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. 

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. 

Monday Morning Links

Assorted content to start your week.

- Denny Carter discusses how Alexandria Ocasia-Cortez is the ultimate "kitchen table" campaigner - even as she's wrongly treated as being out-of-touch by people who want to ensure it's the boardroom table that dominates politics. And Marina Requena-i-Mora, Dan Brockington and Forrest Fleischman find that lower income correlates with stronger concern for environmental issues (likely due to the fact that marginalized people are also the victims of environmental inequaliy and neglect). 

- Tim Dickinson highlights just a few of the nastiest attacks on the public in Donald Trump's murder budget. Jason Sattler calls out the Trump regime for setting the future on fire (both literally and figuratively). Jennifer Rubin discusses how the Trump administration is completely detached from reality, while Margaret Sullivan comments on its attacks on any institution which could preserve people's connection to the real world. 

- Kate Aronoff discusses how Republicans are aiming to subject people to death by heat stroke. And Ames Alexander points out the corporate interests making cities far more dangerous in order to keep profiting from "dark roof" products. 

- The Canadian Press reports on ACORN Canada's work pushing for tenant protections from extreme heat. And Elliot Goodell Ugalde and Natalie Braun make the case to facilitate tenant organization to ensure renters can engage in collective action when governments don't properly address their rights and needs. 

- Daniel Trilling's review of Richard Seymour's Disaster Nationalism highlights the conditions that facilitated the rise of fascist politics both in the 1920s and in the recent past. And Mona Charen points out how false bothsidesing has served to legitimize authoritarianism. 

- Finally, Matthew Renfrew offers a reminder that the Cons have stoked anti-vaccine and other anti-science sentiment - and argues that it's long past time for them to confront that dangerous tendency. And Donald Gutstein takes a look at the extreme evangelicals who have been at the core of right-wing Canadian politics for decades - and who are trying to sell us out to the Trump regime out of religious fervour today. 

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Edward Zitron writes about the idiotic results of purging all considerations from business decision-making other than goosing short-term share prices. And EuropeanPowell examines the connection between deregulated "free zones" (of the type the Cons are actively seeking to impose in Canada) and the broader hijacking of public resources and services by greedy corporations.  

- Simon Kuper reports on the push for a global wealth tax in order to ensure the richest few can't hide their obscene wealth offshore. Dean Baker makes the case for a financial transactions tax to disincentivize shell games as a substitute for productivity. And Rick Szostak discusses the need for everybody to be willing to contribute to the common good. 

- Noah Berlatsky writes about the dangers of the Trump administration's attacks on vaccines, while Reuters reports on Moderna's decision not to seek approval of a more effective hybrid COVID/flu vaccine under an anti-science regime. Susan Mashiyam highlights a new study into vaccine disinformation as expressed at public meetings. And Bingyu Zhang et al. find that the consequences of COVID-19 include severe cardiovascular outcomes in children.

- Finally, Sam Freedman points out the inherent fragility of hard-right political alignments which rely on uniting the corporate sector and conspiracy theorists against professionals. Matthew Hays notes that Pierre Poilievre's attempts to send different messages to different sides of the conspiracist divide resulted in nobody having any basis to trust him. Crawford Kilian writes that the Trumpists and separatists being boosted by Danielle Smith's UCP are likely to make the Cons even less electable. And Don Braid notes that the immediate purpose of Smith's promotion of separatism is to undermine national values and standards, while Taylor Noakes offers a reminder that the separatist push is being bankrolled and directed by and for the dirty energy sector. 

Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Jessica Wildfire discusses the eugenic mindset behind the Trump regime (and particularly Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s plans for public health). Jill Lawrence writes that Donald Trump is managing to deform an already wealth-obsessed country with his singular focus on using the power of the presidency to feed his unquenchable greed. Greg Sargent talks to Jamie Raskin about the corruption behind Trump's acceptance of a luxury jet from Qatar. And Timothy Noah takes note of the use of magical supply side theory as an excuse for gigantic tax cuts for those who already have more concentrated wealth than any healthy person could spend in a lifetime. 

