HN user
How many and what % of Palestinians are black? How many and what % of Israelis are black?
By black do you mean having darker skin tones?
If so, many Jewish Israelis are black - as are many Palestinians - and not just those that came to Israel from Ethiopia. Also, many Israelis are white (as in light skinned) as are many Palestinians.
The average Israeli is Mizrahi (of North African / Middle Eastern origin).
This is what I gather with some research, though I’m no expert and would appreciate more information if anyone has it.
If Tunisia is “in the region” (depends on the region being discussed), then Tunisia is starting to make the claim that Israel is the only strong democracy in the region false. That being said, Tunisia’s situation isn’t doing much to change the claim that Israel is the most democratic country in the region, and was the only one for many decades.
Lebanon is one of the most democratic countries in the region. It has regular elections - though I can’t tell how free and fair they are. It seems they are but there are accusations of bribes and corruption in Lebanon in general so likely that would spill into elections (see https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/28/magazine/corruption-leban...). Lebanon has relatively diverse political parties, citizens have entrenched rights, general freedom of speech. Anti-government protests seem somewhat allowed (with some accusations of suppression and some violent response).
That being said, it’s not just animosity between Israel and Hezbollah that lead people to considering it less of a democracy or somewhere less than flawed democracy on the spectrum of democracy into something (though that could play a role). It’s presumably also paramilitary organizations like Hezbollah not being subject to civilian rule. Also that not anyone can be president, or prime minister or president of parliament, due to agreements between groups in Lebanon that help with stability.
America cooperates daily with non-democracies. Did anyone claim that America can only cooperate with countries that are democracies? I could imagine someone arguing convincingly that all else being equal, America would prefer close ties and cooperation with democracies (for various reasons). In practice, all else is rarely equal. You don't always get to partner with those who you feel have the same values (real or aspirational), or are generally looked on favorably by the world. There is lots of realpolitik in geopolitics.
You make some good points - the people we are referring to of Catalonia, Northern Ireland, and Scotland are citizens of Spain or the UK. Not that many Palestinian people we are discussing are citizens of Israel (though ~21% of Israeli citizens are Arab, and I keep bringing up those within that group that identify as Palestinian and are citizens of Israel). Those are some key points on which I presume we fully agree.
The situation does not make Israel much less of a democracy (arguably it does somewhat, sure - see below). To recap history you may be familiar with, the democratically elected representatives of Israel came to a series of agreements with the widely recognized representatives of the Palestinian people - these are the Oslo Accords. These agreements divided up responsibility and authority for different aspects of life and governance of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
In the West Bank, per Wikipedia: “The Palestinian Authority was designated to have exclusive control over both security-related and civilian issues in Palestinian urban areas (referred to as "Area A") and only civilian control over Palestinian rural areas ("Area B”).” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestinian_National_Authority Area A and Area B contain 96% of the Palestinian population of the West Bank (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Bank#Palestinian_enclaves).
Note these agreements did not grant all Palestinians Israeli citizenship, Israelis Palestinian citizenship, or the ability for non-citizens to vote in elections of the other political entity.
Palestinians have the right to vote in Palestinian elections. Israelis in general do not have that right. I don’t think this characteristic makes Palestinian elections much less democratic.
Arguably the situation in Area C is a problem, and diminishes Israel as a democracy in some way (moving it from full democracy to a flawed democracy but still squarely a democracy). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israeli_law_in_the_West_Bank_s... Specifically I am referring to Israeli citizens that are subject to large portions of Israeli law whereas Palestinians are subject to a combination of Israeli military law and some local laws based on Jordanian law. Is this what you are saying? Or is it broader, and relates to Area A and B as well? Possibly also Gaza, possibly other things too.
Anyway, per Wikipedia Area C houses 4% of the Palestinian population of the West Bank. To be clear, is this what you are referring to when you say “significant part of people living under the authority of the Israeli government are not guaranteed the same rights and freedoms you expect from other democracies”? Do you think that’s what the original commenter had in mind, or what they actually said with their comment? I think neither of those is the case.
