#13 Mar 2023

[blanked007]

عليّ أن أصدق أنك وحش

ما من طريقة أخرى

الأمر أشبه بالأفلام، عندما يفسرون لنا

كيف أصبح الشخص السيئ مؤذيًا، ليمنعونا من كراهيته

لا أريد أن أفهم أية شيء؛

عندما أفهم، أحبك، وأنا لا أريد أن أحبك بعد الآن.

أتمنى أن أراك في الشارع دون شعور بالألم

لكني لا أستطيع أن أنظر إليك

ولا أقع - بقدر ما - في حب رموشك

لا أستطيع أن أنظر إليك دون أن أتمنى لو أنك تمد يدك

ليدي من جديد.

علي أن أصدق أنك وحش،

لأني لو عدت للاعتقاد في أنك لطيف وكسير فحسب

ستكون نهايتي.

سوف يتهامس الناس بشأن حبنا لسنوات

كيف كان مرعبًا الوجود في غرفة واحدة

مع شخصين يرغبان بشدة في تحطيم بعضهما

كيف حطم كل منا الآخر تمامًا.

سوف يتهامس الناس بشأن حبنا لسنوات

وهذا ما سوف يتذكرونه

كيف كنتُ شجاعة

كيف تفهمتُ وتفهمتُ حتى عجزتُ عن المزيد

كيف - وآسفة لذلك - عجزتُ عن المزيد.

.

فورتيسا لاتيفي - ترجمة ضي رحمي

[mikeywayarchive]

Brisbane Entertainment Centre // Mar 13th 2023 // @ juliamiti_ on twitter

[hotshoeagain]

orphan-account fic rec

Okay, if you orphan your fic for any reason -- I understand we're not supposed to out you as the author -- even if we have a handle on the connecting thread.

So here are fics which I know were all written by the same author, who shall remain nameless (who I never knew personally so I cannot reach them with thanks for orphaning rather than deleting from AO3)

The Sea in a Chasm, part 1 of Sussex "The news of Sherlock’s impending retirement hits John like a physical blow. He looks around for something reassuring to stare at, something comforting, but the flat seems suddenly foreign and he feels that he is falling, falling."

Boundaries, part 2 of Sussex, a short sequel " 'Do try to have some sense, John.' John leans back and waits for Sherlock to figure out why that wasn’t good. Sherlock, to his credit, doesn’t take long. 'That was—not an optimal reply. What I mean is, you deserve better. Than having to take, my, um, my feelings. On faith.' "

Battle [ as far as I know, the only 221B ficlet ever written from Ella Thompson's PoV ]

Entanglement "... he puts the fairy lights away poorly after every Christmas to guarantee that he and Mrs Hudson will sit together and fix them the following winter. He enjoys the tradition of solving a puzzle while Mrs Hudson gives him her undivided attention; Mrs Hudson puts on Christmas carols to soothe her nerves while she and Sherlock work, which allows him to listen to songs with which he has sentimental associations ... "

Ash, part 1 of Fearful Symmetry "... so is John, the firelight lining his face with shadow. 'You lied, you broke my heart, you won’t even tell me your fucking names, and I’m like you.' John’s voice breaks. 'What could be on that stick, what could I possibly find there, that could hurt me more than that?' "

Evergreen, part 2 of Fearful Symmetry PAY ATTENTION TO THE CHARACTERS AND THE TAGS

Filament and Feather "Feathers ruffle, settle. 'Crows like what’s luminous.' Sherlock swallows. 'You channel it, John. The light.' "

.

.

Filament and Feather is what got me interested in this artist; linked from a lovely little bit of poetry (not quite a 221b) written by aderyn; and inspired by one of @khorazir's earlier drawings in this fandom.

If anyone reading this now recognizes the writer of these stories, and knows any more stories in the orphan account which belonged to them, please share. Because, whoever they are/were, that girl can make words sing.

