Miscellaneous news items that don't warrant their own thread

[kalm]

You’ve never heard of Palantir and Peter Thiel?

No. Am I in some position where I should have?

Sounds like they vote with their feet though.


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He’s one of the more prominent spokesman for libertarianism around. Enjoyable to listen to. (Never mind Palantir makes its money off government contracts ).

[Ivytalk]

No. Am I in some position where I should have?

Sounds like they vote with their feet though.


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He’s one of the more prominent spokesman for libertarianism around. Enjoyable to listen to. (Never mind Palantir makes its money off government contracts ).

Thiel is selling out to the nationalists. https://reason.com/2020/08/02/wait-wasn ... bertarian/

[JohnStOnge]

I looked at the thread and I don't think they have Reuters as doing anything wrong. It looks like they think the Reuters should have provided some kind of explanation to make sure nobody used their stock photos to claim the stock photos are evidence of Trump mucking up the post office. It doesn't look to me like Reuters made any claim about that. I looked up a fact check on the use of the photos and I don't think the "mainstream media" are implicated. Here it is:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/fac ... 382701001/

It looks to me like somebody used social media to post misinformation about the photography. This is not a "mainstream media" misinformation thing.

Reuters is a news service. They are supposed to get shit like that right. The guy criticizing them is a journalist and was calling them out.

And how has Trump mucked up the USPS?

Reuters did get it right. They had a photo labeled as being a photo of an industrial site. That is correct. They did not say it had anything to do with Trump messing with the postal service. Somebody took the photo and posted it on social media with a false claim about what it represents.

With respect to your question: Are you serious?

Google "Postal service mail delivery has been slowed."

Here is one hit you will get https://fortune.com/2020/07/24/usps-mai ... l-service/.

I can't believe you even asked that question. Everybody knows that the Postmaster General Trump appointed has implemented things that have been associated with slowing mail delivery.

[Ibanez]

You’ve never heard of Palantir and Peter Thiel?

No. Am I in some position where I should have?

Sounds like they vote with their feet though.


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Thiel is well known.


Unless you’re in tech, I wouldn’t expect you to know the company.


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[SeattleGriz]

Reuters is a news service. They are supposed to get shit like that right. The guy criticizing them is a journalist and was calling them out.

And how has Trump mucked up the USPS?

Reuters did get it right. They had a photo labeled as being a photo of an industrial site. That is correct. They did not say it had anything to do with Trump messing with the postal service. Somebody took the photo and posted it on social media with a false claim about what it represents.

With respect to your question: Are you serious?

Google "Postal service mail delivery has been slowed."

Here is one hit you will get https://fortune.com/2020/07/24/usps-mai ... l-service/.

I can't believe you even asked that question. Everybody knows that the Postmaster General Trump appointed has implemented things that have been associated with slowing mail delivery.

Okay, but not in relation to "stealing the election". It's about profitability. You see where the article says it delivers 20% of its mail during overtime?

Trump's a business man and he is ALWAYS going to ask for better performance for less. Why would the Post Office be exempt from getting better and why do they always get to run a deficit?

Obama proposed the same thing. How to make the USPS more profitable.

https://www.govexec.com/management/2015 ... ms/104394/

[JohnStOnge]

Reuters did get it right. They had a photo labeled as being a photo of an industrial site. That is correct. They did not say it had anything to do with Trump messing with the postal service. Somebody took the photo and posted it on social media with a false claim about what it represents.

With respect to your question: Are you serious?

Google "Postal service mail delivery has been slowed."

Here is one hit you will get https://fortune.com/2020/07/24/usps-mai ... l-service/.

I can't believe you even asked that question. Everybody knows that the Postmaster General Trump appointed has implemented things that have been associated with slowing mail delivery.

Okay, but not in relation to "stealing the election". It's about profitability. You see where the article says it delivers 20% of its mail during overtime?

Trump's a business man and he is ALWAYS going to ask for better performance for less. Why would the Post Office be exempt from getting better and why do they always get to run a deficit?

Obama proposed the same thing. How to make the USPS more profitable.

https://www.govexec.com/management/2015 ... ms/104394/

Government is not about profitability. One thing I've always always disagreed with is the idea that government should be run like a business. It's not a business. You should no more want a businessman who has no experience in management in government to be a manager in government than you should want a government manager with no experience in business to be a manager in business. They are two different things. Also, I think Trump's net effect on government has been to increase its losses

It doesn't look good when you have Trump railing against mail in voting right when the postal service is taking steps that slow mail delivery down.

[∞∞∞]

Let's not forget the fact that before Republicans mandated USPS pre-fund 75 years worth of retirement, it was efficient and profitable (even though as JSO said, profitability shouldn't matter).

This went against the notion that government can't be efficient or do things as well as the private sector (while simultaneously offering better benefits and protections), so obviously the only solution was to destroy it and prove how bad government is.

