But it also sucks because I’m sure I incorrectly tag some real comments as AI slop.
I actually intended to leave a comment explaining but I started to lose points and deleted the explanation; I was however unable to delete the main comment.
It’s pervasive at this point that “its AI” is a lazy retort when people have to use a portion of their brains
As for it being AI, GPTZero puts it at 99% AI. "Insolvency insurance" is used out of context, incorrectly mixing the financial metaphors he told the AI to use with the more-relevant idea of flood insurance (was insolvency supposed to be the AI's attempt at a pun around liquids?). There's the classic AI "it isn't X, it's Y" structure structure at the end. The whole thing reads as a prompt of "Recontextualize the potential flood caused by the failure of Wahiawa Dam in Hawaii through a lens of politics, business, and finance".
Markdown, em-dashes, and emojis were AI-slop 101 a year ago. You gotta keep up.
https://www.ilwulocal142.org/news-item/jones-act-fact-vs-myt...
Few things listed there are clearly false.
"Myth #2: The Jones Act Raises Prices for Hawai‘i Residents.
However, a comprehensive 2020 study by Reeve & Associates and TZ Economics found that this is simply not true.
Their survey compared the prices of 200 consumer goods—including groceries, household items, clothing, and automobiles—at major retailers like Costco, Home Depot, Target, and Walmart in both Honolulu and Los Angeles. The results showed that prices in Hawai‘i were, on average, only 0.5% higher than on the mainland, a negligible difference that cannot be attributed to the Jones Act alone."
As a frequent visitor to Oahu, i stop by Costco on the way from the airport and i can see that most consumables including milk and meat is 30-50% more expensive than at Northern California Costco. This is representative across local supermarkets as well.
So its seems that this union is trying to minimise the impact of shipping on costs of everyday goods
Critics dismiss this study as bogus:
https://www.grassrootinstitute.org/2020/07/shipping-industry...
"using online prices to compare food prices at Hawaii versus Los Angeles stores is problematic. A visit today to the Keeaumoku Street Walmart showed an 18-ounce box of Cheerios selling for $4.26, before tax, versus $3.64 for its listed online price, and a four-pack of 5-ounce cans of albacore tuna for $8.43 versus $6.74 online."
That is actually true, Keamoku Walmart does not pricematch to their online prices and the only way to get those prices is to place an pickup order and wait for several hours to pick up at those prices.
I've never heard of them having to go to the mainland before unloading in Hawaii. But if they do unload directly in Hawaii maybe they can't unload elsewhere without violating jones act so it's not worth the trip there instead of going to LA to unload and then a US flagged boat has to be used to get it to HI.
And yeah, watching someone cite ILWU is like watching someone cite Philip Morris on the urban myth that cigarettes cause cancer. Pretty funny that subsequent generations just forget things and people become authorities who are brazenly self-interested.
Reminds me of how Chelsea in the Prem were accused back in the day of “financial doping” by spending vastly more than any other club to get the best players and now you can sometimes find articles for how they’re the best run club in the last 10 years (conveniently timed for after they were given a billion). With a little time, all sins are forgiven.
Also the various cultures on the islands have a tenuous peace as a legacy of cane plantation owners purposefully segregating and pitting the natives, Chinese, Filipinos, and whites against each other. This lives on in everyone sabotaging the development of any other part of the islands and things like 'Kill Haole Day' in the very welcoming public schools.
As a result of this everything is even more expensive than just the shipping and isolation issues.
Kauai, where Zuckerberg's estate is, has not been affected. So yes, it's been bad for non-Zuckerbergs
Deontology judges actions based on rules and principles
Consequentialism judges actions based on the consequences
What would you call it when the morality of the action depends on the income level of the victim?
Oprah bought a huge estate in Maui, then used it to block the back road from Kihei to upcountry, forcing a much longer drive around. It doesn't go through anything of interest to Oprah or gain her anything, just a big fuck you to everyone else because she can.
" The land is made up of a few properties. In each case, we worked with the majority owners of each property and reached a deal they thought was fair and wanted to make on their own.
As with most transactions, the majority owners have the right to sell their land if they want, but we need to make sure smaller partial owners get paid for their fair share too.
In Hawaii, this is where it gets more complicated. As part of Hawaiian history, in the mid-1800s, small parcels were granted to families, which after generations might now be split among hundreds of descendants. There aren’t always clear records, and in many cases descendants who own 1/4% or 1% of a property don’t even know they are entitled to anything.
To find all these partial owners so we can pay them their fair share, we filed what is called a “quiet title” action. For most of these folks, they will now receive money for something they never even knew they had. No one will be forced off the land."
Eschew flamebait. Avoid generic tangents. Omit internet tropes.
Please don't pick the most provocative thing in an article or post to complain about in the thread. Find something interesting to respond to instead.