Shell Shock Exploitation Vectors - <AUTHOR> https://www.dfranke.us/posts/2014-09-27-shell-shock-exploitation-vectors.html <comment><USER2> On the theory that it is more likely to help HNers than the bad guys: [http://httpd.apache.org/docs/2.2/mod/mod_ssl.html](http://httpd.apache.org/docs/2.2/mod/mod_ssl.html) . Note in particular the part about StdEnvVars. The docs say it is off by default, but it is actually on in a lot of common deployment scenarios, for example if most of your apache configs were sourced from the big "apt-get install foo bar baz" line everyone copies from a blog post to get a working LAMP installation on an Ubuntu box.

I have not POCed this yet, but if I were trying to, I'd first try to make a client certificate with a highly non-standard Distinguished Name. It doesn't particularly matter if it fails validation as long as it doesn't fail in such a way that Apache dies before passing your information deeper into the guts of the web app.

After that point you're just looking for e.g. any page or library in the web app you can coerce to do a system() call or similar. While I was poking around in my own apps something like system(...) in Ruby on Ubuntu actually called /bin/sh rather than bash, but I think that is probably not the case for every combination of stack and distro.

<comment><USER2> Another thing that interested HNers can feel free to bird dog: PHP + Nginx is often deployed using fastcgi. (And, in my limited experience, far, far more likely to be deployed in greenfield development in the 2010s versus an actual CGI script. I think probably in excess of 20% of "technically savvy young software companies" I run this, the vast majority motivated by one ridiculously common piece of software that I'll refrain from naming because it suggests a trivial spray-and-pray for loop.)

fascgi_params puts a lot of attacker controlled data into "environment variables", but depending on php.ini's variables_order setting those might not actually go into what the rest of the word thinks is an environment variable (and hence not get passed to subprocesses, which is the point of the exercise). If php.ini's variables_order includes an "E", then the environment variable QUERY_STRING (among other things) will include attacker-chosen data. variables_order does include E by default, but does not in the php.ini which ships with the obvious apt-get commands for e.g. Ubuntu.

<comment><USER3> I would like to reply to this but it is very hard to understand what you are alluding to. What is this software that one fifth of companies run and why is technically savvy in scare quotes, along with some veiled reference to something called spray-and-pray?

It's really impossible to understand you, but fastcgi_params does not put attacker controlled data into environment variables (without the quotes). That much is clear so normal usage of fastcgi is not in danger.

<comment><USER2> I will try being maximally explicit.

 _What is this software that one fifth of companies run_

A ridiculously popular application, written in PHP, which is widely useful to software companies (among others).

 _why is technically savvy in scare quotes_

I originally wrote "startup" then thought "Actually, this is deployed by a lot of people who aren't startups or who are only arguably startups, hmm, that is an unproductive debate, let's just say what I mean then move on."

 _some veiled reference to something called spray-and-pray?_

Many applications have a well-known set of URLs associated with them. A spray- and-pray exploit is one which you can just fire at a well-known URL at every machine which responds to port 80 in IP4 space. The reason I am not identifying the vulnerable software written in PHP is that it would allow any script kiddie smart enough to text edit the existing exploit scripts to exploit that software as an additional vector.

 _fastcgi_params does not put attacker controlled data into environment variables (without the quotes)_

I'm absolutely positive that fastcgi_params does indeed clobber $_ENV with attacker supplied data if PHP is configured as described above. I am less strongly confident that some configurations of PHP will allow $_ENV to get to at least some subprocesses. I am absolutely confident that some configurations of PHP will not allow you to set $_ENV nor set environmental variables. I have figured out ways to configure it which put the fastcgi_params in $_SERVER but not $_ENV and, separately, in $_ENV but not in environment variables passed to subprocesses. I'm aware of a PHP command which the documentation suggests defaults to passing $_ENV as actual environment variables to subprocesses but which I have not been able to verify actually works as the documentation says, due to it being 6 AM in the morning local time and me having insufficient motivation to continue finding more reasons to justify the conclusion that this bug is very, very bad news and bash needs to get patched immediately everywhere.

<comment><USER3> > I'm absolutely positive that fastcgi_params does indeed clobber $_ENV with > attacker supplied data if PHP is configured as described above.

This is irrelevant. There is no known hole with global variables containing untrusted data.

> I am less strongly confident that some configurations of PHP will allow > $_ENV to get to at least some subprocesses.

This could be relevant, if it is indeed passed in the environment.

However I can find no reference in the PHP documentation to this. That does not count for much, admittedly, and I am not very fluent in PHP. If this is real then it is a problem for many people so please share.

> I'm aware of a PHP command which the documentation suggests defaults to > passing $_ENV as actual environment variables to subprocesses

Please spell it out already. I've been testing for the better part of two hours to find what you are alluding to, but I have no idea if I'm wasting my time or not.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER4> Always protect your OpenVPN instances with tls-auth, especially if your instance accepts connections from any IP. It prevents the SSL negotiation from even occurring if it doesn't match. It would have protected you from heart bleed, and it protects against shell shock.

There is no downside to using it. However, keep in mind that the key file is shared across all clients, so you probably want to change it periodically depending upon how much you trust your clients not to become hostile. You could run multiple server instances on different ports/IPs to subdivide your client base, or when rolling out a new key.

<comment><USER5> I wish the official OpenVPN howto [0] highlighted this sort of things a bit more.

As it is, it provides a clear and easy to follow path to a minimally viable setup, but only mentions many additional security parameters (tls-auth, running as unpriviledged user, chroot, increasing key size) under "Hardening OpenVPN Security", very far down the page, where people probably miss it. And this, even though some of these elements vastly increase the security with little to no downside.

[0] [https://openvpn.net/index.php/open- source/documentation/howt...](https://openvpn.net/index.php/open- source/documentation/howto.html)

</comment></comment><comment><USER6> Maybe a small note, but the variable needs to start with the _bytes_ "() {", not the _characters_.

For example, () {̀ also triggers the parsing code. That's a ` over the { using Unicode.

FWIW, I haven't been able to actually exploit it this way, but referencing that variable in the new shell generates errors, so there might be something there:

bash: () {̀ :;}; echo vuln2: invalid variable name for name reference

</comment><comment><USER7> One thing that'd be somewhat useful, with respect to #2 ("It must invoke bash"), is to separate it into those which specifically invoke bash, versus those that invoke /bin/sh. If bash is not installed as /bin/sh, as is the case on Debian and Ubuntu, do any of these (inetd, exim, etc.) still explicitly call it? Put differently, is this mainly an issue for distributions that ship bash as /bin/sh? Or do users of distributions like Debian also need to worry about common system services setting bash shell variables?

Maybe I'll try to answer that by pulling a bunch of Debian source packages and grepping for explicit calls to bash...

<comment><USER8> Even if they don't explicitly invoke bash, it's possible that they call a program which calls a program which invokes a bash script somewhere.

Debian switched /bin/sh to link to dash a while back, but some maintainers decided to simply change the #!/bin/sh at the top of the shell scripts in their packages to #!/bin/bash rather than remove the bashisms. dhclient is the worst offender in the current kerfuffle, but I'm sure there are others.

<comment><USER9> They did switch /bin/sh to dash, which is why it seems to me that grepping for "bash" would be quite effective.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER10> For Mac OS X, until Apple releases a software update, I've applied the original CVE-2014-6271 (shellshock) patch and the CVE-2014-7169 patch. Repository and instructions to reproduce without trusting me are located here: [https://github.com/ido/macosx-bash-92-shellshock- patched](https://github.com/ido/macosx-bash-92-shellshock-patched)

Binary releases are here: [https://github.com/ido/macosx-bash-92-shellshock- patched/rel...](https://github.com/ido/macosx-bash-92-shellshock- patched/releases) ...including a .pkg file that can be installed with a double-click.

Instruction here: [https://github.com/ido/macosx-bash-92-shellshock- patched/blo...](https://github.com/ido/macosx-bash-92-shellshock- patched/blob/master/README.md)

<comment><USER11> This appears (to me) to be another good temporary fix for OS X:

[http://apple.stackexchange.com/a/146851](http://apple.stackexchange.com/a/146851)

It provides a one-step copy and paste into the terminal to download, patch and compile bash from apple.com and gnu.org.

</comment></comment><comment><USER12> You missed one of the big ones, DHCP. dhclient calls dhclient-script with attacker controlled environment variables, and on several Linux distros I checked, dhclient-script explicitly uses Bash, so even Debian and Ubuntu, which use dash as sh, are vulnerable.

<comment><AUTHOR> Someone else already pointed this out in my comments section. I'm working on an update.

</comment></comment><comment><USER13> rather than adding fixup to these (which arent all exactly directly exploitable, and sometimes have dodgy POCs), it'd be nice if we stopped calling the shell at all and when necessary, always wipe the env entirely and parse the user input by allowing a specific white list.

these methods were used a decade ago and programs not doing stuff like clearing the env were seen as poorly made programs in need of rewrite. Unfortunately that has changed.

<comment><USER14> Thank you for mentioning this. What I don't understand is that no one is talking about the responsibility of the programs reading the user input. They have a responsibility to validate anything they receive using a whitelisting approach (i.e. denying anything that doesn't match expected patterns).

If a program simply slurps in user input without doing any basic validation according to published RFCs then there's a bug in that program.

</comment></comment><comment><USER15> I wonder if anyone has thought of any indirect vectors? Imagine a Windows based virus that can scan a private network and use the shellshock exploit to infect never-before-seen unix devices with a HTTP service?

</comment><comment><USER16> So assuming it's an online EC2 server not-updated LAMP stack with an empty cgi folder and a lone html page with hello world. Is that vulnerable to bash exploitation in any way?

<comment><AUTHOR> Probably not, unless there's something really weird in your Apache config.

