Niklas Zennstrom and Pinochet
Pinochet finally died. In this video Niklas talks about transparency on the internet and that internet is making it harder to be a dictator. Now this is my free association. I grew up suffering the dictatorship of Videla in Argentina in the 70s a contemporary of Pinochet. I think that new style dictators, like Hugo Chavez ,have a much harder time than Videla or Pinochet, who finally died at the age of 91 (how can dictators live so long??).
Videla/Pinochet could control newspapers, radios and TV and rule unchallenged. Nowaday dictators have the internet to deal with. They need the support of a majority of the population who watches TV to oppress a more educated minority, who uses the internet. The internet is always a problem for them and in many cases dictators selectively block it.
Nowadays, most people who oppress minority rights –like Ahmadinejad or Chavez– need to make the majority of people vote for them. That does not mean they are not dictators, but they are a new breed of more moderate dictators who have to learn how to use the new media tools available to them and only occasionally…murder. Hitler was elected. Being a dictator does not mean not to be popular, it simply means to have an unreasonable amount of power and use it to control the opposition and minority groups in order to remain in power for an unreasonable amount of time. Anyway, Niklas did not say any of these things. I just freely associated.
Posted on General | 7:44 am
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Posted by Patrick - December 12, 2006 9:46 am - #
Hi, You need a proper zoom lens here.
Posted by Luca - December 12, 2006 11:38 am - #
Pinochet (USA servant), Chavez, Videla… uhmm Bush too?!?!
Posted by Business - December 12, 2006 2:59 pm - #
Yes you need zoom lens!!!
Posted by Martin Varsavsky - December 12, 2006 5:38 pm - #
Luca,
This is a post about freedom. It matters little to me if a dictator is with the USA or agains the USA. I just hate dictators, Videla killed my cousin David Varsavsky and almost killed me. But Castro kills countless others.
Posted by Henrik Ahlen - December 12, 2006 9:06 pm - #
Internet is indeed an important tool for enabling people to stop dictators and censorship etc.
The Iron curtain and the East Europe fell apart because the communists could no longer stop people from listening to interantional media and eralizing that they were screwed. With Internet this process is so much more powerful and faster.
How much longer will it take before also the hardcore regimes of North Korea and Burma etc will fall? International netoworking via Internet will help!
Posted by Bokaroseani - December 12, 2006 11:07 pm - #
And how about China? Authoritarian states can still maintain their control by controlling new and old media.
Posted by tiberiofonero - December 13, 2006 12:55 am - #
Henrik Ahlen:
When the Iron curtain fell apart there was no internet connection…
There is no coherence between internet connection and breaking regimes in any country.
And what about in these days in some countries, yes they can read and watch the international media and? they can not do anything. The regime is regime.
Posted by Steve g - December 14, 2006 7:44 am - #
> Videla killed my cousin David Varsavsky
Your blog post describes your cousin’s “interrogation”.
http://english.martinvarsavsky.net/other-projects/the-idea-for-the-summit.html
> and almost killed me.
Have you written about that?
Posted by Martin Varsavsky - December 14, 2006 3:48 pm - #
Steve,
My cousing David Horacio Varsavsky was kidnapped and killed by the Videla Government
Posted by Sultan de pocahu - February 24, 2008 3:15 pm - #
Para mi es dificil ver como los tiranos existen. Y sobreviven, yo se que es un post viejo perdido en la inmensidad, pero si estas leyendo esto, no es tan dificil que los tiranos sobrevivan, en especial si establecen una partidocracia, sin poner ejemplos, pero citando referencias China tuvo una dictadura, y el gobierno actual mantiene una partidocracia, en la vida no hay ni buenos ni malos. Pero la realidad es que chavez tiene mas en comun con cualquier tirano militar, eligan el que mas les guste, es mas no eligan de hecho no pueden. Y la realidad es que el internet no es gratis, les dejo un articulo de lo que paso en China con google seguramente su buscador favorito.
http://www.wired.com/politics/law/news/2006/04/70651
Quiza esta respuesta sea dos años tardia, pero solo espero que tenga razon el autor de la nota.
A todos mis hermanos latinoamericanos les recomiendo un sitio. Aunque es yanki es de los yankis admirables eff.org
Saludos,
el maraha de pocahu