Friday Afternoon Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- John Rapley highlights Canada's choice between tying ourselves to a dying and decaying American empire and its petropolitics, or instead investing in our future as part of a global clean energy economy. But Murray Brewster reports on Mark Carney's choice to secretly lock us into a billion-dollar military deal as a reminder that the Libs' inclination is to appease and support the Trump regime in substance even while occasionally posturing against it for the cameras. 

- Meanwhile, Natasha Tusikov and Blayne Haggart discuss how Canadians stand to lose out from Carney's plans to deploy artificial intelligence to replace a functional public service.  

- Erin Anderssen and Yang Sun discuss how the lack of available and affordable homes is the main factor driving unhappiness among young Canadians. 

- Cameron Micallef reports on the effort by Australian unions to make gains for workers on a scale not seen in decades, including though a shift to a four-day work week. And Jacob Fuller highlights Arindrajit Dube's research showing that there's plenty of room to increase minimum wages with effectively no impact other than to improve labour's share of income (and perhaps improve social indicators tied to income). 

- Finally, Leni Spooner writes about the dangers of surveillance pricing - and the choice of Libs and Cons alike to let greedy corporations use personal information to extract every possible nickel from consumers. 

Monday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Thomas Zimmer discusses how the Trump regime is attacking concept of treating people as equals, while Greg Sargent highlights Stephen Miller's role in trying to connect white nationalism to an oppressive police state. Jojo points out the importance of continuing to call out bigotry even as it's implemented as policy. And Garrett Graff offers reason for hope that Donald Trump is losing in his attempt to consolidate power. 

- Jake Johnson reports on the World Inequality Lab's latest study on the extreme concentration of wealth in the top .001% of wealth hoarders. And Michael Hirschorn writes that their ability to buy sycophancy is leading the uber-rich to Louis XV levels of hubris. 

- Jim Stanford writes that the only genuine risk to jobs from AI is the danger of a stock market crash as increasingly implausible valuations are based on little but hype and wishful thinking. M.J. Crockett discusses the crucial distinction between the "thick empathy" possible between people, and the pale imitation served up by performative artifical intelligence. And Derek Kravitz reports on the use of AI by unscrupulous business to extract higher prices from consumers. 

- Zion Lights discusses Finland's work in teaching students how to think critically as an antidote to disinformation. But Arwa Mahdawi laments how the corporate media has embraced being a tool of the rich, famous and connected rather than a counterbalance against elite abuses. 

- Finally, Adam King reports on another area where the Carney Libs seem determined to emulate the Trump regime, as they've removed publicly available labour relations data with no apparent explanation. And Mary Chevreau reports on yet another nasty surprise in the Libs' budget, as its cuts to Canada Post operations include the elimination of a library postage rate which allows for the exchange of library materials. 

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Isabella Kaminski reports on the International Court of Justice's advisory ruling that climate destruction can be a source of state liability for reparations, while John Woodside discusses the particular impact on Canada as our governments continue to lavish money on the sources of carbon pollution. Steven Wilhelm reports on Alberta's choice to discriminate against clean energy by setting far higher reclamation standards for an industry which doesn't pollute than for the fossil fuel sector which consistently leaves a toxic mess behind. And Lorne Fitch points out that anti-regulatory rhetoric about "red tape" is absolutely incompatible with environmental protection. 

- Paul Krugman writes about the general theory of enshittification and its effect on us as citizens and consumers. Emanuel Maiberg discusses how Google's AI overview is trashing both the Internet and the brains of users, while Jonathan Durand Falco comments on the role of Elon Musk's Grok in precipitating an era of techno-fascism. And Timothy Caulfield offers a warning about the spread of health misinformation  - as well as suggestions to avoid propagating it. 

- Jared Walker and Silas Xuereb make the case for Canada to crack down on the stashing of wealth in tax havens. And Linda McQuaig rightly argues that if Canada is going to get roped into inflated military costs, we should expect the wealthiest few to foot the bill. 

- Kim Siever writes that handouts to for-profit developers will do little to ameliorate a housing crisis based on inequality and a lack of affordable units. And Jonathan English and Stephen Jacob Smith note that our continued attachment to U.S.-based elevator rules represent a barrier to the construction of more affordable rental housing. 

