Japanese, French and Omani vessels cross Strait of Hormuz • Hacker News Board

Re: Japanese, French and Omani vessels cross Strait of Hormuz

#71

Post by micromacrofoot » Sun, Apr 05, 2026, 4:18 PM UTC

temp8830 wrote: post #21

e2le wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We are 1 Year and 3 months into this current administration, 2 years and 9 months remain. Despite the short period in office, so much damage and chaos has being caused by one individual and the sycophants who surround him. It is a fact that the reputation of the USA has being damaged, perhaps not repairable for decades or more. This will have consequences. Perhaps, I hope, Americans will take action to save the democ…

Approximately the same things were said about Dubya Jr's war with invisible WMDs. If you've forgotten - listen to some songs that came out at the time. It's not about a particular president, it's that the US seems to have a systemic dependency on starting these wars.

and we're still experiencing damage from that war, and it's getting worse because of some things that it changed (patriot act, creation of homeland security, etc)

we've faced two major recessions since then and may very well be entering our third

at this point it seems we're just trying to find out where the breaking point is

Re: Japanese, French and Omani vessels cross Strait of Hormuz

#72

Post by devinplatt » Sun, Apr 05, 2026, 4:19 PM UTC

watwut wrote: post #47

ronnier wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think a large part of why they do this and vote the way they do is because of comments like yours. Hacker news, Reddit, award shows, movies, universities, etc all have a constant drum beat of disdain and hate towards them. I think this motivates them into voting even if the vote is against their own interest.

Everything republican party do and everything republicans vote for ... are fault of the opposition. Always. Republicans are little helpless souls having no choice but cause maxinum harm as long as opposition in any for exists. Look at what that party collectively stands for now, who they kick out and who they keep. They all stand behind trump.

I learned recently that there's actually a name for this concept. Murc's law states that in American politics, only Democrats are assumed to have agency.

Presumably democratic reforms could help change the dynamic if they changed the incentives. Right now, it's a politically viable strategy to just obstruct the other party when out of power, and politically unviable strategy for Congress to oppose a president from the same party. Both of which lead to a lot of dysfunction.

As an example, if Congress had multimember districts with an appropriate voting system (e.g. ranked choice voting for all members at the same time), then you can effectively nullify the power of gerrymandered voting districts (the current system, where effectively politicians choose voters rather than the other way around). Doing so would elevate the influence of general elections over party primaries. Then representatives would be less afraid of challenges in those primaries, which is currently one of the major disincentives in opposing the president of the same political party (fear of being "primaried").

Re: Japanese, French and Omani vessels cross Strait of Hormuz

#73

Post by morkalork » Sun, Apr 05, 2026, 4:22 PM UTC

ndiddy wrote: post #30

jghn wrote: post #5

Last week the US stated they didn't need any of the oil, and that if other countries wanted it they could go figure it out themselves. Looks like they have. And yet the US is now back to threatening Iran if they don't open up the oil.

> And yet the US is now back to threatening Iran if they don't open up the oil. Trump's most recent statement ( https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/1163519987825... ): "Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!! Open the Fuckin’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell - JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah. President DONALD J.…

He's thiiiiiisss >< close to threatening to drop a nuke on Tehran isn't he

Re: Japanese, French and Omani vessels cross Strait of Hormuz

#74

Post by rawgabbit » Sun, Apr 05, 2026, 4:22 PM UTC

Jensson wrote: post #25

zzzeek wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

none of those three people will be president

Then you can get rich by betting against it, so most people seem to disagree with you. And in a democracy most people decide who the next leader will be. https://www.oddschecker.com/politics/us-politics

If I interpret the odds correctly the site is saying Newsom has 22% chance and Vance has 20% chance. These odds seem rather low.

Re: Japanese, French and Omani vessels cross Strait of Hormuz

#75

Post by SecretDreams » Sun, Apr 05, 2026, 4:24 PM UTC

temp8830 wrote: post #21

e2le wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We are 1 Year and 3 months into this current administration, 2 years and 9 months remain. Despite the short period in office, so much damage and chaos has being caused by one individual and the sycophants who surround him. It is a fact that the reputation of the USA has being damaged, perhaps not repairable for decades or more. This will have consequences. Perhaps, I hope, Americans will take action to save the democ…

Approximately the same things were said about Dubya Jr's war with invisible WMDs. If you've forgotten - listen to some songs that came out at the time. It's not about a particular president, it's that the US seems to have a systemic dependency on starting these wars.

Information, both good and bad, is a lot more accessible this time around. It has been a dramatic accelerator to worldly views of America in the wake of their recent actions.

There are political similarities between the two aforementioned wars, but the social and technological backdrops are quite different, and they're working against US public perception. Furthermore, decorum is entirely gone this time around, which isn't helping.