- Adrienne Buller and Geoff Mann write that we should treat a polycrisis as a moment where concerted action can have the most positive effect on future outcomes, rather than a basis for despondency and inaction. Jeremy Wallace warns against applying cynical "realism" to the work to be done in preserving a habitable living environment. And Jeff Masters discusses how climate denialists are spinning and mischaracterizing the IPCC's work to try to excuse climate neglect. 

- Meanwhile, Andrea Thompson points out how the Trump regime's slashing of weather forecasting will have a toll in human life. And Nidhi Sharma and Jacob Soboroff report on its decision to squelch the reporting the known cost of wildfires and other climate-related disasters. 

- Amber Rolt reports that a majority of British respondents favour banning short-haul flights in favour of real. And Mili Roy discusses how the fight against climate change fits neatly with the steps Canada needs to take to reduce our dependence on the U.S. 

- Finally, Robert Farley highlights the absolute idiocy of Trump's fight against Canada. And Paul Kahnert argues that any conservatives with an interest in Canada's well-being should be distancing themselves from MAGA - though whether such a thing exists remains in serious doubt. 

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- David Suzuki and Ian Hanington write about the importance of a courageous approach to climate change policy, while Nature's editorial board discusses the desperate need for decision-makers to start acting like adults. But it should come as no surprise that the Trump regime's responses to a threat to our living environment boil down to YOU CAN'T MAKE ME! and LALALALAICAN'THEARYOU!. 

- Meanwhile, Drew Anderson points out that the posturing about separatism from Danielle Smith (and Scott Moe) is aimed solely at strongarming the federal government into letting fossil fuel tycoons dictate policy. And Dharna Noor reports on new revelations into how oil and plastics producers have been lying about the limitations on chemical recycling. 

- Eric Wickham reports that major Canadian grocers have refused to provide even basic information to the federal government as they claim their ability to seek out windfall profits takes precedence over people's access to food. And that contempt for affordability has obvious political effects, as Emma Paling reports that cost of living was a major input into Pierre Poilievre's Con rage farm. 

- Saira Peesker reports on new research showing the links between ultra-processed food and numerous health risks. 

- Finally, Katya Schwenk reports on airlines' sale of passenger data to ICE in the U.S. And Alison Northcott reports that in addition to diverting resources out of the public health care system, private clinics in Canada have been selling health data to big pharma to further goose their profits. 

Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Robert Reich argues that the overriding theme of the new Trump regime is ineptitude, with Paul Krugman's observation that he's staking the U.S. economy on offers which other countries can't accept offering support for that conclusion. But John Slover et al.'s study on the millions of people who stand to die from Trump's wanton slashing of supports signals that cruelty still needs to rank at the top of the list, while Eli Hager writes that a war on children is a huge element of the regime's actions. 

- Harold Meyerson discusses how markets have brought Trump to heel at times - though it's also been worth noting how quick they've been to revert back to "normal" as the people in control of capital are desperate to avoid acknowledging the harm already done when they can find the slightest pretense to make numbers go up. And John Avlon highlights how Americans are demonstrably worse off than they were 100 days ago, with far more damage yet to come. 

- Cory Doctorow notes that Congressional Republicans are joining in the looting of the general public by looking to eliminate protections against corporate fraud and deception. And Dan Friedman and Russ Choma point out the actual dark money behind a political investigation seeking to undermine Democratic donation mechanisms. 

- Quinn Slobodian writes that techbros' temporary fixation with IQ is only a brief stop on the way toward the subordination of human-based knowledge and judgment. And Dell Cameron discusses how car subscription features are just one more piece of the burgeoning private surveillance state. 

- Adam King writes about CAPE's call for public pension funds to divest from Tesla - both to avoid propping up a particularly malevolent corporate actor, and for the sake of avoiding a foreseeable crash. And Michael MacKenzie, Simon Pek and Alex Hemingway make the case to favour democratic employee ownership of businesses rather than catering to the whims of billionaires and foreign capital.

