Musical interlude

Phantogram & Whethan - In My Head

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Uday Rana reports on new polling showing that a supermajority of Canadians will never trust the U.S. the same way again. And John Paul Tasker examines the ways the break from reliance on the U.S. is playing out in practice. 

- But Desmond Cole and Martin Lukacs discuss how Pierre Poilievre is trying to import as much of the Trump regime's anti-immigrant violence as people can be forced to consume. And Muhad Hemmadi reports on Mark Carney's echoing of the U.S.' blind faith in AI as a substitute for real development, while Dale Smith discusses how the Libs' online surveillance legislation reads as little more than a gift to a Trump-style militarized state. 

- Linda McQuaig writes that any forward-looking plan for national projects should be starting with a massive commitment to clean energy. And Darius Snieckus and Natasha Bulowski report on the Canadian Climate Institute's estimate showing that Alberta's oil and gas sector alone is blocking any prospect of reaching our climate commitments in both the short and medium term. 

- Kevin Crowley, David Wethe and Dave Merrill report on the groundwater pollution and resulting geological instability being inflicted by the oil industry in Texas (with the full support of petropoliticians). Olivia Lee reports that a project in Brighton is showing how toxic runoff can be cleaned up - while highlighting the absolute failure to make that a priority elsewhere. And Gary Fuller reports on new research showing that air pollution affects people's sleep among other profound effects. 

- Finally, Emily Atkin discusses how Charlie Kirk's hate (like much of the fascist right's noise machine) has been funded by fossil fuel tycoons. Adam Serwer notes that the definition of free speech in the U.S. is now limited to parroting administration talking points, while Moira Donegan wonders who's next to be silenced after even the most mainstream of comedians are being yanked off the air for daring to incorporate the U.S.' president in their material. And David Moscrop writes about the need for universal condemnation of political censorship. 

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Randi Weingarten discusses why fascists are hostile toward critical thinking as a threat to the viability of propaganda and disinformation. Henry Farrell writes about the limits of assertions of absolute power which aren't matched by at least some element of public support or credibility. Brian Beutler argues that Trump has offered a fairly stark us vs. them distinction which can be useful in framing responsibility for his abuses. And Max Fawcett discusses how Canada can respond to the U.S.' online misinformation factory. 

- Tyee Bridge and Jim Stanford study (PDF) how a just transition to a clean economy can generate massive numbers of new jobs. Sabrina Shankman highlights Bill McKibben's reasons for optimism about a shift to solar power. And Mitchell Beer points out how all of the indicators for fossil fuels point to a decline ahead (other than the stubborn refusal of a few wealthy tycoons to accept reality). 

- Drew Mitnick and Teresa Eder discuss the importance of building a firewall against control by U.S. tech giants and the regime which can use them for its malevolent purposes. And Michael Harris writes that Canadians are rightly becoming disillusioned with Mark Carney's willingness to appease Trump rather than standing up for Canada's sovereignty and values. 

- Finally, Amanda Follett Hosgood reports on the initial plan for regulators to hold CNR liable for contributing to the 2021 fire which destroyed Lytton, which gave way to a content-free investigation and failure to hold anybody responsible. 

Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Zoe Williams reviews Nick Lowles' How to Defeat the Far Right (even while noting that the victories of Hope Not Hate have been limited in scope). And Stuart Turnbull-Degarte et al. examine how social democratic parties who have echoed anti-immigration rhetoric have done nothing but harm to themselves and their countries in the process.

- Meanwhile, Brian Beutler discusses how the Trump regime is focused solely on abusing its power, including by using state authority to generate propaganda while stifling accurate information. And Michael Mann and Peter Hotez weigh in on the existential threat posed by anti-science being peddled by both right-wing governments and corporate predators. 

- Adam Morton writes that Australia's Labour government has at least identified the threat posed by the climate crisis, but wonders whether it will match that recognition with commensurate action. And CBC News reports on the Outaouais Integrated Health and Social Services Centre's study identifying the climate breakdown as the most important public health threat of this century, while Agnes Black, Kaitlin Bloemberg and Caroline Murphy highlight how health care workers see the impacts of climate neglect. 

