Wednesday Morning Links

This and that for your Canada Day reading.

- George Monbiot points out that the determination by petropoliticians to deny climate change and the heat stress it causes is a threat to everybody, while George Tsakraklides notes that far too much of the general public has taken to accepting and even embracing the boiling of our shared planet. And Jason Hickel discusses how the problems with fossil fuel politics are inherent to capitalism - making climate socialism the only effective response to both economic and environmental ills. 

- Meanwhile, Victor Tangermann notes that the capital class is primarily opposed to solar energy because it's too affordable for the masses, rather than offering the windfall profits and monopolies of dirty fossil fuels and similar extractive energy sources. And Maddie Stone, Amy Westervelt and Katie Worth expose how the main authority cited for the viability of carbon capture and storage was developed and marketed at the direction of British Petroleum. 

- Ed Zitron examines how the AI industry's combined hype machine and lobbying effort is falling short of reality by a sufficient margin to make its failure seem highly likely. And Joseph Cox points out the fairly hilarious direction that AI bots talk like cavemen to avoid having to pay for more common language. 

- Wyatte Grantham-Phillips reports on the revelation that U.S. egg producers colluded to drive up the exact prices that helped Donald Trump campaign on affordability - and have been handed a sweetheart deal by the Trump regime rather than facing meaningful consequences. 

- Finally, Saul Austerlitz writes about the necessity of rebuilding community as a response and counterweight to the isolation that's allowed for our exploitation. 

Tuesday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Mona Charen writes that Donald Trump's war in Iran can't be explained by any motive other than a sheer ego trip. Steven Beschloss notes that nobody should be surprise that the countries who have been on the receiving end of his abuse and impetuousness are less than eager to rush to his aid. And Martin Gelin reports on the V-Dem Institute's conclusion that Trump is aiming squarely at the imposition of dictatorship. 

- Mel Hogan writes that the ultimate effect of sycophantic artificial intelligence is the cultivation of mass psychosis. And Zeb Larson compares the data center boom to the 1800s railroad bubble - featuring large-scale, heavily-subsidized investment which ultimately served mostly to further enrich the tycoons who could more than afford to finance any development on their own.  

- Noah Berlatsky is rightly scathing about the U.S. Democrats who are responding to a fascist regime and the destruction of the civil service with tax baubles. And Ned Resnikoff points out the impossibility of building a functional society on a deliberately-suppressed resource base. 

- Finally, Markham Hislop calls out the lack of any plan for Canada to live up to even the most distant or modest of our climate commitments. And Emily Atkin examines the latest permutations of fossil fuel propaganda, featuring the demand that we put our future solely in the hands of the same bad actors who have already lied us into dangerous global warming. 

Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- David Sirota writes that the sources of America's descent into authoritarianism can be traced readily to the longstanding trend toward the consolidation of wealth and power. And Luke Savage discusses how elite "liberals" have facilitated rise of fascism both by reinforcing its themes of fear and dominance, and by failing to improve the well-being of the general public when in power. 

- Michael Mann discuss how weaponized disinformation aimed at attacking science represents a threat to humanity as a whole. And the Economist speculates that the decline of reading may be an important factor in the dumbing-down of politics. 

- John Woodside reports on the Carney Libs' push toward nation-building in batches based on political convenience and immediacy rather than any long-term vision for development. And Kenza Bryan reports on Greg Jackson's warning that the UK's plans to pour money into carbon capture and storage are ill-advised, while Lisa Schick reports that Saskatchewan scientists are pushing back against Scott Moe's determination to use public money to spew as mnuch coal pollution as possible. 

- Mark Lemley writes that a toothless order against Google even after a finding of an abuse of monopoly power confirms that competition law alone won't be sufficient to deal with the power of big tech. And Kelsey McKinney argues that any legal settlement which allows an AI company to steal first and turn over an amount it doesn't care about later falls far short of the mark. 