- Finally, Taylor Noakes examines the right-wing propaganda machine which has bullied its way into Canada's political discourse. Max Fawcett writes that a proportional electoral system would offer an important defence mechanism against that threat - though it seems painfully unlikely that Mark Carney will have any more interest in reducing the polarization that brought him to power than Justin Trudeau or previous Lib leaders who have similarly wielded false majorities. And Jared Wesley writes that there are two possible paths ahead for conservatives in Canada - though the observation that there's a theoretical option to build bridges rather than destroying them seems hopelessly credulous in light of the constent track record of the Cons and their IDU co-conspiracists regardless of who's been at the helm.

Monday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your election day reading.

- David Moscrop discusses the dangers of allowing the Libs to claim the mantle of "left" while under corporate control. Martin Lukacs warns that the Poilievre Cons and their disinformation machine will have managed to push Canadian politics rightward even if voters reject them. And Jared Wesley writes about the need to approach any results with care, rather than knee-jerk anger or smugness. 

- Dustin Godfrey notes that both the Libs and Cons are pushing for drug policy based on puritanical punishment rather than harm reduction (in stark contrast to the NDP). And Katherine Scott discusses how young people facing a grim future with few supports have been largely ignored by the two largest parties, while Renee Sylvestre Williams offers a reminder that boutique tax baubles don't do anything to make life affordable for the working class. 

- Paul Kahnert writes about the red flags which confirm Poilievre is every bit as destructive and reality-averse as Donald Trump. And Guy Lawson comments on the absurdity of the Cons seeking to take power based on a campaign of absolute isolation - including but not limited to a complete failure to respond to the connections between them and the Republicans. 

- Steven Beschloss discusses how the Trump regime has made the U.S. a pariah rather than a magnet for international activity. Edward Harrison highlights the reality that American exceptionalism can't be salavaged in the wake of an irrational war against everybody. And Alan Elrod writes that the road toward anything positive depends on reversing the practice of politics based on vice. 

- Finally, Ben Smith offers a glimpse at the elite group chats which shaped the current U.S. conventional wisdom in the image of alt-right saboteurs. Philip Bump notes that one of the few consistent elements of the Trump regime is its refusal to listen to any message other than its own propaganda, while Eileen Sullivan reports on the elimination of a non-partisan civil service to allow only for Trump boosterism. And Ian Bogost and Charlie Warzel warn that the corporate information scraping and surveillance being put in place by Elon Musk may have repercussion for the general public long past Trump's stay in power. 

Thursday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Francisco Ferreira discusses the collapse of the existing global economic order - and the need for countries other than the U.S. to take decisive steps to create any alternative which could improve on the flaws in the historical system. And Peter Crowley weighs in on the role a half-century of neoliberalism has played in laying the groundwork for dictatorship. 

- Dave Davies talks to Steven Levitsky about the dire state of U.S. democracy. And Brian Beutler discusses how Donald Trump courts disaster to force everybody else to use their resources preparing for the fallout from his whims. 

- Mark Olalde reports on the threats being made against U.S. civil servants that they face criminal prosecution for whistle-blowing or providing accurate information about the Trump regime's actions. Victor Tangerman reports on Elon Musk's similar pattern of threatening to arrange for the deportation of anybody at Tesla who dared to point out problems with the brakes in their vehicles. And Canada Healthwatch points out that the U.S. has deliberately set up a system for the reporting and intimidation of Canadian health care providers who dare to provide gender-supportive care, abortion, contraception or other care which runs afoul of Trump's ideology. 

- Jason Sattler discusses how Musk deliberately trashed the concept of verification at X - and how important it is to reinstate it through Bluesky and other social media. And Alex Himelfarb writes about the dangers of denialism in undermining the collective action needed to respond to a polycrisis. 

