Pluralistic: In praise of vultures (06 May 2026)

Today's links

In praise of vultures: They screw you because they can.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: Linus v MSFT; Argentina v MSFT; Danny Hillis on theme parks v games; Smartfilter v Distributed Boing Boing; Rental laptops filled with spyware; Torture didn't help capture bin Laden; Massively parallel Apple //e; Stephen Harper v election law; John Deere v Iowa cartoonist; Qualia.
Upcoming appearances: Guelph, Barcelona, Berlin, Hay-on-Wye, London, NYC, Edinburgh.
Recent appearances: Where I've been.
Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Colophon: All the rest.

The prehistory of the Democratic Nuremberg Caucus: Do bounties for ICE whistleblowers next!
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: Colbert v GWB; Wallaby milk; Jay Rosen's journalism precepts; Radical Media(TM); What is carried interest? TCP over pigeon; BNL v copyright; RIP Joanna Russ; GOP forcing students to repay scam loans.
Upcoming appearances: Berlin, NYC, Barcelona, Hay-on-Wye, London, NYC.
Recent appearances: Where I've been.
Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Colophon: All the rest.

Vicky Osterweil's "The Extended Universe": How Disney killed the movies and took over the world.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: Zappa v censorship; Chemistry set with no chemicals; Short cons; Mitsubishi's Dieselgate; "Bellwether."
Upcoming appearances: Berlin, NYC, Barcelona, Hay-on-Wye, London, NYC.
Recent appearances: Where I've been.
Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Colophon: All the rest.

The cost of doing business: "Market definition" is a denial-of-service attack on antitrust law.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: Union Pacific v model railroads; Warners v Potter fans; NYT's trademark trolling; Why Rebecca Black mashups suck; Jabba the peep; Grenfell costs v tenants.
Upcoming appearances: Berkeley, Montreal, London, Berlin, Hay-on-Wye.
Recent appearances: Where I've been.
Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Colophon: All the rest.

California can stop Larry Ellison from buying Warners: These are the right states' rights.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: RIP Octavia Butler; "Midnighters"; Freeman Dyson on "The Information"; Korean Little Brother filibuster; Privacy isn't property; With Great Power Came No Responsibility; Unsellable A-holes; Cardboard Cthulhu; Chinese map fuzzing.
Upcoming appearances: Where to find me.
Recent appearances: Where I've been.
Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Colophon: All the rest.

The whole economy pays the Amazon tax: You can't shop your way out of a monopoly.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: Math denial; Disney v young Tim Burton; Make v Sony; American oligarchs' wealth (2011); New Librarian of Congress; The Mauritanian; Bossware.
Upcoming appearances: Where to find me.
Recent appearances: Where I've been.
Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Colophon: All the rest.

America's collapsing consumption is the world's disenshittification opportunity: America's loss is the post-American internet's gain.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: DanKam; Backyard M*A*S*H; Blockchain voting is bullshit.
Upcoming appearances: Where to find me.
Recent appearances: Where I've been.
Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Colophon: All the rest.

Break up bad companies; replace bad union bosses: Labor should be fixed, capital should be vanquished.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: "Star Island"; "Mediactive"; Afraid of solar; Well-Armed Peasants; Dumpster fire exits; Wikipedia v Brittanica; Pentagon v Quakers; Stealing whole houses; "Situation Normal."
Upcoming appearances: Where to find me.
Recent appearances: Where I've been.
Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Colophon: All the rest.

The long game: Breaking up Big Tech is a long-run project.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: ARRRRR!; Watching paint dry; CEOs are tall, lucky, men; Harpercollins demands authors' AI rights; Victorian bumwipe; Ted Koppel's stupid book; Alan Moore to unpublished authors; Anne Frank's US visa application was rejected; Google breakup.
Upcoming appearances: Where to find me.
Recent appearances: Where I've been.
Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Colophon: All the rest.

For-profit healthcare is the problem, not (just) private equity: Competition can't solve the hospice problem.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: Inner-tube laces; NZ MPs ejected for talking about sexual assault; Snowden's opsec advice; Xi on interop.
Upcoming appearances: Where to find me.
Recent appearances: Where I've been.
Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Colophon: All the rest.