[rabbitcruiser]

The Day of Cantabria

The Day of Cantabria is an important holiday for the locals which is celebrated yearly on the second Sunday in August. This year it falls on August 13. This historic community is located in Northern Spain with a population of 580, 229. Its name comes from the Celtic word for ‘highlanders,’ referring to its mountainous terrain. Cantabria is home to many beautiful national parks and museums that display its rich and ancient history. Cantabria’s beautiful architecture is a mixture of arabesque, gothic, and renaissance, making it a great tourist destination for those who appreciate history. The locals celebrate this holiday to appreciate the rich history and culture of Cantabria.

History of The Day of Cantabria

Cantabria is an autonomous community in northern Spain. Though the borders of this region changed throughout the years and had long been occupied by neighboring countries, its people have been around for centuries. This region has archeological sites that go back to the Lower and Upper Paleolithic period. The Cave of Altamira is one of the most significant finds, with cave paintings that date back to about 37,000 B.C. Cantabria is part of Green Spain and enjoys luscious forests, breathtaking scenery, and marvelous architecture.

During the Roman conquest of Hispania, Rome fought against Cantabria and Asturias from 29 to 19 B.C., eventually conquering the regions. The Cantabrians saw death in every battle as a victory and preferred committing suicide rather than becoming slaves. Cantabria remained part of the Roman Empire until it fell in 476 A.D. when it regained independence. It was later invaded by Muslim Moors in 714. Cantabria attempted to unify during the 18th century but struggled due to a lack of resources.

The Day of Cantabria was first celebrated in 1967 as The Day of the Mountains.  Its name was later changed to “The Day of Cantabria” in 1981 when Cantabria gained independence. In 1981, the Statute of Autonomy of Cantabria allowed it to become a self-governed, autonomous community, giving it its own flag, coat of arms, and anthem. Cantabrians proudly celebrate this day through sporting events, parades, festivals, and traditional dance and music. Cantabrians all overexpress their appreciation for their history and culture, sharing it with others.

The Day of Cantabria timeline

37,000 B.C.First Cantabrians

The first recorded human evidence in this region.

195 B.C.Cantabria

The first references to Cantabria were documented by historians.

29 to 19 B.C.Cantabria Wars

Rome fights against Cantabria and Asturias.

19 B.C.Occupation

The Romans take over Cantabria.

476 A.D.Fall of the Roman Empire

The Roman Empire collapses.

1967The Day of the Mountains

Cantabria begins celebrating this holiday to appreciate the history and culture of Cantabria

1981Independence

Cantabria became an independent, autonomous community. The name of the holiday was changed to Day of Cantabria.

The Day of Cantabria FAQs

What is the capital of Cantabria?

The capital of Cantabria is Santander.

What is Cantabria known for?

Cantabria is known for its stunning nature, beautiful architecture, and rich history, such as ancient castles and caves with prehistoric paintings.

What language do they speak in Cantabria?

The official language in Cantabria is Spanish.

The Day of Cantabria Activities

Visit Cantabria

Host your own Cantabrian fiesta!

Read up on its history

Make Cantabria your next tourist destination and visit its many historical sites. If you happen to be around during the Day of Cantabria, join in on the many cultural festivities and performances.

You don’t have to go to Spain to celebrate this holiday. Host your own party with traditional food and music.

Spain has a long and rich history and Cantabria alone has so much to offer. Read up on the history and research some of its beautiful historical sites.

5 Interesting Facts About Spain

Spain has the world’s oldest restaurant

Spain had the first national anthem

Nudity is legal in most cities

It’s named after rabbits

It has a well-preserved heritage

The first restaurant ever, Sobrino de Bostín, in Madrid first opens.

Spain was the first country to officially declare a national anthem.

Most cities in Spain have no laws against nudity.

At around 300 B.C. Spain was called ‘Ispania’ meaning ‘land of rabbits’ due to the abundance of the woodland animal at the time.

Spain has 47 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, with only Italy and China exceeding it.

Why We Love The Day of Cantabria

It has a unique culture

It has a rich cuisine

It reminds us to preserve its culture

Cantabria is a very special place for those who enjoy the beautiful scenery and historical sites. By visiting Cantabria, you’ll enjoy its astonishing architecture and the many museums that replicate the awe-inspiring cave paintings that date back centuries.

