to set a mood • • •
Welcome to the Age of Surveillance Capitalism
All that information we’ve handed over can be used in insidious ways in the absence of government oversight.
It’s not just a look.
In 1998, science fiction author David Brin published a remarkably prescient book of nonfiction, titled “The Transparent Society: Will Technology Force Us To Choose Between Privacy And Freedom?” The book predicted that information technology would lead to the death of privacy, and explored some of the potential good and bad effects of the change.
One of Brin’s predictions was that citizens would be able to expose the secrets of the powerful — a concept called “sousveillance.” That prediction seems to have come true. In just the past few years, mobile phone cameras have captured police brutality and other government misdeeds, social media has exposed famous figures as sexual harassers and so on.
Sousveillance might seem as if it’s leveling the social playing field. But the rich and powerful aren’t the only ones who have valuable secrets. However powerful crowds with cameras might be, big organizations like governments and corporations have at their disposal many more resources, better technology and more invasive, diabolical planning than the average person. And we’re just starting to discover what happens when those mighty forces put citizens and consumers into a panopticon.
First, there’s government surveillance, which by now is known to be fairly ubiquitous. Next, there’s the loss of the ability to have one’s mistakes fade away — social media preserves every unwise tweet or compromising photo you’ve ever let slip onto the internet. Already, people have begun to fight against these forces, banning government use of facial recognition technology in San Francisco and elsewhere, and enshrining a so-called right to be forgotten in Europe.
But on top of this, there’s a phenomenon that Harvard sociologist Shoshana Zuboff calls “surveillance capitalism.” The ubiquity of mobile phones and social media has made it possible for companies to observe almost everything people do, whether making purchases, going out to eat or talking to or texting friends. …
Jon Stewart just reminded us how outrage is supposed to work
Former “Daily Show” host Jon Stewart prepares to testify before the House Judiciary Committee about reauthorizing the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund.
Jon Stewart returned to TV today just as we left him: sitting behind a desk, anxiously clicking his pen as he carefully crafted an argument and called for justice. It could’ve been a monologue aired on any episode of “The Daily Show.” Almost. But instead of Comedy Central, Stewart appeared on our screens via C-SPAN. Instead of laughter, he instilled despair; his one-liners now cutting to our hearts rather than our funny bones. He’s still angry as ever, but he’s moved from the peanut gallery into the front row.
Jon Stewart testifies for September 11 Victim Compensation Fund: "Accountability doesn’t appear to be something that occurs in this chamber…I'm sorry if I sound angry and undiplomatic, but I am angry, and you should be too." pic.twitter.com/njxJzSmzSJ
— CSPAN (@cspan) June 11, 2019
We should all take notes: This is what outrage looks like done right. This is how to use shame with purpose and precision, not as a blunt-force tool.
If you’ve been following the political comedian’s post-retirement life, today’s appearance in front of Congress may have been unexpected but not entirely unsurprising. Since leaving television in August 2015, Stewart has pursued a passion project to secure health coverage and benefits for the surviving 9/11 first responders, many of whom have been stricken with cancer and disease in the 18 years after breathing in the toxic fumes of the wreckage. The September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, which supplies first responders with healthcare, is set to expire next year. It should be a stain on all of us that these heroes could die without the help or care that they need.
Stewart knows this. But he knows who shares the burden of the blame, too. …
Radiohead Donates Money to Climate Change Group Instead of Paying Ransom to Hackers
The band released hours of hacked recordings rather than pay ransom money to the hacker who stole them.
Gary Wolstenholme
Last week, an unnamed hacker stole a cache of unreleased Radiohead recordings. Lead singer Thom Yorke had 18 MiniDisc recordings, mostly an hour long each, of music the band made while working on the seminal 1997 album, OK Computer, and the hacker threatened to release the recordings online unless they paid a ransom of $150,000.
Instead of paying the ransom, the band put all the music online themselves. In a statement, Radiohead guitarist and keyboardist Jonny Greenwood described the 18 hours of recordings as, “Never intended for public consumption (though some clips did reach the cassette in the OK Computer reissue) it’s only tangentially interesting. And very, very long. Not a phone download. Rainy out, isn’t it though?”
