onreact-com

It's the job of economists to predict stuff like that to actually prevent it.

Please remove the sexist remark from the headline to be taken seriously.

This is how the swine flu scare works.

To be honest it's not advisable to rely only on search traffic. I say that as a SEO. Returning visitors and often even type in or direct visitors are much better.

Many spammy sites rely solely on Google/search traffic.

http://hubpages.com/ for instance.

"That's due to technological progress

Afaik, the industrial revolution needed capitalism. Any references otherwise?"

So there was no industrial revolution in the Soviet Union? Do we have to rewrite history? You are right though without knowing. The Soviet state capitalism which already resembles the current US state capitalism forced industrialization upon the rural country.

>around 1 billion people starve today, that's not a small percentage IMHO:

This have the usual idealist problem -- you have to kill people to help them...

"Let us split that value up, a bit. About a billion is hungry, according to Wikipedia (not the same as starving -- did you fake there?)."

I don't care what Wikipedia says, the UN says "starving" and the press is reporting "starving". Any jerk can edit Wikipedia.

Also stop suggesting genocide or killing people as a solution. The current system kills people in massive numbers. We have to stop THAT!

"You can't solve the problems of Bangladesh without military intervention -- see Iraq, how that goes."

Did you just suggest to go to war to solve the hunger problem? Sorry, you are downright criminal minded. I can't go on discussing with you. You seem to love the idea of killing people.

P.S.: "Consider East Germany. West Germany tried to integrate it and really, really failed."

Have you actually been to East Germany? You can't see any difference to Western Germany now, it's much more wealthy than any other country from the former Eastern Block.

">>There are plenty of alternatives around, but I don't have to propose alternatives to be able to criticize something.

You can't list an example that has worked for a big population in an industrialized world -- and given them an open society."

Well, to use my car metaphor: You are just saying that because I can't show proof that electric cars have worked in a country on a large scale we can't build electric cars.

With this way of thinking we should abandon any attempt to of modernizing anything and only use proven things. new things can't work, they must be proven first but when we don't try we can't prove anything. Perfect Catch 22.

"It seems like complaints that someone should do something about cancer, because it isn't nice."

Your are saying that cancer is natural and we aren't allowed to do anything about it.

"The problem is how -- just complaining that the world could be better is not really interesting (I expect better on HN)."

I showed you one alternative, Parecon,

http://www.zmag.org/zparecon/parecon.htm

which is a whole economic system based on participation and cooperation of everybody not just a few big players and you ignored it.

Also I don't complain, I just say that there are alternatives. You are only blocking any thought there might be of an alternative solution because in your opinion capitalism is either a natural law or God given but not made by man.

"But on a direct question, you had no alternative.

You really seem emotionally involved and complain about the world system, which you would probably have to kill a large fraction of the world's population to change."

Again, stop ignoring my suggestions. There are many alternatives. I offered you one, Parecon and you have chosen to ignore it but don't lie to me that there aren't any.

Also stop suggesting that there must be a kind of genocide involved in change. That's ridiculous.

">Are you a fatalist?

Read what I said -- do tests of different organizational models but far from where I live, please. The failure modes are too scary."

There are several organizational alternatives on a local level, the most popular throughout the world are parallel local currencies that don't allow capital accumulation. But you are right: You are plainly scared! You are afraid of anything that might mean a change. You're irrational. You won't even buy an electric car when 90% of the population will drive one.

US corporate capitalism and soviet state capitalism both installed industrialization by brute force but that has happened 80 or 100 years ago. The same model implemented in China and elsewhere would kill the planet.

Also studies show that capitalism is only good for a small percentage of a population both on in nation and on a global scale. Moreover capitalism just broke down this/last year, don't you see it? It's now completely financed by tax payers. How can you ignore that and tell me that capitalism works fine?

No "what" stock but that you should invest instead of a warning that the economy will break down soon. Most economists (something like 99,9%) failed to do so.

">>How can I bring you proof that a theory (btw. which one exactly?) can do this or that

So you don't have an alternative, but are only complaining that the present system isn't perfect and countries do realpolitik?"

There are plenty of alternatives around, but I don't have to propose alternatives to be able to criticize something. This way you can shut up everybody, but "unfortunately" we have free speech. You don't post from Saudi Arabia or something, do you?