Whether you want to visit the region or experience it from home, Cantabrians have many interesting foods, including many delicious deserts, like Quesada, or seafood dishes like bonito del Norte.

This holiday reminds us of all the beauty Cantabria has to offer and all the history that goes back to the stone age. It’s crucial to preserve all that history.

Source

[carraways-son]

Lundi

Images du jour et du soir sur la côte basque, d’Anglet à Biarritz.

[dailyscottficrec]

Mon Mar 13th, 2023

today's fic deals with feederism kink, which I know isn't for everyone, so just wanted to give a quick heads-up before the rec.

the more things change and other platitudes like that by amorremanet

Author summary:

after that (after he puts the first fifty pounds behind them and tips the scales at a full two fifteen)… Scott starts to notice all the changes to his body so much more than he ever has.

Reasons to love the fic: so, this is usually not my kink. but I started reading and was hooked from the first. the sciles of this is so sweet. It's really about Stiles taking care of Scott and the writing itself is hypnotically lyrical. I really ended up enjoying this a lot.

Be sure and let the author know if you enjoyed the fic!

[deb-always28]

“Err no, not yet, I don’t think they’ve seen it in its entirety yet, but um- Yeah they’ll watch it and they’ll enjoy it.”

-Louis on if his 1D bandmates have watched his documentary yet and if they’ve given him feedback.

via NB Press Online

All Of Those Voices Premiere: Tokyo. (13 March 2023)

[astromeena]

Transit of Mars in Gemini from March 13 to May 9, 2023 – Beneficiaries

[blanked007]

مساء الخير

ابويا كان دايماً يقولي اللي ماتحتاجيش وشه انهاردة بكرة تحتاجي قفاه :))

[mikeywayarchive]

Instagram story by mikeyway

[Sep 13, 2024]

[rabbitcruiser]

The Day of Cantabria

The Day of Cantabria is an important holiday for the locals which is celebrated yearly on the second Sunday in August. This year it falls on August 13. This historic community is located in Northern Spain with a population of 580, 229. Its name comes from the Celtic word for ‘highlanders,’ referring to its mountainous terrain. Cantabria is home to many beautiful national parks and museums that display its rich and ancient history. Cantabria’s beautiful architecture is a mixture of arabesque, gothic, and renaissance, making it a great tourist destination for those who appreciate history. The locals celebrate this holiday to appreciate the rich history and culture of Cantabria.

History of The Day of Cantabria

Cantabria is an autonomous community in northern Spain. Though the borders of this region changed throughout the years and had long been occupied by neighboring countries, its people have been around for centuries. This region has archeological sites that go back to the Lower and Upper Paleolithic period. The Cave of Altamira is one of the most significant finds, with cave paintings that date back to about 37,000 B.C. Cantabria is part of Green Spain and enjoys luscious forests, breathtaking scenery, and marvelous architecture.

During the Roman conquest of Hispania, Rome fought against Cantabria and Asturias from 29 to 19 B.C., eventually conquering the regions. The Cantabrians saw death in every battle as a victory and preferred committing suicide rather than becoming slaves. Cantabria remained part of the Roman Empire until it fell in 476 A.D. when it regained independence. It was later invaded by Muslim Moors in 714. Cantabria attempted to unify during the 18th century but struggled due to a lack of resources.

The Day of Cantabria was first celebrated in 1967 as The Day of the Mountains.  Its name was later changed to “The Day of Cantabria” in 1981 when Cantabria gained independence. In 1981, the Statute of Autonomy of Cantabria allowed it to become a self-governed, autonomous community, giving it its own flag, coat of arms, and anthem. Cantabrians proudly celebrate this day through sporting events, parades, festivals, and traditional dance and music. Cantabrians all overexpress their appreciation for their history and culture, sharing it with others.

The Day of Cantabria timeline

37,000 B.C.First Cantabrians

The first recorded human evidence in this region.

195 B.C.Cantabria

The first references to Cantabria were documented by historians.

29 to 19 B.C.Cantabria Wars

Rome fights against Cantabria and Asturias.

19 B.C.Occupation

The Romans take over Cantabria.

