Hacker News Reader

finidon U.S. motor vehicle deaths see biggest two year jump in over 50 years, per NSC

The insurance business is the best racket to be in, same as private prison industry. Customers are guaranteed.

finidon U.S. motor vehicle deaths see biggest two year jump in over 50 years, per NSC

Hey, here's a tip: If you've not taken a defensive driving class, give it a shot. A defensive driving certificate can save you $10-15/month.

finidon U.S. motor vehicle deaths see biggest two year jump in over 50 years, per NSC

also conducted a survey that indicates some possible causes for the steady increases, including speed, texting via touch input or voice, as well as driving while under the influence.

I think most of it can be attributed to cellphone usage while driving.

And now that most drivers choose to use their smartphones as GPS rather than a dedicated GPS device, I think it's going to get much worse.

finidon San Diego Police Targets African American Children for Unlawful DNA Collection

Going around black neighborhoods arresting young, black men on spurious charges just to give them criminal records.

But I think the effects of this will be much worse, because a rouge cop with someones DNA is really bad news. How do you prove it was not your DNA at the crime scene?

finidon Drop in foreign applicants worries U.S. engineering schools

Being a Research Assistant (RA) or a Teaching Assistant (TA) is not a job per se but part of ones training while in grad school. Whatever you're paid while performing such duties is just a stipend, and not a salary in the traditional sense.

So, no, universities are not going to hire Americans to RA and TA positions if they have no incentive to be in grad school.

Foreign students come here because they want to come here to learn. Being paid for RA and TA responsibilities is just a bonus. Professors reap the benefit of having some of the best minds from around the globe around them.

finidon San Diego Police Targets African American Children for Unlawful DNA Collection

In 2013, SDPD paid $35,000 to settle a lawsuit involving a 2011 incident where officers improperly collected DNA without cause from five family members of a parolee.

But what happens to the collected DNA? Deleted from the database?

And this DNA collection campaign is not just happening in San Diego, CA, but in other areas of the country. Florida, I've heard, is very active in this area.

By the way, this is similar to how cops gave young, black men criminal records in the years after civil rights victories.

Edited: DNS to DNA.

finidon 40% of foreign students in the US have no close American friends on campus

If you're an introvert or very shy, it doesn't matter how far or close you're from home - it's very difficult to make friends.

finidon India's ISRO to break own record, will put 103 Satellite into Space

Each of these Earth-observing satellites, known as Doves, is just 12 inches long by 4 inches wide by 4 inches high (30 by 10 by 10 centimeters) and weighs about 10 lbs. (4.5 kilograms).

At that size, you can put 1000s into space at once.

finidon Drop in foreign applicants worries U.S. engineering schools

Well, what did they expect?

A drop in foreign grad students will negatively impact the capacity of professors to conduct research. That can't make America great, ever!

finidon YC W17 Launch: Claire, Peer5, WaystoCap, Symple, RankScience, and Kudi

But that's not what I wanted to do. What I wanted to do, which was a reply to another comment, is explain why the local service option matters.

Reading the comment that I replied to will help you understand my line.

finidon YC W17 Launch: Claire, Peer5, WaystoCap, Symple, RankScience, and Kudi

If you don't understand why "PayPal for Africa" makes sense, then you likely are not from Africa, you've never visited, or you know very little about the place.

Consider that Paypal is not accepted in a few countries from that continent, then you'll realize that there's a market for it.

The other side is Paypal is an American outfit. With options like Kudi that are not controlled from the USA, there's less chance of a group not popular with the US govt. being denied access to funds.

There are many angles to consider. You just have to know the landscape. And an aside: From my knowledge of that part of the world, kudi is Hausa for money.

The same argument can be made for "Alibaba for Africa".

Imagine if Alibaba was not founded, and the Chinese had to rely on Amazon. That's a lot of moving flowing from online Chinese shoppers to the confers of Amazon. At some point it becomes a national security issue.

So, yes, "Alibaba for Africa" makes a lot of sense.

finidon During WWII, U.S. Saw Italian-Americans as a Threat to Homeland Security

Posting such a thing shouldn't be reason for banning, and one should not be afraid of quoting such text.

finidon LG admits premium display fails near wi-fi

Aha!

