#justin c. key

[khelinski]

Blurred colors swirled overhead. Sounds became distant. Memories became strings of consciousness.

Justin C. Key

[the-final-sentence]

It truly was.

Justin C. Key, from "The Aesthete"

[doormouseetcappendix]

Summer Reading Log 2024 PT 13.

Poor Things (1992) by Alasdair Gray

The Angel Of Indian Lake (2024) by Stephen Graham Jones

Silverfish (2020) by Rone Shavers

Shigidi And The Brass Head Of Obalufon (2023) by Wole Talabi

The Shape Were In (2001) by Jonathan Lethem

Out There Screaming: An Anthology Of New Black Horror (2023) edited by Jordan Peele and written by Erin E. Adams, Violet Allen, Lesley Nneka Arimah, Maurice Broaddus, Chesya Burke, P. Djèlí Clark, Ezra Claytan Daniels, Tananarive Due, Nalo Hopkinson, N. K. Jemisin, Justin C. Key, L. D. Lewis, Nnedi Okorafor, Tochi Onyebuchi, Rebecca Roanhorse, Nicole D. Sconiers, Rion Amilcar Scott, Terence Taylor, and Cadwell Turnbull

The Left Hand Of Darkness (1969) by Ursula K. Le Guin

Dune (1965) by Frank Herbert

Dune Messiah (1969) by Frank Herbert

The Heroes (2011) by Joe Abercrombie

The Coming Of The Old Ones (2019) by Jeffery Thomas

Horror Movie (2024) by Paul Tremblay

[mostlysignssomeportents]

"Efficiency" left the Big Three vulnerable to smart UAW tactics

Tomorrow (September 22), I'm (virtually) presenting at the DIG Festival in Modena, Italy. Tomorrow night, I'll be in person at LA's Book Soup for the launch of Justin C Key's "The World Wasn’t Ready for You." On September 27, I'll be at Chevalier's Books in Los Angeles with Brian Merchant for a joint launch for my new book The Internet Con and his new book, Blood in the Machine.

It's been 143 days since the WGA went on strike against the Hollywood studios. While early tactical leaks from the studios had studio execs chortling and twirling their mustaches about writers caving once they started losing their homes, the strikers aren't wavering – they're still out there, pounding the picket lines, every weekday:

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/08/09/how-hollywood-writers-make-ends-meet-100-days-into-the-writers-guild-strike.html

The studios obviously need writers. That gleeful, anonymous studio exec who got such an obvious erotic charge at the thought of workers being rendered homeless as punishment for challenging his corporate power completely misread the room, and his comments didn't demoralize the writers. Instead, they inspired the actors to go on strike, too.

But how have the writers stayed out since May Day? How have the actors stayed out for 69 days since their strike started on Bastille Day? We can thank the studios for that! As it turns out, the studios have devoted so much energy to rendering creative workers as precarious as possible, hiring as little as they can getting away with and using punishing overtime as a substitute for adequate staffing that they've eliminated all the workers who can't survive on side-hustles and savings for six or seven months at a time.

But even for those layoff-hardened workers, long strikes are brutal, and of course, all the affiliated trades, from costumers to grips, are feeling the pain. The strike fund only goes so far, and non-striking, affected workers don't even get that. That's why I've been donating regularly to the Entertainment Community Fund, which helps all affected workers out with cash transfers (I just gave them another $500):

https://secure2.convio.net/afa/site/Donation2?df_id=8117&8117.donation=form1&mfc_pref=T

As hot labor summer is revealed as a turning point – not just a season – long strikes will become the norm. Bosses still don't believe in worker power, and until they get their minds right, they're going to keep on trying to starve their workforces back inside. To get a sense of how long workers will have to hold out, just consider the Warrior Met strike, where Alabama coal-miners stayed out for 23 months:

https://www.thenation.com/article/activism/warrior-met-strike-union/

As Kim Kelly explained to Adam Conover in the latest Factually podcast, the Alabama coal strikers didn't get anywhere near the attention that the Hollywood strikers have enjoyed:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvyMHf7Yg0Q

(To learn more about the untold story of worker organizing, from prison unions to the key role that people of color and women played in labor history, check out Kelly's book, "Fight Like Hell," now in paperback:)

https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Fight-Like-Hell/Kim-Kelly/9781982171063

Which brings me to the UAW strike. This is an historic strike, the first time that the UAW has struck all of the Big Three automakers at once. Past autoworkers' strikes have marked turning points for all American workers. The 1945/46 GM strike established employers' duty to cover worker pensions, health care, and cost of living allowances. The GM strike created the American middle-class:

https://prospect.org/labor/2023-09-18-uaw-strikes-built-american-middle-class/

The Big Three are fighting for all the marbles here. They are refusing to allow unions to organize EV factories. Given that no more internal combustion cars will be in production in just a few short years, that's tantamount to eliminating auto unions altogether. The automakers are flush with cash, including billions in public subsidies from multiple bailouts, along with billions more from greedflation price-gouging. A long siege is inevitable, as the decimillionaires running these companies earn their pay by starving out their workers:

https://www.businessinsider.com/general-motors-ceo-mary-barra-salary-auto-workers-strike-uaw-2023-9

The UAW knows this, of course, and their new leadership – helmed by the union's radical president Shawn Fain – has a plan. UAW workers are engaged in tactical striking, shutting down key parts of the supply chain on a rolling basis, making the 90-day strike fund stretch much farther:

https://prospect.org/blogs-and-newsletters/tap/2023-09-18-labors-militant-creativity/

In this project, they are greatly aided by Big Car's own relentless pursuit of profit. The automakers – like every monopolized, financialized sector – have stripped all the buffers and slack out of their operations. Inventory on hand is kept to a bare minimum. Inputs are sourced from the cheapest bidder, and they're brought to the factory by the lowest-cost option. Resiliency – spare parts, backup machinery – is forever at war with profits, and profits have won and won and won, leaving auto production in a brittle, and easily shattered state.

This is especially true for staffing. Automakers are violently allergic to hiring workers, because new workers get benefits and workplace protection. Instead, the car companies routinely offer "voluntary" overtime to their existing workforce. By refusing this overtime, workers can kneecap production, without striking.

Enter "Eight and Skate," a campaign among UAW workers to clock out after their eight hour shift. As Keith Brower Brown writes for Labor Notes, the UAW organizers are telling workers that "It’s crossing an unofficial picket line to work overtime. It’s helping out the company":

https://labornotes.org/2023/09/work-extra-during-strike-auto-workers-say-eight-and-skate

Eight and Skate has already started to work; the Buffalo Ford plant can no longer run its normal weekend shifts because workers are refusing to put in voluntary overtime. Of course, bosses will strike back: the next step will be forced overtime, which will lead to the unsafe conditions that unionized workers are contractually obliged to call paid work-stoppages over, shutting down operations without touching the strike fund.

What's more, car bosses can't just halt safety stoppages or change the rules on overtime; per the UAW's last contract, bosses are required to bargain on changes to overtime rules:

https://uaw.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Working-Without-Contract-FAQ-FINAL-2.pdf

Car bosses have become lazily dependent on overtime. At GM's "highly profitable" SUV factory in Arlington, TX, normal production runs a six-days, 24 hours per day. Workers typically work five eight-hour days and nine hours on Saturdays. That's been the status quo for 11 years, but when bosses circulated the usual overtime signup sheet last week, every worker wrote "a big fat NO" next to their names.

