Tuesday Night Cat Blogging

Aquatic cat.

Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Yanis Varoufakis rightly argues that the EU (and the international community generally) should be treating the U.S.' draconian sanctions against ICC judges as fully disqualifying it from being treated as anything but a bad actor. And James Ball writes about the challenges facing the war on disinformation as the few people who once worked on countering propaganda are likewise being treated as persona non grata, while Charles Ornstein discusses the Trump regime's intimidation tactics toward working reporters (including treating basic requests for comment as evidence of hostility). 

- Connie Loizis reports on the development of a private security state under the not-at-all-telling branding of Sauron. And Arian Campo-Flores discusses how the wealthy are buying privacy which has been made unavailable to anybody else. 

- Elizabeth Todd-Breland opines that there's no room for dispute that corporations need to pay more taxes to support a functional society. And Richard Partington writes about the need for UK Labour (and other governments) to recognize the human toll of increased automation. 

- Finally, Tina Swanson offers a handy categorization of climate policies based on their level of utility - with the corporate right's preferred delay tactics of nuclear reactors and carbon capture and storage serving as representative examples of what not to bank on. Marc Lee discusses what we've learned about Mark Carney's agenda, including his his prioritizing dirty energy over any considerations of well-being or long-term prosperity. And David Roberts interviews Saul Griffith about the success of Australia's rooftop solar program. 

Monday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material for your Monday reading.

- Seva Gunitsky discusses how the U.S. is committing hegemonic suicide. Simon Tisdall is about as optimistic as one can be about the Trump regime in arguing that it will represent little more than a blotch in on history in the long run, while Daniel Barkhuff writes that the U.S. resistance is winning by persevering. And Will Saletan et al. comment on Trump's plundering of all available sources of tribute. 

- Samuel Wynn Warde writes that Canada has been able to avoid the worst effects of Trump's capriciousness by (thus far) choosing not to supply the U.S.' war against it. And Cory Doctorow argues that countries can further remove themselves from the whims of the U.S. and its tech giants by repealing anti-circumvention laws which prioritize corporate rentiers over users and citizens. 

- Sam Sutton points out that the wealthiest few are predictably making a killing off of Trump's corruption without any benefit finding its way past the upper classes. And Curtis Fric comments on new polling showing that Canadians view the economic system as biased in favour of the rich.  

- Anna Isaac notes that tech billionaires have raked in half a trillion dollars in AI-based valuation based on little more than laughable spin. Aisha Down and Dan Milmo discuss Nvidia's attempts to avoid becoming the next Enron or Lucent, though the main difference seems to be that its need for constant expansion to support its business model is out in the open. And each of Emily Sanders and Morgan Bazalian and Brandon Owens highlight how AI's greenwashed messages and promises are utterly contrary to its reliance on dirty fossil fuels. 

- Oliver Milman reports on new polling showing that even a strong majority of U.S. voters see the climate crisis as affecting their food supply and cost of living. And Steven Morris reports on the National Trust's latest observations on the worsening of extreme weather. 

- Finally, University of California - Riverside examines the effects of microplastics in clogging arteries and fueling heart disease. Which makes Mark Carney's decision to enable single-use plastics exports look like nothing but a choice to sell out people's health in order to prop up the oil sector. 

Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Sujeet Indap and Akila Quinio report on the accumulation of consumer debt by private credit groups, making people's inability to meet their needs into a factor being exploited by more and more capital interests. And Robert Reich highlights the need for a more fair distribution of wealth and income for the economy to be able to function:

   

- Meanwhile, Roshni Sahoo et al. model the cost of ending extreme poverty around the world, and find the price of ending severe deprivation would amount to a rounding error of .3% of global GDP. 

- Huilin Luo et al. examine (PDF) the effect of different greenhouse gas emission policies, and find that it's impossible to subsidize our way out of a climate breakdown without also regulating carbon pollution. Umair Irfan writes that we can't afford to give up the climate fight even as fossil fuel forces are already pushing us past dangerous thresholds. And Cloe Logan reports on Laura Tozer's lament that Mark Carney is doing nothing but undermining an already-insufficient set of federal climate policies. 

- Finally, Emma Graney reports that Carney is also laying the groundwork to open up the export of single-use plastics as another means of favouring the oil sector at the expense of public and environmental health. And Juno Rylee Schultz discusses how laissez-faire theory which lets businesses decide how much pollution to emit has consistently led to people being poisoned and exploited. 

Tuesday Night Cat Blogging

Decorated cat.

Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Kara Miller interviews Ray Madoff about the tax dodges that allow the richest Americans to hoard wealth without contributing to the society that makes it possible. And David Sirota is duly cynical about Mitt Romney and other plutocrats offering meaningless gestures toward tax fairness after they've forfeited the power to implement it. 

- Meanwhile, Thom Hartmann writes that plenty of Americans are eager to see a new New Deal to break up the concentration of wealth and power. And Rafael Behr discusses the prospect of people taking back control after the AI bubble bursts. 

