1. Jimmy Carter mentioned in his biography that Obama asked him not to speak at the DNC because he acknowledged Palestinians deserved a right to live peacefully in one of his speeches. I revisited that speech, and it was by all accounts tame. He explicitly mentioned Obama's Jewish chief of Staff describing AIPAC as opposing this, and Carter was denied a speech at the DNC for this very reason (including his support for a two state solutions, which the American jewry by all accounts opposes through their actions, despite their rhetoric). A US President was shunned from US elections because he was slightly critical of Israel. Let that sink in.
2. Nixon describing AIPAC influence and Pelosi describing how the US capitol could burn while ensuring Israel thrives:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53x_zrkJwDs
The point of the above is American sitting Presidents or influential politicians describe the pressure they face of subjugating US interests to Israel's because America's economy is dominated by Jews and Evangelicals, who believe Israel must survive at all costs (including to the detriment of American interests). I understand how religiosity can lead to undermining America in favor of Israel. I cannot comprehend how Americans can defend this in good faith. Being America first is incompatible with the conduct of Israel, including its founding, for it is a colonial apartheid state that was founded on the murder and dislocation of families. I think it is difficult for most of us to imagine that the victims of a Holocaust, an abominable crime, can in turn be filled with so much hatred that they resort to the very crimes they were the victims of. I believe we went into Iraq and we fund Israel because powerful forces in these United States wish for us to do their dirty work, including when this work harms American interests, and most importantly, the values most of us hold dear: that every human being has the right to life, liberty and the security of his person.
I was discussing Singapore recently. I asked a friend of mine with a PhD on the subject what made it so special (is it the port?). He mentioned if he had to pinpoint one reason, Singapore is a first-world nation in that region of the world because of the rule of law. Corruption was dealt with swiftly and harshly. Looking at contracts given to Elon (Teslas selling on front lawns, SpaceX contracts in the billions funded by our taxes), Sam Altman (who gave the current admin 1 million at inauguration and has reaped many folds), and Tim Cook (for a brief time, Apple being exempted of tarrifs), my heart quickly hurts. The comments are making light of the situation and joking on Defense software, while ignoring the magnitude of this. When favors are gained via bribes, America becomes the very concept we all despised: corruption and favors dictating our governance à la Soviet Union. We saw the Kushners lead talks on the Middle East, we saw inept billionaires leading the department of education (WWE's Linda McMahon), we saw the Adelsons drag us into a war on behalf of Israel, and yet there is something that is particularly funny here. I think I might be missing the joke... My age might be showing, but these headlines are precedents that are undermining the fabric of America. Perhaps we deserve it, since the only response is light hearted jokes, holding paddle signs at union addresses, and protests where Instagram photos and poses, wearing silly hats and holding signs with aphorisms, occur alongside military parades. The circus writes itself, and history books will judge us harshly on this one.
It is amazing how con men make it. Leo has an atrocious track record, yet he is still getting into advisory roles because he was CEO of HP (despite being fired and losing BILLIONS in his short tenure). A girl scout would have made better CEO and cut losses. All it takes is for someone to be propped up by an establishment; they make a career out of it, despite lacking the technical skills to run a brothel. He was worse than Carly by miles. I do not agree with the author: HP is a dying company. While its current technical leadership is savvy, it is not the company Hewlett built. Disruption from the inside cannot fix a company that has been plagued (similar to Boeing).
Curious about your response to the other dude's reply. It is irrefutable that over 10k children (lowest estimate) have been killed by the IDF. Btw I am very much western in my values and morals, but I think it would be foolish to state that the war in Iraq, which we know for a fact was based on lies, or Israel's occupation and genocide, constitute our western spirit. They are stains on every moral (western, religious, or ethical), and hate begets hate. Ghaza is very interesting as far as I am concerned. There is no world where the occupation and settlements imposed by Israel are aligned with our morals, but it is interesting how a diaspora of religious individuals, who ascribe to a devoted loyalty to a fictional nation (Israel, based on the Jewish Bible), can excuse genocides, curtailing the first amendment and free speech, and every western value you speak of, for its sake. This is but case A. Iraq is currently a mess (and for the last decade, was worse because of our invasion), while Afghanistan fell under an oppressive regime the moment we left. But I must come back to Ghaza. I think it is an abomination on every western society, and I am amazed at the stronghold Israel has over us. Western figures (like Ben Shapiro) call for wars against half of our country (leftists), and have no issue bullying refugees, LGBT members that are American, or preventing Americans from marrying who they wish or being themselves. Yet, any critique of Israel, and de facto our foreign policy, is a red line. I view these people, and those comments in the spirit of yours, as treacherous. Being critical of one's country is what makes America great, for if we do not hold ourselves accountable, then we might fall victims to those oppressions that made America a haven in the days of yore.
