Monday Morning Links

Assorted content to start your week.

- Tim Wu discusses how the richest few have come to dominate our politics (with our health and well-being paying the price), while Ian Welsh examines the obscene concentration of wealth in the U.S. Jeff Horwitz exposes how Meta's business model includes the deliberate facilitation of scams as a major revenue source, while Harrison Mooney interviews Gil Duran about the rise of techno-fascism. And Jared Yates Sexton writes that oligarchic buyup of politicians and ad blitzes hasn't succeeded in winning over the public.

- Carl Beuer writes that the devastating results of Trump regime's withholding of food stamps demonstrate the need for effective government to provide social supports, while Kristen Crowell offers a reminder that the long-time plan of the Republicans and their anti-social cronies has been to eliminate anything of the sort. Marisa Kabas talks to SNAP recipients about their experience having minimal supports stripped away. And Rene Sylvestre-Williams discusses how there's more governments can do to ensure necessities are affordable, including by directly providing basic needs so people aren't stuck paying corporate markups for everything. 

- Luke Savage discusses the stark difference between a future where people have an option of pluralistic social democracy, and one where neoliberal acquiescence is the only perceived alternative to fascism.  And Jason Sattler comments on the importance of a politics based on people taking action rather than merely being acted upon, while Taylor Noakes highlights how Canadians can draw inspiration from Zohran Mamdani's mayoral victory. 

- George Goehl writes about the need to give people clear calls to action at a time when they're eager to make a difference. And Katherine Wu discusses the large number of scientists stepping up to run for office as their life's work has been negated by ignorant political choices. 

- Finally, Karl Nerenberg comments on Mark Carney's choice to focus the federal investments on militarism and little else. Alex Hemingway points out a few of the most glaring missed opportunities,  while Emmett MacFarlane notes that the budget misses the real causes of Canada's problems. And Rachel Samson points out the mismatch between Carney's supposed goals and the level of resources provided, while Carl Meyer examines the particular reduction in both rules and funding for environmental priorities. 

Musical interlude

Matthew Good Band - Going All The Way

 

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Kaitlin Tosh and Michelle Inez Simon examine how Elon Musk's takeover of X has led to the systematic pushing of right-wing propaganda on users whether they have any interest in receiving it or not. And Mickey Djuric discusses the farce of the Trump regime and its Canadian puppets becoming more interested in preventing the culling of ostriches being raised for meat than in people's well-being, while Angela Rasmussen notes that even the end of the matter in substance will do nothing to stop the concerted spread of anti-science crankery.

- Meanwhile, Samantha Hancox-Li discusses the need for a determined, war-time mindset in responding to the right's wanton attacks on reason. And Jael Holzman points out the potential to form alliances in pushing back against the tethering of social and economic development to corporate-controlled AI. 

- Stuart Braun comments on the fossil fuelk propaganda mill and its disinformation surrounding the COP30 climate talks, while Emily Atkin examines Bari Weiss' pattern of denialism now being imposed on CBS News. Joelle Gergis writes about the need to move past nebulous "net zero" promises and actually use affordable clean energy to cut down on carbon pollution. And the Economist discusses how China is doing just that by focusing on clean energy development while the U.S. pins its hopes on ever-more-implausible snake oil schemes. 

- Finally, Ricardo Tranjan writes that Ontario's fall economic statement is predictably loaded with freebies for the corporate class but devoid of supports for people. And Katherine Scott notes that Mark Carney's first federal budget follows a similar path (even after he was elected based largely on a margin of progressive votes). 

Thursday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Catarina Saraiva and Jaewon Kang warn that the U.S. economy is a Jenga tower in which pieces needed to support the middle class are being systematically removed. Bloomberg's editorial board examines the national scope of the U.S.' gambling problem - with sports betting as just part of the drain on workers. And Public Citizen traces the connections between Donald Trump's ballroom bribe solicitation and hundreds of billions of dollars in federal contract awards. 

