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.

9:01 – Mon 30 November 2020

Secret Amazon Reports Expose the Company’s Surveillance of Labor and Environmental Groups from VICE Motherboard

…attempted to tamp down employee dissent and has previously been caught smearing employees who attempted to organize their colleagues.

Amazon has been ramping up its anti-union work for a while, to the point that (as a preview of next week’s likely links) it’s hiring Pinkertons. This isn’t healthy behavior, and history says that this doesn’t end well for anybody.

12:05 – Mon 30 November 2020

Do not wait for extraordinary circumstances to do good; try to use ordinary situations.

Jean Paul Richter

9:03 – Tue 01 December 2020

How Ric Grenell and Sidney Powell Have Made It Easier to Prosecute Donald Trump for Conspiring with Russia from Empty Wheel

…single-handedly undermined the questioning of a witness to get an outcome he believed in, all the while undermining his previously untainted credibility.

I realize that Russia connections now sound like ancient history—and that a bunch of alleged progressives are afraid to investigate it for fear of finding out that their third-party dreams were manipulated as a part of this—but given how much of the administration’s overt corruption stems from that incident, it’ll be interesting to see how it shakes out as they expose themselves further.

12:01 – Tue 01 December 2020

How vain it is to sit down to write when you have not stood up to live.

Henry David Thoreau

9:05 – Wed 02 December 2020

Meet the Black women behind rock and roll from Futurity

Clayton’s voice—its volume and finesse—are riveting, and her vocals broaden the sonic palette.

It’s been said many times before that the American music industry has largely been built around taking credit from Black people. Normally, this is in the context of music that Black people wrote, but just as important is the vocalists who are ignored in favor of lead singers.

12:04 – Wed 02 December 2020

I managed to flub another quote.

9:04 – Thu 03 December 2020

OAN Is So Dangerous Because It Looks Like a Real News Channel from VICE Motherboard

While OAN may not be brainwashing a massive audience, it is providing plausible-seeming props and set dressing for Trump…

This isn’t a new phenomenon. Since the early days of the (commercial) Internet, people have been spreading right-wing misinformation by sharing links to amateur “news” and “documentary” videos with a destructive agenda, which has continued on through the “intellectual dark web” conservatives sharing their half-truths. What is new is the veneer of credibility that OAN has with its set dressing and the powerful people who find their work politically expedient.

12:03 – Thu 03 December 2020

To accomplish great things we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe.

Anatole France

9:02 – Fri 04 December 2020

Undermining Democracy from Schneier on Security

The real fear is that this will lead to a spiral of distrust and destruction.

Keep in mind that Mitch McConnell has claimed that voting rights laws are a “power grab,” Donald Trump has admitted that Republicans rely on voter suppression to win, and Mike Lee asserted that the United States isn’t a democracy. I’m sure I missed many more examples, but my point is that, while Schneier positions the undermining of faith in democracy as some sort of accident, the reality is that it’s a Republican party goal that most of their representatives have no trouble voicing.

12:02 – Fri 04 December 2020

Different taste in jokes is a great strain on the affections.

George Eliot

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.

Healthy sleepers have far lower heart failure risk from Futurity

They defined sleep duration in three groups: short, or less than 7 hours a day; recommended, or 7 to 8 hours a day; and prolonged, or 9 hours or more a day.

Sleep is, in fact, important. As someone who puts substantial effort into a decent night’s sleep, I’m working on a post of what works for me, in case it’s of use for others.


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