Sunday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- Gregg Gonsalves discusses the Trump regime's plan to politicize every single dollar of federal revenue and expenditure in the U.S., setting up a ruthlessly efficient mechanism for executive grift and extortion at the expense of democratically-determined decision-making. Which means that Americans already struggling to keep afloat can only expect matters to get worse as long as Trump and his courtiers hold power. And Will Saletan highlights how the U.S.' foreign policy is similarly aimed at enriching Trump rather than any national or humanitarian interest. 

- Meanwhile, Kim Kelly points out the dark historical parallels to the unconscionable sentences for guilt by association applied to the Prairieland political prisoners. Matthew Gault reports on the criminalization of dissent in the form of merely speaking out against data centres at a public meeting. And Sean O'Kane reports on yet another techbro - this time Peter Diamandis - stating the public intention to inflict unaccountable surveillance on the general public in order to keep people in line. 

- Julia Jacobo discusses the increasing number of people facing heat stress around the globe, while Ajit Niranjan comments on the lack of preparation for global warming which has long been predicted. And Michael Le Page warns that there's far worse to come due both to the damage we've already done to our living environment, and our absolute failure to rein in the carbon pollution that's causing it to break down. 

- Meanwhile, if anybody needed a reminder that responsible policy can eradicate avoidable risks, Aitor Hernandez-Morales reports on Helsinki's year without a single traffic-related death. And Alexandra Frost reports on the HPV vaccine's success in preventing UK deaths from cervical cancer. 

- Finally, Graeme Bayliss rightly questions why Mark Carney is consistently choosing to copy the Trump regime rather than resisting it as promised. 

Tuesday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Matthew Dowd discusses how opposition to data centre construction is a rare issue where U.S. voters are almost entirely in agreement rather than having been polarized based on partisan or demographic alignments. Neha Gour, Ed Maibach and Luis Ortiz highlight just a few of the many reasons communities have to be apprehensive. 

- Meanwhile, Julianna Kowlessar argues that students are going to be best served learning to question artificial intelligence rather than relying on it.  

- Paige Collings writes about the dangers of age-restricted internet access generally, while Michael Geist offers a Q&A about the particular problems with the Carney Libs' version. 

- Kelly Hayes writes about the U.S.' heist state which has been designed to do nothing more than loot the country's resources on behalf of Donald Trump and his cronies. Casey Michel highlights how Jared Kushner is using his nepotistic placement in international relations to siphon up foreign wealth. And Tom Bergin, Michelle Conlin, Koh Gui Qing and Tom Wilson report that the Trump family's enrichment through crypto self-dealing is entirely mirrored by losses borne by investors. 

- Finally, Jim Stanford offers a reminder of the need to focus on our long-term social and economic development in the face of both the Trump threat and the clean energy opportunity, rather than obsessing over short-term economic indicators.

Wednesday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Judd Legum discusses how Donald Trump's corruption includes such blatant market manipulation as buying stocks then using speeches to promote the companies involved. 

- Meanwhile, Samantha Michaels reports on the Trump regime's "full-blown occupation" of Memphis - as well as the lack of attention it's received due to a compliant state government and a difference in spin as to the purposes for militarizing a major city.  

- Sarah Cox reports on the warnings of environmentalists that Mark Carney is going far beyond anything proposed by Stephen Harper in treating species' extinction as an acceptable price for extractive development. Harry Glasbeck writes that if anything, Carney is demonstrating just how predatory capitalism tends to be. And Rishika Paridkar points out the denial, misinformation and spin around dirty energy in India - including the attempt to create an identity out of being uniquely adapted to the harms of polluted air. 

- Barry Saxifrage highlights how Canada has made little progress in transitioning away from fossil fuel dependency (and is actively going backwards under the Carney Libs). And Leonard Hyman and William Tilles report that utilities are starting to recognize the folly of pouring money into fossil gas as renewable energy and storage become far more affordable as well as healthier. 

- Finally, Luke Savage discusses how the proliferation of gambling as the primary lens for analyzing sports is now giving way to the commodification and gamification of everything. 

Monday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Samantha Hancox-Li discusses the need to ensure the rampant violence and corruption of the second Trump term is met with prosecutions, rather than another round of calls to sweep criminality under the rug yet again as long as it's being committed from sufficiently powerful positions. Alan Elrod points out the need for the Democratic Party to lead that effort (no matter how much more comfortable its legislative leaders are trying to pretend that Republican fascists are their friends). 