- Finally, Marc Trussler and Stephanie Perry report on polling showing massive gender and partisan gaps in Generation Z life priorities. And Erika Shaker discusses how "parental rights" spin represents a contrived effort to children as property and schools as profit centres. 

Monday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Kelsey Ables reports on the latest Oxfam study showing that the world's wealthiest few could end poverty dozens of times over by paying their fair share in taxes, while Avi Bryant implores Canada to apply higher tax rates to himself and other people who can afford them. 

- But BIpasha Dey, Harshita Meenaktshi and Promit Mukherjee report on the G7's choice to grant preferential treatment to U.S. corporations. Lloyd Axworthy rightly laments the cringeworthy concessions numerous countries are offering to Donald Trump in the theoretical pursuit of agreements which he'll never consider enforceable. And Emmett MacFarlane writes that Mark Carney's decision to capitulate to Trump on the digital services tax passed years ago represents the end of any hope that he'll stand up for Canada, while Arlene Dickinson highlights how a small amount of tax on tech giants' digital rents is entirely needed as a matter of public policy. 

- Serah Louis reports on the Competition Bureau's needed warning about collusion among landlords to goose rental prices at the expense of people's ability to find housing. 

- Jeremy Appeal reports on the UCP's choice to turn mental health and addictions services into a cash cow Shoppers Drug Mart rather than a source of care for people who need it. 

- Finally, Margot Sanger-Katz and Emily Badger report that the Trump Republicans' plans to rob from the poor to give to the rich include imposing the type of red tape they'd decry in business regulation for the sole purpose of making sure people can't collect benefits which they'd otherwise qualify to receive. And Robert Reich discusses how Zohran Mamdani's genuine desire to ensure people's basic needs are met makes him a threat to corporate interests in both U.S. parties. 

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Rhiana Gunn-Wright and Olufemi Taiwo discuss the importance of making the climate movement one that engages our shared humanity. But as a reminder of what that movement is up against, Carl Meyer reports on how fossil fuel companies have badgered the federal government into allowing them to conceal their climate risks, while George Monbiot discusses the absurdity of the BBC cancelling a podcast about heat pumps because it doesn't fit the agenda of the dirty energy lobby. And John Woodside writes that Mark Carney's plans are at best difficult to pin down - meaning that there figures to be a real risk that he too will let resource capital dictate public policy regardless of how it endangers our living environment. 

- Lauren Kirchner reports on yet another Trump regime attack on consumer protection as it tries to eliminate the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Tom Dreisbach sets out more than 100 examples of the regime using the power of the state to personally target its declared enemies - which is of course worth noting as Danielle Smith looks to copy Trump's playbook in setting the rules for elections. And Kate Aronoff discusses how Trump is making natural disasters far deadlier by eliminating response mechanisms and supports. 

- Adam Gopnik rightly argues that Canada's election result is best seen as a complete repudiation of Trump's plans to take us over (both formally and indirectly). But David Moscrop notes that the election  has left a jarring class dealignment. And Stuart Trew writes that there is an opening for Canada to shape what emerges from Trump's trade chaos - including by enshrining protections for workers, consumers and the environment. 

- Finally, Doug Horner writes about the Crowsnest Pass Herald's role in challenging the monopoly position of Google and Meta which has severely undermined independent media. 

Monday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Paul Krugman examines the reality that the Trump regime is bad for business (as it is for people as well). But that doesn't mean it's not bent on allowing the wealthy few to take a larger proportion of a shriking economic pie - as Elizabeth Dwoskin et al. report on DOGE's plans to turn government operations into profit centres, while Jake Pearson reports on the dismantling of any work by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to ensure scammers and rent-seekers can exploit people without any pushback.

- Meanwhile, Mather Iantorno points out some of the options available to ensure the Canadian public doesn't bear the brunt of Trump's tariffs - with the NDP's proposals for price caps and antitrust enforcement both ranking as key tools. 

