Tuesday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Hanwen Zhang highlights yet another rise in COVID cases - albeit paired with obviously-unwarranted minimizing of the risks involved. 

- Jessica Wildfire pushes back against the establishment demand that people somehow evolve to become cacti in order to survive a climate breakdown, which Michael Mall similarly challenges the claim that adaptation is a substitute for averting catastrophe. And Nicholas Frew reports that the damage caused by carbon pollution-driven extreme weather events are turning SGI into a burden rather than a boon. 

- Meanwhile, in case anybody was under the illusion that climate calamity was the only readily-avoidable consequence of allowing fossil fuel operators to run rampant, Daisy Brickhill warns that new drilling licenses in the North Sea are threatening sensitive wildlife habitats. And Sharon Lerner reports on the Trump EPA's choice to green-light a Chevron boat fuel ingredient which is virtually certain to cause cancer in anybody exposed to it over a lifetime. 

- Emily Leedham reports on the Globe and Mail's belated and begrudging changes to its much-trumpeted "Canada's Top 100 Employers" advertorial based on their repeatedly providing free publicity to corporations responsible for workers' deaths. 

- Finally, Cory Doctorow discusses how AI is being used by for-profit health care providers to deny needed treatment. 

Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Jessica Wong et al. study the risk of hospitalization and death from  the Omicron strain of COVID-19, and conclude (contrary to the spin of denialist governments) that it was just as severe as the original version. And Lindsey Wang et al. find (PDF) that prior COVID infection can be traced to more severe respiratory infections among children in 2022. 

- Meanwhile, Alexander Rabin and Lisa Patel point out how children are particularly susceptible to damage from wildfire smoke. And Carly Weeks examines how inadequate pediatric care can have long-term consequences for any child whose health isn't treated as worth prioritizing. 

- Lydia DePillis comments that contrary to the spin of fossil fuel shills and science denialists, a climate breakdown has severe consequences for Canada. David Shearman discusses the climate grief we can expect as the breakdown becomes more obvious and less avoidable. And Madeleine Cuff writes about the consecutive days of record-breaking global heat this week.  

- Carl Meyer reports that the tar sands operators who have been trying to put on a veneer of interest in climate solutions have in fact been lobbying to tear them down at every opportunity. 

- Finally, Emily Leedham exposes the connections between socon groups seeking to take both the U.S. and Canada back to the dark ages. And Susan Delacourt rightly points out that the real threat of foreign interference comes from the Cons' U.S. puppet-masters looking to impose bigotry and theocracy in Canada. 

Saturday Afternoon Links

Assorted content for your weekend reading.

- Richard Smith highlights how there's no general connection between the cost of health care and patient incomes across different models of funding and delivery, but an obvious connection between profit motives and increased expenses which don't produce improved outcomes. 

- Meanwhile, K.J. Aiello discusses how increased discussion about the importance of mental health has all too often excluded the people facing the most severe illnesses.

- Jason Warick reports that the Moe government has chosen a program with a 26% graduation rate as the basis for online instruction across the province, signaling once again that it's more interested in promoting cronies' failures than anybody's successes. Jeremy Simes reports on the reality that a provincial tax agency will create increased costs for businesses and the province alike, with little apparent purpose other than to ensure that giveaways to the fossil fuel sector aren't rolled back through federal action. And Martin Been writes about the folly of eliminating both jobs and profits from public liquor stores in the name of an ideological crusade against non-corporate economic activity.

- Marc Lee discusses how the combination of higher consumer prices and higher interest rates is creating devastating effects on household finances (while capital takes advantage of both phenomena to goose its own returns).

- Finally, Emily Leedham exposes how the Globe and Mail's "top employer" awards represent little other than pay-to-play self-promotion which overlooks workplace abuse and even death to reward corporate sponsors. And it should be no surprise that the most notorious examples are found in the fossil fuel sector given its pattern of disinformation and deception in the name of preserving profits.

Monday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Laura Ungar reports on the message from experts that the COVID-19 pandemic is far from over. And Jon Kamp discusses the reality that COVID-19 remains one of the main direct causes of death in the U.S., while Neha Madaan reports that the main Omicron subvariant in India is mutating to become even more dangerous. 

- Meanwhile, Therese Kleim reports that the drug poisoning crisis also continues to escalate in Saskatchewan while being met with utter neglect from the Moe government. 

- Inayat Singh writes about Canada's connection to two of the key climate tipping points which we're passing with barely any effort to change course. And Annette McGivney discusses the unprecedented megadrought in the U.S. as another example of the extreme conditions being caused by the continued spewing of carbon pollution. 

- Jason DeParle notes that the U.S. has seen a little-discussed drop in child poverty which is traceable entirely to public-sector supports. And David Moscrop writes about the problem with Canadian housing policy which has been set for the benefit of capitalists who want to profit from a basic human right, rather than people who actually hold the need. 

- Finally, Emily Leedham points out how Pierre Poilievre has spent his entire career attacking the interests of workers. Michael Harris writes that he's best considered a symptom of the rot which set in under the Harper regime. And Aaron Wherry rightly identifies Poilievre as the ultimate expression of the Conservative id. 

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- David Quammen writes about the ongoing race between scientific discovery and an evolving coronavirus. And Heidi Sheehan reports on new research showing a similarity between long COVID and myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome based on the inability of receptors to properly receive calcium. 