</comment></comment><comment><USER17> I feel like the only reasonable thing to do now is to capture all traffic going to a web server and analyze every field for that's that eventually become env vars.

<comment><USER18> Or fix the shell or use another one.

</comment></comment><comment> X-Istence This of course assumes that bash is set as the default shell for those users all those programs run under. None of my systems have bash installed, thus they aren't vulnerable. FreeBSD by default does not ship with bash, and unless it is specifically installed for 3rd party software use, it is not required for anything, and certainly won't be found as /bin/sh...

Shell shock is being blown out of proportion, people are worried local machines they use to browse internet are going to get popped when in reality it is only really Linux machines that have bash as the default shell that should be worried.

<comment><USER19> Any program that calls a library that calls a program that executes a script with #!/bin/bash could be vulnerable, client or server. There are many ways data can get into an environment variable.

For example, a hypothetical encryption library might be a wrapper around /usr/bin/gpg or /usr/bin/openssl, and to avoid having arguments show up in _ps_ or _top_ , it might pass arguments as environment variables. Later a secure e-mail program might use that library to validate a signature from an e-mail, and pass signature data in an environment variable. So that's MacOSX and Fedora owned with /bin/bash as /bin/sh. Say the encryption library used a script written in Bash to do some other processing. That's BSD owned.

<comment> X-Istence Except that bash is not installed by default... if bash is not installed how does BSD suddenly become vulnerable?

<comment><USER19> It would have been installed as a dependency of whatever used it in some obscure way.

<comment><USER19> Okay, since someone actually downvoted _both_ of my comments, I'll point out that libgpgme is a common encryption library that calls /usr/bin/gpg. Fortunately it uses execv(), but that leaves the environment unchanged so if anything further down the chain uses Bash it's still vulnerable.

I'll also provide a list of files from /usr/bin that are actually implemented using Bash (from a Linux Mint system). Anything using these with user- controlled environment variable values is vulnerable:

        $ grep -nR '#!.*bash' * | grep :1:
        apg:1:#!/bin/bash
        aptitude-create-state-bundle:1:#!/bin/bash
        aptitude-run-state-bundle:1:#!/bin/bash
        banshee:1:#!/usr/bin/env bash
        cautious-launcher:1:#!/bin/bash
        checkinstall:1:#!/bin/bash
        cinnamon2d:1:#!/bin/bash
        dns-fix:1:#!/bin/bash
        editdiff:1:#!/bin/bash
        fakenect:1:#!/bin/bash
        fakeroot:1:#!/bin/bash
        fakeroot-sysv:1:#!/bin/bash
        fakeroot-tcp:1:#!/bin/bash
        gnome-www-browser:1:#!/bin/bash
        google-chrome:1:#!/bin/bash
        google-chrome-stable:1:#!/bin/bash
        gufw-pkexec:1:#!/bin/bash
        im-config:1:#!/bin/bash -e
        init-checkconf:1:#!/bin/bash
        installwatch:1:#!/bin/bash
        inxi:1:#!/bin/bash
        itweb-settings:1:#!/bin/bash
        javaws:1:#!/bin/bash
        lcf:1:#!/bin/bash
        ldd:1:#! /bin/bash
        libtool:1:#! /bin/bash
        lua2dox_filter:1:#!/bin/bash
        lzcmp:1:#!/bin/bash
        lzdiff:1:#!/bin/bash
        lzegrep:1:#!/bin/bash
        lzfgrep:1:#!/bin/bash
        lzgrep:1:#!/bin/bash
        lzless:1:#!/bin/bash
        lzmore:1:#!/bin/bash
        mate-help:1:#!/bin/bash
        mintBackup:1:#!/bin/bash
        mint-fortune:1:#!/bin/bash
        mintupload:1:#!/bin/bash
        mintupload-manager:1:#!/bin/bash
        muinshee:1:#!/usr/bin/env bash
        mysqld_safe:1:#!/bin/bash
        p7zip:1:#!/bin/bash
        pipelight-plugin:1:#!/usr/bin/env bash
        pnmindex:1:#!/bin/bash
        policyeditor:1:#!/bin/bash
        ppmquantall:1:#!/bin/bash
        rarian-sk-config:1:#!/bin/bash
        rarian-sk-extract:1:#!/bin/bash
        rarian-sk-rebuild:1:#!/bin/bash
        rarian-sk-update:1:#!/bin/bash
        scrollkeeper-config:1:#!/bin/bash
        scrollkeeper-extract:1:#!/bin/bash
        scrollkeeper-rebuilddb:1:#!/bin/bash
        scrollkeeper-update:1:#!/bin/bash
        sotruss:1:#! /bin/bash
        steam:1:#!/usr/bin/env bash
        su-to-root:1:#!/bin/bash
        tomboy:1:#!/usr/bin/env bash
        tzselect:1:#!/bin/bash
        ucf:1:#!/bin/bash
        ucfr:1:#! /bin/bash
        usb-devices:1:#!/bin/bash
        X11/scrollkeeper-config:1:#!/bin/bash
        X11/fakenect:1:#!/bin/bash
        X11/lzgrep:1:#!/bin/bash
        X11/cautious-launcher:1:#!/bin/bash
        X11/xzdiff:1:#!/bin/bash
        X11/aptitude-create-state-bundle:1:#!/bin/bash
        X11/mint-fortune:1:#!/bin/bash
        X11/mate-help:1:#!/bin/bash
        X11/scrollkeeper-extract:1:#!/bin/bash
        X11/fakeroot:1:#!/bin/bash
        X11/editdiff:1:#!/bin/bash
        X11/lzdiff:1:#!/bin/bash
        X11/apg:1:#!/bin/bash
        X11/mintupload-manager:1:#!/bin/bash
        X11/gnome-www-browser:1:#!/bin/bash
        X11/ucfr:1:#! /bin/bash
        X11/lzcmp:1:#!/bin/bash
        X11/libtool:1:#! /bin/bash
        X11/im-config:1:#!/bin/bash -e
        X11/xzmore:1:#!/bin/bash
        X11/mintupload:1:#!/bin/bash
        X11/xzegrep:1:#!/bin/bash
        X11/javaws:1:#!/bin/bash
        X11/xchat-systray:1:#!/bin/bash
        X11/itweb-settings:1:#!/bin/bash
        X11/dns-fix:1:#!/bin/bash
        X11/su-to-root:1:#!/bin/bash
        X11/checkinstall:1:#!/bin/bash
        X11/usb-devices:1:#!/bin/bash
        X11/rarian-sk-extract:1:#!/bin/bash
        X11/tzselect:1:#!/bin/bash
        X11/google-chrome-stable:1:#!/bin/bash
        X11/xzcmp:1:#!/bin/bash
        X11/xzgrep:1:#!/bin/bash
        X11/pipelight-plugin:1:#!/usr/bin/env bash
        X11/lcf:1:#!/bin/bash
        X11/scrollkeeper-rebuilddb:1:#!/bin/bash
        X11/banshee:1:#!/usr/bin/env bash
        X11/cinnamon2d:1:#!/bin/bash
        X11/xzfgrep:1:#!/bin/bash
        X11/muinshee:1:#!/usr/bin/env bash
        X11/lzfgrep:1:#!/bin/bash
        X11/mintBackup:1:#!/bin/bash
        X11/tomboy:1:#!/usr/bin/env bash
        X11/fakeroot-sysv:1:#!/bin/bash
        X11/aptitude-run-state-bundle:1:#!/bin/bash
        X11/gufw-pkexec:1:#!/bin/bash
        X11/init-checkconf:1:#!/bin/bash
        X11/x-www-browser:1:#!/bin/bash
        X11/lzegrep:1:#!/bin/bash
        X11/rarian-sk-update:1:#!/bin/bash
        X11/sotruss:1:#! /bin/bash
        X11/ldd:1:#! /bin/bash
        X11/ppmquantall:1:#!/bin/bash
        X11/rarian-sk-rebuild:1:#!/bin/bash
        X11/xzless:1:#!/bin/bash
        X11/rarian-sk-config:1:#!/bin/bash
        X11/p7zip:1:#!/bin/bash
        X11/google-chrome:1:#!/bin/bash
        X11/lzmore:1:#!/bin/bash
        X11/fakeroot-tcp:1:#!/bin/bash
        X11/mysqld_safe:1:#!/bin/bash
        X11/ucf:1:#!/bin/bash
        X11/policyeditor:1:#!/bin/bash
        X11/lzless:1:#!/bin/bash
        X11/lua2dox_filter:1:#!/bin/bash
        X11/installwatch:1:#!/bin/bash
        X11/inxi:1:#!/bin/bash
        X11/scrollkeeper-update:1:#!/bin/bash
        X11/steam:1:#!/usr/bin/env bash
        X11/pnmindex:1:#!/bin/bash
        xchat-systray:1:#!/bin/bash
        x-www-browser:1:#!/bin/bash
        xzcmp:1:#!/bin/bash
        xzdiff:1:#!/bin/bash
        xzegrep:1:#!/bin/bash
        xzfgrep:1:#!/bin/bash
        xzgrep:1:#!/bin/bash
        xzless:1:#!/bin/bash
        xzmore:1:#!/bin/bash

<comment><USER18> And before you believe that your Linux box is any indication of how common a dependency bash is...

I just grepped all the Makefiles in my ports tree for 'shells/bash', and came up with 48 matches. This includes ports that depend on bash at build time, at test time, and at runtime. So for people who just use packages, the number of things that are going to pull in bash (as a runtime dep) is lower than that.

We have many of the same programs you have, but they do not use bash. For example, all your executables that start with xz or lz. I have them, most of them anyway, but they use /bin/sh, not /bin/bash.

I use BSD on the desktop, and out of the three hundred packages I have installed, _none_ have pulled bash in as a dep. I don't have bash, I haven't had it for years.

