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rabidonrails

1,192 karma · joined January 17, 2011

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rabidonrails··on Musk, the Movie
I just don't understand why this trailer starts with Musk accusing Gibney of this being a hit piece, then a snarky response from Gibney...and then a full trailer that sounds like a hit piece.

Maybe it's warranted maybe it isn't but it sure seems like Musk was right to be concerned.

rabidonrails··on Iran hit more U.S. military targets than has been reported, satellite images
You're right, I should have been more clear. There isn't a crude shock that would come from the middle east to Europe. That would be more an economic shock because of the demand from China/India on that crude which would then drive up the global price of the commodity. This in turn would create an economic shock - one that would be hard for Europe to withstand (as opposed to the US).

And, while that's true of crude itself, more refined oil products are heavily imported from the ME to Europe - I'm sure you've seen the news on jet fuel.

I do think that saying "oh, Trump did this so we stopped looking at the Epstein files" is a conspiracy theory. Doesn't mean it can't be right - just means that it's just conjecture.

All I did above was provide a different perspective - don't like it? Feel free to move along.

rabidonrails··on Iran hit more U.S. military targets than has been reported, satellite images
I don't think the rest of the world would "outright shun us." I think that the rest of the world that you're describing are mainly European countries that are highly dependent on Gulf oil access. They need to be careful not to publicly anger anyone in the Gulf who might cut off their supply.

Your argument is that Israel started a war that Trump is finishing to divert from Epstein ties but that's tying together a bunch of conspiracy theories.

rabidonrails··on Iran hit more U.S. military targets than has been reported, satellite images
I'm not sure I understand your argument - you seem to have proven my point.

They always could close the Strait and they eventually did. In this case the US is already energy independent and could absorb the shock.

rabidonrails··on Iran hit more U.S. military targets than has been reported, satellite images
Let me give you a new perspective.

First, I agree with you on the drones. They're a new entrant to the battlefield and the US has had to learn to adapt.

You're viewing Iran as a simple country vs. country war. This war is not about just Iran, this war is about energy, technology, and dominance against Russia and China.

Iran is a destabilizing power in the middle east. Not only does it control a bunch of oil itself, but it controls the Strait of Hormuz. This chokepoint means that Iran has had the oppprtunity to disrupt the world's energy supply. If you think you think this isn't a global risk then you don't understand the global economy. Instability in the global economy is a risk to US dominance.

The US has a very strong partner in Israel not only as an outpost, but as a technological partner and a strong intelligence partner. You might read articles about Israel making trouble in the region, but most of this has no true basis. In fact the Arab countries around Israel have enjoyed peace with Israel for quite some time. Further, the other Arab nations (especially the ones that aren't Russia/China aligned) want stability like the UAE, Bahrain, and even SA and they are sick of proxies in the region being used to create instability. They want to sell their oil and they want US and Israeli technology.

There's no question that Iran is/was a threat to Israel - that's well documented. There's no question that Iran is/was a threat to US forces in the middle east, that's documented too.

So, who's the biggest winner if Iran ceases to be a destabilizing force in the middle east and no longer has a chokehold on global energy supply - the US. This truly reenforces US dominance.

Somehow you see this as making China stronger - it doesn't do that. At best it drives Russia closer to China but that has already happened.

Right now the US is energy dominant in almost all categories. Having a strong foothold in the Gulf especially loosely controlling the SoH would solidify this.

Quick side note - air superiority means that you can fly planes around the country without major risks of being shot down. The US maintains complete air superiority since essentially this started. Until the ceasefire they were able to bomb targets at will.

rabidonrails··on US special forces soldier arrested after allegedly winning $400k on Maduro raid
thanks for proving my point. There's no evidence other than you falling prey to the tropes of yesterday.

In what world does it make sense that Israel controls our government? Only in the world where you think that Israel controls our banks etc.

Let's keep this conversation tied to evidence before launching attacks that are based on prejudice.

rabidonrails··on US special forces soldier arrested after allegedly winning $400k on Maduro raid
Israel owns out government? You have proof of this outlandish claim?
rabidonrails··on Two pilots dead after plane and ground vehicle collide at LaGuardia
Truck drivers and the hours they're on the road need to be logged per law. Most of this is done (or perhaps MUST be done) electronically.
rabidonrails··on Google closes deal to acquire Wiz
>>It's effectively x-ray vision into some huge workloads running on their competitors.