Throughout the past decades, some Palestinians have applied for and been granted Israeli citizenship (especially those living in Jerusalem). Those people can vote in Israeli elections, like other citizens of Israel.
Do you consider Palestinian citizens of Israel to be part of the "people of Palestine"? All of the citizens of Israel of Palestinian origin have the ability to elect representatives to the Israeli government by voting in elections. They have representation in the government, the ability to form political parties, be judges and politicians, start businesses, etc., according to Israeli law which they can help shape as citizens in a democracy.
Non-citizens do not necessarily have all of these rights (or privilege or however you wish to characterize it). Similar to the US and many other democracies in the world.
Arab citizens of Israel (and non-Jewish citizens of Israel generally) are afforded the same rights in general under the law as other citizens of Israel, be they Palestinian or not Palestinian. Hence my original comment to the person that said Israel is only a democracy for Jews / Jewish Israeli citizens. It's just a democracy, in general, albeit with some issues (perhaps, as you are saying, like the US, and I would say likely in Area C of the West Bank but not related to voting in elections).
I could see how you could argue that if the US isn’t a perfect democracy. Would it be reasonable to then argue the US in fact not a democracy? Despite its flaws, most reasonable people would still consider the US a democracy (even if flawed), right? And they should do the same for Israel. As a non-perfect place, it deserves proportionate attention in the world stage to improve. Unfortunately it receives far beyond that much, for mostly bad reasons.
Israel is more or less a democracy, even if flawed, and it is in general such a democracy for all its citizens - Jewish and not-Jewish alike. Speaking of it otherwise, as the person I originally responded to did, leads to words being diluted of their usual meaning, helps to perpetuate animus, and contributes to an incorrect understanding of the world.
What's the super charitable reading of "can tip the scales in almost any election"?
The parent commenter talked about political organizations generally. They didn't specify non-corporate funded lobbying.
Also, it's reductive and I would argue misleading to say AIPAC has a "singular ideology" (as opposed to some sort of umbrella of overlapping ideologies, somewhat akin to groups like the Democratic the Republican parties in the US).
The context of this thread is fruitful. Someone claimed Israel isn’t a democracy - that “Israel may be considered a democracy, but only for the so-called "chosen people"" (they almost certainly mean for Jews / Jewish people).
They make other spurious claims as well.
I do not believe I am committing the logical fallacy you refer to. I don’t know if that commenter is either.
I am not claiming democracy = good, and I am not claiming not democracy = bad.
I believe talking about non-citizens voting is perfectly useful and fruitful for understanding Israel as a democracy. I do not hear people complain, generally, about other countries not allowing non-citizens to vote in elections. That is the state of affairs for Palestinians that aren’t Israeli citizens. Non-citizens not voting. It may just be a double standard applied to Israel for various reasons. This happens.
As I mentioned previously, full sovereignty does not seem relevant to this point, nor does full control of territory. You keep bringing up Palestinian sovereignty and sovereignty in general, but I have yet to understand why you think it’s relevant to this discussion.
Is Spain not a democracy because of Catalonia? Ireland and the UK because of North Ireland, or Scotland? No, these aren't identical situations, and there are obvious differences - note the similarities instead of the differences.
If it relates to ethnic nationalism and citizenship - is Estonia a democracy? Is Hungary? Lithuania? Others in this list generally considered democracies?
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right_of_return
Being a sovereign nation with its own national assemblies fully recognized isn't required.
Israel recognizes the Palestinian Authority or the Palestinian Liberation Organization as the political body responsible for certain agreed upon things including Palestinian elections. They also recognize Hamas as the ruling political entity in Gaza (though I am not sure how formal that is).
My point is about non-citizens. Stateless or otherwise. Citizens of Israel, be they Jewish, Muslim, Christian, Baháʼí, Palestinian, Russian, American, French, whatever, (more or less as far as I know) can vote in Israeli elections. Non-citizens can't. Similar to the US.
You mentioned some situations in which in the US, citizens can't vote (for example those convicted of felony crimes). Presumably situations like this occur in Israel and other democracies as well - I know this about some places but not all.
