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User: Amanitin

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Comments · 43

  1. Re:I'm actually not that worried about it on Are There Dangers in a Cashless Society? (slate.com) · · Score: 1

    I know I am late to the party, but I have seen this argument many times and it is wrong. In order to hit anybody in the face with a wrench, you need to find their present location, physically send out physical thugs with a physical wrench and do the face hitting. That is a lot of effort and it doesn't scale well. Plus, when all hell breaks loose, there is the option of resistance via second amendment or flight. When everybody's everything is a mere number in a database somewhere, things like 'freeze assets of everyone present at location X at time Y' (political rally or whatever) can be done in an automated fashion with basically zero effort required and zero order scaling. And there is no straightforward way of resistance or evasion. that is a significant difference. Another aspect of 'cashless' that I never see mentioned is the institution of negative interest imposed on deposits. When there is no cash the government can basically force you to spend your money.

  2. Aren't the holes under the keys the inlet for the cooling air? I thought that's how they eliminated the grilles on the side and the bottom of the case. If so, how are they going to make the keyboard crumbtight?

  3. Re:And they prove it on Salon Magazine Mines Monero On Your Computer If You Use an Ad Blocker (bbc.com) · · Score: 1

    I need toilet paper. Advertising has raised my awareness of the brands available and the attributes of their product

    when you take information in advertising into account for a purchasing decision, that's a clear sign there are no real stakes involved.

    So the GPs point is actually too specific. Advertising is for shit you don't need AND/OR don't give a fuck about.

  4. Re:Taxing revenue may actually be the best thing on Four EU Countries Seek Higher Taxes On Google and Amazon (reuters.com) · · Score: 1

    What should be done is taxing corporations after gross revenue, just like people are, and _at the same rate_. The aim should be to remove the asymmetry in how corporations vs how people are taxed. Not make it bigger.

  5. Re:Tax Dodging is relative on Microsoft Hits $1 Trillion In Total Cumulative Revenue: Reports (mspoweruser.com) · · Score: 1
    Corporations should be taxed after gross income. That would put an abrupt end to shit like the double Irish.

    Imagine the hordes of tax lawyers hopelessly looking around for something productive to do. Wouldn't that be a sight.

  6. Re:Rail gun is better on Combat Lasers To Be Added To US Fighter Jets (nextbigfuture.com) · · Score: 1

    However, recoil is NOT a big deal for this. Look at chain guns on helicopters.

    maybe not on helicopters, but a kinetic weapon called the GAU-8 Avenger produces recoil that does appear to be a big deal for the aircraft that carries it.

  7. Re:Rail gun is better on Combat Lasers To Be Added To US Fighter Jets (nextbigfuture.com) · · Score: 1

    What is the recoil like, with a rail gun? That kinda could be an issue on an aircraft.

  8. Re:Not funneled into on Cupertino's Mayor: Apple 'Abuses Us' By Not Paying Taxes (theguardian.com) · · Score: 1

    Any time you establish rules, people will figure out how to use those rules to their advantage.

    that is why we need to have simple rules. You cannot game 2+2=4. Of course the federal tax code is 75 thousand pages for that very reason. So it can be gamed by those who have the means.

    Tax based on profits? Tax based on sales? Tax based on cash hoard?

    No. No. No.

    Tax the corporations based on gross income. You know, just like you and I are. Very easy to track and audit. With the same tax rate for corporations and people.

  9. Re:We COULD get by working 10-20 hours a week on Why Do Americans Work So Much? · · Score: 1

    No, the problem is loans.

    The problem is, that 1%-ers have access to means of amassing wealth ordinary mortals don't have.

    - they can afford to hire herds of lawyers and accountants to dodge taxes.
    - they can afford to set up schemes where they pay themselves in equity or options so that they only pay capital gains tax instead of income tax. Or better still, offshore their revenues altogether to tax havens. Set up fake charities.
    - they can afford to lobby legislation to bend rules in their favor.
    - due to their wealth and connections they are essentially immune from prosecution. OK maybe not the top 1%, but the 0.1% certainly is.

