Cuba opens new online frontline in war of words - Castropedia

Cuba opens new online frontline in war of words: Castropedia
Havana's alternative to Wikipedia is intended to set the historical
record straight – and it is unlikely to go down very well in the US
The Guardian, Wednesday 15 December 2010 19.17 GMT

EcuRed seeks to give information from a 'decolonised' perspective, Cuba
says. Photograph: --/AFP/Getty Images
Cuba today unveiled its own version of Wikipedia, the online
encyclopaedia devoted to the "accumulation and development of knowledge".

However, some of EcuRed's 20,000 entries appear to bear a slightly
partisan stamp. Not only does the site refer to the US as "the empire of
our time" and "the most powerful nation of all time", it also notes that
Cuba's near-neighbour has historically taken "by force territory and
natural resources from other nations, to put at the service of its
businesses and monopolies".

Nor does the factfile end there: "[The US] consumes 25% of the energy
produced on the planet and in spite of its wealth, more than a third of
its population does not have assured medical attention," it reports.

With a poetic flourish, it also makes reference to US-Cuban relations.
From early on, it says, Washington gazed at the island "like those who
admire a beautiful fruit that will end up falling in their hands".

EcuRed, which was developed by the Youth Club of Computing and
Electronics, supposedly allows users to update entries with prior
approval from the site's administrators.

In a statement, the club described the launch as "a dream come true",
and thanked all those involved for "bringing their little grains of sand
to such a beautiful task: that of shaping and sharing knowledge".

TSeemingly experiencing teething troubles, the site proved impossible to
access today, however.

EcuRed contains an extensive biography of the former Cuban leader Fidel
Castro, including details of his role after the illness that made him
cede power to his brother, Raúl, in 2006.

"Today he writes and participates in the struggle of ideas at a global
level," it says. "For his moral authority, he influences important and
strategic decisions of the revolution."

There is also an article about Raúl, who officially replaced his brother
as president in 2008 and is described as a "revolutionary combatant,
political leader, statesman and military chief".

"He has contributed relevant support to the struggles of the Cuban
people in defence of their sovereignty and independence," the entry says.

EcuRed does not yet include mention of economic reforms introduced this
year by President Castro to update the Cuban socialist model, which are
currently the object of a national debate.

According to a government survey conducted earlier this year, about 1.6
million Cubans, out of a population of 11.2 million, have access to the
internet.

Source: "Cuba opens new online frontline in war of words: Castropedia |
World news | The Guardian" -
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/dec/15/cuba-usa