Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

No Thank You, Mr. Pecker

medium.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

611–620 of 783 posts

Re: No Thank You, Mr. Pecker

#611

Post by everdev »

nerdponx wrote: post #595
danhak wrote: post #365

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It really puts this tweet from POTUS last month in a crazy new context: "So sorry to hear the news about Jeff Bozo being taken down by a competitor whose reporting, I understand, is far more accurate than the reporting in his lobbyist newspaper, the Amazon Washington Post. Hopefully the paper will soon be placed in better & more responsible hands!" https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/10846274519830732... Stran…

The only thing strange about it is how much easier it is to learn about these conspiracies now that we have the Internet. People are acting all shocked like this is a new state of affairs. It's not. We are just far more empowered now to actually learn about these things.

Not all Presidents or foreign powers are obsessed with finding and collecting dirt on their enemies with the intent to harm or influence them.

Wether you call it gaining influence or blackmail, it's usually the technique of authoritarians or the corrupt and not a path we want to advocate or even tolerate.

Re: No Thank You, Mr. Pecker

#612

Post by sobani »

zrail wrote: post #495
sobani wrote: post #441

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> is there anything non-violent that is truly that weird? Weird and outrageous things I can think of that people have consented to: - 'playing' with excrement (Gross! this is what the owner of Whole Foods thinks of basic hygiene) - master slave play (Misogynist Bezos ordered this woman to ...) - cuckolding (haha Bezos isn't enough of a man to satisfy his girlfriend himself)

None of those are weird or outrageous if all participants are enthusiastically consenting adults.

Which of the sample headlines I gave would not cause outrage you think?

Maybe the last one will 'only' cause you to lose the respect and thereby business deals of your peers.

Re: No Thank You, Mr. Pecker

#613

Post by everdev »

JustSomeNobody wrote: post #584
danhak wrote: post #365

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It really puts this tweet from POTUS last month in a crazy new context: "So sorry to hear the news about Jeff Bozo being taken down by a competitor whose reporting, I understand, is far more accurate than the reporting in his lobbyist newspaper, the Amazon Washington Post. Hopefully the paper will soon be placed in better & more responsible hands!" https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/10846274519830732... Stran…

Can we all just agree Trump is corrupt already and get him out of office?

Lots of smoke for sure, but I'd much rather follow due process and wait for a crime to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt in a legal setting. Otherwise you're setting a dangerous precedent.

Re: No Thank You, Mr. Pecker

#614

Post by rsynnott »

cm2187 wrote: post #406

Billionaire uses own newspaper to attack Trump. Billionaire uses own newspaper to attack billionaire using own newspaper to attack Trump.

"The nasty newspaper was mean about poor little Donald by reporting on his wrongdoing" does _not_ justify blackmail. In any way. What on earth are you talking about?

Re: No Thank You, Mr. Pecker

#616

Post by everdev »

brisance wrote: post #521
pjc50 wrote: post #499

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Trump has been making transparent threats on Twitter since before getting elected. Until now they've been pretty empty threats.

He solicited a hostile foreign power to interfere in the 2016 elections. In many countries this would be equivalent to treason. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/video/2016/jul/27/donald...

The scary thing is without consequences this might become the new normal.

Re: No Thank You, Mr. Pecker

#617

Post by doktrin »

munificent wrote: post #172
jupp0r wrote: post #135

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> most of us have made mistakes that we deeply regret and fear getting out Agreed, probably Jeff Bezos has made those mistakes as well. However I fail to see any mistakes of his threatened to be revealed.

> However I fail to see any mistakes of his threatened to be revealed. Cheating on his wife?

This isn't the 1950s. The conservative candidate in the last election is literally a serial philanderer. We're way past the point where the public at large is going to wring their hands about hum drum infidelity.

Re: No Thank You, Mr. Pecker

#618

Post by everdev »

mc32 wrote: post #530
brisance wrote: post #521

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He solicited a hostile foreign power to interfere in the 2016 elections. In many countries this would be equivalent to treason. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/video/2016/jul/27/donald...

I think he’s just implying they have more competence than the FBI in finding alleged missing emails. His comms is very non literal -and people take him literally. His whole campaign was off hand blue collar jokey remarks. Pundits understood him literally, so they failed to understand him at all. His nomination competitors also saw him in this light and ultimately failed. Mostly, J think they failed to understand his…

> His comms is very non literal

If that argument held any water we'd have to erase all attempted communication-based crimes: blackmail, libel, bribery, etc.

"Yes, my Email said I wanted to blackmail Jeff Bezos, but I wasn't being literal your honor" -> "OK, you're free to go"

Sorry, words matter especially when they have consequences and impact people's lives.

Re: No Thank You, Mr. Pecker

#619

Post by malvosenior »

everdev wrote: post #611
nerdponx wrote: post #595

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The only thing strange about it is how much easier it is to learn about these conspiracies now that we have the Internet. People are acting all shocked like this is a new state of affairs. It's not. We are just far more empowered now to actually learn about these things.

Not all Presidents or foreign powers are obsessed with finding and collecting dirt on their enemies with the intent to harm or influence them. Wether you call it gaining influence or blackmail, it's usually the technique of authoritarians or the corrupt and not a path we want to advocate or even tolerate.

> Not all Presidents or foreign powers are obsessed with finding and collecting dirt on their enemies with the intent to harm or influence them.

Yes, all presidents and foreign powers do this. Although Bezos doesn't present any proof that it's actually happening here, just speculation.

Re: No Thank You, Mr. Pecker

#620

Post by EForEndeavour »

ubermonkey wrote: post #571
kumarvvr wrote: post #181

Earlier quoted context omitted.

AMI picked the wrong person. Jeff, literally, has tons of money, extremely respected in the business world. Forget about the embarrassment, if he secretly capitulates to this, then the real blackmail material would be the capitulation, not the photos. Cause if the owner of Washington Post bowed down to blackmail, every article published in the article will be called into question. And who gives a shit if a billionair…

The whole affair reminds me of nothing so much as that scene in "The Dark Knight" that ends with Lucius Fox saying ". . . and your plan is to blackmail this person? Good luck."

A masterful performance by Morgan Freeman: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUfv32dmVFw
Post reply on HN