back to article Bay of Tweets: US sought to disrupt Cuba with covert social network

The US government ran a covert campaign to undermine the Cuban government via a social networking platform, according to the Associated Press. A report from the news agency detailed the launch and eventualy shutdown of ZunZuneo, a Twitter-like platform which its creators say was designed to spur free speech, and which the AP …

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    US, don't trust 'em

    For many years their behaviour towards Cuba has been deemed illegal:

    http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2013/ga11445.doc.htm

    Love you all...

    1. Eddy Ito

      Re: US, don't trust 'em

      I haven't trusted 'em since the '60s and I was born here.

      It never ceases to amaze me what politicians will do to grab a few extra votes in Florida.

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Why the hell does the US give a damn about Cuba?

    Back during the Cuban missile crisis when the Soviets wanted to use it as a staging ground for nukes, sure, that was a big problem we had to do something about.

    But these days it is just a little Caribbean island that has a form of government we don't much like, but which is about as much threat to our security as Martians are. If we don't want to lift the stupid sanctions because of the Cuban lobby in Florida, fine, but why the hell should we spend two seconds trying to undermine their government with stupid stuff like this, or the VOA radio that Reagan started. What a stupid waste of taxpayer dollars for absolutely no reason whatsoever.

    1. Ole Juul

      Re: Why the hell does the US give a damn about Cuba?

      Because then they'd have to say they're wrong to continue as they are. US politicians do not admit to being wrong. One interesting side effect of that is that they don't learn anything from experience.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Why the hell does the US give a damn about Cuba?

        The ones who started it are all dead now, so I doubt that's really a concern anymore.

      2. Zog_but_not_the_first

        Re: Why the hell does the US give a damn about Cuba?

        All that Goddam prime Caribbean real estate in the hands of Commies. It ain't natural I tell ya!

    2. phuzz Silver badge
      Mushroom

      Re: Why the hell does the US give a damn about Cuba?

      How dare they site missiles near the US mainland eh? It's not like they were provoked by the US basing Jupiter medium range missiles in Turkey or anything.

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PGM-19_Jupiter

  3. Don Jefe

    Signature Required for Delivery

    Is this real? Why, good Christ, why would someone think this was a good idea. I honestly hope this is a joke and if by commenting on the story I'm made fun of, I'm perfectly OK with that, I really want it to be a joke.

    I'm convinced that the person who thought this up is either the best Salesdroid on the planet, or he has the families of senior management at the agencies who OK'd this chained to a radiator in the basement of a taxidermy studio.

    The entire thing was dead before it even got started and it had nothing to do with State censorship or infrastructure , education or money. The entire plot was undone when they put the Internet in USAID boxes. USAID boxes are the 'Chance Cards' of the Monopoly board that is Earth.

    The only thing consistent about USAID boxes is that the definition of humanitarian is exceptionally robust as well as stretchy. Open one up and it could anything, thousands of condoms, cash, guns, explosives, booze, crucifixes, drugs, latex free menstrual cups, gold, fissile material, rainbow trout, a pope, loose diamonds or Joseph Force Crater. It's a toss up really, but everybody knows that. Everybody also knows that the huge crates with 'GOLD BULLION' stenciled on is going to be full of rice or Flintstones Chewable Vitamins. In an impressive feat of organizational efficiencies and resource maximization our government created a box all agencies can use!

    So either this is a joke, or somebody is pissed off because their USAID box was full of live honeybees and this is their subtle way of asking for another.

    1. frank ly

      Re: Signature Required for Delivery

      How do I go about getting a USAID box? I really want to try one.

      1. Graham Marsden
        Coat

        Re: Signature Required for Delivery

        "Shoot, a fella' could have a pretty good weekend in Vegas with all that stuff" - Major T. J. "King" Kong

  4. Winkypop Silver badge
    WTF?

    What are the US afraid of?

    Cuba's universal health care?

    That Cubans can keep a 1958 Dodge running all these years?

    Their lifestyle?

  5. T. F. M. Reader
    Coat

    Might it be...

    ... a really crafty plan to generate circumstances that would mandate shutting down Gitmo?

  6. Ed 13

    Grantanamo

    The site for the Naval base is rented from the Cubans, so every year the US Govt. have to write out a cheque to the Cuban Govt.

    Rumour has it that all the cheques for the last 50 odd years are in a desk drawer in F. Castro's office!

  7. 27escape
    Happy

    Its doesn't happen often

    That government sponsored software is delivered to spec, on time and under budget.

    We should be celebrating the positives of this nasty snooping system!

  8. All names Taken
    Joke

    I wonder?

    Do you think the people of Cuba might want some security from US aggression.

    Maybe Russia, or China, or ... can send a few missiles there with its own non-Cuban missile management team?

    Add a submarine, a cruiser, radar snooping ship and a relatively modern flat-top nearby with drone facilities (you know just like what US is putting around Ukraine).

    It would sort of balance things out reasonably no?

    Oh?

    It's been done before has it?

    Oh I see - quick! Edit out the above!

    ???

  9. Dr U Mour

    ...and from elsewhere...

    Is this how the Arab spring was sprouted? and the same with the Ukraine?

    Could the Snowden cache contain cases of mass manipulation rather than just silent scrutiny?

  10. NoneSuch Silver badge

    When will the US learn to stop meddling in other countries political systems? Especially when the governments they overthrow are legally elected by their countries people...

    They interfered in Iran overthrowing the King and installing the Shah. We all know how that turned out.

    Same in Iraq with Saddam.

    Africa, South America, and now Cuba?

    Sorry for using Wikipedia, but it's the only site to list most of them.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Covert_United_States_foreign_regime_change_actions

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    The USA is the enemy.

    It's an unfortunate conclusion , but a valid one. They are against most of what we stand for and what we strive for. They are the ones who snoop the whole internet. they are the ones who commandeer that backdoors be built in equipment . They send trains through Canada because what they carry is too dangerous.Try to raise revolts and unrest in other countries. The list of what they do is endless .They do not behave like " friends " they behave like enemies and i sometimes wonder how much more the world will tolerate before turning their guns against the US . Diplomacy gives nothing with them.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: The USA is the enemy.

      I forgot, they torture suspects across the globe because they happen to wear the wrong model of a watch.

  12. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    ZunZuneo?

    I sure hope Microsoft are instructing lawyers to defend the good name of their intellectual property

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