In your speech you said Xi forced through the amendment of China’s constitution to abolish term limits in 2018, giving him the ability to stay in power indefinitely. Why was that such a turning point?
He forced the third plenum of the national congress to swallow it like dog shit. He first completed it and then forced everyone to accept it. This is obviously going backwards politically. Even with these two major issues, no one came forward to oppose it.
When no one can oppose him, that means that his power is unchecked. Under the Chinese system, starting with Mao, no one can restrict or limit the power of the highest leader. That is why you had disasters like the Cultural Revolution.
Because of the power he holds, he can punish whoever he wants so no one dares to give him different opinions and no one dares to report the real situation to him. Since people don’t tell him the truth or hide it from him, he doesn’t necessarily know the truth. So it is inevitable that he will make wrong decisions.
It is a vicious cycle. After a wrong decision is made, the result is not good. But those below are too afraid to tell him and wrong decisions continue to be made until the situation is out of control. In this vicious cycle, there is no way to stop the country from sliding toward disaster.
Third, the disciplinary code for party members [adopted in 2016] contains a measure that says you cannot distort the policies of the party. As long as you express a different opinion, you are in violation of party discipline, and he can use that to deal with you. Before, you could still speak out and you would be subjected to enormous pressure, but they couldn’t prevent you from speaking.
China is bound to go through political transformation, toward democracy, political freedom, rule of law and constitutionalism. This is the inevitable trend of modern human political civilisation. China will enter this stage sooner or later.
Because the CCP has been in power since 1949, they have made many mistakes and even crimes. Between 1959 to 1961, nearly 40 million people starved to death. The anti-rightist movement of 1957 and the Cultural Revolution hurt almost all Chinese elites and intellectuals. Also the Tiananmen protests in 1989 when the CCP used its army to shoot the people. No matter what, this is unacceptable to Chinese people. It is the People’s Liberation Army, right? It is the people’s country
#china #ccp #politics #democracy
Despite the challenges it faces, Armenian civil society remains energetic and defiant. Armenia has its share of human rights problems, but so far has resisted making the sharp authoritarian turn seen elsewhere in Eurasia in recent years. This is due to the dynamic nature of Armenian civil society, the importance of a semi-open political system to competing oligarchic groups, and political elites’ understanding that such a turn would aggravate the West and some influential diaspora figures, which Yerevan sees as hedges against Russian geopolitical and economic domination.
http://carnegieendowment.org/2016/12/07/armenia-at-twenty-five-rough-ride-pub-66351
#armenia #democracy
#vote #chomsky #elections #democracy #politics #book
https://youtu.be/zOXPGCGxRrQ?t=11m55s
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa~ #armenia #philosophy #opposition #revolution #democracy
https://aeon.co/essays/dewey-knew-how-to-teach-democracy-and-we-must-not-forget-it
#democracy
“A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court” tells us, that the idea that the democracy and civilization can be brought from the outside, modern, civilized society, is not realistic.
#mark_twain #yankee #democracy #civilization #modernism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FN6Q--zqroM
#bitcoin #rms #democracy
In the same book store it is possible to buy toilet paper with Obama, and other things linked to USA. However you cannot buy a toilet paper with Putin on it. No, Putin is behind the glass (see my previous post).
#russia #bukvoyed #freedom #democracy #obama #usa #toilet_paper #humiliation #complacency #bookstore #book-store #book_store #america
i have an idea: almost any software will eventually become free, because otherwise there would appear an analogue of that software which is free, and the first won’t survive competition with the second.
because free has an important property/quality - it’s free. and market will choose free software, it would prefer to pay for the free alternative and/or it’s support.
btw, this is about development, about progress, thanks to entrepreneurship and fair competition.
i would also like to add - free software is a way to measure democracy: if it exists in country, if it develops, it means that laws about equal possibilities to make business indeed work. moreover, if authorities choose free software over proprietary, it means that they are less corrupted, less dependent on already existing corporations that sell proprietary software. again, this means it is more about equal opportunities and working law and court, about society where companies must compete by qualities of their production, not by using law, authorities, brute force.
of course this is not binary, but scalar. countries have some value of democracy, it’s not true or false, it’s more or less.
and once the free software idea appeared, it’ll inevitably win. #free-software #free_software #democracy #market #law #court #entrepreneurship #competition
recently I was reading Thomas More’s Utopia. Well, what did I like, that it does not serve as Utopia any more. Actually with time it became legitimate dystopia. When I read it, I feel what a terribly non free state and society it is.
