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

‘Bloody Saturday’ at Voice of America and other U.S.-funded networks

npr.org

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

11–20 of 140 posts

Re: ‘Bloody Saturday’ at Voice of America and other U.S.-funded networks

#11

Post by crooked-v »

lkrubner wrote: post #7

Here in the USA we currently have a regime that is focused on destroying all forms of American power: they are destroying our economic power, they are destroying our cultural power, they are destroying our military power. They are destroying the idea called "America." They have gone to war against each of our traditions and values. Some critics ascribe this to rational motives, such critics claim that the goal here i…

I think there's an easy answer for Elon's motivation in particular: he wants to damage the US as revenge for ending South African apartheid (https://www.flyingpenguin.com/?p=65793).

Re: ‘Bloody Saturday’ at Voice of America and other U.S.-funded networks

#12

Post by reaperducer »

grandempire wrote: post #8
hermitcrab wrote: post #2

The USA appears to be destroying much of the 'soft power' that it spent decades building. And it cost a tiny amount compared to the 'hard power' of the military. As an outsider, it seems very short sighted. The BBC is also cutting jobs in the BBC World Service, which seems similarly short sighted. But I don't think the cuts are as far reaching as the US ones: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cpql1vvdn58o

What characteristics distinguish “soft power” from propaganda and why is it good? Is it just good in a Niestczhean kind of way in that serves American interests?

Why try to divert the discussion into an off topic quagmire?

Re: ‘Bloody Saturday’ at Voice of America and other U.S.-funded networks

#13

Post by crooked-v »

LeanderK wrote: post #10

As someone from europe, I am baffled by the ability to just fire everyone on the spot. Are there no job-protections for federal employees? This makes agencies really dependent on the political climate, right? Can he really just fire everyone? Isn't there even a 3 months notice or something? A separate, connected thought is that I wonder why you would choose being a federal employee then. Here, the government promises…

There are protections, but not for 'probationary' employees (anyone who's been hired or transferred within the past X months).

As for the rest, they're not 'being fired', they're 'being placed on administrative leave', which is a paper-thin excuse but one that will have to wind its way through the court system like all the other bullshit the administration is pulling.

Re: ‘Bloody Saturday’ at Voice of America and other U.S.-funded networks

#14

Post by leptons »

grandempire wrote: post #8
hermitcrab wrote: post #2

The USA appears to be destroying much of the 'soft power' that it spent decades building. And it cost a tiny amount compared to the 'hard power' of the military. As an outsider, it seems very short sighted. The BBC is also cutting jobs in the BBC World Service, which seems similarly short sighted. But I don't think the cuts are as far reaching as the US ones: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cpql1vvdn58o

What characteristics distinguish “soft power” from propaganda and why is it good? Is it just good in a Niestczhean kind of way in that serves American interests?

America provides copious amounts of aid all over the world. That's soft power. It's not "propaganda", it actually helps people survive.

Re: ‘Bloody Saturday’ at Voice of America and other U.S.-funded networks

#15

Post by grandempire »

reaperducer wrote: post #12
grandempire wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What characteristics distinguish “soft power” from propaganda and why is it good? Is it just good in a Niestczhean kind of way in that serves American interests?

Why try to divert the discussion into an off topic quagmire?

He’s saying this is bad because it reduces soft power. I’m asking why that’s a bad thing.

Re: ‘Bloody Saturday’ at Voice of America and other U.S.-funded networks

#16

Post by reaperducer »

LeanderK wrote: post #10

As someone from europe, I am baffled by the ability to just fire everyone on the spot. Are there no job-protections for federal employees? This makes agencies really dependent on the political climate, right? Can he really just fire everyone? Isn't there even a 3 months notice or something? A separate, connected thought is that I wonder why you would choose being a federal employee then. Here, the government promises…

As someone from europe, I am baffled by the ability to just fire everyone on the spot. Are there no job-protections for federal employees?

There are, but these actions are intentionally designed to be so rapid and so numerous that the media and the legal system can't keep up.

The White House hasn't even been shy about it. They're calling it "flooding the zone," itself a sports reference.

Re: ‘Bloody Saturday’ at Voice of America and other U.S.-funded networks

#17

Post by andrewflnr »

LeanderK wrote: post #10

As someone from europe, I am baffled by the ability to just fire everyone on the spot. Are there no job-protections for federal employees? This makes agencies really dependent on the political climate, right? Can he really just fire everyone? Isn't there even a 3 months notice or something? A separate, connected thought is that I wonder why you would choose being a federal employee then. Here, the government promises…

Historically (for decades), stability has also been the pitch in the US, with the same tradeoff in pay and bureaucracy. I'm not sure about the exact legal authority, but no one has attempted it before. So much of our legal system depends on convention and what a given judge feels like on a given day that it's really hard to say whether this is "legal" or not.

Re: ‘Bloody Saturday’ at Voice of America and other U.S.-funded networks

#18

Post by grandempire »

leptons wrote: post #14
grandempire wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What characteristics distinguish “soft power” from propaganda and why is it good? Is it just good in a Niestczhean kind of way in that serves American interests?

America provides copious amounts of aid all over the world. That's soft power. It's not "propaganda", it actually helps people survive.

That makes sense. But then this kind of journalism/talk radio, would not be included.

Re: ‘Bloody Saturday’ at Voice of America and other U.S.-funded networks

#19

Post by leptons »

LeanderK wrote: post #10

As someone from europe, I am baffled by the ability to just fire everyone on the spot. Are there no job-protections for federal employees? This makes agencies really dependent on the political climate, right? Can he really just fire everyone? Isn't there even a 3 months notice or something? A separate, connected thought is that I wonder why you would choose being a federal employee then. Here, the government promises…

Republicans want to privatize everything. They want to make their rich friends richer by doing this. It's going to be a disaster for the average citizen.

Re: ‘Bloody Saturday’ at Voice of America and other U.S.-funded networks

#20

Post by cemerick »

LeanderK wrote: post #10

As someone from europe, I am baffled by the ability to just fire everyone on the spot. Are there no job-protections for federal employees? This makes agencies really dependent on the political climate, right? Can he really just fire everyone? Isn't there even a 3 months notice or something? A separate, connected thought is that I wonder why you would choose being a federal employee then. Here, the government promises…

VOA/RFE operations were actually run by a separate non-profit org that got the vast majority of its operating funds from the feds. So, federal worker protections aren't relevant by dint of the org(s) being set up at arm's length.

That said, the current regime has had no problem acting outside of the law and existing federal employee union contracts. Tell people they're dismissed, cut off the email and building access, wait for the lawsuits, and then simply ignore the decisions weeks/months later and/or follow them with as much malicious compliance as they need to achieve their original aims.

tl;dr: No, employment protections fundamentally don't exist in the US, and doubly so for those employed by the federal government within an atmosphere of rampant lawlessness.

Post reply on HN