<comment> X-Istence There is a couple more ports out there that require it for run, but the numbers are quite low considering the amount of software that is available in the ports tree:

[http://www.freshports.org/shells/bash](http://www.freshports.org/shells/bash)

<comment><USER18> My numbers are from the OpenBSD ports tree.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER20> [https://access.redhat.com/articles/1200223](https://access.redhat.com/articles/1200223)

CUPS probably too, but no POC seen yet

</comment><comment><USER21> I've got an old red hat somewhere, without yum and apt-get, what can I do to update bash on there? (RHEL3).

<comment><USER22> I've posted what I did (as best as I can recall) here: [https://gist.github.com/anonymous/56afdedbf92ea98ba237](https://gist.github.com/anonymous/56afdedbf92ea98ba237)

It's entirely possible I forgot something. I haven't built an RPM in years and didn't do it often in the first place. I almost didn't bother now except I can't entirely exclude the possibility that two RHEL3 servers that aren't going anywhere might have an attack vector hidden in them somewhere.

Edit: Changed link to fixed gist.

</comment></comment><comment><USER20> suphp __might __be exploitet, but only with stupid settings

[https://8ack.de/guides/suphp_shellshock](https://8ack.de/guides/suphp_shellshock)

</comment><comment><USER23> Somewhat ironic for all the noise made about qmail that many configurations of it are vulnerable. I wonder if Bernstein will be paying out that $1000 reward, and if so, to who

See section 1.3:

[http://cr.yp.to/qmail/qmailsec-20071101.pdf](http://cr.yp.to/qmail/qmailsec-20071101.pdf)

<comment><AUTHOR> The qmail bounty explicitly disclaims "bugs outside of qmail", which this one clearly is. So, no.

<comment><USER24> Why it's not exploitable without the shellshock-vulnerable bash, you could argue that qmail is not validating the input in accordance with the RFCs. In fact, that's one of the things I said here: [http://marc.info/?l=qmail&m=141183309314366&w=2](http://marc.info/?l=qmail&m=141183309314366&w=2)

<comment><USER25> Input validation is an orthogonal issue here, since bash doesn't know anything about RFC821/RFC2821, doesn't expect data in that format, and doesn't make any guarantees about what it will or won't do on such data.

The only reasonable policy for a shell to follow is to be entirely input- agnostic and never execute code based on the contents of an environment variable (regardless of which RFCs the contents conform to).

<comment><USER24> Of course bash doesn't know and shouldn't know about the SMTP RFCs. Yes, bash shouldn't execute code in variables. I was talking about input validation in qmail itself, not bash.

Even though bash shouldn't have executed the code, better input validation and RFC conformance in qmail could have prevented exploitation of bash. You know, defense-in-depth.</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment>


American energy use, in one diagram - <AUTHOR> http://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2017/4/13/15268604/american-energy-one-diagram <comment><USER2> If you recognize this diagram, you might have seen it in another context: [http://worrydream.com/ClimateChange/#production](http://worrydream.com/ClimateChange/#production)</comment>


Man Gets Prison Sentence for Collecting Rainwater on His Own Property - <AUTHOR> http://yournewswire.com/man-gets-prison-sentence-for-collecting-rainwater-on-his-own-property/

<comment><USER2> Fake-ish story; first published in 2012; see Snopes.Com</comment>


Elon Musk, Sam Altman Predict Self-Driving Cars on the Road in Just a Few Years - <AUTHOR> http://techcrunch.com/2015/10/06/elon-musk-sam-altman-say-self-driving-cars-are-going-to-be-on-the-road-in-just-a-few-years/ <comment><USER2> I don't see it happening and here is why-- when was the last time you used a computer + operating system + software that you would trust your life with?

Out of nowhere we are expected to believe that a new computing platform is going to appear that is not going to be susceptible to bugs, viruses, and hacking? If it was possible to create such a platform, why don't we already have it?

</comment><comment><USER3> It sounds like pretty much everyone working on these thinks it's commercially viable tech in less than 5 years.

So massive disruption in 5-8 years? It's the kind of technology that will move very quickly once it works and the initial social/legal factors are dealt with. The benefits are too strong for it not to.

</comment><comment><USER4> People don't want self-driving cars. People want to roam the open range--its the American way. I doubt self-driving cars will ever become mainstream.</comment>


Shuffle String with Python and JavaScript - <AUTHOR> https://www.ezzeddinabdullah.com/posts/shuffle-string-with-python-and-javascript <comment><AUTHOR> Python and Javascript solutions to an easy leetcode problem</comment>


Lessons Learned the Hard Way: Postgres in Production at GoCardless - <AUTHOR> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tu-cf-Jki60 <comment><AUTHOR> Or if you prefer slides: [https://speakerdeck.com/sinjo/lessons-learned-the- hard-way-p...](https://speakerdeck.com/sinjo/lessons-learned-the-hard-way- postgres-in-production-at-gocardless)</comment>


U.S. Cyber Command "basically took the IRA offline" during the 2018 midterms - <AUTHOR> https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/us-cyber-command-operation-disrupted-internet-access-of-russian-troll-factory-on-day-of-2018-midterms/2019/02/26/1827fc9e-36d6-11e9-af5b-b51b7ff322e9_story.html <comment><USER2> Such a breath of fresh air from the "russian collusion" narrative.</comment>


The Chilecon Valley challenge  - <AUTHOR> http://www.economist.com/node/21564564

<comment><USER2> I see there were two articles from The Economist about Start-up Chile this week. From the article submitted here, I see this paragraph:

"Santiago is hardly a paradise for entrepreneurs. Chile's domestic market is small, its bankruptcy law punitive. Private venture capital is still rare and credit costly. In a sad irony, Chilean bureaucrats are trying to shut down a low-interest lending market set up by the founder of Start-Up Chile. And although the programme to attract foreign entrepreneurs is promising, other government initiatives in that area—such as offering $40,000 grants to start- ups—are less sensible."

Discussion of the other article happened on HN four days ago:

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4641645>

<comment><AUTHOR> thanks for the link to the old discussion!

</comment></comment><comment><AUTHOR> even more on the topic:

<http://www.economist.com/node/21564589></comment>


The evolution of socialist strategies - <AUTHOR> http://www.stephenhicks.org/2009/11/16/the-evolution-of-socialist-strategies/

<comment><AUTHOR> This is a particularly handy flowchart:

[http://www.stephenhicks.org/wp- content/uploads/2009/11/hicks...](http://www.stephenhicks.org/wp- content/uploads/2009/11/hicks-ep-chart-56-evolution-of-socialist- strategies-200x283.gif)

Why did socialists of old invoke poverty as the reason for their policies, and modern socialists invoke inequality? Because capitalism is in the process of fixing poverty, and you don't gain power over people by promising to fix a problem that's a) fixable, and b) largely already fixed.</comment>


Ask HN. Proof of Concept: Goingtobe.in - <AUTHOR>

Hi hackers,
I'm working on an idea that I have had for a while.
Is aimed at late trip planners (such as myself) that would like to have some useful data about the destination they are traveling to but don't have the time (or the will) to spend an hour researching online.
Since we are already working in this would love to get your feedback, suggestions, etc. on this. <comment><USER2> Not sure about the "take a picture of your boarding pass" bit, I think a better way would be "email firstname.lastname@example.com with the city and country in the subject line, and you'll be emailed info about that place", similar to how Posterous does their email-based submission/response method (which I think is awesome personally).

Nearly everyone has email with them at all times, whether it's their phone/tablet/laptop/etc, so it saves you having to worry about an app or cross-platform website. Your email response could contain a basic teaser/intro to the place, then prompt them to click through to see the details information (which also lends itself nicely to a freemium model, the basic 1-2 line summary is free, clicking through requires an account).

The body portion of the email they send could contain flight numbers or other optional details to help narrow down the time to send them the info, etc.

</comment><comment><USER3> I could see using this, when I typically go somewhere the first thing I do is find a book store and buy a tourist book about the place I'm now at.

I don't really see the point in taking a picture of a boarding pass to tell you where I'm going. Id find it much easier to just type in the location. Maybe have a feature where I can enter in my flight number so when I land and turn on my phone I'm welcomed with a "Welcome to San Francisco" email from you.

<comment><AUTHOR> Thanks for your idea. Yes it should have an option to just enter your destination city and email so we can greet you when you land.

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> This may sound childish, but I immediately think of GLBT when I see the acronym GTBI (which could have a similar meaning).

</comment><comment><USER5> I used to spend way too much time researching for our trips. I just gave up after a while. This would be great. btw, nice idea using MailChimp for collecting email addresses.

<comment><AUTHOR> Thanks. The Mailchimp thing happens when you are not a programmer and new to find a way to build something up fast :)

</comment></comment><comment><USER6> Have you looked at the competition? Like <http://www.goplanit.com> ?

</comment><comment><AUTHOR> Clickable: <http://goingtobe.in/>

</comment><comment><AUTHOR> More info on GTBI once you subscribe btw :)</comment>


Juno is shutting down today - <AUTHOR> https://gojuno.com/help/riders/article/360010568839-Why-is-Juno-closing- <comment><USER2> Sorry for asking, but what was Juno ?</comment>


The Language Of Empires Faces Extinction - <AUTHOR> http://www.npr.org/2013/02/24/172821796/the-language-of-empires-faces-extinction

<comment><USER2> "A" language of empires, please. Mongolian, Arabic, Portugese -- all in rude health.</comment>


Find the best templating engine for your project - <AUTHOR> http://garann.github.com/template-chooser/

<comment><USER2> I think a better title would be "Find the best templating engine for your _Javascript_ project".

Lazy bug report: if you switch options too fast (probably while the fadeout/in is still running) the change doesn't get reflected in the list.

</comment><comment><USER3> I think you could improve the site dramatically by using a more readable font.

