By Cory Doctorow (GPG 0xBF3D9110957E5F4C)

Today's threads (a thread) Inside: History is something you do; and more! Archived at: pluralistic.net/2026/10/27/t... #Pluralistic

Sysco’s $29B grab for Restaurant Depot doesn’t just hurt independent restaurants. It hurts the small farmers who sell to them. More consolidation means fewer choices and higher prices for you.

That figure jumped to 41% if they said it in a sexy voice.

Winnipeg mayoral election misinfo proclaimed confidently by Google’s AI search. Always doubt AI, and always check the citation.

I keep being told that 'you cannot put the genie back in the bottle' but I am pretty sure you can put the genie back in the bottle as that is where the genie lives most of the time.

The Borg found that species were 14% more likely to capitulate if they said"Resistance is futile" in a spooky voice.

Louder for those in the back: "A radical imagination dares to insist that history is what we make, not what happens to us."

Another killer thread from Cory. Always worth your time. 🧵🧵🧵

“And of course oligarchs love prediction markets, because they're the ones who can rig the odds…. *They* are the gods, the only ones who get to make history, so a market for bets on what history will do next is a way to enrich history's avatars at the expense of history's victims.”

because this!!

There's a great round table between Asimov, Wolfe, and Harlan Ellison where the interviewers present that argument as fact, and they all disagree (Ellison as vociferously as you might expect). youtu.be/RZvcKB9vQO0?...

🙌

“Greetings, my friend. We are all interested in the future, for that is where you and I are going to spend the rest of our lives.” ~ The Amazing Criswell, PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE (1958) Great thread 👇🏼

“[I]f resistance was *truly* futile, no one would have to say it.” I look at the self-proclaimed visionaries, and I don’t see the confidence I would expect. Instead, I see bullies’ lashing out projecting their insecurity and self-loathing on anyone calling their bluff. Futile? Ha! Resisting works!

“Inevitabilism is a form of vulgar Thatcherism, the assertion that "there is no alternative."” That is one hell of a great line.

"Quando nos dizem 'não há alternativa', eles querem dizer 'pare de pensar em alternativas'. Imaginar radicalmente é ir além do desamparo da previsão: uma imaginação radical ousa insistir que a história é o que nós fazemos, não o que acontece conosco."

This thread is a great argument for not giving in to autocrats, shitty politics or overreaching companies. We all have the power to shape a better future. When autocrats and capitalists say that something is not possible, that‘s just tactics, not the truth.

"Inevitabilism is a form of vulgar Thatcherism, the assertion that "there is no alternative."

"Do we let the stupidest, worst people among us lead us into the ecofascism of border walls, drone warfare, and exterminationism? [Or do we change the story and change the future?]" #SignMeUp

thevaultoftheatomicspaceage.tumblr.com/post/8316285...

518 words on “Once Is Enemy Action,” a science fiction novel about the origins of modern technofascism. (30331 words total) #dailywords

One of the most skilful online writers can be read just about every day for free, and will reliably jog you awake with plain gems like this one: "When they tell us 'there is no alternative,' what they mean is 'stop trying to think of alternatives.'"

The crazy thing is that today we *could* build a Moller skycar. It'd be electric and the range would be shit, but with Ukraine rescuing wounded soldiers from the front line using octarotor heavy drones ...

TINA is very curious to me because it makes the political class unnecessary - if there is no alternative, why do we have to keep the processes of compromise and shaping policy around? Why not save the effort and money then and make politicians get real jobs?

The market decided it is more profitable to sell protection from climate change than stop it.

Great thread (read the whole thing here or on his blog), but this is one of my favorite insights from Cory over the years. " You mustn't be afraid to dream a little bigger, darling." - Eames Inception

superb . it's amazing how difficult tap wat can be to get in some countries ..im looking at you Belgium

‘Imagining alternatives’ is something the humanities can excel at. But of course, that’s us under siege as well, so…

"History is something you do" 🔥

Our menu declaring our tap water is "of excellent quality and perfectly safe to drink" has people asking a lot of questions answered by our menu.