way to
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        acquire a fixed telephone line at home either.<footnote>
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        <para>
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            I know of people that have requested a fixed telephone
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            line for their home and more than three years have passed
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            and they haven't the line yet. It is also known by
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            everyone that others don't even have to make any request
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            to have a fixed telephone line at home.
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        </para></footnote> However, the same isn't true for extrangers
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        coming from other countries who are visiting Cuba or staying
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        inhere as residents. The cuban State permits these persons to
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        access Internet paying a service in offices called Telepuntos
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        or from home using different fees.  Some cubans cannot
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        understand this, nor the logic behind it either. Have cubans
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        to change their nationality in order to have Internt access
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        from their homes in Cuba?
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    </para>
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    <para>
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        In Cuba there is only one telecommunication corporation named
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        ETECSA. This organization gives the impresion of being very
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        tied to cuban State and controlling everything related to
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        telephone networks and dedicated links for data transmistion
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        in the island.<footnote>
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        <para>
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            I heard of a case where someone tried to establish an
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            independent connection from Cuba to another country using
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            the air as phisical medium for data trasmission and that
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            person is pressently suffering years in a cuban prison
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            because the cuban State considered such action as illegal
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            actions.  At this moment I haven't more information about
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            this case.  It is very difficult to be accurate about such
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            things without an alternative information medium, apart
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            from those under cuban State control.
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        </para>
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        </footnote> Based on the fact that cuban telephone network is
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        the only communication medium most cubans have direct access
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        to, my attention is centered on it as phisical medium for
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        exchanging information using computers.  It is important to
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        remark that, when using the telephone network as medium for
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        data transmission, there are limitations in the number of
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        simultaneous connections it is possible to phisically
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        establish between computers, it could be difficult to obtain
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        the Modem devices inside the island, and it could be too much
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        expencive to make international calls in order to exchange
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        information with public services available on different
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        networks outside Cuba's political boundaries.  Besides all
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        these restrictions, the cuban telephone network has a national
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        scope that can be efficiently used by cubans inside the island
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        to share information using computers at a monetary cost of
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        national telephone calls and the electrical power consumed by
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        computers and communication devices (e.g., modems and
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        switches).
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    </para>
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    <para>
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        I beleive that most of problems the cubans presently have are
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        caused by a lack of information we need to face in order to
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        understand what we are and where we are going to, in the sense
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        of an interdependent human being's society.  To face the
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        information problem, it is needed to make available
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        independent ways for cubans to express themselves in freedom
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        and provide, this way, the base arguments needed to edificate
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        the solutions of those problems we face today. That's my goal
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        with this work: educating myself in the compromise of
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        providing an independent space for cubans to discuss and
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        coordinate how to create collaborative networks using the
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        cuban telephone network<footnote>
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        <para>
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            Considering that I and most cubans haven't access to
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            dedicated links or real IP addresses for data transmission
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            at present time.
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        </para>
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        </footnote> as phisical medium to transmit information using
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        computers in freedom.
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    </para>
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    <para>
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        The motivation for this work was taken from the free software
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        philosophy exposed by Richard Stallman in his book
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        <citetitle>Free Sofware Free Society</citetitle> and my
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        personal experience from 2003 to 2009 as active member inside
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        &TC;; international community.
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    </para>
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</section>