ulkram's comments

"He launched airstrikes or military raids in at least seven countries: Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Yemen, Somalia and Pakistan."

https://www.latimes.com/projects/la-na-pol-obama-at-war/

I thought about switching to the trades for a while, but the ramp to learning the technical/business/certification aspects is not smooth enough; especially for an outsider. A bunch of YouTube videos of dubious accuracy is not enough

There needs to be ramps built directly at the high school and community colleges level. It amazes me that community colleges have all these classes on excel, art, dance, music, health, languages, but generally nothing for the trades. I honestly think it would be easier to find a trustworthy, affordable class for Mongolian Throat Singing than a plumbing class.

get rid of all the Ethical AI folks too. in theory, it might be useful, but in practice, it's just bureaucracy

Currency Wars → Trade Wars → Shooting Wars

not an expert, but I thought the US is unique in that you can't escape taxes unless you renounce citizenship. and even then, there's an exit tax

False. The Ultra-Millionaire Tax Act would impose a tax on the wealth of the top 0.05 % of Americans (people with > 50 million in wealth).

My sense is that people who think like this don't make it this high up. Sundar has already had opportunities to sell out much earlier; Money stopped becoming a problem for him long ago.

Why do these articles always leave out ISPs and cellular providers when talking about Tech Giants? Their monopoly is even stronger.

Is it just me, or is it a bit arrogant to assume that because X can do something, why can't Y do it?

Just realize that you are most likely using Phones/Computers made in China to call out the NBA.

curious why can't you run it if there's smoke?

> imprints that image into the customer's mind

It's actually deeper than that. It imprints the image into our collective minds. Even if YOU don't think iPhones are better, it may still be rational for you to buy one if you know that people will think more highly of you when they see you holding one.

I did not suggest any solutions (period inspections or what not).

I'm pointing out that the situation - that we have a set rules (zoning), but they aren't enforced - which causes people to knowingly build without a permit.

The parent comment provided legitimate reasons why cities have some zoning rules in place (shared sewage, flooding, etc..).

> you can do an un-permitted remodel of your downstairs, add drains, pave over the soil filter, create a massive sewage flooding problem, and sf will do... nothing. But if you were to try to tear down a house and replace it with a properly engineered multi unit dwelling... are you kidding me?

This is a really good point. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I think this applies to US in general; not just SF. Cities will never inspect your house unless you give them a reason (e.g. apply for a permit).

The main deterrents to un-permitted work are: 1) if you need to sell the house, buyers don't like unpermitted work, and 2) your neighbors can file a complaint.

Isn't data collection by the ISPs/phone companies a bigger issue? Consumers truly have no choice there. Whereas you could get by without FAANG, though it'd be inconvenient.

I agree it should be harder the bigger you are, but it's not the tax rate. Right now, FAANGs either run a 0% profit margin, or book their profits to Ireland.

Changing tax rates don't fix either of those.

you mean a key?

In January 2016, the FDA finally banned the Teflon-like, grease-resistant chemical that's been linked to various cancers, infertility, thyroid issues, and birth defects from being used in food packaging: perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). That was great news since a study by the FDA found that up to 20 percent of PFOA levels in our bodies can come from consuming a mere 10 bags of popcorn a year. Unfortunately, the FDA has already approved nearly 100 PFOA-like compounds for use in food packaging—a majority of which have little to no information regarding long-term health consequences, according to the Environmental Working Group. So, although all of the bags listed below are PFOA-free, there is little evidence to support (or deny) that PFOA substitutes are safe to be in contact with your food. Ah, the joys of food manufacturing.

https://www.eatthis.com/microwave-popcorn/

You should check out the article "The Case Against Civilization: Did our hunter-gatherer ancestors have it better?"

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/09/18/the-case-again...

And the book it cites "Against the Grain: A Deep History of the Earliest States".

Few quotes to whet your appetite:

> The first is that, for thousands of years, the agricultural revolution was, for most of the people living through it, a disaster. The fossil record shows that life for agriculturalists was harder than it had been for hunter-gatherers.

> there is a crucial, direct link between the cultivation of cereal crops and the birth of the first states. It’s not that cereal grains were humankind’s only staples; it’s just that they were the only ones that encouraged the formation of states... Only grains are, in Scott’s words, “visible, divisible, assessable, storable, transportable, and ‘rationable.’ ” Other crops have some of these advantages, but only cereal grains have them all, and so grain became “the main food starch, the unit of taxation in kind, and the basis for a hegemonic agrarian calendar.”

> War, slavery, rule by élites—all were made easier by another new technology of control: writing... writing was used exclusively for bookkeeping: “the massive effort through a system of notation to make a society, its manpower, and its production legible to its rulers and temple officials, and to extract grain and labor from it.”

is there data to back this up? or will it require a panama papers type leak before we know?