@scaramanga@union.place
@scaramanga@union.place avatar

scaramanga

@scaramanga@union.place

softcore coder in the streets
"all my code is salient code" in the sheets

He/Him (or Love/One-another)

Author of "politically drenched screeds [which] illustrate what's wrong with both science and journalism." (thanks, friend!)

Tax them til the pips squeak

Currently listening to: "the sound of pending civil unrest"

Seeking to befriend: "moral perverts and hysterical neurasthenic women who abound in communism."

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. Browse more on the original instance.

scaramanga, to Korea
@scaramanga@union.place avatar

#trump and, in fairness, most western commentators fail to understand that in return for "paying for South Korea's defence" that they are in direct command of the South Korean military (the moment that war breaks out).

It would be fair to say that South Korea does not even have a military. What exists is a US foreign auxiliary legion.

South Korea spends a crippling 2.7% of GDP for defence. Including a billion dollar fee for being occupied by US troops.

#korea

https://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_international/1138921.html

scaramanga,
@scaramanga@union.place avatar

As well as #US opcon over South Korean military, free bases (actually Korea pays $1bn annually to be occupied and gives valuable real estate for this for free), Korea also procures expensive items for the defence of other overseas US bases eg. in Guam and Okinawa.

SM3 interceptor missiles have no defence purpose for #korea, yet $600m out of procurement budget goes to Raytheon (US) and Mitsubishi (who owe compensation to korean slave labour victims)

https://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/english_editorials/1138916.html

scaramanga, to UKpolitics
@scaramanga@union.place avatar

There is a chance of getting (well, keeping) a left-wing labour mayor of the north east.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamie_Driscoll

https://mailchi.mp/dc7bc8cc25a4/we-have-48-hours-6711

scaramanga, to Korea
@scaramanga@union.place avatar

South korea launches it's first nano-satellite. An earth observation satellite which is to be part of a constellation of 10 satellites.

On it's own, it has a spatial resolution of around 3m. Similar to that of north koreas military recon satellite.

spy satellites have 30cm resolution, 10x (100x) better than these and plans to launch more.

Terrifying stuff? Not particularly? Remember that when the next north korean satellite is launched!

https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/tech/2024/04/129_373387.html

scaramanga,
@scaramanga@union.place avatar

satellite said to have 30cm resolution.

Here is an article full of fanciful humblebrags which concludes by saying "if north korea detonates nukes in space it can create an EMF pulse that would disrupt communications for south korean satelites"

When does something become so ridiculous that it needs no comment? If at 12:00pm did that, by 12:05pm it would cease to exist, as it has just expended it's only deterrent against total destruction.

https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2024/04/113_365116.html

scaramanga,
@scaramanga@union.place avatar

Only a couple of weeks ago, launched it's 2nd military spy satellite (both have been done with SpaceX launches).

Their commercial nanosat was launched from new zealand. South Korea has King Sejong Station in antarctica which they can use to communicate with it.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/4/8/south-korea-puts-second-military-spy-satellite-successfully-into-orbit

scaramanga, to UKpolitics
@scaramanga@union.place avatar

First this, and then later, gas chambers.

MikeDunnAuthor, to feminism
@MikeDunnAuthor@kolektiva.social avatar

Today in Labor History January 12, 1915: The U.S. House of Representatives rejected a proposal to require states to give women the right to vote. The first place in the world where women got the right to vote was New Jersey, in 1776. However, in 1807 this was repealed and it reverted back to white men, only. The first place to continuously give suffrage to women was Pitcairn Islands, in 1838. These were the descendants of Tahitians and Christian Fletcher and other mutineers from the HMS Bounty. The first sovereign nation to give women the right to vote was Norway, in 1913. The U.S. finally granted women the right to vote in 1920. Women won suffrage in Canada in 1917, Britain and Germany in 1918, Austria and Holland in 1919. Women could not vote in France until 1944, or in Greece until 1952, or in Switzerland until 1971, or in Saudi Arabia until 2015.

@bookstadon

scaramanga,
@scaramanga@union.place avatar

@MikeDunnAuthor @bookstadon men and some women got the vote in UK in 1918 (manhood suffrage). It wasn't until 10 years later in 1928 when women got voting rights equal to men (women's suffrage): https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/transformingsociety/electionsvoting/womenvote/overview/thevote/

drewdevault, (edited ) to random
@drewdevault@fosstodon.org avatar

If you have evidence of Hacker News:

  1. Censoring progressive voices or discussions, or
  2. Tolerating hate

Send me the receipts. Please boost.

I can be reached here on fedi or via email, sir@cmpwn.com

scaramanga,
@scaramanga@union.place avatar

@drewdevault this stuff about sam altman abusing his sister annie...

danjac, to random
@danjac@masto.ai avatar

I remember, as a kid in the UK in the 80s, seeing National Front pamphlets left around outside the school.

The popularity of this fascist party was at its height in the 1970s. Their manifesto included leaving the EEC/EU and expelling immigrants and refugees. They also wanted to ban "leftist" (i.e. "woke") teaching in schools, and to discourage "anti-family" practices such as abortion.

The NF are still around today, nowadays they are called the Conservative and Unionist Party.

scaramanga,
@scaramanga@union.place avatar

@danjac I thought you were going to say "take a shot", it would be the most dangerous drinking game ever haha

scaramanga, to uk
@scaramanga@union.place avatar

"Rishi Sunak plans to slash inheritance tax in 'crowd-pleasing' announcement"

A tax that only 4% of people pay, and pay once, not even in their life. After they're dead!