- Finally, Natasha Bulowski highlights how the Cons are flipping the bird to the concept of climate action. Nicholas Hune-Brown discusses how J.D. Vance has become a key focus of the election in Bowmanville-Oshawa North where his buddy Jamil Jivani is trying to take a place in a Con cabinet, while Michael Harris identifies the influence of the Trump regime as just one of several unusual aspects of the federal election campaign. And Justin Ling discusses how Pierre Poilievre is shutting out any but the most sycophantic of media outlets - making for just one more indication that he's following the Trump playbook to the letter. 

Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Toby Buckle notes that the most accurate predictions for Donald Trump's second term have been the ones which warned about the worst (and even then may have underestimated the dangers). Marina Kelly and Vittoria Elliott report on DOGE's theft of massive amounts of data which is being turned into an unprecedented surveillance tool. Brittany Gibson notes that anybody who merely speaks up for the people disappeared by Trump's goons is being threatened with criminal prosecution. And Radley Balko writes that Trump's regime is imposing direct costs on basic human decency - making it all the more important for people to defy the powers that be by caring for one another. 

- Dan Froomkin argues that accurate coverage of the Trump regime needs to start from the premise that it's a criminal enterprise. Paul Krugman notes that major policy announcements are now being made in private meetings with corporate executives. And Will Bunch examines how Trump's second inaugural fund was turned into a nine-figure shakedown and grift which received scant media attention. 

- Frank Langfitt reports on a survey of political scientists finding broad agreement that Trump is tipping the U.S. into authoritarianism. And Robert Reich writes about the billionaire class' ongoing efforts to secede from society at large rather than contributing a nickel to its success. 

- The Canadian Press reports on a push by professors to offer safe haven to American academics and researchers. Dat Nguyen warns against allowing Pierre Poilievre to import Trump's war on science to Canada, while Aaron Wherry and Catherine Cullne report that the Cons' plans to exercise political control over research are intact even after they were left out of the first version of the party's English platform. Geoff Dembicki examines the Cons' plans to mimic DOGE, while Adrienne Tanner reports on their similar mirroring of the Republicans' culture war. Harrison Mooney talks to Martin Lukacs about Poilievre's plans to trash the welfare state and civil society. 

- Finally, andrea bennett interviews Enda Brophy about the class politics of the Canadian federal election. Emmett Macfarlane takes a look at the plans offered by Canada's political parties on democracy and governance - though it's unfortunate that the far more substantive plans of the NDP receive far less attention than the lack thereof of the Cons and Libs. Jen St. Denis examines how and why extreme-right propagandists were able to hijack the election debates. And Gillian Steward points out that the real goal of Western separatists is merely to maintain a grievance culture that serves as a roadblock to climate action and clean energy development. 

Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Adrienne Lafrance discusses how the clock is ticking - but not quite yet run out - to check Donald Trump's assertion of absolute power before the U.S. falls into authoritarianism. Will Stone reports on the Trump regime's gutting of the Department of Health and Human Services' injury prevention team, while Hiroko Tabuchi reports on the cancellation of research grants to address the effects of pollution and toxic chemicals on children. And Laurie Udesky and Jack Leeming write about the beginning of a massive scientific brain drain. 

- Stephen Magusiak talks to Geoff Dembicki about the close connections between Pierre Poilievre's Cons and the corporate forces responsible for Trump's entrenchment in power. Christopher Holcroft examines a half-dozen of the crucial policy areas where Poilievre is consistently parroting Trump. And Washim Ahmed warns that Poilievre's determination to mimic Trump's deportation of people for the exercise of free speech and assembly is particularly dangerous. 

- Ximena Gonzalez rightly questions why neither of the main parties is showing any interest in tackling poverty or inequality. And Danyaal Raza writes about the crisis in primary health care which is likewise receiving short shrift from the Libs and Cons alike. 

- Finally, Christo Aivalis writes about a principled approach to strategic voting for left-wing Canadian voters (in stark contrast to the "Dear Leader requires a crushing majority!" message coming from the Lib camp). And Tom Parkin offers a data-driven approach to electing the most progressive Parliament possible. 