Writing for The American Prospect, David Dayen points out that this overtime addiction puts a new complexion on the much-hyped workerpocalypse that EVs will supposedly bring about. EVs are much simpler to build than conventional cars, the argument goes, so a US transition to EVs will throw many autoworkers out of work:

https://prospect.org/labor/2023-09-20-big-threes-labor-shortages-uaw/

But the reality is that most autoworkers are doing one and a half jobs already. Reducing the "workforce" by a third could leave all these workers with their existing jobs, and the 40-hour workweek that their forebears fought for at GM inn 1945/46. Add to that the additional workers needed to make batteries, build and maintain charging infrastructure, and so on, and there's no reason to think that EVs will weaken autoworker power.

And as Dayen points out, this overtime addiction isn't limited to cars. It's also endemic to the entertainment industry, where writers' "mini rooms" and other forms of chronic understaffing are used to keep workforces at a skeleton crew, even when the overtime costs more than hiring new workers.

Bosses call themselves job creators, but they have a relentless drive to destroy jobs. If there's one thing bosses hate, it's paying workers – hence all the hype about AI and automation. The stories about looming AI-driven mass unemployment are fairy tales, but they're tailor made for financiers who get alarming, life-threatening priapism at the though of firing us all and replacing us with shell-scripts:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/03/09/autocomplete-worshippers/#the-real-ai-was-the-corporations-that-we-fought-along-the-way

This is why Republican "workerism" rings so hollow. Trump's GOP talks a big game about protecting "workers" (by which they mean anglo men) from immigrants and "woke captialism," but they have nothing to say about protecting workers from bosses and bankers who see every dime a worker gets as misappropriated from their dividend.

Unsurprisingly, conservative message-discipline sucks. As Luke Savage writes in Jacobin, for every mealymouthed Josh Hawley mouthing talking points that "support workers" by blaming China and Joe Biden for the Big Three's greed, there's a Tim Scott, saying the quiet part aloud:

https://jacobin.com/2023/09/republicans-uaw-strike-hawley-trump-scott/

Quoth Senator Scott: "I think Ronald Reagan gave us a great example when federal employees decided they were going to strike. He said, you strike, you’re fired. Simple concept to me. To the extent that we can use that once again, absolutely":

https://twitter.com/American_Bridge/status/1704136706574741988

The GOP's workerism is a tissue-thin fake. They can never and will never support real worker power. That creates an opportunity for Biden and Democrats to seize:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/18/co-determination/#now-make-me-do-it

Reversing two generations of anti-worker politics is a marathon, not a sprint. The strikes are going to run for months, even years. Every worker will be called upon to support their striking siblings, every day. We can do it. Solidarity now. Solidarity forever.

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/2023/09/21/eight-and-skate/#strike-to-rule

[brokehorrorfan]

Out There Screaming: An Anthology of New Black Horror will be published on October 3 via Random House. It's curated by filmmaker Jordan Peele, who also provides an introduction and serves as editor with John Joseph Adams.

It features short stories by Erin E. Adams, Violet Allen, Lesley Nneka Arimah, Maurice Broaddus, Chesya Burke, P. Djèlí Clark, Ezra Claytan Daniels, Tananarive Due, Nalo Hopkinson, N.K. Jemisin, Justin C. Key, L.D. Lewis, Nnedi Okorafor, Tochi Onyebuchi, Rebecca Roanhorse, Nicole D. Sconiers, Rion Amilcar Scott, Terence Taylor, and Cadwell Turnbull.

The 400-page book will be available in hardcover, e-book, and audio book. The synopsis is below.

The visionary writer and director of Get Out, Us, and Nope, and founder of Monkeypaw Productions, curates this groundbreaking anthology of all-new stories of Black horror, exploring not only the terrors of the supernatural but the chilling reality of injustice that haunts our nation. A cop begins seeing huge, blinking eyes where the headlights of cars should be that tell him who to pull over. Two freedom riders take a bus ride that leaves them stranded on a lonely road in Alabama where several unsettling somethings await them. A young girl dives into the depths of the Earth in search of the demon that killed her parents. These are just a few of the worlds of Out There Screaming, Jordan Peele’s anthology of all-new horror stories by Black writers. Featuring an introduction by Peele and an all-star roster of beloved writers and new voices, Out There Screaming is a master class in horror, and—like his spine-chilling films—its stories prey on everything we think we know about our world... and redefine what it means to be afraid.

Pre-order Out There Screaming.

[battyaboutbooksreviews]

🌈 Queer Books Coming Out in December 2024 🌈

Find these books and more here.

🌈 Good afternoon, my bookish bats! Here are a FEW of the stunning, diverse queer books you can add to your TBR before the year is over. Happy reading!

❓What was the last queer book you read?

[ Release dates may have changed. ]

❤️ Sugar-Coated Kisses - Echo Lark 🧡 Christmas at Watson Memorial - Clara Ann Simons 💛 Warm-Blooded - J Greene 💚 It Takes Three To Tango - Jem Wendel 💙 The Black Curse - N.A. Moore 💜 Heavenly Tyrant - Xiran Jay Zhao ❤️ Encrypted Hearts - E.V. Bancroft 🧡 Dangerous Devotion - Robin Jo Margaret 💛 Sew in Love - Rhea Fox 💙 Saint - Chani Lynn Feener 💜 Her Ladyship's Christmas Companion - Theresa Meiningen 🌈 A Sky of Emerald Stars - A.K. Mulford

❤️ Inked in Blood and Memory - Allison Ivy 🧡 The Key - Jo Morgan Sloan 💛 Home Between Homes - Flynn Woods 💚 A Kiss for the Holidays - C.S. Autumn 💙 Loving the Linebacker - Amaya Knight 💜 Close to Home - Allisa Bahney ❤️ Christmas Shelter - Eva Gonzay & Julia C. Brown 🧡 This Isn't Everything You Are - J. Marie Rundquist 💛 Keep It in the Dark - Justin Arnold 💙 Santa & His Elf - Bink Cummings 💜 On the Subject of Kittens and Mittens - Katie Silverwings 🌈 Winter's Whisper - M Bonneau

❤️ Boyfriends - refrainbow 🧡 Innis Harbor - Patricia Evans 💛 A Complementary Connection - Eskay Kabba 💚 Point of Sighs - Melissa Scott 💙 Bind You by Blood - Shepard DiStasio 💜 The Resurrectionist - A. Rae Dunlap ❤️ Fractured Dreamer - A.K. Adler 🧡 The Husky and His White Cat Shizun - Rou Bao Bu Chi Rou 💛 Becoming Disabled - Jan Doolittle Wilson 💙 A Caress of Water - Nico Silver 💜 How to Survive As a Villain 1 - Yi Yi Yi Yi 🌈 The Silent Concubine - Qiang Tang

❤️ Hadrian - Harlowe Savage 🧡 A Series of Rooms - A.J. Barlowe 💛 Inklings of Invisibility - S.L. Dove Cooper 💚 The Cobbler and His Elves - C.B. Wren 💙 A Nightclub for the Holidays - Arden Coutts 💜 Armor of Dusk - Jess Galaxie ❤️ Twisted Shadows - Allie Therin 🧡 A Deception of Courts - Ben Alderson 💛 Trial Run - Carsen Taite 💙 How to Flirt with a Witch - Tiana Warner 💜 Roughed Up - Kate Hawthorne 🌈 House of Crimson Curses - Ruby Roe

