Today on Cory Doctorow's Pluralistic.net

  • The Internet Archive is supporting unlimited book-lending during the crisis. “… they buy and scan one copy of every book (pretty much every book, ever) and lend it out to one person at a time. They’ve just announced that during the crisis, they are lifting the one-borrower-at-a-time restriction and allowing unlimited borrowing, ‘to meet the needs of a global community of displaced learners’. They call it the ‘National Emergency Library.'”

  • Kaiser threatens to fire Oakland nurses who wear their own masks. “Nurses who report for work wearing their own N95 masks have been threatened with immediate dismissal for ‘insubordination.'” Those masks don’t just protect nurses; they protect patients too.

  • O’Reilly is getting out of the conference business. Not just now – forever. Can’t plan for the future when they don’t know when the emergency will end.

  • Trump’s bible study teacher, Ralph Drollinger, thinks coronavirus is God’s wrath for Chinese excess, women working outside the workplace, American tolerance for homosexuality, and environmentalism. (I’m a Jewish nonbeliever, but I had the distinct impression that Christ preached loving your neighbor, charity toward the least of us, and not judging others.)

  • The $3/month DoNot Pay service uses an chatbot to automatically petition companies for relief during the coronavirus crisis. “Using a chatbot, you determine which of your bills are eligible for relief. Then it generates a ‘compassionate and polite request’ seeking help. If the company does not comply, it follows up with a firmer letter citing relevant state/federal laws.”

  • “Xi’s enemies sense weakness: Autocracies are only as good as their last crisis-response.

  • Immigrants face infection in ICE lockups.

  • Doctors and dentists are hoarding chloroquine in case it turns out to be an effective Covid-19 treatment, thus depriving people who rely on the drug for conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus.

  • The Toilet Paper Splitter is “a DIY project to separate a single two-ply roll into two single-ply rolls.”

  • This year’s science fiction Worldcon has been cancelled. WorldCons began in 1939, and have been held every year since other than 1942-45 during World War II.

  • The United States Postal Service is crucial to emergency response; it’s the only federal agency that can knock on every door in America in a single day. “When (if?) effective covid meds are available, it’s likely a postal worker will deliver them to you. Now is a good time to remember that the GOP have been trying to dismantle the universal, self-funding, vital USPS for decades, so that private carriers like UPS and Fedex can cream off the most profitable parts of its business and leave rural Americans in the cold.”

  • Volante Design is making stylish masks for covid responders – they can protect N95 masks from contamination, prevent you from touching your face, and partly contain coughs when medical masks are unavailable. They’re looking for donations to make and shop more. docs.google.com/spreadshe…

pluralistic.net/2020/03/2…

The travel, conference and tourism industry are going to be in recession for a long time after coronavirus is a distant memory.

As Charles Stross notes here in another context, people are going to be reluctant to gather in big groups with other people who’ve come from far away.

www.antipope.org/charlie/b…

He says he doesn’t expect to see much activity in science fiction conventions in 2021 or 2022. I agree and see this going far beyond science fiction conventions.

Most of my career has been closely tied with professional conferences. I’ve gone to one or two a month, mostly traveling by plane to get there. And the companies I work for have been primarily in the conference business, with editorial operations – my work – as a sideline. Those companies are going to be struggling for years.

Yet another reason why I see a career change in my short-term future.

Shopping run: I went to the supermarket yesterday – for the benefit of my local friends, the Vons on University in La Mesa. The crowd seemed about typical for a weekday afternoon, which is to say moderate. Neither heavy nor light. Most people were not wearing masks or gloves. I wore latex gloves – surprisingly light and comfortable, and blue, which made me think of the bad guys on the TV show “Firefly.” I did see a few other gloves-wearers, and a couple of people wearing masks. None of the staff were wearing gloves or masks.

The shelves for toilet paper, sanitizer and wipes were bare. Slim pickings on soup. My favorite pea soup with ham was in, Julie’s tortilla soup was out. Our favorite brand of cat littler had only one box in stock, but I was able to load up on an alternative. Everything else seemed pretty well stocked up, including meats, dairy and produce.

There was a box of hand sanitizers at the front entrance of the supermarket for public use. I think it’s there all the time, not just during the pandemic. Usually I don’t bother. Yesterday I took one and used it to quickly wipe down the handle of the shopping cart, even though I was wearing gloves and my hands wouldn’t be touching the handle.

We mostly kept a six-foot distance. Although we did get closer when we passed each other, we didn’t linger. We kept our distance at the shelves; if one person was taking something, the other hung back until the first was done. No reacharound.