I wonder if there are antitrust lawyers watching this closely. Would be really interesting to get their perspective on this.

rabidonrails··on Boeing knew of flaw in part linked to UPS plane crash, NTSB report says
Well yes but Boeing also said it "would not result in a safety of flight condition."

There's a lot of gray going on here.

rabidonrails··on Alibaba's new AI chip: Key specifications comparable to H20
Don't be duped by China's clean energy talk. Their energy infra is mainly coal and they continue to build (dirty) coal plants.

They sell you solar infra so that you can feel good about protecting the world while they continue to build coal plants. For reference, in 2023 they built 95% of the world's new coal plants...

Don't be fooled.

rabidonrails··on Waymo granted permit to begin testing in New York City
If only Mitch Hedberg was still alive: https://youtu.be/zonQXdmIlqQ?si=EBrpJiCk2XlhGJIs&t=97
rabidonrails··on The militarization of Silicon Valley
Agreed and this is a good comment.

It's strange that people in SV pretend like if they refuse to build software then nobody else will. Palantir exists (and has been so successful) because the government was trying to build this software (either themselves or through defense contractors) and ended up spending WAY too much money and only delivering a product that put US soldiers at risk.

rabidonrails··on U.S. bombs Iranian nuclear sites
We should be clear about these cases that are brought against him (I'm not saying he isn't guilty, but context is important here):

Case 1 - as Minister of Communications he, allegedly, tried to get a tax extension for a company whose owners had given him expensive cigars and jewelry to his wife (worth $3100). The extension was not granted. He also tried to get a US visa for one of the owners.

Case 2 - One of the newspapers in Israel said that if he gave them advantages over a competing newpaper they would paint Bibi and his family in a positive light in their coverage

*Case 3 - seemingly similar to Case 2, a large news website offered to portray Bibi in a better light if he would push through regulatory changes as Minisiter of Communications.

rabidonrails··on U.S. bombs Iranian nuclear sites
Iran has killed, threatened, or killed-through-proxy many Americans in the last 50 years. They have created and sown instability throughout the region threatening Israel, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia just to name a few. Notice that none of their regional neighbors have come to their defense.

They have consistently and openly threatened US leaders.

There was no diplomacy here.

rabidonrails··on Google to buy Wiz for $32B
Wiz is a private company but the street's assumption is $1B/ARR over the next year or so.
rabidonrails··on Dataminr tracked Gaza-related protests
but in this case (to keep with the comparison) the people having the conversation are recording it themselves and posting it publicly.
rabidonrails··on Intel appoints Lip-Bu Tan as its CEO
>>The disagreement with the board was supposedly related more to elements of the board trying to parts up and sell off bits of Intel.

If true this would be very interesting. The most recent rumors were TSMC was trying to grab a part of Intel and have Nvidia/Broadcom/AMD take over the rest. Bringing in a CEO that literally left the board because he was against carving up Intel would be quite the signal from the board.

rabidonrails··on Ask HN: If you work for Elon Musk, what keeps you motivated?
Maybe you don't care as much about politics (for or against) and instead care about working on something at the bleeding edge.

If you want to work for a company on the bleeding edge then it's hards to find one further than a Musk company.

rabidonrails··on Tell HN: Y Combinator backing AI company to abuse factory workers
I'm saying that people _say_ they have issues with sweatshops but when push comes to shove they're willing to buy the Nikes.

I'm not trying to make a decision here on right vs. wrong just pointing out that most people _say_ they care but they're not really willing to do much about it.

rabidonrails··on Tell HN: Y Combinator backing AI company to abuse factory workers
And that's fine, but they're solely yours. 57% of US citizens support expanding the military.

Further you have no evidence to back up your claim that anything outside of the Air Force and nukes are all that are required to properly deter threats.

I would imagine that you also have no credible evidence that "Anything else being developed is for political suppression or fueling regional wars and imperial bullshit."