❤️ Sister Snake - Amanda Lee Koe 🧡 Roland Rogers Isn't Dead Yet - Samantha Allen 💛 The Rivals - Jane Pek 💚 Private Rites - Julia Armfield 💙 The Christmas Switch - Briar Prescott 💜 Ribbonwood - Ruby Landers ❤️ Shifting Lanes - Joanne Kwan 🧡 Twice-Spent Comet - Ziggy Schutz 💛 A Crush for the Holidays - E.L. Ough 💙 Resist - Lasairiona Lewis 💜 Free from Falling - E.L. Massey 🌈 The Legendary Master's Wife - Yin Ya

❤️ Tide Breaker's Curse - Ivy H. Marikova 🧡 Twist Her - Terri Ronald 💛 How to Fuck Like a Girl - Vera Blossom 💚 Dog Days of Christmas - Krystal Wolfgang & Kimberly Wolfgang 💙 Warmer, Colder - Alexia Onyx 💜 Salt in the Wind - Jenna Pine ❤️ What We Carry With Us - Joseff McKenneth Goodwin 🧡 Reinvention - Karol Yan 💛 Christmas Carols - Maxime Jaz 💙 I'm Not Your Pet - Fae Quin 💜 Something Extraordinary - Alexis Hall 🌈 I Might Be in Trouble - Daniel Aleman

❤️ Deck the Palms - Annabeth Albert 🧡 Don't Get It Twisted - Wren Taylor 💛 Ice & Sweet - Charlie Novak 💚 Speak EZ - Elle E. Ire 💙 The Disabled Tyrant's Beloved Pet Fish - Xue Shan Fei Hu 💜 Horns For Hell - Rafael Nicolás ❤️ Flamboyant Fictions - Ian Fleishman 🧡 Where the Heart Is - Jenni Simonis 💛 Sorry I Kissed Your Dad - Achilles King 💙 Merry Weihnachten - E.J. Noyes 💜 An Alpha for the Holidays - Emily Axon 🌈 The Blessed - Anne Shade

❤️ Our Sinful Love - Amy H. 🧡 Gambler's Conceit - Adara Wolf & R. Phoenix 💛 Fate and Flambe - Leena Metcalfe 💚 Figure You Out - Hannah Danielle & K.F. Starfell 💙 Amaranthine - Aricka Alexander 💜 Twisted Loyalties - Barbara J. Webb ❤️ Echoes of Us - Alex Cross 🧡 The Shadowbearer's Curse - Jasmyn Morning 💛 Too Many Beds - Various 💙 We Are the Beasts - Gigi Griffis 💜 Unspoken - N.N. Britt 🌈 Rainbows After Storms - Luka Kobachi

❤️ The Shutouts - Gabrielle Korn 🧡 Robin's Worlds - Rainie Oet & Mathias Ball 💛 What the Woods Took - Courtney Gould 💚 Rescue Me - N. Slater 💙 Seb & Ailin - Michele Notaro 💜 The International Love Story - Jonas Noelting ❤️ Waterlogged - Nance Sparks 🧡 The Guardians - Sheri Lewis Wohl 💛 The Changeling's Faerie Prince - K.D. Ellis 💙 Until at Dawn We Wake - Charlotte Dalwood 💜 How to Get a Life in Ten Dates - Jenny L. Howe 🌈 Hammajang Luck - Makana Yamamoto

❤️ The Rules of Royalty - Cale Dietrich 🧡 Tired of Waiting for Tomorrow - Allison K. Garcia 💛 One Last Run - Bryce Oakley 💚 Reckless Hearts - Jax Calder 💙 Christmissed - Blythe H. Warren 💜 How Could You - Ren Strapp ❤️ Blackened - Tyler Briggs 🧡 Gratification in Gluttony - Nik Knight 💛 The Mogul Meets Her Match - Julia Underwood 💙 How to Be Heard - Roxane Gay 💜 The Case of the Missing Maid - Rob Osler 🌈 Shades of Us - D.L. Sims

[ellieswifie]

matt sturniolo sfw alphabet headcannons

𐙚 head cannons!

authors note: heyy i hope you all enjoy this abc sfw matt headcannon. this is based off this request from @iammattswife. im excited to make a chris sfw too if anyone wants one! thank you for reading enjoy!!!

a- affectionate (how affectionate are they? how do they show this affection?)

knowing already how much matt cares for his family, i swear he’d be so affectionate. he’d just simply do little things like send you cute messages in the morning, or tell you have beautiful and amazing you are, just to remind you that he does care and love you.

b- babies (do they want a family with you? how good around kids are they)

yes! matt would absolutely be an incredible dad. he just seems like he’d be so gentle and loving if you were pregnant with his kids ugh. he also wouldn’t rush the thought of wanting kids with you if you guys were married. he’d sure bring the idea up every once in awhile, but he’s not too pushy about the entire thing. bro if his kids got his blue eyes, i’d be dead.

c- cuddles (do they like to cuddle? how often do they want to cuddle?)

matt would love cuddling. he’d want to cuddle during movies, just laying in bed together, after filming, or even just during a random afternoon. he’s definitely a little spoon, or big spoon when he knows you need to be held, but he’s totally a big teddy bear.

d- dance (do they like to dance with you? are they good at dancing?)

matt is the best dancer. justin’s words, not mine. if you guys are sharing airpods, or have music playing off each others phone or speaker, matt would just love to dance around with you. maybe it’s in his room, or the kitchen, or even in the parking lot after a kate drive. he’s always dancing and is willing to dance with you whenever.

e- effort (how much effort and energy do they put into your relationship? like dates, gift giving, anniversaries, bdays, etc.)

matthew sturniolo puts so much effort into your relationship. he’s making sure you feel love me and comfort all the time, and he spends hours planing dates. okay maybe not hours, but he spends a lot of time thinking on what makes a good date a good date. he doesn’t seem like someone who’d plan big parties or huge dinners, so when it comes to birthday presents or anniversary gifts, he tries to keep it low key and simple, but so meaningful. which i find so sweet.

f- fights (how do they handle fights?)

if you have any short of attitude or a tone towards matt, he’ll probably give you space. he has his mattitudie moments too, and doesn’t necessarily want to anger you more by trying to reason with you, but if something is really bothering you, he’ll definitely just want to talk to you.

if you guys had gotten in a argument about something together, the story would be a little different i feel like. he’d definitely not want to stay up all not pickering about something in, so he’d sleep it off, then immediately talk to you about it in the morning, reasoning with you. matt is so gentle and genuinely looks like he cares, even when he disagrees.

g- gratitude (how grateful are they in general? are they aware of what you/significant other is doing bc for them?)

oh matt tells you he’s so grateful for you everyday. he makes sure your more than aware throughout the day, even if you aren’t exactly with him.

h- hand holding (when/how often do they like to hold hands?)

now we know what matt isn’t super on pda, but if you guys are in public together, he’s always holding your hand. in his pocket, at his side, behind your back, it’s always shuttle but comfortable.

i- insight (how easily can they read you? mood, feelings, tone, etc.)

i feel like matt reads body language easily. so if your like sloppy with your words or talking less, he’d probably ask if your okay because he reads these things.

j- jealousy (do they get jealous? if so, how easily? how do they deal with it?)

i feel like jealousy isn’t a issue in your relationship. matt isn’t like a pussy boyfriend who wines and cry’s when a guy looks at you. he definitely would trust you aren’t that type, and he trusts himself in not cheating. if he does get a rush jealousy of some sort, it’s probably because of some fool.

k- kisses (what are their kisses like? where do they kiss you? where do they liked to be kissed?)

probably amazing. he’ll definitely love forehead kisses and innocent neck kisses. maybe some on your hand or cheeks.

l- love language (what is their love language?)

