rmk

61 ms·

631.
by rmk 8y ago
This is the type of comment that keeps me coming back to hacker news! Where did you get this information? Books? Care to share recommendations?
632.
by rmk 8y ago
> Please dude, actually read up on the involvement of the US in the secret wars in Cambodia by Kissinger, the School of the Americas, instrumental in teaching South American militaries repressive strategies that killed tens of thousands
633.
by rmk 8y ago
The British just exported it to locales outside their own. See the Caribbean, the remote Pacific Islands (Australia, effectively British for practical purposes at that time, enslaved many Pacific Islanders to work in plantations), much of t
634.
by rmk 8y ago
India (part of the British Empire) also sent millions who died fighting in North Africa. The reasons every country got into the war were complex. But it is also largely true that America spilled blood and treasure out of a sense of obligati
635.
by rmk 8y ago
> And you seem to be arguing that this is a good thing? Surely any company (filled with people) should be free to work on whatever technologies that those people feel is ethically right. I'm arguing that it's not a cut-and-dry
636.
by rmk 8y ago
> Did you even read up on this story because that is essentially what they tried to do and it backfired? I read that the 'contract was routed through' some front-company. I don't think that was separate company staffed wit
637.
by rmk 8y ago
> In what other industries does the government require companies to develop military technology? The canonical example is the early days of aerospace, where for all practical purposes you were developing military technology. > So you&
638.
by rmk 8y ago
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFwHQYDqf6c I couldn't resist :)
639.
by rmk 8y ago
> I don't think what I'm saying depends on corporate personhood. My point is, if you claim that corporations have a responsibility to contribute back to the military, you are claiming that someone at the company should do that.
640.
by rmk 8y ago
> He's beholden to his shareholders and every move they have made is all about that. That's the real nub. I'd posit that this is also about keeping a small but vocal group of employees happy. However, why did Google effect
641.
by rmk 8y ago
It doesn't have to be that drastic. Plenty of other companies do this kind of stuff. See for example, Boeing. It has a separate Commercial Airplanes division. Plenty of technology sharing happens between the Military arm of Boeing and
642.
by rmk 8y ago
> Please, keep drinking that Kool-Aid of American exceptionalism. Apart from the British, which other country has contributed to more invasions in foreign countries for the sake of purely economic interests? I will! Which country came to
643.
by rmk 8y ago
Here we have a difference of opinion. I strongly believe corporations are less accountable to the general public than individuals or (democratic) Government, including the Military. I simply do not believe in corporate personhood. I do thin
644.
by rmk 8y ago
In my comments, I repeatedly say that individuals should not be compelled to work on military technology, except in times of war. Hardly confusing. > In fact, reading your comments you seem to suggest that any entity (any individual even
645.
by rmk 8y ago
What does "we (read: our employees) would prefer to not work on weapons systems" have to do with a "self-righteous belief in their superiority over the American people"? I'm honestly confused as to how those two con
646.
by rmk 8y ago
People should never be compelled to work on producing weapons or munitions, except in times of war. Google, specifically, like Facebook, should be invited to explain itself and generally describe its activities a bit more transparently for
647.
by rmk 8y ago
"Google changes its policy to maintain its workforce" Google, an already known to be duplicitous company, changed its policy to maintain its workforce at the expense of US national interests . That's certainly something to b
648.
by rmk 8y ago
I am aware of America's many follies and villainous acts in support of misguided notions. It's regrettable, but Americans as a group have strived to rectify wrongs and steer our country in the right direction. I deeply cherish our
649.
by rmk 8y ago
You raise an interesting point. What makes Google the corporation better than males under 26? If you believe in corporate personhood, then Google, Facebook are definitely villains --- avoiding taxes, running ads from enemy states etc, while
650.
by rmk 8y ago
I'm sure many US employees were against it, and they were rightfully exercising their voice. Google may have offices all over the world, but it's an American company, and like people (Corporations are like people, no?), it must be
651.
by rmk 8y ago
I'm convinced that Google is touting its' 'principles' with a hackneyed blog post probably written by some PR flack. As an American, I'm disappointed, and positively enraged by the hubris on display here. A bunch of
652.
by rmk 8y ago
Berkeley has course material for their discrete math course online. Much more accessible and fits within the constraints of a quarter / semester.
653.
by rmk 8y ago
Do not know why you are getting downvoted, but I enjoyed your mini-essay :)
654.
by rmk 8y ago
There was no (written) agreement. One of the things that made it difficult for the artist to get a cut.
655.
by rmk 8y ago
See Pharma companies for an example of what happens when you have a guaranteed market that capitalises on research funded by the public. Solar is very similar.
656.
by rmk 8y ago
Perhaps you have missed some facts. ZTE repeatedly (> 100 times) violated the terms of a court ordered probation, intentionally gave misleading information, despite being levied a > 1B fine (the original reason for sanctions: sending
657.
by rmk 8y ago
How? The area west of 280 is mostly protected land, so it's hard to build. Some of the empty areas out by Alviso/Milpitas are superfund sites. Apparently it's much harder than it looks to reclaim the Bay and build on it (best
658.
by rmk 8y ago
Palo Alto has a 50-ft building height limit. The height of greed, that is!
659.
by rmk 8y ago
Yeah, I think the way the 5 boroughs are organised is great for New York. People who are okay with high-density housing flock to Manhattan and those that want to have suburbs, leafy streets and green lawns stay in Long Island, West Chester
660.
by rmk 8y ago
There are some key differences between Detroit and the Bay Area ( http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=San+Francisco-Oakland-F... ): 1. Less room to spread out in the Bay Area. Detroit does not have many high-rises, and

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