What I've Been Reading, November 2021

Links

• Bypass paywalls on popular online publications for free, by 7 Labs.
  There is a lot of important information out there that is behind paywalls, many requiring expensive subscription to overcome.

Above the Fold

• David Graeber: A Celebration of His Life, hosted by Ash Sarkar, Novar Media
  "David Graeber’s life and work leaves an indelible mark on thinkers and activists from London through New York, from Rojava to Quebec. To celebrate his life and work Novara Media are hosting a live stream with academics, activists, and politicians who have been influenced by, and who were an influence on, his intellectual endeavours and activist pursuits."
• Rogue State Run By Billionaires Biggest Threat to the Human Race, by Glen Hendrix, Medium--Politically Speaking
  "The rest of the world is becoming aware, and that will have consequences"
  And just in case it isn't obvious, that rouge state is the U.S. of A.
• The Considerations Needed to Change Our World, by Tessa Schlesinger, Medium
  "We are so out of time. Why is no one speaking about designing new political and economic systems?"
• ‘The Dawn of Everything’ rewrites 40,000 years of human history, by Bruce Bower, Science News
  "A new book recasts social evolution as surprisingly varied"
  Just finished reading this. I am very nimpressed.

Miscellaneous

• What They Don’t Tell You Before Moving To Scandinavia, by Sandra Michelle, Medium
  "Reporting from Stockholm, truly shocked."
• How Elite Hobbies Let Billionaires Pay No Tax, by Cory Doctorow, Medium-- Gen
  
• Sure Looks Like Donald Trump Is Gonna Lose the Lightbulb War, by Oliver Milman, Mother Jones
  

Supply Chain Trouble/Economic Collapse

• I’m A Twenty Year Truck Driver, I Will Tell You Why America’s “Shipping Crisis” Will Not End, by Ryan Johnson, Medium
  This fellow actually knows what he is talking about, and it isn't good news. Just one more problem that can't be solved by capitalism.
• Why Food Shortages Will Hit America Hard, by Shelly Fagan, Medium
  "Consumers don’t understand how food gets to their table"
• Everywhere You Look, the Global Supply Chain Is a Mess, by Sean McLain in Tokyo, Christopher M. Matthews in Houston and Costas Paris in New York,
  "Winter storms and crammed ports in the U.S. add to disruptions of production and supplies during the pandemic"
• After Supply Chain Capitalism, by Ingrid Burrington, Medium--Point, Data & Society
  The insistence that dignity and life aren’t as essential as efficiency and market performance needs to be undermined with a social safety net that protects all people, including and especially workers most at risk, whether faced with a pandemic or simply faced with run-of-the-mill cruelties of capitalism.
• It’s Not a Supply Chain Crisis — It’s a Failing Economy, by Umair Haque, Medium--Eudaimonia
  "The Age of Consumption is Over — And Now We’re Heading for the Greatest Collapse in Economic History"
  Always good to have a dissenting voice, and we can count on Umair Haque for that. And most of what he's saying is spot on.

Coronavirus

• Why are mRNA COVID-19 vaccines so controversial? by Chris O'Leary,
  "These vaccines are safe, and they are effective. Stop listening to people who would celebrate your death."
• What are some of the long-term effects of the COVID 19 vaccine that people should know before taking it? by Dr Jo, Quora
• How do 'vaccine passports' violate rights outlined in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms? answered by Gareth Jones, Quora
  
• How can the vaccines be working when some people like Andrew Marr who have had both vaccines still get badly infected with covid-19? by C Stuart Hardwick, Quora
  
• How likely will there be annual coronavirus shots for the U.S.? by Dr Jo "Just another physician", Quora
• Why have producers of the covid-19 vaccines not made it with the traditional method of using deactivated virus which is shown to be very effective against stuff like polio? by Franklin Veaux, Quora
  
• To all the people who have taken the COVID-19 vaccine, how is it going?, by Richard Smedley, Quora
  

Collapse

• America Will Be Twelve Countries Very Soon, by Jared A. Brock, Medium--Surviving Tomorrow
  "It’s inevitable and here’s why"

Responding to Collapse

• Life in a ‘degrowth’ economy, and why you might actually enjoy it, by Samuel Alexander, The Conversation
  "What does genuine economic progress look like? The orthodox answer is that a bigger economy is always better, but this idea is increasingly strained by the knowledge that, on a finite planet, the economy can’t grow for ever."
• I Lived Off the Grid—And I’m Still Broke, by Kevin Maimann, Vice
  "After a couple months of cold mornings dumping buckets of composting shit, I’m as broke as ever."

