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It’s shame that this wasn't used in production and then nefariously used against Putin.
by calewis 7y ago
It’s shame that this wasn't used in production and then nefariously used against Putin.
- hutzlibu 7y agoAh yes, the best way to deal with semi-autocrats, if people still vote them, you manipulate the election - but of course for democracy! Seriously?
- cookieswumchorr 7y agomaybe they meant presenting its vulnerabilities to claim the election illegitimate. But that still won't work, they will just ignore/deny everything as usual
- mamon 7y agoNo democracy for enemies of democracy! /s
- Grue3 7y agoThis election is already a sham since some opposition candidates were illegally prevented from participating in it.
- cameronbrown 7y agoSo more manipulation is better?
- rebuilder 7y agoThink of the possible outcomes: -Status quo, old voting system. Corrupt process with vote results that remain in force. Nothing changes. -Novel, manipulated system where the regime loses the vote. The vote gets overturned because it's illegitimate in the wrong way. Maybe embarrassing to the authorities?
- jplayer01 7y agoMeddling with foreign elections is the quickest way to create inner turmoil and conflict. Instead of busying themselves with creating a functioning democracy, you've just created an illegitimate system which will be destroyed from the inside-out, while provoking hate for the meddling party. I don't see the upside here unless you intend to (and are able to) keep it a secret for forever or unless turmoil and suffering is your goal.
- neom 7y agoMosaddegh is a great example of this. Iran is a huge issue today because of meddling in the 50s.
- rebuilder 7y agoI think we're talking about very different things. I'm thinking of hacktivists exploiting a bug in a stupid system to expose the flaws in it. You seem to be thinking of some kind of attempted coup.
- jplayer01 7y agoThere's a difference between people exposing a bug and publishing it, revealing the flaws inherent in the implemented voting system, and people finding a bug and using it to manipulate the vote directly, then revealing the manipulation to 'overturn' the vote. Which ties into what I said earlier. It's going to cause a crisis and it can be used to spin a narrative about how they're under attack from the West and/or America, further cementing their hold on power. Really, there are so many things that can and have gone wrong in attempts to mess with elections that I just don't see the benefit for anybody.
- cat199 7y agoHey, don't complain - if it worked when the Germans sent Lenin over with a train full of gold, it can work again!
- cameronbrown 7y agoI'm going to play devil's advocate here: It may be a corrupt system, but who's to say the next won't be worse? Far more people are going to die in the civil conflict that'll occur if Putin is displaced. The evil you know, etc..
- BubRoss 7y agoWhere did you get that from?
- equalunique 7y ago>some opposition candidates were illegally prevented from participating in it Can you provide a source for that?
- seppin 7y agosemi-autocrats?
- maehwasu 7y agoYes, because Russia = Bad, and so Bad for Russia = Good /s American provinciality is really bizarre and offputting.
- adventured 7y agoDid you confirm the parent was American before posting that? Even if they were, how does one person's comment on HN apply to a couple hundred million people? It obviously doesn't. You're making a similar type of intellectual mistake as the parent (Russia bad; Americans bad).
- rimliu 7y agoWhat has it to do with American provenciality if the one you replied to is from UK?
- Synaesthesia 7y agoI think Putin is quite popular in Russia and would have won in a free and fair election.
- ebg13 7y agoYou can't have free and fair elections when the opposition periodically gets assassinated.
- Synaesthesia 7y agoI didn’t say it was free and fair.
- seppin 7y agoHow do you know he's popular either? State run opinion polls? Asking people on the street about if they like their ruthless dictator or not? Sure.
- Synaesthesia 7y agoHe is genuinely popular I believe, not just from state run polls but also independent ones. You must understand the fact that he pulled Russia out of one of its worst crises in history and made it a force to be reckoned with again. Yeah there’s plenty to criticise but that fact alone will make him quite popular. He’s certainly authoritarian, I wouldn’t characterize him as a “ruthless dictator”
- ebg13 7y ago> I wouldn’t characterize him as a “ruthless dictator” You mean except for the part where his opposition periodically gets assassinated?
- Synaesthesia 7y agoIt’s clearly a political designation. It’s authoritarian for sure. I’m not gonna defend his actions. There are plenty of countries which so far worse though and do not get designated as “ruthless dictators” by the media. When Yeltsin was in power he was a ruthless dictator, but because he toes the line there were no issues.