- Allen Woods writes about Mark Carney's decision to become a fossil fuel cheerleader rather than a responsible climate advocate, while Rick Smith laments the uncertainty and lack of ambition created by Carney's climate policy reversals.  And the Guardian's editorial board notes that the EU too looks to be undermining readily-achievable gains by shredding its previous electric vehicle targets. 

- Among the other harms caused by the climate breakdown, Damian Carrington reports on a new analysis showing that crop production is becoming more vulnerable to pests, while Senay Boztas reports that even the food which reaches our tables includes less nutrition and more filler as a result of rising CO2 levels. 

- Finally, Rachel Morgam reports on Ontario School Safety's appeal for basic air quality improvements to limit the spread of cold and flu viruses. And Laine Bergeron discusses new research showing that workplace exposures in high-risk jobs (including teaching and health-care work) correlate to a higher risk of long COVID. 

Monday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Amanda Marcotte discusses how Donald Trump is taking know-nothingism to new depths in response to even the most glaring of realities. Mike Konczal notes that whatever theory there was behind Trump's economic policy (other than naked corruption) has utterly failed to materialize. And Casey Michel points out that white-collar criminals are among the few groups seeing any advantage to Trump's regime, while Adam Serwer adds Confederacy enthusiasts and anti-equality conservatives to the list. 

- Conor Curtis writes that Trump's most important current attack on Canada is being launched through corporate lobbyists. And Antonia Scatton discusses the failure of empty messaging which fails to recognize or challenge the control exerted by the wealthy few. 

- David Roberts interviews Samuel Bagg about the importance of social identity in guarding against misinformation, while David Climenhaga points out the massive pile of propaganda being served up by the UCP as it seeks to push anti-Canadian sentiment with no regard for facts or outcomes. And David Gilbert notes that some of the most influential voices in politics are ones who use large platforms to only rarely address political issues.  

- Finally, Patrick Marlborough calls out the Australian right for seeking to exploit a tragedy to push immigrant-bashing. But Amy Remeikis notes that nobody should be surprised to see the shock doctrine applied by conservative parties or their media sycophants. 

Musical interlude

deadmau5 - Luxuria (Tinlicker Remix)

Friday Afternoon Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Jonathan Last discusses how the U.S. economy is coming apart under a regime which is attacking progress and security in any form. Matt Johnson highlights how the general public is turning against Trumpism even in the areas where it once found some support, while Toby Buckle laments that the people who offered early warnings about his dangers were ignored. But Miles Taylor warns that the Trump regime's next step is to designate all opposition as "terrorism" which can be summarily suppressed, while David Dayen rightly questions why Congress is continuing to allow Trump to run roughshod over laws and appropriations alike. 

- Justine Calma writes that public backlash is succeeding in blocking expensive and dangerous data centres. And Joe Wilkins reports on the revelation that the contents of "private" ChatGPT conversations are being harvested for profit. 

- Science Magazine names the growth of renewable energy as the breakthrough of the year for 2025. But in case anybody thought that meant governments would stop going out of their way to push dirty fossil fuels, Rafi Schwartz reports on Donald Trump's intention to undermine climate science by trashing the National Centre for Atmospheric Research, while Catherine Garrett reports on yet another oil company leaving the Alberta public holding the bag after failing to pay its taxes. And Natasha Bulowski reports on Steven Guilbeault's painfully modest request that the federal government enforce the law when it comes to climate obligations, while Adrienne Tanner reports on Avi Lewis' far more ambitious plan to make Canada a clean energy leader rather than a fossil. 

- Finally, Ximena Gonzalez writes about the need for Alberta's housing policy to focus on building non-market homes rather than providing handouts to corporate developers, while Alex Hemingway points out the need for B.C. to invest far more in its own social housing. And Ludovic Viger discusses the value of co-ops as another housing model. 

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Paul Krugman discusses Donald Trump's mission of making cruelty and bigotry into default positions in American culture. And Jamelle Bouie comments on the absurdity of concentrating power in a dictator who has no interest in bothering to govern. 

- Eleni Courea and Lisa O'Carroll report on the rightful recognition by UK MPs that there's no point in trying to negotiate agreements with Trump when he's proven utterly incapable of holding up his end of any bargain. But naturally, the Cons (and particularly Jamil Jivani) would like nothing more than to shackle Canada to a deal that ties us more tightly to Trump. 

- Andy Ober discusses how the costs of the climate breakdown can already be seen in substantially reduced income. And Frederick O'Brien, Pablo Gutierrez and Ashley Kirk examine how climate change is degrading food production around the globe.

- The Canadian Climate Institute weighs in on the federal government's latest progress report showing us already off track to miss our 2030 and 2035 commitments even before Mark Carney eviscerates the emission reduction policies previously on the books.