</comment><comment><USER4> JsRender should probably be on there. <https://github.com/BorisMoore/jsrender></comment>


The Secret Gay Business Network of Midcentury America - <AUTHOR> https://daily.jstor.org/the-secret-gay-business-network-of-midcentury-america/ <comment><USER2> >Syrett also notes that despite their transgressive behavior, the men writing each other were generally quite conservative and uninterested in challenging the sexual politics of their time: "Though they were clearly not engaged in a struggle for gay liberation… these men organized in service of their own personal liberation and did so through corporate capitalism and not leftist political organizing."

...ok? Just because someone likes dudes doesn't mean he wants to seize the means of production. Obviously capitalism has worked out pretty well for businessmen financially, so probably they'd be more likely to lean right- libertarian.

<comment><USER3> There's more to it than that - these men were into their own _personal_ liberation rather than helping change society to make their own underground organizing unnecessary.

(I happen to think it's presumptuous to make that an _obligation_ for members of oppressed groups, but okay.)

<comment><USER4> >obligation for members of oppressed groups, but okay.

Presumptuous even to consider MSM to be part of the same oppressed "group." I understand that unity, as a minority, is essential for fighting the good fight. But, it's also important to recognize that not every MSM identifies as "gay," and behavior does not dictate identity. People must be free to identify as they wish, without judgement. Describe, don't prescribe.

What makes this group of businessmen so fascinating is that they subvert the homogeny of the modern gay rights movement -- "you're one of us! Admit it!" \-- and reveals a different kind of queer.

<comment><USER3> In this case, though, they _did_ identify as gay: "But Syrett writes that the 50 letter-writers he studied identified as gay, at least privately, and did not marry women. "

<comment><USER5> It's worth noting that remaining unmarried, in that era, was itself a pretty loud social signal.

<comment><USER6> I don't think that's really true, in the sense of signaling homosexuality, even if being single was very slightly risqué.

<comment><USER5> It didn't 100% signal homosexuality, but it signaled that something was odd, with homosexuality as a possibility.

I'll also note that a lot of gay people from that era report that they felt pressured to be heterosexually married to fit in. I have a couple of friends from a more recent era, currently in their mid 60s, who felt that pressure when they were younger. One had "an arrangement" with his wife, and two "came out" in their 50's and had extremely messy divorces.</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment>


A virtual shrink may sometimes be better than the real thing - <AUTHOR> http://www.economist.com/news/science-and-technology/21612114-virtual-shrink-may-sometimes-be-better-real-thing-computer-will-see <comment><USER2> From the title, I expected some evidence that the AI was better than an actual human. That's not the case. The comparison was AI transparent vs. AI posing as human.

The posing AI could be arbitrarily worse than an actual human and still be better than itself when not posing.

<comment><USER3> > From the title, I expected some evidence that the AI was better than an > actual human. That's not the case.

We don't know that. It's not that it's false, but that the evidence is not clear one way or the other -- it's just speculation at the moment.

We do know that programs like ELIZA, crude as they were, made many people feel that something worthwhile was taking place. In one case, a test subject asked Weizenbaum (ELIZA's originator) to leave the room so she could have a private conversation with the therapist.

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> Not quite the same thing, but self studied online CBT was the final nail in the coffin of my depression. I highly suggest checking it out for those who struggle with it, it helped me so much.

<comment><USER5> I'm curious. Could you point me to some links? Searching those keywords did not yield good results.

<comment><USER6> MoodGym is often mentioneed - [https://moodgym.anu.edu.au/welcome](https://moodgym.anu.edu.au/welcome)

There are others. Here's a bit of information from the UK advice: [http://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/TA97/chapter/4-Evidence- and-...](http://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/TA97/chapter/4-Evidence-and- interpretation)

<comment><USER4> MoodGym is the one I used, I highly recommend it :)

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER7> Reality is really starting to catch up with sci-fi isn't it?

Anybody else reminded of Sigfried Von Shrink from Gateway?

<comment><USER8> I only read the article headline, and it was my first thought also!

</comment></comment><comment><USER9> Kind of peculiar that I just watched the Zero Theorem tonight. Christopher Waltz talks to a computerized shrink in the movie.

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zmDElFUUBw](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zmDElFUUBw)

</comment><comment><USER10> How does A virtual shrink may sometimes be better than the real thing make you feel?

<comment><USER3> I would take it as a hopeful sign that we can cure ourselves with a little virtual assistance. Not unlike a spreadsheet to organize our thoughts about finances.

<comment><USER10> Good, tell me more about these feelings.

<comment><USER3> It would be fun to watch two copies of ELIZA interrogating each other. :)

<comment><USER11> Tried that years ago. Gets in a loop.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER12> It sounds an awful lot like the modern equivalent of ELIZA's doctor script. I'm sure Joseph Weizenbaum is turning in his grave.

</comment><comment><USER13> Here is a video from a year ago showing the virtual shrink in action (it may be an older version):

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejczMs6b1Q4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejczMs6b1Q4)

</comment><comment><USER14> Is there a startup working on making this accessible to the average person?

I could see a huge advantage in paying, say 30 usd, a month for access to a shrink, as I believe most people could use one, much like even those of us who are not 300 pounds could benefit from a nutritionist.

<comment><USER15> It'll be a free app from Google (probably an extension to Google Now). Of course, your sessions will remain private within Google and only archived for automatic analysis by computers to improve the overall experience. You may notice improvements in your search results and targeted advertising as a result.

Shortly thereafter, Apple will announce "Tini", Apple's iShrink and Siri's cousin.

</comment></comment><comment><USER16> Is this available online somewhere?

</comment><comment><USER17> M-x doctor

?

</comment><comment><USER3> > A virtual shrink may sometimes be better than the real thing

It's true, and this speaks volumes about the value of therapy as a profession. The reason? It proves that people are competent to treat themselves, the real meaning of virtual therapy.

EDIT: Nothing is more annoying that anonymous cowards who, out of ignorance, consistently downvote posts consisting solely of easily verified facts.

<comment><USER18> Full disclosure: a paywall prevents me from actually reading the article. However, to your comment, I would say that this doesn't actually prove that people can treat themselves. If it were proven that people truly are competent to treat themselves, I think more people would have done so. Once you are in a cycle of despair, it isn't always easy to see any way out. Every single option is void of hope of any sort. Broken hope.

Virtual therapy is hope in itself. I remember my parents taking me to a therapist when I was 14-15. I got caught shoplifting and they wanted to make sure I was ok. I really wasn't - I know now that I'd been mildly depressed for years by that point - but the therapy was wasted. Why? A combination of the man being a Christian therapist (still with degrees) and them making me sign a release form - nothing I said to the man was private from my own parents. This was not a safe place and I never trusted the man. No trust and a high likelihood of judgement from multiple parties (and a high chance of disproval or over-attention) made me shut up. Virtual? I'd consider that now, especially if for free. Best of all, it is private. Safe. No one could even see me go into the therapists office. Other people have issues trying to find a therapist that they click with. A computer is allowed to be off, to be a little cold, to be somewhat matter-of-fact: Humans need a bit of caring and empathy to go along with it.

So much of the stuff online seems like a scam. My father, during a depressed phase, spent a thousand or two on a program that basically said 'think yourself happy'. Common advice, which doesn't work. Also basic is 'just have faith in god (generally christian, but not always) and it will pass'. Actual help in any form is in short supply. Good sources stop well before practical help and tell you to talk to someone.

If my words sound a bit crazy, and not like normal people think, good. This is the stuff I have dealt with for the last 25 years or so in varying degrees. I generally haven't had access to a therapist or even be able to afford a doctor, so I'm just stuck. It isn't always bad, but it is always in the background.

<comment><USER3> > I would say that this doesn't actually prove that people can treat > themselves.

Yes, true, it proves nothing. It only suggests it.

> If it were proven that people truly are competent to treat themselves, I > think more people would have done so.

Not if they think psychologists are doctors. Not if the real point is to have a conversation with a sympathetic listener who isn't a machine. There are plenty of reasons a virtual therapist wouldn't work, apart from the technical content of the therapy.

> ... nothing I said to the man was private from my own parents.

I've read cases like that also, and IMHO it's criminal to create a quid pro quo in which the advantage of a sympathetic listener is undercut by the fact that anything can be revealed to the parents, who are often the real problem.

> Best of all, it is private.

Maybe. If this virtual therapy thing takes off, people are going to have to be very careful about how the transactions are handled. The content of the sessions would be a gold mine, and I'm sure people will try to offer online therapy sessions with a way to preserve the session content for "research", all explained in excruciatingly small print.

> I generally haven't had access to a therapist or even be able to afford a > doctor, so I'm just stuck.

This is not to diminish your situation or pretend to understand you, but there was a time when a sympathetic friend would have been the obvious remedy.

<comment><USER18> "a sympathetic friend would have been the obvious remedy"

This, I think, is what a lot of people need. I've had times with absolutely no one to talk to, I'm sure others are the same. Luckily my situation is better now.</comment></comment></comment></comment>


Ask HN: What was the best book you read in 2016? - <AUTHOR> <comment><USER2> A similar discussion:

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13235767](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13235767)

</comment><comment><USER3> Of the books I finished in 2016, I'd nominate a couple as contenders for "best of 2016":

1\. _Mastering the Compex Sale_ , by Jeff Thull. If you're interested in B2B selling, I highly recommend this book. Thull's approach is dramatically different from the old-school "Alec Baldwin rant in Glengarry Glen-Ross" stuff you may have been exposed to. He encourages a model where you act more like a doctor, or a detective, and practice "Always Be Leaving" instead of "Always Be Closing".

2\. _It 's Not The Big That Eat The Small, It's The Fast That Eat The Slow_ by Jason Jennings. The title is a good summary. Jennings makes an argument for the importance of "speed" as the primary driver of competitive advantage. There's more too it that that, so just read the book.

