Pluralistic: 20 Aug 2020

Today's links

Kickstarting mailbox hearts: A way to show your support for the beleaguered USPS.
The Mail: A print zine about the USPS, delivered by the USPS.
College Covid app is a security dumpster-fire: Albion College obliterates the qualitative and hopes the quantitative residue will suffice.
Boeing fixes the 737 Max problem: By renaming the 737 Max.
Crowdfunding Skycircles: The Advisory Circular network tells you about the surveillance far overhead.
This day in history: 2005, 2015, 2019
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming appearances, current writing projects, current reading

Amazon's Monopoly Tollbooth: Quantifying the market-power abuses of Amazon's platform.
Thomas Hawk's Talking Heads: Judy's in the bedroom inventing situations.
Orwell prize winner trapped in orwellian nightmare: Jessica Johnson's predicament puts the "kafkaesque" in "orwellian."
Spikey: Infering key geometry from the sound of lock-entry.
Hedge fund won't return Citi's accidental $175m deposit: No backsies.
Yale admin: "Prepare for death": It's not quite "boola boola."
Austerity breeds Nazis: Analyzing Weimar election data.
This day in history: 2005, 2015, 2019
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming appearances, current writing projects, current reading

The Fifth Pig: OG antifa agitprop.
"Fuck the algorithm": English children force Tories to U-turn on algorithmic educational assessments.
Mr Cook, Tear Down That Wall: Interop, Apple, Fortnite and the Berlin Wall.
Deindustrialization is a market failure: Future crises are never priced into market transactions.
Fed cops substitute dollars for warrants: Why talk to a judge when you can talk to a data-broker?
Upbeat surveillance marketing: Hikvision's jolly medieval spy-tech.
South Africa's copyright and human rights: Fair use, the Berne Convention, and Ramaphosa.
This day in history: 2005, 2015, 2019
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming appearances, current writing projects, current reading

Post Paladin: A homebrew class for DnD5e.
Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town: Part 13 on my podcast.
No one wants an H1B visa: America in retreat.
This day in history: None
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming appearances, current writing projects, current reading

Self-driving cars are bullshit: Ford CEO: I "overestimated."
How to Argue With a Racist: Adam Rutherford on "race science."
Combat Wheelchairs: Homebrew rules for a new kind of D&D; mount.
Amazon bans podcasts that criticize Amazon: The purpose of "IP" is controlling competitors, critics and customers.
This day in history: 2005, 2010, 2015, 2019
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming appearances, current writing projects, current reading

AI, 1A and Citizens United: The lawyer behind Citizens United wants to legalize Clearview AI.
James Ball's "The System": My review of a superb new book that surfaces the invisible infrastructure underpinning our digital world.
Canadian SFF Hall of Fame induction: Today at 4PM Pacific.
This day in history: 2005, 2015, 2019
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming appearances, current writing projects, current reading

The CARES Shock Doctrine: How the Dems and the GOP took care of billionaires and fucked the rest of us.
NYC homeless lose bathroom access: Not a pot to piss in.
NYC Street View, WPA edition: Every municipal building in New York City, 1939-41.
Maidan in Belarus: Riot cops drop their shields and embrace protesters.
This day in history: 2015, 2019
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming appearances, current writing projects, current reading

My origin story: How I got bitten by a radioactive Judith Merril.
Sudowrite: Robutts stole my jerb.
"Less lethal" is a euphemism, too: Police weapons exist to deny claims to human rights.
Florida sheriff bans masks: Purple shrouds with shiny badges.
This day in history: 2010, 2015, 2019
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming appearances, current writing projects, current reading

Grace is cleared: The homeschool-to-prison pipeline is closed…for now.
Mexico's terrible copyright is in trouble: Hasta la victoria siempre.
Failed State: Chris Brown's outstanding new ecopocalyptic cyberpunk legal thriller.
Marvel's $0.10 mini-comics: Gashapon funnies from 1966.
Sorting machines snatched from post offices: Administrative incompetence vs textualism?
Payday lenders are CFPB's pandemic aid: When the watchdogs switch sides.
Trump's Solicitor General says bribery is legal: Rule 48a applies even if the judge sees the prosecutor accept a bribe in the courtroom.
RSS WTF: An explainer for the newly awakened.
This day in history: 2015, 2019
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming appearances, current writing projects, current reading

Terra Nullius: Podcasting my column about "IP," John Locke, genocide and erasure.
How they're killing the post office: The USPS has been under threat for decades, but now it's an existential crisis.
When you hear "intangibles"…: Think "monopolies."
Text-based, cyberpunk MMORPG: CyberCode Online is based on the VSCode interface.
This day in history: 2015, 2019
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming appearances, current writing projects, current reading