- Meanwhile, Sean Amato reports on the collapse of health care services in dozens of Alberta communities (matching the situation in Saskatchewan). And Liam Casey reports that the Ford PCs are announcing their interest in using the damage they've inflicted on public health care as an excuse to privatize. 

- B A Basten-Olvera et al. study how the effects of a climate breakdown may be even worse than previously modeled as global warming harms the determinants of growth. Camilo Mora et al. find that climate change figures to exacerbate the majority of infectious diseases. Steve Gorman reports on research showing that the Antarctic ice shelf is disappearing faster than anticipated, while Oliver Milman reports on how forests are becoming less resilient and more disease-prone. And Laurenz Bush discusses a new study documenting how more severe wildfires in California pose a particularly severe risk for the people least able to afford it. 

- Denise Balkissoon writes about Toronto's attacks on cyclists through both infrastructure choices and police crackdowns - even as the dangers of pushing people into cars become painfully clear. 

- Finally, Emily Leedham reports on the connections between the Richardson dynasty and the anti-vax convoy. 

Thursday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Katherine Wu writes about the much-needed update to COVID-19 vaccines coming this fall - and the challenge getting people to receive them after months of false messaging about the pandemic being over. 

- Steven Lewis discusses how the privatization of health care (including surgical services) stands to undermine our universal Medicare system. And Andrew Gregory reports on a new study showing how the UK Cons' privatization was the direct case of avoidable deaths alongside other demonstrable harm to services. 

- Charles Pierce points out how the hard right has been getting what it's paid for in securing a stranglehold over the U.S. Supreme Court. And Brigette Bureau reports on the intimidation of judges in Canada by Flu Trux Klan terrorists, while Brett Forester reports that the RCMP remains far more interested in infiltrating peaceful land defenders than dealing with the actual violence in our midst. 

- Emily Leedham reports on WestJet's attempts to use scab labour to operate while refusing to provide acceptable wages and working conditions for check-in clerks.

- Finally, Alex Himelfarb makes the case for proportional representation as a means of guarding against anti-majoritarian control over public policy. 

Saturday Morning Links

Assorted content for your weekend reading.

- Mary Ziegler and Scott Lemieux both warn of the many other rights in imminent danger due to both the fact of the elimination of abortion rights by the Republican-dominated U.S. Supreme Court, and the excuses made for it.

- Dylan Scott discusses how the decision will lead to increase in child poverty. And Cassandra Szklarski reports on the growing reality of child hunger in Canada - as well as the need for a fundamentally more equitable policies to ameliorate it, rather that short-term band-aids. 

- Meanwhile, Erika Ibrahim reports on the Libs' choice to keep delaying even a framework bill for a national disability benefit. And Sid Frankel, John Stapleton and Shalini Konanur discuss how the demand that people repay the CERB benefits which they were told to apply for is further squeezing people already living in poverty.  

- Emily Leedham calls out Pierre Poilievre's designs on using the threat of withholding federal funding to dictate the lines of academic freedom. 

- Raymond Zhong writes about the proliferation of extreme heat around the globe. 

- Finally, Adam King discusses how Amazon is continuing to violate labour standards in an effort to prevent employees from exercising any collective bargaining power. 

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Danny Halpin reports on new research showing that people who have suffered from long COVID are at far greater risk of blood clots, while Mary van Beusekom discusses how COVID-19 and other severe respiratory infections can lead to psychiatric disorders. And Johanna Reidy, Don Matheson and Rhema Vaithianathan write that we should be treating our public health system as essential infrastructure for its ability to avoid the time lost to illness and death when diseases are needlessly allowed to spread. 

- The Guardian reports on the numerous "carbon bombs" which are being planned by fossil fuel companies - and the reality that no climate plan can survive the damage major oil and gas companies plan to inflict on our planet if given the chance to do so. James Dyke and Julia Steinberger write that every increment of global warming we can prevent is worth the effort in the name of survivability even if we're falling short of the promises made to future generations. Natasha Bulowski and John Woodside report on the Libs' continued subsidies for carbon pollution - most recently through a loan guarantee putting the public on the hook for the Trans-Mountain pipeline. Darren Shore argues that it's long past time to stop handing out tax breaks to the oil industry. And Abacus Data finds plenty of interest among Ontario's population in switching to electric vehicles if their provincial government was willing to provide incentives or infrastructure.

- Pat Van Horne writes that there's no excuse for the Libs' failure to move ahead on pharmacare given the strong support from both the general public and the people working in the health care sector. But Kelly Crowe reports that the Libs have fully reversed their promises in throwing the force of the federal government behind pharma-sector profits at the expense of access to needed medications.  

- Finally, Emily Leedham points out the secretive religious sect which funneled tens of thousands of dollars into a third-party advertiser aligned with the oil sector, the Saskatchewan Party and UCP to run anti-Trudeau ads in the 2019 federal election campaign. Mack Lamoureux reports that while visible public disruptions may have ebbed and flowed, the anti-vax convoy has become a well-funded way of life for some of its participants. And Robert Reich warns that the U.S. is on the verge of what looks at best to be a profound divide, with the obvious risk of escalation into a second civil war.