Live data from Hacker News

US special forces soldier arrested after allegedly winning $400k on Maduro raid

cnn.com

91–100 of 816 posts

Re: US special forces soldier arrested after allegedly winning $400k on Maduro raid

#91

It seems like it would be highly demoralizing to US soldiers that they are prosecuted for betting on the outcomes of the battles they are risking their lives for but those insider trading commanding them aren't.

Imagine doing an easy tour in your air conditioned Kuwaiti logistics office and then getting blown to bits by a ballistic missile because no one bothered to tell you about the war that was being initiated which would cause such missiles in retaliation. Yeah, that's demoralizing too.

They should have kept an eye on the prediction markets.

Re: US special forces soldier arrested after allegedly winning $400k on Maduro raid

#92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He profited $400K. Pursuing this case doesn’t mean they’re excluding other cases. If you read the article this case was very clear because he made amateur moves and didn’t conceal his identity at all. This was an easy nab. All leaks should be pursued regardless of who did it.

There is zero chance this escalates further off this guy.

Careful, you'll have Ka$hPatel wondering who to throw under a bus just for the giggles, the p0wn, and the extra $100 for his stripper lounge charity.

Re: US special forces soldier arrested after allegedly winning $400k on Maduro raid

#93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is legal and until we vote for people who will outlaw it we only have ourselves to blame.

Easy to say, hard to do, when your two "choices" at the ballot box represent slightly different groups of wealthy donors.

Ah enlightened centrism rears its head again. Remember folks: at all points both sides are exactly the same /s.

Re: US special forces soldier arrested after allegedly winning $400k on Maduro raid

#96

Isn't this the purpose of Polymarket? To give a more accurate picture of what is going on/going to happen by giving insiders a financial incentive?

Insider bets distort the probabilities, creating a conflict of interest and causing market manipulation. We don't let athletes bet on their own games, because some will deliberately lose. They will do this when the odds are good and they will make more money. So you don't get accurate predictions, because the more probable something is, the better the odds and the more money to be made by someone manipulating the odds.

End result is you place bets against things you want to happen. eg. USA invading Iran. If you win the bet, you make money. If you lose the bet, you still win because the USA invaded Iran. And maybe that happened because people in power took your bet and influenced the odds in their favor. A fully deniable market for bribes. Same reason you can't bet on unnatural death, because it crowdsources assassination.

Re: US special forces soldier arrested after allegedly winning $400k on Maduro raid

#97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is legal and until we vote for people who will outlaw it we only have ourselves to blame.

Easy to say, hard to do, when your two "choices" at the ballot box represent slightly different groups of wealthy donors.

Vote in primaries. Also wealthy donors probably care less about whether a candidate can self-enrich with insider trading.

Re: US special forces soldier arrested after allegedly winning $400k on Maduro raid

#98
post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Easy to say, hard to do, when your two "choices" at the ballot box represent slightly different groups of wealthy donors.

Ah enlightened centrism rears its head again. Remember folks: at all points both sides are exactly the same /s.

If you guilt me into voting, I'll probably vote for somebody you don't like.

Isn't it better that I don't vote?

Re: US special forces soldier arrested after allegedly winning $400k on Maduro raid

#99

Feds waited no time to drop the indictment and make arrest. 3 months is lightning fast for a white collar crime. Wall St. ppl who commit insider trading pay a fine and admit no wrongdoing, discouraging the profits, and only after many years and trades have passed. Goes to show how elites play by a different set of rules. His mistake was not knowing he was not in that club. Have no idea why this was downvoted. I see s…

Rules for thee not for me

Re: US special forces soldier arrested after allegedly winning $400k on Maduro raid

#100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, if people in Congress, the Supreme Court, the administration, etc. don't have to conceal their "activities", why should this guy? He wasn't a "little guy" but apparently his only mistake was not being high enough.

I don’t know why people are trying to defend this guy. We should be upset when anyone tries to use confidential information for personal gain. It’s also a security risk if anyone is incentivized to place bets based on confidential info. I know you’re trying to make a separate point about Congress, but it’s silly to try to turn this into a class warfare thing. Congress didn’t even have this information at the time.

I haven't seen anyone defend his conduct, but it is natural to discuss his political clout because of this line on TFA:

> Today’s announcement makes clear no one is above the law

What others are saying, IIUC, is that no reasonable person believes an enlisted soldier (even a senior one) is above the law and that in fact there is a history of them being used as fall guys or scapegoats for people who do enjoy protection on the basis of their social class or government position.

Without this specific statement from the FBI director, then it would be "soldier gets caught doing bad thing" and the other part would be off topic. But the article itself introduces the idea of class and impunity.

Post reply on HN