nawwal · HackerTrans

16 giorni fadiscuss

Is there another way to apply or send a resume? I'm not on linkedin or social media and like to maintain an offline presence

nawwal

3 anni fadiscuss

“ Of course, nobody really knows until the courts weigh-in on it.”

I see what you did there ;)

nawwal

4 anni fadiscuss

By this logic such a nation does not exist, as you can’t be both Islamic and secular at the same time. You can say the same about Turkey as Indonesia, it’s a secular nation even though the majority of its population is Muslim. I think the OP comment meant to ask about a secular democracy in a country where most people are Muslim. And in that case Turkey could be an example, even though Erdogan is fairly dictator-ish, we’ll see how their elections go this year

nawwal

4 anni fadiscuss

The power of the sun… in the palm of my hand…

nawwal

4 anni fadiscuss

This is kind of like the plot twist in The Prestige, great movie

nawwal

6 anni fadiscuss

What iPad app are you using for this? And do you also have an Apple Pencil? I also do some math online tutoring, and what I’ve been doing is connecting my iPhone to my Mac, mirroring the iPhone screen on the Mac, and sharing that screen during a Skype call. Then I can use the camera app on the iPhone (mounted on a little tripod) to look down on a piece of paper that I write/draw on. I considered getting an iPad, but even with an Apple Pencil I imagine I wouldn’t feel as free as when drawing on a real piece of paper with a real pen, I’m curious as to what your thoughts on this are

nawwal

6 anni fadiscuss

Honest about what he would do? - Build the wall: almost no new wall has actually been built - Drain the swamp: puts friends and family members in positions of power or influence, gives get-out-of-jail cards to convicted loyal friends, literally spends millions of government dollars to vacation and golf at his own resorts - Other random things he said early on: peace in the Middle East will be easy (lol), get rid of Obamacare but offer a better alternative (gets rid of provisions during the pandemic) - the list goes on and on

nawwal

6 anni fadiscuss

Thanks for taking the time to write this. A few questions/comments on your points:

1) Ok, from that perspective Aaron Swartz was part of the MIT community, but I don't agree that his case "was an attack by the administration on a member of the community". MIT did not speak against (or in support of) Swartz, did not press charges, told the prosecution it should not think MIT wanted a jail sentence for Swartz, and really was not involved in the trial. As I said before, you can definitely criticize MIT for not actively supporting Swartz, but I get the sense that people think MIT was out there encouraging the prosecution and pushing for some severe punishment, which it was not.

2) MIT did not press charges, MIT called the police. I just took a look at the Abelson report and it in fact states multiple times that MIT did not press charges, although it also points out that MIT was not opposed to charges. I would call that being neutral. I believe the report is fairly objective in its fact-reporting, but of course we have to acknowledge that it comes from MIT itself, so please let me know if you think Abelson/the administration is outright lying when they say they did not press charges.

3) I agree that people at MIT are/were actively encouraged to push boundaries, and that MIT resources were for everyone in the community to use, although your description of using random lab equipment does strike me as a bit odd. Granted, I was not part of the makers community, but while I had friends who actively used the hobby shop for personal projects, I never heard of anyone just going into random labs while people weren't there to play around with equipment and build something. Not saying it's wrong, just wondering how common this actually is at MIT.

4) Maybe he just left a laptop in a closet, but I would argue Swartz had at least some idea he was doing something questionable - I'm not saying something illegal or even wrong - but somewhat inappropriate. When he was caught near Central Square, the MIT PD officer identified himself and said he wanted to speak with him, after which Swartz dropped his bike and started running away. If I'm a member of the MIT community working on a project while connected to the MIT network, I don't drop my stuff and run away when MIT PD approach me asking to speak with me if I don't think I'm doing anything wrong.

I agree that the culture at MIT has changed over the past decade (in mostly a negative way), in large part because of the administration, but in this specific instance I feel like MIT is getting more hate than it should.

    What's really evil is that the MIT administration continues to uses Swartz as an example to intimidate community members into compliance with what it wants them to toe the line.

