markvdb

83 ms·

1. 901.▲
   by markvdb 11y ago

   Well, you could always emigrate to Belgium: 33.99% corporate income tax, 37.84% social security contributions, 53.5% personal income tax most labour income above a cleaner's wage, 21% VAT, 10% real estate sales tax, 25% dividend tax, s
2. 902.▲
   by markvdb 11y ago

   I agree that one shouldn't ascribe to malice what can be ascribed to incompetence. ("The Solicitor General does not understand...") BUT! At the White House level, incompetence equals malice. We have every right to expect comp
3. 903.▲
   by markvdb 11y ago

   "Nu, Pogodi" ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8uFylzinW0 ) is more popular I guess, but "Hedgehog in the fog" has its own kind of charm...
4. 904.▲
   by markvdb 11y ago

   Only vaguely related to the subject, a wonderful 10' fairytale film for the kids, made in USSR: Ezītis miglā (Hedgehog in the fog) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPS7tKJNj9M . Enjoy!
5. 905.▲
   by markvdb 11y ago

   Have you tried using paymill? It's available in the entire EU...
6. 906.▲
   by markvdb 11y ago

   It might be enough to have the verifiability feature of this blockchain widely advertised to scare users a bit at least...
7. 907.▲
   by markvdb 11y ago

   Implemented right, a government verifiable block chain might be a cheap way to get the people of Greece to pay taxes.
8. 908.▲
   by markvdb 11y ago

   So even people paying taxes _to the same city_ can't go to this city's public school of their liking? Is this a US wide policy, or is that decided on a city level?
9. 909.▲
   by markvdb 11y ago

   The article often mentions school disctricts and their effect on house pricing. I've heard the same thing time and again from relatives in Palo Alto. It's awkward for me to see how the US restricts free choice between public schoo
10. 910.▲
    by markvdb 11y ago

    Poor people in rural Africa do move... http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/may/03/thousands-migra...
11. 911.▲
    by markvdb 11y ago

    Not a chance without an investment in energy use optimisation and/or a change of habits. 12kW is a _lot_ of power.
12. 912.▲
    by markvdb 12y ago

    This is about roaming _within_ the EU. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Union_roaming_regulati...
13. 913.▲
    by markvdb 12y ago

    It might be more than just a delay. The new commissioner being more in bed with industry lobbyists than the previous one for example...
14. 914.▲
    by markvdb 12y ago

    Let's face it: we are not going to avoid mass data collection and scoring in the west either. The technology is just too cheap to not get people tempted to do it. The least bad defense probably is to subvert this into a kind of peer to
15. 915.▲
    by markvdb 12y ago

    "I think the biggest problem we have today, with regards to securely hashing passwords, isn’t the technology available, but the fact that sites still use the older, less secure approaches. If a site cares enough[...]" There you ha
16. 916.▲
    by markvdb 12y ago

    You need a Brompton folding bicycle.
17. 917.▲
    by markvdb 12y ago

    * I consulted my accountant in .be (not connected to this project). * I took advice from a trusted Latvian accountant. Trusted, as in doing the books for the company of a close friend since years. * I attentively read the double taxation tr
18. 918.▲
    by markvdb 12y ago

    You write three things: 1) "Company in foreign country does not really mean lower taxes." It does in my case, and in plenty of others. 15% instead of 33.99% corporate income tax for example. Legally. 2) "You still tax your in
19. 919.▲
    by markvdb 12y ago

    I run a small company in Latvia (low tax, low income). I live in Belgium (tax world champion, high income). I am _extremely_ careful to play by the rules. That means things like: * no company bank account or phone number in Belgium * no mee
20. 920.▲
    by markvdb 12y ago

    http://www.e-volo.com
21. 921.▲
    by markvdb 12y ago

    Greece couldn't have asked in 1980. There was a debt conference in the early 1950s -by the world war winning superpowers of the time- that postponed compensation questions until the reunification of Germany (then thought to be coming s
22. 922.▲
    by markvdb 12y ago

    The problem of course being that banks have a heavily regulated oligopoly on the _creation_ of money. Banks have a right to lend (a lot) more than they have deposits and capital. Think fractional reserve banking. They effectively create mon
23. 923.▲
    Metals Used in High-Tech Products Face Future Supply Risks(environment.yale.edu)

    2 points by markvdb 12y ago|0 comments
24. 924.▲
    by markvdb 12y ago

    You do realise the US punishes any entity or individual doing business with Cuba?
25. 925.▲
    by markvdb 12y ago

    http://www.waterfootprint.org/Reports/Mekonnen-Hoekstra-2012... http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/08/opinion/meat-makes-the-pla... "beef, about 145,000 gallons per ton" &quot
26. 926.▲
    by markvdb 12y ago

    I see a lot of good general advice, but not too many specific examples. Here's a very specific one... If you want to do C and get an introduction to a bit of arm assembly, you may want to contribute a new model build to CHDK, the Canon
27. 927.▲
    by markvdb 12y ago

    I was actually wondering about CO2 sequestration per flooded unit of surface of forest...
28. 928.▲
    by markvdb 12y ago

    Might Norwegian hydro be less polluting than Costa Rican? I am thinking of lower CO2 sequestration in northern versus (sub)tropical climate forests. Flood a forest for a dam, and you have less sequestration...
29. 929.▲
    by markvdb 12y ago

    Don't forget to send them a pull request for a README.en.md!
30. 930.▲
    by markvdb 12y ago

    Me too. Unfortunately, the author was utterly careless about spelling. That really makes it feel like a quick hack.