Andrew Duff

Freedom? It’ll be gone before you know it…

This article from Wired is the latest in a stream of stories about various scary systems for spying on individuals that can almost be built with current technology. Personally, I’m often sceptical of the doomsayers and conspiracy theorists who say we’re going down a roulte that will take us into a world which mixes the worst of 1984 and Brave New World. However, it’s also easy to be compacent about these things – so I’m all in favour of journalists like Noah Schactman and his colleague at Wired Declan McCullagh exposing what’s going on. Declan runs the Politechbot mailing list as well if you want to stay on top of the kind of issues that interest EFF junkies.

Vagaries of the UK Tax system – “sharefishermen”

Having been self employed for the last tax year, I have to contribute National Insurance contributions only at the paltry rate of £2.00 a week. Not bad. But what really made me laugh was the appearance of a separate category for conributions entitled “Sharefisherman” who have to pay £2.65, a whole £33.80 extra a year. I mean, what the %$*! is a “sharefisherman”?? Google to the rescue – Under an Irish tax document, you find this definition –

“In the fishing industry, one of the traditional methods of payment to crewmen/women working on board fishing vessels is by ‘share’ of the value of the catch. If you work in the fishing industry and are paid solely by ‘share’ of the catch you are a Share fisherman /woman.”

No particular explanation as to why they are charged more, but I’ll let you know if I find out.

“You saw the whole of the moon…”

There’s a total eclipse of the moon tonight. In the UK, it will take place between 3.14 and 3.40.