- Jonathan Watts discusses the dangers of trying to keep countries addicted to fossil fuels by force even as cleaner and more affordable options become readily available. And Carl Meyer examines the similarities between the anti-regulation, pro-dirty energy structures put in place by the Trump regime and the Carney government. 

- Sophie Hurwitz weighs in on the reality that opposition to data centres is one of the few truly unifying issues across party lines in the U.S. And Tom Chivers points out that young voters are particularly skeptical of artificial intelligence.

- Joseph Cox reports on the FBI's plans to buy U.S.-wide license plate reading technology to effectively allow for total surveillance of anybody with their own vehicle. And Michael Geist writes about the Carney Libs' continued push to impose absolute online surveillance on Canadians. 

- Finally, Luke Savage calls out the small-c conservative demand that the plebes work until they drop (toward the purpose of further enriching the ruling class). 

Sunday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- Michael Mechanic examines the new depths of corruption being reached by the Trump regime in using public money to reward his violent supporters. But Bearly Politics points out the significance of an alt-right formation which relies on being paid off rather than on holding any principles or values. And Elizabeth Spears notes that even the billionaire class is engaged in a campaign of pitiful whining to proclaim its own lack of motivation as an excuse to avoid making the most modest of contributions to funding public services. 

- Althia Raj points out Mark Carney's new pesticide plans which involve multiple steps to give corporate interests precedence over public health and safety. And Lloyd Axworthy discusses how the Libs have moved into purely conservative territory under Carney. 

- Mark Gongloff highlights the massive global wealth transfer being used to paper over the known and avoidable costs of the climate breakdown. And Mitchell Beer writes about the path forward toward climate progress as federal and provincial governments alike have given up on the task in favour of petropolitics.  

- Dean Baker examines the realities and dangers of the artificial intelligence bubble. And Joe Wilkins reports on the plight of Lake Tahoe, where residents are having their power cut off so it can be diverted to data centres. 

- Finally, Andrew Coyne calls out Danielle Smith and the other separatists looking to destroy Canada. And Dale Smith rightly argues that a small, extreme minority even within Alberta shouldn't be able to hold our national agenda hostage. 

Friday Afternoon Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Catherine Rampell highlights how Donald Trump's economy is divided starkly between profiteering insiders and exploited chumps. Andrew Feinberg reports on Trump's plans to issue blanket pardons to facilitate criminal activity by his staff. And Mark Chadbourn writes about the dangers of a humiliated despot. 

- Jonathan Mingle writes that the oil shocks arising out of the Iran war stand to be far worse than those which largely defined the 1970s. But in case anybody wanted to pretend there's no alternative David Roberts talks to Lauren Flanagan about the development of "ruggedized" solar power to replace dirty energy in situations that require quick or remote deployment. 

- Ashleigh Furlong reports on new research showing that the ongoing cost of long COVID in OECD countries alone is upwards of twelve figures each year. And Devi Shastri and Laura Ungar report on tragic plight of babies who aren't yet eligible for vaccines who are at increasing risk due to the avoidable spread of measles.

- Finally, Christo Aivalis calls out Mark Carney for welcoming bigotry and anti-science quackery into the Libs' tent.  

Thursday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- David Lurie is rightly appalled by the Trump regime's nihilism, combining insatiable greed for whatever it can seize with a willingness to destroy anything it can't. But Harold Meyerson discusses how Minnesota has managed to force the most violent of Trump's minions into retreat. 

- Dharna Noor reports on Trump's handout to billionaire polluters in the form by making climate denialism official U.S. policy. Andrea Thompson discusses how public health will suffer as a result, while Molly Taft examines the policy chaos which will be created. And each of Katharine Hayhoe and Jonathan Levy et al. review the utter lack of any evidentiary support for Trump's idiocy. 

- Filippo Menczer examines how AI bots can pollute a political information environment to the point of threatening democracy. And Tom Chivers reports on the warnings - and in some cases resignations - of people working on artificial intelligence who see their employers choosing to endanger the public. 

- Alan Elrod writes about the reality that gambling on all manner of political and social outcomes is best set up as the next widespread form of addiction in the U.S. 