[BDKJMU]

Reuters did get it right. They had a photo labeled as being a photo of an industrial site. That is correct. They did not say it had anything to do with Trump messing with the postal service. Somebody took the photo and posted it on social media with a false claim about what it represents.

With respect to your question: Are you serious?

Google "Postal service mail delivery has been slowed."

Here is one hit you will get https://fortune.com/2020/07/24/usps-mai ... l-service/.

I can't believe you even asked that question. Everybody knows that the Postmaster General Trump appointed has implemented things that have been associated with slowing mail delivery.

Okay, but not in relation to "stealing the election". It's about profitability. You see where the article says it delivers 20% of its mail during overtime?

Trump's a business man and he is ALWAYS going to ask for better performance for less. Why would the Post Office be exempt from getting better and why do they always get to run a deficit?

Obama proposed the same thing. How to make the USPS more profitable.

https://www.govexec.com/management/2015 ... ms/104394/

Interesting article on new Postmaster General. Sounds like a no BS logistics expert. Some snippets:

....."He's probably the most qualified person to be postmaster general since Benjamin Franklin," said former GOP Gov. Pat McCrory. "He's pure New York. To the point, direct, no BS. Strictly business."...

.... After beginning his career as a CPA in Florida, DeJoy returned north in 1983, when he was about 26, to take over the small Long Island trucking company started by his father. With just five trucks and 10 employees, it was close to bankruptcy.

DeJoy turned it around, and took it in a new direction.

New Breed Logistics specialized in efficiencies in moving goods from one place to another. DeJoy has said his first big break came in 1992 when he signed on the U.S. Postal Service as a customer. Others clients included companies like Boeing and Verizon.

"If you have a Verizon cell phone, I shipped it to you," DeJoy once told an interviewer.

DeJoy moved New Breed from New York to High Point in 1993 and for a few years commuted to the state. By the time he sold it to Connecticut-based XPO Logistics in 2014, the company had nearly 7,000 employees. DeJoy stayed on as CEO of XPO's supply-chain business for a year. Then he served on the company's board until 2018.

McElveen-Hunter calls him "the master of the universe in regards to logistics."

Like New Breed, XPO has been a major postal contractor. In 2017 it did business worth more than $57 million with the agency.

The Washington Post reported that DeJoy and his wife have between $30 million and $75 million in assets in postal service competitors or contractors, according to her financial disclosure report filed with the Office of Government Ethics.

Admirers aren't surprised by his business success.

"He's a very, very driven person and detailed beyond anybody that I've ever met," said Ed Broyhill, a Winston-Salem businessman and Republican fundraiser....

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics ... r-BB17HxTg

[SeattleGriz]

Let's not forget the fact that before Republicans mandated USPS pre-fund 75 years worth of retirement, it was efficient and profitable (even though as JSO said, profitability shouldn't matter for government).

This went against the notion that government can't be efficient or do things as well as the private sector (while simultaneously offering better benefits and protections), so obviously the only solution was to destroy it to prove how bad government is.

What the hell are you two saying the government shouldn't be profitable? Why can't the USPS be profitable?

[BDKJMU]

Okay, but not in relation to "stealing the election". It's about profitability. You see where the article says it delivers 20% of its mail during overtime?

Trump's a business man and he is ALWAYS going to ask for better performance for less. Why would the Post Office be exempt from getting better and why do they always get to run a deficit?

Obama proposed the same thing. How to make the USPS more profitable.

https://www.govexec.com/management/2015 ... ms/104394/

Government is not about profitability. One thing I've always always disagreed with is the idea that government should be run like a business. It's not a business. You should no more want a businessman who has no experience in management in government to be a manager in government than you should want a government manager with no experience in business to be a manager in business. They are two different things. Also, I think Trump's net effect on government has been to increase its losses

It doesn't look good when you have Trump railing against mail in voting right when the postal service is taking steps that slow mail delivery down.

It might not be a business, but it has to compete like one. And you sure as heck don’t want someone who has experience in management in govt, but zero in terms of executive logistics experiece like above. You should have someone like Lejoy, or a senior exec from a place like UPS, Fed Ex, or a general from the supply/logistics side of the military, who has a career track record of success in logistics/shipping/supply..

[∞∞∞]

Let's not forget the fact that before Republicans mandated USPS pre-fund 75 years worth of retirement, it was efficient and profitable (even though as JSO said, profitability shouldn't matter for government).

This went against the notion that government can't be efficient or do things as well as the private sector (while simultaneously offering better benefits and protections), so obviously the only solution was to destroy it to prove how bad government is.

What the hell are you two saying the government shouldn't be profitable? Why can't the USPS be profitable?

It can be, but you have to be careful about government profitability.