    The root problem is not loans, the problem is the uneven playing field. Then of course this has been the situation forever throughout human history: the number one priority of the ruling class is that they remain the ruling class. These days they are doing it better than ever under the disguise of 'democracy'.

  10. Re:Dear China. on North Korea Claims It Detonated Its First Hydrogen Bomb (nytimes.com) · · Score: 1

    I don't think anyone with a stake wants a snap unification there. It would result in a serious humanitarian crisis and an economical setback for ROK they would not recover from for decades.

  11. Nobody on 60,000 Antelope Died In 4 Days, and No One Knows Why · · Score: 1

    expected the Spanish inquisition

  12. Re:Nukes a waste for Iran anyway on Iran Has Signed a Nuclear Accord · · Score: 1

    'What possible use are nukes for Iran anyway?'

    deterrence against invading Iran with conventional forces. Same as North Korea.

  13. Re: Stronger headlights on CES: Laser Headlights Edge Closer To Real-World Highways · · Score: 1

    they are already there. They are called rear fog lights. They serve the purpose quite well.

  14. Re:Fixing the patent system on Meet the Lawyer Suing Anyone Who Uses SSL · · Score: 1
  15. Re:China the new global superpower, and US decline on First Pictures of Chinese Stealth Fighter · · Score: 1

    Yes but now that infant death is basically eliminated, fighting for those two extra months is the process that pushes life expectancy.

  16. Re:As a programmer on 'I Just Need a Programmer' · · Score: 1

    but we arn't as important as the guy's who tell us what to make, or the guy's who get people to pay for it..

    I guess anybody can grasp the difference between toilet paper and a rocket booster motor in terms of development effort, marketing approach and target audience.
    I am somewhere inbetween. We supply specialized tools for preclinical drug development.
    In the last two years there was a 80% turnover in the sales and marketing workforce. Without any apparent detrimental effect on business.
    Of course there are many parameters to this, but I certainly would not deduce that marketing and sales people are system critical in our situation.
    On the other hand I could remove three people from the company (60ish employees) and make sure the whole thing hits the ground within fucking months. And those are the people that thoroughly understand what we are doing, as opposed to sitting around in airport lounges or answering email inquiries for a living.

  17. Payload on X-37B Secret Space Plane To Land Soon · · Score: 1

    The wikipedia site says the cargo bay is 2.1 x 1.2 m, and carries 227 kg. That is pretty limited I should say.

  18. Public domain? on Tandberg Attempts To Patent Open Source Code · · Score: 2, Interesting

    You can't patent anything that's in the public domain already. I'd say this move is based on the negligence of application referees. Rightly so.

  19. Re:Mars? on Charles Darwin's Best-Kept Secret · · Score: 1

    Plants need oxygen, the amount they release obviously cannot cover their needs.
    Plants release O2 by water photolysis.

  20. Re:Still Cool on Canon Unveils 120-Megapixel Camera Sensor · · Score: 1
  21. Beach on Google Found Guilty of Australian Privacy Breach · · Score: 1

    I thought it was "Privacy Beach" and street view cars collected photos of hot topless women.
    Damn.

  22. not very realistic on Univ. of California Faculty May Boycott Nature Publisher · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I am in a mid size biotech company.
    In our field there are around 15-20 must-have titles. I was in charge of getting quotes for those titles, from 3 publishers.
    The bottomline was upwards of 45000 $. Per annum. Electronic access only.
    We declined.
    We ask authors directly to send us a copy.

  23. Genious on Porn Sites Pop Up In China · · Score: 1

    Who's that analyst? I wanna hire this guy right now.

  24. Re:Jet - Scramjet - And Questions! on USAF Scramjet Hits Mach 6, Sets Record · · Score: 1

    (such as getting a ride on a B52 plus gravity)

    plus that tiny solid rocket booster which accelerates it to Mach 4.5, where the scramjet starts thinking about getting to business.

  25. Re:No sensible, honest person would work for HP? on HP Explains Why Printer Ink Is So Expensive · · Score: 1

    No one doubts developing a decent ink takes some serious effort.
    That still does not explain how ink is more expensive by weight than your anti hypertension medicine.
    This is genuine mass production we are looking at, and you have to solve this kind of problems _once_.