- Finally, Leigh Kimmins reports on the details of meetings between Alberta separatists and Trump officials eager to foment unrest and division. And Don Braid discusses both how many Albertans would choose to stay in Canada rather than  surrendering to the U.S., and how federalists are fighting back. 

Tuesday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Brian Beutler writes that the events of Super Bowl weekend show how Donald Trump - even with the support of most of the country's plutocrats and their media outlets - has absolutely failed to take over U.S. culture. But A.R. Moxon writes about the need to avoid normalizing or legitimizing MAGA's culture of hate. 

- Garrett Graff discusses how the Trump security state's masks and secrecy are all about impunity rather than legitimate safety concerns, as immigrant enforcement officers are at less risk of a violent death than a U.S. elementary school student. And Hanna Zlady reports on Transparency International's new corruption perception index - showing the U.S. predictably falling to unprecedented lows even as the Trump regime looks to drive it down further. 

- Alex Clark points out how a continuing obsession with GDP (detached from human well-being) remains one of the most significant obstacles to averting a climate breakdown.

- Meanwhile, Cory Doctorow highlights how the Epstein class is determined to turn ruin for everybody else into an opportunity to extract even more undeserved wealth for itself. And Alexander Hertel-Fernandez and Alix Gould-Werth discuss the perverse incentives around employers blocking worker access to employment benefits. 

- Finally, Nora Loreto rightly argues that Mark Carney's rhetoric about building an international system based on mutual support will be entirely empty if Canada fails to step up and assist Cuba as the U.S. seeks to starve its population. 

Monday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material for your Monday reading.

- Seva Gunitsky discusses how the U.S. is committing hegemonic suicide. Simon Tisdall is about as optimistic as one can be about the Trump regime in arguing that it will represent little more than a blotch in on history in the long run, while Daniel Barkhuff writes that the U.S. resistance is winning by persevering. And Will Saletan et al. comment on Trump's plundering of all available sources of tribute. 

- Samuel Wynn Warde writes that Canada has been able to avoid the worst effects of Trump's capriciousness by (thus far) choosing not to supply the U.S.' war against it. And Cory Doctorow argues that countries can further remove themselves from the whims of the U.S. and its tech giants by repealing anti-circumvention laws which prioritize corporate rentiers over users and citizens. 

- Sam Sutton points out that the wealthiest few are predictably making a killing off of Trump's corruption without any benefit finding its way past the upper classes. And Curtis Fric comments on new polling showing that Canadians view the economic system as biased in favour of the rich.  

- Anna Isaac notes that tech billionaires have raked in half a trillion dollars in AI-based valuation based on little more than laughable spin. Aisha Down and Dan Milmo discuss Nvidia's attempts to avoid becoming the next Enron or Lucent, though the main difference seems to be that its need for constant expansion to support its business model is out in the open. And each of Emily Sanders and Morgan Bazalian and Brandon Owens highlight how AI's greenwashed messages and promises are utterly contrary to its reliance on dirty fossil fuels. 

- Oliver Milman reports on new polling showing that even a strong majority of U.S. voters see the climate crisis as affecting their food supply and cost of living. And Steven Morris reports on the National Trust's latest observations on the worsening of extreme weather. 

- Finally, University of California - Riverside examines the effects of microplastics in clogging arteries and fueling heart disease. Which makes Mark Carney's decision to enable single-use plastics exports look like nothing but a choice to sell out people's health in order to prop up the oil sector. 

Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Cathy Young and Cas Mudde each discuss how the Trump regime's "national security strategy" is based on pushing cronyism and bigotry over democracy and security - and seeking to impose that same prioritization on every country it can. 

- Meanwhile, Emmett MacFarlane writes that Trump has found an eager fellow traveler in Danielle Smith as she wields the notwithstanding clause at every opportunity to attack minority rights. And Saima Desai reports on the growing movement of unions and trans advocates fighting back against Scott Moe's discrimination against trans youth.

- Max Abelson et al. offer a detailed look at the documented connections between Jeffrey Epstein and numerous corporate and financial bigwigs. And Pema Levy discusses how Republicans are trying to give dark money even more power to manipulate American elections, while Phil Weiser and Javier Mabry note that it's possible to fight back through citizen intiatives at the state level. 