If you don't want to be involved in developing weapons then that's fine, nobody is forcing you to do so. To claim someone as anti-ethical because they chose to do so in a legal way may be your opinion but surely not a fact.

rabidonrails··on Tell HN: Y Combinator backing AI company to abuse factory workers
This is a strange view.

Weapons development is at best helpful as it hopefully provides a deterrent to nefarious actors and at worst protects our interest as Americans if someone caused us to move beyond weapons as a "deterrent."

Pretending like national defense and development of weapons is a bad thing is hiding your head in sand and pretending that there's nobody that wants to hurt you.

rabidonrails··on Tell HN: Y Combinator backing AI company to abuse factory workers
I'm not sure what data you're using to prove this but it seems like many of the largest brands in the US are still using sweatshop labor [1]. Many still have no idea of what's going on in Xinjiang [2]

1. https://yoursustainableguide.com/brands-that-use-sweatshops/ 2. https://whatishappeninginxinjiang.com/brands-linked-to-xinji...

rabidonrails··on Show HN: Kate's App
At the end of the day I don't think we're arguing here and I'm not saying that the OP _shouldn't_ speak to a lawyer but here are a few choice comments from this post that I'll use to prove my point:

First - the TOP comment in this post: >>" I would advise you to temporarily close your site and hire a lawyer straight away."

And other top level comments: >> You should asap bring the app down, contact all users, send them their info, delete them from your servers, notifying them of that and get a lawyer specialising in health related law.

>>If you can’t answer that question you really need to listen to the people telling you to take it down until you can work it out.

>>Speaking as someone who works in IT in healthcare - you need to close your site down immediately, do not pass Go, etc., and hire a lawyer.

rabidonrails··on Show HN: Kate's App
Maybe fear mongering is overstating but...

Speaking to a lawyer is not the first step when building something in this domain (unless you already have someone bankrolling you).

In this case there's an app that this guy built for families to use. It's obviously in it's infancy. The helpful advice here would be about posting that this is in beta or maybe reading the HIPAA guidelines and ensuring that he's adhering to those guidelines where applicable. Focus on tightening up security. What's his plan to ensure that data in encrypted in transit and at rest? What kind of monitoring will the app have? Does he need to be thinking about intrusion detection? Will he need to enforce 2FA?

Does he need to stop everything and start speaking to lawyers? Probably not.

rabidonrails··on Show HN: Kate's App
I think the fear-mongering here has spiraled out of control. This app seems to be a place that patients (and their caregivers read:family) can upload and share data amongst themselves.

While you might not fall directly under HIPAA laws (as I don't think you a covered entity nor a Business Associate) you definitely are aware that you will have PHI and thus you have to protect it - especially if you're saying that it's "Private" and "Secure."

I'd focus on making sure that all data is encrypted in transit and at rest and that all systems on your side are locked down. You and anybody that might have access to your database shouldn't have free access this data. I'd read through some of the HIPAA guidelines especially from the business associate side and conform to those.

Don't be scared by everyone here. Read up on the HIPAA guidelines, check out HITRUST, never take your eye off security. Keep getting better.

If you're worried, you can always consult a lawyer or even an auditor for some advice (I'm neither).

rabidonrails··on Facebook Having Site Issues?
Seems to be back. Facebook didn't report anything but the users did: https://downdetector.com/status/facebook/
rabidonrails··on Hezbollah pager explosions kill several people in Lebanon
...but this does sound like it would make a hilarious Family Guy episode.
rabidonrails··on Hezbollah pager explosions kill several people in Lebanon
This is true of both sides.

Also important to remember is that Israel evacuated the civilian population in the north of the country due to Hezbollah currently indiscriminately shelling/bombing that area for the past months.

rabidonrails··on Hezbollah pager explosions kill several people in Lebanon
A couple of things on this:

1. It appears that the AUMBC referenced replaced their equipment but that had nothing to do with this and their doctors weren't impacted.

2. Your note of "...other enemies of Israel will be significantly more motivated retaliate in some equally creative/unpredictable fashion..." is strange considering that this is already the norm. Almost all (perhaps all) of the attacks against Israel have been from terrorists targeting civilians.

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