- Finally, Darius Snieckus and Rory White report on the reality that while the massive carbon capture project being pushed by Carney may not be certain to capture the promissed emissions, we can rest assured it will exhaust much of Alberta's already-dwindling water supply. And Chris Varcoe's discussion of how Carney is also enabling indiscriminate data centre construction only raises the prospect that AI might bleed Alberta dry before the oil industry does. 

Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Jonathan Last discusses how many of the harms being inflicted by the Trump regime can never fully be repaired, while Anne Applebaum writes about Trump's determination to undermine liberal democracy anywhere it hasn't yet fully given way to authoritarian kleptocracy. Anika Jane Beamer reports on the disastrous state of FEMA as the concept of providing assistance to people in case of emergency is purged from the U.S.' federal government. And G. Elliott Morris examines Keir Starmer's example as evidence of the need to fight back against race-baiting and immigrant-bashing, rather than triangulating away people's humanity. 

- The Yale School of the Environment finds that climate change is responsible for two-thirds of the emissions from wildfires in the western U.S. And Kevin Morrison reports that the world's largest carbon capture and storage project is becoming less effective by the year - while Uma Gupta writes that in contrast, solar energy backed by battery storage is becoming readily available and affordable while slashing carbon pollution. 

- But the absolute lack of any rational basis to cheerlead for dirty energy hasn't stopped Mark Carney from making that his government's top priority - much to the frustration of both Richard Brooks, and the experts and leaders consulted by Ilya Gridneff and Kenza Bryan. And Adam Ramsay discusses how corporate trade deals are being unsed to allow oil companies to dictate British trade and climate policy. 

- Lloyd Alter comments that for all the complaints about young people's screen time, the most glaring increase in time and dependency can be found among older adults. 

- Finally, Ryan Romard examines how Canada Post compares to its international counterparts - and finds that we currently have a highly effective postal system which will only deliver less value for money if the Libs follow through on their plans to gut it. 

Tuesday Night Cat Blogging

Perky cat.

Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Joyce Vance writes about the purge of any trace of decency in the U.S. right which has found its ultimate expressio in Donald Trump. And Christopher Guly reports on the reaction to the U.S.' plans to dominate Canada from people who have been responsible for managing Canadian foreign affairs.  

- Dana Drugmand discusses a new Center for Climate Integrity report on the constant barrage of false advertising by the fossil fuel industry. And Chris Rossdale et al. study how petropoliticians are repressing and criminalizing peaceful protest to try to ensure oil barons can keep extracting profits unchallenged. 

- Michael Sainato reports on the Trump regime's attacks on the labour movement and the public bodies responsible for regulating and remedying employer abuses. And Emma Arkell discusses the pattern of interference by Canadian governments to prevent workers from making gains through collective action. 

- Gillian Petit documents the reality of the working poor in Canada, while pointing out that readily affordable supports could provide the dignity and stability needed to improve their circumstances. And Mike Moffatt points out the plummeting incomes of young middle-class males (paired with an increase in income for those over 65), while the Canadian Press reports on the World Happiness Report's observation that Canadians under 30 are now the unhappiest generation in the country. 

- Kate Allen notes that one of the primary effects of arbitrary back-to-office mandates is to cause a spike in preventable air pollution. And Gary Fuller reports on new research showing that air passengers are exposed to extreme amounts of particulate pollution during boarding and taxiing. 

- Finally, Jared Wesley offers his take on what Albertans can do in response to the UCP's attacks on anything resembling democratic governance. 

Monday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Thomas Zimmer discusses how the Trump regime is attacking concept of treating people as equals, while Greg Sargent highlights Stephen Miller's role in trying to connect white nationalism to an oppressive police state. Jojo points out the importance of continuing to call out bigotry even as it's implemented as policy. And Garrett Graff offers reason for hope that Donald Trump is losing in his attempt to consolidate power. 

- Jake Johnson reports on the World Inequality Lab's latest study on the extreme concentration of wealth in the top .001% of wealth hoarders. And Michael Hirschorn writes that their ability to buy sycophancy is leading the uber-rich to Louis XV levels of hubris. 

- Jim Stanford writes that the only genuine risk to jobs from AI is the danger of a stock market crash as increasingly implausible valuations are based on little but hype and wishful thinking. M.J. Crockett discusses the crucial distinction between the "thick empathy" possible between people, and the pale imitation served up by performative artifical intelligence. And Derek Kravitz reports on the use of AI by unscrupulous business to extract higher prices from consumers. 

- Zion Lights discusses Finland's work in teaching students how to think critically as an antidote to disinformation. But Arwa Mahdawi laments how the corporate media has embraced being a tool of the rich, famous and connected rather than a counterbalance against elite abuses. 

- Finally, Adam King reports on another area where the Carney Libs seem determined to emulate the Trump regime, as they've removed publicly available labour relations data with no apparent explanation. And Mary Chevreau reports on yet another nasty surprise in the Libs' budget, as its cuts to Canada Post operations include the elimination of a library postage rate which allows for the exchange of library materials. 