I am sorry but why do Thiel and Musk represent the Valley? They are outsiders who by all account are mentally ill and have more skeletons in their closets than a European monarch. I feel the Valley preceded these charlatans. Neither of them contribute much (SpaceX is unregulated nasa, thiel makes with palantir surveillance to target and maim children through drones). They are less technically savvy than an undergrad at CMU or Berkeley. Those who idolize them need a reality check
I love Apple and almost exclusively purchase their products. That being said, they will never lead in this realm. The worst students from my graduate studies joined Apple and NVIDIA. The top researchers in this field went into Google and OpenAI. Just look at linkedin profiles. Over time, Apple is destined to fall behind, given they do not pay as much as their competitors, and are much less reluctant to invest in the capital required to improve these models (despite larger capital, Apple leadership is surprisingly illiterate. Cook and Ternus are not software guys). Google has TPUs, and I am of the opinion their model will be used in future iphones (Sundar and Sam Altman are other illiterates, but there are very talented people at Google rn and should they have the reigns, I am confident they will dominate this field). Just looking at linkedin, the people that published tiny improvements in models are at Apple, those who truly contributed to these models through publications are at Google.
I think this an excuse that people who hold no power like to believe to convince themselves it is a left/right wing issue and that they have a say in this. Free speech is one issue that every American embraces. The truth is no American has a say in this, because in our free market economy, the ones who hold power would rather see the Capitol burn than oppose Israel. Today, the head of Columbia is someone who gave speeches for AIPAC, sponsored by billionaires. If you sincerely believe this is a left/right wing issue, then I genuinely feel sorry for you. When foreign nations dictate who can come into our country, or what our universities should teach, then America's freedom is under attack. Also, it is explicitly stated as an Israel issue by Marco Rubio, who is a recipient of quite generous sums from 2 pro Israeli lobbies (his top 2 donors for quite a while have been Israel first lobby groups that advocate on behalf of a foreign nation in Florida).
[0] https://www.opensecrets.org/members-of-congress/marco-rubio/...
This is most certainly vetting against anti-Israel views. I know first hand that rich donors to the Trump campaigns (Adelsons and others) made Israel their top priority. They are seeking to control the narrative around this war, and are unable to do so with college-aged students that do not consume Facebook or Fox News media. It seems with everything else failing, they are resorting to vetting. Their concern is empathetic students coming into positions of power, which threatens the well-being of their darling (Israel). Among college aged students, Israel is viewed like Iran (and rightfully so, because the videos coming out of Ghaza are incompatible with western morals and values). America naturalized Trevor Noah during a Trump admin, who was critical of America on his show for 5 years. It seems Israel is where they draw the line, mainly because of the power some groups hold over the Trump admin (like every other admin frankly). In our country, you can criticize everything and everyone but free speech does not include a criticism of the darling of most of America's billionaires
I cannot fathom why we are vetting people on behalf of Israel. The whole thing started because our gov can no longer control the narrative (making Israel look as the good guy has long since been refuted by every educated individual, in favor of the apartheid regime they have instilled for the last decades, and their recent genocide). So to get this straight, as an American, I should favor vetting on behafl of a foreign nation because rich donors to Trump feel offended by empathy that college students have for children being mutilated and displaced? This is beyond ridiculous. It seems Trump is panicking at his inability to control narrative (as our media has been controlled by pro-Israel billionaires for decades). That is the sole reason for this move and their purchase of TikTok. The ugly truth is China and Europe will retain this talent, and over the span of 20-50 years, their economies will reap benefits from such progress.
