18 — Boardgames & Blasphemy

We get real nerdy on this one. First we discuss the socialist and feminist history of Monopoly that Hasbro has erased, then dive into the source code of the CovidSafe app. News

• Anneliese van Diemen, Victoria’s Deputy Chief Health Officer has been cleared of wrongdoing, after tweeting a comparison between Captain Cook and COVID-19.
• George Pell bad.
• Universal Basic Income good.

Ms. Monopoly

• The Not Good Pod crew are big boardgame nerds (Mitch is a metalhead, Evie is cool).
• Ms. Monopoly is here to save capitalism from the boys.
• Monopoly was originally invented by a woman, Elizabeth Magie, as a teaching tool called the Landlord’s Game, intended to demonstrate that capitalism is miserable.
• The game was pirated by a man and rebranded as Monopoly, who sold the rights to Parker Brothers.
• In Millenial Monopoly, no one can afford property and buy experiences instead.

Unions are good, this Union is bad

• The Shoppies union has fucked over workers again, cutting penalty rates for part time worker.
• The Shoppies union has a long history of screwing over their members.
• Sally McManus, secretary of the ACTU has agreed with Labor Senator Kristina Keneally’s racist anti-immigration stance.

The App is Not Good Enough

• Thanks to open source digging, we know the app is much worse than we originally though.
• Due to poor design, it’s possible for the app to incorrectly tell people they have be diagnosed with Covid.
• According to a dissection of the the app source code, it shows that the app violates open source software licences. Whether it allows you to violate the Geneva Convention, we do not know.
• The government spent $416k over ten days developing the prototype.
• Footballer’s wife Bec Judd is berating people for not downloading the app.
• The Government is marketing the app as if it keeps individual users safe, not as a tool for society-level modeling.
• Retailer Harvey Norman are trying to sell phones off the back of the CovidSafe app. Gerry Harvey has previously called the Coronavirus pandemic an “opportunity”.

Actions

• Live on a lag, don’t go out. Don’t play Monopoly.
• If you’re part of the Shoppies Union, join the Retail and Fast Food Union or Hospo Voice.
• Listen the the Mandatory Redistribution Party podcast.