Good News You Might Have Missed in 2013 • Hacker News Board

Re: Good News You Might Have Missed in 2013

#161

Post by DanBC » Fri, Dec 27, 2013, 5:04 PM UTC

shutupalready wrote: post #106

tn13 wrote: post #22

As people in Tech industry we should be very proud of Bill Gates and what he has done with Microsoft and his charity work. A lot of people totally miss the point when they say "hey anybody could do all that if they have enough money". That is simply not true. Charity is not just about throwing money at poor, it is a far more difficult job than say building a company. Working for profit is simpler where clear regulati…

> Over last 10 years, the sex workers in this area have reduced. Hardly anyone wants to ask if that is an overall benefit to society? The sex ratio for India is 108 men per 100 women [1]. For those under 15, the ratio is 113:100, so the problem is set to get much worse in the near future. If India (pop. 1.2 billion) were to have maximal monogamous relationships and no sex workers, you'd have 577 million happy couples…

India needs to enforce the laws against selective abortion.

Your numbers ignore homosexuality, but I don't know if that'd make any difference.

Re: Good News You Might Have Missed in 2013

#162

Post by aestra » Fri, Dec 27, 2013, 5:14 PM UTC

dennisgorelik wrote: post #127

suprgeek wrote: post #84

BillG is one of the very few people about whom I have completely changed my opinion. Post his Microsoft days, he is the highest profile "rich tech person" who has promoted so many projects and efforts to help the poor. While Microsoft was famous for “embrace, extend—and extinguish” where it crushed any product that felt like a threat (saw this first hand with Netscape). Now BillG is using his enormous wealth in the b…

I have different view on that. The charity Bill Gates is doing now is good, but what Bill Gates did as Microsoft founder was much better and way more important. Lots of people are still using Microsoft products.

>Lots of people are still using Microsoft products.

Huuuuuh? What? What does that have to do with ANYTHING?

Lots of people still use Bayer aspirin but that doesn't make their actions during WWII ok. They used slave labor and manufactured gas used in Nazi gas chambers and their executive Fritz ter Meer, sentenced to seven years in prison for his actions.

They also invented heroin as a "non-addictive morphine substitute."

Re: Good News You Might Have Missed in 2013

#163

Post by im3w1l » Fri, Dec 27, 2013, 5:25 PM UTC

kamaal wrote: post #122

shutupalready wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Over last 10 years, the sex workers in this area have reduced. Hardly anyone wants to ask if that is an overall benefit to society? The sex ratio for India is 108 men per 100 women [1]. For those under 15, the ratio is 113:100, so the problem is set to get much worse in the near future. If India (pop. 1.2 billion) were to have maximal monogamous relationships and no sex workers, you'd have 577 million happy couples…

The ratio is actually far worse! A lot of 'adjustments' go on during census times. The net ratio is close to ( The main reason for that is dowry and extremely bad treatment meted to women in India. Most people prefer to not have girls at all given these scenarios. Imagine having to spend money on your daughters education, tending to physical safety and then only to find the boy's family asking for big money gifts dur…

If only there were meat market options...

If there were, the suppliers might realize the coming supply shortage and "ramp up production".

Re: Good News You Might Have Missed in 2013

#164

Post by canvia » Fri, Dec 27, 2013, 8:56 PM UTC

kamaal wrote: post #139

berntb wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Here is another theory argued by some sociologists, which is even worse: Lack of women is a volatile situation and ripe for crime, war and violence. Both China and India have large gender imbalances -- and with a border conflict... :-( "May you live in an interesting time" was a Chinese curse, I think?

There are already many villages in northern India where there are gangs of unmarried men simply sitting there without marriage. Most are uneducated, and have no skills to secure any employment. Gender related crimes against women already very common in India. I believe they will intensify in the future. Either way with Either way a lot of men will have to marry men.

You say "have to marry men" like it's a choice to be attracted to the same sex.

IMO it will result in a lot of angry and depressed single men who resent society. If you put someone into a corner without many options they can become desperate and violent. This imbalance in India and China will become very dangerous in the coming years

Re: Good News You Might Have Missed in 2013

#165

Post by dragonwriter » Fri, Dec 27, 2013, 9:06 PM UTC

canvia wrote: post #164

kamaal wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are already many villages in northern India where there are gangs of unmarried men simply sitting there without marriage. Most are uneducated, and have no skills to secure any employment. Gender related crimes against women already very common in India. I believe they will intensify in the future. Either way with Either way a lot of men will have to marry men.

You say "have to marry men" like it's a choice to be attracted to the same sex. IMO it will result in a lot of angry and depressed single men who resent society. If you put someone into a corner without many options they can become desperate and violent. This imbalance in India and China will become very dangerous in the coming years

> You say "have to marry men" like it's a choice to be attracted to the same sex.

Attraction is generally not a choice (there's probably some things you can do deliberately over time to shift it a little bit, but...). Marriage, OTOH, is a choice, and its a choice that historically is motivated by many things, with attraction quite often not being a main factor.

The real problem with "have to marry men" isn't that attraction isn't a choice (as marriage and attraction are not the same thing) but that marriage is not mandatory.