At least something came out of it. In 08, all the executives that tanked our economy retired and are enjoying manors in the Hampton and socialize in country clubs on Long Island. Cheney, an oil executive, started a war based on lies when he landed in the highest office of the land, and now owns hundreds of acres in Wyoming based on oil profits Halliburton extracted (and paid him as a consultant for 5years after his VP position, whatever that means). I wish we did a better job in the US sending our criminals to prison, but I guess a neoliberal capitalist society will always favor a) high fines over justice for white collar crimes, b) as little attention as possible, given a supposedly free media can make a raucous encore and draw more attention. It is a facet of the trade.
My argument is time vested into this is time away from discovery and research. Communication is certainly a valuable skills. But by most accounts, significant effort is spent on grants and to make publications appealing to employers (the author himself argues for fun branding in a scientific paper). Instead, I argue the focus should be on advancing the field. Of course, you can argue that conference papers with fun branding and a neural network improvement in one benchmark (where selection bias makes the model look robust), is advancing the field. And it's all about getting paper accepted, so I can get a high h-index, so I can get a high paying job or a job in academia. But I believe the real impact of scientific research is in its footprint on the next generation, and I sincerely doubt any of these papers (using fun branding and focusing on the wrong things), will have an impact then. I hope I am proven wrong.
I have a problem with this. In the old days, people did research for the sake of research, and mostly out of Europe came the greatest scientific works we have seen. I did my PhD in the US, and it is very unfortunate that "gaming" publications and focusing on "grants" is the meat of research. Before I get criticized, I was part of this process at a top 10 university and I am a proud American. It is because of this pride that I must show tough love. I chose to move away from academia without a postdoc because I hated it. I wanted to do research and contribute to work that pushes my field forward. Most (90% of those I met, and I dare say 99% of international students) only wanted a PhD for selfish reasons (entry to US market, salary bump, changing fields, access to RnD jobs, etc). Perhaps I am naive, but I wish more people did research for the sake of research. The only Clay prize went to a Russian who hated academia. Perhaps there is some truth in the fact the immortals in science are not those churning conference papers, but those laying seeds a la Laplace, Einstein, etc. I want to see more of those, because this is what will move the field forward. It is not manipulating metrics to improve a neural network for one use case, while knowing (and not sharing) it fails in every other instance. This is my second beef with research. When something is tried but does not work, it is not shared. Someone else will try and fail, and this build up will overall slow everyone down. I wish we were more accepting of failed trials, and of not knowing the answer (sharing results without the theory is OKAY. It is OKAY if someone else comes up with it using your results. Having spent many years in a PhD, I can confirm the vast majority unfortunately do not share my point of view. And I hope I do not come across as bitter, it frankly makes me sad.
I will take that bet Chuck. Maybe not completely replace, but AI will be the defacto search platform. I find myself using Google less and less these days
It speaks volumes tho that one of his clauses was to be treated as a co-founder. He clearly has a chip on his shoulder, and his technical abilities are to be questioned. Ultimately, people choose to believe Elon is smart or a good guy (saving the environment etc.). I think he is a remarkable conman. He was able to convince remarkable engineers to work on these products under the pretext of saving the environment, while paying relatively low wages (a few years ago Tesla pay was not comparable to other car manufacturers despite its California location). Also, I find it really funny that he was illegal in the US for a few months, and currently opposes immigration the way he does. Regarldess of your views on these matters, any man that takes a piece of the pie (subsidies, immigration etc.) and denies it to the next person is either a conman or a hypocrite, or both. I think he is a conman, who knows the next person will resort to tactics similar to his, and wants to avoid it. He never cared about the environment, given he is doing everything in his power to kill other EVs and maximize his own profits. There are many skeletons in the Musk and Thiel closets, enough to fill a graveyard. Hypocrisy is truly seen as a virtue in DC
The problem is non-technical folks tend to hire other non-technical folks for leadership (MBAs recruit other MBAs). What ends up happening is the leadership structure shifts from one dominated by technically-savvy people, to a culture of business. Best example is Apple (not a startup anymore, but I think my point will rest). Under Jobs, Forstall, Ive and other teams all prioritized product. Currently, Apple's leadership consists of Cook, Luca, Schiller, Eddy Cue, Williams, Ternus and Craig (they are the ones that effectively make the big decisions). Craig and Ternus are the only "engineers", and neither of them have been engineering first. This is not a founders story, but I am trying to highlight how non-technical folks will put in the decision making seat non-technical folks, which will harm your product in the long run. You can be the best engineer out there. If you report to someone who holds the reigns and is not technical, you are facing a tough road. Of course, there will be exceptions. However, this is rather the norm, and in startup culture, where the odds are already stacked against you, I'd advise against it.
