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Explosions near Boston Marathon finish line

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Re: Explosions near Boston Marathon finish line

#511

Post by jaredstenquist »

pc86 wrote: post #121
nwh wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Strangely enough, iPhones do have an ability to receive geographic-targeted alerts like this. I've seen them used for severe weather warnings. They look like this — http://i.imgur.com/gWrDXFD.jpg

I received an Amber Alert for a girl from Philadelphia a few months ago on this system (or a similar one). It was surreal being in a restaurant and hearing over a dozen phones go off almost simultaneously.

I did not get an amber alert, and I am in Boston. Maybe due to the cell signal jamming to stop any additional detonations. I had to call family from Google Voice on my laptop to get in touch. Pretty crazy

Re: Explosions near Boston Marathon finish line

#512

Post by pjzedalis »

tbrooks wrote: post #422
dhimes wrote: post #406

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As pg tries to explain, it's not a YC company but a charity he supports (and therefore knows about) and it's also one that he thinks can help people get (afford) medical treatment.

It doesn't matter whether its a non-profit or for-profit, charity or business, or whether pg personally benefits from Watsi flourishing. He's using the events in Boston as a way to promote a service that has nothing to do with the horror occurring in Boston. I'm not saying Watsi isn't great -- it is. But this isn't the time or place to call attention to Watsi. It's tasteless and rude.

He only called attention to those who were not directly involved with the event. Nobody injured or within range to have a traumatic experience from the event was reading pg's twitter feed and getting offended. Only you were.

Re: Explosions near Boston Marathon finish line

#513

Post by csallen »

tbrooks wrote: post #422
dhimes wrote: post #406

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As pg tries to explain, it's not a YC company but a charity he supports (and therefore knows about) and it's also one that he thinks can help people get (afford) medical treatment.

It doesn't matter whether its a non-profit or for-profit, charity or business, or whether pg personally benefits from Watsi flourishing. He's using the events in Boston as a way to promote a service that has nothing to do with the horror occurring in Boston. I'm not saying Watsi isn't great -- it is. But this isn't the time or place to call attention to Watsi. It's tasteless and rude.

I completely disagree, and I'd be interested in hearing a defense of your beliefs.

People are suffering the world over. Some suffering is less shocking and unique than other suffering (and therefore less newsworthy), but suffering is suffering just the same. Widely-covered events such as this one should serve as a reminder to us all of the constant suffering going on the world over that is not covered. For any moral person, the thought of living in a world in which less than 1% of human suffering garners more than 99% of the attention should be unbearable.

I have no idea how you can say that helping people in one area "has nothing to do with" helping people in another.

Re: Explosions near Boston Marathon finish line

#514

Post by weareconvo »

scarmig wrote: post #126
lifeguard wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For some reason this reminds me more of the Atlanta Summer Olympics or Moscow than the attacks on the World Trade Center. [edit to add links for clarity] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_apartment_bombings#Ryaz... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centennial_Olympic_Park_bombing Condolences to friends and families of the injured and dead.

The aim of the WTC attack was to make a very symbolic action: the goal was to destroy three symbols of American power, its military, economic, and political might, though the last ended up physically unscathed. Obviously a huge number of deaths associated with it, but the symbolism was key. You knew exactly where the attackers stood--American power is evil--once you heard a description of the attacks. This, in contra…

Maybe they really hate exercise.

Re: Explosions near Boston Marathon finish line

#515

Post by Maxious »

narrator wrote: post #234
noonespecial wrote: post #138

The worst part for me (and I really am feeling bad about this) is that I should be concerned about the victims right now, but I can't stop thinking about what freedoms I'll be losing as a result of this.

The first thought on my mind was what mysterious 1000 page bill is going to show up and get rushed through congress because of all this?

Would you like Federal Information Security Amendments Act, Cybersecurity Enhancement Act or Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA)?

Re: Explosions near Boston Marathon finish line

#517

Post by elliottcarlson »

tbrooks wrote: post #422
dhimes wrote: post #406

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As pg tries to explain, it's not a YC company but a charity he supports (and therefore knows about) and it's also one that he thinks can help people get (afford) medical treatment.

It doesn't matter whether its a non-profit or for-profit, charity or business, or whether pg personally benefits from Watsi flourishing. He's using the events in Boston as a way to promote a service that has nothing to do with the horror occurring in Boston. I'm not saying Watsi isn't great -- it is. But this isn't the time or place to call attention to Watsi. It's tasteless and rude.

Because people forget about the horrors occurring every day all around the world. People don't realize what is happening else where until it's in their own backyard, and even then, they will go back to sipping their lattes and living their lives in no time.

I find the fact that there is is an argument over this far more tasteless and rude.

Re: Explosions near Boston Marathon finish line

#518

Post by DigitalJack »

uberuberuber wrote: post #475

In the sturm und drang that has resulted from this tragedy, and the weeks to come of hand wringing about terrorists/crazyfolk/etc across the major news networks, I hope against hope that we can stow our reptilian brains for a brief while… In the 3 hours that have passed since the top comment was made, 205 people in the US have died from heart disease(1), an almost entirely preventable disease. This observation may be…

I think there is a small bit of difference between you choosing to live your life in such a way that heart disease will be your end, vs someone else deciding to blow your limbs off.

Re: Explosions near Boston Marathon finish line

#520

Post by nandemo »

uberuberuber wrote: post #475

In the sturm und drang that has resulted from this tragedy, and the weeks to come of hand wringing about terrorists/crazyfolk/etc across the major news networks, I hope against hope that we can stow our reptilian brains for a brief while… In the 3 hours that have passed since the top comment was made, 205 people in the US have died from heart disease(1), an almost entirely preventable disease. This observation may be…

I've never quite understood that argument. It's not about it being insensitive, just irrelevant. It seems to have an implicit but completely unsupported premise that every death is equal.

First, there's age: deaths from heart disease tend to happen at old age. In most cultures, death at old age is considered less tragic than the death of an infant or young adult. Also, there's the perceived "naturality" of death: death by natural causes is considered less tragic and less repugnant than murder. And finally there's the fear aspect: a specific murder of A by B for reason X is repugnant but it doesn't necessarily makes other people fear for their lives, while a bombing in a public setting makes people worry that they and their loved ones might be targets too.

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