Today's threads (a thread)
Inside: 'We buy ugly houses' is code for 'we steal vulnerable peoples' homes'; and more!
Archived at: https://pluralistic.net/2023/05/11/ugly-houses-ugly-truth/
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Today's threads (a thread)
Inside: 'We buy ugly houses' is code for 'we steal vulnerable peoples' homes'; and more!
Archived at: https://pluralistic.net/2023/05/11/ugly-houses-ugly-truth/
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Tonight (May 11) at 7PM, I'm in #CALGARY for #Wordfest with my novel *Red Team Blues*; I'll be hosted by Peter Hemminger at the Memorial Park Library, 2nd Floor.
https://wordfest.com/2023/event/wordfest-presents-cory-doctorow/
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'We buy ugly houses' is code for 'we steal vulnerable peoples' homes': The pervasive, predatory sleaze of Homevestor, "the #1 homebuyer in the USA."
https://mamot.fr/@pluralistic/110351764184671842
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Attached: 1 image Home ownership is the American dream: not only do you get a place to live, free from the high-handed dictates of a landlord, but you also get an asset that appreciates, building intergenerational wealth while you sleep - literally. -- If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this thread to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog: https://pluralistic.net/2023/05/11/ugly-houses-ugly-truth/#homevestor 1/
Hey look at this
* Andreessen Horowitz's State of #Crypto report: Narrative over numbers https://newsletter.mollywhite.net/p/andreessen-horowitzs-state-of-crypto
* The #McMansion as Harbinger of the American Apocalypse https://thebaffler.com/outbursts/bad-manors-wagner
* Goodbye, #Dooce https://waxy.org/2023/05/goodbye-dooce/
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#20yrsago Lying, plagiarising #NYT writer outed, ousted https://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/11/national/times-reporter-who-resigned-leaves-long-trail-of-deception.html
#20yrsago #COGECO’s Terms of Service: Assholes or idiots? https://memex.craphound.com/2003/05/11/cogecos-terms-of-service-assholes-or-idiots/
#10yrsago My Re:publica talk: “It’s not a fax machine connected to a waffle iron” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWqx_1tDyqE
#10yrsago What makes a project remixable? https://mako.cc/academic/hill_monroy-remixing_dilemma-DRAFT.pdf
#10yrsago Bike lanes led to 49% increase in retail sales https://web.archive.org/web/20130315222708/https://www.americabikes.org/nyc_study_finds_protected_bicycle_lanes_boost_local_business
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#5yrsago FanFlick Editor: an entry in @eff’s Catalog of Missing Devices https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2018/05/fanflick-editor-entry-catalog-missing-devices-eff-supporter
#5yrsago Here are the official lyrics to the #MrSoftee jingle https://www.thedailymeal.com/eat/mister-softee-jingle-has-lyrics-who-knew
#5yrsago Bite-Sized #Linux: a zine collecting awesome *nix tutorial webtoons https://wizardzines.gumroad.com/l/ltywT
#5yrsago West Virginia Senator laughed at the idea that hating on teachers would bite him in the ass – then he lost his job https://theintercept.com/2018/05/11/west-virginia-primary-teacher-strikes/
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You wonderful EFF supporters keep on coming up with great new entries to our Catalog of Missing Devices, which lists fictional devices that should exist, but don't, because to achieve their legal, legitimate goals, the manufacturer would have to break some Digital Rights Management and risk...
#5yrsago Pentagon sucks up to Trump by censoring mentions of #ClimateChange in its global risks assessment https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2018/05/10/pentagon-revised-obama-era-report-to-remove-risks-from-climate-change/
#5yrsago Teens are cyberbullying themselves as a form of self-harm https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/04/21/604073315/when-teens-cyberbully-themselves
#5yrsago Indigenous Canadians sue the Canadian government over decades of secret, involuntary, inhumane medical experiments https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/may/11/canada-indigenous-people-medical-experiments-lawsuit
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#5yrsago Individual FBI agents can be sued for blackmailing potential informants with no-fly list threats https://www.techdirt.com/2018/05/11/court-fbi-agents-can-be-held-accountable-tossing-immigrants-no-fly-list-because-they-refused-to-be-informants/
#1yrago The (billionaires') case against billionaires https://pluralistic.net/2022/05/11/a-dent-in-the-universe/#eminently-guillotineable
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Yesterday's threads: Two principles to protect internet users from decaying platforms; and more!
https://mamot.fr/@pluralistic/110344399670609641
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Attached: 1 image Today's threads (a thread) Inside: Two principles to protect internet users from decaying platforms; and more! Archived at: https://pluralistic.net/2023/05/10/soft-landings/ #Pluralistic 1/
My latest book is Red Team Blues, available wherever books are sold!