Musical interlude

Lavaros - Afternoon Memories

 

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Bill McKibben writes that Donald Trump's level of impunity now includes blatant piracy as the U.S. steals oil to try to lay the groundwork to invade Venezuela. And Stephen Marche discusses the need for Canada to defend itself against the increasing threat the U.S. poses to itself and other countries.  

- But then, Dale Smith warns about the democratic backsliding Canada has experienced in 2025 (but largely glossed over based on a typical tendency to compare to the U.S. rather than to any other measuring stick). Nayeli Jiminez calls out the Carney Libs for pushing Trump-style surveillance and anti-immigrant legislation. Brandi Martin notes that Mark Carney's trampling of Indigenous rights and environmental preservation in the name of resource extraction is pulled directly from the colonial playbook. 

- Geoff Dembicki reports on the connection between oil barons looking to force increased energy use and the hype around artificial intelligence. And Sharon Zhang notes that one of the current use cases for AI is to allow businesses to extract higher prices from consumers, while Seán Ó hÉigeartaigh discusses the foreseeable catastrophic outcomes of giving AI control over critical systems. 

- Finally, Damien Gayle reports on new research into the multi-trillion dollar cost of allowing synthetic chemicals into human food supplies - even as corporate forces push to avoid complying with even the minimal protections that already exist. 

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Dean Blundell discusses how the U.S. has been downgraded to an "obstructed" state in terms of civic freedoms by CIVICUS due to its use of arbitrary power both to suppress dissent and to generally terrorize vulnerable populations. Lawrence Freedman offers his take on how Europe should respond to the explicit adoption of white nationalism as the basis for the Trump regime's foreign policy, while Wesley Wark comments on the U.S.' concurrent treatment of Canada as a target. And Jillian Kestler-D'Amours writes about the necessary pushback against Mark Carney's choice to arm U.S.-allied perpetrators of genocide.  

- Zeke Hausfather examines the causes of the acceleration in global warming. And Tom Harris points out how melting permafrost looks likely to exacerbate the problem, while Kira Taylor warns that the takeover of EU environmental policy by climate denialists risks adding yet another blast of carbon pollution. And Inayat Singh discusses how petrostates are falling behind China and developing countries in adopting the energy sources of the future. 

- Andy Boneau laments the dedication of increasing amounts of land and resources to asphalt based on the unquestioned dominance of car culture. Timothy Fraser et al. find (PDF) that even the mild shift away from vehicular supremacy arising from New York City's congestion pricing is producing broad environmental and health benefits. 

- Finally, Rebecca Burns and Thomas Burningham report that the positive impact of tenant organizing is now being met with a predictable union-busting response by landlords. And the Council of Canadians calls out the corporate lobbying offensive which has stopped any progress on pharmacare in Canada. 

Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Cathy Young and Cas Mudde each discuss how the Trump regime's "national security strategy" is based on pushing cronyism and bigotry over democracy and security - and seeking to impose that same prioritization on every country it can. 

- Meanwhile, Emmett MacFarlane writes that Trump has found an eager fellow traveler in Danielle Smith as she wields the notwithstanding clause at every opportunity to attack minority rights. And Saima Desai reports on the growing movement of unions and trans advocates fighting back against Scott Moe's discrimination against trans youth.

- Max Abelson et al. offer a detailed look at the documented connections between Jeffrey Epstein and numerous corporate and financial bigwigs. And Pema Levy discusses how Republicans are trying to give dark money even more power to manipulate American elections, while Phil Weiser and Javier Mabry note that it's possible to fight back through citizen intiatives at the state level. 

- Natasha Bulowski reports on Mark Carney's latest plan to hand power to the corporate class by allowing it to embed employees in the federal government, while Adrienne Tanner discusses how Carney has made a cynic out of her (and many more) in handing over climate policy to the fossil fuel sector. And Emma Arkell reports on Quebec's legislative attacks on the labour movement. 

- Rhoda Feng reviews Tim Wu's The Age of Extraction as a needed reminder of the rent-seeking business model behind the our tech overlords. And Judd Legum writes about the casino-fication of news as the next frontier of converting flows of information into profit centres. 

- Finally, James Hardwick writes about the reality of Canada's housing bubble - and the desperate need for large-scale social and not-for-profit housing to improve anything.

Tuesday Night Cat Blogging

Festive cat.

Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading. 

- Jonathan Last discusses how the Trump regime is carrying out campaigns of murder based on known lies with both the purpose and effect of destroying any social order, while Matt Gurney writes about the participants at the Halifax International Security Forum who have quite rightly concluded the U.S. can never be trusted again. Daniele Renwick talks to activists from authoritarian regimes about the lessons they've learned, while Kimberly Prost discusses the effects of the U.S.' imposition of sanctions against people who dare to enforce international criminal and humanitarian law. And Charlie Angus writes about Trump's gangster regime, while Richard Goode discusses the alt-right forces seeking to impose similar lawless violence in Canada. 

