Pluralistic: Linkdump Minkchump (16 Dec 2023) – Pluralistic: Daily links from Cory Doctorow

Society
The gulf between the real world and streaming has never been further
A lot more people watched Wednesday than The Crown.
Pluralistic: It all started with a mouse (15 Dec 2023) – Pluralistic: Daily links from Cory Doctorow
America’s Pessimism Isn’t Economic, Stupid – It’s Human - The Urbanist
Economists are trying to figure out the dissonance between a recovering economy and America's deep pessimism. They're looking in the wrong place.
I Lived in Texas for 35 Years. Here’s Why Alex Garland’s ‘Civil War’ Makes Perfect Sense
Sick Societies - Wikipedia
Google & Adobe: Our Regulatory Systems Just Woke Up
While regulators have long struggled with how to attack big tech, a landmark ruling and a big disclosure suggests that big tech is finally getting noticed.
Pluralistic: How the NYPD defeated bodycams (14 Dec 2023) – Pluralistic: Daily links from Cory Doctorow
Pluralistic: Housing is a labor issue (13 Dec 2023) – Pluralistic: Daily links from Cory Doctorow
Netanyahu’s Chickens Come Home to Roost
Or, How States Create Their Own Enemies You may or may not be familiar with the concept of “blowback.” Basically, it’s the idea that most foreign policy threats faced by nation-states are the unintended consequences of their own past foreign interventions and exercises of power. The October 7 Hamas terrorist attack on Israel is a...
"We Are All Socialists in Our Private Lives"
David Graeber gets to the heart of human (and more than human) nature.
The Man Weeping in the Parking Lot, Dreading Another Day at Work
The tragedy that is a pre-determined life of monotony.
How Twitter broke the news
“No one chasing money in media ever chased Twitter. But anyone chasing power found themselves irresistibly drawn to the platform.”
How to make healthcare.gov not happen again
If a government website works well, you probably have the USDS to thank.
Attacked by conservatives, UW misinformation researcher gears up for 2024
Kate Starbird's attempt to promote factual information and boost democracy has gotten her sued, blasted by Congressional inquiries and subjected to a death threat.
Calculator: How much does elder care cost where you live?
The cost of assisted living, nursing homes and other types of care for older adults has risen dramatically across the country, but it also varies widely by state. See how much different types of care cost in your state.
As Pro-Union Sentiment Reaches a Fifty-Year High, U.S. Law Remains Pro-Management
A contract forced on railroad workers, and anti-labor conduct by Starbucks and Amazon, showed the difficulty of organizing in 2022.
The [Tech Bro CEO] Strikes Back
What Elon Musk is doing to Twitter right now is what happens when someone with the same ideology and worldview as James Damore has enough power and money to be in charge of a company instead of jus…
The New Green Feudalism
Compact Magazine, a radical American journal
Pluralistic: “If buying isn’t owning, piracy isn’t stealing” (08 Dec 2023) – Pluralistic: Daily links from Cory Doctorow
The Tyranny of the State
None of us agreed to live like this, but still we do. Consent is implied.
Why corporate well-being initiatives often don’t work—and what to do instead
Well-being is a two-way street. Your employer has a responsibility to create the best working conditions they can—and they benefit when they do.
Pluralistic: Privacy first (06 Dec 2023) – Pluralistic: Daily links from Cory Doctorow
What We Don’t Measure—but Should
The case for GDP plus GDD
Why Can't We Have a Populism That Builds?
El Salvador's Nayib Bukele, a darling of the American right, markets himself very differently from American populists.
The Internet Enabled Mass Surveillance. AI Will Enable Mass Spying. - Schneier on Security
Time-based currency - Wikipedia
There were almost two internets. Then, the CIA destroyed one.
While America made the network that would become the internet, programmers in Chile were building a vision of their own.
Kissinger in Chile
By the time Chile’s workers rose up to rally around Salvador Allende, Latin America had become a key arena in US planners’ “mortal struggle to determine the shape of the future world.” Henry Kissinger was obsessed with toppling the socialist president.
The end of Elon Musk
“Beyond the cursing, Elon Musk’s interview is erratic enough to end his career.”