The recordings are available for £18 (approximately $23) on the website Bandcamp. All of the proceeds will go to Extinction Rebellion, an activist organization dedicated to fighting man-made climate change, biodiversity loss, and “a mass extinction of our own making.” The group has hosted talks on climate change in local communities across Britain and has helped push for mass mobilization and elaborate public demonstrations, like when activists chained themselves to a boat hauled into central London.
Sending a massive thank you to @JnnyG and @radiohead. To get involved in the rebellion, check out https://t.co/PzxBohj9iu. A thank you from us is here – https://t.co/u5etJqdCQA #ExtinctionRebellion #Radiohead https://t.co/QdqgADhN1L
— Extinction Rebellion
(@ExtinctionR) June 11, 2019
(@ExtinctionR)
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4 Birdbrained Legal Defenses Real People Actually Tried
As the old saying goes: If you can’t do the time, don’t rob the donut shop next to the police station. Getting caught is part of the criminal circle of life, and many villains pride themselves on taking guilty verdicts with dignity and pride. Other criminals, however, will do or say just about anything to weasel themselves out of things, and that includes lies so dumb that they’re the legal equivalent of claiming the dog ate your homework. For example …
4. An Olympic Sprinter Blamed A Failed Drug Test On Too Much Sex
In 1998, American sprinter Dennis Mitchell was at the top of his game. With a heap of medals and records to his name, many thought he’d go for the gold during the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. Basically, Mitchell was the man. In fact, he was too much of the man, an Olympic doping panel agreed, to ethically allow him to compete in any sporting event.
On the brink of Olympic glory, a drug panel accused Mitchell of doping when they concluded his body contained too much testosterone (a popular form of cheating among athletes). But when asked to confess by the U.S. Track and Field Doping Panel, Mitchell instead claimed he had built up too much man juice by having lots of sex with his wife, hurdler Damu Cherry-Mitchell. The day before the test was Damu’s birthday, so Mitchell had five bottles of beer and four epic bone sessions because, quote, “the lady deserved a treat.” Surely, that explained why he had the testosterone of seven grown bodybuilders, right?
Unfortunately for Mitchell, lab techs know more about endocrinology than the average frat dude. They confirmed that no amount of boinking and booze could ever raise testosterone levels above the body’s natural limit, and so the International Amateur Athletic Federation banned him for two years. …
Grocery store urges customers to rethink plastic with embarrassing bags
East West Market hopes humorous bags like ‘Wart Ointment Wholesale’ will persuade shoppers to shun single-use plastic bags
A plastic bag from East West Market. ‘We wanted to address an issue, but we’ve also made something popular, so it’s turned out great,’ said the shop’s owner, David Lee Kwen.
If concern over the climate crisis or revulsion over the contamination of the food chain are not enough to change consumer behaviour, one grocery store is hoping that another emotion may persuade people to shun single-use plastic bags: shame.
Customers who don’t bring their own bags to the East West Market in Vancouver will instead have to carry their grocery home in bags reading “Wart Ointment Wholesale” or “Into the Weird Adult Video Emporium”.
David Lee Kwen, the shop’s owner, insisted that the plan wasn’t to embarrass customers. “We wanted to give them something humorous, but also something that made them think at the same time,” he told the Guardian. “It’s human nature not to want to be told what to do.”
Kwen initially hoped that a fee on single-use bags would discourage their use. But when the five-cent a bag charge failed to stop people using plastic, he tried a different approach. …
WordPress Is Borked So Enjoy This Glorious Plant That’s Taking Over the Internet
The internet is full of sites, and a crap ton of them are run by WordPress. But around 1:05 pm today, something went sideways for sites hosted on the WordPress VIP Go platform…and an internet star was born. See this friendly ‘lil succulent? It’s currently plastered on any site that reverted to the original WordPress theme.
Some sites impacted include TechCrunch, 9to5 Google, 9to5 Mac, Elektrek, DroneDJ, Rolling Stone, Quartz and BBC America (though the latter two just look messed up—like, drank too many tequilas at a bachelor party messed up. No friendly plant friend in sight).