PHYSICAL TOUCH!!! matt is definitely the type of boyfriend to be touching you all the time. in the car, his hand placed on your knee or thigh. in public, your holding hands. during dinner, his foot is creasing yours under the table. he’s just naturally a physical touch boyfriend.

he’s definitely words of affirmation too.

m- mornings (how are mornings with them?)

lazy, but absolutely perfect. matt seems like he’d wake up early, but i feel like if it’s just you too laying in bed, you guys are laying in bed all morning. just holding each other and talking about cheesy things that need to get off your chest,

n- nicknames (what pet names/nicknames does he move to call you?)

oh matt’s calling you practically everything. babe, baby, beautiful, love, pretty, princess, your name ofc, etc. now he for sure mentioned bubba wubba isn’t on the table, but we know matt he’s lying.

o- open (how open to their feelings are they to you? when did they say they i love you? do they mention everything all at once, or wait to reveal things slowly?)

it would take matt awhile to completely come to his senses that he has someone to talk to. yes he’d be very straight forward how he feels, but it wouldn’t take him immediately realize and say it, he’d for sure need time to open up, but when he does he tells you everything.

p- patience (how patient are they with you? how easily angry do they get?)

matt would be so patience with you. if your having trouble getting something off your chest, he’s holding your hands assuring you

q- quality time (what do they do with quality time with you?)

most likely matt’s cuddling with you in his free time, or doing something crafty. like coloring or building legos, i’ve just got a cheesy feeling he’d do that.

r- rhythm (what songs/song reminds you of them?)

omg if you like taylor swift, you remind him of almost every single song. i know he mentioned taylor swift before, but like i have a feeling he’d just listen to a song you like from her on repeat because it reminds him of you.

if you don’t like taylor which is fine, you probably remind him of a frank ocean song (definitely godspeed or ivy), miguel song ((ALL I WANT IS YOU) love this song omg), or practically any mac miller song.

s- security (how protective are they when of you?)

he’s definitely more protective of you than you are of him. the sturniolo fandom is all over the place and he doesn’t really want his relationship interacting with weird and disrespectful fans. so he’ll try to distance you from car videos and on tour. when you are in a video it’s probably only for a few minutes in a vlog or a short mention.

t- tough guy (how tough are they around you?)

as chris likes to say matt is the tough guy, but when he’s with his s/o i know for a fact his tough guy shell breaks. he’s more like a little baby wanting love and comfort, then a big intense guy.

u- upset (how do they act when their upset/tired? what helps them feel better?)

we’ve all seen matt’s attitude. he can be mean, but he’s not the big bad wolf. he’ll definitely distance himself from you so he’s not getting angry at you for something he did, or even cranky with you. i think

v- vanity (do they care about how much makeup you wear or not? do they constantly care about what you wear?)

matt probably loves when you dress up and will constantly tell you how beautiful you look, but he won’t expect it out of you every day nor does he care what you wear. he wants you to dress comfortable while feeling yourself.

w- wildcard (a random head cannon for character)

weirdo head cannon but head scratches. i’ve got a gut feeling that matthew would absolutely love his girlfriend scratching his head through his hair with her nails. the two of you will be laying on the couch or his bed, him sitting in between your legs while you watch something off his phone and scratch his head. it’ll for sure probably be a stress reliever for him.

x- explicit (nsfw headcannon)

idk.. do you guys want one?

y- yearn (what do they do when they miss you?)

always texting and calling you. he’d probably send silly snap chat vlogs, or gifs to let you know he misses you and can’t wait to talk to you in person again. he also definitely calls you before bed too to wish you good night and to remind you he loves you.

z- zen (what makes them feel comfortable and calm?)

you. and your presence.

[elisedonut]

@callmesel Hello!! C:

the art in question being @/the-colourful-witch's Ernie character spread btw

Ok so!! Ernie Macmillan/Percy Weasley

I know i've mentioned them in passing a little bit but haven't really went heavy into it (or Ernie's character tbh and honestly i think he's really endearing ngl but that shouldn't be surprising)

But we love shipping characters because of similarity in this house and i think they are pretty similar though very different in some key ways

Like they still get to have the whole rich(er) background/poor background which is always a really fun dynamic because legit most things imo point to Ernie being from a more well off family tbh

though the specific hc in that art piece that made my brain click was about Ernie being very excitable when he makes Prefect and ending up talking himself into an excited panic and accidently overwhelming the first years which like i love excitable people with Percy i just think it always lends well to a cute dynamic and i do think that fits well for him he seems a little obvious at times ngl

Like Ernie is for sure a loyal person and I think his acceptance of his mistakes in particular would be something Percy would find admirable (since he struggles more with his pride and has a harder time with it)

Ernie seems like the type who could easily end up in a Ministry position post war which makes for a fun opportunity there

also i think it's cute how clearly he's afraid during COS but still continues arguing with Harry for a few paragraphs while most of the other Hufflepuffs in the scene keep just looking to him

If he hadn’t been feeling so angry, he would have found the sight that greeted him funny: Every one of the Hufflepuffs looked as though they had been Petrified by the sight of him, and the color was draining out of Ernie’s face. “Hello,” said Harry. “I’m looking for Justin Finch- Fletchley.” The Hufflepuffs’ worst fears had clearly been confirmed. They all looked fearfully at Ernie. “What do you want with him?” said Ernie in a quavering voice.

Ernie bit his white lips and then, taking a deep breath, said, “We were all there. We saw what happened.”

“All I saw,” said Ernie stubbornly, though he was trembling as he spoke, “was you speaking Parseltongue and chasing the snake toward Justin.”

No sooner had the scene cleared somewhat than Ernie the Hufflepuff arrived, panting, on the scene. “ Caught in the act!” Ernie yelled, his face stark white, pointing his finger dramatically at Harry. “That will do, Macmillan!” said Professor McGonagall sharply.