476 A.D.Fall of the Roman Empire

The Roman Empire collapses.

1967The Day of the Mountains

Cantabria begins celebrating this holiday to appreciate the history and culture of Cantabria

1981Independence

Cantabria became an independent, autonomous community. The name of the holiday was changed to Day of Cantabria.

The Day of Cantabria FAQs

What is the capital of Cantabria?

The capital of Cantabria is Santander.

What is Cantabria known for?

Cantabria is known for its stunning nature, beautiful architecture, and rich history, such as ancient castles and caves with prehistoric paintings.

What language do they speak in Cantabria?

The official language in Cantabria is Spanish.

The Day of Cantabria Activities

Visit Cantabria

Host your own Cantabrian fiesta!

Read up on its history

Make Cantabria your next tourist destination and visit its many historical sites. If you happen to be around during the Day of Cantabria, join in on the many cultural festivities and performances.

You don’t have to go to Spain to celebrate this holiday. Host your own party with traditional food and music.

Spain has a long and rich history and Cantabria alone has so much to offer. Read up on the history and research some of its beautiful historical sites.

5 Interesting Facts About Spain

Spain has the world’s oldest restaurant

Spain had the first national anthem

Nudity is legal in most cities

It’s named after rabbits

It has a well-preserved heritage

The first restaurant ever, Sobrino de Bostín, in Madrid first opens.

Spain was the first country to officially declare a national anthem.

Most cities in Spain have no laws against nudity.

At around 300 B.C. Spain was called ‘Ispania’ meaning ‘land of rabbits’ due to the abundance of the woodland animal at the time.

Spain has 47 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, with only Italy and China exceeding it.

Why We Love The Day of Cantabria

It has a unique culture

It has a rich cuisine

It reminds us to preserve its culture

Cantabria is a very special place for those who enjoy the beautiful scenery and historical sites. By visiting Cantabria, you’ll enjoy its astonishing architecture and the many museums that replicate the awe-inspiring cave paintings that date back centuries.

Whether you want to visit the region or experience it from home, Cantabrians have many interesting foods, including many delicious deserts, like Quesada, or seafood dishes like bonito del Norte.

This holiday reminds us of all the beauty Cantabria has to offer and all the history that goes back to the stone age. It’s crucial to preserve all that history.

Source

[msbarrows]

Mar 12 - yeah nothing much today, again. Did fish and chips and some steamed veg with garlic butter for supper.

Mar 13 - made homemade hamburger buns, yay for the dough setting on the breadmaker (does mixing and first rising and then turns off). Supper was chili and rice.

[violottie]

Read it again. Read it again. Read. It. Again.

Understand the gravity of this. This is genocide.

from Al Jazeera English, 13/Mar/2024:

“This war is a war on children. It is a war on their childhood and their future,” the head of the #UN’s Palestinian refugee agency #UNRWA Philppe Lazzarini wrote.⁠

"Over 12,300 children were killed in Gaza between October 2023 and February 2024, the data shows, compared to 12,193 children killed in global conflict from 2019 to 202, Lazzarini has shared this data on X." ⁠

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Your car spies on you and rats you out to insurance companies

I'm on tour with my new, nationally bestselling novel The Bezzle! Catch me TOMORROW (Mar 13) in SAN FRANCISCO with ROBIN SLOAN, then Toronto, NYC, Anaheim, and more!

Another characteristically brilliant Kashmir Hill story for The New York Times reveals another characteristically terrible fact about modern life: your car secretly records fine-grained telemetry about your driving and sells it to data-brokers, who sell it to insurers, who use it as a pretext to gouge you on premiums:

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/11/technology/carmakers-driver-tracking-insurance.html

Almost every car manufacturer does this: Hyundai, Nissan, Ford, Chrysler, etc etc:

https://www.repairerdrivennews.com/2020/09/09/ford-state-farm-ford-metromile-honda-verisk-among-insurer-oem-telematics-connections/

This is true whether you own or lease the car, and it's separate from the "black box" your insurer might have offered to you in exchange for a discount on your premiums. In other words, even if you say no to the insurer's carrot – a surveillance-based discount – they've got a stick in reserve: buying your nonconsensually harvested data on the open market.

