Hacker News Reader

countrybama24on You Can't Have Denmark Without Danes

I think the argument is that those countries prove the policies work and are affordable and cost-effective. Whether or not Americans can support those policies in light of their skepticism towards government, individualism, and a particular political strategy used historically to court southern voters is a good question - but one that doesnt necessarily disprove the benefits of greater spending on social programs in the United States per se.

countrybama24on Refugees Detained at U.S. Airports, Prompting Legal Challenges

These people have sacrificed more for our country than most Americans. They are some of the most patriotic people you'll ever meet, because they know how horrible other governments can be and they have worked incredibly hard to get to America, unlike native born Americans. Calling them cheaters for helping us kill terrorists is comical. They are heroes.

countrybama24on Coup attempt underway in Turkey

https://fr24.com/THY8456/a5a3952

That looks like Erdogan's jet. Was in a holding pattern for the last hour. Now heading to Istanbul. Seems like the coup has failed?

countrybama24on Venezuela Refuses to Default, and Few People Seem to Understand Why

I'm surprised the article did not mention the theory that they have not defaulted because of the numerous state-owned assets they possess abroad which could be seized by creditors.

"Caracas fears a default could open up claims to PdVSA assets, such as rigs, refineries and oil shipments. One target by creditors could be the company’s Houston-based subsidiary, Citgo Petroleum Corp., which has three U.S. refineries that receive hundreds of thousands of barrels of Venezuelan oil a day."

http://www.wsj.com/articles/in-decaying-venezuela-debts-get-...

countrybama24on A visit with Apple’s chief chipmaker

Sure. But to be fair, wikipedia shows there have been 33 Israeli deaths from rocket attacks since 2001 [1] and the last two major flareups between the two have had extremely lopsided death tolls [2]. During the last 2014 conflict, that article states there were ~100 Palestinian deaths and zero Israeli deaths (at the time). During the 2012 conflict, there were 167 Palestinian deaths, >50% being civilians, compared to 6 Israeli deaths (four being civilian). I would be happy to look at alternative sources if you have any on death tolls, since objective figures are certainly hard to come across.

That same article describes the rockets you reference, but with the added context of relative quantities:

"According to the IDF, around six rockets are being fired at Israelis every hour. However, many of these rockets are not sophisticated, and they either fail to land in populated areas or lack the firepower to cause casualties when they do: Sometimes, the payloads are removed from missiles in a bid to increase their range."

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestinian_rocket_attacks_on_... [2] https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2014/07/11...

countrybama24on How to Cover the One Percent

Well they are good at different activities. Charities are good at things that can be done on a small, decentralized scale, like giving away food. Regulating massive industries, correcting the issues in our healthcare system, setting up a program of cash transfers, on the other hand, are all things that often require the scale of the government.

countrybama24on When doctors, psychologists, and drug makers can't rely on each other's research

They don't because it's not considered cool.

countrybama24on Retro diner in Detroit neighborhood wards off crime

Or the fact that they close at 3:30PM everyday.

countrybama24on Inside Britain's Secretive Bullingdon Club

Sure, I just wanted to clarify that "mildly impressive" in this context referred to "the relative prestige of that job within the spectrum of potential positions available to high performers and the sons and daughters of the ruling class at a small handful of the most elite universities worldwide." This is quite a bit different than what one would normally associate that phrase with.

countrybama24on Inside Britain's Secretive Bullingdon Club

SSG is only "mildly impressive"? By what metric? Those positions put you squarely in line for mega fund private equity jobs. If thats par for your course, you must be in some pretty rarified air I guess.

The merits of those candidates is debatable, but the prestige of those positions really isn't.

countrybama24on Uber Plans to Go Public in 18-24 Months, According to Leaked Presentation

Considering their track record, I wouldn't be surprised if they have no intention whatsoever of going public. Uber has to convince investors they will be able to exit their investment and the total pool of investors willing to try their luck in the secondary market is likely much smaller than those looking for traditional IPO or trade sale liquidity events. Not that they would have difficulty raising money, but they are certainly pushing the limits of the terms they can receive. Someone else pointed out this would also be a useful tactic in recruiting pitches.

Is it really worth it to go public? The reporting burdens for public companies are well documented. But also this management team has used some pretty shady tactics in the past. I can't imagine they love the idea of the scrutiny that comes with being public. You can always sell your share of the company in one of these financing rounds if you wanted to diversify your wealth.

countrybama24on Data is at the heart of search, but who has access to it?

Seems like there is a business opportunity to build a plugin of sorts that allows users to opt in and share their search data with competing platforms. I'd be interested in donating my data to help a rival engine compete with Google.

countrybama24on Antiwork – a radical shift in how we view “jobs”

You are the customer of those who do exploit those people though. We're all complicit in this, but I think it's equally disingenuous to wash one's hands of all exploitation in supply chain they benefit from simply because they don't directly make the decision to exploit someone. You're fortunate to work in an industry where workers have enough leverage to combat the exploitation rampant in other industries.