Also, it made me think again about resources. In liberal, capitalistic society, people have a right for initiatives and entrepreneurship. This means, if I have a good idea, I am free to try to implement it, to bring it to life. Sometimes I need funding, sometimes I can start by doing it on my knees, in garage.
It can be something sustainable, which will survive because of profits, or I can get funding from different places - capital, patronage, foundations, some interested parties, people.
On the other hand, if I want to create something in socialistic, or communistic state, I need to get approval of the state. Because state manages all resources. And it has to decide, if my idea is worth spending money on.
Even if we assume the state is not very much corrupted, and I do not necessarily need relatives in the government, state has all the resources, and has to do such decisions. They should decide if my idea worth giving it a start or not.
First, they already have their own spendings, and may not have resources for new ideas. Thus - socialistic state is not about development.
It is about monopoly. The government has monopoly of resources, management.
On the contrary, in case of liberal, capitalistic society, there are more powers. There can be power which is interested in your idea, and it’ll support it. This power can be some community as well.
No wonder free software was born in the United States.
By the way, I also do not believe in democracy in socialistic state.
Because technically democracy can be preserved, maintained, in case we have different powers. Not in case of government monopoly.
If we have one power, it’ll take advantage very soon, fake elections, change constitution, and make conversion to an authoritarian state.
So, if you do not like monopolies, you should not like socialism/communism. (:
#socialism #communism #monopoly #monopolies #democracy #authoritarianism #dictatorship #collectivism #private_property #liberalism
I’ve read an interesting paper.
The idea that the market is about fair competition is increasingly negated by the facts of extraordinary monopoly, centralization, and internationalization on the part of corporate and financial powers. The startling increase in class and regional inequalities both within states (such as China, Russia, India, Mexico, and in Southern Africa) as well as internationally poses a serious political problem that can no longer be swept under the rug as something transitional on the way to a perfected neoliberal world. The neoliberal emphasis upon individual rights and the increasingly authoritarian use of state power to sustain the system become a flashpoint of contentiousness. The more neoliberalism is recognized as a failed if not disingenuous and utopian project masking the restoration of class power, the more it lays the basis for a resurgence of mass movements voicing egalitarian political demands, seeking economic justice, fair trade, and greater economic security and democratization.
source: Neoliberalism as creative destruction by David Harvey.
You may know him from this RSA video.
#neoliberalism #quote #david-harvey #market #competition #trade #economics #democracy
“If you cannot find, for somebody who has been in power for nine years in a post-Soviet country, anything connected with corruption or enrichment or finding like you know businesses or offshore accounts,” he said, adding, “That makes me very proud.”
#georgia #saakashvili #democracy #corruption #freedom
I think it’s not sincere for me to post here nice pics, scientific researches, and cool gifs and get attention, while in the reality I am surrounded by not very lofty events.
That’s why I am posting, and I guess I will continue to post information about local events. I think it’s my fault that I wasn’t doing it before.
#armenia #politics #freedom #democracy #artsakh #nagorno-karabakh #war #peace
Freedom House ranks Karabakh’s democratic credentials higher than those of neighbouring Azerbaijan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IN0qjCUigac
That’s a very badly made film, but it’s still more than nothing. This is very important topic for me, for us.
NK(Artsakh) people is a nation which struggles for freedom, and has not less rights for freedom than let’s say Palestine. Nevertheless most of you don’t know about it’s existence. (:
Almost 100 years after Armenian genocide in Turkey, these people decided to not be victims, but defend themselves. And they succeeded. Which is unbelievable. But they don’t have recognition, instead, often Armenian side condemned. Surely, war is not a pleasurable time. But Azerbaijan started the war by ethnic cleansing of Armenian population - no Armenians, no problem. They failed, the brute force did not allow them to get rid of Armenians. Nobody were defending them. But small weak nation was able to win in a war against a big and rich country. Now Azerbaijan has hopes to return the “land” they need (not the people) by the help of diplomacy and oil. I live, may be, in the most militarized region in the world. Russia sells weapons to Azerbaijan, making billions of dollars per year.
#artsakh #karabakh #nkr #nagorno-karabakh #armenia #movie #politics #history #war #democracy #freedom
#Armenia wants #democracy, #Russia wants #authoritarianism
http://www.katypearce.net/demand-for-democracy-in-europe-and-eurasia/
The New York City group with the highest percentage of high school graduates isn’t Chinese or Indians; it’s Ukrainians (94.4%). But rarely are we treated to encomiums about the cultural superiority of the Borscht Mom.