- Natasha Bulowski reports on Mark Carney's latest plan to hand power to the corporate class by allowing it to embed employees in the federal government, while Adrienne Tanner discusses how Carney has made a cynic out of her (and many more) in handing over climate policy to the fossil fuel sector. And Emma Arkell reports on Quebec's legislative attacks on the labour movement. 

- Rhoda Feng reviews Tim Wu's The Age of Extraction as a needed reminder of the rent-seeking business model behind the our tech overlords. And Judd Legum writes about the casino-fication of news as the next frontier of converting flows of information into profit centres. 

- Finally, James Hardwick writes about the reality of Canada's housing bubble - and the desperate need for large-scale social and not-for-profit housing to improve anything.

Monday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Jonathan Freedland discusses how the Trump regime is systematically corrupting law, government and morality alike, while A.R. Moxon discusses the challenges of trying to end a culture (and cult) of abuse.  Rebecca Solnit writes about Trump's intention to recreate a fictitious white America at the expense of anything that ever counted as a success. And Joe Wilkins reports on the techbros looking to legalize war crimes to line their own pockets. 

- Charlie Angus points out how the conservative multiverse - including allied elements among the Repulicans, Cons and their allies - is bent on destroying Canada. Allan Woods reports on the Trump regime's admission that it's determined to turn Canada into a vassal state, while Nathalie Tocci discusses how Europe is also coming to terms with the fact that the U.S. is an adversary. But Alex Cosh reports that Mark Carney is refusing to apply basic human rights law to military exports which may be used by the U.S. or its axis of authoritarians to commit humanitarian atrocities. 

- Seth Sandronsky writes that the real source of the U.S.' affordability is the suppression of wages. And Josh Gerstein discusses how the Trump regime plans to exacerbate that by eliminating any remaining protections for workers. 

- But in case anybody was under the misapprehension that Carney is appreciably more concerned with workers' well-being, Natasha Bulowski reports on his slashing of any federal capacity to track climate disasters, while Josh Pringle reports on yet another back-to-office mandate which will serve only to make work more costly and less efficient (while driving away some public servants). And Althia Raj reports on the Libs' plan to make every single federal regulation subject to being instantly nullified for the benefit of any pet project. 

- Finally, Ella Nilsen and Samuel Hart write about the rapid transitions to clean energy which are possible when a country focuses on investing in sustainable energy technology, rather than fixating on dirty fossil fuels. And Markham Hislop comments on the distinction between renewable tech and commodity extraction:

Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Robert Reich weighs in on the absolute moral rot within the Trump regime and its corporate cronies. Bill McKibben points out that the corruption of the U.S.' political system parallels the barely-opposed takeover of the concept of Christianity by self-promoters looking to exploit it for their own ends. And Heidi Stevens writes that Donald Trump's boorish cruelty toward female reporters offers a reminder as to how survivors of sexual violence are being scared into concealing their truth.  

- Michael Mann discusses the painful failure of the COP30 climate conference to chart a part away from climate catastrophe, while Genevieve Gunther notes that the best hope for progress is developing among countries who aren't limiting themselves to what the world's climate villians will agree to. And Emily Sanders calls out "native advertising" as yet another way in which dirty energy tycoons are polluting the public discourse. 

- Fiona Harvey and Jonathan Watts report on a new analysis showing that keeping three promises alone  - on renewable energy, efficiency and methane emission cuts - could eliminate close to a degree Celsius of projected global warming. And Prinz Magtulis and Soumya Karwa discuss the reality of the U.S.' insurance of last resort which is becoming increasingly expensive while still often failing to cover the cost of recovering from climate disasters. 

- Nicholas Weaver writes about the laughable implausibility that money burned on massive AI data centres will produce any meaningful return. Varsha Bansal reports on the AI workers warning people not to rely on it. And Justin Brake exposes the spate of consultant-generated policy reports for the Newfoundland and Labrador government which have been found to contain false, seemingly AI-generated citations and information. 

- Shannon Rieger et al. study the connection between social isolation and privilege in the U.S., finding that advantaged groups actually have somewhat higher levels of social isolation. 