When I got to the cashier, there was one woman in line, behind the person being checked out. She took two steps back and I realized I had been standing too close, and did the same. When it was her turn, and I stepped up to the on-deck position, the cashier said I should load my groceries on the conveyer belt like usual, and then stand at the end of the checkout counter until it was my turn.

I asked when toilet paper would be in stock. She said likely Wednesday, but I should be sure to get there early. When the store opens at 7 am there’s a line of 150 people waiting to get in.

I am slightly concerned as we are legit running low on TP. Got about a week’s supply. Got plenty of facial tissues and paper towels so that’s not a cause for concern. Likewise, while I am running low on my favorite hand soap, we have plenty of other soap.

Our pending possible shortages are like inaudible whispers compared with the jet engine roar of what may be coming in a few weeks.

So like I said, I ordered a new iPad Pro last night. I am a confessed Apple fanboy, so I’m excited to get it and feel like I can barely wait the 2-2.5 weeks until it’s due to arrive.

Last night as I was falling asleep, I found myself wondering what kind of world we’ll be in when the iPad gets here. Things are moving awfully fast.

I excavated my briefcase from where it was buried under cardboard boxes in my office. I thought I had packets of hand sanitizer wipes in there, but it turned out to be Coffee-Mate, which is not a substitute, I think.

"Julia Roberts’ performance is the magic spell that makes Pretty Woman work."

Appreciating “Pretty Woman,” 30 years later www.refinery29.com/en-ca/202…

I didn’t see “Pretty Woman” until years after it came out because chick flick. It’s a delightful movie. Julia Roberts yes but also Laura San Giacomo, who is an underappreciated national treasure. Jason Alexander is the perfect d-bag. And Richard Gere is Richard Gere and Hector Elizondo is Hector Elizondo, two things that are excellent to be.

I see a few social media darwinists saying we should be willing to sacrifice lives in the short term to restart the economy. But nobody’s willing to lead by example.

I have committed iPad Pro 13"

My brain has been tempting me with the new iPad Pro, about how nice it will be to have that big screen when I’m sitting and reading or doing social media. Or whatever. I’ve been replying to my brain that hey I just got laid off two months ago and I need to focus on building an income stream or finding another job.

My brain said to me this morning, well, if you had a new iPad Pro it would be a backup computer if the MacBook Pro goes belly-up and needs to spend time in the shop. You’ll be able to continue working. And until then you’ll be able to enjoy the iPad Pro – it won’t just sit on a shelf collecting dust.

I said to myself, ha ha foolish brain you are tempting me again with your ridiculous– wait, that actually makes sense.

So I talked it over with Julie. The iPad Pro arrives in 2-2.5 weeks.

How Biscoff Cookies Became the Snack We Crave on Planes www.cntraveler.com/story/how…

I never eat ‘em on the ground but I love them on planes.

It’s crazy how great it is when the flight attendant comes by with Biscoff or other favorite airplane treats. Same for the Amtrak snack boxes. I’m a grown-ass adult who can afford to buy this stuff for myself if I want it.

It’s time to track people’s smartphones to ensure they self-isolate during this global pandemic, says WHO boffin.

Professor Marylouise McLaws, a technical adviser to the World Health Organization’s Infection Prevention and Control Global Unit, praises Singapore, which has a system where the government sends an SMS to citizens, who click a link which uses the phone’s location services to report their location.

https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/03/23/track_phones_coronavirus_who/

It’s an intriguing system, with the advantage that citizens can easily opt out after the crisis, by simply refusing to participate.

We may need to allow government to track everybody’s locations during the duration of the pandemic. But we need to roll back surveillance when the emergency is over. And once government has been given power, it’s really, really hard to roll that back.

Video: Italian mayors berate citizens for breaking quarantine.

“Getting in your mobile hairdressers?! What the fuck is that for? Don’t you understand that the casket will be CLOSED?”

twitter.com/GiuliaRoz…

My first multi-person Zoom coffee break this morning. We discussed bronies and the catechism. I don’t think I’ve ever been to a meeting where either was discussed, let alone both.


I saw this excellent sidewalk art near the house. “Just keep walking” can be seen as inspirational or a threat.📷

. Minnie practices her reading comprehension skills.

Law firm warns work-from-home employees against eavesdropping by Alexa, baby monitors, etc.

Locked-Down Lawyers Warned Alexa Is Hearing Confidential Calls - Bloomberg

Mishcon de Reya LLP, the U.K. law firm that famously advised Princess Diana on her divorce and also does corporate law, issued advice to staff to mute or shut off listening devices like Amazon’s Alexa or Google’s voice assistant when they talk about client matters at home, according to a partner at the firm. It suggested not to have any of the devices near their work space at all.

