[–] 7 points 2 weeks ago

Yes, for a short while between firing the employees and then learning why whey were there in the first place. Then the line will go down until further people are fired in the next round. The venture capitalist's ideal company consists only of a CEO and the room cleaner (because some work has to actually be done).

  • source
  • parent
  • context
  • [–] 1 point 4 weeks ago

    The "good guy with a gun" seemingly did happen here - a civilian (i.e. neither security, police nor military) shot an active shooter and stopped the drama.

    But relying on "good guy with a gun" is not a meaningful security policy as it actively encourages arming civilians. In case of an imminent threat like an active shooter - which one of the armed, non-uniformed civilians are friendly, neutral or enemies? And how do they communicate their afilliation to bystanders, fellow armed citizens and security forces - in a way that could not be exploited by an active shooter himself? Employing this as a general security policy would proliferate more guns in the society and teach everyone to be vigilant of each other, thus increasing distrust. It can also attribute to shifting the blame to victims of shootings: Why didn't they arm themselves and shoot first?

    In my view, reducing the amount of guns or at least the volume of fire (think 6-shooter revolvers instead of 17-round semiautomatics) would reduce the amount of gunshot victims in the time between start of an active shooting and the arrival of security forces that would then handle the situation professionally. A stressed-out amateur with a handgun is not as helpful as a professional, and can actually increase to the drama due to increasing uncertainty in identification of friend or foe.

  • source
  • parent
  • context
  • [–] 8 points 4 weeks ago (13 children)

    Without knowing any details of this case and the actual situation that happened - at one point in time, a civilian with a firearm opened fire at another (minor) with a firearm because there was a possible danger scenario near a school. How did the "good guy" in this scenario know exactly that this was the right call to open fire, and not just another possible "good guy with a gun"?

    In this case, he was evidently correct, well done! But it could easily have become a terrible blue-on-blue scenario as well.

    To me, this single "good guy with a gun" scenario does not justify the fact that firearms are so widespread that the "bad guy" easily got his own, and became more deadly as a result.

  • source
  • [–] 21 points 1 month ago (4 children)

    The "invisible hand of the market" is such a fascinating myth, because it frames the results of capitalist endeavors as inevitable and almost holy - but as soon as the sufficiently wealthy and well-connected suffer a setback, then "government bailouts" are granted.

    The invisible hand is actually very visible of you dare to look close enough.

  • source
  • parent
  • context
  • [–] 2 points 2 months ago (1 child)

    In germany in the 18th/19th century there was the extreme duelling form of "übers Sacktuch schießen" where both duellists stood very close (both gripping the same cloth) and were shooting at the same time with pistols, but only one was loaded. Since the distance was so close, missing was impossible and only random chance decided the winner/survivor.

  • source
  • parent
  • context
  • [–] 15 points 2 months ago (8 children)

    I can see the allure because it implies that every conflict could become life-threatening, therefore everybody should weigh their words carefully.

    In reality though it would emphasize the weight of trained duellists higher than those with well-informed convictions. If you cannot speak the truth because well-paid professional duellists could suppress you anytime by threat of duel (or shame of declining it).

    There is a good reason why pretty much every modern civilization stopped this practise: Too much was needlessly lost (see Hamilton, Fermat, many students in the 18th century Europe...).

  • source
  • [–] 25 points 2 months ago

    I would have liked an affordable midrange device (like Pixel 4a) with the option of graphene os preinstalled. That would unlock it as a device recommendation for my family members: Everything still works, and the device is good enough for all expected workloads. And with a growing user base comes mainstream relevance for graphene os.

    Avant-garde nerds hacking their phones with custom roms may clear the path, but the normies can bring the necessary financial volume.

  • source
  • [–] 27 points 2 months ago (2 children)

    Conservatives (Germany ca. 1933): Hitler will only throw the enemies of the German people in jail, so I'm safe. Gestapo, some time later at their door: Hallo. Conservatives: Oh no, who could have seen this coming?

    Moral of the story: The leopard bites every face.

  • source
  • parent
  • context
  • [–] 5 points 3 months ago

    The community allows for the accumulation of wealth by providing services, security and labor. Therefore the community is entitled to a portion of the accumulated wealth in form of taxation.

    No man is an island, and nobody becomes a billionaire from their own labor. Community matters.

  • source
  • parent
  • context
  • [–] 4 points 4 months ago (1 child)

    "Rapid dominance attempts to affect the will, perception, and understanding of the adversary to fight or respond to our strategic policy ends through imposing a regime of Shock and Awe" (Ullman & Wade, 1996)

    One could argue that "shock & awe" is a military strategy to specifically terrorize the enemy force, for example a military opponent. This would blur the line above (terrorism vs military) as it intends to affect the opponents minds with fear of the attacking group and thus coerce them away from their goal.

    This strategy is one performed by an organized military that is (theoretically) bound by the rules of warfare (like the Geneva Convention) and unlawful acts can be prosecuted by either their own military law system or an international court (like the Hague). Non-state actors (insurgents, terrorist groups) on the other hand are not beholden to any law. To me, this is another relevant distinction: Is the act itself one of terror or military necessity? And is the actor a governmental organization beholden to the law?

  • source
  • parent
  • context
  • [–] 4 points 4 months ago

    I tolerate both steam and heroic. I can see how a launcher is useful for centralized library management (updates and reinstallation), but I also see how it is a lot of concentrated attention and potential adspace / datamining tool.

    I tolerate steam because they have good features & an okay track record, and heroic because I want to receive the free epic games but do not want to give them real estate on my pc.

  • source
  • parent
  • context
  • view more: next ›