Some Important Information, and a Warning

Plus, a new publication.

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There’s a lot going on that should concern us. Most of my posts go in depth on a particular topic, but this time we’re doing a round up on some pressing items, including some notes on the personal front.

First, reports are circulating that Google has started blocking and removing content from Drive that doesn’t meet their “community standards.” They’ve always done this to some extent, but now they’re ramping up. They’re widening the net, and it’s triggering alarm bells for writers, artists, and activists.

See this:

Earlier this year, I wrote at least one or two posts talking about the need for us all to get a little more savvy about our personal online security. Some of us ditched Google months ago, either when Trump won the election or when Google renamed the gulf. For many of us, that wasn’t just a pointless concession. It was a signal of surrender, and a warning to start getting off the Google ecosystem. The best time to get off Google was months or years ago. The second best time is now. It’s a pain. You’ll have to go through any subscriptions and update your contact info. You’ll have to export your email address book and drive.

Yes, the tech companies already have a lot of data on us. The way I see things, there’s no need to keep giving them sensitive information on what we’re doing. They know a lot about us up until the moment we cut them off.

Make sense?

For what it’s worth, I also don’t trust other big corporate cloud storage systems like One Drive or Dropbox. It’s probably just a matter of time before they follow suit with Google. I’ll provide a bigger list later, but for now, look for something not owned by a big corporation. Some folks recommend Proton. Stop using Google Drive, Chrome, or anything else for your personal, artistic, and political work.

It’s not safe there.

You can also get off Windows and start using Linux. Some of the most popular distributions include Mint, Fedora, and Ubuntu. It takes a little adjusting. If you want, you can also set up a dual boot on your computer. You can still use Windows for anything you don’t mind fascist tech bros looking at, then you can reboot and launch into Linux for anything you consider sensitive. If you wanted to work on two separate devices, nobody who’s informed would call you paranoid.

As some of us warned last week, mass censorship is just getting started. After canceling Colbert, CBS has just recently agreed to appoint a “bias monitor” who will essentially police the network’s news reporting. It’s only a matter of time before other companies start making similar caves, and it’s not alarmist to anticipate that eventually every platform or outlet we use will have someone policing the content we produce and consume. If they were already doing it, they’re going to be doing more of it, harder, more up in our face. It’s not shocking to those of us who already knew online platforms were censoring certain topics, but it does mean that things are going to keep getting worse, at an accelerated pace.

In other news…

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My daughter got Covid. For once, I didn’t.

Earlier this week, my daughter tested positive for Covid. If nothing else, it was an opportunity to put all of my research to the test on plant-based antiviral supplements and HOCl steam (read more here).

It’s looking like a success.

My daughter is recovering well. My spouse didn’t get sick. I never felt sick, and I never tested positive for Covid. We did HOCl steam in a cool mist humidifier for a couple of hours at least a few times a day. Once or twice, I ran it for myself overnight. I took olive leaf extract, taurine, and Vitamin D in line with the dose guidelines here. I also used quercetin powder from BulkSupplements.com, which scores high over at ConsumerLab. Finally, I already take a cinnamon pill from Swanson (Cinnulin PF), and cinnamon has antiviral properties.

I’m not selling this stuff. I have no affiliate marketing deals with any of these companies. I’m just telling you what worked for us. Honestly, it’s a relief to know that if Covid manages to bypass our N95 masks and other precautions, we have some treatment options. (Nobody in our family can get Paxlovid.) Given that we also probably won’t be eligible for boosters this fall thanks to RFK Jr. and his anti-vaxxer friends, it’s a double relief. We’re probably going to be using HOCl steam even more when we go anywhere, as a precaution.

I can’t guarantee these methods will work for you, but I feel satisfied that all the research was worth it. I’m making these posts free. If you find this information helpful, it would be great if you could offer some support.

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I’m launching a new publication.

This weekend, I decided to launch a new publication. My writing has evolved a lot over the last few years. I’m covering a range of topics, and not all of them can fit into a newsletter dedicated to the rolling polycrisis. Honestly, not everyone wants to read about collapse every day. A lot of readers just want thought-provoking essays that don’t remind them of all the problems.

This one is going to focus on writing, culture, and creativity. The idea is to keep it smart, but with lighter content.

Here it is:

I’ve already got two posts up, and several more planned.

You can get a discount here.

Hope to see you over there.

Take care,

Jessica