Also he's a gossip like yeah yeah this scenario is a bit extreme he's very scared and worried about his friend but like idk the vibes of him talking about Harry(and later Umbridge trying to get into Dumbledore's office) just give me similar vibes to Percy trying to talk about Bagman in GOF

He was at the Quidditch World Cup(mentioned in passing along with Oliver and Cho) which !!! for Ernie/Percy potential ngl like obv not to be all omg they were in the same place but omg they were in the same place and it's a place that was attacked like we don't know what happened when the Weasley's were separated just the end result who's to say Ernie didn't get separated from his family and end up in a situation that leads to a pathetic crush on an unattainable older boy (or just another reason to crush on him if he already has one at that point)

I have nothing to add to these quotes but i want to show you these too real quick but it's kinda a lot so i will hide them under a read more

but TDLR though

I think he's cute and sometimes he says stuff that my brain goes woaw Percy could have said that and that immediately makes me want to ship them like they are not the same but it's almost like Flintwood in a way though way less extreme where it's very

'same Character different font'

like i just think they would get along well if put in the position to and I think he would be very very interesting to ship with Percy in a Post-canon scenario like i think he'd fit that whole Percy gets a secretary who acts just like he did back then towards Barty sr towards him concept like very well especially if Percy did something during the war

also think it could be really cute in a puppy crush way but i think most of Harry's year having a crush on Percy is cute so- also a little harder to pull off because Percy's not his prefect since they're in different houses that's less chance to interact but also a possibility of distance leading to the few that they do have becoming more like ingrained into Ernie's head

ok i think im done yapping for now kafjdslk here are quotes <3

 Ernie Macmillan was one of the few still staring at Professor Umbridge, but he was glassy-eyed and Harry was sure he was only pretending to listen in an attempt to live up to the new prefect’s badge gleaming on his chest.

“I want you to know, Potter,” he said in a loud, carrying voice, “that it’s not only weirdos who support you. I personally believe you one hundred percent. My family have always stood firm behind Dumbledore, and so do I.” “Er — thanks very much, Ernie,” said Harry, taken aback but pleased. Ernie might be pompous on occasions like these, but Harry was in a mood to deeply appreciate a vote of confidence from somebody who was not wearing radishes in their ears. Ernie’s words had certainly wiped the smile from Lavender Brown’s face and, as he turned to talk to Ron and Hermione, Harry caught Seamus’s expression, which looked both confused and defiant.

“I’m sure we can find a night that suits everyone,” said Hermione, slightly impatiently, “but you know, this is rather important, we’re talking about learning to defend ourselves against V-Voldemort’s Death Eaters — ” “Well said!” barked Ernie Macmillan, whom Harry had been expecting to speak long before this. “Personally I think this is really important, possibly more important than anything else we’ll do this year, even with our O.W.L.s coming up!” He looked around impressively, as though waiting for people to cry, “Surely not!” When nobody spoke, he went on, “I, personally, am at a loss to see why the Ministry has foisted such a useless teacher upon us at this critical period. Obviously they are in denial about the return of You-Know-Who, but to give us a teacher who is trying to actively prevent us from using defensive spells — ”

Ernie was looking rather hesitant about signing too. Hermione raised her eyebrows at him. “I — well, we are prefects,” Ernie burst out. “And if this list was found ... well, I mean to say ... you said yourself, if Umbridge finds out ...” “You just said this group was the most important thing you���d do this year,” Harry reminded him. “I — yes,” said Ernie, “yes, I do believe that, it’s just “Ernie, do you really think I’d leave that list lying around?” said Hermione testily. “No. No, of course not,” said Ernie, looking slightly less anxious. “I — yes, of course I’ll sign.”

 Ernie Macmillan was flourishing his wand unnecessarily, giving his partner time to get in under his guard

“He was bluffing,” said Ernie, looking appalled. “He can’t be allowed to dock points ... that would be ridiculous... It would completely undermine the prefect system...”

 Ernie Macmillan had developed an irritating habit of interrogating people about their study habits. “How many hours d’you think you’re doing a day?” he demanded of Harry and Ron as they queued outside Herbology, a manic gleam in his eyes.

‘Tm doing eight,” said Ernie, puffing out his chest. “Eight or nine. I’m getting an hour in before breakfast every day. Eight’s my average. I can do ten on a good weekend day. I did nine and a half on Monday. Not so good on Tuesday — only seven and a quarter. Then on Wednesday — ■”

(talking about the whole Hagrid being attacked by Umbridge thing) “Dreadful, dreadful,” said Ernie, shaking his head pompously. “Well, I’m off to bed... ’Night, all ...”

“I must say, I’m looking forward to seeing Malfoy’s mother’s face when he gets off the train,” said Ernie with some satisfaction, as he watched Malfoy squirm above him. Ernie had never quite got over the indignity of Malfoy docking points from Hufflepuff during his brief spell as a member of the Inquisitorial Squad.

“I must say, I’m looking forward to seeing Malfoy’s mother’s face when he gets off the train,” said Ernie with some satisfaction, as he watched Malfoy squirm above him. Ernie had never quite got over the indignity of Malfoy docking points from Hufflepuff during his brief spell as a member of the Inquisitorial Squad.

When they arrived in the corridor they saw that there were only a dozen people progressing to N.E.W.T. level.(Potions) Crabbe and Goyle had evidently failed to achieve the required O.W.L. grade, but four Slytherins had made it through, including Malfoy. Four Ravenclaws were there, and one Hufflepuff, Ernie Macmillan, whom Harry liked despite his rather pompous manner.

“Harry,” Ernie said portentously, holding out his hand as Harry approached, “didn’t get a chance to speak in Defense Against the Dark Arts this morning. Good lesson, I thought, but Shield Charms are old hat, of course, for us old D.A. lags ... And how are you, Ron — Hermione?”

(apparition class) Ernie Macmillan, on the other hand, had done a kind of pirouetting leap into his hoop and looked momentarily thrilled, until he caught sight of Dean Thomas roaring with laughter at him.

If i said he's almost what some people think Percy is would any of you be mad at me? 🥺

[antiochianorthodoxcumberlandmd]

The early church fathers wrote extensively on the subject of Theosis and their writings have been an important influence on Christian theology to this day.

Here are a few key quotes from some of the most prominent church fathers:

- Saint Athanasius of Alexandria: "God became man so that man might become God."

- Saint Irenaeus of Lyons: "He became what we are that he might make us what he is."

-Saint Augustine of Hippo: "He was created of a mother whom he created. He was carried by hands that he formed. He cried in the manger in wordless infancy, he the Word, without whom all human eloquence is mute."

- Saint Justin Martyr: "The Word of God became man so that you might learn from a man how to become a god."

- Tertullian: "The Son of God became man so that we might become God."

Theosis, or the idea of humans becoming like God, was an important concept in the early church, and many church fathers wrote about it. Here are a few quotes from some of the most prominent early church fathers:

- Saint Athanasius of Alexandria: "He, indeed, assumed humanity that we might become God."

- Saint Irenaeus of Lyons: "We have not been made gods from the beginning, but at first merely men, then at length gods."

- Saint Clement of Alexandria: "The Word of God became man, that thou mayest learn from man how man may become God."

- Saint Basil of Caesarea: "Man is a creature who has received the order to become God."

- Saint Gregory of Nyssa: "The goal of human life is to become God."

- Saint Augustine of Hippo: "God became man so that man might become God."

These quotes reflect the early church fathers' belief that humans were created to become like God, and that through the incarnation of Christ, this was made possible. Theosis was seen as the ultimate goal of human existence, and the early church fathers believed that it was achievable through a life of faith and devotion to God.

The concept of theosis continued to be an important theme in Christian theology after the Council of Nicaea. Here are a few quotes about theosis from some of the most prominent church fathers after Nicaea:

-Saint Gregory of Nazianzus: "The divine nature and the human nature were united in one person, so that as many as possible might be saved by this union and attain theosis."

-Saint John Chrysostom: "Christ became man that we might become gods."

-Saint Maximus the Confessor: "The Word of God, consubstantial with the Father, became consubstantial with us, so that by participating in the human nature he might make us sharers in the divine nature."

