Nostr notes by Sam

There is a big difference between "these devices are full of ...

2025-12-25T16:24:53Z

In reply to nevent1q…79ea
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There is a big difference between "these devices are full of security holes, and separately Chinese services are used heavily by botnets/fraud" and positing that it's some government-backed conspiracy to spy on innocent foreigners. The first is a statement of fact, encouraging us to tighten our quality standards and defensive networking. The second is gleefully joining in on the sabre-rattling against [insert designated enemy]. As I said, nowhere in that article does it point any fingers at China; *you've* got good *outside* reason to introduce the botnets being on Chinese networks, but most of the people commenting -- and particularly the ones commenting without reading -- don't have even that half-excuse.

Also, are you really trying to drag a debate over piracy into an entirely unrelated thread?

re: BrianKrebs (npub1vc3…axsh)

I really wish you made it clearer why you mentioned China in the ...

2025-12-24T20:26:31Z

In reply to nevent1q…ae9g
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I really wish you made it clearer why you mentioned China in the first place. I get your meaning that it shows the device doesn't meet local quality/security standards (and thus that it shouldn't be accepted by ours), but as shown by *several* of the threads replying to your post, the ongoing politics in the USA -- on both sides of the aisle -- have fostered an environment where if something *might* be taken in a sinophobic direction, it *will* be.

Still, thanks for spreading the warning.

For everyone else who read the post and felt inclined to respond with some variation on "government spyware", deep shame on you. The linked article doesn't even mention anything *remotely* related to that -- the only references to China are in blocks of stats-by-country, and a very brief mention of a (derogatory) log message the virus output. At least you've revealed yourselves as people who only read the headlines, who are eager to be casually racist, and who can be swiftly blocked.

re: BrianKrebs (npub1vc3…axsh)

Taxes on trade might get passed down the supply chain, but they ...

2025-02-09T08:28:07Z

In reply to nevent1q…23s8
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Taxes on trade might get passed down the supply chain, but they also inhibit modern colonialism offshoring local jobs, and they don't (barring capitalist excuses to squeeze more money) apply to local agriculture, industry, or services. Sales taxes are *infamously* regressive, so even if your theory holds and tariffs bump the prices of goods being brought in by an equivalent measure, that's still at least shifting the tax upwards toward middle-class luxury and away from essentials that people literally require to live.

Corporate profits taxes are *nothing to do* with taxing workers. If you really want to equate small business owners' business taxes with an income tax, fine, but then I'll just point to the natural implementation of progressive tax schemes which would leave the petite bourgeoisie paying roughly what they would under an actual income tax, while harvesting most of the tax money from multi-billion-dollar corporations, and *leaving the wage workers under both of them tax free*.

So, [no change to the evasion, then](https://www.propublica.org/article/the-secret-irs-files-trove-of-never-before-seen-records-reveal-how-the-wealthiest-avoid-income-tax )? Honestly, I really don't see how you can argue that. "I don't have income, I have debts because I borrow everything against my net worth." -> "We'll just tax that net worth, then." "I don't have income myself, I just control a business (whose net worth I can borrow from)." -> "We'll just tax that business, then." Sure there's going to be a lot of loopholes for them to slip through, but I'd be *very* surprised if there was any creative accounting that could look at nine digits of wealth at rest and still get the effective tax rate down to 3.4%.

RE: John Quiggin (npub1tve…vfd0)
CC: Silversalty (npub1zy5…0r6x) OCTADE (npub1640…sjc4) geopolitics group (npub19kr…pd8t) economics group (npub13yy…7csh) infostorm group (npub1pel…rguz)

I'm not anti-all-tax since even socialism requires funding, ...

2025-02-09T06:49:40Z

In reply to nevent1q…d65y
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I'm not anti-all-tax since even socialism requires funding, but I do agree with this. Abolish the income tax, abolish sales taxes on everyday goods; get the country's money from external trade, corporate and personal wealth taxes, and other measures that target *those who have money to burn* rather than supposedly-progressive schemes which have enough loopholes to drive container ships through. (I don't trust Trump to *implement* a wealth tax, but getting rid of the income tax is still a good step.)

CC: geopolitics group (npub19kr…pd8t) economics group (npub13yy…7csh) infostorm group (npub1pel…rguz)

This so much! There are certainly things I need to get notified ...

2024-12-17T16:53:34Z

In reply to nevent1q…jflj
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This so much! There are certainly things I need to get notified about. Do I have to be notified about it *right then*? (In the case of "drink some water so you don't dehydrate yourself", unfortunately, yes, I do. In the case of "this person liked your post", what am I going to do about that in the next fifteen seconds that I couldn't do in several hours?) Even if I do need the immediacy, will I ever have any reason to go back to it after seeing and dismissing it?

I guess that's what happens when one of our primary computer providers is an ad business. Who's up for overthrowing Google? 🙃

RE: [@RL_Dane@fosstodon.org](https://fosstodon.org/users/RL_Dane )
CC: Sean Massa (npub1pwz…960h) Hart of the Wud (npub1hxf…35zx)