Saturday Morning Links

Assorted content for your weekend reading.

- Doug Saunders discusses how Trump has made "anti-woke" messaging toxic around the globe by demonstrating how evil and destructive it is in practice - even as Pierre Poilievre insists on trying to peddle it in Canada. And Leyland Cecco reports on the increasingly pervasive and sophisticated misinformation being disseminated in the course of Canada's election campaign.

- Jorge Barrera reports on the unsubtle and unconscionable stunts from Ezra Levant and company in spreading misinformation and disrupting the leadership debate scrums for Poilievre's benefit. And Taylor Noakes points out how Poilievre functions as a useful idiot for the oil sector. 

- Joe Vipond and Seth Klein lament the lack of discussion of climate change in the course of an election campaign which is supposed to involve charting Canada's course in the world for decades to come. Clean Energy Canada highlights the massive opportunities available if we joint our non-U.S. trading partners in focusing on building a renewable energy economy. And the 89 Percent Project is set to launch some much-needed coverage as to how the vast majority of people support climate action which is being held back only by a few greedy fossil fuel tycoons and their political puppets. 

- Nick Pearce discusses the possibility of establishing social democratic zones as a counter to the perpetual corporate push for non-democratic areas. 

- Finally, Erin Reed rightly argues that countries need to be prepared to accept transgender refugees from the U.S. in the face of a regime which treats their existence as a crime. 

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Matthew Yglesias implores the business sector which is increasingly recognizing the danger of Donald Trump's trade policy to notice that the balance of his plans are equally ill-founded. Will Saletan discusses the Trump regime's selection of cabinet officials based entirely on their willingness to propagandize and flatter, rather than the possession of any knowledge or competence. Charlie Angus highlights how book burning and information suppression fits into the fascist playbook. And Greg Sargent talks to Jonathan Friedman about the weakness in strongarm tactics which depend entirely on a lack of coordinated resistance.

- Bryan Tau, Joshua Goodman, Garance Burke and Brian Slodysko report on the DOGE takeover of the U.S.' General Services Administration which has resulted in effectively all public property and information being turned into playthings for Elon Musk. And Corbin Trent worries that most resistance so far has been based on inspiration in the absence of infrastructure, even as a fascist regime entrenches itself in power based on the groundwork laid by external structures. 

- Paul Wells highlights Pierre Poilievre's bragging about never changing his mind, whileLinda McQuaig writes that Poilievre's attempt to rebrand and partially reorient the Cons' campaign is likely doomed because of his inability to do anything of the sort. 

- Emma Paling and Alex Cosh examine how Poilievre has been treated with kid gloves by the media even while treating them with nothing but hatred and contempt. And Luke LeBrun reports on the Cons' laughable attempt to treat their own astroturfed attempt at polling denialism as being the result of a conspiracy involving both the Libs and Doug Ford (along with presumably various Freemasons, Roswell aliens and fake birds). 

- Finally, David Coletto examines the factors which have resulted in a shift among left-wing voters - with the main reason for any shift from the NDP to the Libs being a matter of transactional politics rather than changes in underlying beliefs. And Will Shelling discusses the importance of identifying and supporting strong NDP candidates, rather than complying with Lib partisans' demands for a crushing majority which would enable Mark Carney to sideline progressives inside and outside his party.

Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Jared Yates Sexton writes about the unambiguous wrong embodied in the Trump regime's claim to be able to disappear anybody it chooses to. Timothy Snyder rightly categorizes that position as the deliberate use of state terror. Coral Davenport reports on Trump's plan to treat the law as inoperative to the extent it doesn't suit the interests of him or his cronies, including by ignoring regulations which are seen as inconvenient. And Jason Sattler discusses how Elon Musk is attempting to enshittify Social Security out of existence (as an alternative to the Republicans' repeated attempts to eliminate it as a matter of law).

