Monday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Ezra Klein discusses why nobody in the U.S. can afford to pretend that the Trump regime is normal or acceptable, while Brittlestar calls out the wealthy tycoons going out of their way to normalize corruption and authoritarianism. Martin Pelletier discusses how the international economy has been distorted by the extreme wealth and power of a few obscenely large firms who have largely been the same ones protecting their position at the expense of the public. And Dean Baker points out that the elimination of accurate information won't do anything to reduce the harm Trump is actually causing, while Conor Sen notes that worker pessimism is now a deeply entrenched part of the U.S.' cultural and economic reality. 

- Sara Mojtehedzadeh reports on the calls for Canada to recognize the dangers to domestic violence refugees (and others facing dangers from the Trump regime) rather than pretending that normal asylum princples are remotely tenable. Rachel Gilmore reports on the disgust from within the Libs over Mark Carney's plan to platform one of the architects of Trump's abuses, while David Moscrop is right to note that the public is expecting Mark Carney to deliver more than he has (though it's far from clear why he thinks the expectation is "a deal with Trump" rather than "a defence of Canada"). 

- Frank Landymore writes that we're approaching irreversible ice loss, with little prospect of avoiding it without massive systemic change in the near future. Al Jazeera reports on a new World Meteorological Organization report warning that wildfires caused by the climate breakdown can cause far-reaching air pollution. And Andrew Gregory reports on new research showing that air pollution is creating an increase in heart risks for millions of Britons in affected areas, while Sandra Laville reports on the unmonitored carcinogens entering waterways from roads. 

- Finally, Steve Westlake discusses how the language of pragmatism serves as cover for climate denialism and delay. But in case we needed a reminder that some forces are unapologetically demanding climate vandalism, Rebecca Egan McCarthy reports on the Trump regime's insistence on keeping a gas plant open in Pennsylvania over the objections of everybody affected by it, while Oliver Milman reports on a similar requirement that a dirty coal plant be kept spewing pollution in Michigan.