As discussed previously, this is my weekly Twitter roundup. Note that tweets of articles generally include header images from the articles, which are not included here unless they happen to be available under a free license. Most are not. But I now add most of my commentary here, where I’m not restricted by the message length.

diagrams showing the division of the day and of the week

I also don’t generally attach pictures to posts with quotations.

Mon 07 September 2020

Despite my making fun of Labor Day on Monday, I decided to take the day off. I have no shame. Even a dumb holiday is still a holiday…

9:02 – Tue 08 September 2020

Amazon Is Hiring an Intelligence Analyst to Track ‘Labor Organizing Threats’ from VICE Motherboard

“Workers, especially Black workers, have been telling us all for months that Amazon is targeting them for speaking out. This job description is proof that Amazon intends to continue on this course.”

As Amazon captures a larger fraction of the market, expect them to become more brazen in their abuse. For example, their products might be less safe.

12:01 – Tue 08 September 2020

A person reveals his character by nothing so clearly as the joke he resents.

Georg Christoph Lichtenberg

9:04 – Wed 09 September 2020

Youth-led protests in Thailand get support from citizens demanding ‘real democracy’ from Global Voices

She said that the lecturers have been helpful, telling the students that they can give them a call if they need help, but they did not show their support openly.

It’s always worth remembering that more people want to stand on the right side of history than don’t, but many of them are afraid to speak out. The first part of that is heartening, but their invisibility makes them dangerous, making it seem like the actual support is much smaller. Every movement needs a way of bridging that gap.

12:03 – Wed 09 September 2020

Something went wrong with the scheduling, so no quote.

9:05 – Thu 10 September 2020

Generosity makes you seem hotter from Futurity

When it comes to the older adults, volunteering and giving affection were related to higher attractiveness ratings. When it comes to young people, those who volunteered rated higher.

You know, in case you needed a reason to help people other than creating a better world and feeling better about yourself.

12:02 – Thu 10 September 2020

Life may change, but it may fly not;

Hope may vanish, but can die not;

Truth be veiled, but still it burneth;

Love repulsed - but it returneth

Percy Bysshe Shelley

9:03 – Fri 11 September 2020

America’s Biggest Wildcat Strike Gave Postal Workers the Power from VICE Motherboard

On St. Patrick’s Day 1970, the branch voted to go on strike, effectively halting mail delivery in Manhattan…

Yes, strikes carry a risk But they have always been powerful, because companies can’t function without their workers. That’s especially true of an organization like the United States Postal Service that binds the country together.

12:05 – Fri 11 September 2020

Passivity writhes in resistance to the progressive impulse of revolution.

Práxedis Guerrero

Bonus

Because it accidentally became a tradition early on in the life of the blog, here’s a sixth article that didn’t fit into the week, but too weird to not mention.

Political ads don’t really persuade voters from Futurity

They found that, on average and across all variables, the ads moved a candidate’s favorability rating respondents only .05 of a point on the survey’s five-point scale, which is small but statistically significant given the study’s large size, note the researchers. The ads’ effect on whom individuals intended to vote for was smaller still—a statistically insignificant 0.007 of a percentage point.

We’ve seen findings like this before. What we haven’t seen is an analysis of whether those small differences are useful or whether it’s all wasted money. The intuition is that the candidates are wasting money, obviously, and if that’s true, that’s a much easier way to get money out of politics than legislation. It’s also not clear whether this applies to candidates who aren’t already well-known.

Credits: Header image is Circular diagrams showing the division of the day and of the week from a manuscript drafted during the Carolingian Dynasty.