S01E70: It's Oscillating!

Zosobi Boo-Bury

Nov 09, 2021

Tarot: https://tarotx.net/tarot-card-meanings/linestrider-tarot/queen-of-pentacles.html

Freaks of Hazard:

TurboyFaygot found the amazing Robin Williams clip for intermission this week!

Tom Starkweather sends in his first donation at @20.00! Mighty righteous!

Check out his end of show mixes for No Agenda here! https://melodiousowls.buzzsprout.com/.

If you like this substack, why not give his substack some loving?! https://starkweather.substack.com/

New Patent Proposes Digital Surveillance to Vaccinate People Based on Social Credit Style Scores

A new tech patent has been filed that “aims to surveil people via their digital activity, give them a score that defines “the potential level of super-spreading activity of each individual,” and then vaccinate people based on this score.”
Information would be pulled from “mobile devices, apps, social media, web browsing records, payment records, medical records, employment records, the government, and surveillance cameras.”
It also suggests collecting highly specific personal information via these sources such as:
- Precise location data
- The length of time people spend at the locations they visit
- The ventilation rate of the places people visit
- Images of people looking at the screen of their mobile phone
- Sounds from the microphones in personal devices
- Facial recognition data
Proposes additional methods of monitoring "including “detecting when people are using public transport by using “geolocation and/or regular start-stop movement that matches a public transportation profile,” monitoring when people are washing their hands by “analyzing sounds of water running or movement by a smartwatch,” and checking whether people are wearing a mask by “analyzing images taken during calls or other looking at screen of cellphone.”"
Once the data has been gathered, the technology outlined in the patent analyzes the data and assigns a “score” to their electronic device. It suggests using this score to predict the “the potential level of super-spreading activity of each individual” and recommends “vaccinating according to score.”
The patent suggests that both mass surveillance for the basis of a social credit system driving for vaccines, but also that “that the technology could be deployed as part of a “dedicated mandatory app” where “the government may order the citizens to install a dedicated application on their smartphones (or other smart devices like tablets, smartwatches, smart glasses, etc.) to help the government with the logistics of the vaccination procedures.””
The app would phone home at all times, connect with Bluetooth to “to assess the interactions between users, for example, vicinity between users, movement of users, etc.”.
When it comes to factors that determine an individual’s score, the patent suggests that a person’s profession, medical data, the nature and type of locations they visit, their frequently visited locations, and the length of time they spend at locations should be used as part of the calculation.
“In some embodiments, subjects that are prone to frequent religious or secular events, like in a synagogue, a church or a mosque or a dancing venue, where the people are in close proximity to each other, and talk, pray, sing and/or breathe deeply and/or mingle more, will receive a higher score (e.g., for such a contact event) than those who do not frequent religious events,” the patent adds.

Patent No. US 11,107,588 B2

“In some embodiments , treatment can be the use of Hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin plus zinc.” Column 47

Cold Watch

Inside Job

The shadow government and the dysfunctional team whose daily grind is committing the world's conspiracies. From convoluted coverups to secret societies to masked orgy etiquette, navigating office culture at Cognito Inc. can be tricky, especially for anti-social tech genius Reagan Ridley. Even in a workplace filled with reptilian shapeshifters and psychic mushrooms, she's seen as the odd one out for believing the world could be a better place. Reagan thinks she can make a difference, if only she could manage her unhinged, manifesto-writing father, her irresponsible coworkers, and finally snag the promotion she's been dreaming about.

'Inside Job' showrunner thought a shadow government would be scary. Reality was scarier

Despite the ways that once-fringe theories have increasingly spread into the mainstream in recent years, “Inside Job’s” timely arrival is more of a coincidence. The long production timeline involved in animation meant Takeuchi was developing the core concepts of the show before debunking conspiracies became a routine necessity of the news cycle.
“I didn’t love it," Takeuchi said of watching conspiracy theories becoming more prevalent. "It's been a wild ride watching all this stuff unfold. I'm having the same experience as anyone else. But I guess it's confirmation that we've all been feeling kind of similar things in the zeitgeist."
“To be clear, I don't actually think there is a shadow government,” said Takeuchi, whose previous credits include writing on the series “Gravity Falls” and “Disenchantment.” “I just want people to know where I stand on that one.”
Takeuchi first encountered the concept of a “shadow government” as a college student when she discovered the online archives of the late-night paranormal radio show “Coast to Coast AM.” Initially, she found the idea of “a secret group of people in the true seat of power playing fourth-dimensional chess with the world” terrifying. “If you believe that you have no agency in the world, how can you believe in anything [or have] any kind of social trust?” said Takeuchi.
But she realized that successfully running a shadow government likely required a level of competence she didn’t think was plausible, given what she had experienced as part of the workforce. Still, when Takeuchi noticed that listening to these theories on the radio show was affecting her perspective, she knew it was time for a break.
“I didn't really think about it [again] until five years ago when we were going through the beginnings of a lot of social turmoil,” Takeuchi said. “It seemed like every day there was something chaotic and disastrous and new that was going to happen. And we were heading toward just some really crazy realities.” This led Takeuchi to think about how “it would actually be really comforting if there was a genius behind the scenes, pulling all the strings and putting everything back on the rails.” And the realization that an idea that once terrified her was now “a comforting fantasy” let her notice the creative potential of a story around a shadow government.
From Bigfoot to the moon landing, most of the conspiracy theories “Inside Job” touches on are familiar classics. Takeuchi describes the process of figuring out what conspiracy theory works with what story as an “intricate dance.” Researching for the show’s episodes involved reading up on conspiracy theories because it’s impossible to tell which ones will fit with which story. “Every conspiracy theory is only worth exploring [on the show], if you can find a relatable conflict that a character could go through in relation to that setting or to that concept,” said Takeuchi.
“I use comedy as a way to work through difficult emotions,” Takeuchi said. “A lot of what's happening in the world right now is scary stuff. Hopefully, through the show, we can work through it together.”

All Those 23andMe Spit Tests Were Part of a Bigger Plan

Article name drops Henriette Lacks at the end of it:
In some cases, after all, one individual can hold the key to a world of biomedicine. Take the famous case of Henrietta Lacks, whose family struggled in poverty for years after researchers turned her cancer cells into a critical research tool that made millions of dollars. With a far greater range of the human genome decoded, it’s easy to envision a Gattaca-esque future in which the DNA of the masses is mined for personalized miracle cures affordable only to the super rich.
Wojcicki says that’s just not going to happen. “We’re not evil,” she says. “Our brand is being direct-to-consumer and affordable.” For the time being she’s focused on the long, painful process of drug development. She’d like to think she’s earned some trust, but she hasn’t come this far on faith.