-Saint John of Damascus: "God became man so that man might become god."

These quotes reflect the continued importance of theosis in Christian theology after the Council of Nicaea. The idea that humans are called to become like God remained a central theme in the writings of many church fathers, and was seen as the ultimate goal of the Christian life. Theosis was understood as a process of transformation, by which humans are gradually conformed to the image of Christ and made partakers in the divine nature.

The concept of theosis continued to be an important theme in Orthodox Christianity, and many modern Orthodox saints have written about it. Here are a few quotes about theosis from some of the most prominent modern Orthodox saints:

- St. Silouan the Athonite: "The aim of the Christian life is to attain theosis, union with God."

- St. Seraphim of Sarov: "The true aim of our Christian life consists in the acquisition of the Holy Spirit of God."

- St. Gregory Palamas: "Theosis is the true purpose of the Christian life, and it is achieved through the uncreated energies of God."

- St. John of Kronstadt: "Theosis is the process by which we are transformed into the image and likeness of God."

These quotes reflect the continued importance of theosis in Orthodox Christianity, and the belief that the ultimate goal of the Christian life is to become like God. Theosis is seen as a process of transformation, by which humans are gradually conformed to the image of Christ and made partakers in the divine nature. The writings of modern Orthodox saints emphasize the importance of prayer, repentance, and the acquisition of the Holy Spirit in the process of theosis.

[khelinski]

Despite missing much of the story, I didn't feel lost. A love story, woven with many characters, bodies, blood, and lust, centered on two who found each other in an unfit world. I wiped my eyes, suddenly aware of my emotions. The fear, the passion, the warmth. The false promise of comfort, of a future.

Justin C. Key

[tmnthq17-blog]

ROTTMNT Leo Masterlist Part 1

These can also be found on my Wattpad account(Link in my bio)

Always Have, Always Will:

Married w/ Paper:

Into You:

Sooner or Later:

Beyond Perfect:

Whatever It Takes:

[darkmaga-returns]

COMMENT: Martin,

I am extremely concerned about what is going on in Canada. Max Carnage has called an election in 30days!

Elections Canada now needs to find an estimated 285,000 temporary workers. What could possibly go wrong?

This is completely insane for what will be arguably the most import election in Canadian History!

So many Canadians are distracted by their Trump Derangement Syndrome, that they can’t think clearly.

You would think that Trump was running for Prime Minister of Canada as all Federal party leaders are all campaigning on this 51st State non-sense,

And not focusing on how Canada has lost its way and Bankrupt.

If a Uni-Party was to write a script for creating mass confusion, all in the efforts to control people, what we are witnessing is it.

In the 2021 federal election, the number of polling stations in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) decreased significantly compared to 2019. (57 Ridings out of a total of 338)

Eleven GTA ridings saw more than a 50% reduction in polling stations, with some, like Toronto Centre, experiencing an 84% drop (from 91 stations in 2019 to 15 in 2021).

And no one is asking questions.

When we elect clowns expect a circus.

Time for a Direct Democracy!!

This really confirms that Canada can no longer avoid splitting.

What is Socrates predicting for Canada?

Jim M

REPLY: Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney has called a snap election to be held on April 28th, 2025, primarily to address the ongoing trade war with the U.S. and to seek a strong mandate for his government. This election comes shortly after Carney took office following Justin Trudeau’s resignation. What I find really interesting is that Socrates targeted the week of April 28th as the strongest turning point in the C$ BEFORE Carney called a snap election. I believe that the way things unfold confirms Socrates, as some economic pressure behind the scenes compelled Carney to call the election for April 28th, conforming to Socrates’ preordained forecast. People wrongly look at this backward rather than this is the chicken or egg scenario. There is pressure first that causes the reaction.

In this case, you are correct. Carney has made Trump his opposition to creating the distraction as Europe is doing with Putin. Then, the people are pointed in the opposite direction. Carney, like Trudeau, is also indoctrinated by Klaus Schwab and the World Economic Forum. He was one of the key figures behind Net-Zero Climate Change. I would not expect a reverse of his views, and he has even proposed joining the EU, which is anti-free speech and authoritarian. So, joining the EU is better than the USA? They have restrictions and tariffs that will never replace US trade, and the regulations will drive companies out of business; there goes Alberta, and Free Speech will no longer exit. Perhaps you will be thrown in prison for saying you are tired of your tax dollars going to illegal immigrants, as the UK sentenced a man to 20 months for that comment.

Why is he issuing Canadian debt in US dollars when he hates everything Trump stands for? Does he understand that taking Canada down this path means that there will be a decline in the confidence in Canadian debt? As a result, like emerging markets that cannot sell their debt in local currency, so they, too,  sell it in US dollars.

[covid-safer-hotties]

Also preserved in our archive (Daily updates!)

As part of the COVID-19 International Research Team, researchers at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, the University of Pittsburgh and Weill Cornell Medicine discovered a novel cause of cytokine storm -; the extreme inflammatory response associated with increased risk of death in COVID-19 infection.

Their findings were reported Nov. 27 in the online issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

In an intensive genomic search for causes of cytokine storm, the research team used autopsy samples obtained from 40 patients who died from COVID-19. They performed genome analysis on samples taken from multiple sites, including the lung, heart, liver, kidney, lymph nodes in the chest that initially filter the virus, and the nasal cavity where the virus enters the body.

They zeroed in on some 50 upregulated immune genes in the samples obtained from nasal swabs and followed through in the genomics for the autopsy tissues.

Stephen Baylin, M.D., Virginia and D.K. Ludwig Professor for Cancer Research and co-senior author, and first author Michael Topper, Ph.D., Evelyn Grollman Glick Scholar and instructor in oncology, were

familiar with many of the genes as part of the inflammasome, a protein signaling network they helped define that is activated to rid the body of virus or bacteria-infected cells.

"Some of the same genes involved in overactivation of the inflammasome appear to be key immune gene regulators of the hyperinflammatory process that leads to a new view of how these subsequently activate the "cytokine storm syndrome" and severely damage multiple tissues, says Topper.

The genes should turn on and off, Baylin explains, but when they stay on, it results in cytokine storm, the very severe inflammation that can be lethal to patients with COVID.

Essentially, immune genes in the nasal cavity, where the virus enters, send signals downstream through a system called renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) to initiate cytokine storm.

RAAS, a hormone system that normally turns on and off to help regulate blood pressure, body fluids and electrolytes, is the spark that pushes the immune response into overdrive, the researchers found, compromising the infection-fighting function of lymph nodes and causing severe damage to the lungs, kidneys, heart, liver and other organs.

The researchers also believe their findings may have implications for long COVID, a chronic condition following COVID-19 infection that is characterized by a wide range of symptoms, including fever, fatigue, coughing, chest pain, heart palpitations, headaches, joint and muscle pain, gastrointestinal issues and more. This is a focus of ongoing research, Topper and Baylin say.

