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"Even so, the contract between H211 and the Pentagon stated that the fuel was supposed to be used only "for performance of a U.S. government contract, charter o

by AmVess 13y ago

"Even so, the contract between H211 and the Pentagon stated that the fuel was supposed to be used only "for performance of a U.S. government contract, charter or other approved use," and said violations could trigger civil or criminal penalties. There is no indication of any such investigation." Kick-back for Google granting NSA quick and easy access to their servers? A little too tin foil hat for my tastes, but it wouldn't surprise me.

craigmccaskill 13y ago
The dollar amount saved on fuel costs would be under $2 million. Their 2012 cash reserves were just shy of $4.8 billion. You're barking up entirely the wrong tree.
- pfortuny 13y ago
  Well, you can feed a lot of people and give work to a lot of other people with "under $2million." I think that is what we are complaining about.
- bowlofpetunias 13y ago
  I don't quite get your point here. They have so much money they wouldn't care about a bit more? My experience with wealthy people/companies is exactly the opposite, they didn't get there by leaving a "measly" $2 million on the table.
  - DannyBee 13y ago
    You should try meeting these particular people sometime, before making mean-spirited assumptions about them?
    - lostlogin 13y ago
      Ah, the character witness.
    - bowlofpetunias 13y ago
      How is suggesting wealthy people would care about $2 million "mean-spirited"? I didn't say all wealthy people would also put ethical considerations aside for $2 million. I certainly hope not.
  - craigmccaskill 13y ago
    The OP was suggesting this was a bribe or 'kick-back'. The scales for which are entirely ridiculous. Of course Google cares about money, but to suggest that they would make sweeping changes to their infrastructure and privacy policy for something on this small a scale is nothing short of hilarious.
- pjc50 13y ago
  The real perk is having _access_ to something that's not on the market for any price - the privilege of a convenient government airfield. Even more exclusive than a regular private jet.
- wutbrodo 13y ago
  Did you accidentally add a decimal point, or do you ha D different figures? I thought reserves were closer to 50 billion.
matthewmacleod 13y ago
It's not a little "tin foil hat", it's full-blown "the government bombed the twin towers" level of raving-mad consipracy-theorist nutjobbery. The idea that any government organisation would have the competence to pull this off should be a stark sign that they didn't. It's getting tiresome that nearly every single post on HN features at least one comment accusing the NSA of being implicated in the subject of the story. And this isn't a radical apologia. I'm deeply concerned about the NSA, GCHQ, data interception and the fact that judicial processes are being sidestepped. However, I can't help but feel that jumping at every shadow mires this discussion in so much hysteria that it's going to result in people tuning out, and the real issue being buried under reams of facile argument about whether or not the NSA has backdoored the friggin' RNG on Intel CPUs!
peterkelly 13y ago
NASA, not NSA.

by AmVess 13y ago

craigmccaskill 13y ago

The dollar amount saved on fuel costs would be under $2 million. Their 2012 cash reserves were just shy of $4.8 billion. You're barking up entirely the wrong tree.

pfortuny 13y ago
Well, you can feed a lot of people and give work to a lot of other people with "under $2million." I think that is what we are complaining about.
bowlofpetunias 13y ago
I don't quite get your point here. They have so much money they wouldn't care about a bit more? My experience with wealthy people/companies is exactly the opposite, they didn't get there by leaving a "measly" $2 million on the table.
- DannyBee 13y ago
  You should try meeting these particular people sometime, before making mean-spirited assumptions about them?
  - lostlogin 13y ago
    Ah, the character witness.
  - bowlofpetunias 13y ago
    How is suggesting wealthy people would care about $2 million "mean-spirited"? I didn't say all wealthy people would also put ethical considerations aside for $2 million. I certainly hope not.
- craigmccaskill 13y ago
  The OP was suggesting this was a bribe or 'kick-back'. The scales for which are entirely ridiculous. Of course Google cares about money, but to suggest that they would make sweeping changes to their infrastructure and privacy policy for something on this small a scale is nothing short of hilarious.
pjc50 13y ago
The real perk is having _access_ to something that's not on the market for any price - the privilege of a convenient government airfield. Even more exclusive than a regular private jet.
wutbrodo 13y ago
Did you accidentally add a decimal point, or do you ha D different figures? I thought reserves were closer to 50 billion.

matthewmacleod 13y ago

It's not a little "tin foil hat", it's full-blown "the government bombed the twin towers" level of raving-mad consipracy-theorist nutjobbery. The idea that any government organisation would have the competence to pull this off should be a stark sign that they didn't. It's getting tiresome that nearly every single post on HN features at least one comment accusing the NSA of being implicated in the subject of the story. And this isn't a radical apologia. I'm deeply concerned about the NSA, GCHQ, data interception and the fact that judicial processes are being sidestepped. However, I can't help but feel that jumping at every shadow mires this discussion in so much hysteria that it's going to result in people tuning out, and the real issue being buried under reams of facile argument about whether or not the NSA has backdoored the friggin' RNG on Intel CPUs!

peterkelly 13y ago

NASA, not NSA.