- Amanda Marcotte points out the theocracy embedded in Marco Rubio's attempt to treat any differing views as "anti-Christian bias". Saketh Sundar discusses how hospitals stand to be hard hit by Trump's attempt at a hostile takeover of universities. And Taylor Noakes writes that the rest of the world (including Canada) will suffer from the fallout of RFK Jr.'s gutting of public health. 

- Sushan Singh writes about the connections between right-wing authoritarian regimes around the world, including through the Modi government's interference to promote Pierre Poilievre and the Cons. Taylor Owen talks to Aengus Bridgman and Nina Jankocwicz about the broader reality of foreign information manipulation. 

- Patrick McCurdy and Kaitlin Clarke offer a reminder as to who stands to suffer from Poilievre's war on "woke" (i.e. any attempt to identify and correct injustice). Mel Woods points out the anti-trans messages being injected into the election campaign by the Cons. And Jen St. Denis reports that Canada's alt-right techbros are desperately trying to distance themselves from Elon Musk's DOGE (with all the credibility of Donald Trump's bald-faced lies about his connections to Project 2025). 

- Finally, Nino Antadze writes that Canada can draw important lessons from Georgia as to how to defend its sovereignty against a hostile superpower. And Charles Smith discusses how the new strain of Canadian nationalism emerging in response to Trump's threat may chart a path for our future development. 

Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Nesrine Malik writes about the need for the rest of the world to imagine - and then build - an international order which routes around the U.S. as an entirely unreliable partner. And the Economist discusses how the U.S. itself will lose out immensely by ending the use of the dollar as an international default currency. 

- Anne Applebaum writes about the systematic kleptocracy being installed at breakneck speed. Paul Krugman and Dan Moynihan each note that Trump has turned the IRS into a tool to allow the wealthy to avoid taxes, while punishing the working class in any way possible. And Jenna McLaughlin reports that the confidential information raided by DOGE for Elon Musk's personal enrichment includes sensitive labor data held by the National Labor Relations Board.  

- Chris Hatch rightly notes that the climate breakdown is in progress - and will continue absent a drastic change in course - whether Trump and his ilk govern in denial of it or not. Hannah Ritchie and Pablo Rosado discuss the scourge of air pollution which kills millions of people every year. And Helena Horton reports on a study finding hundreds of dangerous pesticides in European homes, while Bartosz Brzezinski discusses Bas Bloem's research into the connection between glyphosate and Parkinson's disease. 

- Sumathi Reddy reports on the growing awareness among doctors that COVID-19 can produce cognitive difficulties which last for years. And Baran Erdik studies the effect of COVID on driving in particular, finding a significant association between infections and subsequent car crashes. 

- Finally, Schmutzie offers a survey of the Cons' most recent policy declaration - and notes in particular the similarities to Project 2025 which Donald Trump falsely disclaimed before making it the basis for his regime. Dougald Lamont writes that no government in Canada should be pushing austerity in the face of a teade war which makes it all the more laughable to preach a doctrine of self-sufficiency. And Seth Klein offers his take as to what a genuinely strategic vote would look like. 

Monday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor write about the rise of end-times fascism - and its connection to the long-standing project among the wealthiest few to survive environmental and social destruction from gated communities. Sam Freedman discusses the authoritarisn bent of self-professed "libertarians" who want the vast majority of people to be stripped of any agency to maximize their freedom to exploit the general public. Noah Berlatsky writes that the Trump regime's constant lying and gaslighting serves as an end in itself by making it difficult to combat abuses with facts. And Greg Sargent talks to Leah Litman about the public threat of politically-motivated prosecutions of elected officials who represent their constituents rather than allowing themselves to be used as tools of an autocrat. 

- Paul Krugman examines how Donald Trump's perpetually-shifting tariffs could hardly have been designed to avoid accomplishing any of their theoretical goals - particularly in light of Hafiz Rashid's report that nobody's actually collecting them. And Jessica Wildfire discusses the difference between progressive development based on ingenuinty and hard work, and the capitalist idea of "success" based on variance and leverage. 

