112 Gripes About the French • Hacker News Board

Re: 112 Gripes About the French

#171

Post by nradov » Sat, Jul 17, 2021, 3:32 PM UTC

deregulateMed wrote: post #41

nradov wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Military personnel on average have more formal education then the general public. High school drop outs aren't even allowed to enlist anymore without a special waiver. Almost all officers, and many enlisted, have Bachelor's degrees. Senior officers usually have Master's degrees.

>without a special waiver Oh wow so difficult for a recruiter who is paid per recruit to fill out. /s The military is often the last resort for many people, as a result it attracts a different demographic. >officers, and many enlisted, have Bachelor's degrees. So? Aren't most deployed people non officers?

The availability of waivers is strictly limited. Recruiters are only NCOs; they lack the authority to grant waivers on their own and they aren't paid per recruit (although failure to meet quota could result in a negative fitness report).

https://www.thebalancecareers.com/us-military-enlistment-sta...

Re: 112 Gripes About the French

#172

Post by ronjouch » Sat, Jul 17, 2021, 3:34 PM UTC

ryanianian wrote: post #126

Thank you for adding this. It’s faded/hard to read. Anyone got an OCRed or retyped version?

I couldn't find one and am considering working on a restoration. See thread https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27865583

EDIT see also https://www.e-rcps.com/gripes/

Re: 112 Gripes About the French

#173

Post by Intermernet » Sat, Jul 17, 2021, 3:35 PM UTC

bennysomething wrote: post #157

411111111111111 wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Another thing that's been mostly sweeped under the rug wrt WW2 is that Russia both did the most damage to the German army and paid the highest price. America only started their offensive after Russia started winning and likely only wanted to deny them Europe. And the heavy casualties in the war likely caused Russia to fold on the cold war as well, there were just not enough able men after the war to create families w…

True but the USSR was ally of Germany, two dictator states started world war two.

What history have you been reading?

Re: 112 Gripes About the French

#174

Post by dnhz » Sat, Jul 17, 2021, 3:37 PM UTC

SiempreViernes wrote: post #150

dnhz wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Each comment GP made corresponds to quote following the comment. i.e.: >This one could apply to our relationship with China maybe? >> Yes, we quarrel with the French. The members of a family argue pretty freely inside the home ; We quarrel with our allies, We don't quarrel with our enemies -- we fight them. With that said, I wouldn't interpret the US relationship with China as one of alliance nor as one of enmity (ye…

Uh, the US military has declated China it's main adversary and the US just had a presidency that used "clash of civilizations" to describe the relationship with China, why do you think "enmity" is not an appropriate word?

Because the relationship with China is more complicated than that. You can see it in the NIH funding research at the Wuhan virology lab or all the made in China goods that the US consumes.

It makes sense for the military to recognize the other forces that pose the biggest threat. But regarding declarations by politicians, it appears to me that internal politics in both countries are driving politicians to make such statements. As in, both American and Chinese leadership see advantage in creating an external enemy. Naturally, as China's power rises, the relationship changes texture, but how much of our attitude change is recognition of the changed situation versus a change in attitude induced by the political class?

Re: 112 Gripes About the French

#175

Post by 11thEarlOfMar » Sat, Jul 17, 2021, 3:39 PM UTC

bumby wrote: post #145

11thEarlOfMar wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'll use myself as an example: - Voters should show proof of citizenship when voting. - The US needs to take a serious look at implementing Universal Basic Income, and not just because of the automation of jobs. - Abortion should be legal up to the earliest that a fetus has survived out of the womb, roughly 3 months. - We should celebrate diversity, and, we should be able to talk about what makes us different. Withou…

You're correct. I should have been more clear that progressive and conservative labels are more apt for individual viewpoints and not as a defining characteristic of the person. I think that logic can still be applied, though. The point I was trying to make is that with any label (whether French/American or conservative/progressive) it's more productive to try and find clarity about the opposing viewpoint rather than…

To be clear, I agree with your original post that some type of mediation between the poles would be helpful.

Reflecting a bit more, it's hard to imagine that a government could convince it's people to go to war without a large degree of brainwashing to demonize the foe. To some degree, we need our soldiers to believe that they people they kill are deserving of death, even though the they were most likely brainwashed and drafted into the conflict on false pretenses. In a symbolic way, this happened in the US in 2020, but this time, private industry and the government entered symbiosis in polarizing citizens into a civil conflict. And people were killed.

