Japan How Animal Crossing is modeled on 18th century debt-based Japanese villages Mark Frauenfelder

coronavirus Six reasons why some people refuse to stay home during a pandemic Mark Frauenfelder

fbi The FBI doesn't need Apple to give it a backdoor to encryption, because it already has all the access it needs Thom Dunn

china Leaked documents document China's plan for mass arrests and concentration-camp internment of Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities in Xinjiang Cory Doctorow

Kids Quiet Rooms: Illinois schools lead the nation in imprisoning very young, disabled children in isolation chambers Cory Doctorow

web theory Freedom House: Thanks to social media, internet freedom is down for the the ninth straight year Cory Doctorow

pewdiepie PewDiePie goes on the record Rob Beschizza

Journalism After a police raid, a Nicaraguan cartoonist has found sanctuary in the United States Thom Dunn

twitter Twitter bans more psyops accounts: China, UAE, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Spain, and Ecuador Xeni Jardin

Kids Grounded teen evades device confiscation by tweeting from the smart-fridge Cory Doctorow

happy mutants The Canadian government has released the surprisingly sensible results of its extensive, year-long review of copyright law Michael Geist

arrrr The Pirate Bay still lives Rob Beschizza

eff The European Copyright Directive: What is it, and why has it drawn more controversy than any other Directive in EU history? Cory Doctorow

tattoos From Bears Ears in Utah, a 2,000-year-old tattooing tool is rediscovered Xeni Jardin

trumpism Blockbuster Gizmodo investigation reveals probable masterminds of the massive anti-Net Neutrality identity theft/astroturf campaign Cory Doctorow

News India set to adopt China-style internet censorship Xeni Jardin

late stage capitalism Fox News blames schools teaching "fairness" for support for a tax on the super-rich Cory Doctorow

Fox 'n Fools Fox News just now figuring out Trump: "Bullying journalists is not presidential" Carla Sinclair

picks R. Kelly is under criminal investigation in Georgia, 'direct result' of #SurvivingRKelly Lifetime docu-series Xeni Jardin

News FCC closed due to government shutdown, Ajit Pai won't be at CES Xeni Jardin