- Colin Carlson et al. examine the progress being made in attributing climate effects to specific sources. On that front, Damian Carrington reports on the direct blame borne by fossil fuel giants for deadly heat waves around the globe, while Ajit Niranjan reports on research showing that two-thirds of heat deaths in Europe this summer are attributable to manmade climate damage. And Simon Evans reports on the International Energy Agency's recognition that no new fossil fuel projects can be justified if we're going to have any hope of limiting global warming to the current 1.5C target. 

- But the Canadian Press reports on the UCP's predictable plan to facilitate carbon pollution, both by double-counting any emission reduction projects which are carried out, and by letting many businesses off the hook entirely for existing emission mitigation obligations. 

- Finally, Monique Kasonga discusses the extensive U.S. ownership of Canadian data centre infrastructure and the danger that poses to our sovereignty. And Don Lenihan makes the case for a sovereign cloud as one of the most important nation-building possibilities available to us.

Tuesday Night Cat Blogging

Alert cat.

Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Jonathan Cohn discusses how arbitrariness is one of the key factors in Donald Trump's destruction of the U.S.' economic prospects. David Silver suggests that businesses should be willing to stand up to autocrats (particularly where they're influential enough to make a difference). Marc Jones reports on the Bank for International Settlements' warning that share prices don't seem to bear any relationship to economic fundamentals, while Jeff Cox reports on Trump's push to reduce public earnings reporting as yet another example of his desire to prevent reality from being  known or acted upon. And Anna Sale talks to Megan Greenwell about how private equity has destroyed viable media and other businesses in the name of extracting short-term profits and fees. 

- The Institute for Research on Public Policy examines how industrial policy is vital to Canada's economy and sovereignty in the face of looming corporate and political threats. And Kyle Briggs discusses the importance of actively working to convert research into products, rather than hoping that tax credits will incentivize businesses to do so. 

- Asawin Suebsaeng, Nikki McCann Ramirez and Andrew Perez write that Stephen Miller's fear-based governance is the most consistent thread winding its way through the Trump administration's actions. And Ben Wieder and Shirsho Dasgupta report on the hundreds of people who have been disappeared after being snatched up into concentration camps. 

- Sasha Fury calls out Mark Carney for embracing political violence, most recently by joining in the effort to whitewash Charlie Kirk's track record of inflammatory racism. Jared Wesley discusses how Danielle Smith's move to attach citizenship markers to basic IDs serves as a dangerous step toward excluding people from basic rights and essential services. And Teren Hazzard writes about the UCP's biased "consultation" which is plainly aimed at stoking separatism. 

- Finally, John Clarke writes that the successes of Air Canada workers in defending their right to strike against government overreach have given rise to questions about what comes next. 

Monday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Robert McCoy reports on new modeling showing that everybody besides the uber-rich will be worse off as a result of Donald Trump's economic policies (even leaving aside how his authoritarianism undermines any development). And Curtis Fric notes that the U.S. citizenry bearing the brunt of capitalist abuse is rightly turning against the system. 

- Dale Smith discusses the problems with Mark Carney's apparent willingness to treat "building things" as synonymous with "doling out corporate handouts". Charlie Angus rightly slams Carney for choosing to play nice with fascists rather than building resistance and alternative power structures, while Luke LeBrun writes that progressive voters who lent their support to Carney based on the expectation he'd stand up to Trump have every reason to be angry. And Matthew Miller and Leyla Soleymani make the case for investments in life sciences as one of the most important responses to the U.S.' abdication of any role in scientific progress. 

- The Financial Times reports on the imminent electrification of everything, while Peter Newman and Ray Wills discuss how the largest energy transition in history is well underway. And Micah McCartney points out that China is reining in its use of fossil fuels while positioning itself as the main beneficiary of a clean energy revolution. 

- Meanwhile, Anil Hira discusses how fossil fuels impose social costs that are consistently excluded from resource management decisions. Mitchell Beer reports on the scramble to try to wring short-term profits out of fossil gas both from U.S. producers generally and a Newfoundland development prioritized by the Libs in particular. And Drew Anderson reports on the rural Alberta residents who are fed up with the UCP's allowing oil and gas lobbyists to trample their rights and interests while leaving the public to clean up toxic messes. 

- Finally, A.R. Moxon writes about the glaring disparity in whose lives are seen as worthy of recognition in the U.S. And David Beers and Jen St. Denis report on the deliberate targeting of Rachel Gilmore by Andrew Scheer and other figures in Canada's alt-right for daring to point out the reality of right-wing violence.