I've always hated that saying, "If you're not paying for the product, you're the product," the reason being that it posits decent treatment as a customer reward program, like the little ramekin warm nuts first class passengers get before takeoff. Companies don't treat you well when you pay them. Companies treat you well when they fear the consequences of treating you badly.

Take Apple. The company offers Ios users a one-tap opt-out from commercial surveillance, and more than 96% of users opted out. Presumably, the other 4% were either confused or on Facebook's payroll. Apple – and its army of cultists – insist that this proves that our world's woes can be traced to cheapskate "consumers" who expected to get something for nothing by using advertising-supported products.

But here's the kicker: right after Apple blocked all its rivals from spying on its customers, it began secretly spying on those customers! Apple has a rival surveillance ad network, and even if you opt out of commercial surveillance on your Iphone, Apple still secretly spies on you and uses the data to target you for ads:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/11/14/luxury-surveillance/#liar-liar

Even if you're paying for the product, you're still the product – provided the company can get away with treating you as the product. Apple can absolutely get away with treating you as the product, because it lacks the historical constraints that prevented Apple – and other companies – from treating you as the product.

As I described in my McLuhan lecture on enshittification, tech firms can be constrained by four forces:

I. Competition

II. Regulation

III. Self-help

IV. Labor

https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/30/go-nuts-meine-kerle/#ich-bin-ein-bratapfel

When companies have real competitors – when a sector is composed of dozens or hundreds of roughly evenly matched firms – they have to worry that a maltreated customer might move to a rival. 40 years of antitrust neglect means that corporations were able to buy their way to dominance with predatory mergers and pricing, producing today's inbred, Habsburg capitalism. Apple and Google are a mobile duopoly, Google is a search monopoly, etc. It's not just tech! Every sector looks like this:

https://www.openmarketsinstitute.org/learn/monopoly-by-the-numbers

Eliminating competition doesn't just deprive customers of alternatives, it also empowers corporations. Liberated from "wasteful competition," companies in concentrated industries can extract massive profits. Think of how both Apple and Google have "competitively" arrived at the same 30% app tax on app sales and transactions, a rate that's more than 1,000% higher than the transaction fees extracted by the (bloated, price-gouging) credit-card sector:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/06/07/curatorial-vig/#app-tax

But cartels' power goes beyond the size of their warchest. The real source of a cartel's power is the ease with which a small number of companies can arrive at – and stick to – a common lobbying position. That's where "regulatory capture" comes in: the mobile duopoly has an easier time of capturing its regulators because two companies have an easy time agreeing on how to spend their app-tax billions:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/06/05/regulatory-capture/

Apple – and Google, and Facebook, and your car company – can violate your privacy because they aren't constrained regulation, just as Uber can violate its drivers' labor rights and Amazon can violate your consumer rights. The tech cartels have captured their regulators and convinced them that the law doesn't apply if it's being broken via an app:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/18/cursed-are-the-sausagemakers/#how-the-parties-get-to-yes

In other words, Apple can spy on you because it's allowed to spy on you. America's last consumer privacy law was passed in 1988, and it bans video-store clerks from leaking your VHS rental history. Congress has taken no action on consumer privacy since the Reagan years:

https://www.eff.org/tags/video-privacy-protection-act

But tech has some special enshittification-resistant characteristics. The most important of these is interoperability: the fact that computers are universal digital machines that can run any program. HP can design a printer that rejects third-party ink and charge $10,000/gallon for its own colored water, but someone else can write a program that lets you jailbreak your printer so that it accepts any ink cartridge:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2020/11/ink-stained-wretches-battle-soul-digital-freedom-taking-place-inside-your-printer

Tech companies that contemplated enshittifying their products always had to watch over their shoulders for a rival that might offer a disenshittification tool and use that as a wedge between the company and its customers. If you make your website's ads 20% more obnoxious in anticipation of a 2% increase in gross margins, you have to consider the possibility that 40% of your users will google "how do I block ads?" Because the revenue from a user who blocks ads doesn't stay at 100% of the current levels – it drops to zero, forever (no user ever googles "how do I stop blocking ads?").