- Meanwhile, Rebecca Schneid discusses how Zohran Mamdani has offered a vitally important reminder that oligarchs can't buy elections in the face of public organization. Emma Goldberg and Benjamin Oreskes highlight how Mamdani recognized and responded to the young voters who have been facing a loneliness crisis. Ian Welsh views Mamdani's focus on affordability - coupled with positive solutions  based on collective power rather than mere finger-pointing - as the model Democrats need to seize upon. And Moustafa Bayoumi writes that Mamdani was rewarded for defending his values, while Moira Donegan implores the rest of the Democratic Party to learn from his success. 

- Climate Action Tracker's latest evaluation of Canada's climate policy finds that we're headed in the wrong direction under the Carney Libs even as the cost of inaction becomes ever more stark. Markham Hislop discusses the dangers of letting the oil industry's false assumptions and empty promises take precedence over planning for an affordable and sustainable future. And Bob Weber examines how the UCP has set out to stick the public with perpetually more cleanup costs in order to ensure oil companies  operating in Alberta can escape responsibility for the messes they're making. 

- Finally, Katie Kavanagh offers a reminder that COVID-19 is still around even as basic measures to track and control it have long since been abandoned. And Michael Le Page reports on a new study showing that exposure to COVID raises the risk of heart issues in children - in contrast to the protective effects of vaccination. 

Wednesday Night Cat Blogging

Slushy cat.

Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- The UN Environmental Programme's Emissions Gap Report examines the painfully slow progress toward reining in global warming even as the technology to eliminate emissions has become cheaper than dirty energy. And Nick Hedley notes that over a dozen countries are on a path toward 100% renewable electricity even as our petropoliticians insist such a thing isn't possible. 

- Caroline Preston discusses the gains made by U.S. teachers' unions to show how it's possible to use collective bargaining as a means to secure climate action. Adam King calls out Danielle Smith for summarily obliterating the Charter rights of Alberta teachers to bargain for the best interests of their students. And Sanya Burgess' investigation into massive numbers of injuries at UK Amazon warehouses offers a reminder as to how workers suffer when employers are able to impose their disregard for health and safety without collective pushback.  

- Hadrian Mertins-Kirkwood and Davis Legree each note that Mark Carney has chosen to go in exactly the wrong direction in his first federal budget, underming already-insufficient climate plans while catering to oil tycoons. Marc Fawcett-Atkinson notes that Carney's decision to facilitate oil companies' climate denial and false greenwashing is as unpopular as it is indefensible. And David Macdonald and Mertins-Kirkwood rightly question more generally why any opposition party would support the Libs' corporatist budget. 

- Anita Balakrishnan reports on the push from university leaders for support to find places for the scientists who are being driven out of the U.S. by the Trump regime. 

- Finally, Jason Linkins calls out the U.S. media for sanitizing Donald Trump's shredding of the rule of law as well as individual rights - making for a particularly galling contrast compared to Hamilton Nolan's observation that the corporate media has treated Zohran Mamdani's simple suggestion of helping people as grounds to declare him unfit for office. But the repudiation of that party line by voters offers reason for hope that the oligarchy isn't going to go unopposed. 

Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- David Coletto discusses how Canadians from across the political spectrum want to see the Carney Libs prioritize housing construction and economic independence, rather than chasing the false promise of short-term growth. And Tonda MacCharles reports on new polling showing clear opposition to any austerity campaign. But Stewart Prest warns that Mark Carney seems bent on kow-towing to established wealth and power (including the Trump regime) no matter how much the Canadian public disagrees. 

- Kathy Chow writes about the dangers to humanity if Elon Musk (or another similarly megalomaniacal tycoon) manages to amass wealth of another order of magnitude. Darryl Coote reports on a new Oxfam study finding that just ten U.S. billionaires hoarded nearly $700 billion in additional wealth over the last year. And Robert Reich notes that it's open to states to move toward taxing extreme wealth rather than letting Trump impose extreme and worsening inequality on the entire country. 