- Finally, Danny Parys writes that any effective plan for Canadian sovereignty needs to keep our economic engines under our own control. And Amy Judd and Aaron McArthur report on Nutrien's choice to route potash exports through a U.S. port and put them at Donald Trump's mercy - with Scott Moe's full support as his idea of "Team Canada" involves being a puppet for foreign resource capital. 

Monday Morning Links

Assorted content to start your week.

- Trenz Pruca examines how tax policy biased toward the wealthy has exacerbated the U.S.' already-toxic economic inequality. And Dean Baker interviews Joseph Stiglitz about the other policy levers, including bankruptcy and intellectual property, which have also been torqued to benefit the rich in the name of the freedom of the few to exploit the many:

- The Economist offers a warning about the U.S.' acceptance (and the Trump regime's encouragement) of corruption. Paul Krugman examines how institutional forces are making money off cryptocurrency while consumers see their assets drained by a deflating bubble. And Anand Giridharadas discusses the revelations in the Epstein e-mails as an example of general elite impunity. 

- Peter Brannen warns that existing climate policies have humanity on track for a calamitous 3 degrees of global warming, with a real risk that deliberate climate obstruction and subsidies for dirty fossil fuels will send us careening past even that level. Royce Kurmelovs and Fiona Harvey et al. each highlight the failures of the COP30 climate conference as oil lobbyists blocked any agreement on a transition to clean energy. And both David Roberts' interview with Kingsmill Bond and David Suzuki's commentary discuss how a few more decades of avoidable carbon dumping won't stop the ultimate trend toward clean electrification. 

- Jonathan Vanian reports on new court filings showing how Meta cancelled and cloesd its eyes to internal research demonstrating the harmful effects of social media. But Craig Lord reports that Mark Carney's attitude toward megalomaniacal techbros is to let them dictate policy, rather than allowing for any question as to whether their interests are the same as the public's. 

- Finally, Raywat Deonandan discusses how the resurgence of measles in Canada reflects a deeper social illness. 

Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Marisa Kabas discusses the moral rot in corporate, access-based media - which in turn looks to be a contributor to the decline of human decency in the political and social realms. And Perry Bacon talks to Adam Bonica about the obvious opportunity for leaders and movements who pick up on the public demand to combat corruption.

- Jonathan Cohn interviews Atul Gawande about the cruelty of the Trump regime's obliteration of foreign aid programs which kept hundreds of thousands of people alive. Nat Lash reports on the potential for a bird flu pandemic as a result of the Republicans' anti-vaccine ideology and destruction of the U.S. public health system. Freddy Brewster and Luke Goldstein report on the U.S. Senate's gutting of regulations around food contamination as part of the price of reopening government is to ensure it doesn't protect people from corporate damage. 

- Meanwhile, both Andrew Gregory and Amina Zafar report on new studies showing the harm that ultra-processed food can do to the human body. 

- Lest anybody think Mark Carney isn't fully onside with destructive deregulation and corporate control, Marc Fawcett-Atkinson reports on the Libs' choice to eliminate protections around pesticides. Marc Lee discusses how the Libs' economic plans are limited to corporate handouts rather than any vision for future development. And Jim Thomas implores Carney not to let an already-worrisome obsession with artificial intelligence as a panacea turn into a bailout for tech sector tycoons. 

- Finally, Shanna Hanbury reports on Colombia's warning that corporate-biased trade agreements act as a dangerous barrier to needed climate action. 

Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Moira Doneghan writes that the Jeffrey Epstein e-mails released over the past week provide a window into the anti-morality of the wealthy and powerful few who think the world exists solely to serve their whims. And Timothy Snyder discusses how the Trump regime's grift bubble looks to be a major contributor to the ultimate collapse of the U.S. 

- Robert Reich documents the failing Trump economy and the first steps needed to reverse the damage, while A.J. Schumann discusses how mass deportations are contributing to the economic collapse. Beth Mole traces the fallout from the Republicans' attacks on health, as over 74,000 participants in 383 clinical trials immediately lost access to treatment while countless more people will lose the benefits of study data. And Lesley Blume and Chloe Shrager discuss how the deregulation of nuclear radiation exposure may be catastrophic. 