Re: Good News You Might Have Missed in 2013

#166

Post by twobits » Fri, Dec 27, 2013, 9:15 PM UTC

yodsanklai wrote: post #110

shutupalready wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Over last 10 years, the sex workers in this area have reduced. Hardly anyone wants to ask if that is an overall benefit to society? The sex ratio for India is 108 men per 100 women [1]. For those under 15, the ratio is 113:100, so the problem is set to get much worse in the near future. If India (pop. 1.2 billion) were to have maximal monogamous relationships and no sex workers, you'd have 577 million happy couples…

That's a rather controversial comment you're making here. I'd rather see a man deprived of sexual intimacy than a woman constrained to prostitution for lack of better opportunity. The first fate seems largely less cruel than the latter.

So, not having prostitution, will create opportunity?

Re: Good News You Might Have Missed in 2013

#167

Post by tn13 » Fri, Dec 27, 2013, 9:41 PM UTC

shutupalready wrote: post #106

tn13 wrote: post #22

As people in Tech industry we should be very proud of Bill Gates and what he has done with Microsoft and his charity work. A lot of people totally miss the point when they say "hey anybody could do all that if they have enough money". That is simply not true. Charity is not just about throwing money at poor, it is a far more difficult job than say building a company. Working for profit is simpler where clear regulati…

> Over last 10 years, the sex workers in this area have reduced. Hardly anyone wants to ask if that is an overall benefit to society? The sex ratio for India is 108 men per 100 women [1]. For those under 15, the ratio is 113:100, so the problem is set to get much worse in the near future. If India (pop. 1.2 billion) were to have maximal monogamous relationships and no sex workers, you'd have 577 million happy couples…

Having a well regulated but legal sex industry can be beneficial to society but in absence of such laws most women in this industry are forced into it. Most of the girls there are sold to pimps by their own close relatives. The Pimps then treat them as good as slaves.

The highest amount of recruitment comes from the children of these sex workers. NGOs in these areas mostly focus on health and well being of these children. Thus giving them far better options than working as sex workers.

I talked with several NGO people working in this area and they were clear "we are no here to persuade these woman to take another profession."

Re: Good News You Might Have Missed in 2013

#168

Post by ewoodrich » Sat, Dec 28, 2013, 11:54 AM UTC

bmelton wrote: post #61

matthewmacleod wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, because I don't think that positive or good acts can somehow "cancel out" (or as you say, "make up for") bad or negative ones. Karma is not a concrete concept, and the question "is the world better off" is objectively unanswerable.

Hate the man's business practices. Love the man for his philanthropical work. They don't need to cancel out, and you don't need to forgive one to appreciate the other. Michael Vick was put in prison for dog fighting. I absolutely hate him for that. At the same time, I appreciate his talent on the field as a football player. Orson Scott Card is a rampant homophobe. I absolutely hate him for that. Doesn't affect my opi…

I respect you for that. In addition, I don't personally blame him for his views, but strongly disagree with them. But my love of his books doesn't interfere with my disagreement with his sexual identity views. I feel that if in the '90s the prevailing wasn't the same, that OSC, wouldn't voice the same opinions so cavalierly.

I can disagree with someone's politics without disagreeing with their literary ideas, and I don't have any qualms about that. OSC is a fantastic author, with terrible personal opinions and I accept that unconditionally.

Re: Good News You Might Have Missed in 2013

#169

Post by icebraining » Sat, Dec 28, 2013, 2:30 PM UTC

sliverstorm wrote: post #88

rbanffy wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Are you trying to insinuate he has dark ulterior motives for his charity efforts? Dark ulterior motives? No. Being remembered as a philanthropist rather than a robber-baron is quite enough. Hs is doing good, but he is not doing good for the good of others.

Why the f%ck do you care if he is doing it to be remembered? Since when was the value of charitable works derived from the motive ?

The discussion started by matthewmacleod is about the moral character of Bill Gates, not the value of his charitable works. For most people, intentions are important when discussing the former.

Re: Good News You Might Have Missed in 2013

#170

Post by onebaddude » Sat, Dec 28, 2013, 4:13 PM UTC

yapcguy wrote: post #97

anigbrowl wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

'Dark history'? Aggressive business practices for sure, but it's not like he was dumping toxic chemicals in the water supply or something. How many people were killed as a result of Gates 'sociopathy'? I'm afraid that slowing the popularity of Linux and the open web doesn't strike me as particularly impressive in the Evil Genius stakes.

Jimmy Saville, well-known British celebrity with lots of charity work for kids, now known to be a sick child abuser. Lance Armstrong, well-known cyclist with lots of charity work fighting cancer, now known to be a drug cheat. Can Bill Gates wash away his sins? Has he really turned over a new leaf? "The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation's investments in Monsanto and Cargill have come under heavy criticism. Is it time…

>Lance Armstrong, well-known cyclist with lots of charity work fighting cancer, now known to be a drug cheat.

Are you really equating Lance Armstrong with a guy who likely sexually abused hundreds of children? That's idiotic.

You realize that what Armstrong did wasn't a crime, right? Just against some arbitrary rules of some form of sports entertainment (a bicycle race!)? And that the treatments he undertook are perfectly legal in the real world? And that they may have even helped his recovery from cancer, in one way or another?

You hate charity. We get it. But I'll take the work of Bill Gates and Lance Armstrong over whatever it is the armchair pundits around the internet are doing, all day.