In addition to Baylin and Topper, other researchers participating in the investigation are co-first author Joseph W. Guarnieri and co-corresponding authors with Baylin: Afshin Behesti (leader of COVIRT) and Douglas C. Wallace, Simon Pollett, Deanne Taylor, Eve Syrkin Wurtele, Robert E. Schwartz, Christopher E. Mason, Jeffrey A. Haltom, Amy Chadburn, Henry Cope, Justin Frere, Julia An, Alain Borczuk, Saloni Sinha, JangKeun Kim, Jiwoon Park, Daniel Butler, Cem Meydan, Jonathan Foox, Yaron Bram, Stephanie A. Richard, Nusrat J. Epsi, Brian Agan, Josh G. Chenoweth, Mark P. Simons, David Tribble, Timothy Burgess, Clifton Dalgard, Mark T. Heise, Nathaniel J. Moorman, Victoria K. Baxter, Emily A. Madden, Sharon A. Taft-Benz, Elizabeth J. Anderson, Wes A. Sanders, Rebekah J. Dickmander, Katherine Beigel, Gabrielle A. Widjaja, Kevin A. Janssen, Timothy Lie, Deborah G. Murdock, Alessia Angelin, Yentli E. Soto Albrecht, Arnold Z. Olali, Zimu Cen, Joseph Dybas, Waldemar Priebe, Mark R. Emmett, Sonja M. Best, Maya Kelsey Johnson, Nidia S. Trovao, Kevin B. Clark, Victoria Zaksas, Robert Meller, Peter Grabham, Jonathan C. Schisler, and Pedro M. Moraes-Vieira.

This researach was supported by the Division of Intramural Research, NIAID, NIH grant to Sonja Best, and DOD W81XWH-21-1-0128 grant awarded to Douglas Wallace, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Grant INV-046722 awarded to Douglas Wallace, Adelson Medical Research Foundation, Hodson Scholar Foundation, Glick scholar awards and Samuel Waxman Research Foundation awarded to Stephen Baylin from the Defense Health Program (HU00012020067 and HU00012120103), the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (HU00011920111), and the USU RESPONSE award (HU00012020070).

Source: Johns Hopkins Medicine

Journal reference: Topper, M. J., et al. (2024). Lethal COVID-19 associates with RAAS-induced inflammation for multiple organ damage including mediastinal lymph nodes. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2401968121.

Study link: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2401968121

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Apple fucked us on right to repair (again)

Today (September 22), I'm (virtually) presenting at the DIG Festival in Modena, Italy. Tonight, I'll be in person at LA's Book Soup for the launch of Justin C Key's "The World Wasn’t Ready for You." On September 27, I'll be at Chevalier's Books in Los Angeles with Brian Merchant for a joint launch for my new book The Internet Con and his new book, Blood in the Machine.

Right to repair has no cannier, more dedicated adversary than Apple, a company whose most innovative work is dreaming up new ways to sneakily sabotage electronics repair while claiming to be a caring environmental steward, a lie that covers up the mountains of e-waste that Apple dooms our descendants to wade through.

Why does Apple hate repair so much? It's not that they want to poison our water and bodies with microplastics; it's not that they want to hasten the day our coastal cities drown; it's not that they relish the human misery that accompanies every gram of conflict mineral. They aren't sadists. They're merely sociopathically greedy.

Tim Cook laid it out for his investors: when people can repair their devices, they don't buy new ones. When people don't buy new devices, Apple doesn't sell them new devices. It's that's simple:

https://www.inverse.com/article/52189-tim-cook-says-apple-faces-2-key-problems-in-surprising-shareholder-letter

So Apple does everything it can to monopolize repair. Not just because this lets the company gouge you on routine service, but because it lets them decide when your phone is beyond repair, so they can offer you a trade-in, ensuring both that you buy a new device and that the device you buy is another Apple.

There are so many tactics Apple gets to use to sabotage repair. For example, Apple engraves microscopic Apple logos on the subassemblies in its devices. This allows the company to enlist US Customs to seize and destroy refurbished parts that are harvested from dead phones by workers in the Pacific Rim:

https://repair.eu/news/apple-uses-trademark-law-to-strengthen-its-monopoly-on-repair/

Of course, the easiest way to prevent harvested components from entering the parts stream is to destroy as many old devices as possible. That's why Apple's so-called "recycling" program shreds any devices you turn over to them. When you trade in your old iPhone at an Apple Store, it is converted into immortal e-waste (no other major recycling program does this). The logic is straightforward: no parts, no repairs:

https://www.vice.com/en/article/yp73jw/apple-recycling-iphones-macbooks

Shredding parts and cooking up bogus trademark claims is just for starters, though. For Apple, the true anti-repair innovation comes from the most pernicious US tech law: Section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).

DMCA 1201 is an "anti-circumvention" law. It bans the distribution of any tool that bypasses "an effective means of access control." That's all very abstract, but here's what it means: if a manufacturer sticks some Digital Rights Management (DRM) in its device, then anything you want to do that involves removing that DRM is now illegal – even if the thing itself is perfectly legal.

When Congress passed this stupid law in 1998, it had a very limited blast radius. Computers were still pretty expensive and DRM use was limited to a few narrow categories. In 1998, DMCA 1201 was mostly used to prevent you from de-regionalizing your DVD player to watch discs that had been released overseas but not in your own country.

But as we warned back then, computers were only going to get smaller and cheaper, and eventually, it would only cost manufacturers pennies to wrap their products – or even subassemblies in their products – in DRM. Congress was putting a gun on the mantelpiece in Act I, and it was bound to go off in Act III.

Welcome to Act III.

Today, it costs about a quarter to add a system-on-a-chip to even the tiniest parts. These SOCs can run DRM. Here's how that DRM works: when you put a new part in a device, the SOC and the device's main controller communicate with one another. They perform a cryptographic protocol: the part says, "Here's my serial number," and then the main controller prompts the user to enter a manufacturer-supplied secret code, and the master controller sends a signed version of this to the part, and the part and the system then recognize each other.

This process has many names, but because it was first used in the automotive sector, it's widely known as VIN-Locking (VIN stands for "vehicle identification number," the unique number given to every car by its manufacturer). VIN-locking is used by automakers to block independent mechanics from repairing your car; even if they use the manufacturer's own parts, the parts and the engine will refuse to work together until the manufacturer's rep keys in the unlock code:

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

VIN locking is everywhere. It's how John Deere stops farmers from fixing their own tractors – something farmers have done literally since tractors were invented:

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

It's in ventilators. Like mobile phones, ventilators are a grotesquely monopolized sector, controlled by a single company Medtronic, whose biggest claim to fame is effecting the world's largest tax inversion in order to manufacture the appearance that it is an Irish company and therefore largely untaxable. Medtronic used the resulting windfall to gobble up most of its competitors.

During lockdown, as hospitals scrambled to keep their desperately needed supply of ventilators running, Medtronic's VIN-locking became a lethal impediment. Med-techs who used donor parts from one ventilator to keep another running – say, transplanting a screen – couldn't get the device to recognize the part because all the world's civilian aircraft were grounded, meaning Medtronic's technicians couldn't swan into their hospitals to type in the unlock code and charge them hundreds of dollars.

The saving grace was an anonymous, former Medtronic repair tech, who built pirate boxes to generate unlock codes, using any housing they could lay hands on to use as a case: guitar pedals, clock radios, etc. This tech shipped these gadgets around the world, observing strict anonymity, because Article 6 of the EUCD also bans circumvention:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/07/10/flintstone-delano-roosevelt/#medtronic-again

Of course, Apple is a huge fan of VIN-locking. In phones, VIN-locking is usually called "serializing" or "parts-pairing," but it's the same thing: a tiny subassembly gets its own microcontroller whose sole purpose is to prevent independent repair technicians from fixing your gadget. Parts-pairing lets Apple block repairs even when the technician uses new, Apple parts – but it also lets Apple block refurb parts and third party parts.