3\. _Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software_ by Charles Petzold. If you didn't take, or have forgotten, classes like Computer Architecture or Digital Logic, this is a great book for getting your head around the low level details of what's happening in side a digital computer. Petzold starts from VERY basic examples (using a flaslight to morse code messages to your friend across the street) and slowly builds up to a full- fledged (if somewhat minimalistic) CPU.

Edit: some unlucky soul commented _Atlas Shrugged_ and got downvoted / flagged / whatever to death. I didn't read AS in 2016, but I have read it, and I do recommend it to everyone. It has its issues, but it's absolutely a book everyone should read, whether you agree with Rand's ideology or not. And if you aren't familiar enough to Rand's ideology to know if you agree or not,that's all the more reason to read _Atlas Shrugged_ (or _The Fountainhead_ ).

</comment><comment><USER4> The Name of the Wind (The Kingkiller Chronicle, #1) by Patrick Rothfuss.

Wonderful fantasy that treats the reader as an adult and doesn't over explain. It has perfected world building, doing so organically rather than through exposition as is common in the genre. A lot of people I know came out of the woodwork as fans when I posted about this book. They mostly wanted to lament the delay of the third book, something I wasn't aware of when starting #1!

<comment><USER3> _They mostly wanted to lament the delay of the third book_

Yeah, waiting for book 3 of this series is starting to remind me of waiting for book 4 of Stephen King's "Dark Tower" series back in the day. :-(

Anyway, at least he isn't up to "waiting for the next Christopher Snow (by Dean Koontz) book" territory.

</comment></comment><comment><USER5> I really enjoyed _A Burglar's Guide to the City_ - [https://www.amazon.com/Burglars-Guide-City-Geoff-Manaugh- ebo...](https://www.amazon.com/Burglars-Guide-City-Geoff-Manaugh- ebook/dp/B00V35U0TM/)

The premise of the book is a study of high-profile heists and how the crimes themselves were heavily influenced and determined by the surrounding infrastructure. Where it shines though is driving home the fact that the infrastructure of a place is meant to define how that place is used & criminals are often people who use it in a way other than the way it was designed to be used - such as burglars who choose to enter through a ceiling or maneuver through the HVAC system like hallways.

It's simply the best non-technincal description of hackers and IT security I've ever seen.

</comment><comment><USER6> 2016 was the year I ended up reading most books that I have ever read in any year of my life so far! These are the ones I liked the most:

1\. _The Beginning of Infinity: Explanations That Transform the World_ by David Deutsch. It makes a bold claim that we will always be at the beginning of the infinite progress that lies ahead. History has proven again and again that whenever people said all progress has been made, so much more progress unfolds. I liked this book so much that we gifted this book at my startup to the entire team of 170 people!

2\. _The Innovator 's Solution_ by Clayton M. Christensen and Michael E. Raynor. This is a sequel to the popular Innovator's Dilemma book. I like the sequel much better because it tries to give solutions to the dilemma. The book packs tons of counter intuitive insights. Highly recommended.

3\. _The Big Picture_ by Sean Carrol. The best cosmology book I have read in a long while

4\. _First break all the rules_. If you are a first time manager, I highly recommend reading this book.

5\. _Deep Work_ by Cal Newport. This book changed my working habits and life. I was constantly distracted before, and now I am able to focus a ton.

6\. _Feeling Good_. This classic is again a must read. Even if you are not depressed, it will help build your mental immunity against future depression.

7\. _Our Mathematical Universe_ by Max Tegmark. A very interesting book that makes the claim that our universe is actually just mathematics. No physical reality exists because physics and mathematics are interchangeable.

There were many other interesting books I read (I read a total of 60 books in 2016!) For those who are interested, here's my entire list of books that I read in 2016: [http://shelfjoy.com/paraschopra/books-ive-read- in-2016](http://shelfjoy.com/paraschopra/books-ive-read-in-2016)

<comment><USER7> Came here to mention Deep Work by Cal Newport specifically, and glad someone else already has. If anything it should be a required reading for everyone in the current society imho. While it does not explain anything ground breaking that has not been written before, it does give a perspective as to how much the digital world and our addiction to it distract our lives. Many people are guilty of this without ever realising it.

</comment></comment><comment><USER8> Yanis Varoufakis "And the Weak Suffer What They Must?: Europe's Crisis and America's Economic Future"

Varoufakis fascinates and inspires me in that he studied math and mathematical statistics at a high level and moved into Economics at a high level (he's a professor and recently he was greek finance minister) yet resists the tendency to reduce everything down to a shity mathematical model.

He does a better job than most at exploring the factors that contributed to our current political and economic situation (the book was published before trump's win but deals with analogs in greece and europe).

And it opens with his childhood memories of hiding under a blanket to hide the sound of democratic radio from fascist ears.

</comment><comment><AUTHOR> Since I started the thread, I'll name my best read first. It was "Mastery" by Robert Greene.

[https://www.amazon.com/Mastery-Robert- Greene/dp/014312417X](https://www.amazon.com/Mastery-Robert- Greene/dp/014312417X)

<comment><USER9> Mastery by Robert Greene, just looked at that link and I'm putting that on my reading list!

Thanks Andrey

</comment></comment><comment><USER10> _The New Jim Crow_ by Michelle Alexander. Evidence-packed investigation of how the War on Drugs and mass incarceration have been leveraged to disenfranchise and oppress black people in America. It is infuriating and upsetting and inspiring to read (and provides excellent context for Black Lives Matter and the protests over police brutality).

More than anything else, the statistics Michelle Alexander bring together make the racism behind the system incredibly plain. If 6.4% of whites and 6.4% of blacks use illegal drugs in any particular year (and similar numbers for other minorities), and people tend to purchase drugs from people of their own race, it's insane that black people are incarcerated at a rate over 6x that of white people.

The chilling part is that, once you are convicted of a felony, you essentially become a second-class citizen. In 31 states, ex-felons cannot vote (or it's very difficult to do so). 13% of African American males are disenfranchised for this reason.

This is a pale summary of her book, I highly recommend reading it.

</comment><comment><USER11> Resilience - Eric Greitens

Pretty much changed a lot of things about how I view my motivation and self discipline. You'd think it's just another "Navy SEAL" book, but it's actually very philosophical and motivates you in different ways.

[https://www.amazon.com/Resilience-Hard-Won-Wisdom-Living- Bet...](https://www.amazon.com/Resilience-Hard-Won-Wisdom-Living- Better/dp/0544705262/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1483325086&sr=8-1&keywords=resilience+eric+greitens)

<comment><USER12> Didn't realize the soon to be governor of Missouri was an author.

</comment></comment><comment><USER13> My linear algebra was rusty so I bought "Linear Algebra and Its Applications" by David C. Lay. from a college student. The book is amazing, I highly recommend it.

<comment><USER11> Side note, the 4th edition is exactly the same as the 5th, so it's much cheaper to get that on Amazon if anyone's looking to get it.

Great book that explains the major concepts concisely.

</comment></comment><comment><USER14> "The Vital Question: Energy, Evolution, and the Origins of Life" \- It connected a lot of interesting dots and provided for me what I consider the first plausible process by which life could arise out of the soup. There is an interesting twist about the 'one thing' that, had it not happened, we'd probably still be separate bacteria cells.

And adds an interesting twist to the more provocative Buckminster Fuller question which is whether or not we actually exist or are we just a bunch of co-operating cells. Sort of the ultimate bee hive where our constituent worker cells are constrained to hold on to each other rather than fly about.

</comment><comment><USER15> _Helen Keller 's Teacher_ \- [https://www.amazon.com/Helen-Kellers- Teacher/dp/B00411LE6S/r...](https://www.amazon.com/Helen-Kellers- Teacher/dp/B00411LE6S/ref=sr_1_2/156-5496948-4997144?ie=UTF8)

I can't remember if I read this in 2016 or late 2015, but it's the best book you're not going to see on a recommendation list in one of these threads.

It's for children, and it tells the story of a little girl who catches a disease largely forgotten in the first world and loses her eyesight, then is sent to to the literal poor house as a child. I don't want to spoil too much, but the thing that makes this book so good is that it tells a story that is deeply deeply tragic in language that is plain and simple so that a small child can understand it. Taking this in contrast to the sheer _horror_ of what the protagonist is experiencing makes it a harrowing spiritual experience.

I found it volunteering for a booth giving away books to kids at an event. The line got slow and I didn't have anything to distract myself with, so I rummaged through the books and picked out something that looked interesting. The booth didn't get much work out of me after that because I couldn't put it down, reading it all day and into the night until I was finished.

I'd recommend it to anybody, especially people who like to reflect on the bad old world we've largely escaped from.

</comment><comment><USER16> I realize the topic says "book" not "books" but I've got two:

"Hard-Core: Life of My Own" by Harley Flanagan

I've been a huge fan of the Cro-Mags for a long long time. I've had the extreme pleasure of seeing them about eight times now. But never with Harley. And until I read this book I never really knew why he wasn't there. I mean, you hear people talk, but they weren't there, they don't know what went down. This book is an absolute must read for anyone who has even a passing interest in punk. It's a look into the life of one of the most colorful and talented musicians the genre has produced. It's written in a very casual conversational style and consists mostly of string of anecdotes told from Harley's point of view as he's remembering his life from his toddler years up until early 2016. Even if New York Hardcore isn't really your thing I still highly recommend it. He manages to capture in a very raw and visceral way the NYHC era he is largely responsible for ushering in. And if you've never heard "The Age of Quarrel" pause whatever you're listening to now and go find it on YouTube or something.

