Hacker News Reader

tryingagainbroon China Busts a $3B Underground Bank

You make it sound like all these countries are eternal enemies, unlikely to ever cooperate when the future could actually look quite different.

When your large neighbor in that area, increases military spending every year why do think that is? To fight Belgium? They are ETERNAL neighbors and have eternal (well in our timescale) interests. See what Russia did in Ukraine? The same could happen to Mongolia, happened to Tibet and is happening in the South Sea where China is essentially planting their flag.

Trade with them, but ...

tryingagainbroon China Busts a $3B Underground Bank

I'm guessing that this extra-legal money is quite happily parked in legal low-tax economies earning interest.

I'm certain that even if they're losing 2% they are quite happy to have it out of China. This is not a Chinese farmer taking his money out of China, most likely you're talking about corrupt politicians that make $20 million with the stroke of a pen.

tryingagainbroon China Busts a $3B Underground Bank

Pollution is probably a price that a country needs to pay in its early stages of modernization.

Militarily, China is checked by Vietnam, South Korea, Japan....and drum roll...INDIA. No large country like India wants a military monster next door, so India will have to get strong. Plus the counties in the South China sea have beef with China. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_China_Sea#Territorial_cl...

On the other hand, India might have to deal with Pakistan and South Korea with North Korea. Russia is also not a fan of China, Siberia once was Chinese and it's virtually free of people. https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2014/07/03/where-do-bo...

tryingagainbroon The Government Is Keeping a U.S. Citizen Secretly Locked Up Without Charges

>>However, doesn't someone who commits treason give up their rights as a citizen?

Even if true, only after a court /jury decides. "Trump" can't say, "You committed treason, you have no rights," he can accuse you of treason and take you to court.

tryingagainbroon Workers at Amazon's main Italian hub, German warehouses strike on Black Friday

Exec salaries, golden parachutes, mistakes in management, dividends etc over the decades played no role right?

tryingagainbroon Argentina says abnormal noise heard after submarine's last contact as hopes fade

My thesis was that it's possible not to use the most advanced stuff to find them. Sure sucks that Argentinians died, but it would suck more if 1000 US sailors died and we lost the next war.

https://theconversation.com/how-to-find-a-submarine-no-its-n...

tryingagainbroon Argentina says abnormal noise heard after submarine's last contact as hopes fade

I believe it as probable. Say "Submarine found in x waters 145m deep." if this isn't standard, and signals an improvement in current tech, Russia and China will wonder why and start to piece things out.

The problem is that sub designers go to great lengths to make them invisible while underwater. So if it's disabled and can't tell where it is, that's a problem, (or feature since it's stealthy.)

tryingagainbroon Sugar industry withheld possible evidence of cancer link 50 years ago

Plastics is my guess, even though quite a bit has come out.

But then, maybe, that's the price we pay for convenience.

tryingagainbroon U.S. Bribery Case Sheds Light on Mysterious Chinese Company

Used US banks, maybe a US based corp was bidding and was harmed by the bribe, the crime was committed /planed in USA...etc etc.

But they pass a law and they get you. And the law is legal in USA because the bribe affected commerce, even if you bought a harddrive that crossed state lines while coming to you (not a lawyer, but I think that's FBI's golden goose http://www.heritage.org/the-constitution/report/commerce-com... )

tryingagainbroon U.S. Bribery Case Sheds Light on Mysterious Chinese Company

Worse since it's legal. With "bribery" at least you risk jail and huge fines.

tryingagainbroon U.S. Bribery Case Sheds Light on Mysterious Chinese Company

Bribes are the greatest investment in third world countries, or almost as profitable as lobbying in USA :).

The corrupt PM that demands $50 million for that wireless license or $1 Billion road doesn't care much about the equipment or prices, after all you paid him and he knows you have to make it back. He will remove all your troubles.

tryingagainbroon Warning Signs About Another Giant Bitcoin Exchange

Never underestimate what a government can do. If they want, they can make bitcoin as popular to hold as child p//n on your PC. Go ahead then

tryingagainbroon The Problem of Doctors’ Salaries

Most doctors tend to specialize anyway so why should a heart surgeon spend so much time learning about other organs which they're never going to sink their scalpels into?

Because everything is linked?

tryingagainbroon The Problem of Doctors’ Salaries

I remember in one clinic...7-8 nurses at one docs office. 4-5 minutes time with the doctor and probably a $150 bill.

A lot of money also goes for people to process insurance claims

tryingagainbroon I'm Testifying to Congress about Data Breaches – What Should I Say?

Make it like health records: huge penalties, based on what you store /gets hacked. Then watch them try to get insurance without security.

tryingagainbroon Warning Signs About Another Giant Bitcoin Exchange

NYT in 1997 about him:

PHILIP G. POTTER, who develops investment products for high-net-worth clients of Morgan Stanley, Dean Witter, Discover & Company, likes to think of himself as an ''uberconsumer.''