Now that you ask: Parecon is a whole system based on participation. It sounds quite feasible.

"As you wrote, you don't have an alternative, either."

See above.

"Which, counted as percentages, is arguably better than ever in history. And is getting better ever decade. [Historically, where I grew up, the child mortality was around 20-30%... and large families.]"

Again, that's due to medical and technological progress which does not depend on capitalism. It's the other why around: You have a better healthcare in Cuba than you have in the US that's why US citizens visit Cuba for surgery etc.

"I am all for attempts to try other economic systems, but not inside 10000 km of where I live. Continue writing your political faith then, if it is so important to preach..."

No, I didn't say there is no alternative and I didn't preach. You preach the gospel of realpolitik where there is no alternative. Are you a fatalist?

Yeah, but when everybody tells you to invest while the market is about to break down then there must be something wrong with the model.

">>In the current order most people either starve or live on a minimum

As a percentage, much fewer is poor for every generation that passes -- and a small percentage starve, today.

Go back a few hundred years and almost everyone lived hand-to-mouth. Check Hans Rosling's lectures on TED.com for how much better the present situation is."

That's due to technological progress not because some people hoard the money while others are starving or live in misery or wage slavery.

Also around 1 billion people starve today, that's not a small percentage IMHO:

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=6423774

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/3698225...

I'm always astounded by the unwillingness of some people to move on and create a better society for all people not just the chosen few.

You don't have to wait generations to curb starvation. In Cuba they managed in a decade. That's the issue here: Either we do it on our own accord or one day people will take their fair share by force and that leads to dictatorships.

Given the fact that the poor populations grow while more Westernerns die than get born we will soon face a different situation. Once China has taken over for good I can imagine that the US will become stricken by wide spread poverty.

So try not to block progress like the auto industry execs who killed the electric car and then had to beg in Washington for tax payer money. The US capitalism has become a state capitalism like in the former Soviet Union already where banks and manufacturing are run by the state.

You seem to prefer that instead of some progress.

I'm just commenting on a post about economics/politics. So don't SHOUT at me. Flag it or something if you can't cope with that post.

I perfectly conform with the HN system and guidelines and already have more 1000 karma points in around a month I'm actively contributing here. You contribute far less so don't teach me about HN.

Also you're very funny. How can I bring you proof that a theory (btw. which one exactly?) can do this or that in future? Time travel?

Last but not least, the current system is killing millions. 50k children dying daily so think twice before offending me and suggesting I somehow speak in favor of genocide.

I did not say that markets should be less free. Neither are they free nor is it desirable to return to some kind of soviet state capitalism (it was only called communism but the means of production never were it the hands of the workers which is the prerequisite of communism).

Nowadays the market is not free at all, it's ruled by a few oligopolies in most industries. You must be blind not to acknowledge that. The creation of corporations was the last nail in the coffin of the free market.

A market can only be free where all people can take part in it and not only a few decide who gets the money. Btw.: The abolitionists attempted to abolish wage slavery as well but it's still prevalent.

It's also absurd to sever the economics from the business and startups part. Also web programming in open source projects is just pure communism. So just saying we don't talk about economics here is like talking about cars without ever mentioning the engines.

Like with cars we have to rethink the way we build engines. With cars it's the hybrid/electric model, with capitalism it's something else. We just can't go on like that. The economy break down has just been postponed. It will happen sooner or later.

Ignoring or censoring that fact won't make it disappear.

To be honest: The current set up of startups begging a few VCs for money is neither sustainable nor does it make much sense. Just look at most startups. Either they disappear, they get swallowed and more or less left to rot or the VCs fire the founders. Or of course they go bankrupt. Is this what people are working for? I doubt that.

I guess sooner or later crowdfunding will take over and VCs will disappear. Maybe sooner than later as the financial system can finally break down any day.

Yeah, of course, but it's how we deal with scarcity that makes the difference. Currently those who have the most power and sometimes fire power have the scarce resources.

They are not divided evenly whatsoever and the countries that harbor them in many cases are poor and and chaotic, think Congo e.g.

Now that China decided to limit the exports of many crucial resources and the US ceases to be the most powerful economy many people in the West will discover that the current distribution of resources is not at all satisfying.