"The Dark Forest" by Cixin Liu

I would include the first book in this series, "The Three-Body Problem", but I read that in December of 2015. All I want to say about this series of books is that you should go into them without knowing anything. Don't read a plot synopsis. Don't even read the little blurb on Amazon product page. Someone recommended I go into it blind, only telling me "It's good.", and I'm so glad I did just that. The moment you find out what the title is referring to gave me goosebumps.

</comment><comment><USER17> Seveneves - Neal Stephenson

<comment><USER18> Loved that a thinly veiled Neil deGrasse Tyson was the hero out to save earth.

<comment><USER19> You forgot to say Spoiler Alert!

<comment><USER20> That's really not a spoiler. It's apparent as soon as the character is introduced and the plot takes off in the beginning.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER21> Zero to One by Peter Thiel.

</comment><comment> whirl-wind Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari

<comment><USER22> +1

</comment></comment><comment><USER9> My favorite books I read in 2016:

How to Win Friends and Influence People - Dale Carnegie

The 10X Rule: The Only Difference Between Success and Failure - Grant Cardone

Hack Upwork: How to Make Real Money as a Freelancer - Danny Flood

What are your favorite books of 2016 Andrey?

<comment><USER4> > How to Win Friends and Influence People - Dale Carnegie

Great book. The advice is rather obvious but it really gets you thinking about how you interact with people. For example I've learnt to be vastly better at people's names now, it still take conscious effort but it is fairly habituated now.

<comment><USER9> Have you seen any positive things in your life after reading Dale Carnegie's book?

<comment><USER4> Subjectively yes, I feel more confident. I've re-listened to the book every couple of years as it helps me focus on continuously improving what I see as an important skill set.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER23> Pale blue dot - Carl Sagan

Fundamentally altered my worldview and the way I perceive stuff.

</comment><comment><USER24> Three Body Problem trilogy.

<comment><USER25> This extended my boundaries of what a 'big problem' encompasses by several orders of magnitude. It also paints a terrifying picture of society, one which is entirely alien to my culture. Specifically the narrative of 'if we can't live everyone should die' / anti-escapism was both shocking and bizarre. My christian cultural tradition dictates that the proper reaction to near- extinction is to build an Ark. My sci-fi experience has numerous examples of this trope, and to find it so rigorously and repeatedly rejected was disturbing to say the least.

</comment></comment><comment><USER26> Daemon by Daniel Suarez

(and also the second book in the series - Freedom)

Excellent present day info sec realism. Deeply explores the concept of technological disruption in several interesting and unique ways.

</comment><comment><USER27> Here are some kids books that I enjoyed reading. Getting a book that a child will want to read again and again, and that the parent won't hate, is impressive.

"The Book With No Pictures" by BJ Novak is fun. [https://www.amazon.co.uk/Book-No-Pictures-B- Novak/dp/0141361...](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Book-No-Pictures-B- Novak/dp/0141361794)

"Pirate Diary" (Illustrated by Chris Riddel) is fun and has the right amount of gruesomeness to encourage my kid. [https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pirate-Diary- Histories-Richard-Plat...](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pirate-Diary-Histories- Richard-Platt/dp/1406352659)

"Maps" (Aleksandra Mizielinska, Daniel Mizielinski) is a fun sort of atlas, especially if you combine it with Youtube etc clips. [https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1848773013](https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1848773013)

My current strategy to find books is look at illustrators who've won the Greenaway award, or writers who've won the Carnegie award, and then look at their other books or books that amazon recommends alongside these.

</comment><comment><USER28> For various reasons I didn't read as many books in 2016 as I normally do, but "Flash Boys" by Michael Lewis was a standout.

</comment><comment><USER29> 2016 is the year I began focusing my reading on subject histories and anything that places the western canon in clearer context, so reading Ceasars journal, Plato, stoics, and later writings from Hobbes have been influential.

Histories of accounting (Double Entry, a history of accounting, probably the best thing I read this year), general math (Taming the unknown, a history of algebra), management (A history of management thought) statistics (The lady tasting Tea), computing (The Innovators) education (anything John Taylor Gatto) and recently business law.

The change in my reading from latching onto whatever is new/popular/recommended to delving into the development of basics is one of the better changes I made to my readings, it's creating a richer, more clear, much more useful mental model of the world over the onslaught of articles and books that have X amount of tips on doing Y.

</comment><comment><USER30> Grokking Algorithms by Aditya Y. Bhargava (I believe he's on HN). Highly recommend, easy read and really enjoyable.

<comment><USER31> Seconded

</comment></comment><comment><USER32> The Neapolitan series by Elena Ferrante was some of the most beautifully written fiction I've ever read in my life.

</comment><comment><USER33> The Stack: On Software and Sovereignty, Benjamin Bratton.

<comment><USER34> This is a great one to remind us that we help to shape the world that politics have to operate within. We are not just subject to politicians.

</comment></comment><comment><USER35> 1\. _Industrial Society and Its Future_. Ted Kaczynski, 1995 ([https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/fc-industrial- societ...](https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/fc-industrial-society-and- its-future)).

</comment><comment><USER36> Catch-22. I read it once back in high school and didn't really understand it, but I read it again a few days ago and found it to be both an absolutely hilarious and sobering book.

</comment><comment><USER37> Favorite of the books I read in 2016:

1\. Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari

2\. Einstein: His Life and Universe by Walter Isaacson - What was interesting for me to learn was that even though he was a great scientist, he was very humane in other aspects - and you can easily relate to.

3\. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams - Fun read which is also deeply philosophical at the same time. Got me interested in science fictions as a genre.

4\. Meditations by Marcus Aurelius - Great intro to stoic philosophy

</comment><comment><USER38> Chasing the Scream by Johann Hari discusses what the war on drugs has caused all over the world, with a focus on Central America and Europe. Learn about the origins of the drug wars in the USA, how that flowed around the world, and promising developments on what to do next.

Spoiler alert: let's stop the war on drugs.

</comment><comment><USER39> Work the System, by Sam Carpenter.

Put into words what I intuitively tried to grasp: That a business (and our lifes, really) is comprised of systems that can be optimized independently of the rest, allowing for kaizen-style incremental, steady improvement of everything.

</comment><comment><USER40> A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy by William B. Irvine.

I found this book on HN. It talks about an ancient philosophy to live life; how to stop seeking and be complacent with what life already offers oneself. It made me a happier person.

</comment><comment><USER41> Shoe Dog by Phil Knight [https://www.amazon.com/Shoe-Dog-Memoir-Creator- Nike/dp/15011...](https://www.amazon.com/Shoe-Dog-Memoir-Creator- Nike/dp/1501135910/).

</comment><comment><USER42> Master of the Senate: The Years of Lyndon Johnson by Robert Caro

If you're interested in the complex history of LBJ, the Senate, or America during that time, I'd recommend this (or really, any) Robert Caro book.

</comment><comment><USER43> Space-Time Structure, by Erwin Schrödinger. Great read to understand complex systems, manifolds and tensors.

And...

A History of Warfare, by John Keegan. Great analysis of various cultures and how they have approached war across history.

</comment><comment><USER44> _Blood Meridian_ Cormac McCarthy.

I bought a used copy and reread it for the first time in about fifteen years. As soon as I finished, I turned around and reread it again just to enjoy the detail.

</comment><comment><USER45> I will name two: Remote and Rework, books by BaseCamp founders

</comment><comment><USER46> I didn't read many things packaged as books in 2016, but I did read Atomic Accidents: A History of Nuclear Meltdowns and Disasters which was interesting.

</comment><comment><USER31> Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl by Carrie Brownstein

Incredibly well written, touching and also an insider look at a period of American music that I'm really interested in.

</comment><comment><USER47> 1\. The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz 2\. Elon Musk by Ashlee Vance 3\. Inspired by Marty Cagan

</comment><comment><USER48> The Scapegoat, René Girard.

</comment><comment><USER49> Fear & Loathing on the Campaign Trail in '72.

</comment><comment><USER50> The Righteous Mind by Jonathan Haidt.

<comment><USER51> I'd love to see _The Righteous Mind_ as required reading for HN! I picked it up originally for its subtitle: aptly subtitled _Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion_. Probably had the most impact on me of any book I've read in the past few years.

</comment></comment><comment><USER52> Tools of Titans by Tim Ferriss

</comment><comment><USER53> Disrupted by Dan Lyons

</comment><comment><USER54> Confident Ruby

</comment><comment><USER55> Siddhartha

</comment><comment><USER56> Hackers And Painters - Paul Graham</comment>


HP ProLiant Servers Firmware Access Update (2014) - <AUTHOR> http://h20564.www2.hpe.com/hpsc/doc/public/display?docId=c04044353 <comment><AUTHOR> Notice they started this policy not long after [http://lkml.org/lkml/2013/11/11/653](http://lkml.org/lkml/2013/11/11/653) was posted.</comment>


Wuhan virus will affect iPhone and other electronics production - <AUTHOR> https://www.tomsguide.com/news/wuhan-virus-will-affect-iphone-and-other-electronics-production <comment><USER2> The word 'production' is really important at the end of the title. For a moment there I thought the virus jumped from humans to electronics.

<comment><USER3> That's some good, bad sci-fi waiting to be written. A new strain of the flu spreads overnight across the globe once it is able to jump between people and the internet...

<comment><USER4> Just wait till we get consumer IoT CRISPR devices for telemetry-enhanced cloud gene therapy in the comfort of your living room.</comment></comment></comment>


Mercurial at Unity - <AUTHOR> http://natoshabard.com/post/122632480712/mercurial-at-unity

<comment><USER2> It would be interesting to know more about the pain points of Subversion and if you found that Mercurial improved on those or not.

The text mentions "we wanted something better, specifically something that would support branching and merging", which is very strange since Subversion not only has very easy to use branching and merging but it is also quite lightweight compared to most other systems, with the exception of git and hg (which has a different architecture altogether).

