Hacker News Reader

deadbea7on A Brief History of the Chinese Growth Model

Looks like a crashed server. Short url of the google cache link http://bit.ly/WcTSWk

EDIT: site seems to be back again

deadbea7on Turkish government agency spoofed Google certificate “accidentally”

I can think of legitimate reasons for enterprises to MITM traffic. For example, protecting users against malware as a result of drive-by downloads or spear phishing campaigns. Data loss prevention is another good reason -- I would want an enterprise that I'm trusting with my credit card data to alert on payment instruments leaving their network to gmail accounts, for instance.

deadbea7on Facebook app analyzes posts to find out which friend gave you the flu

I'm sure the "Help, I have an STD," version of the app is not far behind.

deadbea7on Vulnerability in FB Camera App Allowed for MITM Account Hijacking over WiFi

Users are only vulnerable if they are using an unsecured or untrusted public wireless network and an older version of the application.

s/an unsecured or untrusted public wireless network/the internet/

deadbea7on "I've got nothing to hide" and other misunderstandings of privacy

Monitoring at this scale would require tremendous resources that the Federal government has plenty of but individuals are unable (or unwilling) to invest. The article makes the argument for accumulation of information as a means to obtain power; in the case of individuals collectively accumulating information on the government, who holds the power? If the derived power is fragmented then no one would be motivated to take action.

deadbea7on Single-Click Double-Tap Murder

Is it somehow illegitimate to use drones on regular soldiers if it's tactically advantageous

No, but I reject the categorization of "military-age males in a strike zone" [1] as regular soldiers.

[1] http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/29/world/obamas-leadership-in...

deadbea7on Single-Click Double-Tap Murder

They don't reduce "enemy collateral damage", though. In fact, the collateral fatalities from drone attacks are one of the highest at 98%, according to some estimates [1]. Compare this to estimated civillian casualty rate of 60% in WWII [2] and around 50% in Vietnam [3] (distorted figures because anyone in a "free-fire" zone is considered the enemy).

The intelligence for drone strikes are based on patterns, such as a party of men carrying guns or a group of unknown people plotting something. And so these strikes routinely -- and sometimes deliberately -- target wedding parties [4], funerals, and rescue workers [5], and children [6].

Add to this the psychological trauma of constantly living under the threat of drones [7], it is no wonder citizens of countries where these programs are carried out hold somewhat of a grudge against the US [8]. You can call it signature strike, or whatever you want, the fact is that bombs do not know the difference between combatants and women/children/civilians. They kill indiscriminately. So forgive me if I don't see the "advantage" of using drones over boots on the ground or see how they are "better".

[1] http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/05/opinion/bergen-obama-drone/ind...

[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II_casualties

[3] http://www.vn-agentorange.org/edmaterials/cost_of_vn_war.htm...

[4] http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57448041/afghanistan-off...

[5] http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/aug/20/us-drone...

[6] http://tribune.com.pk/story/229844/the-day-69-children-died/

[7] http://livingunderdrones.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Stan...

[8] http://www.pewglobal.org/2012/06/27/pakistani-public-opinion...

deadbea7on Anonymous takes down over 550 Israeli sites, wipes databases

> Even in India, the nature of non violence movement was not completely non violent

It's difficult, if not impossible, for non-violent movements to succeed without the existence of credible threat of violence. Sad, but generally true. This was true of Ghandi and Bhagat Singh's India, as it was for ANC (or MK) and Mandela's South Africa.

The Israelis have little motivation to come to the negotiating table towards a diplomatic solution because the threat of violence against them is not credible enough to act as a deterrent. It is rational for Israel to not show restraint and act in the most aggressive manner possible.

deadbea7on Kalzumeus Podcast 3: Growing Consulting Practices, with Brennan Dunn

How do you charge if onsite presence is required for an engagement? This could either be due to a client requirement or you need to do interviews with developers for an architecture/code review. Should you add a separate line item for travel + lodging expenses or just bundle it together with the consulting rate? I feel like you're at a disadvantage if the client can see that you're more expensive compared to local talent because of the added travel expense, especially if you're coming into a place with plenty of competition, such as the valley.

deadbea7on India firm shakes up cancer drug market with price cuts

I would also give credit to Indian patent laws that allow people like him to shake things up.

"In 1972, India made only the process for making drugs patentable, not the drugs themselves."

Compare this to the US where I believe you can patent the active ingredients of a drug, allowing pharmaceuticals to charge more for lifesaving medicine for a longer period of time.

deadbea7on As An Author, Why I Truly Hate Ebook DRM

> "DRM Halts The Spread Of Ideas": If someone can't afford the book, in many countries they can go to a library. They don't need ownership to read the ideas.

In most third world countries there aren't a lot of libraries. Even if you are lucky enough to have access to one, the collection of books is most likely outdated.

When I was living in Pakistan it was prohibitively expensive to have books shipped to me (and I was a salaried professional so can be considered relatively well-off) and ebooks offered a reasonably priced alternative at around Rs. 700 ($9.99) + no shipping costs. Most people, though, would look for a pirated copy if they could find one because Rs. 700 is still a significant expense for someone who makes Rs. 25,000 a month.