- Hannah Murphy writes about the development of privately-owned cities to further entrench the power of the wealthy. And Alan MacLeod writes about the obvious distortion of our information environment when then most obscenely wealthy tycoons on the planet are all taking over major media outlets to turn them into personal megaphones, while Alexander Smith et al. study the dangers posed by politicised threats to science. 

- Taylor Noakes points out that Mark Carney is dutifully parroting fossil fuel billionaires' talking points rather than working on any climate policy, while Tzeporah Berman discusses how utter capitulation is being framed as "realism". And Jim Stanford and Kathy Bennett examine (PDF) how a just transition remains entirely possible as long as government isn't beholden to the oil sector. 

- Finally, Tianyuan Huang et al. study how inequalities are exacerbated by environmental disasters as rebuilding is carried out to suit those who have more resources to pay for it. And Lara Jauregui et al. find that price shocks similarly have a disparate impact on the people who can least afford to absorb them. 

Monday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Jonathan Freedland discusses how the Trump regime is systematically corrupting law, government and morality alike, while A.R. Moxon discusses the challenges of trying to end a culture (and cult) of abuse.  Rebecca Solnit writes about Trump's intention to recreate a fictitious white America at the expense of anything that ever counted as a success. And Joe Wilkins reports on the techbros looking to legalize war crimes to line their own pockets. 

- Charlie Angus points out how the conservative multiverse - including allied elements among the Repulicans, Cons and their allies - is bent on destroying Canada. Allan Woods reports on the Trump regime's admission that it's determined to turn Canada into a vassal state, while Nathalie Tocci discusses how Europe is also coming to terms with the fact that the U.S. is an adversary. But Alex Cosh reports that Mark Carney is refusing to apply basic human rights law to military exports which may be used by the U.S. or its axis of authoritarians to commit humanitarian atrocities. 

- Seth Sandronsky writes that the real source of the U.S.' affordability is the suppression of wages. And Josh Gerstein discusses how the Trump regime plans to exacerbate that by eliminating any remaining protections for workers. 

- But in case anybody was under the misapprehension that Carney is appreciably more concerned with workers' well-being, Natasha Bulowski reports on his slashing of any federal capacity to track climate disasters, while Josh Pringle reports on yet another back-to-office mandate which will serve only to make work more costly and less efficient (while driving away some public servants). And Althia Raj reports on the Libs' plan to make every single federal regulation subject to being instantly nullified for the benefit of any pet project. 

- Finally, Ella Nilsen and Samuel Hart write about the rapid transitions to clean energy which are possible when a country focuses on investing in sustainable energy technology, rather than fixating on dirty fossil fuels. And Markham Hislop comments on the distinction between renewable tech and commodity extraction:

Musical interlude

Romy - Love Who You Love

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Stacie Goddard and Abraham Newman discuss the neo-royalism emerging as the Trump regime tries to turn the enrichment of a self-proclaimed god-king into a legitimate basis for the exercise of state power. And Toby Buckle highlights how Elon Musk (among other megalomaniacal billionaires) is a fascist under even the strictest possible definitions of the term.

- George Monbiot points out how "trade" agreements continue to be used to allow corporations to both dictate public policy and extract public wealth on dubious grounds. And Paul Krugman writes that the Trump regime is setting up the U.S. economy for a readily-foreseeable crash, while Eduardo Porter contrasts China's progress in reducing poverty against the U.S.' choice to exacerbate it. 

- Juan Cole reports on new research showing that all new electricity demand around the globe is now being met by solar and wind power, making it abundantly clear that there's no future in expanding or extending the use of dirty fossil fuels. And AFP reports on Norway's establishment of a commission to plan for a post-oil economy. 

- Meanwhile, Rachel Salvidge reports on new research showing that large portions of southern Europe are about to run out of water due to the climate breakdown. And Damian Carrington discusses an analysis showing the nine-figure annual costs of lost harvests already in the UK due to heat and drought. 

- Finally, Stewart Prest writes about the folly of Mark Carney's hope (as a best-case explanation for ramming through a new pipeline) that a theoretical policy concession will do anything to address a manufactured identity crisis, while Charlie Angus notes that Danielle Smith didn't even let the ink dry on the agreement before picking new gratuitous fights with him. Amanda Stephenson reports on the UCP's pressure on the Alberta Energy Regulator to undermine the enforcement of gas flaring limits even as Carney banks on it developing and enforcing its own rules. Andrew Nikiforuk talks to David Hughes about the lack of any economic case for more dirty energy infrastructure. And John Woodside reports that two members of the federal Net Zero Advisory Body felt compelled to resign in protest of Carney's reckless support for emission increases. 