- Ethan Phillips highlights why we can't count on markets alone to diversify our trade flows. And Fred Wilson and Robert Chernomas discuss the need to make use of public investment options to fund economic development, rather than trying to prod corporations who would rather use their already-massive cash reserves on buybacks and bonuses to pursue capital spending in the public interest. 

- Finally, Charlie Angus writes about Danielle Smith's choice to take Trump's side over Canada's (and Pierre Poilievre's willingness to let her). Eric Wickham reports on the MAGA fanatics who have thrown their support behind Poilievre because they see him as willing to impose Trump's agenda in Canada. And Simon Enoch weighs in on the tech companies looking to impose a DOGE north of the border under a Con government. 

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Carbon Brief examines the results of the COP29 climate summit - with the main takeaway being a familiar combination of barely-existent commitments and watered-down aspirations. Sofia Gonzales-Zuniga, Danial Riaz and Mia Moisio highlight the hypocrisy of Canada and other petrostates who are ramping up exported carbon pollution while trying to claim to be meeting emission reduction targets. 

- Andrew Nikiforuk reports on the sham referendum being used as an excuse for dangerous coal mining in Ranchland, Alberta. And Emma McIntosh exposes the reality that Doug Ford's government was well aware there's no rational basis for systematically destroying cycling infrastructure before ramming through a bill to do just that. 

- Meanwhile, Carl Meyer notes that cross-party cooperation played a crucial role in applying a minimal standard of accuracy to petropropaganda. 

- Stéphane Leman-Langlois, Aurélie Campana and Samuel Tanner warn that the violent far right has been emboldened in Canada - with little apparent response from governments or law enforcement. And Max Fawcett notes that our institutional conservative parties are eager to surrender Canada to Donald Trump and his brand of fascism. 

- Finally, Tannara Yelland and Martin Lukacs report on the Competition Bureau's investigation into rantel price-fixing by corporate landlords. 

Thursday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Mariana Lenharo discusses the arduous process of trying to recover from the trauma and destruction of a fossil-fueled climate disaster. Karl Mathiesen reports that in the case of Spain's unprecedented flooding, any attempt to survive and rebuild has been complicated by pitifully unprepared emergency alert systems (resulting from the political choices of the anti-science right). And Zach Colman and Jessie Blaiser write that the majority of a three-year-old U.S. fund for resilience measures is still sitting unspent. 

- John Woodside discusses how any case for liquid gas exports is crumbling as the environmental costs of fossil gas production become more obvious while the price of clean alternatives plummets. Sharon Riley reports on the rural Alberta residents warning of the risks of an eleven-figure carbon capture project being rammed through without any consideration of environmental effects or Indigenous rights. 

- Charlie Mather and Gerald Singh point out that industrialized food systems are becoming dangerously fragile. And Patrick Greenfiled reports on the warning from experts that governments are continuing to destroy vulnerable ecosystems at alarming rates even after committing to work on protecting biodiversity. 

- Rumneek Johal calls out the Trudeau Libs for scapegoating immigrants for political gain. And Arwa Madhawi offers a reminder that Elon Musk and other wealth hoarders will never face the restrictions and punishments they campaign to impose on mere commoners. 

- Jason Koebler writes that the recent spate of tycoon-driven stifling of endorsements of democracy in the U.S. presidential election confirms that we need to view billionaires as a threat to free media. 

- Finally, Angela Hennessy reports on the growing recognition that the same collusion and price-fixing already being investigated in the U.S. has also been applied to Canada's rental housing market. 

Tuesday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Amy Goodman calls out the media's failure to connect the devastation of Hurricane Helene with the global warming which is exacerbating extreme weather, while Jessica Corbett talks to experts who recognize that it would serve as a blaring wakeup call if the powers that be were at all willing to let such a thing be heard. And Andrew Dessler and Kiara Alfonseca each discuss the grim reality that one of the cities hardest hit by Helene is Asheville, NC - which was previously theorized to be one of the safest cities in the face of a climate breakdown. 

