Wednesday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Inae Oh weighs in on the neo-royalism fueling Trump's sense of divine right. Seva Grunitsky points out that a hubristic belief that might makes right has caused the downfall of empires before as it likely will for the U.S. And Ryan Cooper discusses the prospect of countering the Trump regime by punishing the uber-rich who have lent their wealth and power to him - though the difficulty in trying to do so speaks to the dangers of their accumulated wealth.

- Owen Jones calls out Trump's "Board of Peace" as combining rank neocolonialism with yet another grift. Daniel Beland and Klaus Petersen discuss why the people of Greenland (like those virtually everywhere) want nothing to do with Trump's rule. And Luke O'Neil notes that the fear of Trump arises precisely from his refusal to recognize anybody but his immediate circle as human and deserving of any respect or consideration. 

- Reuters reports on new U.N. research showing that most of humanity is already facing dangerous water supply limitations - with much worse to come. And David Thurton reports on Environment Canada's warning that 2026 is likely to be yet another of the hottest years on record. 

- Finally, Matt Simmons and Lauren Walsh report on LNG Canada's excessive flaring which has made an already-polluting operation into far more of a climate bomb than promised. And Maxine Joselow discusses the Trump administration's choice to value human lives at zero in order to facilitate industrial pollution. 

Monday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material for your Truth and Reconciliation Day reading.

- Michelle Cyca discusses the promise that the awareness and education shared in the course of Truth and Reconciliation Day can be a first step toward a more respectful future, while Tumia Knott writes about the resilience needed to keep Indigenous culture alive in the face of a concerted campaign to eradicate it. And Amanda Follett Hosgood reports on the rightful concerns of Indigenous leaders that John Rustad and the BC Cons are looking to set any prospect of reconciliation back by decades.  

- Meanwhile, Tim Wilton writes that the dominant current form of colonialism is the subjugation of human interests to the profit-seeking of corporate resource extractors. 

- Wenfei Xu et al. study the distribution of traffic tickets in Chicago, and find that while red light cameras allot tickets in proportion to the racial makeup of drivers, police tend to stop Black drivers at a rate three times that of white drivers.  

- Kelly Ashmore reports on the rising XEC COVID-19 variant - complete with particularly severe symptoms compared to the most recent waves. Ozgur Tanriverdi et al. study how all types of COVID infections can exacerbate the risk of developing cancer. Julie Corliss examines new research finding that even "just the flu" can increase the risk of heart conditions. And Jennifer Lee reports on the Alberta health care workers bracing for yet another fall patient surge into a woefully overwhelmed medical system. 

- Finally, Selena Simmons-Duffin reports on new research linking anti-trans laws to an increase in suicide attempts among trans teens. 

Thursday Morning Truth and Reconciliation Day Links

A few links and reports for the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

- Rose Lemay writes that reconciliation requires systemic change at the level of individual assumptions and awareness. Murray Sinclair notes that the proclamation of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is just one small step in a journey which will take lifetimes to complete. And Drew Hayden Taylor observes that one day is nowhere near enough to respond to centuries of colonialism - particularly when so many provinces have refused to participate. 

- Meanwhile, Ross Diabo writes about the history of deliberate and systemic abuse and devaluation of Indigenous peoples going far beyond the residential school system alone.  

- Meghan Grant highlights the victims of the 25 Alberta residential schools acknowledged in the Residential Schools Settlement Agreement. 

- Suzanne Shoush and Lisa Boivin recognize that acknowledgment of the truth requires that we accept the anger and outrage of people historically mistreated by our governments, not look to deny or minimize the harm. 

- Finally, Chris Tyrone Ross offers his perspective as to how best to spend the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation - both in learning about the reality of Canada's treatment of Indigenous peoples, and acting to change our relationship for the better. Pratush Dayal lists of some of the events being held around Saskatchewan. And the summary of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's final report - including its calls to action - can be found here (PDF). 

Monday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Stephen Buranyi laments the reality that the public's increased awareness and concern about our ongoing climate breakdown isn't being reflected in political decisions. And Noah Smith writes that while the rapid drop in prices for renewable energy may help us avoid the worst possible climate outcomes, we shouldn't doom ourselves to the massive damage expected from a business-as-usual scenario.

- Erin Baerwald calls out the gross inaccuracy of Doug Ford's anti-wind crusade. Jeremy Klazsuz reviews Jason Kenney's year of attacks, while Scott Schmidt discusses the threat the UCP's war room poses to the public's freedom of expression. And Morgan Modjeski reports on the laughably overwrought shrieks of protest in response to a fairly standard Oxbow Christmas pageant which dared to include environmental themes.

- Eion Higgins reports on the spread of the #wouldyoushootmetoo hashtag in response to the news that the RCMP was prepared to shoot to kill peaceful land defenders.

- Chelsea Whyte discusses the tragic - and entirely avoidable - return of measles to the U.S. as a result of antivaxxers.

- Finally, Heather Mallick points out the economic and environmental damage we do by relying on Amazon. And Brendan Kennedy reports undercover on the working conditions facing Amazon's delivery drivers.