Pluralistic: 10 May 2020

Today's links

Probability and pandemics: Billions of people generate one-in-a-billion outcomes.
Striking New Orleans garbage collectors replaced with prison labor: New Jim Crow, pandemic edition.
Factchecking virologist/conspiracist Judy Mikovits: Demonstrably false claims.
Pandemic countermeasures from the porn industry: How to control contagion in intimate circumstances.
This day in history: 2005, 2010, 2015, 2019
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming appearances, current writing projects, current reading

Solnit on the revelations of crisis: Pandemic speeds up processes that were too slow to notice.
Nurse suspended for distributing crowdfunded PPE: Shame on Newark Beth Israel Medical Center.
Cleveland Plain Dealer executed by union-busting owners: Firing health reporters during a pandemic.
Monster-themed covid pinup PSAs: By Alejandra Oviedo.
The Onion on Wisconsin's election: We need strategic Onion reserves for all our calamities.
NSO Group says Facebook tried to buy its malware: NSO is worse than Facebook, but it's a close-run thing.
How to pay for covid: Unearthing Keynes's "How to Pay for the War."
Smart lock hemorrhages user data: And it broadcasts its unlock code over Bluetooth.
TSA wanted to inspect 16 year old trans girl's genitals: Jon Corbett is on the case.
Roger Fuckebythenavele vs Bannatyne Manuscript: Black Plague-era f-bomb eclipsed by 14th century frottage artist.
Rube Goldberg feeding device: Now that's physical comedy.
Public domain Zoom backgrounds: Fantastic backdrops for an absurd moment.
This day in history: 2010, 2019
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming appearances, current writing projects, current reading

Ethiopian factory sports Jack Ma quotes: Global trade currents are shifting fast.
Charter orders all workers to keep showing up: Even the 15% of its workforce who could work from home.
MAGA firefighters dismiss coronavirus as Democrat hoax: And/or a Chinese bioweapon.
Flatter Me, a compliments card game: Kickstarting now.
American Airlines blew billions, now it wants a bailout: Socializing losses, privatizing gains.
John Green's mutual aid manifesto: The only way through is together.
How to split a single ventilator for four patients: Peer-reviewed simulations.
Bigoted Republican Congressjerk votes against coronavirus relief because it might cover same-sex partnerships: Rep Andy Biggs wants to send us all to meet Jesus.
Epidemiology and public health in 14 minutes: An epidemiologist and an sf writer make an outstanding science communications team.
3D printed ventilator hero got a patent threat: Human rights vs property rights.
If nothing is for sale, how will covid stimulus work? Can you fix a supply shock with stimulus?
How to make your own toilet paper: A craft for your isolated kiddos.
Plague precautions from 1665: No feasting, but you can tipple in a bar until 9PM.
This day in history: 2005, 2010, 2015, 2019
Colophon: Recent publications, current writing projects, upcoming appearances, current reading

EU airspace is full of empty planes: Flight slots are use-em-or-lose-em.
European Right to Repair for phones is finally on the horizon: Will the EU finally defy Apple?
Patagonia offers tutorials and supplies to fix your clothes: Companies that guarantee their products for life have different incentives.
This day in history: 2005, 2015, 2019
Colophon: Recent publications, current writing projects, upcoming appearances, current reading

Trump's rhetoric fits eerily well into the Tolkien canon: AR Moxon makes Mordor great again.
The wealthy are chartering jets to avoid coronavirus: The Masque of the Red Death takes to the skies.
The US already has Medicare for All: The day that Trump declares a national health emergency.
America's uninsured will turn a covid crisis into a covid disaster: Our shared microbial destiny cannot be denied.
Jury refuses to convict Extinction Rebellion activists: Long live the "necessity defense" and the human race it protects.
This day in history: 2005, 2010, 2015, 2019
Colophon: Recent publications, current writing projects, upcoming appearances, current reading