Genetic Engineering

Before jumping to the erroneous conclusion that this section was paid for by Monsanto, stop for a moment and understand that organic agriculture/food is a multi-billion dollar per year industry that relies on fear to get people to buy its product. Millions of dollars are spent to convince you that non-organic food is dangerous. In fact both conventionally grown and organic

• Panic-free GMOs, A Grist Special Series by Nathanael Johnson
  "It’s easy to get information about genetically modified food. There are the dubious anti-GM horror stories that recirculate through social networks. On the other side, there’s the dismissive sighing, eye-rolling, and hand patting of pro-GM partisans. But if you just want a level-headed assessment of the evidence in plain English, that’s in pretty short supply. Fortunately, you’ve found the trove."
  A series of articles that does a pretty good job of presenting the facts about GMOs. I plan to include one article from this series here each month.
• Playing the field: Corn likes to sleep around — and that makes it hard to control GMOs, by Nathanael Johnson, Grist
  "Pollen spreads, so GMO genes get around. That's everyone's problem -- whether you like your farming organic or industrial."

Practical Skills

• 12 Tips For Making Flatter Panel Glue Ups, by Adam, The Power Tool Webiste
  

Canadian Politics

• Does Erin O’Toole’s popularity as shown in the 2021 Canadian federal election pose a warning sign of a Trump-like Prime Minister in Canada in the future given he possesses many of the same traits as Trump? by Kathy O, Quora
  Some interesting stuff in the comments section, worth having a look at. All I would add is that while O'Toole seems to be smart enough to realize you can't win a Canadian election with Republican policies, many of the members of his party don't agree. A slim majority voted "no" when asked if climate change is real. So I suspect it's only a matter of time before O'Toole is replaced by someone whose politics are farther right, albeit less realistic.

Linguistics

• I Asked Seven Classics Experts How to Say “Omicron.” Come Down the Rabbit Hole With Me, by James West, Mother Jones
  And this guy doesn't mention the way I pronounce omicron: oh-mycron.

Dancing on Graves

A different sort of grave dance today, since the deceased is David Graeber, a man I hold in great esteem.

• David Graeber’s Possible Worlds, by Molly Fischer, Intelligencer
  "The Dawn of Everything author left behind countless fans and a belief society could still change for the better."
  “Since one cannot know a radically better world is not possible, are we not betraying everyone by insisting on continuing to justify and reproduce the mess we have today?”
• David Graeber: A Celebration of His Life, hosted by Ash Sarkar, Novar Media
  "David Graeber’s life and work leaves an indelible mark on thinkers and activists from London through New York, from Rojava to Quebec. To celebrate his life and work Novara Media are hosting a live stream with academics, activists, and politicians who have been influenced by, and who were an influence on, his intellectual endeavours and activist pursuits."

Debunking Resources

These are of such importance that I've decide to leave them here on an ongoing basis.

• Debunking, Wikipedia
• Pseudoscience, Wikipedia
• List of topics characterized as pseudoscience, Wikipedia
• Rational Wiki
• Science Based Medecine
• Quackwatch
• Snopes, debunks or validates urban legends
• Bad Astronomy
• The Skeptics Society
• The 8 Best Fact-Checking Sites for Finding Unbiased Truth, by Megan Ellis, MUO--Make Use Of
• Pain Science, by Paul Ingraham
• Techniques of Science Denial

Science

• In Jupiter's swirling Great Red Spot, NASA spacecraft finds hidden depths, by Brendan Byrne, NPR
  

Lacking an Owner's Manual

The human body/mind/spirit doesn't come with an owner's manual, and we continually struggle to figure out how best to operate them.

• 3 Things No One Ever Told You About Making Friends in Adulthood, by Brett & Kate McKay, Art of Manliness

Humour

These are great times for political satire.

• Former Trump National Security Advisor Warns ‘Deep State’ Putting COVID Vaccine in Salad Dressing, byJohnny Robish, Medium--Rgw Haven
  At least I think this is satire....

Books

Fiction

• Fall; or, Dodge in Hell: A Novel, by Neal Stephenson
• Dune, by Frank Herbert
  I first read this 50 years ago and have re-read it a couple of time since then. Not a bad book, but certainly over rated.

Non-Fiction

• The Dawn of Everything: a new history of humanity, by David Graeber and David Wengrow
  
• What We Don't Talk About Sex and the Mess of Life, by JoAnn Wypijewski