- Meanwhile Keira Wright, Bernadette Toh and Charlotte Hughes-Morgan write about the impact extreme weather will have in pushing up the price of food. 

- Carl Meyer reports that fossil fuel executives are predictably demanding that Canada do nothing whatsoever to limit carbon pollution from the oil and gas sector. And Julia Conley reports on yet another example of oil-sector price fixing which has ensured that consumers pay through the nose no matter what climate policies are or aren't in place.  

- Jeremy Corbyn discusses how corporations focused on nothing but concentrating their own wealth and power have become the dominant governing entities around the globe. And Jamie Mann reports on new data from the Tax Justice Network on the world's most notorious tax havens - with UK territories continuing to rank among the worst offenders in allowing for corporate tax evasion. 

- Finally, Adam King writes that a strong labour movement in Canada needs to fight for the interests of Indigenous workers who continue to face systemic barriers. 

Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Joëlle Gergis asks what it will take for political leaders to acknowledge and act on the science demonstrating that we're on the precipice of climate disaster. And Fiona Harvey discusses Laurence Tibuania's eminently reasonable take that the people who built wealth through an unsustainable and destructive system will have to contribute to remedying the damage. 

- But Charisma Madarang and Andrew Perez report that the Republicans' big money machine is applying all available pressure to have their partisan majority on the U.S. Supreme Court block any attempt to have polluters pay for the harm they've done. Matthew Rosza notes that the financial sector is pairing extensive greenwashing publicity with continued funding for large-scale carbon pollution. And Nina Lakhani reports on new research showing that many of the credits claimed by large corporations as emission reductions are in fact worthless, double-counted or both. 

- Meanwhile, Fatima Syed reports on the new (or newly-acknowledged) contaminants endangering the Great Lakes region. And Leyland Cecco reports on New Brunswick's decision to suppress any awareness or investigation of a mystery neurological illness which appeared to be based on environmental conditions. 

- Cory Doctorow discusses how Ticketmaster's business model - which is finally being addressed by the U.S. federal government - is just one of many prominent corporate structures based on pure corruption. 

- Finally, Kim Siever exposes how the UCP is normalizing hallway medicine, making the use of hallway beds into a standard operating procedure at Calgary hospitals. 

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Emily Eaton, Andrew Stevens and Sean Tucker discuss how the corporate fossil fuel sector is blocking workers from pursuing sustainable jobs as part of a just transition. And Kate Yoder writes that there's an entirely plausible basis to hold big oil accountable for climate homicide. 

- Darrin Qualman writes that governments should focus on actual carbon emission reductions rather than treating agricultural "offsets" as a meaningful response to the climate crisis. And Julia-Simone Rutgers reports on Manitoba farmers who are taking wetland preservation into their own hands. 

- Dorothy Woodend reviews Food Inc. 2 - and concludes that the only problem with an updated look at the horrors of corporate food production is the apparent need to shoehorn in notes of optimism which seem wholly unwarranted. And Bill Marler discusses the gob-smacking revelation that children are suffering from lead poisoning due to a supplier's decision to add lead to cinnamon to increase the weight of its product. 

- Finally, Cory Doctorow discusses the dangers of the concentration of wealth and power in corporations which are too big to care about actual competition. And Doc Burford offers a thorough review and critique of the anti-social management philosophy which is taken as gospel among our current corporate class. 

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Andrew Phillips offers a reminder that Canada will pay the price for a climate breakdown whether or not it partially prices emissions in the moment - though it's worth noting that even the existing combination of taxes and regulations falls far short of the investments we should be making in transitioning to a clean society (especially when compared to the massive subsidies incentivizing increased fossil fuel extraction). And Aaron Wherry notes that thanks in part to the know-nothingism of the Cons and their oil industry backers, there's very little public awareness of the rebate side of the federal carbon pricing system. 

