{"id":6390,"date":"2020-03-21T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-03-21T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/masspirates.org\/blog\/?p=6390"},"modified":"2020-03-22T11:11:51","modified_gmt":"2020-03-22T15:11:51","slug":"the-good-the-bad-and-the-opportunity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/masspirates.org\/blog\/2020\/03\/21\/the-good-the-bad-and-the-opportunity\/","title":{"rendered":"The good, the bad and the opportunity"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><em>First, the good news<\/em>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><a href=\"https:\/\/pluralistic.net\/2020\/03\/15\/denominators-matter\/#chelsea-free\">Chelsea Manning is out of jail and, due to many supporters, her fines are paid off<\/a>.&nbsp; The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gofundme.com\/f\/help-fund-chelseas-living-expenses\/donate\">outpouring of support&nbsp;to help her get on her feet<\/a> is wonderful.<\/li><li>The judge in the Katy Perry song copyright infringement case threw out the jury decision because <a href=\"https:\/\/www.techdirt.com\/articles\/20200319\/00094444129\/surprise-judge-throws-out-jurys-awful-copyright-infringement-decision-over-katy-perry-song.shtml\">&#8220;the similarities between the song were simply basic and fundamental building blocks of music.&#8221;<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/world\/2020\/03\/20\/learning-during-the-quarantine-you-can-read-jstors-open-access-content-without-an-account\/\">JSTOR just opened a mass of their articles and books to the public<\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Next, the bad news<\/em>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>COVID-19, aka Coronavirus, has&nbsp;spread&nbsp;around the world, forcing people to minimize contact with others or locking down whole countries, laying off millions and&nbsp;shutting down large portions of the economy. I&nbsp;wish I could say this&nbsp;pandemic was overblown, but the images and numbers from Italy, other countries and the US, demonstrate that millons of people are at risk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Henceforth, all of our events are either canceled or have moved on-line. You can join one of <a href=\"https:\/\/riot.im\/app\/#\/group\/+masspirates:matrix.org\">our Matrix discussion lists<\/a> (like IRC, but you don&#8217;t have to be logged in to get notifications on your phone) or our <a href=\"https:\/\/lists.mayfirst.org\/mailman\/listinfo\/activists_masspirates.org\">activists&nbsp;email discussion list<\/a>. We are looking at using <a href=\"https:\/\/meet.mayfirst.org\/\">https:\/\/meet.mayfirst.org\/<\/a>&nbsp;for video chat or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mumble.info\/\">Mumble<\/a> for audio only for meetings. We will notify you in the future with the details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For the sake of everyone&#8217;s health, it is important to&nbsp;minimize interactions with others, maintain a distance of at least six feet from others and not gather in large groups. Whether the lockdown we see in Italy, California, New York or Illinois&nbsp;is our destiny is unclear, but <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/in-depth\/news\/2020\/03\/18\/u-s-coronavirus-growth-rates-show-many-states-could-close-behind-new-york\/5072663002\/\">we aren&#8217;t reducing the spread of COVID-19 fast enough<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Our own government&#8217;s failure to prepare for this pandemic since it first appeared in China over two months ago, is bad enough. Closing the White House pandemic planning office and Trump&#8217;s efforts to cut back on funding for the CDC while increasing spending on the military by nearly $100 billion makes their actions akin to malpractice. The hollowing out of our N95 mask stockpile, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/investigations\/face-masks-in-national-stockpile-have-not-been-substantially-replenished-since-2009\/2020\/03\/10\/57e57316-60c9-11ea-8baf-519cedb6ccd9_story.html\">which has not been substantially replenished since 2009<\/a>, was a bipartisan choice. We needed to spend&nbsp;$350 million a year to maintain our&nbsp;N95 mask stockpile at the level we need now. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thedrive.com\/the-war-zone\/32556\/n95-mask-shortage-a-horrific-manifestation-of-americas-crazy-defense-priorities\">That cost is equivalent to&nbsp;two Boeing KC-46 aerial tankers,&nbsp;a single Littoral Combat Ship or&nbsp;about three F-35s, three botched military procurement projects<\/a>. Our national priorities are fucked up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We will fix those priorities, but right now we need to get this pandemic under control. Here are ways you can help (<a href=\"https:\/\/masspirates.org\/blog\/resources-to-fight-covid-19\/\">we now have a page with these and newer resources<\/a>):<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>know your enemy:&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/arstechnica.com\/science\/2020\/03\/dont-panic-the-comprehensive-ars-technica-guide-to-the-coronavirus\/\">Ars Technica has a comprehensive guide to COVID-19 that they are updating daily<\/a>&nbsp;and there is <a href=\"https:\/\/covid-at-home.info\/\">this&nbsp;collaborative guide to COVID-19 care<\/a>;<\/li><li>if you or others were recently&nbsp;unemployed, Mass. Jobs with Justice has a page on&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.massjwj.net\/news\/2020\/3\/19\/how-to-apply-for-unemployment-benefits-in-massachusetts\">How to Apply for Unemployment Benefits in Massachusetts<\/a>;<\/li><li>the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/document\/d\/1-x6vOZKVsla5H363mtdgcyivvLmcx7-f2s6l-O_ba8A\/edit?fbclid=IwAR2U1b_sxJ8-f53AMjVoNdHJr-yEG9ThyCYW5dBobKV8rY7KbVIjiLlDvBs\">Asian American Resource Workshop has a limited list of resources<\/a> on a variety of topics including worker, housing and disability rights;<\/li><li>join a mutual aid network. