Cuba USA
Tracy Eaton has written a terrific blog post on the project that landed Alan Gross in prison. Eaton has discovered and published documents that finally answer the question "what did Alan Gross actually do?"
The documents show that Gross smuggled in three backpack-sized "Telco's in a Bag," as shown above. He was paid $258,274 for that and had requested more money to continue the project, but was apprehended on his fifth trip to Cuba, before the project could be expanded. (On first reading, I did not see the total cost of the project to the US taxpayer).
The term "Telco in a Bag" is misleading. A better description would have been "a small local area network with a slow satellite connection to the Internet in a backpack."
"Telco in a Bag" no doubt sounded good to the people funding the project, but, as I have written earlier, it grossly overstates the power of the equipment Gross brought to Cuba. Had Gross succeeded, it would not have made a huge difference and, in failing, it provided the Cuban government with a propaganda "threat" that it has blown out of proportion.
Read the post and documents over and let us know what you think.
- Summing Up Recent Events
I put this list of recent posts on Alan Gross and the future of the Internet in Cuba for my other blog. They are in chronological order, beginning with a November 11 post asking whether Gross was about to be freed: Where there is smoke, there is fire...
- Where There Is Smoke, There Is Fire -- Will Alan Gross Be Released Soon?
Senators Jeff Flake, a Republican from Arizona, and Tom Udall, a Democrat from New Mexico, said they met with Gross for about two hours during a trip that included meetings with Cuban officials and they were optimistic about the release of Alan Gross....
- The Cuban Man-in-the-street View Of Alan Gross
Iván García has written a post on Alan Gross in which he gives some insight into the man-in-the-street's view of the case. A kid who lives in a poor neighborhood near the prison hospital where Gross is being held says he has heard the name somewhere....
- Alan Gross Declares A Hunger Strike
I was saddened to read that Alan Gross will go on a hunger strike as a protest against both the governments of the U. S. and Cuba over his incarceration. I wonder if the USAID policy makers considered the effect it might have on Alan Gross if further...
- What Did Alan Gross Actually Do?
Alan Gross and his wife JudyThe trial of Alan Gross, who was arrested in December 2009, has begun in Havana. Gross is accused of working on a USAID contract to bring illegal equipment into Cuba for distribution to NGOs. I can readily believe that USAID...
Cuba USA
Details of Alan Gross's "telco in a bag"
The documents show that Gross smuggled in three backpack-sized "Telco's in a Bag," as shown above. He was paid $258,274 for that and had requested more money to continue the project, but was apprehended on his fifth trip to Cuba, before the project could be expanded. (On first reading, I did not see the total cost of the project to the US taxpayer).
The term "Telco in a Bag" is misleading. A better description would have been "a small local area network with a slow satellite connection to the Internet in a backpack."
"Telco in a Bag" no doubt sounded good to the people funding the project, but, as I have written earlier, it grossly overstates the power of the equipment Gross brought to Cuba. Had Gross succeeded, it would not have made a huge difference and, in failing, it provided the Cuban government with a propaganda "threat" that it has blown out of proportion.
Read the post and documents over and let us know what you think.
- Summing Up Recent Events
I put this list of recent posts on Alan Gross and the future of the Internet in Cuba for my other blog. They are in chronological order, beginning with a November 11 post asking whether Gross was about to be freed: Where there is smoke, there is fire...
- Where There Is Smoke, There Is Fire -- Will Alan Gross Be Released Soon?
Senators Jeff Flake, a Republican from Arizona, and Tom Udall, a Democrat from New Mexico, said they met with Gross for about two hours during a trip that included meetings with Cuban officials and they were optimistic about the release of Alan Gross....
- The Cuban Man-in-the-street View Of Alan Gross
Iván García has written a post on Alan Gross in which he gives some insight into the man-in-the-street's view of the case. A kid who lives in a poor neighborhood near the prison hospital where Gross is being held says he has heard the name somewhere....
- Alan Gross Declares A Hunger Strike
I was saddened to read that Alan Gross will go on a hunger strike as a protest against both the governments of the U. S. and Cuba over his incarceration. I wonder if the USAID policy makers considered the effect it might have on Alan Gross if further...
- What Did Alan Gross Actually Do?
Alan Gross and his wife JudyThe trial of Alan Gross, who was arrested in December 2009, has begun in Havana. Gross is accused of working on a USAID contract to bring illegal equipment into Cuba for distribution to NGOs. I can readily believe that USAID...