Hacker News Reader

lolgason Charitable tax deductions work differently in U.S. this year

Good end of year reminder! I’ll find some charities on GiveWell to max the deduction

lolgason South Korea to raise $500B for unification

I would love to see the US devote a huge portion of foreign aid to this development. Probably going to write my senator about this. Check this to see if your senator is on the subcommittee for East Asian Affairs, and write them about spending on the unification of North and South Korea ->

http://www.foreign.senate.gov/about/subcommittees/subcommitt...

lolgason South Korea to raise $500B for unification

I don't fully understand the politics either, but this is a clear signal that the South wants the North to flourish. Everyone wins when capitalism is injected into an economy. The South's private sector gains would be big because of the cheap labor, and the population of the North would have incredible wage growth. The effects of injecting capitalism would be magnified relative to the fall of East Germany because the differences in GDP are enormous.

If this happens, it would be the biggest win for capitalism/democracy I've seen in my lifetime (I'm born after the fall of ussr)

lolgason Want to fight climate change? Build more nuclear power

Important to note that nuclear accounts for only 90 deaths in history, while providing 17% of the world's power.

source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesconca/2012/06/10/energys-de...

lolgason Want to fight climate change? Build more nuclear power

Nuclear energy contributes ~17% of the world's electricity, and has only killed 90 people. Solar (rooftop) contributes <1% of the worlds electricity and has killed 440 people. So I don't really see how nuclear is a 'social problem'.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesconca/2012/06/10/energys-de...