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.massjwj.net\/news\/2020\/3\/17\/cover-19-mutual-aid-networks\">Mass. Jobs with Justice has a list<\/a>&nbsp;though this <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/spreadsheets\/d\/1C9Emmohz_yMh-PG0pLvQjSKHbYhdGhWfBrjBFgIGHtc\/edit#gid=0\">Google spreadsheet will probably be more up to date<\/a>;<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/foldingathome.org\/2020\/03\/10\/covid19-update\/\">you can donate time on any computers you have to help with COVID-19&nbsp;protein folding calculations<\/a>;<\/li><li>the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/opensourcecovid19medicalsupplies\/\">Open Source COVID19 Medical Supplies group<\/a> is up on Facebook and has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/opensourcecovid19medicalsupplies\/files\/\">files you can download to use to make different protective equipment or parts for medical devices<\/a>. They have designs for masks (elsewhere are&nbsp;these&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/document\/d\/1eT6NakJ5rf5KvnPbuVFbcufeuyeNhxgGFDK-n-SJe2A\/edit?ts=5e754d6f\">Design 1<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/mothership.sg\/2020\/02\/taiwanese-doctor-cloth-face-mask\/\">Design 2<\/a>) and&nbsp;if you can sew, hospitals NEED&nbsp;masks:<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ifixit.com\/News\/36354\/help-us-crowdsource-repair-information-for-hospital-equipment\">IFixit needs help crowdsourcing&nbsp;repair information for hospital equipment<\/a>; <\/li><li>if you are a freelance journalist, add your name to this <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/spreadsheets\/d\/1_9ohsOs8YT84Lj4TAowXSK6WMZmtEMPYkUF5Hs6i7c8\/edit#gid=0\">list of freelancers for on the ground reporting<\/a>;<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Finally, the opportunities<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>COVID-19 is rapidly accelerating trainwreck. Like the 2008 financial crisis,&nbsp;Hurricane Katrina or the devestation of Puerto Rico, it will be used by the 1% to monopolize more wealth and power. Here are a two efforts that put their profits ahead of our lives:&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/pluralistic.net\/2020\/03\/17\/pluralistic-17-mar-2020\/#fortress-investment-group\">Patent trolls try to shut down covid testing<\/a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/pluralistic.net\/2020\/03\/18\/diy-tp\/#patently-absurd\">3D printed ventilator hero got a patent threat<\/a>.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We&nbsp;must use this crisis to build a better world rather than enriching billionaires and their lackeys. Let&#8217;s start sharing&nbsp;ideas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Stay safe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Captain James<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>First, the good news: Chelsea Manning is out of jail and, due to many supporters, her fines are paid off.&nbsp; The outpouring of&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6195,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[32,8,9,35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6390","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-slider","category-organizing","category-out-and-about","category-security"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/masspirates.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Apollo10EarthCropped.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1W8mg-1F4","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/masspirates.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6390","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/masspirates.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/masspirates.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/masspirates.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/masspirates.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6390"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/masspirates.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6390\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6400,"href":"https:\/\/masspirates.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6390\/revisions\/6400"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/masspirates.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6195"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/masspirates.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6390"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/masspirates.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6390"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/masspirates.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6390"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}