- Rosie Hampton writes about the need to develop new physical spaces which allow for organizing within - and particularly between - progressive causes. Amanda Marcotte rightly notes that to the extent there is a crisis of men's loneliness, it can be traced directly to capitalist exploitation and isolation (which only stands to be exacerbated by the replacement of human interaction with manipulative AI). Jessica Winter discusses Scott Galloway's hope to develop an aspirational version of masculinity. Schuyler MItchell points out how the bigoted right is using the language of "gender ideology" to blame trans people for everything. And Adam Bonica and Jake Grumbach note that contrary to lazy pundit assumptions, Gen Z is far less inclined toward racial resentment and other forms of prejudice than earlier generations. 

- Finally, Aaron Richterman et al. study the effects of cash transfers and add to the pile of research showing how a social income makes people healthier. 

Thursday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Catarina Saraiva and Jaewon Kang warn that the U.S. economy is a Jenga tower in which pieces needed to support the middle class are being systematically removed. Bloomberg's editorial board examines the national scope of the U.S.' gambling problem - with sports betting as just part of the drain on workers. And Public Citizen traces the connections between Donald Trump's ballroom bribe solicitation and hundreds of billions of dollars in federal contract awards. 

- Meanwhile, Rebecca Schneid discusses how Zohran Mamdani has offered a vitally important reminder that oligarchs can't buy elections in the face of public organization. Emma Goldberg and Benjamin Oreskes highlight how Mamdani recognized and responded to the young voters who have been facing a loneliness crisis. Ian Welsh views Mamdani's focus on affordability - coupled with positive solutions  based on collective power rather than mere finger-pointing - as the model Democrats need to seize upon. And Moustafa Bayoumi writes that Mamdani was rewarded for defending his values, while Moira Donegan implores the rest of the Democratic Party to learn from his success. 

- Climate Action Tracker's latest evaluation of Canada's climate policy finds that we're headed in the wrong direction under the Carney Libs even as the cost of inaction becomes ever more stark. Markham Hislop discusses the dangers of letting the oil industry's false assumptions and empty promises take precedence over planning for an affordable and sustainable future. And Bob Weber examines how the UCP has set out to stick the public with perpetually more cleanup costs in order to ensure oil companies  operating in Alberta can escape responsibility for the messes they're making. 

- Finally, Katie Kavanagh offers a reminder that COVID-19 is still around even as basic measures to track and control it have long since been abandoned. And Michael Le Page reports on a new study showing that exposure to COVID raises the risk of heart issues in children - in contrast to the protective effects of vaccination. 

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Andrew Coyne recognizes that there's no point in pretending that trade negotiations with the U.S. under the control of a mad king can be expected to produce any meaningful results. The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives has plenty of proposals to build our economy away from dependence on the U.S. - both through the results of its Elbows Up Economic Summit, and through its Alternative Federal Budget. And Jeremy Appel discusses how tax loopholes for billionaires are both a fuel for inequality, and a revenue sink keeping us from investing in our own future. 

- John Ganz discusses how the Trump regime is actively staffing up with the worst possible thugs to beat the U.S. into submission, while Zach Everson points out the blatant corruption involved in the shoveling of public money to unqualified contractors who have handed no-work positions to Trump's sons. And Liz Dye highlights how Republicans are not only taking Trump's nonsensical ramblings as gospel in setting policy, but expecting courts to treat them as evidence as well. 

- Ian James reports on a new warning from scientists that we're headed for climate ruin - and need to work together to the extent possible even as the likes of Trump and his Canadian puppets stand in the way. Lisa Song reports that U.S. air pollution is far worse that previously acknowledged, and will only be exacerbated by Trump's interference with any regulation. And Nick Bowlin reports on Oklahoma's acceptance of the flow of toxic wastewater from oil fields, while Brandi Morin highlights the efforts of Alberta First Nations to avoid having tar sands tailings being released into water sources. 

- Finally, Samatha Edwards reports on new polling showing that Canadians are highly dubious about AI - confirming that it's only business elites hoping to profit from it at the expense of labour and consumers who have any interest in keeping its bubble inflated. And Rank and File examines how the Ontario Workplace Safety and Insurance Board has amassed surpluses by under-compensating injured workers, with the benefits denied to workers then being gifted to corporate employers instead by the Ford PCs.

