Pluralistic: America's collapsing consumption is the world's disenshittification opportunity (16 Dec 2025)

Today's links

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.

Elon Musk's Blue Tick scam: The EU bans giant teddybears.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: Denver bomb squad vs 8" toy robot; Iceland's atheist religion; Largest strike in human history; Ad-tech is a bubble; Battery rationality; Pasta carpet; "With a Little Help"; Crooked Timber on Pikett; Tiki-mug menorah; China vs Big Data-backstabbing.
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.

A year in illustration (2025 edition): I think I'm getting the hang of this?
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: HADOPI is born; Tea Party wants to disenfranchise renters; How to kill TPP; Mozilla ejects Thunderbird; Rosa Parks was a lifelong radical activist.
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.

(Digital) Elbows Up: How Canada Can Become a Nation of Jailbreakers, Reclaim Our Digital Sovereignty, Win the Trade-War, and Disenshittify Our Technology.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: Workaholic Goethe; Prehistory of the Sony rootkit; Wunderkammer front room; Dolphin teleportation symposium: now with more Eisenhowers
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.

O(N^2) nationalism: Trumpism can only be defeated through international nationalism.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: Paywall kremlinology; How to fix everything; Office365 is spyware; State-owned Amazon.
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.

Google steers Americans looking for health care into "junk insurance" : An enshittified search monopolist meets the worst health care system imaginable.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: Disaster fantasies; "Sea to Sea"; Veronica Belmont on surviving memeification; Email carcinization.
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.

A tale of three customer service chatbots: Two were worse than useless, one betrayed its masters.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: General strike; We won't fly; Green tea doesn't promote weight-loss.
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.

"Flexible labor" is a euphemism for "derisking capital": It's a zero-sum game.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: Corrupt CDs; 10,000 wax cylinders; EU wants copyright on links; Sony rootkit; Humbling math-papers; Chelsea Manning on Aaron Swartz; "Boundless Realms."
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 enshittification of labor: Pavlina Tcherneva, getting her peanut butter in my chocolate.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: 3D printing with tape-guns; TPP is the worst; HP ends customers' lives.
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.