One fundamental reason for not promoting it much is the fact it stifles the free market (aka. stifles innovation, entrepreneurship, employment opportunities, profits, private investments, etc). Government has access to an entire market of citizens.

Of course government IS the people, so it's up to us to determine which government service(s) are essential and which ones the free market should handle. In general, the free market should handle most, but it's still a fine balancing act.

[UNI88]

Government is not about profitability. One thing I've always always disagreed with is the idea that government should be run like a business. It's not a business. You should no more want a businessman who has no experience in management in government to be a manager in government than you should want a government manager with no experience in business to be a manager in business. They are two different things. Also, I think Trump's net effect on government has been to increase its losses

It doesn't look good when you have Trump railing against mail in voting right when the postal service is taking steps that slow mail delivery down.

It might not be a business, but it has to compete like one. And you sure as heck don’t want someone who has experience in management in govt, but zero in terms of executive logistics experiece like above. You should have someone like Lejoy, or a senior exec from a place like UPS, Fed Ex, or a general from the supply/logistics side of the military, who has a career track record of success in logistics/shipping/supply..

I don't disagree.

The USPS is competing against UPS, FedEx, etc. and the government should not underwrite their losses so that they have an unfair advantage just like the EU shouldn't be allowed to underwrite Airbus to give it an unfair advantage against Boeing. They don't really compete in delivering letters so that might be an exception.

Making sure that pensions are funded is a good thing but 75 years is extreme.

Regardless of whether someone things the USPS should be profitable, I'm not sure you can argue that it shouldn't attempt to be efficient.

It's great if Lejoy is using his knowledge and experience to make the USPS more efficient. It's absolutely wrong if he's sabotaging it to help his buddies in the private sector. It's not far-fetched to think that a Trump appointee might have an ulterior and sinister motive. Overall, the timing of the Trump administration doing this is suspicious and poorly thought out on his part.

[∞∞∞]

USPS was efficient, highly so. But when you're appropriated a certain amount of money and much of that goes to pre-funding retirements for 75 years, there's little to nothing left to improve processes without cutting positions, hours, etc. It causes a domino effect of inefficiencies (which you often see private companies spiral into as well).

Even with that, USPS is still more efficient in ways that FedEx and UPS aren't (while providing better salaries and benefits).

[Winterborn]

How much hyperbole this is remains to be seen but it is a very interesting take on life in NYC right now.

I love NYC. When I first moved to NYC it was a dream come true. Every corner was like a theater production happening right in front of me. So much personality, so many stories.

Every subculture I loved was in NYC. I could play chess all day and night. I could go to comedy clubs. I could start any type of business. I could meet people. I had family, friends, opportunities. No matter what happened to me, NYC was a net I could fall back on and bounce back up.
see also
NYC residents ramp up mass exodus out of Big Apple

Now it’s completely dead. “But NYC always always bounces back.” No. Not this time. “But NYC is the center of the financial universe. Opportunities will flourish here again.” Not this time.

A Facebook group [Into The Unknown] formed a few weeks ago that was for people who were planning a move and wanted others to talk to and ask advice from. Within two or three days it had about 10,000 members.

https://nypost.com/2020/08/17/nyc-is-de ... -altucher/

[BDKJMU]

USPS 13 straight years of losses, 8.8 billion FY 2019.
https://www.govexec.com/management/2019 ... on/161317/
They don't necessarily need to be profitable, but they shouldn't be losing $$ hand over fist either.

[∞∞∞]

USPS 13 straight years of losses, 8.8 billion FY 2019.
https://www.govexec.com/management/2019 ... on/161317/
They don't necessarily need to be profitable, but they shouldn't be losing $$ hand over fist either.

Guess how many years from 2019 the "uSpS mUsT pReFuNd PeNsIoNs FoR 75 yEaRs!" was passed...

[Ivytalk]

How much hyperbole this is remains to be seen but it is a very interesting take on life in NYC right now.

I love NYC. When I first moved to NYC it was a dream come true. Every corner was like a theater production happening right in front of me. So much personality, so many stories.

Every subculture I loved was in NYC. I could play chess all day and night. I could go to comedy clubs. I could start any type of business. I could meet people. I had family, friends, opportunities. No matter what happened to me, NYC was a net I could fall back on and bounce back up.
see also
NYC residents ramp up mass exodus out of Big Apple

Now it’s completely dead. “But NYC always always bounces back.” No. Not this time. “But NYC is the center of the financial universe. Opportunities will flourish here again.” Not this time.

A Facebook group [Into The Unknown] formed a few weeks ago that was for people who were planning a move and wanted others to talk to and ask advice from. Within two or three days it had about 10,000 members.

https://nypost.com/2020/08/17/nyc-is-de ... -altucher/

Sobering.