</comment><comment><USER3> Great write up of your mercurial experiences. Thank you for sharing.</comment>


Youtube starts muting videos with copyrighted music - <AUTHOR> http://mashable.com/2009/01/14/youtube-mutes-videos/

<comment><USER2> Obligatory: Larry Lessig's TED lecture on why remixing shouldn't be illegal. [http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/larry_lessig_says_the_law...](http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/larry_lessig_says_the_law_is_strangling_creativity.html)

<comment><USER3> The interview he did with Colbert last week was really good.

[http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report- videos/21545...](http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report- videos/215454/january-08-2009/lawrence-lessig)

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> In other news, Youtube-clone video sites suddenly rise in popularity.

Youtube doesn't have anything in particular that makes it unique--they're competing in a market among many video sites that are equal if not far superior to them from a technical perspective and they have already lost in many parts of the world.

See Nico Nico Douga in Japan, for example, which outcompeted Youtube with a unique interface, better attention to their specific target audience, and a more effective revenue model. They're breaking even--something not even Youtube can say yet.

Changes like this, even if one can justify them by saying they are "forced by the record companies," will simply accelerate Youtube towards irrelevance in more and more markets. Youtube isn't like, say, World of Warcraft--anyone using the site can literally just pick up all their uploaded videos and leave at a cost of nothing to themselves. This is what makes changes like that described in this article so dangerous.

No, Youtube isn't about to go away, or even lose significant popularity, but huge sites like Youtube don't die overnight--they lose niche audiences one by one.

</comment><comment><USER5> They forgot to mention that YouTube has a tool that lets you replace the copyrighted music with music that YouTube has actually licensed.

<comment><USER6> For two reasons, I agree with the article's premise that YouTube is screwing things up for its users.

First, my video actually lost all audio when I tried to use the AudioSwap tool yesterday to reinstate my video after YouTube blocked it from public view; the video (and sound) still previously viewable in the edit pane of my YouTube account. I've just tried again with another AudioSwap song from their library --maybe now it will work and add a song.

Second, my video was simply a parody of the music video set to a real song, which there are likely millions of on youtube.

</comment></comment><comment><USER7> Not too often you see a company go out of their way to make their product suck. IMHO, the RIAA is a bunch of dumbasses. I've heard music in YouTube remixes, on TV, and in movies where I sought out the artist and bought the album.

Here's a good example. I liked the music on this video so much I bought the song:

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3ybGOK8PtA>

(Natural Blues by Moby) I'm surprised the music companies don't view this as free marketing. Very short sighted.

</comment><comment><USER8> Thanks, RIAA. Instead of making it easier to buy your music when I hear it, you've chosen to make it more difficult for me to hear it at all.

</comment><comment><USER9> In Germany Youtube has signed a deal with our local version of the RIAA. Youtube pays for using their music there.

<comment><USER10> It's not "their" music. It's not a middleman's music. Most artists I know personally love YouTube. They love remixing. They want everyone who would like their stuff to be able to get to it easily. They certainly want to get paid, but an unauthorized video != not buying an album. In fact it is the opposite: watching a video leads to buying an album.

This move is dumb on both the RIAA's part, and YouTube's. They added the link to buy mp3s, which I thought was brilliant. I might actually use that. But now I'm not going to go to YouTube for videos. I'm not going to bother.

Who does that benefit? I certainly didn't give more money to the artist. In fact, I probably took money away by decreased notoriety. I won't share that link or post the video to my blog.

<comment><USER9> Morally you may be right. From a legal point of view, the GEMA (the 'German RIAA') has an exclusive right to market the contracted musicians.

Those musicians gave up the right to sell their music. They can not even give their music away for free after signing up with GEMA. Though many would love to.

I guess someone has a vested interested in keeping the myth alive that you can not get paid for radio airplay without signing up.

GEMA also has a complicated system to pay out more money to music that's more 'deserving'.

<comment><USER10> You're certainly correct. But there businesses will not continue to exist if things evolve in the same pattern.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER11> Depending on how good the recognition algorithm is, I expect to see an increase in the popularity of cover bands, sound-alikes, and/or royalty-free producers.

<comment><USER12> I've noticed I visit a certain youtube clone in my country more often lately.</comment></comment>


We own you - <AUTHOR> https://medium.com/@mijustin/we-own-you-9a97819ad292#.tckkwix5w <comment><USER2> With reference to the use of the word "our" in the context of company employees:

"I'll have to check with _my_ lawyer before I sign this".

I'm fairly sure that 'my' lawyer does not consider herself to be one of my personal possessions.

This is just normal English, not necessarily an assumption of total ownership.

<comment><USER3> Agreed. I also speak of "my team", but I certainly don't own the team. I'm not even an employee of the company the team is part of; I'm a freelancer.

I agree with everything else though: don't work yourself to death for a company that knows no loyalty. Do what you're paid to do, but they don't own your soul. If they want it, they should pay a lot more.</comment></comment>


Details of 10.6M MGM hotel guests posted on a hacking forum - <AUTHOR> https://www.zdnet.com/article/exclusive-details-of-10-6-million-of-mgm-hotel-guests-posted-on-a-hacking-forum/ <comment><USER2> [https://haveibeenpwned.com/PwnedWebsites?utm_source=dlvr.it&...](https://haveibeenpwned.com/PwnedWebsites?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter#MGM)</comment>


Ask HN: Examples of successful Open Source political projects - <AUTHOR> For the last 10 years or so I have invested quite a lot of my hobby time into OSS projects (primarily PouchDB) however recently have found myself wanting to invest my time and skills into more directly ethical tech.
More specifically I am interested in contributing to a specific campaign (Scottish Independence) and while I have a fair amount of experience in building OS projects I have very little experience in politics. I have been finding it hard to think of new projects or even find any examples of projects in this space. I have been reaching out to politically minded people that may have ideas or could possible use help but still have found little to go on.
Has anyone else looked to make this jump, seen good crossover projects of OSS and politics, have any advice (or even ideas for projects!)? <comment><USER2> Sounds like you might be interested in pol.is: [https://pol.is/company](https://pol.is/company)

They're commercial, but there's a less featureful open-source version: [https://github.com/pol-is/polisServer](https://github.com/pol-is/polisServer)

<comment><AUTHOR> Thanks, thats useful (also links to a bunch of very useful articles)

</comment></comment><comment><AUTHOR> For anyone interested I have made a start on this @ [https://yeslabs.scot/](https://yeslabs.scot/), started a few small projects that have been fun but not much interest or activity so far.</comment>


Bespin is a Web Based Editor from Mozilla Labs - <AUTHOR> https://bespin.mozilla.com/

<comment><USER2> a more active thread on the same topic is here: <http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=479410>

</comment><comment><USER3> Off topic for Bespin, but on topic for their site, I just had one of those "if you want your customers to use it make it easy to play with" moments. I actually caught myself weighing the benefits of seeing it first hand vs putting my email address into another database. Then when I clicked register to fact check this comment it gave me (well, Chrome) the inferior-browser-F-U:

 _We would love to have you try Bespin

Unfortunately, we are using exciting new technology in HTML 5 that only leading browsers have implemented.

We want to push the Open Web forward, so for this tech preview you will have to use a new browser.

We have successfully tested Bespin on Firefox 3 and WebKit Nightly, so try one of them!_

Oh well. :/

<comment><USER4> What would you suggest they do if your browser doesn't support the things they need it to support?

<comment><USER3> If a browser had been tested and found lacking in some type, I'd hope they'd state the feature that they were relying on that was missing or buggy. The verbiage made it sound like Chrome wasn't tested (or they're pretty arrogant in their dismissal), but something like this would be preferable:

 _"This probably isn't going to work. What do you want to do?"

[Let me try anyway] [Get me a tested browser] [oh, nevermind]_

I understand the behavior as it stands for things like banking or medical websites, where real life things of value are at stake and non-experts may use it, but this is demonstrating an experimental widget on a "labs" site, where the whole point is to try out weird new stuff in browsers.

This wouldn't have been so noteworthy, except that Netscape/Mozilla/FF just spent a decades fighting "browser-ism" and even have a bugzilla category for it: (<https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=407187> as an example)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> I've been using a javascript based editor for this:

<http://www.heclbuilder.com>

It seems to work ok, although it's not as full featured as their system.

As for me, though... they will pry Emacs out of my cold, dead hands.

</comment><comment><USER6> I hope they've succeeded in creating a viable web-based editor, which I (and I'm sure many others here at HN) have thought about before. But it's possible they just have their heads in the clouds...

</comment><comment><AUTHOR> I've always thought of code editors as a bulletproof example of apps that has to be written in native code.

Very interested to see the code and how they did all this in Canvas in a sensible way.

<comment><USER7> <http://hg.mozilla.org/labs/bespin/>

</comment></comment><comment><USER8> Are canvas drawn apps going to be the launching point for Web 3.0?

I'm really amazed at the performance. This is Javascript, drawing characters pixel-by-pixel? Whoa.

<comment><USER9> Canvas is pretty fast for a lot of things. Check out Twiddla for an example of what you can pull off. It's just a bit limited in what it lets you do cross browser.

It's sort of like the days of IE4 vs NN3, with two technologies doing the same thing with a small common set of things you can do in both. Only now it's Canvas vs. SVG. You can accomplish a lot of stuff, and both can do a lot more, but there's just not enough overlap right now to really build anything truly cool.</comment></comment>


Migrated WordGap from Python to Go 1 - <AUTHOR> http://blog.zmxv.com/2012/03/migrated-wordgap-from-python-to-go.html <comment><USER2> We're going through the same thing right now. Porting a few thousand lines of Python to Go. It's almost a line for line port, with the odd exception here or there. One thing I really miss going to Go from Python is using getattr or dict.get(some_key, default_value). Also tuples. And marshalling from a JSON blob is kind of a pain in Go.

