Friday Afternoon Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- A panel of experts has offered a set of recommendations to deal with the current COVID-19 reality, including a particular focus on the need for whole-of-society action rather than leaving a global pandemic to individual choices. And David Berger highlights how the facts starkly contradict the claim that we've beaten COVID rather than surrendering to it.  

- Jon Milton offers a primer on the Ford PCs' unilateral negation of collective bargaining and striking in order to avoid sharing money which the province has in hand with education workers. David Moscrop writes that the use of the notwithstanding clause in particular is indefensible from the standpoint of remotely competent governance. And Adam King highlights the importance of solidarity in pushing back against Ford's abuse of power to attack workers. 

- Meanwhile, Laura Glowacki reports on the soaring costs of healthy food which is being pushed further out of reach by wage suppression. 

- Jennifer Ludden reports on Cincinnati's smart move to take over housing from absentee landlords to ensure it's available for residents. And that makes for a stark contrast against what's happening in Regina, as Gillian Massie reports on the plight of homeless people as winter weather arrives without the city doing anything but threatening them. 

- Finally, Zeynep Tufecki writes that we shouldn't let the absurdity of Elon Musk's takeover of Twitter distract from the problems with allowing our main social media connections to be operated to primarily serve the interests of corporate advertisers rather than users. 

Thursday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Armine Yalnizyan writes that in the face of an impending self-inflicted recession, governments should be using their available resources (and taxing the richest people and corporations) to make sure people at the bottom of the income scale don't once again bear the brunt of economic upheaval. And David Macdonald points out that Canada's provinces have plenty of extra cash on hand compared to this year's projections to take care of people who need help. But Jim Stanford notes that central banks are instead focusing on suppressing wages while raising no issue with profit shares far exceeding their acceptable rate of inflation. And Marco Chown Oved reports that Loblaws in particular has turned inflation into an opportunity for massive profiteering.

- Johannes Van Zul reports on new research showing that COVID-19 can activate the same inflammatory processes in the brain as Parkinson's disease. And Melanie Paradis discusses the glaring shortage of medication for children facing the combination of COVID, cold and flu. So naturally, corporate Canada's response is...to demand that government workers be forced back into offices to increase the spread of the coronavirus. 

- Robin McKie discusses how the window to avert climate catastrophe is rapidly closing. And Christopher Flavelle reports on the Biden administration's recognition that many communities will have no choice but to relocate in the face of baked-in climate change. 

- Meanwhile, Ben Elgin and Sindura Rangarajan report that many of the already-insufficient emission credits claimed so far are the result of accounting tricks and impossible promises rather than actual work to reduce carbon pollution. And Simon Enoch and Emily Eaton point out what Regina could be doing to implement its climate equity framework - even as its current decisions are almost invariably tilted in the opposite direction.  

- Finally, Edward Keenan writes that there's reason for anger at Doug Ford's glaring disrespect for school support staff (among other workers).

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Tuesday Night Cat Blogging

Prop cats.

Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Umair Haque discusses how the UK has become a failing state which lacks the capacity to provide either basic public services or a functional economy of any kind. Adam Bychawski wonders whether any of the corporate-sponsored "think tanks" which pushed for the most destructive policy choices will ever be treated as discredited. And Owen Jones calls out the Cons' typical choice to distract from their own failings by demonizing refugees. 

- Meanwhile, Berenice de Suzanne writes that more and more Canadian corporate money is being stashed in tax havens to avoid funding a functional society. 

- Isabella Simonetti and Julia Creswell note that U.S. consumer prices are continuing to increase far past the point necessary to cover retailers' costs - confirming that much of the inflation people are facing is the result of corporate profiteering. And Kelly Geraldine Malone reports on the large number of people having to turn to food banks or skipping meals as a result of inflated food prices. 

- Daniel Drache and Mark Froese ask whether authoritarian populism will self-destruct. But Mitchell Anderson notes that hate is being cultivated by several interconnected forces which demand far more of a response than Canada has yet been able to muster. And Susan Delacourt writes that Pierre Poilievre is avoiding answering for his own support for the #FluTruxKlan. 

- Finally, Katherine Wu discusses both how COVID-19 is evolving far too quickly for much-hyped monoclonal antibodies to keep up, and how U.S. pediatric care is facing its worst crisis in decades as the coronavirus is allowed to spread unabated. 

Monday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Knvul Sheikh reports on new research showing how a single COVID-19 can "rebound" whether or not it's been treated with Paxlovid. Pooja Toshniwal Paharia discusses another study estimating that 15% of the U.S.' adult population is new suffering from long COVID. And David Shield reports on massive wastewater positivity spikes in the three cities monitored by the University of Saskatchewan. 

- Meanwhile, Wayne Mantyka reports on the emergency rooms in Regina which are being crushed by failures in public health and social policy. And Allison Hanes reports on Quebec's overwhelming pediatric units.

- Zak Vescera highlights the efforts of organized labour to ensure people have adequate housing (even as the corporate sector seeks to freeze renters out of housing to keep prices up). 

- Aaron Clark, Zahra Hirji and Akshat Rathi discuss how Canada's choice to keep spewing methane emissions undermines any claim to be a responsible actor in terms of climate policy. 

- Finally, Rose Lemay writes that the Emergencies Act inquiry into the federal response to the #FluTruxKlan is exposing the preferential treatment granted to privileged white occupiers. But Justin Ling notes that they're still trying to claim victimization for facing the indignity of having some journalists point out the actual harm and potential threat they posted. 

Sunday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- Ewen Callaway discusses the COVID-19 "variant soup" which we'll be drowning in this winter due to the deliberate elimination of any public health protections as politicians value denial over people's lives. And Tyler Cheese reports that Ontario hospitals are going to be forced to issue alerts about emergency rooms with no capacity to help patients.

- Umair Haque writes about the transition from late-stage capitalism to end-stage capitalism, as both the concentration of wealth and its social harms continue growing unchecked. And Katharine Mach and Galen Treuer discuss the need for climate adaptation plans to deal with substantial changes to everyday life, not only responding to disasters as they arise. 

- Nicole Stillger reports that most of the revenue from soaring oil production and prices is being sucked out of Alberta, while Andrew Leach calls out Danielle Smith's plan to hand even more free money to the oil industry under the guise of cleaning up some of its messes.

- Joshua Freeman reports on the response to Doug Ford's plan to turn flood-prone conservation lands into a source of short-term profit for his developer buddies with no regard for the harm to everybody else.

- Finally, Theresa Kliem reports on the growing number of people in Saskatchewan who have been forced to turn to food banks - along with the Moe government's complete lack of interest in doing anything to help.