Here's a tip to every reader. If your founders or co-founders are not technical (and never have been) and are pitching stacks using buzzwords, run. Equity is worthless if the startup goes under
Author is not consistent. He mentions in 25 cases, the firm hiring McKinsey did not know the answer beforehand. Yet, Leap is based on firms already knowing the answer. The reason McKinsey is hired is to avoid internal conflicts over which manager takes the reigns. I doubt McKinsey is providing solutions to these industries (as in, introducing a product that was not pitched internally by someone already. In fact, in most cases, a manager will pitch the solution and McKinsey's job is purely finding the right managers to leave this internal "startup" to). Should that be the case, I would love to be proven wrong. However, every consultant I had met is no engineer or tech leader. They are merely consultants, restructuring the answers in ways that avoid conflicts within established giants. Most of them are Ivy League graduates that never worked in the technical field (got hired at Bain or McKinsey fresh out of school). Often we would make up stacks to demonstrate how ignorant they can be of technology. Managers and business people love McKinsey. As an engineer, I have not met any tech founder or technical engineer that esteemed the field (just listen to Steve Jobs' opinion on consulting). I attribute the mess that Google is under Sundar to McKinsey (not even mentioning the Opioid crisis where their hands are stained too). The redeeming factor is the author describes them as the enemy and is at least honest about his reasons for joining (stability and established resume name)
Never understood his appeal. Lacks charisma. Not technically savvy relative to many engineers at OpenAI(I doubt he would pass their own intern interviews, even less so their FT). Very unlikeable in person (comes off as fake for some reason, like a political plant). Who is vouching for this guy. When I met him, for some reason, he reminded me of Thiel. He is no Jobs
I agree!!! I just need color syntaxing and basic stuff for reading. They are so focused on playing Youtube videos (even reviews focus on that). These devices are purchased by people that READ. We have ipads and other monitors for the other stuff. I think tech is filled with management that are detached from reality. It is like Elon alienating the base for Teslas... Red States DON'T buy EVs dude. What happened to common sense in tech... Just look at what your customer base wants THEN design the product. Don't focus on what the competition is doing.
Saw lots of them on Marketplace. Seems like they are useless. I bought an apple vision pro for 1100 (MINT condition) because the owner only used it to watch movies but couldn't share them with his wife. It just sat unused. I am very curious as to what will make this type of tech kick off. It seems to be a solution in search of a problem. I used mine to watch videos and for trivial things
The PhD institution I went to reduced their acceptance from 50 to 26. There is fear of not securing funding. The damage done is projects that are promising were cut. These projects will get picked up by other countries. The damage in the long term will be losing our edge in many regards, which will harm our economy. Where I did my undergrad just replaced their dean with an AIPAC member who has no experience in academia (a first in nearly two hundred years of this institution's). It is insane what is happening. A judge in Wisconsin was arrested today. There are those who believe America is resilient. The damage being done (I can promise you) will cause this great nation unbelievable harm in the long run, when this traitor in charge and his foreign allies (Putin and Netanyahu) which he promises allegiance to OVER our constitution and our moral values have long since passed. There is much noise, much of it as a distraction, but on the small level, many changes (most recently the NSF director leaving) are tangible changes that have a real impact that is certainly felt immediately in budget cuts, but will be even more drastic in its long term strategic impact. Also, I fly a bunch, and I see an immediate change in the respect America used to command abroad. Our values and reputation, which took over a hundred years in the making, became a laughing stock, and our closest allies no longer view America as a beacon.
Those that criticize DEI have no problem with Nepotism. Ivanka and Jared had white house positions, that paid them salaries and entitled them to secret service on trips to Israel and Saudi Arabia. That tells you all you need to know. I would not hire either of them as doormen in a new building development, but they ran the house on 1600 Pennsylvania. DEI really is poor nomenclature. I think all of us favor someone that came from hardship (low income areas, refugees, veterans, disabled person that wants to find fulfillment by working), and giving them an opportunity. There are many places (and states) where these people would NOT be hired, even if they were qualified.
