Reading “The Successor”, a chronicle of Russia’s emergence from Soviet communism and its subsequent collapse into dictatorship, you cannot escape an unsettling question https://t.co/A2J0MGdVxm ...

This is a good post on the impact of surveillance in Iran:https://t.co/1kT3SrsCyOIt's worth reading.IMO one mistake that freedom advocates often make is that we talk about privacy violation and surveillance as "dystopian", using the word as a semantic stop sign: we know it means "bad", we nod along, and don't really go further to clarify why it's bad. I worry that this approach is long-run unhealthy: when we criticize various companies and countries for being "dystopian" and stop there, then to someone who' ...

In Venezuela, a right-wing American government didn't topple a left-wing Latin American dictatorship so much as co-opt it, says @carlosbrevoreg (via @opinion) https://t.co/1WKX2blOah ...

DOZENS OF DETAINED IMMIGRANT FAMILIES RAISED THEIR VOIC IN PROTESTS YESTERDAY behind the walls of a detention facility in Texas. It's the same facility where five-year-old Liam Ramos and his father were sent after they were taken from Minnesota last week. One protester told the Associated Press in a phone interview, quote, the message we want to send is for them to treat us with dignity and according to the law, we're immigrants with children, not criminals.Immigration attorney Eric Lee was at this detentio ...

Geopolitical Analysis - Venezuelans are losing hope as their dictator consolidates power against the United States [1]

Political Implications - The statement suggests a potential alignment of José Antonio Kast's political ideology with the policies of Augusto Pinochet's regime [1] - This alignment raises concerns about the future direction of Chile under Kast's leadership [1] Potential Risks - The association with Pinochet could alienate voters who oppose authoritarian rule [1] - It may also trigger social unrest and political instability [1]

Political Situation in Venezuela - The Venezuelan regime is described as a criminal dictatorship that has sequestered the country, with an urgency for them to leave power [10] - There are 887 political prisoners in Venezuela, including a 16-year-old girl and elderly people, who are being tortured and separated from their families [10] - A former mayor was murdered by the regime inside a Venezuelan prison [11] - The regime uses sophisticated propaganda and repressive apparatus to crush the morale of the Venezuelan people [12][14] - The Nobel Peace Prize and the attention it brings are seen as a blow to the regime, proving they are weak and fragmented [13] Maria Korina's Role and Stance - Maria Korina's mission is described as being for the future of Venezuela and the region, standing for freedom, dignity, and democracy [5] - She is committed to returning to Venezuela and has never broken a promise to the Venezuelan people [4][7] - Her constant throughout the last 20 years has been honesty and transparency, speaking the truth to the Venezuelan people [8] - She will continue to garner more support from around the world and insist on increased pressure from democratic governments [12] International Relations and Support - Democratic governments around the world need to stand united against dictatorships like those in Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua, which support each other [17][18] - The Venezuelan people have voted out the criminal regime and need the support of democratic governments [10][18] - The world is finally paying attention to the human rights abuses in Venezuela [11] - The struggle in Venezuela is not just a fight between the right and the left, but about human rights and respecting the will of the people [9]

Political Landscape - Syria's interim president has ended decades of diplomatic isolation [1] - The interim president dismantled much of the apparatus of a blood-soaked dictatorship [1] - The interim president may fail to unite the country [1]

Surveillance Technology & Social Control - The report highlights the implementation of an AI-powered surveillance system, referred to as the "Urban Brain," in Shanghai, China [1] - The system enables real-time monitoring of residents, tracking building occupancy, elderly residents living alone, movements, and behaviors [1] - The system uses cameras to detect violations such as incorrect trash sorting and illegal parking, automatically assigning punishments and dispatching enforcement teams [1] - Residents are encouraged to report on each other, feeding information into the central AI system [1] - Chinese state media claims the system can identify any person on the street within one second [1] Global Implications & Concerns - The report suggests that this "China model" is being studied by global elites, including the EU, WEF, and UN [1] - Western governments are allegedly implementing similar digital architectures under the guise of "smart cities" [1] - The report warns that this system represents an "automated dictatorship" and could be implemented in Western cities like London, Ottawa, Berlin, and Auckland [1]

Political Commentary - The White House was described as resembling "Dictator Style" [1] - A proposal to demolish the East Wing for a ballroom intensified the situation [1]