WordPress VIP Go outage affecting all 9to5/Electrek/DroneDJ sites currently. https://t.co/PQCWWc50MW
We’ve reverted to default WordPress theme until the issue is resolved.
— Seth Weintraub (@llsethj) June 11, 2019
According to WordPress’s VIP service Twitter account, it seems the issue is impacting not only themes, but it’s also causing 503 errors. That said, if you’re just a regular user, you’re probably in the clear.
We’re continuing to work on availability issues for VIP Go. Sites may still be experiencing 503 errors and missing theme files. Updates will be shared here on Twitter and on this Lobby post: https://t.co/UiG6N2DCv0
— WPVIP Status (@WPVIPStatus) June 11, 2019
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Video Goodnesses
and not-so-goodnesses
and not-so-goodnesses
THANKS to HBO and VICE NEWS for making this program available on YouTube.
Not only did both President Trump and former Vice President Biden appear in Iowa on Tuesday, they also both appeared in each other’s remarks.
THANKS to CBS and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert for making this program available on YouTube.
President Trump is assuring everyone that his secret agreement with Mexico is incredible, genius, and DEFINITELY real.
CAUTION: Some language may not be appropriate for work or children.
Here’s me commentary on a couple of toads having a feed. Source video here: https://youtu.be/C9tKXZvCU7A
華麗にスルーするまるとはな。Maru&Hana avoid domino splendidly and walk.
This Elizabethan brothel became renowned for the quality of its IT department.
— Fake Atlas Obscura (@notatlasobscura) January 11, 2019
FINALLY . . .
Meet the World’s Most Playfully Named Creatures
But giving them those crazy names isn’t always fun and games.
Wunderpus photogenicus: No two look alike.
IN THE SHALLOW TROPICAL WATERS OF Indonesia and the Philippines lives a species of octopus with reddish skin, beautifully marked with brilliant white stripes and spots. Each individual has a unique pattern, like a snowflake. A darling of divers and underwater photographers, the cephalopod with the dramatic looks has an equally dramatic scientific name: Wunderpus photogenicus.
This and other critters with amusing-sounding monikers, both scientific and common, are the subject of a new, fancifully illustrated children’s book Encyclopedia of Strangely Named Animals, Volume One. Authors Fredrik Colting and Melissa Medina say they were fascinated by “how each animal has a specialized feature or habit that carries through in their names.”
The star-nosed mole uses its stellar, fleshy snout to feel around.
But putting these official labels on the natural world isn’t always quite as much fun. “People give all sorts of whimsical names to animals, but remember that there is the common name—American robin— and the scientific name—Turdus migratorius,” says Brian Brown, curator of entomology at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. All scientific names must be in Latin and follow a general set of rules for a new species. Scientists get to name the species they identify, but each name needs to be unique, so sometimes the novelty wears off.
“Choosing names is fun in small doses, but when you have 100 new species of Apocephalus [a genus of ant-hunting flies] to describe, it starts becoming a chore,” says Brown. “Eventually, you just try to think of something to attach to that species concept.”
That means, for example, giving a species name that references a defining feature, a place, maybe a person—or sometimes a pun or something more whimsical. “Within the taxonomic process, there is some latitude for humor,” Brown adds, “like Terry Erwin’s beetles of the genus Agra … he called one Agra vation, for example.” Entomologist Erwin has an entry in Strangely Named Animals as well: an elegant canopy beetle he dubbed Agra cadabra. …
These mushrooms induce hallucinations that, according to local folklore, can predict events—but only ones that have already happened.
— Fake Atlas Obscura (@notatlasobscura) January 10, 2019
"Hello God".
Please.
Don't try to make all kissy-kissy with Me now, Twitter. It's too late.
You messed with the wrong Near Eastern Bronze Age sky-father-king projection.
By the time I'm done with you, MYSPACE will laugh at your relevance. pic.twitter.com/5tasH3X0t4
— God (@TheTweetOfGod) June 11, 2019
IN SOLIDARITY
Ed. More tomorrow? Possibly. Maybe. Probably Not. Groundhog Day.