…
And culture is rarely either an unambiguously good force or an unambiguously bad one. Thus, Confucian values of education and family fealty certainly are one factor in explaining why Chinese students from low-income backgrounds do better than their peers. But as we’ve seen, that’s not the whole story. Meanwhile, many in China would like to see less conformity in their culture, believing that it inhibits much of the freethinking that powers creativity and innovation in America and that it results in a citizenry that passively tolerates suppression of dissent and censorship of the Internet.
…
It’s not conformity that makes this country great; it’s an individual striking out against the expectations of his culture, Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg dropping out of Harvard, Miles Davis coming out of heroin addiction to produce ‘Round About Midnight, the 14-year-old Billie Holiday turning the pain of her childhood into the bluest beauty, Sylvia Plath taking on death with pills and poetry, William S. Burroughs writing from the bowels of his addiction in Naked Lunch; it’s Hemingway and Fitzgerald and Cheever and Carver drinking and writing, writing and drinking through their demons. Imagine what American culture would be if American artists had kept a tight check on their impulses.
http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2163555,00.html
#conformity #freedom #democracy #culture #usa #india #ukraine #hemingway #fitzerald #cheever #carver #writing #education #suppression #censorship #china #freethinking
Լարի Լեսիգն ասում է, որ օրենքը սահմանափակում է ստեղծարարությունը
Ինտերնետի ամենահայտնի իրավաբան Լարի Լեսիգը մեջբերում է Ջոն Ֆիլիպ Սուսային, երկնային հեղինակային իրավունքները և ASCAP (երգահանների, հեղինակների և հրատարակիչների ամերիկյան ասոցիացիայի) կարտելը որպես փաստարկ մեր ստեղծարար մշակույթը վերածնելու համար։ http://www.ted.com/talks/larry_lessig_says_the_law_is_strangling_creativity.htmlv via @{Արգելիոն Argelion ; aragev@spyurk.am}
also on youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Q25-S7jzgs
#lessig #creativity #rw #ro #read-write #read-only #copyright #law #cc #creative-commons #broadcasters #bmi #right #democracy #future #technology #common-sense #court #liberty #freedom
#լեսիգ #ստեղծարարություն #պատճենաշնորհ #տեխնոլոգիա #օրենք #եթեր #իրավունք #ժողովրդավարություն #ապագա #դատարան #ազատություն #երգեր #ձայնագրություններ
picture source
Happy Independence day, #Armenia. 22 years ago 99% of Armenia population voted for free, independent, democratic Republic of Armenia.
It is dangerous time for our freedom now. Putin is forcing us to join his new #Russian-Empire, which is called #Eurasian-Union - one whole country with one army, ruled from #Moscow. But let’s remember, that history does not end here. Empires are going to collapse, sooner or later. We survived so many empires throughout our history, let’s fight this empire too, we are not going to surrender..
Fuck Imperialism. Fuck Putin. Fuck capitalism.
Happy independence day, Armenia!
#freedom #democracy #independence #21september #1991 #armenia #cccp #ссср #capitalism #communism #putin #imperialism #artsakh #people #referendum #republic-of-armenia #Հայաստան #խսհմ #սովետ #ռուսաստան #մաքսային֊միություն #արցախ #իմպերիալիզմ #մարդիկ #ժողովրդավարություն #անկախություն #հանրաքվե #պուտին #եւրասիական֊միություն #կոմունիզմ #կապիտալիզմ #հայաստանի֊հանրապետություն #հայք
To all folks out there in Diaspora who are interested in what the hell is going on in #Armenia. It may help to imagine situation to some extent. This #movie have been made by #documentary director #Ara-Shirinian. It’s long, there are 6 parts in it, not a high quality footage, but it has English #subtitles, that’s why I share it. It tells a #story about #epic #fail to #change the #system by #peaceful #revolution, without #force. Authorities used #army against #demonstrants which is against #constitution. It happened back in #2008, but I believe nothing really changed since then. #Authorities even gained more strength these days and are able to show that we have more #free-speech and everything is okay. So this movie is called #Change. As we got to know later from #wikileaks West did not support the change here. It was ok to trade #democracy for the authorities they can better manipulate. Nobody needs really independent authorities here.