For many years, Apple was the senior partner and leading voice in blocking state Right to Repair bills, which it killed by the dozen, leading a coalition of monopolists, from Wahl (who boobytrap their hair-clippers with springs that cause their heads irreversibly decompose if you try to sharpen them at home) to John Deere (who reinvented tenant farming by making farmers tenants of their tractors, rather than their land).

But Apple's opposition to repair eventually became a problem for the company. It's bad optics, and both Apple customers and Apple employees are volubly displeased with the company's ecocidal conduct. But of course, Apple's management and shareholders hate repair and want to block it as much as possible.

But Apple knows how to Think Differently. It came up with a way to eat its cake and have it, too. The company embarked on a program of visibly support right to repair, while working behind the scenes to sabotage it.

Last year, Apple announced a repair program. It was hilarious. If you wanted to swap your phone's battery, all you had to do was let Apple put a $1200 hold on your credit card, and then wait while the company shipped you 80 pounds' worth of specialized tools, packed in two special Pelican cases:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/05/22/apples-cement-overshoes/

Then, you swapped your battery, but you weren't done! After your battery was installed, you had to conference in an authorized Apple tech who would tell you what code to type into a laptop you tethered to the phone in order to pair it with your phone. Then all you had to do was lug those two 40-pound Pelican cases to a shipping depot and wait for Apple to take the hold off your card (less the $120 in parts and fees).

By contrast, independent repair outfits like iFixit will sell you all the tools you need to do your own battery swap – including the battery! for $32. The whole kit fits in a padded envelope:

https://www.ifixit.com/products/iphone-x-replacement-battery

But while Apple was able to make a showy announcement of its repair program and then hide the malicious compliance inside those giant Pelican cases, sabotaging right to repair legislation is a lot harder.

Not that they didn't try. When New York State passed the first general electronics right-to-repair bill in the country, someone convinced New York Governor Kathy Hochul to neuter it with last-minute modifications:

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2022/12/weakened-right-to-repair-bill-is-signed-into-law-by-new-yorks-governor/

But that kind of trick only works once. When California's right to repair bill was introduced, it was clear that it was gonna pass. Rather than get run over by that train, Apple got on board, supporting the legislation, which passed unanimously:

https://www.ifixit.com/News/79902/apples-u-turn-tech-giant-finally-backs-repair-in-california

But Apple got the last laugh. Because while California's bill contains many useful clauses for the independent repair shops that keep your gadgets out of a landfill, it's a state law, and DMCA 1201 is federal. A state law can't simply legalize the conduct federal law prohibits. California's right to repair bill is a banger, but it has a weak spot: parts-pairing, the scourge of repair techs:

https://www.ifixit.com/News/69320/how-parts-pairing-kills-independent-repair

Every generation of Apple devices does more parts-pairing than the previous one, and the current models are so infested with paired parts as to be effectively unrepairable, except by Apple. It's so bad that iFixit has dropped its repairability score for the iPhone 14 from a 7 ("recommend") to a 4 (do not recommend):

https://www.ifixit.com/News/82493/we-are-retroactively-dropping-the-iphones-repairability-score-en

Parts-pairing is bullshit, and Apple are scum for using it, but they're hardly unique. Parts-pairing is at the core of the fuckery of inkjet printer companies, who use it to fence out third-party ink, so they can charge $9,600/gallon for ink that pennies to make:

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

Parts-pairing is also rampant in powered wheelchairs, a heavily monopolized sector whose predatory conduct is jaw-droppingly depraved:

https://uspirgedfund.org/reports/usp/stranded

But if turning phones into e-waste to eke out another billion-dollar stock buyback is indefensible, stranding people with disabilities for months at a time while they await repairs is so obviously wicked that the conscience recoils. That's why it was so great when Colorado passed the nation's first wheelchair right to repair bill last year:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2022/06/when-drm-comes-your-wheelchair

California actually just passed two right to repair bills; the other one was SB-271, which mirrors Colorado's HB22-1031:

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240SB271

This is big! It's momentum! It's a start!

But it can't be the end. When Bill Clinton signed DMCA 1201 into law 25 years ago, he loaded a gun and put it on the nation's mantlepiece and now it's Act III and we're all getting sprayed with bullets. Everything from ovens to insulin pumps, thermostats to lightbulbs, has used DMCA 1201 to limit repair, modification and improvement.

Congress needs to rid us of this scourge, to let us bring back all the benefits of interoperability. I explain how this all came to be – and what we should do about it – in my new Verso Books title, The Internet Con: How to Seize the Means of Computation.

https://www.versobooks.com/products/3035-the-internet-con

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/2023/09/22/vin-locking/#thought-differently

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[beardedmrbean]

One of the central organisers behind the "Freedom Convoy" protest that caused Canada’s capital to descend into gridlock for weeks in 2022 has been found guilty of mischief.

Pat King, 47, is the first leader of the protests to learn of his verdict. Two others, Tamara Lich and Chris Barber, will learn the outcome of their trials within the next six months.

A judge in an Ottawa courtroom on Friday found King guilty on five counts, including one count each of mischief, counselling others to commit mischief and counselling others to obstruct police.

King, who had led a convoy of lorries in Ottawa in protest of Covid-19 measures and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government, had pleaded not guilty.

King was also found guilty of two counts of disobeying a court order, but the judge did not find him guilty of two other charges he faced - intimidation and obstructing police.

Estimates made prior to the trial suggested that King could face up to 10 years in prison.

Lawyers for King argued during his trial that he was part of a peaceful protest against public health restrictions and government mandates, and that police were to blame for rising tensions during the demonstrations.

Crown prosecutors, however, argued that King was a key figure of a protest that had disrupted and harmed the residents and workers of downtown Ottawa for weeks.

They detailed one instance where King allegedly helped move 80 lorries to block a major street in the city, and another where he allegedly instructed protestors to honk their horns every 30 minutes.

Organisers of the Freedom Convoy, including Ms Lich and Mr Barber, are also facing a C$300m ($222m; £175m) civil lawsuit brought against them by Ottawa residents over the disruptions they caused in the city.

Crown prosecutors relied mainly on King's own videos to make their case, which he posted on social media throughout the demonstration to communicate with fellow protesters.

The February 2022 protests were initially sparked by a federal vaccine mandate for lorry drivers crossing the US-Canada border.

Convoys of some 400 heavy trucks and other vehicles descended on Ottawa and blockaded city streets around parliament for three weeks.

City officials deemed it an "occupation".

Separate protests also blocked a key US-Canada border crossing near Detroit, angering the White House and disrupting the flow of goods. Other border points were blocked in Alberta and Manitoba.

The protests received international attention and inspired similar copycat demonstrations abroad.

They were stopped after Prime Minister Trudeau enacted a never-before-used Emergencies Act, which allowed police to clear the streets and freeze the bank accounts of protesters.

King was arrested shortly after on 18 February and was released on bail five months later.

He was ordered back behind bars briefly this year after he breached court-imposed rules on his social media use.

King has been charged in a separate case with perjury and obstruction of justice related to testimony he gave at a bail hearing. The trial dates for that case have not yet been set.