A blogger of enormous fortitude

On the front page (A1) of today's WSJ: an article about a very brave blogger. Specifically, a Yoani Sanchez in Havana. It makes at least this blogger very thankful to have such things as...

• freedom to blog: "To get around Cuba's restrictions on Web access, the waif-like 32-year-old posed as a tourist to slip into an Internet cafe...which normally bar Cubans."
• more unrestricted Internet time: "Once inside the cafe, she attached a flash memory drive to the hotel computer and, in quick, intense movements, uploaded her material. Time matters: The $3 she paid for a half-hour is nearly a week's wages for many Cubans."
• a safe location: "While there are plenty of bloggers who dish out harsh opinions on Mr. Castro, most do so from the cozy confines of Miami. Ms. Sanchez is one of the few who do so from Havana." In the thick of things, she is.
• freedom of speech in general: "The problem is, saying what you think in Cuba can be dangerous...Instead [of saying "Fidel Castro" in public], they silently pantomime stroking a beard when referring to their leader."
• a URL (the WSJ provides hers: Generacion Y).
• the ability to blog from home: "She uses only public Internet sites, instead of trying to set up an illegal Internet link from home, as some Cubans do."
• even more freedom of speech in various kinds of media: "She confines her writing to the Web. Critiques published on paper are considered propaganda, while the Internet is a gray area."

Very, very brave. Let us be very, very thankful for the freedoms we have here.