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Liz Dye writes that the only insurrection occurring in the U.S. is the Trump regime's attempt to overthrow democracy. Jeremy Berg highlights the need for a united resistance to that seizure of power, as anybody attempting to stay silent is sure to end up in the administration's crosshairs. And Brian Beutler discusses what people can do to contribute to collective action. 

- Paul Krugman examines how Trump's tariffs have already led to both higher prices and a distorted economy. And Tammy Ibrahimpoor reports on new polling showing a massive supermajority of Canadians still supporting boycotts against the U.S., while Curtis Fric likewise points out overwhelming opposition to Trump's continued threats of annexation. 

- David Eliot discusses the risk that tech giants peddling AI will hijack the concept of nation-building for their own corrupt ends just like 19th-century rail barons, while David Sirota notes that anti-corruption is a winning message for anybody who dares to challenge the greedy. And Ari Rabinovitch reports on new Statistics Canada data showing record levels of income inequality. 

- Kimberly Molina reports on the vital services beyond mail delivery which are current provided by Canada Post - but which stand to be cut as the Carney Libs look to hand new profit streams to private actors. And Aaron Vansintjan discusses the prospect of publicly owned grocery stores as a means of ensuring healthy food is accessible and affordable:

- Finally, Isaac Phan Nay discusses the potential for sectoral bargaining to give a voice to vulnerable workers who are far too easily exploited on their own. 

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Shiri Pasternak examines the history of enemies lists as a mechanism to oppress minority groups and stifle dissent. And Adam Serwer distinguishes between cowardice which is at least based on genuine fear, and the chickenshit elites who are eager to sell out to fascists to avoid the slightest inconvenience. 

- Rachel Abrams talks to Eric Lipton about the corruption involved in the Trump regime's sellout of U.S. tech policy. And Kate Niederhoffer et al. discuss how AI "workslop" is trashing productivity, while Victor Tangerman writes about new research showing that the excess power consumption from AI is even worse than anticipated as longer and more complex requests give rise to increased incremental energy usage.

- Julia Conley discusses a new report showing how a small group of fossil fuel producers (including Canada) are planning dirty energy expansion which on its own will place existing climate commitments out of reach. And John Woodside reports on Catherine McKenna's warning that we can't trust the oil industry to live up to its climate promises. 

- Finally, Arthur Bledson points out how remote communities are increasingly turning to renewable energy as both a more affordable and more secure option than clinging to a fossil fuel addiction. And Patrick Commins reports on a new study showing that Australia's power costs would be soaring if it had limited itself to dirty energy. 

Monday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Nikki McCann Ramirez examines Mike Duncan's take on how the U.S.' current position fits into the historical collapses of empires. Gary Engler offers a checklist to determine when a country has shifted from authoritarianism to fascism, while Andy Craig writes about the Trump regime's censorship binge in an attempt to squelch all opposing or dissenting voices. And Gil Duran discusses the alternative interpretations of Trump's abuses - which may reflect either dangerous steps toward the end of democracy, or desperate attempts to avoid the real consequences of public disapproval. 

- Alan Elrod rightly notes (with particular reference to the kidnapping of firefighters working to contain dangerous wildfires) that the Trump regime is seeking out virtue for the specific purpose of eradicating it in favour of absolute corruption and violence. And Jonathan Liew asks what the endgame is for politicians of any stripe seeking to use anti-immigrant messaging. 

- Adrienne Matei writes about the role of women in strongman regimes. And Noami Beinart writes about the increasing pressure being placed on U.S. girls to acquiesce in their own subjugation. 

- Alastair Marsh discusses how China has taken what may be an insurmountable lead in developing clean energy and battery technology - as decades of being told we have to focus on dirty energy have left us unable to contribute to the cleaner economy that's developing. Jespen Brun Petersen discusses new research on the interplay between solar panels and crops, even as Bharat Dogra writes about the harm wealthy countries have caused to the world's food production system. 

- Anton Nilsson et al. write about Google's plan to "rent its enemies" in order to ensure nobody regulates its monopoly activities. But Steven Levy points out that tech giants who thought they could avoid the dangers of the Trump regime are rapidly finding out otherwise. 

- Finally, Adam King offers a reminder that unions improve well-being for everybody, not only for their own members. And Adam Gabbatt writes about the elite class solidarity which has billionaires and landlords assembling their riches and influence to avoid even the slightest hint of redistribution of wealth or power.