The majority of web users are running an ad-blocker:

https://doc.searls.com/2023/11/11/how-is-the-worlds-biggest-boycott-doing/

Web operators made them an offer ("free website in exchange for unlimited surveillance and unfettered intrusions") and they made a counteroffer ("how about 'nah'?"):

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2019/07/adblocking-how-about-nah

Here's the thing: reverse-engineering an app – or any other IP-encumbered technology – is a legal minefield. Just decompiling an app exposes you to felony prosecution: a five year sentence and a $500k fine for violating Section 1201 of the DMCA. But it's not just the DMCA – modern products are surrounded with high-tech tripwires that allow companies to invoke IP law to prevent competitors from augmenting, recongifuring or adapting their products. When a business says it has "IP," it means that it has arranged its legal affairs to allow it to invoke the power of the state to control its customers, critics and competitors:

https://locusmag.com/2020/09/cory-doctorow-ip/

An "app" is just a web-page skinned in enough IP to make it a crime to add an ad-blocker to it. This is what Jay Freeman calls "felony contempt of business model" and it's everywhere. When companies don't have to worry about users deploying self-help measures to disenshittify their products, they are freed from the constraint that prevents them indulging the impulse to shift value from their customers to themselves.

Apple owes its existence to interoperability – its ability to clone Microsoft Office's file formats for Pages, Numbers and Keynote, which saved the company in the early 2000s – and ever since, it has devoted its existence to making sure no one ever does to Apple what Apple did to Microsoft:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2019/06/adversarial-interoperability-reviving-elegant-weapon-more-civilized-age-slay

Regulatory capture cuts both ways: it's not just about powerful corporations being free to flout the law, it's also about their ability to enlist the law to punish competitors that might constrain their plans for exploiting their workers, customers, suppliers or other stakeholders.

The final historical constraint on tech companies was their own workers. Tech has very low union-density, but that's in part because individual tech workers enjoyed so much bargaining power due to their scarcity. This is why their bosses pampered them with whimsical campuses filled with gourmet cafeterias, fancy gyms and free massages: it allowed tech companies to convince tech workers to work like government mules by flattering them that they were partners on a mission to bring the world to its digital future:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/10/the-proletarianization-of-tech-workers/

For tech bosses, this gambit worked well, but failed badly. On the one hand, they were able to get otherwise powerful workers to consent to being "extremely hardcore" by invoking Fobazi Ettarh's spirit of "vocational awe":

https://www.inthelibrarywiththeleadpipe.org/2018/vocational-awe/

On the other hand, when you motivate your workers by appealing to their sense of mission, the downside is that they feel a sense of mission. That means that when you demand that a tech worker enshittifies something they missed their mother's funeral to deliver, they will experience a profound sense of moral injury and refuse, and that worker's bargaining power means that they can make it stick.

Or at least, it did. In this era of mass tech layoffs, when Google can fire 12,000 workers after a $80b stock buyback that would have paid their wages for the next 27 years, tech workers are learning that the answer to "I won't do this and you can't make me" is "don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out" (AKA "sharpen your blades boys"):

https://techcrunch.com/2022/09/29/elon-musk-texts-discovery-twitter/

With competition, regulation, self-help and labor cleared away, tech firms – and firms that have wrapped their products around the pluripotently malleable core of digital tech, including automotive makers – are no longer constrained from enshittifying their products.

And that's why your car manufacturer has chosen to spy on you and sell your private information to data-brokers and anyone else who wants it. Not because you didn't pay for the product, so you're the product. It's because they can get away with it.