- Andrew Nikiforuk points out that Danielle Smith is adopting some of the most laughable coal baron talking points on the planet in an attempt to excuse pushing further extraction with no regard for the climate crisis or the need for potable water. 

- David Climenhaga writes about the UCP's plans to assemble a provincial police force under their political control. And Jim Bronskill reports that the bigoted Flu Trux Klan was given primacy over any interest in police safety, as officers weren't warned of active threats to harm police.   

- David Moscrop writes about the immense power accumulated by Loblaws as a provider of everything, and corporate tech giants as the largest monopolists on the planet. And Erica Johnson et al. report on the continued pressure banks are putting on their employees to push financial products which consumers don't want or need. 

- Finally, Susan Riley writes that the prescription drug plan being developed at the federal level represents only a few baby steps toward a full pharmacare program - and wonders whether we'll ever see that latter goal reached. 

Wednesday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Meghan Bartels interviews Maria Van Kerkhove about the continuing and emerging threats in the fifth year of a pandemic which most of the powers that be have long since disappeared from any discussion. And Andrew Nikiforuk talks to Ziyad Al-Aly about the unconscionable lack of attention to long COVID even as it disables immense swaths of people. 

- Malcolm McCulloch writes about his new research suggesting that we may have blown past the 1.5 degree climate target a decade ago while continuing to see global warming escalate. Environmental Defence and Keepers of the Water call out the failure of provincial and federal governments alike to hold the oil sector responsible for the harm caused by toxic tailings. And David Thurton reports on Charlie Angus' push to at least limit misleading advertising by fossil fuel companies, while Rick Knight points out the gap between (propaganda-based) perception and reality as to the effects of carbon pricing. 

- The Circle Economy Foundation's latest report highlights how we're consuming more and more unsustainable quantities of natural resources - while actually reducing how much secondary material gets repurposed. 

- David Zipper discusses how vehicular bloat is making the infrastructure intended to favour private vehicles obsolete. 

- Finally, Cory Doctorow writes about Apple's practice of thumbing its nose at regulators - along with the prospect that its malicious compliance with new anti-monopoly rules may not go unchallenged. 

[Edit: corrected name.]

Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Daniel Altmann et al. examine the myriad forms of long COVID even as governments have gone out of their way to pretend there's no longer a problem to be addressed. And the Star's editorial board offers a reminder that we shouldn't take a summer lull (compared to a higher baseline than previous years of the pandemic) as either an excuse for avoidable risk or a declaration that the spread of COVID-19 is over. 

- Jordan Kovacs and Jimmy Thomson warn that British Columbia has failed to learn lessons from past heat waves as extreme weather conditions become commonplace. And W. Larry Kenney points out how the combination of heat and humidity is especially deadly. 

- Cloe Logan discusses the futility of any climate change plan based on looking for excuses to keep extracting and burning fossil fuels. 

- George Monbiot writes that with ecosystems collapsing and supplies of necessities in grave danger, we're facing a stark choice between plutocrats' unfettered wealth accumulation and the future of human life on Earth. And Paul Kiel reports on the the connection between the billionaires who have taken ownership of a majority of the U.S.' Supreme Court, and tax policies which leave the public footing the bill for their extravagant gifts to judges and lawmakers. 

- Finally, Peter Armstrong calls out the problems with addressing inflation solely through interest rate increases aimed at reducing wages. Jim Stanford points out that retail food prices are still surging due to corporate profit-taking even as input costs are leveling off. And Garros Gong discusses how corporate monopolies represent a threat to general prosperity. 

Monday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Neil Shaw reports on the demands by Scottish doctors that their government reinstate COVID -19protections in health care facilities. And Tia Ewing reports on new research showing the devastating and lasting effects of long COVID. 