- Meanwhile, Elizabeth Dwoskin reports on the tech bros trying to use their wealth to eliminate both large-D and small-d democratic governance in the U.S. And Brian Phillips examines the reality of the AI bubble as a sector built on contempt for human creativity is itself entirely reliant on fiction as its product. 

- Christina Figueres writes about the need for climate action focused on clean development. Dharna Noor reports that even the limited amount of climate funding that's been deployed has been ineffective due to an appalling lack of support for a just transition. And Jake Evans points out that Australia's investment in solar energy has proven so successful that people are being gifted free power. 

- Robert Reich writes about Donald Trump's deliberate cultivation of chaos - and the need to build stronger communities in response. Jonathan Last discusses how Trumpism is utterly incompatible with democracy. And Tom Nichols rightly characterizes the Trump regime as having the mindset of toddlers, while Edward Harrington points out its performative irrationality. 

- Finally, the Canadian Anti-Hate Network offers a warning about the spread of white nationalism in Canada. And Mark Chadbourn discusses how the Dutch electorate's rejection of Geert Wilders shows that it's possible to counter fascist politics. 

Monday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- A.R. Moxon writes about the need to restore the capacity for shame as a precondition to reversing the decline of the U.S. Noah Berlatsky notes that it's particularly damning when both major parties are willing to agree to kick down at marginalized people. And Kyla Scanlon writes about the massive number of losing bets at the heart of Trump's economy, while Justin Ling points out that the only guaranteed winners from the Trump regime are the insiders being allowed to loot the public purse. 

- Meanwhile, Tatiana Homonoff, Min Lee and Katherine Mechel study the effects of Trump's theft of SNAP benefits, finding that process-related loss of benefits leads to even more precarious financial situations among other harms. 

- Peter Foster, Attracta Mooney and Kaye Wiggins report on the Trump regime's hostage-taking tactics to prevent even a first step toward establishing emission rules on global shipping. And while each of Rick Smith and Rachel Doran, Vittoria Bellissimo and Peter McArthur make compelling cases for viable clean economy transition strategies, it's worth noting that a willingness to push back against Trump and his Canadian puppets is a necessary precondition to the development of any alternative.  

- On that front, Christopher Holcroft is rightly concerned by Mark Carney's willingness to give the techbros behind the Trump regime everything they want rather than standing up for Canadians' privacy and security. And Linda McQuaig highlights how the U.S.' "golden dome" provides nothing but an illusion of safety - both in terms of its dubious prospects of ever functioning as promised, and in the dangers of being more closely tied to an impetuous regime even if it does. 

- Finally, Andrew Nikiforuk writes about Yaneer Bar-Yam's warning that we're falling far short of taking the continuing risks of COVID-19 seriously. 

Musical interlude

Vok - Waterfall

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Erica Frantz, Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Joseph Wright comment on the global tilt toward strongman government as the U.S. abandons any pretense of being a democracy rather than a fiefdom. And Jonathan Last discusses the Trump regime's prioritization of performative violence over substantive action. 

- Justin Ling weighs in on the reality that we're best off not locking ourselves into new deals with the U.S. which result only in our making concessions for no enforceable gains, while Doug Nesbitt writes that our past EV strategy has been based mostly on corporate giveaways rather than real industrial development. And Lois Ross notes that Claudia Sheinbaum's Plan Mexico offers a needed blueprint to develop a sustainable economy and society which doesn't depend either on a capricious U.S. regime or on constant submission to capital. 

- Phoebe Weston writes about the parallels between the inner and outer layers of biodiversity which are both being undremined by corporate forces. James Dyke writes about the imminent derailment risk as cascading climate feedback loops eliminate our ability to adapt. And Andrew Wilkin highlights how COVID-19 minimization and other attacks on public health have maximized the social harm arising from preventable diseases. 

- Finally, Alex Caputo-Pearl and Jackson Potter discuss the need for the labour movement to unify to oppose the Trump regime, while Adam King notes that Alberta workers (along with students) are doing just that in response to Danielle Smith's negation of teachers' Charter rights. And Leah Gazan makes the case to rein in the federal Libs' reflexive anti-strike decrees.