Cars are enshittified. The dozens of chips that auto makers have shoveled into their car design are only incidentally related to delivering a better product. The primary use for those chips is autoenshittification – access to legal strictures ("IP") that allows them to block modifications and repairs that would interfere with the unfettered abuse of their own customers:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/07/24/rent-to-pwn/#kitt-is-a-demon

The fact that it's a felony to reverse-engineer and modify a car's software opens the floodgates to all kinds of shitty scams. Remember when Bay Staters were voting on a ballot measure to impose right-to-repair obligations on automakers in Massachusetts? The only reason they needed to have the law intervene to make right-to-repair viable is that Big Car has figured out that if it encrypts its diagnostic messages, it can felonize third-party diagnosis of a car, because decrypting the messages violates the DMCA:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2013/11/drm-cars-will-drive-consumers-crazy

Big Car figured out that VIN locking – DRM for engine components and subassemblies – can felonize the production and the installation of third-party spare parts:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/05/08/about-those-kill-switched-ukrainian-tractors/

The fact that you can't legally modify your car means that automakers can go back to their pre-2008 ways, when they transformed themselves into unregulated banks that incidentally manufactured the cars they sold subprime loans for. Subprime auto loans – over $1t worth! – absolutely relies on the fact that borrowers' cars can be remotely controlled by lenders. Miss a payment and your car's stereo turns itself on and blares threatening messages at top volume, which you can't turn off. Break the lease agreement that says you won't drive your car over the county line and it will immobilize itself. Try to change any of this software and you'll commit a felony under Section 1201 of the DMCA:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/04/02/innovation-unlocks-markets/#digital-arm-breakers

Tesla, naturally, has the most advanced anti-features. Long before BMW tried to rent you your seat-heater and Mercedes tried to sell you a monthly subscription to your accelerator pedal, Teslas were demon-haunted nightmare cars. Miss a Tesla payment and the car will immobilize itself and lock you out until the repo man arrives, then it will blare its horn and back itself out of its parking spot. If you "buy" the right to fully charge your car's battery or use the features it came with, you don't own them – they're repossessed when your car changes hands, meaning you get less money on the used market because your car's next owner has to buy these features all over again:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/07/28/edison-not-tesla/#demon-haunted-world

And all this DRM allows your car maker to install spyware that you're not allowed to remove. They really tipped their hand on this when the R2R ballot measure was steaming towards an 80% victory, with wall-to-wall scare ads that revealed that your car collects so much information about you that allowing third parties to access it could lead to your murder (no, really!):

https://pluralistic.net/2020/09/03/rip-david-graeber/#rolling-surveillance-platforms

That's why your car spies on you. Because it can. Because the company that made it lacks constraint, be it market-based, legal, technological or its own workforce's ethics.

One common critique of my enshittification hypothesis is that this is "kind of sensible and normal" because "there’s something off in the consumer mindset that we’ve come to believe that the internet should provide us with amazing products, which bring us joy and happiness and we spend hours of the day on, and should ask nothing back in return":

https://freakonomics.com/podcast/how-to-have-great-conversations/

What this criticism misses is that this isn't the companies bargaining to shift some value from us to them. Enshittification happens when a company can seize all that value, without having to bargain, exploiting law and technology and market power over buyers and sellers to unilaterally alter the way the products and services we rely on work.

A company that doesn't have to fear competitors, regulators, jailbreaking or workers' refusal to enshittify its products doesn't have to bargain, it can take. It's the first lesson they teach you in the Darth Vader MBA: "I am altering the deal. Pray I don't alter it any further":

https://pluralistic.net/2023/10/26/hit-with-a-brick/#graceful-failure

Your car spying on you isn't down to your belief that your carmaker "should provide you with amazing products, which brings your joy and happiness you spend hours of the day on, and should ask nothing back in return." It's not because you didn't pay for the product, so now you're the product. It's because they can get away with it.

The consequences of this spying go much further than mere insurance premium hikes, too. Car telemetry sits at the top of the funnel that the unbelievably sleazy data broker industry uses to collect and sell our data. These are the same companies that sell the fact that you visited an abortion clinic to marketers, bounty hunters, advertisers, or vengeful family members pretending to be one of those:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/05/07/safegraph-spies-and-lies/#theres-no-i-in-uterus

Decades of pro-monopoly policy led to widespread regulatory capture. Corporate cartels use the monopoly profits they extract from us to pay for regulatory inaction, allowing them to extract more profits.

But when it comes to privacy, that period of unchecked corporate power might be coming to an end. The lack of privacy regulation is at the root of so many problems that a pro-privacy movement has an unstoppable constituency working in its favor.