- Finally, Sophia Harris exposes how corporate grocery giants are using false country of origin information to get shoppers to buy U.S.-based products. 

Sunday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- A.R. Moxon discusses our role in observing and shaping the world around us with the help of the analogy of a submarine whose occupants choose not to surface when it's obvious we can't survive the loss of oxygen. And Jen Kostuchuk, Erik Steiner and Sean Lyons discuss the need for adults generally - and decision-makers in particular - to start paying attention to the concern children have for our planet's future. And Ariel Wittenberg reports on the dirty energy industry's lobbying to prevent any regulation which would protect workers from having to suffer through dangerously hot conditions.

- Luke O'Brien highlights how the U.S.' surveillance state has always been built for the purpose of targeting and controlling left-wing actors. Prem Sikka discusses how money wields power in the UK, turning facially neutral laws into a means to exacerbate inequalities. And Robert Reich writes that neoliberalism is far past salvaging or rehabilitating as an organizing economic principle.  

- Phoebe Weston reports on new research into the wide variety and dangerous quantity of harmful chemicals seeping into the UK's rivers.

- Finally, David Olive writes that along with the patriotic push to buy domestically, Canadians should be doing everything we can to avoid buying from the country trying to take us over.

Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Sherrilyn Ifill examines how resistance to the Trump regime has developed and influenced events over the course of the first 100 days. But Peter Shamshiri laments that the corporate media continues to try to invent favourable narratives about Trump in the face of a decade of evidence establishing that they're utter nonsense.

- James Hardwick discusses how the housing crisis is primarily the result of commodification resulting in distorted distribution of resources, rather than a mere supply-and-demand issue that can be meaningfully addressed by catering to capital. Megan Carullo reports on new research showing that the gap between stagnant wages and a rising cost of living continues to grow in the U.S. And Reuters reports that the Trump regime's plans to squeeze citizens even further include dismantling any effort to track corporate offenders. 

- Adi Robertson warns about the dangerous pairing of AI and other technology designed to attract sensitive user information, and a surveillance state with no scruples about seizing and misusing personal data. And Danyaal Raza weighs in on the connection between privatized health care and the commercial sale of personal health information. 

- David Corbeil discusses Quebec's positive steps in ensuring that both new and existing buildings are set up to enable the use of electric vehicles. And Marc Lee warns against British Columbia's plans to pour public resources into fossil gas extraction and exports rather than investing in a clean energy economy. 

- Curtis Fric notes that the same Canadian public which just delivered its most polarized election result in ages has no desire to be stuck with a two-party system on an ongoing basis. And Christo Aivalis discusses how Mark Carney's prioritization of corporate interests over the working class is betraying progressive voters who were vital to his retaining power - while one of his cabinet members confirms the corporate mindset of the Lib government:

Wayne Long, newly-minted secretary of state for Canada Revenue Agency, tells reporters in Ottawa today: "I think we're going to see our government run like a corporation, which I think is long overdue."

— Steven Chase (@stevenchase.bsky.social) May 14, 2025 at 9:06 AM

- Finally, Marc Edge's review of Laurent Carbonneau's At the Trough highlights how Canadian corporate subsidies primarily result in windfall profits for foreign shareholders rather than any economic development. 

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. 

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 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. 

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Greg Sargent writes about the utter villainy of Elon Musk's using the largest concentration of wealth on the planet as a tool to condemn children to starvation, while Margaret Sullivan highlights how Jeff Bezos is trashing the Washington Post by turning it into a corporate propagand mill. Gabriel Zucman discusses how the Trump regime's capture by oligarchs makes it vulnerable to a response which emphasizes requiring the richest few to pay their fair share. Jen St. Denis reports on the tech lobbyists seeking to impose DOGE-style chaos in Canada. And Jagmeet Singh talks to Bernie Sanders about the cross-border cooperation which can ensure a better standard of living on both sides of the border:

- Jenna Benchetrit reports on a new study showing that consumer debt and delinquency have been soaring in Canada even before Trump started throwing the economy into chaos. And Muneeb Javaid writes that there's no excuse for Canada not to apply a wealth tax - even as Christo Aivalis notes that Mark Carney is only looking to make matters worse by treating capital as more important than labour and people's well-being. 