Do you have any sources for this? I haven't heard of it, but if that is the case, that's a pretty shitty thing to do

nawwal

6 anni fadiscuss

I don't totally understand why there's so much hate on MIT for this, so consider this more of an inquiry rather than an outright defense of what happened and let me know if I'm missing something critical:

Based on what I know, Aaron Swartz - someone with no affiliation to MIT - abused MIT's open campus/network policies and tried to download all of JSTOR by hiding a laptop in a closet. At best, this is at least something sketchy to do by someone with no connection to the university. MIT discovered this, turned the matters over to the police, Swartz got caught, and the (overzealous) prosecutors took it from there. MIT did not "make it [its] life's work to go after [Swartz]". You can certainly criticize it for not trying to help him, especially given MIT's hacker-friendly culture and the fact that his actions did not hurt anyone, but I think it's unfair to have expected MIT to make a stand against the prosecutor/criminal justice system and predicted Swartz's suicide, after he rejected the 6 month minimum-security prison deal and decided to go to trial instead.

I'm all for open access, but Swartz's methods were at least a bit questionable and he should have expected some repercussions should he get caught (I'm sure he did, hence the hiding of the laptop). And in the end, blaming MIT for being neutral in a politically-charged case and for Swartz's death seems unfair, it is an academic and research institution after all, not a public defender.

nawwal

6 anni fadiscuss

You can get a 3 year multi-entry tourist visa to Russia which allows you to stay for up to 6 months, leave the country for a day, and then re-enter for another 6 months, etc, for the entirety of the 3 years (yes, legally). Funny enough, the US is the only country for which such a permissive visa is allowed, Russian tourist visas for other countries are usually restricted to a single-entry, one month maximum, not sure why we get such good treatment (just like the multi-entry 10 year tourist visa for China, which I think only US and Canadian citizens can get).

I don't think they're issuing visas rn due to the pandemic, but I imagine they will resume consular services this year, and then you can just apply through your local embassy/consulate, just look up the required documents and submit them, it's fairly straight-forward and does not require an interview, proof of income, etc.

nawwal

6 anni fadiscuss

Moscow is a great place to live/base, but $800/month for a comfortable middle-class life here is definitely an underestimate. I'm from the US - lived in NYC, Boston, and LA - and have been based in Moscow for the past year; it's hard to overstate what an amazing city this is, though it's important to note that there is a massive difference between Moscow (or St Petersburg) and the rest of Russia. I've traveled to many places within Russia and they might as well be different countries when compared to this mega-city. Speaking of Moscow specifically: it's incredibly beautiful, it has the best metro system I've seen in the world (to the point that some metro stations are actually tourist spots), world-class international food, plenty of museums, shows, theaters, active nightlife, plus all the conveniences you'd find in the West. And of course there's the comfort of a European feel to the city, with the excitement that comes with learning about the Russian/Soviet culture and mindset of some people (esp. the older crowd, whereas the younger educated muscovites are basically European). Flights to the main European, US, and Asian cities are cheap and frequent: a roundtrip nonstop flight Moscow-NY is usually ~$300, London can be as cheap as $15 (yes, that's fifteen dollars), and I've even booked a flight to Hong Kong the day before flying for like $200 direct. The people are super friendly, and although the majority do not speak English, it's fairly easy to find English-speaking Russians or expats if you hang out in the center or know the spots (I have many expats friends who've been here for 2-3 years and don't speak a word of Russian beyond saying "thank you", yet manage to live very active social lives).

Having said all of this, however, I am also very aware that my experience here is very different from the average Russian. Being an expat, from the US, speaking English, and being able to afford a comfortable lifestyle in the center give me a much rosier perspective than if I were a low-income worker having to commute 1+ hours to get to work. I'm ethnically Latino and look obviously not-Russian, so people here are curious about me and act extra nice - especially when they find out I'm American. It's not uncommon for someone to approach me on the street, a park, or a bar just because they heard me speaking in English. On the other hand, however, immigrants from ex-Soviet countries (particularly Central Asia) face discrimination and racism, as do non-European Russians (eg: Russians from the Caucasus region, or the east of Russia), and it's not uncommon when looking to rent an apartment to see the words "FOR SLAVS [white Russians] OR FOREIGNERS ONLY", something that would be completely illegal in the US. Don't get me wrong, as an expat from the West I find Moscow to be just about the perfect place to live, but I totally understand the perspective of many Russians or some immigrants that criticize it harshly. I love this city, and I think loving it means also being aware of its shortcomings.