Hacker News Reader

doombolton Why affordable housing is scarce in progressive cities

"Rent control" is the idea that people already living in a city have more rights to live there than people who are not.

While it may sound socially just it is also one of most un-progressive (conservative) things you can imagine. It literally conserves the population of a given district.

doombolton Quietly, Japan has established itself as a power in the aerospace industry

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_military_intervention_in_...

United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973, on the situation in Libya, is a measure that was adopted on 17 March 2011. The Security Council resolution was proposed by France, Lebanon, and the United Kingdom.

Noam Chomsky has argued that the Western military intervention into Libya was a clear breach of UNSCR 1973 since it nullified the attempts for a ceasefire that were put forward by the resolution and welcomed by Gaddafi. As he puts it, "NATO powers (France and Britain in the lead and the United States following) violated the resolution, radically, and became the air force of the rebels. Nothing in the resolution justified that. It did call for "all necessary steps" to protect civilians, but there's a big difference between protecting civilians and being the air force for the rebels."

Definitely sounds like an agressive war to me. UN is a kind of self-indulgence here. Makes France more dangerous if anything, if they can pull things like this one through. They'll not only mess with you but make security council's members abstain when they plan the operation.

doombolton Quietly, Japan has established itself as a power in the aerospace industry

Did they try to conquer wider lands here? Does it count as an aggressive war? If it does not, why would one care that much?

doombolton Quietly, Japan has established itself as a power in the aerospace industry

You are thinking that Napoleon is a phenomenon on NK instead of being a phenomenon of France. This is based on some loud noises coming from the direction of NK and relative silence from French side. This is baseless.

France have access to ICBM, aaaand we know they are Napoleon-capable. I'm not saying they're in for a global conflict, just telling that political-military opinions are built upon sand.

doombolton Quietly, Japan has established itself as a power in the aerospace industry

France has a long history of invading all kinds of countries, including European ones (think Napoleonic 1812). They're not hesitating to do that today when we consider Africa.

Neither South nor North Korea has either commitment or capacity or historical precedent.

North Korea is a "fake it till you make it" media scarecrow. They would not go to agressive war and they never actually claimed they want to.

If you try to do "five whys" on "Why you should fear North Korea more than France" the topic will evaporate around the third "why".

doombolton Mondelez cuts ties with 12 palm oil suppliers, citing deforestation

I like how Europe (and USA to some extent) destroyed their forests and biodiversity long ago, and now are pushing other, poorer societies to preserve biodiversity for the whole world while staying poor.

If you're so concerned about forests why don't you grow some yourself instead of bullying other countres?

Expecting a lot of dislikes from Bay Area which is a huge plot of ecosystems destroyed for profit.

doombolton The Sharashka Phenomenon (2011)

There were never any other plan.

Leo Trotsky, for example, wrote that Soviet state should exploit its workers to attain its socialist goals, with hopes that at some point things would go sufficiently well that they will no longer feel exploited. If it never happens, too bad.

Stalin forced him away but he never had any other policy.

Fast forward to 1990, nobody wanted to be a part of Soviet state to lift a finger to keep it whole. And we're talking high ranking officials, army and state security here.

doombolton The Sharashka Phenomenon (2011)

No way you could buy an imported car, for starters. You had to be a Vysotsky to pull that off.

doombolton What Makes .NET Core So Special?

When I try to run a random .Net exe file with dotnet core it will complain about libhostpolicy.so dependency missing.

I understand that it is not supposed to run .exe files (no idea why, okay), but overall it sounds like awful usability.

doombolton The Irresistible Urge to Build Cities from Scratch

Moscow to some extent, and traffic is disaster. Rings are especially jam-prone.

doombolton What can I do about climate change?

This is what you say, not me.

doombolton What can I do about climate change?

Then, truly, you live to benefit some other people's children. Basically you are a monk. Monks also known for not making the difference in all that removing sin business.

doombolton What can I do about climate change?

Most countries actually did. Should you only send this message to societies which did not? Caution: Will be very un-PC.

doombolton What can I do about climate change?

