Hit men aren't what you think • Hacker News Board

Re: Hit men aren't what you think

#261

Post by kelseyfrog » Sat, Dec 07, 2024, 5:57 PM UTC

seanhunter wrote: post #197

kelseyfrog wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But we're talking about our inability to avoid the box. The existence of public options in other countries has no bearing on that.

Your argument would be stronger if your black box mental model wasn’t so obviously exaggerated. I live in the UK where we have universal healthcare that is free at the point of need. We also have private healthcare. In most countries in Europe both private and public healthcare exist side by side. Per capita spending on healthcare (across the private and public provision) in the UK is a tiny fraction of what it is in…

All models are wrong. Some are useful.

Re: Hit men aren't what you think

#262

Post by Mordisquitos » Sat, Dec 07, 2024, 6:04 PM UTC

empty_space wrote: post #243

Remember that the current narrative is an average person with nothing to lose taking down a powerful person who uses their power for greed and evil. That's a very powerful and empowering idea. Other powerful people, who know they are just as greedy and evil, desperately want to change that narrative because they know how weak their position truly is if we collectively decide we're done with the capitalistic status qu…

> Bringing in an "expert" to explain to how it's probably something else, without any evidence to support that hypothesis [...]

Where in the article do you get that impression? All I see is the expert saying it is unlikely to have been a contract killing, as the MO doesn't fit with that of a professional hitman.

Re: Hit men aren't what you think

#263

Post by seanhunter » Sat, Dec 07, 2024, 6:05 PM UTC

kelseyfrog wrote: post #261

seanhunter wrote: post #197

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your argument would be stronger if your black box mental model wasn’t so obviously exaggerated. I live in the UK where we have universal healthcare that is free at the point of need. We also have private healthcare. In most countries in Europe both private and public healthcare exist side by side. Per capita spending on healthcare (across the private and public provision) in the UK is a tiny fraction of what it is in…

All models are wrong. Some are useful.

Half of that is true about your model at least.

Re: Hit men aren't what you think

#264

Post by refulgentis » Sat, Dec 07, 2024, 6:08 PM UTC

motorest wrote: post #202

refulgentis wrote: post #199

Earlier quoted context omitted.

if you're saying they actively decide denial rates at management level to hit profit targets, I don't buy it. He has much closer culpability to the CEO of the company that sells me cigarettes than the guy who murdered my grandma. The world is a fallen place. I thought the example up thread re: not being an animal trapper was a Jonathan Swift-esque send up of the whole idea though, so I might be missing a screw or two…

> if you're saying they actively decide denial rates at management level to hit profit targets, I don't buy it. To believe in that, first you need to believe that somehow any executive of a company has no control over the company, does not have a duty to make certain things are done a certain way, nor is accountable for how the company is managed.

> To believe in that, first you need to believe...

Nah, that's not true.

Re: Hit men aren't what you think

#265

Post by tetnis » Sat, Dec 07, 2024, 6:09 PM UTC

seanhunter wrote: post #198

tetnis wrote: post #149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

off topic but what is the difference between functionally isomorphic and isomorphic?

Isomorphic in normal use means corresponding in form[1], so functionally isomorphic means “functions the same as” whereas there are other types of isomorphisms, so for example minerals form groups which are considered isomorphic because their crystal structure is somewhat different but equivalent. They’re not functionally equivalent they are structurally similar. [1] In mathematics the meaning is somewhat stronger. I…

ok, i default to the math meaning and try to interpret the english meaning.

Re: Hit men aren't what you think

#266

Post by Mordisquitos » Sat, Dec 07, 2024, 6:16 PM UTC

returningfory2 wrote: post #17

big-green-man wrote: post #4

This is an interview with someone presented as some type of expert that obviously is not an expert. 1) it is not hard to get a silencer. You can make one in under an hour with cheap parts from a hardware store and a drill. 2) the CEO was at a conference. It's not surprising that this person "knew he would be there", it's interesting that this interviewee stresses this point like it is some big one to be made. The CEO…

Could you give an example of what the motive could be then, and how the not-professional-but-sort-of-professional fits into this? I had thought it was either (a) professional hit or (b) disgruntled family member.