In fact, I started making a list of things Python devs need to know about when switching to Go. It's all a tradeoff, you lose some expressiveness for performance.

<comment><AUTHOR> "It's all a tradeoff, you lose some expressiveness for performance."

Not only do you gain performance but I think you gain maintainability and clarity. I value that when you read Go the run-time complexity of operations is very clear. In many other languages you often find O(n) or worse operations that appear to many programs in such a way the uninformed assume they are O(1) operations. In Go that does not happen- almost always what you see is what you get. I will gladly write a few more lines of simple code to gain clarity.

<comment><USER3> Can you post an example?

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER4> I'd like to see the before and after code. Such difference is not impossible between languages, but it's possible that a better implementation/algorithm in the original code wouldn't bring a similar speedup...

<comment><USER5> This is the sort of algorithm that really beats on CPython's weaknesses. Strings are immutable, so you're sitting there and just creating little tiny string object after little tiny string object, themselves made out of characters that are fairly heavyweight. You could hope that PyPy or something could work out how to optimize it, but I'm not sure PyPy would optimize around the constant strings.

Meanwhile, since Go has true arrays, and since you can probably just assume we're in English only and let byte[] substitute for real unicode, you can write very nearly what you'd write in C, albeit more safely, and not be creating string objects by the thousands, and it wouldn't be particularly unnatural Go code. A 12x differential is very plausible. I'd believe you could even go higher.

This is not to say that Go is awesome or that (C)Python is a bad language in general. I like (C)Python. But it does have some bad cases in it if you need lots of performance, fiddly little string algorithms and lots of numeric computation being two of the big ones. (By which I mean numeric computation in pure CPython, not with Numeric Python or PyPy.) In both cases the sheer rate of object creation and destruction work dwarfs the real work being done.

<comment><USER6> This gist of what you said was correct, but you made a few technical errors.

First of all, Go's strings are also immutable. To get around this, you can use the []byte type, as you said, but Go is built with the assumption that all text is UTF-8. Frankly, I find the suggestion that ASCII is good enough, even for Americans, absurd.

Second, Python's "list" type and Go's slice type (what you're calling a "true array") are almost the same under the hood. Both are variable length arrays. (I'm not sure why Python calls it a "list" since it's not a linked list.) The only major difference is that Python's lists are always filled with pointers to the underlying objects. In Go, you have the choice of whether you want to use pointers to the underlying objects or to put the objects into a contiguous block of memory.

Speaking more broadly, there's no reason you couldn't use a lot of different Go practices in Python and end up with much more efficient Python code: pre- allocating lists of the proper size, for example, or making sure to use mutable buffers instead of immutable str objects. However, Go makes it natural to be concerned with these efficiencies, and Python makes it natural to ignore them. Each language has its strengths.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER7> It seems that Go is killing Python and Ruby projects instead of the languages the original authors thought of.

While in the enterprise everyone is happy using the available set of languages, on HN we continuously see posts about migrations from Ruby/Python to Go.

</comment><comment><USER8> And the app engine only supports a single thread for Go, imagine if you could make it multi-threaded.

<comment><USER9> Multi-threaded wouldn't help the case of a single request, which is what this post is reporting latency numbers on.

<comment><USER10> Assuming he's searching a trie to build the list of anagrams, he could distribute a single request's work over a thread per letter.

<comment><USER11> If he has multi core, which is often missing in a VM.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER12> If WordGap was written in pure Python, without the use of any matrix libraries like numpy/scipy, then I think you could have done better. 7x speedup is actually pretty low for algorithms that I've rewritten to use numpy.

</comment><comment><USER13> Rewriting any code in any language pretty much always show improvements. Unless we're sure it's not a different data structure or algorithm it doesn't mean that much.

<comment><USER14> Except it doesn't, not when improvement is so dramatic.

If he rewrote Python in Ruby, the perf would have been more or less the same.

If he rewrote in C, he would get even better perf but at much bigger cost (in dev time).

The point of his article is that Go is almost as easy to write in as Python but gives you 10x perf and that's why Go is attractive. It has the right perf/coding effort ratio.

<comment><USER13> i understand what you're saying, but my point is that even rewriting from python to python would show improvement. i've just coded the same project three times in different languages last year, and my design is getting better every time, and it has (almost) nothing to do with the language themselves. a benchmark is a much more reliable thing if you want to compare relative speed. or a "pet store" app. but not a "real world" project. altough that's still a really nice experience to read about.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER15> It would have been useful if there were some implementation detail. Did he go from hashes in python to maps in go? Or switch to maps of structs for example?</comment>


New extremely offensive Charlie Hebdo cartoon - <AUTHOR> https://twitter.com/sunny_hundal/status/687307040243511296 <comment><USER2> The point of Charlie Hebdo is to cause offence. They do this by pushing buttons - holocaust denial, anti semitism, sexism, racism, etc.

If you hate that then paying any attention to them at all is probably the wrong tactic.

EDIT: Although some of the tweets pointing out that it's about the press hypocrisy (lots of sorrow for dead children; condemning all male migrants as rapists) have a good point.

</comment><comment><USER3> Interesting. From my pov, it's just making a satirical statement. But I expect a lot of others will get a bee in their bonnet.

I don't think you can really do anything these days without someone taking offense, so you might as well just crack on with things.

</comment><comment><USER4> The brawl in the following tweets tells more about this than the actual cartoon. Apparently calling people "dickheads" and "idiots" on twitter is the norm these days...

</comment><comment><USER5> Offensive for who? Let's try to avoid double-standards here. Mohammed images were offensive for many people in the world as well, but West protected it. So if the images were okay, this one should be protected in the same way.

<comment><USER2> To try to expand this a bit more, because Americans don't always understand Europe's limited version of freedom of speech.

In some EU countries holocaust denial is banned. Or anti-semitism is banned under race discrimination hate speech law. Or blasphemy[1] is banned. But that leaves a gap for hate speech against Muslims - they're not a racial group and they're not Christian, so there was nothing preventing for example the Mohammed cartoons.

So when Muslims protest the cartoons often they're not asking for much, they're just asking for something similar to what Jews and Christians have, or they're asking for the protections that Jews and Christians have to be relaxed.

In the context of the EU where freedom of speech is already limited that claim is not bizarre or out of place. Personally I'd want countries to remove some of the laws (eg, the blasphemy laws got dropped in England) rather than adding nebulous anti-Muslim hate speech to the law.

[1] EG, "Life of Brian" was banned from Glasgow cinemas for years because blasphemy; the comedian Stewart Lee went through a very expensive legal case for "Jerry Springer the Opera".

<comment><USER4> I think you are confusing most of Europe with the UK. Most of Europe has freedom of speech which goes far beyond what is offered in the UK.

The only country where Holocaust denying is out right banned is Germany beyond that only France has a law that specifically protects against antisemitism.

And sorry but Muslims have way way more "freedom" as far as saying and doing shit goes, you virtually cannot criticize immigrants or Muslims in the current political climate in most European countries until a situation boils over and blows up into public rage.

People especially in the public sector are so afraid from being marked as racists that they try to cover up pretty much every possible scandal that involves Immigrants/Muslims until it blows up completely.

You can have the figures from the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, and many other "controversial" organizations freely go about and preach pretty much genocide as long as they substitute Jews with Zionists.

<comment><USER6> > The only country where Holocaust denying is out right banned is Germany > beyond that only France has a law that specifically protects against > antisemitism.

It's actually 14 European nations according to Wikipedia. Some have more generalized genocide-denial-laws.

<comment><USER4> Aren't those under the wide banner of European Union Framework Decision for Combating Racism and Xenophobia? It seems that the only prosecutions regarding it are pretty much exclusively related to France and Germany/Austria.

I do find these laws silly tho genocide denial should not be criminalized it only gives it legitimacy and vigor.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER7> A quick look at the follow up tweets and I'm glad I'm out of Twitter.</comment>


Cats might be carrying mind-controlling protozoan - <AUTHOR> http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/03/how-your-cat-is-making-you-crazy/8873/

<comment><AUTHOR> > Jaroslav Flegr is no kook. And yet, for years, he suspected his mind had > been taken over by parasites that had invaded his brain. So the prolific > biologist took his science-fiction hunch into the lab. What he's now > discovering will startle you. Could tiny organisms carried by house cats be > creeping into our brains, causing everything from car wrecks to > schizophrenia? A biologist's science- fiction hunch is gaining credence and > shaping the emerging science of mind- controlling parasites.

Pretty out there. Specifically, Flegr describes the changes to his personality:

> For example, he says, he thought nothing of crossing the street in the > middle of dense traffic, "and if cars honked at me, I didn't jump out of the > way." He also made no effort to hide his scorn for the Communists who ruled > Czechoslovakia for most of his early adulthood. "It was very risky to openly > speak your mind at that time," he says. "I was lucky I wasn't imprisoned." > And during a research stint in eastern Turkey, when the strife-torn region > frequently erupted in gunfire, he recalls being "very calm." In contrast, he > says, "my colleagues were terrified. I wondered what was wrong with myself."</comment>


Patent holder NTP reaches settlement with "pretty much" everybody - <AUTHOR> http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2012/07/ntp-to-get-patent-cash-from-pretty-much-entire-cell-phone-industry/

<comment><USER2> NTP argues that they are not a patent troll, because for a few years in the 1990s they attempted to build a product for which neither the market nor technology existed. Apparently they never tried to make that product happen once the technology did come around, nor did they try to build any other product. One wonders what, precisely, they have been up to all these years.

</comment><comment><USER3> Besides the direct extortion that NTP just extracted, they're going to cost the industry a lot more in the future. The NTP-RIM case caused RIM to become much more proactive in acquiring their own patents, which are going to come back and haunt the industry when RIM blows up.</comment>