This is pure speculation but given such a “large” news week that falls outside of hn guidelines I’m guessing that perhaps attentions have been diverted. Cue study.
There are currently nine stories on the front page with less than 31 points (the count on this story currently) and few comments.
There's absolutely nothing unusual about it in fact.
China is the world's second largest economy by a large margin, and it's the #2 tech nation also by a large margin, there are naturally going to be increasing numbers of stories about China in general.
Please read the guidelines regarding your comment:
From the guidelines: "Off-Topic: Most stories about politics, or crime, or sports, unless they're evidence of some interesting new phenomenon. Videos of pratfalls or disasters, or cute animal pictures. If they'd cover it on TV news, it's probably off-topic."
I would echo the OP's concern that most foreign coverage of China and Russia on hacker news seems to be:
1. Entirely off-topic.
2. Negatively biased in some way.
This tends to be true of more internet forums than hackernews. Having been "around for a while", my experience is that the wave of negatively flavored articles about US competitors follows the tide of geopolitical competition.
I believe these general trends are a result of our nation's propaganda program, where internet discussions and homeland conversations are considered legal operating ground. I believe much of the source material is posted by ordinary people, who have had their perceptions managed and influenced by these propaganda programs.
Regarding your point about China being the second largest economy and also a leader in technology - I would expect a significantly different mix of positively biased stories focused on China's leading edge, new innovations, top scientists and mathematicians, etc.
No, not even in the opposite directly. Reading China daily and global times makes China to look like a communist dictatorship living in a reality far from the rest of the world. It literally provides a more negative impression of China than CNN.
> “Sun’s family background was not distinguished enough to prevent security organs from investigating the situation,” the newspaper haplessly insisted.
At least in the west, there is a pretense and expectation that the laws apply equally to all.
Outside of the general scaffolding to society that law enforcement plays (e.g. "keeping the order") I have never been personally assisted in any real way by the law.
My experience is that law has been gamed and weaponized, wielded generally by the most powerful and able, and that even in situations of crime the police do not take anything that doesn't track to a big precinct objective seriously.
I've literally had a police officer laugh at me after I suggested he might be able to investigate a spree of car break-ins and thefts in my neighborhood.
A homicide attempt against my family saw the perpetrator - well connected to a network of lawyers and wealthy - escape the jaws of punishment.
On the flip side I've been harassed by police and the justice system for minor infractions or entire misunderstandings - and due to political demonstrations have a good sense that I'm registered in both my municipal and national domestic threat scoring and surveillance systems as a "possible threat".
I've spoken to friends and family about this and they share the same experiences.
I was raised on TV and media that portrayed police as neighbors and good natured civilians, but the reality for me has tracked much closer to thuggishness and intimidation.
Yes personal anecdotes only, but stolen bicycles, multiple car windows smashed and robbed, houses broken into, aggressive drivers, calls regarding domestic abuse, dangerous situations - all with friends and family generally encouraging each other not to call the police because it won't do anything to help the situation.
I think it really depends on where you live. Where I grew up in Kansas City, the cops were great. The NYPD has been enormously helpful to me and a bunch of my friends when needed.
Cops in Troy, Albany, and DC seem to be SPECTACULARLY worthless, at best. Cops in the suburbs in my experience are universally assholes and power tripping. Similarly, I've heard horror stories about cops in LA, Portland, etc, except they seem to just not do anything at all (besides beating up black people).
If you have money you have better lawyers. If you have money you can settle many things outside court. If you have money, many sentences do not take your income into account but have a fixed amount, and you pay % less than others.
25 comments
[ 2.6 ms ] story [ 40.9 ms ] threadWhy are you calling yourself "Tony Duncan"? Why not "Ford Prefect"?
There's absolutely nothing unusual about it in fact.
China is the world's second largest economy by a large margin, and it's the #2 tech nation also by a large margin, there are naturally going to be increasing numbers of stories about China in general.
Please read the guidelines regarding your comment:
https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
I would echo the OP's concern that most foreign coverage of China and Russia on hacker news seems to be:
1. Entirely off-topic.
2. Negatively biased in some way.
This tends to be true of more internet forums than hackernews. Having been "around for a while", my experience is that the wave of negatively flavored articles about US competitors follows the tide of geopolitical competition.
I believe these general trends are a result of our nation's propaganda program, where internet discussions and homeland conversations are considered legal operating ground. I believe much of the source material is posted by ordinary people, who have had their perceptions managed and influenced by these propaganda programs.
Regarding your point about China being the second largest economy and also a leader in technology - I would expect a significantly different mix of positively biased stories focused on China's leading edge, new innovations, top scientists and mathematicians, etc.
I also suspect someone from hackernews are manually promoting such content
At least in the west, there is a pretense and expectation that the laws apply equally to all.
My experience is that law has been gamed and weaponized, wielded generally by the most powerful and able, and that even in situations of crime the police do not take anything that doesn't track to a big precinct objective seriously.
I've literally had a police officer laugh at me after I suggested he might be able to investigate a spree of car break-ins and thefts in my neighborhood.
A homicide attempt against my family saw the perpetrator - well connected to a network of lawyers and wealthy - escape the jaws of punishment.
On the flip side I've been harassed by police and the justice system for minor infractions or entire misunderstandings - and due to political demonstrations have a good sense that I'm registered in both my municipal and national domestic threat scoring and surveillance systems as a "possible threat".
I've spoken to friends and family about this and they share the same experiences.
I was raised on TV and media that portrayed police as neighbors and good natured civilians, but the reality for me has tracked much closer to thuggishness and intimidation.
Yes personal anecdotes only, but stolen bicycles, multiple car windows smashed and robbed, houses broken into, aggressive drivers, calls regarding domestic abuse, dangerous situations - all with friends and family generally encouraging each other not to call the police because it won't do anything to help the situation.
Cops in Troy, Albany, and DC seem to be SPECTACULARLY worthless, at best. Cops in the suburbs in my experience are universally assholes and power tripping. Similarly, I've heard horror stories about cops in LA, Portland, etc, except they seem to just not do anything at all (besides beating up black people).
Sounds like it could be cultural to departments?
The university second only after central party school