Ever since Meta was found to cooperate with Israel and ever since they tried to buy Tiktok through bids, I became sure all those articles are merely intended to control a social media outlet to control narrative.
Side note: is there any eink monitor someone recommends? I have a macbook pro, a macbook air and a remarkable pro. The Remarkable pro (has colors) flickers way too much. My macbook pro also uses miniled which dries my eyes. It is using PWM I figured (work laptop, so I used it docked). I want an eink monitor with no flickers, that is easy on the eyes. The macbook air screen is great compared to the macbook pro (does not use PWM). I thought I don't need color on the eink monitor, but syntax highlighting helps ... Maybe I am just getting old ha, but I sit in front of monitors for 10-12 hours a day
They recently closed their Middle Eastern studies department. Absolutely insane tbh. Imagine closing a center of Asian or African studies because the president wants to make his Jewish daughter and some rich donors of his happy. How can we be okay with any of this. They caved there. The only reasoning for this response is it infringes on their sovereignty. But make no mistake, every institution rolled back DEI and other initiatives for this admin. Hoping Alan will do what is right. Reinstate that department. Double down on fighting the admin in court. America will not be held hostage by a wanna-be autocrat, a foreign power or those who swear allegiance to Isra-el over American ideals and education in these United States. Silencing dissent in institutions of learning is tyrannical.
A recent HN article shows Facebook silenced Pro Palestine posts due to Israeli interference. The issue with Meta controlling so many social media outlets is control over information. A populace that is uninformed will welcome a master (and deserves one), and will look the other way when genocides and injustice take place in our world. The audience of HN is educated and unlikely to fall for misinformation. However, I have seen firsthand how anti-immigrant sentiments, racism and anti-muslim sentiment [1] can prosper when one man controls the flow of information, for they can steer public opinion in ways that are alien to our morals (and favors either their personal politics, their bottom dollar or other nefarious reasons). This is somewhat similar to the Sinclair family running identical stories on many TV stations they control to control narratives. However, Meta has much greater reach. Their role in allowing Russian interference in US elections for ad revenue has largely been forgotten, but Zuck played a role in spreading misinformation and allowing fake users (pretending to be Americans) to steer anger in the population, and allowed a foreign entity to spend their dollars favoring an American candidate (Election meddling). Ultimately, you can argue we must check our sources, but once again, HN is a small bubble. I know firsthand from Meta engineers that Facebook does practically nothing to stop Russian and Iranian threats and is in bed with the Israelis. I hope the FTC comes for their a--
Just not true. I favor EVs, but it is incredibly misleading to say 98% comes from other sources. In many places, natural gas and coal are still used to generate the electricity needed. That must be accounted for in your life cycle analysis. In fact, once you remove the Musk propaganda, Tesla's EVs are by no way greener (draw a boundary around his other company SpaceX, and the rocket fuel it uses, and you immediately see what I mean. Worse than Exxon I would bet)
Likely he means expressing any pro-Palestine sentiments. Doxxing is very common and if Ivy League deans were taken down, immigrants are likely to be deported for expressing any empathy towards the Palestinian.
I am not a bot. In fact I welcome ideas to take them down. I am just not owned by Israel and do not disseminate their propaganda, and I frankly reject their influence on our politics. I see them as enemies of the United States, because their morals are very much not aligned with ours as far as I am concerned. Your other comments opposing blocking Israel tells me you are Israeli. I understand you could be victim of their propaganda too (visit the Ghaza strip. I am sure the IDF will provide you protection. Or fly a drone over it to see the famine Israel is responsible for). I would urge you to oppose your gov interfering in American politics. We do not take lightly to foreign interference :)
Realistically, how can we uncover this type of foreign interference? As in, is there any hack someone in our community can perform to expose Israeli propaganda? Israel locked journalists out of Ghaza, and has pretty much dominion over social media in the US. How can someone remain informed or expose misinformation campaigns (ideally without repercussions, which is a dangerous control they have over our gov)?