- The Requital examines how increased reliance on food banks signals a worsening hunger crisis in Canada. And Vandna Sinha et al. warn of the exacerbated food crisis facing many in Nunavut as a food couver program is due to expire at the end of March. 

- Lloyd Alter notes that any plan to build independence from the U.S. should include a shift to clean energy and transportation - including the bike lanes and walkable areas which petropoliticans are determined to destroy. And Andrew MacLeod reports on David Eby's proposal to target coal shipments as both an effective challenge to any tariffs and a boost to a clean energy transition.

- Finally, Chandelis Duster reports on the grassroots movement for an "economic blackout" today as a first step to challenge the abuses of Amazon and other exploitative retailers and brands. 

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Max Stier discusses how Elon Musk's all-out assault on the U.S.' public service is contrary to every principle of competent management, while Pamela Herd and Don Moynihan point out the idiocy of treating every program and contract that doesn't meet with a single uninformed individual's approval as "fraud". Sarah Kendzior points out that the new Donald Trump regime is only a highly-compromised piece of a transnational organized crime network, rather than operating as a power centre of its own. And Dasha Burns and Myah Ward report on the plans of longtime war crime enthusiasts to operate a private military and concentration camp system with Trump's blessing. 

- George Monbiot's questions about how the UK needs to think about defending itself from a hostile U.S. are obviously equally applicable to Canada. And Phillippe Lagasse examines a few of the scenarios we should be preparing for. 

- Meanwhile, Renee Sylvestre-Williams warns that we shouldn't let a justified boycott against U.S. products fizzle out. And John Clarke discusses how the Bank of Canada is positioning the working class to bear the brunt of any U.S. action, while Deena Ladd argues that we should instead focus our efforts on true solidarity where nobody is left behind. 

- Finally, Desmond Cole discusses how Ontario's rent allowance is a poverty trap rather than a meaningful support, while John Michael McGrath notes that Doug Ford's choice to make housing even less affordable is shutting out the very workers the province supposedly wants to recruit. Nick Tsergas observes that paid sick leave would be another key benefit for businesses and the health care system alike - but that it's not on the radar due to Ford's determination that workers are on their own. And Catherine MacNeil writes that the corporate-friendly plan to address the crisis in the availability of primary care represents pure politics rather than a viable solution 

Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Steven Levitsky and Lucan Way chart the likely road ahead in the U.S.' journey from democracy to authoritarianism, while Hamilton Nolan's interview with Stephanie Kelton includes the warning that it may be too late to salvage anything if a resistance movement limits its focus to electoral politics and timelines. Sam Freedman discusses how Elon Musk's influence - and the associated use of technology to seize unfettered power - is the main difference between Donald Trump's first term and his second. David Zipper notes that consumers have plenty of power to protest Musk's absues by making the choice to boycott Tesla as the main source of his current wealth. And Ed Zitron juxtaposes the promise of technology which could help improve people's lives against the reality that tech giants are exploiting us. 

- Anna Maria Barry-Jester and Bretty Murphy discuss the illegality of the immediate trashing of USAID. And Greg Sargent discusses how Pope Francis' response to the invocation of theology to excuse Trump's hatred has placed a spotlight on his administration's moral rot, while Sarah Newey reports on the first deaths directly traceable to the shutdown of its operations. 

- Paul Krugman writes that Trump and Musk have made it open season for scammers to steal money from the American public. And Liz Dye discusses how the destruction of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau represents a combination of spite and opportunism. 

- Dave Jamieson reports that large numbers of U.S. workers are joining unions in an effort to build collective strength against Trump. And Jon Milton notes that there's plenty Canadian governments can and should do in response to corporate union-busting, including Amazon's shuttering of its Quebec warehouse in response to an organizing campaign. 

- Steve Smethurst discusses new research about the threat of PFAs and other dangerous chemicals in sewage sludge which is used for agricultural purposes. And Andrew Gregory reports on a study showing that air pollution is responsible for upwards of a thousand annual cases of a single form of lung cancer in the UK, while Denise Balkissoon writes about the data gaps which limit our ability to identify similar threats in Canada. 