Last year, he spent his bonus on a 50-inch TV and a $3,500 Rolex watch. He wears custom-made $800 suits, custom-made $80 shirts -- always with white collars and white French cuffs -- and $200 shoes. He is ''totally wired,'' as he puts it: His home phone forwards messages to his pager; he answers them over a tiny $800 cellular phone."

...'I can continue to come up with new products, to add value, [in a downturn market]'' he said. ''I'm not responsible for getting money. Getting it's hard when the market goes down. But there will still be products to sell. It'll just force me to be a little more creative.''

http://www.nytimes.com/1997/10/19/business/faces-of-the-new-...

tryingagainbroon Warning Signs About Another Giant Bitcoin Exchange

eh, just 100 bitcoins (stop whining, back then).... $800K today. Damn!

It's still the wild, wild west in that world. Those few that saw it 6-7 years ago, made bets that were relatively small, sorta buying lottery tickets. It takes a lot of "faith," for a lack of better term to invest serious money now.

tryingagainbroon Google collects cell tower info even if location services are disabled

>>we can't know for sure unless we have source code.

Maybe they're even promoting drug use to kids under 5...I mean it's possible.

tryingagainbroon Bitcoin Is Creeping into Real Estate Deals

In USA even if you sold cocaine...or your mom, you need to declare it on income taxes. They might not catch selling cocaine but if they catch you with undeclared cash, they'll Al Capone you.

I'm almost certain that all countries have a catch all phrase to include any gains /income.

tryingagainbroon Google collects cell tower info even if location services are disabled

Only governments can tame this beast now, way too big and too rich for any startup.

I noticed several chrome instances running on "Task manager" almost all the time. Used Chrome maybe months ago. So I uninstalled. Who knows what they were doing, collecting. I trust them as much as I (would) trust a hustler on the old 42nd street

tryingagainbroon Bitcoin Is Creeping into Real Estate Deals

I think yes, might be wrong but it's logical (logic and taxes don't always mix, so I may be wrong).

You bought Bitcoin at $1 and sell at $8000 to pay for a house, you need to declare income of $7999 for each Bitcoin at the end of the year or else...

tryingagainbroon Justice Department suing AT&T to block $85B bid for Time Warner

Executive orders issued by him.

No doubt Trump wants to screw CNN, but the courts will not care what he wants. That was my point: "don't give a rat's @ss" meaning thy will not follow /bow to him.

tryingagainbroon Blue-collar wages are surging. Can it last?

I guess 3-4% is better than less /nothing, but seriously, this needs to be going on for 20-30 years.

tryingagainbroon Justice Department suing AT&T to block $85B bid for Time Warner

>>but Trump has so polluted the waters with his crusade against CNN that there's no way they'll win the court case. AT&T and Time Warner will enter in his twitter feed as evidence and courts will side with them.

You think federal judges give a rat's @ss about what Trump tweets? Plus it will be appealed and appealed.

tryingagainbroon The Last of the Iron Lungs

Wow, very, very sad. Yet, we're programmed to cling to life.

This is however like being sentenced to death, just not knowing when the jail door will open. (yeah, I know we all will die, minus a few SV billionaires :))

Reminds me that they are problems and then they are problems in life.

tryingagainbroon Boring thieves had tunnel visions (2009)

Not doable today, I think they use seismic sensors.

But then Elon Musk musk know something I don't... https://www.theverge.com/2017/10/29/16567088/elon-musk-the-b...

(a joke, OK? I know Tesla has enough money--for a few more quarters)

tryingagainbroon Google will ‘de-rank’ RT articles to make them harder to find – Eric Schmidt

>>"But we don’t want to ban the sites – that’s not how we operate.”

Virtually every small business website has seen how you operate, you don't ban just bury them on page 15 and get a click every 4 months. How nice of you. At least you help us by letting us buy ads.

I agree that RT is official Russian propaganda, but so is Voice of America or our government websites

tryingagainbroon How do you get 25,000 tons of food to the people who need it?

>>If you do it at a large enough scale it will be impossible to collect it all and it will completely destroy the North Korean military's morale.

Other communist regimes exiled your entire extended family to prison camps for such things. Do this for 50 years, add propaganda night and day and what you said doesn't happen.

tryingagainbroon How do you get 25,000 tons of food to the people who need it?

Food is so cheap, at last in USA, that no one should go without minimal nutrients. I'm all for providing basic stuff to who needs it. Humanity, sacrifice to the gods or whatever, just do it.

Filet Mignon is a different story

tryingagainbroon Never raise money before launching a product

>>You should always focus on building your platform and proving that you can get customers before taking in any money. This way, when you do raise money, you’ll be using it to scale your company, not build it.

Great in theory. But who pays my rent, health care and sandwiches for those years? I get that married people with children shouldn't even try. Kids get in the way of working like a slave