Thursday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- David Oliver de Leth reports on the fossil fuel barons using their wealth and influence to trash the EU's human rights and environmental laws, while Ella Nilsen points out how the real estate industry is trying to suppress accurate information about properties facing climate risks. Hannah Daly discusses the folly of accepting "too small to matter" as an excuse for avoidable carbon pollution - particularly when the size of the problem demands that everybody do what they can. Guido van der Werf examines why carbon emissions from fires are proving even worse than expected. And Ian Gill discusses the need to keep telling stories about the impacts of the climate crisis. 

- Amy Janzwood writes about the reality that Mark Carney's pipeline deal with Danielle Smith is purely a matter of concessions rather than remotely rational tradeoffs. And Bradley Lafortune notes that the UCP is once again planning to allow strip mining of coal in the Rockies in the face of constant public pushback and repeated assurances that it wouldn't do so. 

- Investigate Europe reports on the environmental risks posed by thousands of landfill sites across the continent. And Sandra Laville reports on Pew Charitable Trusts' recognition that plastic pollution is set to double over the next 15 years if we don't take readily available steps to stop it. 

- Yasmin Khan calls out corporate food operators for using dubious intellectual property claims to restrict access to food around the globe. And Dave Lewis notes that the corporate food industry is no more immune from environmental risks than anybody else. 

- Dennis Raphael and Toba Bryant rightly argue that Canada's plummeting place in global life expectancy rankings represents an inescapable signal that we're not adequately protecting people's health. 

- Finally, Ophélie Dénommée-Marchand discusses how Mark Carney is opening the door for Donald Trump's police state to threaten our rights and lives in Canada. And Supriya Dwivedi writes that Carney's eagerness to appeal to tech bros and misogynist regimes is threatening women's rights everywhere. 

Tuesday Night Cat Blogging

Askew cat.

Monday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- David Suzuki writes about the desperate need to loosen the grip a few megalomaniacal billionaires have over political and economic decision-making. And Matt McManus' review of The Democratic Marketplace examines how policies which cater to capitalism are undermining democracy. 

- Paul Krugman discusses what affordability really means in the eyes of the public - with inclusion, security and fairness ultimately meaning more than snapshots comparing immediate income to prices. And Robert Renger points out the obvious imbalance when corporations are routinely treated as too big to fail, while people (and marginalized groups thereof) are treated as too insignificant to be worth helping. 

- Patricia Cohen writes about the implausible valuation of AI-based corporations - together with the reality that any prospect of their producing returns commensurate with their current prices depends on further undermining the position of workers. And so when the Economist notes that businesses haven't been taking up AI at the pace its evangelists demand, the result is likely better in any event. 

- Meanwhile, Chris Hannay reports on the lack of reason to think the UCP's enabling of private medicine will do anything but shift resources away from an already-overloaded public system. 

- Finally, John Woodside discusses how Mark Carney has been using a past (if questionable) reputation for climate concern as cover to govern for the oil industry. And Carl Meyer and Drew Anderson examine how Carney's pipeline deal with Danielle Smith undermines multiple climate policies to rely solely on weakened industrial emission rules, at a time when the default to keep our planet habitable should be "all of the above". 

Musical interlude

London Grammar - Hey Now

 

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Robert Reich talks about the glaring gap between the wealthy elite who are being catered to by the U.S.' economy and the many who are being left behind - and how even businesses are beginning to notice people can't afford to spend the money they count on to make profits:

- Cara Ence Morse and Eric Lau examine how the wealthiest few are distorting American elections, while Dean Baker discusses their cultivation of other conflict (including between generations) to avoid answering for their own class warfare. And Josh Bivens writes that requiring the ultrarich to pay their fair share is a necessary first step in getting back to some semblance of democracy. 

- Meghan Bartels charts the course of carbon pollution and global warming since the signing of the Paris agreement. Jackie Flynn Mogensen and Henry Carnell ponder whether it's possible to achieve global progress in the climate fight when the U.S. and other petrostates are marshaling every available resource to maximize the damage, while Gabriela Calugay-Casuga points out that the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board is continuing to short the future of humanity by pouring money into dirty investments. And Max Fawcett rightly calls bullshit on any spin about treating fossil gas exports to developing countries as compatible with responsible energy policy, while Jessica Clogg writes that the only product on offer in the Carney/Smith back-of-a-napkin pipeline deal is snake oil. 

- David Roberts interviews Georgia Lagoudas about the obvious room for improvement in indoor air quality practices. And Jenna Banfield reports on a push from dozens of Senators to ban sports betting advertising. 

- Finally, Markham Hislop discusses Danielle Smith's wholescale adoption of exclusionary and corrupt MAGA politics. And Sean Speer offers a warning about the dangers of accepting state-imposed conservative culture. 

Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Bruce Campbell discusses how Canada continues to be both a laggard in its own climate action, and an obstacle to international cooperation. And Patrick Greenfield and Kristi Greenwood discuss the growing danger of zombie fires in the Arctic due to a warming and drying climate. 

- Michael Green examines the problems with treating the U.S. poverty line as a measure of sufficiency rather than deprivation - meaning that while steps to reduce measured poverty like Rashida Tlaib's Economic Dignity for All Agenda would represent progress toward economic security, they shouldn't be taken to be adequate. And Will Parker reports on the first months of operation of Atlanta's government-funded supermarket in providing accessible and affordable food where it presviously wasn't available. 

- Abdullah Khan et al. study the immense social benefits of vehicle safety technology which the Trump regime is looking to deregulate. And John Lorinc examines (note: post from July) the lack of any evidence to support the Ford government's attacks on bike lanes - in stark contrast to the clear evidence that they save lives. 

- Luke James reports on the steps insurers are taking to avoid being stuck with liability for AI catastrophes. And Tina Nguyen examines big tech's lobbying to have the Trump regime prevent any regulation or liability by fiat.

- Finally, Markham Hislop discusses how Danielle Smith and the UCP are attacking the very idea of democracy in Canada by seeking to import Trump's corruption and authoritarianism.

Tuesday Night Cat Blogging

Wide-eyed cat.

Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Robert Reich weighs in on the absolute moral rot within the Trump regime and its corporate cronies. Bill McKibben points out that the corruption of the U.S.' political system parallels the barely-opposed takeover of the concept of Christianity by self-promoters looking to exploit it for their own ends. And Heidi Stevens writes that Donald Trump's boorish cruelty toward female reporters offers a reminder as to how survivors of sexual violence are being scared into concealing their truth.  

- Michael Mann discusses the painful failure of the COP30 climate conference to chart a part away from climate catastrophe, while Genevieve Gunther notes that the best hope for progress is developing among countries who aren't limiting themselves to what the world's climate villians will agree to. And Emily Sanders calls out "native advertising" as yet another way in which dirty energy tycoons are polluting the public discourse. 

- Fiona Harvey and Jonathan Watts report on a new analysis showing that keeping three promises alone  - on renewable energy, efficiency and methane emission cuts - could eliminate close to a degree Celsius of projected global warming. And Prinz Magtulis and Soumya Karwa discuss the reality of the U.S.' insurance of last resort which is becoming increasingly expensive while still often failing to cover the cost of recovering from climate disasters. 

- Nicholas Weaver writes about the laughable implausibility that money burned on massive AI data centres will produce any meaningful return. Varsha Bansal reports on the AI workers warning people not to rely on it. And Justin Brake exposes the spate of consultant-generated policy reports for the Newfoundland and Labrador government which have been found to contain false, seemingly AI-generated citations and information. 

- Shannon Rieger et al. study the connection between social isolation and privilege in the U.S., finding that advantaged groups actually have somewhat higher levels of social isolation. 

- Finally, Danny Parys writes that any effective plan for Canadian sovereignty needs to keep our economic engines under our own control. And Amy Judd and Aaron McArthur report on Nutrien's choice to route potash exports through a U.S. port and put them at Donald Trump's mercy - with Scott Moe's full support as his idea of "Team Canada" involves being a puppet for foreign resource capital. 

Monday Morning Links

Assorted content to start your week.

- Trenz Pruca examines how tax policy biased toward the wealthy has exacerbated the U.S.' already-toxic economic inequality. And Dean Baker interviews Joseph Stiglitz about the other policy levers, including bankruptcy and intellectual property, which have also been torqued to benefit the rich in the name of the freedom of the few to exploit the many:

- The Economist offers a warning about the U.S.' acceptance (and the Trump regime's encouragement) of corruption. Paul Krugman examines how institutional forces are making money off cryptocurrency while consumers see their assets drained by a deflating bubble. And Anand Giridharadas discusses the revelations in the Epstein e-mails as an example of general elite impunity. 

- Peter Brannen warns that existing climate policies have humanity on track for a calamitous 3 degrees of global warming, with a real risk that deliberate climate obstruction and subsidies for dirty fossil fuels will send us careening past even that level. Royce Kurmelovs and Fiona Harvey et al. each highlight the failures of the COP30 climate conference as oil lobbyists blocked any agreement on a transition to clean energy. And both David Roberts' interview with Kingsmill Bond and David Suzuki's commentary discuss how a few more decades of avoidable carbon dumping won't stop the ultimate trend toward clean electrification. 

- Jonathan Vanian reports on new court filings showing how Meta cancelled and cloesd its eyes to internal research demonstrating the harmful effects of social media. But Craig Lord reports that Mark Carney's attitude toward megalomaniacal techbros is to let them dictate policy, rather than allowing for any question as to whether their interests are the same as the public's. 

- Finally, Raywat Deonandan discusses how the resurgence of measles in Canada reflects a deeper social illness. 