- Finally, Kim Pate discusses how Pierre Poilievre's draconian attacks on drug users would only exacerbate poverty and addiction. And Brett McKay reports on the 19-year difference in life expectancy between Indigenous people and other Albertans as a grim example of how discrimination and bigotry lead to severe health consequences. 

Tuesday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Brian Beutler makes the effort to classify the crises created by the new Trump administration as well as the available responses. Jeet Heer discusses Elon Musk's coup against crucial parts of the U.S. state., while Nathan Tankus goes into detail about the dangers of his control over payments and financial information through the Treasury. And David Dayen reports on the shutdown of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for the offence of giving people a fighting chance against corporate abuses. 

- A.R. Moxon writes that any organized response will need to start at the popular level as the government apparatus is rendered incapable of responding to anything other than Donald Trump's fascist diktats, while the opposition in Congress refuses to meaningfully oppose an authoritarian regime. Jonathan Last points out the role money can play in forcing Trump's hand at times - with his reversal on tariffs against Canada in the wake of financial upheaval looking like an important example. 

- Seth Klein notes that any further threats against Canada will demand a response based on the U.S.' reliance on fossil fuels. And Hadrian Mertins-Kirkwood and Marc Lee offer some additional creative suggestions.  

- Alex Himelfarb discusses how the conflation of austerity with "common sense" results in a meaner and less responsive form of politics. And Emma Paling examines the programs which are at the most risk if Pierre Poilievre ever gets the chance to impose his version on Canada. 

- Finally, Jen St. Denis talks to Avi Lewis about the prospect of a government that serves the interests of the general public - including by ending the sense of powerlessness that comes from leaving the availability of housing and basic necessities to corporate interests.

Sunday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- Julieta Manrique et al. study the prevalence of COVID-19 after infection - and find that even in patients who aren't immunocompromised, it manages to spread and replicate in most organs. Julia Wright, Dick Zoutman, Mark Ungrin and Ryan Tennant discuss how universities are failing to take post-COVID conditions seriously. Brett McKay reports on the hundreds of COVID outbreaks in Alberta acute care facilities in 2023-24 - even as the UCP torqued any reviews to insist it should have done even less. And Freja Kirsebom et al. study the continued effectiveness of COVID vaccines in preventing symptoms and hospital admissions among pregnant individuals.

- Jenna Hennebry writes that the real problem with Canada' temporary foreign worker policy is the systemic vulnerability it imposes on workers - which won't be improved in the slightest by forcing workers to compete for fewer positions.

- Glyn Moody discusses how the first version of right-to-repair legislation in Canada is almost entirely useless since it only allows for single-use fixes rather than any sharing of solutions.

- Finally, Natascha Kennedy highlights how big money is threatening democracy in the UK and elsewhere - and how prohibitions against corporate donations are a necessary element in reducing the danger. And Jon Queally reports on Bernie Sanders' message that the most important priority needs to be to overcome the global oligarchy.

Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- John Woodside reports on the pitiful excuse for climate finance advanced by developed countries at COP29. Kate Dooley highlights how the carbon trading scheme set up at COP29 falls far short of both actually reducing carbon pollution, and accounting for other environmental and social harms caused by credit-generating activities. Patrick Greenfield notes the absurdity of governments and businesses claiming credit for natural carbon sinks as somehow offsetting new carbon pollution. And Nancy Stauffer discusses how existing emission promises rely in particular on implausible assumptions about the viability and impact of carbon removal.

- Trevor Tombe and Jennifer Winter study the price impact of carbon pricing on Canadian food, and find that it's a fraction of the added cost imposed on consumers by corporate profiteering. And Andre Picard writes that the recent cluster of cases of scurvy in La Ronge reflects a far broader issue of poverty and food insecurity in northern regions. 

- Meanwhile, Cheryl Jahn interviews Alex Hemingway about the immense opportunity cost of offering boutique tax cuts rather than investing in underresourced public services. And Wency Leung reports on the dire state of Ontario's public education system as a result of decades of austerity. 

- Simon Spichak points out that recommendations being supported by the Public Health Agency of Canada may actually worsen the effects of long COVID, including by recommending exercise when it's strongly inadvisable. 