In the current order most people either starve or live on a minimum while a few people are living lavish and wasteful lives. This type of "economics" can't survive in the long run. Let's just hope id doesn't end in a bloody way.

Wasting most resources like we do now is not economical at all and telling people that's it's natural market forces that makes people in Africa starve while we get fat is just plainly naive.

It's time to rethink the way of life we live based on the exploitation of the scarce resources and other people.

While this is a good article I don't really get the connection between the "gypsie" part of it and the Louis Vuitton brand.

Yeah, most people treat capitalism more like religion than an economic system of choice, especially the disastrous one we have now.

A return to the less devastating Keynesian sort of capitalism won't undo the whole mess though.

Alternative digital economies of sharing have shown how there are plenty of other viable models of economic organization.

It's time to reevaluate the failed system that brought us here.

"Imagine a small device that you wear on a necklace that takes photos every few seconds of whatever is around you, and records sound all day long"

Your own personal NSA.

I'd love to see some updates on these numbers as 2002 was well before the main wave of Web 2.0. The blogosphere was still very young etc.

You still haven't read it: "not a single [swine flu] death". So the 20k deaths obviously refers to seasonal flu.

We should ban pull a Calacanis headlines like "x is dead", "x sucks" or "x is bullshit" on HN.

[edit:] Just change them to "x critique". This will greatly improve the overall civility of this community.

Take note that the big box displayed on that first image is not the actual Freescale netbook which actually looks like this:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/22046787@N03/3177930623/

No need for torture anymore. Just plug the terrorist suspects to the mind reader. How dystopian.

The symptoms are the same as with seasonal flu but less severe so such a test is nonsense.

Exactly, 30k dead in the US annually due to seasonal flu. I doubt the swine flue will kill 90k. They want to scare people to sell Tamiflu and the vaccine. It's a billions of dollars business.

The same people who own the pharma companies were involved in the propaganda of WMDs in Iraq, most notably Donald Rumsfeld who is the owner of the Tamiflu selling company.

Did you read my comment actually? I just wrote:

"20k flu related deaths in Germany each year"

"Swine flu is "the one that we're most concerned about," Frieden said.

"Because if it does become more deadly, it could cause a very severe scenario"

It could, but it does NOT. Swine flu is by far less deadly than seasonal flu. In Germany we have 15k swine flu cases and not a single death in 4 months. In contrast there care 20k flu related deaths in Germany each year.

Yeah, good question. I almost switched to the more secure MovableType when they went open source but MT still does not support pingback, that is you can add a plugin which enables receiving pingbacks but you can not send them.

This makes your blog a dead end. Pingbacks are crucial to spread the message througout the blogosphere.

Another issue is the backend interface plus the frontend templates/themes. MT has a decent backend but you barely get any templates you can use. The same problem arises with S9Y. Is just installed it and both the default templates like the remaining choices are awful. So basically you have to design and code everything yourself.

"You appear to be suggesting -- I can't tell how seriously -- that WordPress is deliberately made insecure so that when Automattic (ugh, I hate that name) want people to upgrade they always have a security issue they can use to scare people into doing so. Sorry, but that's absolutely nuts"

No, YOU said that. I just said they don't care enough for security. Otherwise they wouldn't spit out new versions with holes so often.

So there is no reason to insult me.

Also the WordPress people pointing out all the time how wordpress.com hasn't been hacked is just obvious advertising for their hosted services.

Sadly this post does not mention any alternative. There are plenty good old blog software solutions like Drupal, MovableType or S9Y and a few new ones like Typo, based on Ruby on Rails.

Roughly a year ago I compiled a list with 7 recommendable WordPress alternatives:

http://www.seoptimise.com/blog/2008/10/wordpress-hacked-7-gr...

Especially Typo sounds great:

"Typo is the oldest and most powerful Ruby on Rails blogware, providing custom templates, powerful drag and drop plugins API, advanced SEO capabilities, XMLRPC API and many more."

There are still plenty of malicious scripts around that check the version. More advanced ones can't be fooled by that of course.

So couch potatoes don't need to ever get up again. Combine that with the intelligent fridge that gets pizza automatically and you have a recipe for disaster.