- Angella MacEwen offers a warning about the dangers of "polite austerity" as Mark Carney's plans for cuts in real social funding for receive little attention. And Luca Caruso-Moro reports on new Statistics Canada data showing that investors cleaned up in 2024 while wages dropped. 

- Adam King writes about the need for the Canadian left to rebuild electoral power. Armine Yalnizyan writes that the "Canada is not for sale" movement needs to reckon with the important institutions which are already under the control of foreign capital. And Max Fawcett points out that any Con posturing about standing up to the Trump regime is utterly implausible when their plans involve being tied even more tightly to the U.S. 

- Finally, Will Adams offers a peek at the concentrated racism and hatred at the core of the Cons' public events. Olivia Bowden examines how the younger manosphere has become the one significant addition to the Cons' electoral coalition. And Deirdre Mitchell-Maclean points out that the separatists being encouraged by Danielle Smith and the UCP are just as much a threat to Alberta as they are to Canada.

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Gil Duran examines the false claim of an "emergency" underlying Donald Trump's tariff manipulations - along with the dangers of allowing a dictator to manufacture false excuses for drastic measures. And Bill McKibben notes that plenty more of Trump's destructive executive orders are similarly based on contrived or false claims of emergency circumstances. 

- Miles Klee, Andrew Perez, Asawin Suebsaeng and Meagan Jordan discuss Elon Musk's gleeful destruction of every part of the U.S. government that falls under the notice of the DOGE team. And Josh Marshall discusses the effects of substantially shuttering the Department of Justice's tax division as being a massive handout to wealthy tax cheats, while Tom Scocca and Joe MacLeod note that people who have complied with their tax obligations are being punished by having their information used against them for other purposes. 

- Paul Darren Bieniasz warns about the Trump regime's destruction of science in the U.S., while Daniel Altmann and Angela Rasmussen discuss how to respond to threats against public health. Mary Van Beusekom highlights how a substantial proportion of the U.S.' population is suffering from long COVID even as Trump guts public health capacity. And Paul Krugman points out the parallel rise of the quack-industrial complex providing self-serving and wrong answers to exceedingly important questions. 

- Mitchell Beer discusses how the world at large can move on from being tethered to an unreliable U.S. Mitch Anderson talks to Seth Klein about Canada's path to a war footing to respond to the U.S. threat and the climate crisis together. And Christo Aivalis points out that neither the Libs nor the Cons are defending Canadian workers in their plans to limit how Trump's threat affects the corporate class. 

- Finally, Maddi Dellplain examines the structure of Canadian health care, and the policies on offer from the federal parties to address it. 

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- The Guardian weighs in the folly of the U.S.' self-removal from the global trade system, while Paul Krugman writes that there's no method to Donald Trump's madness. Jeffrey Sonnenfeld and Steven Tian warn that the effects of arbitrary action and perpetual uncertainty will be even worse in the long run than the short term, while Brian Barrett sees the tariff debacle as indicative of the Trump regime's general decision-making. And Jonathan Last writes the obituary for the American age of hegemony. 

- Iglika Ivanova discusses the need for Canadian leaders to offer vision in response to the U.S.' trade war, while Danyaal Raza implores us not to leave anyone behind in terms of health and income. Bruce Arthur discusses the opportunity to respond to the Trump regime's stupidity with smart planning. Armine Yalnizyan writes that we likely won't be able to avoid a short-term recession as our largest trading partner implodes, while noting that we should pay close attention to how our political parties plan to deal with it. And David Macdonald laments that all of the major federal parties are still focusing far too much on tax cuts and cash transfers which reduce the fiscal capacity available to build for the future. 

- Alex Hemingway offers a reminder that the concentration of wealth and power among a lucky few is driving the inequality which makes life more precarious for everybody else. And Sondos Kataite notes that an oligarchic U.S. regime is ripe for targeted sanctions. 

