Twitter bot is tracking dictators' flights in and out of Geneva
theverge.com
theverge.com
[1]http://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2016/10/13/497706638/w...
http://www.fcpablog.com/blog/tag/kleptocracy-asset-recovery-...
Of course those same abilities enable organized crime, and the ability of dictators to destroy their own countries, then live decadent lives in a country that wasn't ruined by people like themselves.
It seems to be heavily focused on governments residing in the MENA region and Central Asia.
Notably missing is Ethiopia[2], but it seems the repo is open to pull-requests.
[1] https://github.com/lefranz/geneva-dictators/blob/master/arag...
[2] https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/oct/12/ethiop...
That's what the list is based on according to their Twitter.
This brings up an interesting question though, if it is not a dictator but rather a rank file U.N envoy why are they traveling by private jet?
Anyway I think this project is neat and worthwhile. There was someone a while back that was doing something similar, albeit without a twitter bot, that was tracking the CIA's rendition flights using similar tactics.
Oh wait, they say Russia is a dictatorship. Oh yeah, in fact in Russia you have international observers during elections, in the US not. In Russia you have 4 parties in the Duma, in the US just two. In Russia you have a pletora of parties in the elections, in the US just two.
I am seriously angry they didn't add the biggest dictatorship in the world, the American Empire!
The thing about the US is that there isn't an apparent law forbidding the forming of 3rd+ parties like there is in other countries.
It is important to look at what the phrase "1-party state" means. By its literal definition, you are right. But generally, it may not be used in a literal sense and one has to be open to it. In this case, it meant that side effects bought from a 1 party state such as issues with civil rights etc. This is the reason you have an index to measure it. It brings together different facets and creates a score.
[p.s. edit]:
Undoing Democracy:
Neoliberalism's Remaking of State and Subject
This book is a theoretical consideration of the ways that
neoliberalism, a peculiar form of reason that configures all
aspects of existence in economic terms, is quietly undoing basic
elements of democracy. These elements include vocabularies,
principles of justice, political cultures, habits of citizenship,
practices of rule, and above all, democratic imaginaries.
My argument is not merely that markets and money are corrupting
or degrading democracy, that political institutions and outcomes
are increasingly dominated by finance and corporate capital, or
that democracy is being replaced by plutocracy -- rule by and for
the rich. Rather, neoliberal reason, ubiquitous today in statecraft
and the workplace, in jurisprudence, education, culture, and a vast
range of quotidian activity, is converting the distinctly /political/
character, meaning, and operation of democracy's constituent elements
into /economic/ ones. Liberal democratic institutions, practices,
and habits may not survive this conversion. Radical democratic dreams
may not either.
Thus. this book charts both a disturbing contemporary condition and
the potential barrenness for future democratic projects contained in
this troubled present. The institutions and principles aimed at
securing democracy, the cultures required to nourish it, the energies
needed to animate it, and the citizens practicing, caring for, or
desiring it -- all these are challenged by neoliberalism's
"economization" of political life and other heretofore noneconomic
spheres and activities.
- Undoing the Demos: Neoliberalism's Stealth Revolution, Ch. 1
/emphasis/ in the original.
Nit: in the US, there are dozens of parties. Most don't get the votes to win, but they exist: Greens, Independent, Libertarian, etc. etc. Bernie Sanders was of neither party.
Russia was added recently, according to the twitter stream in question.
But going meta on pabloski's question, who decides which countries are dictatorships and which are bastions of liberty?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_brigades
or
https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%92%D0%B5%D0%B1-%D0%B1%D1%8...
(Though I do find it poetic that the Russian language page about the web brigades is proposed for deletion.)
Meanwhile the rest of the world does business as usual with what some prefer to name as "political leaders". That's why I posted the image of Zuck doing business.
Do you really think that Xi Jinping is a "dictator"?
The Economist Intelligent Unit does not randomly sit around and tag countries as authoritarian regimes not. They have a systematic method that brings about those scores. You can argue with the method but it would be wise not to dismiss the rankings because "some journos do it". That would be ad hominem fallacy.
Anyway, regarding Xi: yes, he is behaving more and more like one, actually. There's a reason why people nicknamed him "Xitler".
>"In practice, only one political party, the CPC, holds effective power at the national level. Its dominance is such that China is effectively a one-party state. Eight minor parties also participate in the political system. However, they have limited power on a national level and are almost completely subservient to the CPC"
I'm saying that "authoritarian" doesn't equal "dictatorship".
You have a point here. Note - that the index mentions China as an "Authoritarian" regime.
Maybe not Iran (Weird partial democracy with clerics ultimately in charge)
Why not expose wrong-doings of leaders whose people actually have an ability to right the wrong?
Has anything actionable being done using this ?
/s
[1]: https://nodejs.org/download/test/v7.0.0-test201610107f7d1d38...