organizing a trip to Cuba

[Chuck Guzis]

On 06/23/2015 09:32 AM, Holm Tiffe wrote:

> Jonathan, I think it is _really_ naive to think that the Soviets gained any
> big knowledge from that old Mainfraimes.
>
> The soviets build the sputnik, atomic bombs and intercontinental
> ROckets w/o to find such things on cuba at all.
> There was'nt any technological difference betwenn the US and the USSR at
> this time.

I remember that in the day, the Bulgarians (and probably other 
Warsaw-pact countries) were particularly adept at building virtual 
clones of US peripherals.  In the 70s, a couple of the CDC brass paid a 
visit and confirmed the story.

It was a trade war, in some respects--not just a "cold war".  The USSR 
didn't respect western copyrights and patents, and western countries 
reciprocated. After 1990, some amends were made (cf. "restored 
copyright" in the US).

It had its bright spots--the West got to hear music by USSR composers 
(e.g. Shostakovich, Prokofiev) played more often than they would had the 
works enjoyed IP protection.  Doubtless, Western music got a good 
hearing behind the iron curtain.

--Chuck