Mishcon’s warning covers any kind of visual or voice enabled device, like Amazon and Google’s speakers. But video products such as Ring, which is also owned by Amazon, and even baby monitors and closed-circuit TVs, are also a concern, said Mishcon de Reya partner Joe Hancock, who also heads the firm’s cybersecurity efforts.

We don’t have them in the house. The risk seems high, and the potential benefit seems low.

Today on Cory Doctorow's Pluralistic

A law firm is telling employees to switch off smart speakers and similar devices while working from home.

We don’t have any in the house. The payoff seems low in the potential risk seems high.

A Florida city sent power disconnection notices to its poorest residents during the pandemic crisis. The mayor is ducking accountability.

Rashida Tlaib proposes meeting trillion dollar coins, and then using those to send “every person in the USA a $2K prepaid credit card that would receive $1K/month until a year after the crisis’s end."

Each person – children, adults, documented, undocumented, rich, poor – would get the card and the deposits, and progressive taxation would rake it back from those who don’t need it (far more reliable than means-testing, which is a persistent failure).

How “concierge doctors” supply the “worried well” with masks, respirators and tests

One big difference I observed between my life under Canadian medicare (30 years), and UK NHS (13 years) is that in the former, there is no private option, so rich people have to advocate for everyone’s care in order to improve their own. I think the relative fortunes of the NHS and OHIP can be largely explained by this difference. Allowing the rich to opt into a private system reduces the political costs of slashing the public system.

More: Pluralistic: 22 Mar 2020

ME

THERMOMETER: Your temperature is “don’t be such a hypochondriac you don’t have the rona” degrees.

ME (before the rona): <Bleeding profusely, skin inflamed, boils, hacking wheezing cough, seizures, occasional blindness> Probably nothing. It’ll go away on its own in a couple of days.

ME (now): <coughs once, softly, slight headache> OMG I got the rona I’m gonna die!

We’re “taking our temperature with a mercury thermometer” years old.

ME (before the rona): I haven’t been out except to walk the dog and run essential errands. All my communications, except with Julie, are online. I’m ok with that.

ME (after the rona): Same, but now I’m going nuts with claustrophobia.

From the comments: She is holding the floppy in the one spot you’re not supposed to touch it. via

I just ordered clippers for a home haircut. I am prepared for the apocalypse.

Jungle Comics #93 (1947), cover by Joe Doolin Via

There is a lot going on here.

We need a moonshot program to build a first-class healthcare system in the US in the next year or so.

This will certainly be difficult but it will benefit in so many ways.

Senator Richard Burr Warned Of Coronavirus Effects In Private Meeting - NPR

Even while GOP leaders were ridiculing and downplaying coronavirus risks, at least one – Senator Richard Barr, the Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee – was simultaneously saying the opposite to big-money constituents, warning them that the virus was extremely dangerous. https://www.npr.org/2020/03/19/818192535/burr-recording-sparks-questions-about-private-comments-on-covid-19?utm_source=nextdraft&utm_medium=email

Beijing fears Covid-19 is a turning point for China and globalization

China didn’t start coronavirus, but Chinese incompetence and authoritarianism is a big part of the reason why it’s now a global pandemic, rather than a local problem.

The same Chinese government that mishandled the crisis at first is now telling us that everything’s fine in China now; they’ve got it under control. Seriously?

Michael Auslin:

While the world fights the coronavirus pandemic, China is fighting a propaganda war. Beijing’s war aim is simple: shift away from China all blame for the outbreak, the botched initial response, and its early spread into the broader world. At stake is China’s global reputation, as well as the potential of a fundamental shift away from China for trade and manufacturing. Also at risk is the personal legacy of General Secretary Xi Jinping, who has staked his legitimacy on his technocratic competence. After dealing with the first great global crisis of the 21st century, the world must fundamentally rethink its dependence on China.

… no one knows if Beijing’s claims that new indigenous cases are slowing down are true or not, given long-standing doubt about the veracity of any official Chinese statistics, and the party’s failure to act in the early days of the coronavirus.

Auslin goes on to say that the coronavirus pandemic is making globalization downsides apparent, particularly the reliance on China for so much manufacturing, particularly essential drugs.

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/…

Dr. Fabiano Di Marco, a doctor in a hospital in Bergamo, Italy, shares his story: “It’s like a war,” he says. “We cry every day.” The US may be headed the same way. www.nytimes.com/2020/03/1…

The origin stories of the peace sign, smiley face and power button symbol.