To be perfectly clear - Palestinians lack the right to vote in Israeli elections if they are not Israeli citizens. Palestinians that are Israeli citizens have full rights to vote like other Israeli citizens. And the other rights assured to citizens of Israel. Are they always fully fulfilled? No. Like every other country. But generally yes.
Citizens of Mexico, Canada, Spain, Vietnam, Armenia, etc. lack the right to vote in American elections if they are not American citizens. Does this make America not a democracy? Or substantially less of one?
My point isn't really about the US, and is really about Israel.
You have to tacitly admit Israel and the US are democracies, to argue they are not perfect democracies (in your words "flawed").
You bring up some reasonable points.
Argue the case. If you just did, it’s not a convincing one.
First, note I didn’t say long term residents of America. Just Canadian or Mexican citizens in general (be they long term residents of the US or not).
You may say it’s different. Maybe. Then just talk about those that aren’t long term residents.
The point here is equally true of citizens of Armenia, Vietnam, anywhere else (and I would say those that reside in America long term, or not) that aren’t US citizens. If they can’t vote in US elections, how can we consider the US a democracy?
Is democracy a binary? If so, is America one, or not one? At least is it closer to being one, or not being one?
Is democracy a spectrum? If so, where is America on the spectrum? Close to pure perfect democracy, or on the opposite end, close to the complete opposite of that? Or somewhere in the middle? You say its lacking. Where is that on the spectrum? What other countries are near it?
These types of discussion often happen around abstract, nebulous concepts like democracy, justice, good. Generally when they aren’t defined well by any participants.
If your point is the US could be more of a democracy, maybe. But even more so, it could be much less of one.
Does this convincingly show AIPAC is "the most powerful political organization in the US"?
More than the Democratic party? More than the Republican party?
More than these groups? https://largest.org/people/lobbying-groups/
Is America not a democracy because Canadian citizens and Mexican citizens that aren't also American citizens can't vote in elections?
It sounds complex. At any moment, you have 3 options. You can accept it, change it, or leave it.
Do you have paying customers? If so, that's not a bad start. Do your potential customers pay to solve the problem you are trying to solve? That's also not a bad start.
Have you considered hiring a consultant to help solve the problem, or to be the bearer of bad news (not having a clear understanding of your customer or the market)? I've helped people / companies figure out their target customer and what would solve their problems. Feel free to reach me at helpthingchat a.t gmail dot com if you'd like.
As to leaving, you can find the best way to frame it, and then do it. If they're really your friends, they will accept it. If not, who cares what they think?
Somebody mentioned a Udemy course in this thread:
Ask HN: What are the best MOOCs you've taken? https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16745042
The course is Ethical hacking. https://www.udemy.com/learn-ethical-hacking-from-scratch/
Reminds me of this recently posted article, which talks about current life, postmodernism, and moderism: https://philosophynow.org/issues/58/The_Death_of_Postmoderni...
Comment thread: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17358825
Some resources related to leveling up:
Leveling up as a junior engineer: HN thread: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14586329 Medium article: https://medium.com/masterpoint/leveling-up-as-a-junior-engin...
What is 1 thing that can take a Junior's career to the next level? HN thread: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13744999
It can definitely be overwhelming. Try a spreadsheet for tracking, and a calendar app for scheduling. Figure out when you have time to offer, and suggest 2 or 3 times that work for you when scheduling. Don't offer the same times to others until you hear back. Religiously update and follow your calendar app.
For the spreadsheet, similar to mead5432's Trello suggestion, the columns could be:
Date applied | Date last contacted | Company name & role | Screen or interest | Challenge or coffee | Onsite | Offer | Accepted | Notes | Person contacted | Resume & cover letter links
Screen or interest, challenge or coffee, onsite, and offer are binary for me (X or empty), and can help you see if you're getting stuck on a stage. It can help clarify where you can focus your energy to get further. For example, tracking these things might help you realize you get few or no offers but many onsite interviews, and with that awareness you can focus on getting better at onsite interviews.
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep is great. Walter Benjamin explored some related ideas in essay form in 1935, link below. There's probably some Platonic dialogues about related topics 2,300 years before both though.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Work_of_Art_in_the_Age_of_...