- AFP reports on what's already a record-breaking year for wildfire damage in Canada even before we reach peak fire season. Dharna Noor writes about the dirty energy sector's repudiation of any climate promises even as their devastating impact on the world manifests itself worse and sooner than ever anticipated. And Caitlyn Clark discusses how workers are having to fight for their health and safety against employers determined to expose them to unmitigated harm from smoke and heat. 

- Yvette D'Entremont writes that Nova Scotia's government is choosing not to collect the data needed to know exactly how bad the province's housing crisis is. 

- Jon Schwarz highlights how the hanger-on class which has thus far supported the accumulation of wealth by the elite few is becoming the new target for exploitation as lower classes are squeezed dry. And Cory Doctorow discusses why it's dangerous to hope for better outcomes when merely replacing one corporate monopoly with another. 

- Finally, Bill Longstaff points out that Norway serves as a compelling, one-word refutation of the most deeply-embedded corporatist assumptions which have been allowed to form the basis for Canadian economy policy. 

Sunday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- Sam Gindin discusses the need to push back against the narrative that inflation caused by supply chain disruptions and corporate greed will somehow be ameliorated by punishing the working class. And Adam King writes that the response to inflation represents just another facet of the distributive battle between the rich and the rest of us. 

- Monia Mazigh argues that the Libs' minimal steps on housing are doomed to fail as long as we allow the housing sector to serve the interests of financial institutions rather than the people who need homes. And Julia Kane reports on new research connecting the number of oil and gas wells to racial discrimination in zoning. 

- The New York Times notes that the U.S. is looking at antitrust law as a means to challenge corporate collusion to lower wages. 

- Ted Rutland reports on the Libs' use of public resources to push poll against the appetite of the Canadian public to defund police forces. 

- Finally, Evan Scrimshaw examines the utterly dishonest attempt by the Cons and their right-wing allies to stoke fear about a "truck tax" whose only treatment by the federal government was to reject it, along with the media's mindless repetition of the talking point. 

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- David Wallace-Wells discusses the alarming warning indicators from our still-developing understanding of the Omicron COVID variant. Nazeem Muhajarine writes about the importance of booster vaccines in limiting the damage, while Wallis Snowdon reports on the justified frustration of Alberta doctors faced with Jason Kenney's choice to relax public health rules and increase community spread. And Joseph Allen offers some updates to the COVID playbook which should be applied this winter. 

- Krisna Saravanamuttu writes that the Ford PCs' refusal to provide paid sick days is only exacerbating the racial inequality in the effects of COVID. And Supriya Dwivedi writes about the looming price tag from Ford's climate negligence. 

- Tyler Cowen discusses the distributional effects of inflation - though it's noteworthy that the key means of mitigating a disproportionate effect on lower-income workers is to allow for wage increases to keep pace with changes in prices. And Brian Doucet notes that policies which merely add to the supply of unaffordable dwellings won't help the people whose right to housing is being denied. 

- Armine Yalnizyan points out how the increased use of migrant workers based on a supposed labour shortage in Quebec is suppressing wages and working conditions for everybody. And Dorien Frans and Nadja Dorflinger examine the dark side of the logistics boom for the workers who face exploitative working conditions. 

- Globe Newswire reports on the escalating amount of plastic waste being generated by Amazon in particular. And Bill Kovarik writes that the past few decades of climate fraud and delay match the oil industry's century-long endangerment of people's lives by covering up the known effects of lead in gasoline. 

- Finally, Luigi Zingales highlights the need to stop conflating centrally-controlled capitalism with freedom in any meaningful sense, and to instead use competition law to ensure people have the ability to make meaningful choices. 

Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Matt Gurney writes about what continues to be a woeful response to COVID in Ontario among other provinces, while Jason Herring reports on Alberta's collapsing emergency medical services. And Claire Pomeroy recognizes the tsunami of disability which will need to be addressed arising out of long COVID. 