I observed the same thing late last year when I use a foldable wristpad with magnets inside that I got from an AT&T booth at a tech conference.

So this is not limited to that specific LG display. Mine is an LG 24MA32D that I bought about 3 years ago.

finidon During WWII, U.S. Saw Italian-Americans as a Threat to Homeland Security

I'm not saying one side is right or wrong - just that none of these actions happen in a vacuum.

And you're correct, because they don't.

My original point in all of this is that we're creating a refugees crisis, but refusing to take them in. That, in my opinion, is just evil.

finidon During WWII, U.S. Saw Italian-Americans as a Threat to Homeland Security

This one is even better. It's all the way from 2006, long before the so-called Arab Spring started.

http://wikileaks.cabledrum.net/cable/2006/12/06DAMASCUS5399....

finidon During WWII, U.S. Saw Italian-Americans as a Threat to Homeland Security

Since the so-called Arab Spring started in Tunisia, you have to ask yourself why we didn't push for "regime change" in that country.

The demonstrations in Syria were not spontaneous. They were engineered. If you have time, read the email exchanges between the US ambassador to Syria and H. Clinton.

Regarding Iran and Russia playing "the great game", they're supporting the legitimate govt of that country. Without their support, Assad would have been dead years ago, and Syria would have been in worse shape than it is now.

You might start by reading https://wikileaks.org/clinton-emails/emailid/18328

Edit: Added WikiLeaks links

finidon During WWII, U.S. Saw Italian-Americans as a Threat to Homeland Security

Isn't it a bit disingenuous to omit the fact that both Iraq and Syria have areas experiencing active warfare?

But what you seem to ignore is that the active warfare in both countries was caused by us. And in Libya too.

Think about that. Those countries are now a mess because of "regime change".

finidon During WWII, U.S. Saw Italian-Americans as a Threat to Homeland Security

But think about this for a second; if not for us destabilizing those countries, there will be no refugee crisis to deal with.

We basically took the most and arguably the most prosperous country in Africa (Libya) and ruined it. Now we're refusing to take in those fleeing from our mess. We did the same thing in Iraq and Syria.

But it seems we're not done yet. Iran is next.

Bit is anybody protesting war against countries that can do us no harm? Nah! It makes for good war video games and Hollywood war movies.

finidon Ventusky – Weather data visualization

Looks far better than Weather.com and accuweather.com

finidon [dead]

Where would this country be without immigrants - legal or illegal?

finidon Welcome, ACLU

The issue is not the man, it's the policy.

But how do you separate the man from his policies? That would be like trying to separate a man from his religious conviction. A mans policies reflect what he believes in.

finidon Apple has allegedly begun removing Iranian iOS apps from the App store

I know that there are many in this country and elsewhere around the world that believe the USA is a peace-loving country.

finidon Federal judge stays deportations of travelers in Trump immigration order

The time for silence is over.

Hope it's not too late.

finidon Iranian MIT student goes home over break, denied return for spring semester

Yes, if a Democratic President was doing this, the din from the other camp would be very load. Not a beep from Chuck Schumer or Nancy Peloci?

finidon Iranian MIT student goes home over break, denied return for spring semester

Well, that site is bad. Clicked on the search button because the link does not exist, and got taken to another site

finidon [dead]

The order applies not just to Canadian's, but to citizens of all countries who are also from those seven on the list.

See http://www.marketwatch.com/story/trump-visa-ban-also-applies...

finidon Iranian MIT student goes home over break, denied return for spring semester

When I was in grad school, most of the grad students in virtually all the science and engineering depts were foreign students.

And what most people don't realize is that without grad students, most research will be severely impacted. So if this continues at the rate it's going, we begin to lose foreign grad students to other countries.

I hope this ends well, but I have my doubts.

finidon Iranian MIT student goes home over break, denied return for spring semester

So what are the Democrats doing about this. The silence from that group is deafening.

finidon Iranian MIT student goes home over break, denied return for spring semester

That law predated Obama.

finidon Iranian MIT student goes home over break, denied return for spring semester

Yep, his biological father was Syrian, and his adoptive mother was Armenian.