And it is not inevitable, we could end (or at least minimize) the violent, chaotic exploitation without needing a post-scarcity economy in my opinion.

countrybama24on Why are glasses so expensive? (2012)

I agree Warby Parker is not competing directly with Luxottica. But they're still taking advantage of the fact that those brands are charging very high prices and current retail channels are controlled by a single entity who restricts competition from third parties. And they are certainly competing with retail channels owned by Luxottica.

countrybama24on Why are glasses so expensive? (2012)

As far as I can tell, Luxottica is like a book publisher who also has a significant retail presence. They buy licensing deals with all the major eyewear brands, likely at prices competitors can't afford because only they can sell through their retail channels (7,000+ stores in the US alone, and keep in mind the U.S. is by far the largest market for luxury consumer goods). Eyewear designers want to get their glasses in front of as many consumers as possible, so the alternative of not signing a licensing agreement would mean forgoing all those retail channels (and a big chunk of the U.S. market).

So it's basically vertical integration (exclusive manufacturing rights and retail presense) + economies of scale. They made themselves a very powerful intermediary and signed some very lucrative exclusive contracts to compound that advantage.

There are people taking advantage of this. Namely, Warby Parker.[1] They opened retail stores to combat Luxottica's market share in that arena, manufactured their own eyeglasses, and raised $41mm in funding to do so. They're growing rapidly, but still a relatively small part of the overall market. They originally were going to price their glasses at $50, but found that consumers branded their products as cheap so they artificially raised the price to $100! Still enough to undercut the competition, but shows you how the current market has skewed consumer perceptions of price/quality.

http://www.masoneyewear.com/buy-eyeglasses-online-purchase-g...

countrybama24on The end of neighbours

Those ideas about community aren't just sentimental, they're reflections of real human needs. Humans value community to a tremendous degree, shaped by evolutionary pressures evolving from our tribal roots. We want to feel part of a larger group, whether it is our family, neighborhood, city, company or country. This isn't a relationship born out of "creating solutions," it independently nourishes an innate emotional need.

countrybama24on Vancouver tech surges as U.S. immigration reform idles

Theoretically you could design a tiered system with a separate quota allocated for companies with <10 employees to bid for (or some other easily enforceable definition of start-up or small business).

countrybama24on Vancouver tech surges as U.S. immigration reform idles

They seem to auction off spectrum pretty efficiently.

countrybama24on Vancouver tech surges as U.S. immigration reform idles

The H-1B system should at least be an auction, not a lottery. The companies that use the system to source cheaper replacements for current workers would get priced out of the market and the individuals who contribute the most to the company (and the economy) would get in. Bonus: more revenue would be raised by the government.

countrybama24on Apple begins rejecting apps that offer rewards for video views, social sharing

They have this in South America, it's called "preferred checkout." Seems pretty standard as far as I can tell (they don't go deliberately slow, but they're deliberately understaffed).

My guess was this is more likely to offed American consumer's egalitarian sentiment and the revenue from membership would pale in comparison to the PR hit. Or maybe it's just inertia from early grocery store practices.

countrybama24on Julie Ann Horvath Describes Sexism and Intimidation Behind Her GitHub Exit

The idea that she's obligated to respond favorably to his advances or be punished is most definitely sexist.

countrybama24on A vast hidden surveillance network, powered by the repo industry

> Everything we do, everything we say, has consequences that spread through the great web of causation

Like tracking, which could be used by political authorities to suppress political dissidents, employers to discriminate against homosexuals, or police to stalk or sexually harass a young woman.

Just because Google or Facebook or ALPRs don't intend for tracking to be used maliciously doesn't mean it won't. In fact, this is the entire argument against the NSA dragnet.

countrybama24on A vast hidden surveillance network, powered by the repo industry

> It's not that the plates are being logged, it's that the data is being used in a malicious manner

Is it easier to prevent abuse post-hoc or ban types of data gathering prone to abuse?

countrybama24on I want to get into startups, but I don’t know where to start

tl;dr version: Leverage = BATNA

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Best_alternative_to_a_negotiate...

countrybama24on I want to get into startups, but I don’t know where to start

Funny, I don't see many corrections on here when articles use male pronouns incorrectly.

countrybama24on Mathematicians are chronically lost and confused

No, thank you for teaching math to at-risk kids. Seriously, bravo.

countrybama24on Mathematicians are chronically lost and confused

Yes. Although the field of "academic papers" is significantly broader with a smaller user demographic than hip-hop, but if you could pull it off I would be an avid user.

countrybama24on How the world came to hate Silicon Valley

I believe they're using the Google buses as symbols in lieu of direct knowledge of the First Estate's whereabouts or access to them.

countrybama24on The Bay Area

There is a selection bias here. Immigrating from Asia is significantly more difficult and expensive than Central America. I would hypothesize that immigrants from these areas are more ambitious, economically better off and more capable on average than immigrants from nearby countries (and maybe even "native" Americans). Additionally, immigrants are more likely to assimilate into local American life and have better relationships with American institutions (police, schools, etc.) than African-Americans who unlike immigrants, didn't choose to be here and are more likely to view such institutions in a negative light.

countrybama24on We Have Luxurious Jobs but We Are Not Aware of It

Sounds nice