140 character communism

Raul Castro’s daughter, Mariela, signed up for a Twitter account yesterday and within hours of joining, Cuban activist/blogger Yoani Sanchez showed her how public forums like Twitter operate. Castro is a long-time supporter of gay rights, and Sanchez called to extend those rights to “other areas of life in Cuba.” The BBC translates some particularly stinging tweets: “How can you ask for acceptance in just one area?” and “When can we Cubans come out of the other closets?”

Castro took the bait and a Twitter flame war was on. From the BBC again: “The daughter of the Cuban leader went on to thank her friends for ‘messages of support’ and the ‘boring and mediocre’ for spreading her tweets.” Call me crazy, but I think Ms. Castro is kind of used to getting her way.

Only 3% of Cuba’s residents have access to the Internet, and when they do, they’re connecting at some of the slowest speeds in the world.