> I had thought it was either (a) professional hit or (b) disgruntled family member.

There is also option (c) a professional hit hired by a disgruntled family member.

Still, I believe some variant of option (b) is the most likely scenario—unless the whole thing has been intentionally orchestrated to look like (b).

When I say some variant of (b), I'm also including someone who hypothetically wasn't even personally affected but felt a strong political motivation to perform the shooting in solidarity. I can absolutely imagine the profile of the kind of person who would meticulously plan this and carry it out out of sheer political motivation.

Re: Hit men aren't what you think

#267

Post by userabchn » Sat, Dec 07, 2024, 6:18 PM UTC

int_19h wrote: post #32

Growing up in Russia in the 90s, assassinations (usually of folk associated with various organized crime groups, but also the occasional journalist or politician) were fairly common. As I recall, usually the person would get shot with some common weapon - often milsurp TT - somewhere in their daily routine where there aren't people around, e.g. on the stairs in their apartment building. But sometimes you did get more…

My suspicion is that this murder was organised by Russia as an attempt to normalise and encourage further vigilante actions, thereby weakening society. They chose their target well for this one, but I imagine, even after the shift it has caused in what is considered acceptable, there will be less widespread approval of future killings.

Re: Hit men aren't what you think

#268

Post by chiph » Sat, Dec 07, 2024, 6:57 PM UTC

dh2022 wrote: post #258

chiph wrote: post #250

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When I shop for insurance my #1 priority is seeing if the company will pay a claim. Either because they have the reserves, or because of corporate policy. Premium cost is #2. What I have observed is that starting about 8-9 years ago any retail insurer that uses a mascot in their advertising, is difficult/slow to pay a claim. Both to other insurance companies who are being forced to subrogate to make their own custome…

How do you find out this information? Are there any websites that publish this information? Are these websites reliable/reputable ? Thanks!!!

You can look at sites like A.M.Best for ratings, but mostly it's been listening to what people say. Try using prompts like "does xxx pay claims fairly" to see what you get. There are only a few which get positive responses: Amica, American Family, The Hartford, and a few more.

Of course, much of what you hear is {dramatic}"I can't believe it's taking this long to fix my car" - which is natural. But then you hear stories about a company using a customer's photos from the accident scene to build up a repair estimate, and not sending an adjuster to look at the car once it is at the shop and on a lift. There is always going to be additional damage, commonly from the tow. But there may be damage that shows up once a bumper skin or other cover is removed.

The insurance companies are also low-balling the repair shops. An hourly rate on repairing a Mercedes is (perhaps) $200/hr. If the insurance company is only willing to pay $50/hr ("That's our standard rate") the shop is either going to turn down the work, or take shortcuts like using low-quality parts or junior technicians to make up the difference.

Re: Hit men aren't what you think

#269

Post by slowmovintarget » Sat, Dec 07, 2024, 6:59 PM UTC

grecy wrote: post #193

slowmovintarget wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

When Rosa Parks sat on the bus it was a crime. Sometimes breaking the law is the right thing to do, and results in great improvement.

Murder and civil disobedience are not equivalent.

Rosa Parks hurt no one. That CEO should have gone to prison, but that doesn't make murder OK.

Re: Hit men aren't what you think

#270

Post by kube-system » Sat, Dec 07, 2024, 7:07 PM UTC

mancerayder wrote: post #184

kube-system wrote: post #165

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If it were as simple as getting the services you need in exchange for money, I don't think as many people would hate the system as much. That's exactly how simple it is to be uninsured. The problem is the risk is not something people can absorb.

How many Go Fund Me sites were brought up because of high medical costs for some accident or cancer? Is foregoing insurance an improvement over that if it isn't even possibly one of the big causes?

> Is foregoing insurance an improvement over that

No, it isn't, which is why people want some form of insurance, whether public or private. To mitigate risk.

I was entertaining the comment about something being as "simple as getting the services you need in exchange for money". Which one certainly could do, but imposing that on everyone would also be a bad system for other reasons.