Must be a very small crowd, and quite hard to please...

https://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/1816020/rishi-sunak-inheritance-tax-cut-pleasing-announcement

scaramanga,
@scaramanga@union.place avatar

'Slashing inheritance task [sic] is expected to be framed as an "aspirational offer to voters" before the next general election, The Times reports.'

An astonishing aspiration. The poorest 20% of UK households leave less than ยฃ2,000 for each child. That's ยฃ998,000 less than the minimum threshold for payment of this tax - which only applies to wealth above the that first ยฃ1m in most cases.

scaramanga,
@scaramanga@union.place avatar

"[Sunak] is set to unveil a raft of ambitious long-term policies designed to change Britain."

For the worse, by robbing the treasury of ยฃ7Bn a year, increasing to ยฃ15Bn a year by 2032 according to a report by the Institute for Fiscal Studies.

"Not a lot of revenue", according to the IFS. Only enough to house the homeless seven times over according to the government.

https://ifs.org.uk/publications/reforming-inheritance-tax

scaramanga,
@scaramanga@union.place avatar

'The ... plans have been celebrated with jubilation by many, with one person describing [Sunak] as a "born winner".'

I'd love to know who this "one person" is? The lord viscount of Dunny on the Wold? An investment banker? A newspaper editor's wife?

A born winner anyway, not like those bums we could be housing for "anything up to circa ยฃ1bn (gross) annually [but] the net cost is likely to be lower."

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/7596/2200485.pdf

scaramanga,
@scaramanga@union.place avatar

A [twit] wrote "The threshold for paying Inheritance tax is if the value of your estate is ยฃ325k."

"Doesnโ€™t sound like a tax cut which only benefits the rich when you consider property valuations in London and the South East."

Right, but doesn't mention the allowance is per person, not per estate and there's another ยฃ175k tax-free allowance on top of it, so the tax doesn't apply for the first ยฃ1m.

scaramanga,
@scaramanga@union.place avatar

If your estate is worth ยฃ1,000,001 you are paying 40p in tax.

If your house, contents, and jewellery is worth ยฃ1,000,001 and you have a ยฃ10m farm and a ยฃ50m business, you still pay 40p since farms and businesses are exempt.

If you live in a 4bd townhouse in oxford gardens worth ยฃ2m, you pay ยฃ400k, your kids would have to downsize to a 2bd townhouse in Islington and have ยฃ600k cash left over to stuff their pillows.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/136714700#/?channel=RES_BUY

scaramanga,
@scaramanga@union.place avatar

I wonder why this is such an unpopular tax, given that almost nobody in the country actually pays it. Could it be something to do with the fact that newspaper and TV station owners pay it?

And they pay it the moment they hand over their horde of gold to their layabout children so they can unfairly get access to opportunities denied to your children...

Gold that they acquired by misleading us about who benefits from the policies they support.

scaramanga,
@scaramanga@union.place avatar

If newspapers objectively reported the facts they would have to say:

"Sunak plans ยฃ7Bn a year cash giveaway bonanza to the wealthiest 4% of families."

"Half of it is going to the richest 1% of the population with estates worth over ยฃ2.1m"

"Move is set to be a hit with core Tory base as well as other members of the public who (thanks to us) are not well informed about how costly and damaging this attack on their wellbeing is."

drewdevault, (edited ) to random
@drewdevault@fosstodon.org avatar

Hacker News

scaramanga,
@scaramanga@union.place avatar

@drewdevault it's a mixed bag of technologists. Depending on the moment and the story, different factions will feel emboldened and out in force. It was incredibly sycophantic of musk until he took over Twitter, and then all of a sudden, criticism of him could be seen and tolerated. Now it's a split. I'd say it's a battleground.

ben, to random
@ben@werd.social avatar

Whoโ€™s doing the best international / foreign policy investigative journalism?

scaramanga,
@scaramanga@union.place avatar

@ben declassified is doing good stuff on UK foreign policy @Declassified_UK

w7voa, to random
@w7voa@journa.host avatar

President Joe Biden about to hold a joint news conference at Camp David with ROK President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

scaramanga,
@scaramanga@union.place avatar

@w7voa a short era which will end after the next presidential election in korea ๐Ÿ˜‚

scaramanga,
@scaramanga@union.place avatar

@w7voa yes, a decision making process between the world's sole hyperpower and two of her occupied territories, one of which has an armed forces which is under direct US command and no independent foreign policy. I'm sure those calls will be quite brief ๐Ÿ˜‚

scaramanga,
@scaramanga@union.place avatar

@w7voa yes, lucky the issue of japanese war crimes in korea has all been settled now ๐Ÿ˜‚

this is a transparent attempt to do as much damage to korea as possible (the junior "partner" in this most unbalanced of three-ways) before his party gets smashed in the next election.

scaramanga,
@scaramanga@union.place avatar

@w7voa biden, and the US in general, would know all about that, they are the leading experts in unwinnable wars that leave countries destroyed and for which they never apologize

korea is a good example of one...

scaramanga,
@scaramanga@union.place avatar

@w7voa the way is open for me to date scarlett johansson... says exactly one of the two concerned parties... ๐Ÿ˜‚

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