At EFF, we call this "privacy first." Whether you're worried about grifters targeting vulnerable people with conspiracy theories, or teens being targeted with media that harms their mental health, or Americans being spied on by foreign governments, or cops using commercial surveillance data to round up protesters, or your car selling your data to insurance companies, passing that long-overdue privacy legislation would turn off the taps for the data powering all these harms:

https://www.eff.org/wp/privacy-first-better-way-address-online-harms

Traditional economics fails because it thinks about markets without thinking about power. Monopolies lead to more than market power: they produce regulatory capture, power over workers, and state capture, which felonizes competition through IP law. The story that our problems stem from the fact that we just don't spend enough money, or buy the wrong products, only makes sense if you willfully ignore the power that corporations exert over our lives. It's nice to think that you can shop your way out of a monopoly, because that's a lot easier than voting your way out of a monopoly, but no matter how many times you vote with your wallet, the cartels that control the market will always win:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/03/05/the-map-is-not-the-territory/#apor-locksmith

Name your price for 18 of my DRM-free ebooks and support the Electronic Frontier Foundation with the Humble Cory Doctorow Bundle.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/03/12/market-failure/#car-wars

Image: Cryteria (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:HAL9000.svg

CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en

[doyoulikethissong-poll]

Pixies - Where Is My Mind? 1988

"Where Is My Mind?" is a song by the American alternative rockband Pixies from their 1988 debut album Surfer Rosa. It is one of the band's signature songs and has inspired a multitude of covers.

The song was written by frontman Black Francis while he attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, inspired by his experiences while scuba diving in the Caribbean. Guitarist Joey Santiago composed the song's guitar line. He recalled of his part, "This was actually the first thing I tried. A lazy arpeggio that instantly sounded strong and hooky."

After being featured in the 1999 film Fight Club, in which the song plays over the final scene, the song gained an even wider audience. It's been used in a multitude of movies and tv series, including Sucker Punch, Criminal Minds, The Tick, and The Leftovers. The 2009 film Mr. Nobody (one of my personal favourites) also featured the song. Maxence Cyrin's cover of the song has been featured on Mr. Robot and It's Kind of a Funny Story.

On April 13, 2004, NASA used "Where Is My Mind?" to wake up the team working on the Mars rover, Spirit, in honor of its software transplant.

In 2023, it was revealed that Francis' remark of the word "stop" at the beginning of the song triggered certain Google phones to switch off their alarms.

"Where Is My Mind?" received a total of 80,5% yes votes!

[gendercensus]

Following on from the success of the Pronoun Joust (Pronoust), welcome to the equally well-named

NONBINARY NAME-OFF

Me and @averixus chose the pairs in the first round using a random number generator on the top 32 names from a survey I ran earlier in 2023.

Round 1

Poll 1: Ren vs. Elliot

Poll 2: Aster vs. Rowan

Poll 3: Jay vs. Ash

Poll 4: Casey vs. Mars

Poll 5: Max vs. Quinn

Poll 6: Bee vs. Kit

Poll 7: Oliver vs. Leo

Poll 8: Jamie vs. Blue

Poll 9: Lee vs. Eli

Poll 10: Sam vs. Robin

Poll 11: Ray vs. Jasper

Poll 12: Jack vs. Theo

Poll 13: James vs. Alex

Poll 14: Wren vs. Kai

Poll 15: Charlie vs. Finn

Poll 16: Crow vs. Moss

Round 2

Poll 1: Ren vs. Rowan

Poll 2: Ash vs. Mars

Poll 3: Quinn vs. Kit

Poll 4: Oliver vs. Blue

Poll 5: Eli vs. Robin

Poll 6: Jasper vs. Theo

Poll 7: Alex vs. Wren

Poll 8: Finn vs. Crow

Round 3

Poll 1: Rowan vs. Ash

Poll 2: Quinn vs. Blue

Poll 3: Robin vs. Jasper

Poll 4: Wren vs. Crow

Semi-final

Poll 1: Rowan vs. Quinn

Poll 2: Robin vs. Wren

Final

Rowan vs. Wren

WINNER: Rowan