We owe it to ourselves to peel back a couple of layers of the onion, and understand and respect other well supported beliefs, even if those beliefs differ from our own.

Re: 112 Gripes About the French

#176

Post by techrat » Sat, Jul 17, 2021, 3:39 PM UTC

echelon wrote: post #164

Jkol wrote: post #152

The opening paragraphs are lovely and absolutely not what I'd expected based on the name. This is the America we want to live in. "We insist upon the right to express our own opinions. But we also believe in the right of others to express their opinions. For the right to speak involves the duty to listen...We know that the truth can only be found through open and honest discussion, and that the common good is served…

We need to be reminded of this. The left and right are so divided that they're intolerable of one another. Neither side believes the other is worth listening to. It's a shame. We're all animals traversing a complicated landscape. There's daily pain and suffering, and then we die. We should remind ourselves how similar everyone actually is, and that the diversity of our views are humanity living and breathing through…

Right there with the 'both sides are the same' false equivalence... In case you're wondering why.

Re: 112 Gripes About the French

#177

Post by cycomanic » Sat, Jul 17, 2021, 3:40 PM UTC

nodejs_rulez_1 wrote: post #124

Bayart wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What are you on ? It's perfectly legal, there's just a process to follow because it's completely illegal to take someone's DNA without their consent, unless there's a criminal procedure with sufficient proof. Sneaking a paternity test by taking someone's DNA surreptitiously would be not only worthless as a legal document, but also put you on the spot for litigation.

Following your logic: 'French girls were fully permitted to go out but there was just a process to follow - presence of a chaperon.' Seriously, just open Wikipedia and read about different countries e.g.: In the United States, paternity testing is fully legal, and fathers may test their children without the consent or knowledge of the mother. Paternity testing take-home kits are readily available for purchase, though…

Except that taking someone's DNA without their consent (or the consent of their guardians) is nothing like making girls (and women) be accompanied by a chaperone.

I always find it fascinating that many American people believe very strongly in individual freedoms, the same people often believe these freedoms do not apply to children (or teenagers) and parents should have unconditional ownership over their children.

Re: 112 Gripes About the French

#178

Post by Intermernet » Sat, Jul 17, 2021, 3:42 PM UTC

jl6 wrote: post #15

baby wrote: post #10

This whole thing is amazing. It still reads really well today, like there's no tone of racism and nothing seems inappropriate (which is a hard thing to achieve with time). I wish we had such a book currently on how arabs and the muslim world are different, but not so different than us. > We didn't come to Europe to save the French, either in 1917 or in 1944. We didn't come to Europe to do anyone any favors. We came t…

And one day, successive iterations of OCR, copy & paste, and machine learning will have us remembering the events of Peary Harbor.

Peary harbour was the site where the confederate forces of Robert Peary, in 1909, fought the communist forces of Franz Ferdinand. Ferdinand's forces were armed with revolutionary fire-arms, fitted with sights known as "Cross-hairs". This was immortalised in the song "Take Me Out" by the band "The Beegees", famous for their Delta-Blues sound, in 2067.

Re: 112 Gripes About the French

#179

Post by [deleted] » Sat, Jul 17, 2021, 3:44 PM UTC

techrat wrote: post #176

echelon wrote: post #164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We need to be reminded of this. The left and right are so divided that they're intolerable of one another. Neither side believes the other is worth listening to. It's a shame. We're all animals traversing a complicated landscape. There's daily pain and suffering, and then we die. We should remind ourselves how similar everyone actually is, and that the diversity of our views are humanity living and breathing through…

Right there with the 'both sides are the same' false equivalence... In case you're wondering why.

[deleted]

Re: 112 Gripes About the French

#180

Post by overgard » Sat, Jul 17, 2021, 3:45 PM UTC

techrat wrote: post #176

echelon wrote: post #164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We need to be reminded of this. The left and right are so divided that they're intolerable of one another. Neither side believes the other is worth listening to. It's a shame. We're all animals traversing a complicated landscape. There's daily pain and suffering, and then we die. We should remind ourselves how similar everyone actually is, and that the diversity of our views are humanity living and breathing through…

Right there with the 'both sides are the same' false equivalence... In case you're wondering why.

I think if you are willing to ignore 50% of the population, well, I don't know what to tell you other than that history does not look kindly on partisans.