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1. It's infeasible that Microsoft had profits of 200 billion euros. 2. A comment on the Guardian's journalists' potential financial conflicts of interest: htt

1. It's infeasible that Microsoft had profits of 200 billion euros. 2. A comment on the Guardian's journalists' potential financial conflicts of interest: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27352245 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27352245

DrBazza 5y ago
And for non-UK HN readers, the Guardian is a rather left-of-political-centre newspaper. Or generally, each UK newspaper has a particular take on UK politics, and generally employs journalists or freelancers that have the same or more extreme views.
- crocal 5y ago
  I find ironic to portray as extremists journalists who report on a company that pays zero (0) taxes on revenues expressed in billions. I would rather apply the adjective to the reported company for some reason, but maybe we have different measuring scales.
  - DrBazza 5y ago
    Well, what's ironic, is that I read the Guardian, amongst other newspapers. I personally find it helpful, when a newspaper from a country that is not my own, is linked-to on HN, what political leanings it has, as that helps understand the story and provide some background, and in some cases the particular views of a journalist. I like balance, or at least reading stories with views I may not necessarily agree with, but at least I make the effort to read those. And perhaps I'll learn something, or change my views on a topic.
maccard 5y ago
> It's infeasible that Microsoft had profits of 200 billion euros. The guardian's headline is definitely mildly inflammatory, but it's a headline, and it's true. This particularly subsidiary had an income of €200bn, and very little expenditure. That's the textbook definition of profit, although it's definitely creative accounting!
cycomanic 5y ago
Saying someone has a conflict of interest reporting on financial matters because they are unionized? So by your argument, we definitely can not trust nearly any other news organisation, because they have shareholders and are operating for profit? How about your conflict of interest? Do you own stock? If yes, by your own argument you have a financial conflict of interest and can't be trusted.
- CryptoPunk 5y ago
  >>So by your argument, we definitely can not trust nearly any other news organisation, because they have shareholders and are operating for profit? Being in a union, and your employer not being able to replace you with people outside of the union as a result of left-wing laws that are predicated on an extremely left-wing ideological conception of the world, creates a far more extreme conflict of interest in my opinion. We don't need to take a centrist position between shareholders operating in a free market to earn a profit, by providing consumers with goods/services they want at competitive prices, and unions extracting economic rent through restrictive anti-free market laws that limit other people's right to free association. One position is inherently fairer and less likely to lead to corrupting conflicting interests.

DrBazza 5y ago

And for non-UK HN readers, the Guardian is a rather left-of-political-centre newspaper. Or generally, each UK newspaper has a particular take on UK politics, and generally employs journalists or freelancers that have the same or more extreme views.

crocal 5y ago
I find ironic to portray as extremists journalists who report on a company that pays zero (0) taxes on revenues expressed in billions. I would rather apply the adjective to the reported company for some reason, but maybe we have different measuring scales.
- DrBazza 5y ago
  Well, what's ironic, is that I read the Guardian, amongst other newspapers. I personally find it helpful, when a newspaper from a country that is not my own, is linked-to on HN, what political leanings it has, as that helps understand the story and provide some background, and in some cases the particular views of a journalist. I like balance, or at least reading stories with views I may not necessarily agree with, but at least I make the effort to read those. And perhaps I'll learn something, or change my views on a topic.

maccard 5y ago

> It's infeasible that Microsoft had profits of 200 billion euros. The guardian's headline is definitely mildly inflammatory, but it's a headline, and it's true. This particularly subsidiary had an income of €200bn, and very little expenditure. That's the textbook definition of profit, although it's definitely creative accounting!

cycomanic 5y ago

Saying someone has a conflict of interest reporting on financial matters because they are unionized? So by your argument, we definitely can not trust nearly any other news organisation, because they have shareholders and are operating for profit? How about your conflict of interest? Do you own stock? If yes, by your own argument you have a financial conflict of interest and can't be trusted.

CryptoPunk 5y ago
>>So by your argument, we definitely can not trust nearly any other news organisation, because they have shareholders and are operating for profit? Being in a union, and your employer not being able to replace you with people outside of the union as a result of left-wing laws that are predicated on an extremely left-wing ideological conception of the world, creates a far more extreme conflict of interest in my opinion. We don't need to take a centrist position between shareholders operating in a free market to earn a profit, by providing consumers with goods/services they want at competitive prices, and unions extracting economic rent through restrictive anti-free market laws that limit other people's right to free association. One position is inherently fairer and less likely to lead to corrupting conflicting interests.