Musical interlude

Deftones - Infinite Source

 

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Lane Brown examines how key elements of cognitive ability may be degrading - including due to constant exposure to personalities selected for their vociferous ignorance. Bruce Bartlett writes about his experience at the Heritage Foundation as it learned to exploit the news cycle to plant conservative propaganda in opposition to actual research. Nicholas Hune-Brown investigates how AI is being used to generate scam articles for major publications. And Carl Meyer reports on the Carney Libs' plans to facilitate misinformation from fossil fuel purveyors. 

- Shannon Gibson discusses how past "climate finance" commitments have ranged from the frivolous to the thoroughly counterproductive - making it all the more worrisome that the apparent reality is that the COP30 climate summit is operating with wording that allows petrostates to provide equally toothless commitments in exchange for a lack of any agreement to transition away from fossil fuels. 

- Kathryn Harrison and Simon Donner highlight how Mark Carney's plans for increased reliance on dirty energy are as senseless economically as they are environmentally. And Gerald Butts, Peter Nicholson and Rick Smith warn against locking ourselves into a dying fossil fuel economy, while Sam Butler-Sloss and Kingsmill Bond discuss how solar power in particular is set to dominate global energy production over fossil gas. 

- Cara Buckley reports on the massive success of Iowa City's decision to make public transit free. And Jake Thomas reports on the drastic decline in homelessness (and ultimate cost savings) from an Oregon pilot program to give unhoused youths a small secure income. 

- Finally, Julian Richer discusses how we'd all be better off if people with privilege acknowledged our own good fortune, rather than presuming any advantages to be the result of merit (and demanding all the more special treatment as a result). 

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- G. Elliott Morris examines what voters want out of a political party independent of the platforms being presented to them - and finds both that there's reason to apply an affordability/ideology axis, and that the general preference is for left-leaning policies to the extent the traditional ideological spectrum is taken into account. And Paul Krugman discusses how Americans are recognizing how the Trump regime is hurting their material interests. 

- Meanwhile, Clement Nocos and Nathan Prier point out how the Carney Libs' cuts to public services are both unnecessary and dangerous. And Angella MacEwen highlights why we should be embracing and benefiting from public ownership and investment, rather than engaging in the right-wing impulse to put everything in corporate hands:

- Carole Cadwalldr writes that some of the most prominent techbro billionaires are signaling their own recognition that AI is a bubble rather than a sustainable focus for economic activity, while Nicole Einbender reports on the extreme exploitation of labour being pushed at another of Sam Altman's corporations. Bryce Elder rightly draws a distinction between past tech successes which became more efficient at scale, and AI which has seen nothing of the sort. Peter Rudegeair, Nate Rattner and Sebastian Herrera report on Oracle's fall from AI darling status to failed business. 

- Anne Plourde discusses new research showing how health care privatization leads to worse mortality rates. And David Climenhaga calls out Danielle Smith for looking to sacrifice Albertans' health in the name of imposing two-tier care.  

- Mel Woods offers a fact check against the excuses the UCP is peddling for going nuclear against trans people and their Charter freedoms. And Dale Smith warns against normalizing the use of the notwithstanding clause as a matter of convenience and avoiding evidentiary justification for policies which attack rights. 

- Finally, Tanayott Thaweethai et al. study the trajectory of long COVID in Americans, including a large number of people with persistently high or continuing symptoms. And Malin Spetz et al. examine the connective between COVID-19 severity and cardiovascular risks.

Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Marisa Kabas discusses the moral rot in corporate, access-based media - which in turn looks to be a contributor to the decline of human decency in the political and social realms. And Perry Bacon talks to Adam Bonica about the obvious opportunity for leaders and movements who pick up on the public demand to combat corruption.

- Jonathan Cohn interviews Atul Gawande about the cruelty of the Trump regime's obliteration of foreign aid programs which kept hundreds of thousands of people alive. Nat Lash reports on the potential for a bird flu pandemic as a result of the Republicans' anti-vaccine ideology and destruction of the U.S. public health system. Freddy Brewster and Luke Goldstein report on the U.S. Senate's gutting of regulations around food contamination as part of the price of reopening government is to ensure it doesn't protect people from corporate damage. 

- Meanwhile, both Andrew Gregory and Amina Zafar report on new studies showing the harm that ultra-processed food can do to the human body. 

- Lest anybody think Mark Carney isn't fully onside with destructive deregulation and corporate control, Marc Fawcett-Atkinson reports on the Libs' choice to eliminate protections around pesticides. Marc Lee discusses how the Libs' economic plans are limited to corporate handouts rather than any vision for future development. And Jim Thomas implores Carney not to let an already-worrisome obsession with artificial intelligence as a panacea turn into a bailout for tech sector tycoons. 

- Finally, Shanna Hanbury reports on Colombia's warning that corporate-biased trade agreements act as a dangerous barrier to needed climate action.