Lots of jam-packed luxury SUVs with NY tags headed south on I-95 these days. Just sayin’.

[Ibanez]

https://www.secureworldexpo.com/industr ... e=hs_email

Regulators are now forcing the company to be monitored by a compliance team that will examine the organization's information security practices from the cloud to the corporate boardroom.

Here's an interesting article about what happens to a company AFTER the data breach. You see it happen, get the emails and hear they get a fine. That's usually just the beginning. The regulators come in and that's when the fun starts.

Capital One is undergoing increased scrutiny by the OCC (a government regulator) for the InfoSec surrounding their Cloud. The OCC, as least in my experience, is one of the toughest regulators. My team just finished responding to two audits and is about to respond to another 2 right now. Cloud computing present serious risks but also great rewards. Companies like Amazon do a tremendous job at it (and we're all subject to it in one way or another) but there will always be a vulnerability that gets overlooked (or ignored if you're Equifax.) I'm sure we'll be looking into what their exposure was and determine if we are well protected. It's an interesting thing in finanical Info Sec - a lot of the companies share information about threats and how to correct them. The thought process is if, for example, Wells Fargo helps Citi Bank become more secure then you increase the confidence in the overall banking system.

If you know anyone that works in compliance, risk management or IT and wants to work, i'm betting Capital One is going to start hiring like crazy. I think most of their Info Sec operations are around Charlottesville, Va. And these jobs pay pretty damn well.

[Winterborn]

Sobering.

Lots of jam-packed luxury SUVs with NY tags headed south on I-95 these days. Just sayin’.

The author made a very good point about the internet and how the with the speed increases these last few years it is making working remote much more possible.

Even out in the sticks here I can get Gigabit Internet whereas a few years ago speeds like that were not available.

[Winterborn]

https://www.secureworldexpo.com/industr ... e=hs_email

Regulators are now forcing the company to be monitored by a compliance team that will examine the organization's information security practices from the cloud to the corporate boardroom.

Here's an interesting article about what happens to a company AFTER the data breach. You see it happen, get the emails and hear they get a fine. That's usually just the beginning. The regulators come in and that's when the fun starts.

Capital One is undergoing increased scrutiny by the OCC (a government regulator) for the InfoSec surrounding their Cloud. The OCC, as least in my experience, is one of the toughest regulators. My team just finished responding to two audits and is about to respond to another 2 right now. Cloud computing present serious risks but also great rewards. Companies like Amazon do a tremendous job at it (and we're all subject to it in one way or another) but there will always be a vulnerability that gets overlooked (or ignored if you're Equifax.) I'm sure we'll be looking into what their exposure was and determine if we are well protected. It's an interesting thing in finanical Info Sec - a lot of the companies share information about threats and how to correct them. The thought process is if, for example, Wells Fargo helps Citi Bank become more secure then you increase the confidence in the overall banking system.

If you know anyone that works in compliance, risk management or IT and wants to work, i'm betting Capital One is going to start hiring like crazy. I think most of their Info Sec operations are around Charlottesville, Va. And these jobs pay pretty damn well.

Not my area of compliance.

But that is a interesting article. Here at work we are looking into some areas of autonomous/connected machine operation and security is a huge concern. If one is interested in causing trouble, hacking a mining truck (600+ tons) and driving it down a road into traffic will do the trick. Due to its size the only thing one could hope to do is either it runs out of fuel or gets high centered somewhere.

[CID1990]

No. Am I in some position where I should have?

Sounds like they vote with their feet though.


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He’s one of the more prominent spokesman for libertarianism around. Enjoyable to listen to. (Never mind Palantir makes its money off government contracts ).

As a libertarian I choose not to follow other libertarians around

So I don’t know the prominent ones


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[SeattleGriz]

Does anyone know what your rights are in this instance? I've always wondered how much you could legally retaliate to such behavior. No real attacking other than ripping up signs and taking a hat.

Mostly interested about what you are allowed to do if someone steals your hat or sign and won't give it back. Seems to be a common tactic of those on the Left.

[BDKJMU]

Does anyone know what your rights are in this instance? I've always wondered how much you could legally retaliate to such behavior. No real attacking other than ripping up signs and taking a hat.

Mostly interested about what you are allowed to do if someone steals your hat or sign and won't give it back. Seems to be a common tactic of those on the Left.

Didn't take long for people to identify the 2 cunts. Apparently the mother has already filed charges with the Wilmington, DE PD.

[UNI88]

The cvnts should be charged, what they did was wrong.

What kind of parent puts their 7 y/o in that situation? That is extremely poor parenting.

[Skjellyfetti]

What kind of parent puts their 7 y/o in that situation? That is extremely poor parenting.

Kinda like the parents of the kid who spent his time raising money for Bannon's yacht.





Or, maybe the taught him Trumpian fundraising, and he just pocketed the money.