[Plura-list] Villainry revealed by Monty Python Latin

Cory Doctorow doctorow at craphound.com
Sun Nov 8 12:28:16 EST 2020


Today's links

* Villainry revealed by Monty Python Latin: "Bravus" means "crooked,"
not "brave."

* This day in history: 2010, 2015

* Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming appearances, current writing
projects, current reading

_,.-'~'-.,__,.-'~'-.,__,.-'~'-.,__,.-'~'-.,__,.-'~'-.,_

🗽 Villainry revealed by Monty Python Latin

Adani is an Australian mining company that is so corrupt and brutal that
it's a wonder that it's not a Canadian mining company.

Its signature initiative is a massive coalmine on stolen Aboriginal land
in Queensland.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/carmichael-coalmine

The mine, and its associated railroad and port, are a toxic mix of
long-term (CO2) and immediate (reef-killing dredging) environmental
consequences. It's so bad that Australia's major insurers will not write
a policy for the project:

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jun/12/adani-mine-three-major-insurers-to-have-no-further-involvement-in-coal-project

The company's response to its critics has been predictably brutal as
well, from hiring private investigators to follow activists' children
around:

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/oct/28/private-investigator-hired-by-adani-secretly-photographed-activists-family

to seeking the power to execute no-knock search-warrants on activists'
homes:

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/aug/27/adani-fails-to-win-court-order-to-conduct-surprise-search-of-environmental-activists-home

All of this evil fuckery has given Adani a bad rep, so it did the
natural thing: hired a branding agency to come up with a new name for
the company.

That name is "Bravus." Apparently, they thought this was Latin for
"brave." It's actually Latin for "crooked," "deformed" or "assassin."

(The word they were looking for is "fortis")

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/nov/05/crooked-not-courageous-adani-renames-australian-group-bravus-mistaking-it-for-brave

While it's obvious that the company came up with the name through "Monty
Python Latin" ("Biggus Dickus"), they claim it's a mashup of "Brave" and
"Us," with the "Us" signifying the company's inclusivity and its loyalty
to aUStralia.

Yeah, right.

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🗽 This day in history

#10yrsago Staircase storage: vertical shelving unit is its own
stepladder http://www.dannykuo.com/staircase.html

#5yrsago It was once socially acceptable and surprisingly affordable to
send children by parcel post
http://www.centralfloridastampclub.org/pages/pics3/022015insa.pdf

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🗽 Colophon

Today's top sources: Super Punch (https://www.superpunch.net/).

Currently writing: My next novel, "The Lost Cause," a post-GND novel
about truth and reconciliation. Friday's progress: 525 words (79380 total).

Currently reading: The Ministry for the Future, Kim Stanley Robinson

Latest podcast: Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town (part 21)
https://craphound.com/podcast/2020/11/01/someone-comes-to-town-someone-leaves-town-part-21/

Upcoming appearances:

* How to Fix the Internet/Reboot 2020, Nov 9,
https://www.rebootconference.org/day-two

* Cyberterrorists, Post-Apocalyptic Landscapes, and
Were-Pomeranians/Texas Book Festival, Nov 12,
https://www.texasbookfestival.org/events/cyberterrorists-post-apocalyptic-landscapes-and-were-pomeranians-new-in-speculative-fiction/

* Let's Talk About Influence/Designthinkers, Nov 16,
https://www.designthinkers.com/week-2/strategy-lets-talk-about-influence

* Shaping the Digital Future Summit/Kaspersky, Nov 17, details TBD

* Misinformation and Disinformation in Science Fiction and Fantasy/LITA,
Nov 17, details TBD

* Keynote, Data Natives, Nov 18, https://datanatives.io/tickets/

* Keynote, Cologne Futures, Nov 20, details TBD

* Keynote, Cybersummit 2020, Nov 26 https://www.cybera.ca/cyber-summit-2020/

* Beaverbrook Lecture: How to Destroy Surveillance Capitalism, Nov 30,
https://www.mcgill.ca/maxbellschool/channels/event/2020-beaverbrook-annual-lecture-part-ii-cory-doctorow-325538

* Keynote, NISO Plus, Feb 22-25,
https://niso.plus/cory-doctorow-to-keynote-at-niso-plus-2021/

Recent appearances:

* Author Stories Podcast
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxSPZn8EGTE

* The Gould Standard:
https://www.glenngould.ca/thegouldstandard/#cory-doctorow

* Attack Surface: A Reckoning
https://draxfiles.com/2020/10/26/show-278-attack-surface-a-reckoning/

Latest book:

* "Attack Surface": The third Little Brother novel, a standalone
technothriller for adults. The *Washington Post* called it "a political
cyberthriller, vigorous, bold and savvy about the limits of revolution
and resistance." Order signed, personalized copies from Dark Delicacies
* "How to Destroy Surveillance Capitalism": an anti-monopoly pamphlet
analyzing the true harms of surveillance capitalism and proposing a
solution.
https://onezero.medium.com/how-to-destroy-surveillance-capitalism-8135e6744d59

* "Little Brother/Homeland": A reissue omnibus edition with a new
introduction by Edward Snowden:
https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250774583; personalized/signed copies
here:
https://www.darkdel.com/store/p1750/July%3A__Little_Brother_%26_Homeland.html

* "Poesy the Monster Slayer" a picture book about monsters, bedtime,
gender, and kicking ass. Order here:
https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781626723627. Get a personalized, signed
copy here:
https://www.darkdel.com/store/p1562/_Poesy_the_Monster_Slayer.html.

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