Re: Japanese, French and Omani vessels cross Strait of Hormuz

#76

Post by qwerpy » Sun, Apr 05, 2026, 4:25 PM UTC

watwut wrote: post #47

ronnier wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think a large part of why they do this and vote the way they do is because of comments like yours. Hacker news, Reddit, award shows, movies, universities, etc all have a constant drum beat of disdain and hate towards them. I think this motivates them into voting even if the vote is against their own interest.

Everything republican party do and everything republicans vote for ... are fault of the opposition. Always. Republicans are little helpless souls having no choice but cause maxinum harm as long as opposition in any for exists. Look at what that party collectively stands for now, who they kick out and who they keep. They all stand behind trump.

Unironically yes. I lived in the Seattle area and witnessed firsthand the effects of state/county/city Democrat rule. Gifted programs cancelled, streets full of homeless and drug addicts. Hateful people yelling at and flipping me off as I take my kids to daycare for the heinous crime of driving a Tesla. I’m a well educated highly paid minority, the kind of voter that Democrats take for granted. I voted Republican down the ballot last election.

Re: Japanese, French and Omani vessels cross Strait of Hormuz

#77

Post by rchaud » Sun, Apr 05, 2026, 4:25 PM UTC

ndiddy wrote: post #30

jghn wrote: post #5

Last week the US stated they didn't need any of the oil, and that if other countries wanted it they could go figure it out themselves. Looks like they have. And yet the US is now back to threatening Iran if they don't open up the oil.

> And yet the US is now back to threatening Iran if they don't open up the oil. Trump's most recent statement ( https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/1163519987825... ): "Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!! Open the Fuckin’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell - JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah. President DONALD J.…

There was a time when The Onion might have run a headline like "Concerned over low troop morale, President converts to Islam to inspire spirit of martyrdom". No more.

Re: Japanese, French and Omani vessels cross Strait of Hormuz

#78

Post by Jensson » Sun, Apr 05, 2026, 4:27 PM UTC

devinplatt wrote: post #72

watwut wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Everything republican party do and everything republicans vote for ... are fault of the opposition. Always. Republicans are little helpless souls having no choice but cause maxinum harm as long as opposition in any for exists. Look at what that party collectively stands for now, who they kick out and who they keep. They all stand behind trump.

I learned recently that there's actually a name for this concept. Murc's law states that in American politics, only Democrats are assumed to have agency. Presumably democratic reforms could help change the dynamic if they changed the incentives. Right now, it's a politically viable strategy to just obstruct the other party when out of power, and politically unviable strategy for Congress to oppose a president from th…

That is just progressive vs conservative, ie changing things vs conserving things, humans are biased to conserve things unless the set of changes are overwhelmingly better.

So conservatives win when progressives push for too many changes, not changing things is the default. So saying that the democrats lost the election by pushing too fast is not weird, that is just how humans works.

Re: Japanese, French and Omani vessels cross Strait of Hormuz

#79

Post by vntok » Sun, Apr 05, 2026, 4:31 PM UTC

Jensson wrote: post #70

vntok wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why would you assume that the parent (1) has a gambling addiction, (2) has enough side money they can lock into a far-away bet and (3) wants to place a bet that will more than probably never pay anyway because it won't be insured nor escrowed by a trusted third party? Buying or selling stocks of companies owned by MAGA henchmen is probably much safer.

> Buying or selling stocks of companies owned by MAGA henchmen is probably much safer. Not if you are 100% sure, which the poster seemed to be. Its not gambling if its a sure case. So you saying this is a risky bet means you disagree with the person. > wants to place a bet that will more than probably never pay anyway because it won't be insured nor escrowed by a trusted third party? Betting sites are trusted third p…

> Not if you are 100% sure, which the poster seemed to be. Its not gambling if its a sure case. So you saying this is a risky bet means you disagree with the person.

This is incorrect. You can be sure, certain even, of a specific outcome, and yet still be scammed out of your money by the entity that took your bet.

> Betting sites are trusted third parties.

No they aren't, lol. Of course they aren't. Many are illegal, most operate from shady jurisdictions, all have unclear T&Cs and so on.

Re: Japanese, French and Omani vessels cross Strait of Hormuz

#80

Post by Jensson » Sun, Apr 05, 2026, 4:33 PM UTC

rawgabbit wrote: post #74

Jensson wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Then you can get rich by betting against it, so most people seem to disagree with you. And in a democracy most people decide who the next leader will be. https://www.oddschecker.com/politics/us-politics

If I interpret the odds correctly the site is saying Newsom has 22% chance and Vance has 20% chance. These odds seem rather low.

Still above 50% chance one of the 3 people I mentioned will become next president according to the betting odds.