- Umair Haque writes that our social system is collapsing due to the capitalist imperative to concentrate perpetually more wealth into fewer and fewer hands. And David Dayen highlights why so many workers have decided after facing the trauma of a pandemic that they're not willing to tolerate exploitative jobs. 

- Elaine Power, Paul Taylor and Valerie Tarasuk remind us that charities and food banks shouldn't be accepted as a response to poverty and hunger. 

- Scott Schmidt points out the obvious unsustainability of an economic system which relies on people taking on unmanageable debt to provide both jobs and profits. And Dan Darrah reports on the record profits being reaped and bonuses being paid out by Canada's big banks as they extract a growing share of our country's wealth. 

- Finally, Morgan Meaker writes that the U.S.' rejection of Meta's attempt to buy out Giphy may reflect a noteworthy first step in reversing the concentration of wealth and power through antitrust law.

Monday Afternoon Links

Assorted content to start your week.

- Bruce Deachman discusses the new "normal" we're approaching in which COVID continues to be a threat to people's health on an ongoing basis. 

- Nancy MacDonald highlights the nonstop catastrophes facing British Columbia as record heat is followed in short order by unprecedented flooding. And Crawford Kilian calls out the political response based on questioning whether anybody could have anticipated exactly the disasters which have long been the subject of warnings by climate scientists. 

- Seth Klein writes about the interregnum between broader recognition of the need to avert a climate breakdown, and the point of actually taking the necessary steps in response. Mario Canseco finds that Canadians are justifiably losing patience with climate change deniers. And Maxine Joselow takes note of one worthwhile development out of the Glasgow climate summit, as the international community is increasingly recognizing the importance of climate change as a public health issue. 

- The Star's editorial board recognizes that while food banks are performing (far too many) important services at the moment, they don't represent a fix for the underlying poverty. And Mitchell Thompson discusses how workers in Atlantic Canada have stared down - and thus far averted - the threat of austerity. 

- Todd Litman writes that the only solution to traffic congestion (along with the other problems generated by excessive reliance on car culture) is to provide alternatives. 

- Finally, Cory Doctorow writes about the connection between corporate monopolies and the soaring prices faced by consumers. 

Saturday Afternoon Links

Assorted content for your Boxing Day reading.

- Kyle Hanniman and Trevor Tombe examine the relative fiscal positions of Canada's federal and provincial governments - concluding that while there isn't a need for austerity anywhere, there's a lot more room to maneuver at the federal level than in most provinces (though Saskatchewan is a noteworthy exception). And Richard Murphy points out the absurdity of obsessing over deficits as an excuse not to spend on public goods.

- David Dayen is hopeful that the U.S. is seeing a much-needed antitrust revolution against the consolidation of corporate power - particularly in the hands of tech behemoths. But Umair Haque warns tha its foolish devotion to neoliberal economics is needlessly converting a rich country into a poor one. And Branko Milanovic discusses his concern that the Biden administration will do little more than return (to the extent possible) to a status quo ante whose inequality gave rise to Donald Trump's election. 

- Meanwhile, Nick Bano discusses how the UK's housing crisis was the result of deliberate choices to privilege the profits of landlords over people's right to a home. 

- Kenyon Wallace, Ed Tubb and Marco Chown Oved report on the privatized long-term care corporations which have paid out hundreds of millions of dollars in dividends - even as they've cried poor in failing to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic which has killed countless people under their care. And Moira Welsh takes note of the conditions found by a doctor asked to pitch in to save lives where corporate owners wouldn't.

- Badvertising examines the role of ads in pushing us toward needless and environmentally-destructive consumption.

- Finally, Carl Meyer reports on the Cons' determination to gift another set of handouts to the oil patch - this time by turning climate change policy into a subsidy scheme. But Chiara Eisner discusses how existing emissions tracking has grossly underestimated the damage done by leaking methane. And Bob Yirka highlights how Brazil's forest are being turned into net emitters rather than carbon sinks.