part 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CPy311xwSg
part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKJlwmw3lYY
part 3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xf9W8FhqMOk
part 4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOm_3uOnmPM
part 5 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTAN_ZVZP9k
part 6 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkpuubUbx3M
I know another very interesting movie, but I cannot find a version with subtitles. #politics #Armenia #political-prisoners #prisoners #freedom #democracy #elections #history #army #protest #Yerevan #fraud #falsifications #force
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iOInWTzI7w
#armvote13
English from here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iOInWTzI7w#t=5m30s
#armenia #karabagh #elections #fraud #democracy #armenian-genocide #freedom #law #constitution #armenian #raffi-hovhannisian
Հեղինակների համոզմամբ, բարգավաճ և աղքատ երկրների տարբերությունը բացատրվում է ոչ թե նրանց աշխարհագրական դիրքով, բնական հարստություններով, լավ կամ վատ կառավարմամբ, ազգային մտածելակերպով կամ մշակույթով, այլ բացառապես պետական հաստատությունների՝ ինստիտուտների որակով։ Բարգավաճ երկրներում, որոնց իշխանությունները շահագրգռված են տնտեսության զարգացմամբ ու ժողովրդի բարօրությամբ, պետական հաստատությունները, որոնք բնութագրվում են որպես «ներգրավող ինստիտուտներ» (inclusive institutions), նպաստում են ազգի բոլոր ստեղծագործ ուժերի ներգրավմանը, ինչն անհնար է առանց ժողովրդավարության, իրավունքի գերակայության, ազատ մրցակցության և սեփականության անձեռնմխելիության ապահովման։ Իսկ աղքատ երկրներում, որոնց իշխանություններն առաջնորդվում են միայն սեփական հարստացման ու իրենց իշխանության հավերժացման շահագրգռությամբ, գործում են, այսպես կոչված, «կորզիչ ինստիտուտներ» (extractive institutions), որոնց խնդիրն է վանել ազգի բոլոր ստեղծագործ ուժերը և ամեն ինչ կենտրոնացնել իշխանությանն ապօրինաբար տիրած ավազակախմբի ձեռքում։ Ցավով պետք է ավելացնեմ, որ գրքում Հայաստանը, որպես օրինակ, հիշատակված է աշխարհի մի քանի «ձախողված պետությունների» շարքում։ գրքի հղումը #Լեւոն #Տեր-Պետրոսյան #հարցազրույց #ընտրություններ #Ter-Petrossian #interview #elections #Armenia #Հայաստան #fail #nation #ազգ #democracy #ժողովրդավարություն #freedom #ազատություն #books #book #գիրք #գրքեր
#rms #freedom #democracy #privacy #interview #drm #obedience #free-software #surveillance http://www.newint.org/features/web-exclusive/2012/12/05/richard-stallman-interview/
Q Tell me about these malicious features.
There are three kinds: those that spy on the user, those that restrict the user, and back doors. Windows has all three. Microsoft can install software changes without asking permission. Flash Player has malicious features, as do most mobile phones.
‘Any change in the way protest is done is an opportunity for governments to criminalize it.’
Digital handcuffs are the most common malicious features. They restrict what you can do with the data in your own computer. Apple certainly has the digital handcuffs that are the tightest in history. The i-things, well, people found two spy features and Apple says it removed them and there might be more
When people don’t know about this issue they choose based on immediate convenience and nothing else. And therefore they can be herded into giving up their freedom by a combination of convenient features, pressure from institutions and the network effect. That’s why I focus now on spreading the awareness of the philosophy of free software and the issue of freedom that we’re fighting for. Because if you have some courage and you recognize the harm that they are doing, you can resist.
Q What do you think about the actions by hactivists Anonymous in defence of internet freedoms?
Well, their primary activity consists of a network protest where people send lots of request to a website. It’s the virtual equivalent to having a protest on the street in front of their office.
This is simply democracy. But we live in an age where governments that actually work for the banksters and other major businesses are trying to criminalize all forms of popular political activity. They look for clever ways to punish protests such as besieging protesters for hours. So any change in the way protest is done is an opportunity for them to criminalize it. If people used to protest in the street and now it’s in the network, well they can prohibit protesting in the network and call it an attack.
When I read these news about #drones, #Watchbird by Robert #Sheckley flashes in my head.
Over the town, the watchbird soared in a long, lazy curve. Its aluminum hide glistened in the morning sun, and dots of light danced on its stiff wings. Silently it flew. Silently, but with all senses functioning. Built-in kinesthetics told the watchbird where it was, and held it in a long search curve. Its eyes and ears operated as one unit, searching, seeking.
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/29579 http://www.sffaudio.com/?p=24912 #sci-fi #freedom #drone #human-rights #democracy #literature