- Finally, Ricardo Tranjan discusses how to make rent regulation effective to ensure that housing is both available and affordable. 

Friday Afternoon Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Saul Elbein discusses the many ways in which the climate breakdown is affecting communities facing far more severe weather events than they've ever experienced before. And Mary Gilbert notes that the U.S. just faced one of the driest months on record, while Valerie Kipnis et. al examine the precarious state of water resources in central Asia.  

- Zoe Williams writes that the relentless hoarding of wealth by billionaires is warping democratic decision-making. And Mona Charen discusses how the wealthiest few are attempting to entrench a Trump-led oligarchy in the U.S. 

- Yushu Zhu and Hanan Ali write that Canada's housing crisis can be traced largely to the fetishization of homeownership and the assumption that property values must constantly be inflated.  

- Lucas Gutterman makes the case for regulation to ensure that consumer electronics aren't designed to be immediately turned to junk based on the manufacturer's whims or negligence.  

- Finally, Joan Westenberg warns of the shrinking of the Internet as non-corporate content becomes perpetually more difficult to find and share. 

Monday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your Saskatchewan election day reading. And if you haven't voted yet, now's the time! (Update: Also, ReginaPosterBoy's summary of the Sask Party's track record (via Cathie) is well worth a look.)

- Alex Birrell and Sophie Jin report on the children who have died in Regina's underresourced shelter system. And Peter Zimonjic reports on Scott Moe's refusal to even reply to the federal government about any plan to provide people with needed housing over the winter. 

- Alex Ballos, Bashir Bello and Jared Wesley call out the UCP for importing the U.S. Republican playbook to Alberta (after providing no warning whatsoever in the province's election campaign). And Ben Quinn discusses how the UK's National Trust has fought back against anti-environmental disinformation. 

- Wes Davis and Richard Lawler report on the attempt by cable, home security and advertising lobby groups to block any attempt to make it easy for consumers to unsubscribe from services. And Freddy Brewster reports on the business groups pushing to eliminate any liability for the nondisclosure of business failures - and in the process confirming that any rhetoric about shareholder interests is secondary to the presumed supremacy of unaccountable corporate insiders. 

- Meanwhile, both Will Bunch and Noah Berlatsky offer scathing criticisms of the billionaire media owners who have chosen to bow down preemptively in the face Donald Trump's plans to misuse public power to punish his enemies, rather than allowing for editorial decisions to support democracy and the rule of law. 

- Finally, John Cartwright writes that the answer to destructive right-wing populism and atomization is to work on building a society that focused on public well-being. 

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Gloria Dickie reports on the UN's latest Emissions Gap report which shows that we're headed for a climate disturbance of 3.1 degrees Celsius by the end of the century based on our current policy trajectory. Madeleine Cuff points out the reality that carbon pollution is now increasing more than it was before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, while John Timmer notes that we're a mere four years away from breaching the Paris temperature target. 

- Meanwhile, Jonathan Watts discusses the conflicting options in trying to motivate people to action - with distress seeming to serve as a better motivator than (implausible) hope. 

- Emma McIntosh explains how Doug Ford is planning to rush massive highway developments while destroying bike infrastructure, while Max Fawcett points out the absolute idiocy of doing so. And Alex Himelfarb discusses how the right's "common sense" con is intended to avoid any application of logic or evidence to antisocial policy positions which would never survive reasonable analysis. 

- Cloe Logan writes about the reality that consumer products are getting less durable and sustainable due to manufacturers' incentive to keep people replacing them - while pointing out that better information would at least allow people to determine how long their purchases will last. 

- Finally, DT Cochrane discusses how Canada's discussion of inflation (and the Bank of Canada's means of addressing it) has almost completely missed the cause and effect arising from corporate profiteering - meaning that even the lowering of interest rates now will leave people with eroded purchasing power. 

Wednesday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Andrew Nikiforuk discusses the immense economic and human cost of COVID-19 denial as another wave surges. And Matthew Frank et al. study how COVID produces lasting damage to the brain. 