Do squirrels worth very much without humans to observe them? To whom?

They will be dead anyway in a few years, and their species also in a few MYr. Do you value their continuity more than our own?

Last time I checked, a lot of planets in our galaxy, I doubt squirrels have that much inherent value.

These are basically Malthus talks, with people suggesting to take straws who gets to live and who does not.

doombolton What can I do about climate change?

Yes, your children don't get to live to benefit some other people's children.

That, or we end as species. Guess what? Worst case of global warming, mankind extermination. "Best" case, also mankind extermination.

doombolton Kids’ Apps Are Crammed With Ads

The problem here is that

* There's no paid quality content that you can use instead.

* Even if there is, you can't find it. Googe Play will shove pages after pages of "popular" useless toxic crap.

doombolton Why might reading make people myopic?

We should take their genes responsible for that, put it in our future embryos.

Essentially turning "genetic lottery" into "genetic basic income".

doombolton Google drops plans for Berlin campus after protests

Yep! It's so crowded, nobody goes there anymore.

doombolton Google drops plans for Berlin campus after protests

Is not it obvious? When you tell you do software in Perugia you sound important, when you tell the same in London you basically say you're a nobody.

I would gladly move to Italy with its amazing culture. I would not move to a place so diverse and full of recent immigrants that it no longer has any specific culture. Am I unique here?

And yes, people relocate to Poland a lot, from ex-USSR countries for example.

doombolton Google drops plans for Berlin campus after protests

For a software engineering campus this is relevant how?

E.g. in Poland software is more Krakow based than Warsaw. Because why would you be wasting on rent, being in a large city where you aren't that important?

doombolton Google drops plans for Berlin campus after protests

Of all places in Spain Madrid is probably the "meh"est. Not wanting to be snark but the selection process seems strange indeed.

doombolton Google drops plans for Berlin campus after protests

I don't understand why it will be harder to attract software developers to Italy versus Poland. Weather and environment are much nicer and if this job ends you just move elsewhere.

I would easily move to a cheap locale even if tech scene there is not abundant. I'd not move to London or Switzerland since you will always be 2nd class citizen compared to e.g. bankers. Which is just non issue in southern europe.

Weak economic is a thing you leverage.

doombolton Google drops plans for Berlin campus after protests

Why not build in e.g. Leipzig or other beautiful but jobs-starved city?

Come to think of it, why no campuses in Italy or Spain? Those countries have kinda lowish expenses, good weather and people will pay a premium to be able to move there. Instead everybody is opening in London and Switzerland which are overpriced and kinda meh.

doombolton Not exercising worse than smoking, diabetes and heart disease study finds

Well, too bad, we need to find ways to change those settings.

doombolton Not exercising worse than smoking, diabetes and heart disease study finds

I wonder if we can have a pill to maintain high level of mitochondria in all our cells in background.

It seems that modern humans have a lot of power-saving traits which are active deterrent as of now when food is abundant, since they lead to obesity, muscle loss and mitochondria problems here. Other mammals don't seem to have such problems en masse.

doombolton Life Got You Down? Time to Read The Master and Margarita

The movie is also awesome and I think I saw the movie first.

doombolton Cannabis is legal in Canada: What you need to know

Yes and it will definitely happen. Their ambassador sending notes to your state department and then starting to reconsider bilateral agreements.

Happens all the time.

doombolton Cannabis is legal in Canada: What you need to know

Yes it is correct. They have no business asking this. If a question is incorrect, you can answer whatever you like to it.

Lying is only giving wrong answers on correct questions. If a person sticks their nose where it does not belong, too bad.

I have rights to do any kinds of thingd to my body, and I have exactly zero obligation to disclose it, unless in strict contexts of medical help or driving.

doombolton Are Black Holes Actually Dark Energy Stars?

One can read Wikipedia as well

doombolton Are Black Holes Actually Dark Energy Stars?

If you can't explain your idead to your janitor, you don't really grasp them yourself.