Signed copies at Dark Delicacies:
--
My latest nonfiction book is Chokepoint Capitalism (with Rebecca Giblin), nonfiction about monopoly and fairness in creative labor markets.
https://chokepointcapitalism.com
Signed copies available from Book Soup:
https://www.booksoup.com/book/9780807007068
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My ebooks and audiobooks (from Tor Books, Head of Zeus, McSweeneys, Beacon and others) are for sale all over the net, but I sell 'em too, and when you buy 'em from me, I earn twice as much and you get books with no DRM and no license "agreements."
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Upcoming appearances:
* Wordfest (#Calgary), May 11
https://wordfest.com/2023/event/wordfest-presents-cory-doctorow/
* #Gaithersburg Book Festival, May 20
https://www.gaithersburgbookfestival.org/featured_author/cory-doctorow/
* Public Knowledge Emerging Tech keynote (#DC), May 22
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/emerging-tech-tickets-600582126307
* WEPFest with Ron Diebert, Dave Bidini and Nancy Olivieri (#Toronto), May 23
https://www.westendphoenix.com/shop/wepfest-spring-fundraiser
* #HowTheLightGetsIn (Hay), May 28
https://howthelightgetsin.org/events/the-ai-enigma-12147
* #HowTheLightGetsIn (Hay), May 29
https://howthelightgetsin.org/events/the-danger-and-desire-of-the-frontier-12246
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Upcoming appearances (cont'd):
* Red Team Blues event with @TimHarford (#Oxford), May 29
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/cory-doctorow-red-team-blues-with-tim-harford-tickets-574673793787
* Red Team Blues event with Christian Riley (#Nottingham), May 30
https://www.waterstones.com/events/an-evening-with-cory-doctorow/nottingham
* Red Team Blues event with @cubicgarden (#Manchester), May 31
https://www.waterstones.com/events/in-conversation-with-cory-doctorow/manchester-deansgate
* UCL Peter Kirstein Lecture, Jun 1 (#London):
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/peter-kirstein-lecture-2023-featuring-cory-doctorow-registration-539205788027
* #Cymera23 Festival, Jun 3 (#Edinburgh)
https://www.cymerafestival.co.uk/cymera23-events/2023/4/4/connection-interrupted-with-nina-allan-cory-doctorow-and-ian-mcdonald
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Upcoming appearances (cont'd):
* Red Team Blues with #MarthaLaneFox at the #BritishLibrary, Jun 5 (#London):
https://www.bl.uk/events/an-evening-with-cory-doctorow-techno-thriller
* Re:publica keynote, Jun 7 (#Berlin)
https://re-publica.com/de/news/rp23-keynote-von-cory-doctorow-rebecca-giblin-kreative-arbeitsmaerkte-und-monopole
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Recent appearances:
* Slurry With The Turd On Top (Jordan, Jesse, Go!)
https://maximumfun.org/episodes/jordan-jesse-go/slurry-with-the-turd-on-top-with-cory-doctorow/
* The Mark Thompson Show
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zs_eK8IC-5M
* Enshittification Part 1: Why Every Platform Goes Bad (On the Media)
https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/enshittification-part-1-where-did-it-all-go-wrong-on-the-media
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You can also follow these posts as a daily blog at pluralistic.net: no ads, trackers, or data-collection!
Here's today's edition: https://pluralistic.net/2023/05/11/ugly-houses-ugly-truth/
--
If you're a @medium subscriber, you can read these essays - as well as previews of upcoming magazine columns and early exclusives on doctorow.medium.com.
My latest Medium column is "Don’t Curb Your Enthusiasm: Marcus Yallow + 50 Years = Marty Hench?"
https://doctorow.medium.com/dont-curb-your-enthusiasm-6696d7707f45
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