I recommend two talks by Laurie Voss of npm. They're a brain dump / quick overview of lots of random topics. The idea is things software engineers are expected to know but are rarely told. He's a good speaker, and there's lots of good information. The first video has poor sound quality for the first 5-10 minutes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIJZnF_L5KI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4H8VTCSbYQg
Also, How APIs Work https://medium.com/@tyteen4a03/how-apis-work-an-analogy-for-...
Do warnings like this have any impact on future lawsuits against Facebook? Does it help Facebook in other ways?
Not just on Udemy, but for MOOCs in general: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16745042
Glassdoor is moderately reliable. Not sure of better alternatives - that would be great.
HR often plants or strongly encourages employees directly or through managers to post How Great Things Are Here. Negative reviews can go away mysteriously, are buried. It's disconcerting. A lot like Yelp.
Flock seems like it could help solve some crimes, but at a huge cost - privacy. You can't opt out, unless you live nearby and register with the company. "Residents of monitored neighbourhoods can opt-out of being tracked - but visitors, or people passing through, cannot."
http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-41008141
Do people like law enforcement collecting license plates and keeping them in databases indefinitely? How about random people? (Flock says it deletes data after 30 days, users have it beyond 30 days). What if their users had a database with pictures of faces, not just license plates? Facial recognition seems to be in their roadmap.
For context, it's presumably legal in California to collect licenses plates, and pictures of people's faces, if they're in public spaces.
A quote from the founder on privacy: "We don’t want into get into the business of making decisions about privacy and how this technology is used beyond the original use case."
Aren't there better ways to solve the problem(s) this product solves?
He'd tell you he didn't realize that until very late: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/facebooks-mark-zuckerber...
Keep checking in with your network for jobs they need that you can do. Present yourself well online (your portfolio and yourself). Expand your network.
Two previous threads about starting to freelance: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8761088 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14424699
I'd pick a technology to focus on, and present yourself as a person who specializes in it. Put your skills and work first and foremost online / on your resume. Choose something you can use quickly, and fully build the projects you have or are about to have. Whatever it is. Start with the HTML/CSS/basic JS. Or Wordpress, Drupal. Or React or Rails or Flask. Practice most for the job you have. Second most for the job you want.
Work with the businesses you built things for to be references, and if at all possible get a good looking project one to be publicly accessible. At least as a few screen shots. Clients want to see what you've done.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_the_Internet,_nobody_knows_...
Good luck!
Today somebody on Reddit linked to this video which talks about the process of money influencing politics https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tu32CCA_Ig
It doesn't discuss the role of the judicial system. It's all about the legislative aspects of US government. It's pretty compelling and well made. Hopefully a bipartisan movement can have some impact.
The video was made by https://represent.us/
People report being happier after talking to strangers on public transit. They also underestimate how open other passengers are to it.
https://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/26/opinion/sunday/hello-stra...
The User Experience of a Heartbreak is an interesting thing to ponder: http://ux3.us/
Article about it: https://www.fastcompany.com/3036536/this-is-the-user-experie...
This is interesting. Perhaps prices went up and the culture of SXSW attendees are shifting, from startups to the more mainstream. Also, SXSW seemed saturated with costs and crowds, and is a potential unwise use of funds for many companies. A few won the SXSW lottery each year, but many did some networking like any other conferences. Perhaps it's a sign of maturity amongst how people are spending VC money?
I think you're doing so much right, and I'm sorry you haven't yet achieved the results you're after. In the long run, you will. In the meantime, focus on the process and not the results. Be mindful of the results, but focus on what you can control - the process (your time and your actions). Interviewing is a set of many skills - you get better over time. You're better at it than when you started because you have more experience interviewing.
You need some information on what's not working. There's a kind of funnel:
Phone screen -> at home task/project -> onsite -> offer
Sometimes there are 2 or more phone screens. Sometimes the take home project is after the onsite. Sometimes there are multiple onsite interview. But write out a general funnel in a spreadsheet and track how you do with each company. Each company will be a row. You want to see how far to the right you are getting. You have lots of data at this point - populate the spreadsheet with it.
