Pluralistic: 17 Oct 2020

Today's links

Beastie Boy mashups: Beastles, Beachtie Boys, Ghostbeasties.
Educator sued for criticising "invigilation" tool: Proctorio has permanently disqualified itself from being entrusted with learners' educations.
This day in history: 2010, 2015, 2019
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming appearances, current writing projects, current reading

Attack Surface in Wired: Toolsmith-user solidarity.
The herd immunity conspiracy: Follow the money.
How to cheat at Clock Simulator: I got rhythm.
Someone Comes to Town, part 18: This week's podcast comes with a content warning.
Facebook vs The Big Lebowski: The Zuck abides.
Papercraft Haunted Mansion Hallowe'en: Print, color, decorate!
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

I'm being inducted into the Canadian SF/F hall of fame: A club that would have me as a member!
Mexico's copyright vs self-determination and national sovereignty: Colonialism 2.0.
Self-bricking medical device: "Once EXOGEN delivers 343 treatments, it will not provide further treatment."
Apple's internal Right to Repair fight: Ifixit got leaked receipts.
Challenge questions suck: Your favorite food is pizza.
This day in history: 2005, 2015, 2019
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming appearances, current writing projects, current reading

Canadian judge invalidates Safe Third Country Agreement: Asylum seekers are not safe in America.
Supreme Court poised to destroy machine learning security research: Why the CFAA should be narrowly interpreted.
Where Will Everyone Go: Modelling the climate emergency's migration emergency.
BLM footage censored by copyright bots: Background music makes it impossible to post human rights violations to social media.
This day in history: 2005, 2015, 2019
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming appearances, current writing projects, current reading

Trump wants to dismantle the OTF: Replacing open, auditable tech freedom tools with closed, untrustable ones.
Algonuts: A bottomless, mutated machine learning Peanuts strip.
Trump's covid "test-tubes" are contaminated miniature soda bottles: The Art of the Deal.
Avia, c'est mort: France kills a catastrophic "anti-terror" censorship law.
Austerity in disrepute: Vast majority of Americans favor continued or expanded unemployment benefits.
Microsoft criticizes Apple's monopolism: They're the experts, after all.
This day in history: 2019
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming appearances, current writing projects, current reading

Oh Joy Sex Toy's new teen sex-ed book: Our Bodies and Health.
Torcon: Gaiman, Okorafor, Kowal, Schwab: …and me!
Copyright bots are slaughtering classical musicians' performances: Filternet, working as intended.
Coronavirus has made the super-rich MUCH richer: The crisis is here, it's just not evenly distributed.
How to start a platform co-op: A MOOC from NYU and Mondragon.
Mum uses GDPR to force Gran to take down pics: That's one way to settle the dispute.
Physical BLINK tag: Lenticular dominance.
This day in history: 2005, 2010, 2015, 2019
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming appearances, current writing projects, current reading

The TSA is hoarding N95s: It doesn't even use 'em.
Look at this banana gondola.: Just look at it.
America is united: Turkeys skeptical about Christmas.
$3 router rebooter: If no_google then reboot.
EFF's Guide to Digital Rights During the Pandemic: Digital rights are human rights.
Wink will brick your smart home if you don't pay a monthly fee: How you act in bad times reveals your true character.
Helicopter flyover of deserted Disneyland: We find it delightfully unlivable here in this ghostly retreat.
EU: "Cookie walls violate the GDPR": Another blow to cookie consent theatre.
Unix and Adversarial Interoperability: The "one weird antitrust trick" that defined modern computing.
Sidewalk Labs pulls out of Toronto: Sic Semper Boondoggle.
Wechat spies on non-Chinese users for in-China censorship: Your dank memes, banned in realtime.
Hidden doors disguised as bookcases: No books harmed.
Vent dragons: Alas, you can't use them as working vent covers.
This day in history: 2010, 2015, 2019
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming appearances, current writing projects, current reading

EFF's videoconferencing backgrounds: With a deep cut from the NSA's secret listening post.
The ideology of economics: Economics doesn't have "laws" it has "policies."
LoC plugs Little Brother: Open access FTW.
Canada nationalizes covid patents: An Act respecting certain measures in response to COVID-19.
Exponential Threat: Trump threatened to sue media outlets that aired this spot.
Sanders on GOP stimulus cruelty: "Millions for plutes, but not one cent for workers."
Record wind-power growth: Covid stimulus could start a Green New Deal.
Social distancing and other diseases: Do we trust IoT thermometer companies, though?
Badger Masks: UW Madison's open facemask design.
This day in history: 2005, 2010, 2015, 2019
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming appearances, current writing projects, current reading