There are symbols all around us that we take for granted, like the lightning strike icon, which indicates that something is high voltage. Or a little campfire to indicate that something is flammable. Those icons are pretty obvious, but there are others that aren’t so straightforward. Like, why do a triangle and a stick in a circle indicate “peace”? Where does the smiley face actually come from?"

99percentinvisible.org/episode/u…

Cory Doctorow: "Bigoted Republican Congressjerk votes against coronavirus relief because it might cover same-sex partnerships."

Cory: “The Republican Party, folks. The party of death and poverty and tragedy and hate. Remember that in November.”

pluralistic.net/2020/03/1…

In reality, the law that hateful moron Andy Biggs (R-Az) objects to makes no change to US policy regarding same-sex partnerships. None.

Also, the way infectious disease works is that for any of us to be protected, all of us need protection. Even people we find contemptible, like Andy Biggs.

John Green on coronavirus: “Togetherness is the superpower of our species. Like, yeah, we as individuals are very smart, as animals go, but it is our collective knowledge that has made us so successful.”

youtu.be/dh23nwxpf…

American Airlines blew $15B on stock buybacks to benefit shareholders, jacked up prices and nickel-and-dimed customers. Now it wants a $50B bailout - 3x 9/11.

pluralistic.net/2020/03/1…

When companies make good decisions, management and shareholders are rewarded. When companies make bad decisions, they scream for help to Uncle Sam … and management and shareholders are rewarded at taxpayer expense.

Good thing Bernie is going down. Otherwise we might have socialism or something!

NYT: Trump Now Claims He Always Knew the Coronavirus Would Be a Pandemic

www.nytimes.com/2020/03/1…

Trump lies compulsively, and many times a day, about things that are easily verifiable as untrue. He claims he always knew the coronavirus would be pandemic within days of having gone on the record numerous times downplaying the seriousness of the virus and ridiculing people who took it seriously.

None of this is secret. It’s all on video. You can see it for yourself. Probably you did see it.

The Atlantic: America’s Restaurants Will Need a Miracle

Social distancing could prove devastating to the restaurant industry, as restaurants are becoming vital economic infrastructure.

Americans now spend more at restaurants than at grocery stores—something they had never done before 2015. This modern dining revolution has made restaurants one of the country’s most important sources of work. In 1990, manufacturing employment was almost three times larger than the food-service industry, but today there are about as many jobs in food service as in manufacturing. Restaurants are the new factories, and without them state and local economies across the country would fall to pieces. Food-preparation and food-service jobs now account for more than 10 percent of all employment in Nevada, Hawaii, and Florida.

www.theatlantic.com/ideas/arc…

Cory Doctorow: Be sure to fill out your census. Do it online or by phone.

Filling out your census is important to your community getting its share of federal representation and services.

pluralistic.net/2020/03/1…

Cory Doctorow’s Twitter account was suspended for a day, because of a list of trolls he created called “colossal assholes.”

Says Cory: “‘Colossal assholes’ got me suspended, but not its companion list, ‘Toe-faced shitweasels’”

But he’s back now.

pluralistic.net/2020/03/1…

Andrew Sullivan: Reality Arrives to the Trump Era

Andrew Sullivan finds similarities between the initial public reactions to the coronavirus, the gay community’s initial reaction initial to the AIDS epidemic – which, as a gay man, Sullivan lived through – and the 1918 Spanish flu.

In all three cases, the initial reaction was denial and complacency. Even people who accepted the reality of the situation failed to gauge its seriousness and react appropriately.

https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/03/andrew-sullivan-reality-arrives-to-the-trump-era.html?utm_campaign=nym&utm_source=tw&utm_medium=s1

Ira Glass, at this American Life, compared the current period to waiting for biopsy results from the doctor.

www.thisamericanlife.org/696/low-h…

Julie and I have been through biopsies a few times and the metaphor is perfect. You walk around living your life as usual – eating, working, watching TV, etc. – and not even feeling particularly scared most of the time. But in the back of your head is this little bubble of fear. You know that everything could turn awful very soon. Or it could all be … nothing.

Also, this from Sullivan:

With Trump, we have a deeper crisis, of course. Trump is incapable of admitting error, numb to any form of empathy, narcissistic even in a communal crisis, and immune to any kind of realism. He simply cannot tell anyone bad news. And he cannot keep a story straight, which is essential for public health. His only means of communication is deceptive salesmanship.

(Emphasis mine.)

At the end of this weekend’s This American Life, Glass announced that he’d been exposed to the virus and was going into self-quarantine.