- Luke LeBrun reports on Con candidate Andrew Lawton's involvement in planning the Flu Trux Klan insurgency, while Stephen Maher notes that Pierre Poilievre's insistence on catering to the occupying convoy is making him radioactive to most voters. And Greg Locke reports on the extreme insularity and message control behind Poilievre's "public" campaign appearances, while noting that it sends an alarming signal as to the Cons' refusal to hear from the public if they take power. 

- Jared Wesley discusses how the Western Canadian petrostate isn't interested in anything but pitiful grievance politics, while Carl Meyer notes that Poilievre's plans include giving fossil fuel tycoons whatever they want with no regard for anybody else. And Lisa Young highlights the dangers involved in Danielle Smith's refusal to accept an election loss. 

- Finally, Nora Loreto offers a needed warning about the corrosive effects of constant "strategic voting" appeals as a tool of constraining our imagination as to what democracy can accomplish. And Jaigris Hodson provides some tips in talking to people who have succumbed to disinformation. 

Wednesday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Moira Doneghan discusses what the leaked Signal war crime planning among several top Trump regime officials says about how decisions are being made within the administration. And Alexander Hurst reports on the efforts by universities around the world to offer homes to leading thinkers fleeing the U.S., while Jacek Debiec notes that two prominent experts on tyranny and fascism have accepted Canadian appointments. 

- Justin Ling discusses how to approach the task of decoupling from the U.S., while Jeet Heer writes that the fight against fascism requires far more than the warm-and-fuzzy nostalgia on offer from the Libs. And Jason Markusoff writes that Danielle Smith's message that the Poilievre Cons are fully in sync with Trump has been heard loud and clear in Canada. 

- Code Black offers a comparison of medical practice in the U.S. and Canada, noting in particular how universal medicare ensures care decisions aren't constantly overridden in the name of extracting profit. But Duff Sprague points out that Ontario's health care system (like many others) is falling far short of what it could accomplish due to insufficient funding.  

- Ryan Cooper writes about the existential threat to society posed by the concentration of wealth and power in a few ultra-rich hands. And Owen Jones notes that the demand that the general public accept austerity and decline as the price of catering to the wealthy isn't any more palatable coming from UK Labour than from any other party in power. 

- Finally, Claude Lavoie argues that we won't make needed headway against the housing crisis until we start treating land as a necessary element of the right to housing, rather than a store of value to be walled off for private gain. 

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Scott Stinson writes that there's no reasonable explanation for Donald Trump's constantly-shifting position on tariffs, while Greg Sargent discusses the growing body of evidence that the tariffs are primarily an attempt to shake down Canada for its sovereignty. And Michael Byers argues that the U.S.' hostility to Canada represents a decisive reason to cancel the outstanding order for F-35 fighter jets which would further their control over our national defence - particularly since the U.S. is making clear that longstanding alliances and promises can't be counted on. 

- Lawrence Douglas discusses how the Trump regime is turning the corporate media into a propaganda machine for his government. And Anthony Nadler and Reece Peck set out how to build a reality-based ecosystem to amplify the voice of the working class. 

- Nora Loreto rightly argues that we shouldn't allow Canadian-branded corporate raiders to profiteer off of the U.S.' threats, while Justina Ray notes that a long-term perspective needs to include recognition of the importance of a healthy environment. And Matthew Mendelsohn and Jon Shell discuss some of the options to keep our own economy in Canadian hands, while Craig Lord reports on the first step in that process as the federal government makes a long-needed move to include economic security as a basis for reviewing takeovers.  

- Jared Wesley points out how the shift in public priorities from individualism to collective action is anathema to the plans of the Cons and their right-wing cousins. 

- Finally, Tanya Lewis talks to public health experts about some of the lessons learned after five years of COVID-19. And Lore Kelley interviews Katherine Wu about how a growing measles outbreak precipitated by vaccine rejection is starting to cause its own cataclysmic effects for American children.