Why? To see where you're dropping off, and to see how you do with different kinds of roles, industries, and companies in terms of size. Are you applying to the right jobs? Are you applying within 1-4 weeks after the job is posted (rather than being 1 of 100+ applications in the pile because the posting is 4 months old)? If you aren't getting many phone screens, work on your resume format and wording, cover letters, and your digital persona (LinkedIn, blog, etc). Get honest feedback from people you know, and if you still get the same results, hire someone to improve your resume and help you write a cover letter or two that you can mimic for future applications. If you aren't getting many call backs after a phone screen, work on how you're answering questions (your narrative, behavioral answers, technical answers, describing previous work experience, your tone, etc.). Do practice interviews, and practice your answer to questions. If the process seems to stop after the take home project, practice these types of projects on your own. If you aren't getting offers after onsites, that's where you need to focus.
Especially on the phone screen and in person, when people ask if you have any questions, ask them "Do you have any concerns about my abilities or qualifications that would prevent you from selecting me for this position?" Patterns will emerge. You can address their concerns, but only if you know about them. Help communicate to your interviewer who you are and why you're hirable and will do well at the role. With this knowledge, you'll be able to anticipate these concerns and soften them with other interviewers in the future.
Apply to 5-10 jobs a day. Pick 5 if that's more realistic. 5 a day will get you a lot more feedback on what's working and what isn't than 2 a day. Put a little less work into each one if you have to - they should be personalized and good, but they don't have to be perfect.
Reach out to people who gave you a "not now" answer 4-6 months after that happens. Their needs change all the time, and your skills are constantly improving, so at some point it might work out with one.
Start a technical blog. Talk about your side projects, freelance work (if your client is ok with it), algorithms, useful dev tools - anything technical. Posts don't have to be that long or groundbreaking, but this will help you get a job. Put it on your resume, Github profile, LinkedIn, so people know it exists.
Focus on what's most likely to get you what you want, a full time job. C#, Elm, and Haskell are awesome. Focus on one for a day or two if the company you're interviewing for uses them. If you want to, dabble a little for your own learning and enjoyment, but focus your energy on things that will help lead to a full-time job in the short term. You have a lifetime to explore and learn.
Apply to gaming companies if that's what you're passionate about. Especially ones that need the skills you have most strongly now - web development. Possibly for their marketing teams (because of your former experience with publicity).
1. Map the interview process funnel. Figure out where you're dropping off, and focus on improving that area. 2. Ask people what concerns they have with you, and address them. 3. Apply to 5-10 jobs a day. Whatever the number, pick it and do it. You'll get more data which is essential to improve. 4. Reach out to employers who said "Not now" 4-6 months after because their needs may have changed and your skills have increased. 5. Start a technical blog. 6. Dabble a little less in a wide variety of technologies that aren't as applicable to the roles full time jobs you're applying to. Study them once you have it. 7. Make sure to apply to gaming companies if that's what you're passionate about.
You got this. Best of luck!
The wikipedia article has some interesting history:
"Doctor is an academic title that originates from the Latin word of the same spelling and meaning.[1] The word is originally an agentive noun of the Latin verb docēre [dɔˈkeːrɛ] 'to teach'. It has been used as an academic title in Europe since the 13th century..."
"In the United States, the use of the title "Doctor" is dependent upon the setting. The title is commonly used socially by physicians and those holding doctoral degrees;[57] however, there was formerly a division between Letitia Baldrige and Miss Manners on its social usage by those who are not physicians.[58] Baldrige saw this usage as acceptable, while in contrast, Miss Manners wrote that "only people of the medical profession correctly use the title of doctor socially," but supports those who wish to use it in social contexts in the spirit of addressing people according to their wishes."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_(title) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_(title)#Development_in_... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_(title)#United_States
A recent thread on find the pricing through experiments: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13756302
They recommend Amplitude if you can't build everything yourself. They say it lets you have cohorts and compare behavior between cohorts, so it probably helps compare common metrics. I don't know if it makes suggestions for experiments or helps to run them.