- Robert Booth and Emine Sinmaz report on the findings of the UK's Grenfell inquiry, which find that the tragic fire was the result of systemic corporate dishonesty and government neglect. And Mo Amir discusses how B.C.'s government is failing to implement vacancy controls even while understanding they would benefit renters.

- Meanwhile, Myriam Durocher, Annika Walsh, Irena Knezevic and Madison Hynes discuss how charity isn't enough to eradicate food insecurity. 

- Ariel Silber reports on the less-than-surprising revelation that apps are listening in on users' smartphones without notice or consent in order to profit from the contents of their conversations. And Webb Wright reports on the FTC's study into "surveillance pricing" where unspecified personal information is used to present different prices to different consumers. 

- Kea Wilson discusses how the deaths of Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau are just an example of the traffic violence resulting from a transportation system designed to prioritize single-vehicle convenience over pedestrian and cyclist safety. And Coral Davenport highlights how the U.S. will need to update its infrastructure one way or another due to the use of materials which can't withstand a changed climate. 

- Finally, Susan Wright contrasts the importance of unions in social cohesion and development against the solidarity denialism of the UCP. And David Moscrop writes that the Cons and their allies remain hostile to workers - even as they try to pretend otherwise. 

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Paul Rogers discusses the imminent threat of more extreme weather events, shortages of the necessities of life and increased division and inequality if the climate crisis is allowed to continue unchecked - while trying to find some hope in more widespread awareness of the dangers we face. Michael Mann writes about the place of the Republicans' Project 2025 as part of the right's attempt to block global climate action. And Patrick Greenfield reports on Susana Mohamed's warning that even meeting our greenhouse gas emission targets is only a small part of the work to be done in restoring our living environment to balance. 

- Meanwhile, Bob Weber reports on the pleas from Alberta municipalities for the UCP to stop allowing the dirty energy industry to extract resources and spew pollution without contributing to its own cleanup costs. 

- Phil Tank discusses how unsafe commercial transport trucks remain the norm in Saskatchewan as commercial transporters have carried on business as usual even after the Humboldt Broncos tragedy. And Gabriela Calugay-Casuga points out that the main demand of the railway workers who have since been deprived of a place at the bargaining table by the federal government is to avoid the type of catastrophes caused by corporate railways' disregard for worker and public safety. 

- Nadia Khan reports on a new Centre for Future Work report showing that racialized workers continue to be underpaid compared to other Canadian workers - but that union organization helps to close the gap. And Lucy Uprichard compares the cultural funding and organizational models in Montreal and Toronto, noting that the corporate-focused version in the latter is leading to the steady erosion of community-level activity. 

- Finally, Sarah Butler reports on the false "discounts" being peddled by big retailers who grossly inflate prices, then demand that consumers hand over personal information in order to access the previous price as part of a membership program. And Jim Stanford points out the gross dishonesty of the Poilievre Cons in peddling selective or outright false information about the state of Canada's economy. 

Sunday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- Julia Simone-Rutgers highlights how extreme heat (which is only getting worse) already looms as a major cause of death and disruption in Canada. Alison Snyder discusses how the climate breakdown is contributing to the spread of wildfires, while Li Zhou points out how wildfires are exacerbating the housing crisis as people are driven from their homes. And Mark Gongloff discusses how the inability to insure against climate disaster stands to chip away at housing values.

-  Meanwhile, Maanvi Singh reports on new research showing that the drying out of saltwater lakes may result in yet another unaccounted-for carbon bomb.

- Nili Kaplan-Myrth offers a reminder that we should be taking care of each other in the midst of an ongoing pandemic. And Cynthia Porter et al. confirm that basic precautionary steps like getting children vaccinated can significantly reduce the effects of COVID-19, while Bobo Wing-Yee Mok et al. find that the consequences of letting supposedly mild strains run rampant may include increased cardiac dysfunction among other dangers.

- The Daily Hive discusses how corporate greedflation is behind increasing consumer prices. And Dean Baker notes that the explanation for lower restaurant patronage seems to be based largely on extreme price-gouging - even if NPR's reporting insists on blaming other nebulous causes rather than identifying the connection.

- Finally, Cory Doctorow points out that the more we accept obviously-exploitative practices aimed at perceived out-groups, the more likely we are to see the same normalized and applied to everybody.