Wednesday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Glen Hendrix wonders whether any talk about impending civilizational collapse may miss the point that we've already largely lost any ethic of care deserving of the name. And Joshua Hill examines how Greta Thunberg's climate advocacy led inexorably to her challenging the colonial and capitalist structures underlying the fossil fuel industry - and in turn to her being systematically silenced by corporate media. 

- Geoffrey Diehl discusses how we've allowed our minds to be poisoned both metaphorically by corporate propaganda, and literally by microplastics and other industrial byproducts. Karen Raubenheimer comments on an expert review of the many sources and effects of microplastics which cries out for immediate action to stop their spread. And Tom Sanzillo, Suzanne Mattei and Abhishek Sinha argue that a cap on plastic production makes sense as one way to manage and ultimately rein in plastic pollution.

- Mike de Souza and Carl Meyer report that it's only after nine years in office - and with a tenuous hold on power - that the Libs are even presenting a first draft of regulations governing carbon pollution from the oil sector. And de Souza also reports on the Libs' funneling of tens of millions of dollars to McKinsey to push through the Trans Mountain pipeline for the benefit of its fossil fuel clients. 

- The Canadian Press reports that the summer of 2024 saw Canada set yet another record for insured losses from extreme weather. And Anand Ram and Benjamin Shingler discuss new research showing that a wildfire can create heat islands for years afterward - particularly in the coniferous monocultures which are being substituted for natural forest development. 

- Finally, Jen St. Denis offers a look at the white nationalism and deep-seated bigotry within the BC Cons as the business class seeks to install them in power. And Rumneek Johal and Andrew MacLeod each point out the conspiracy theories John Rustad has spread while taking over as the face of British Columbia's right wing. 

Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Fiona Harvey reports on Greta Thunberg's warning that a failure to stop burning fossil fuels amounts to a death sentence for people living in poverty - which would be a much more powerful message if the denial of environmental disaster and devaluation of human life weren't core principles of our corporatist governance model. Andrew Fanning and Jason Hickey model what climate reparations would look like if the wealthiest countries compensated the rest of the world for the cost of their carbon pollution. And Gary Mason discusses how Canada's response to the climate crisis would be different if we had any notion of sacrifice. 

- Geoffrey Lean is hopeful that a new treaty being reached by governments and backed by some business interests will result in an end to plastic pollution. But we should be wary of temporary corporate concessions intended to keep dirty business as usual going as long as possible - with Shell's reversal of plans for even tiny fossil fuel production cuts serving as just the latest example. 

- John Quiggin points out how Australia's grocery store duopoly has used the cover of inflation to goose its profit margins. And Holly McKenzie-Sutter reports on the Bank of Canada's needed recognition that corporate pricing and exploitation are at the root of Canada's inflation as well - though as Jim Stanford notes, it isn't following that to its logical conclusion by using tools less focused on reducing work and wages. 

- Finally, the Center for Working-Class Politics discusses how it's possible to defeat the populist right by making a priority of genuinely challenging corporate power and meeting the needs of the working class. 

Monday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Jessica Corsetti reports on Greta Thunberg's message that the wealthiest few value their own short-term profit-taking over the future of humanity. Paul Kahnert discusses how the privatization of health care is just the latest example of conservative heists from the public. And Sophia Harris reports on the lack of progress in the Competition Bureau's investigation into bread price fixing even in the face of Loblaws' confession.  

- Jordan Uhl reports on a fossil fuel tycoon's attempt to silence Beto O'Rourke from even talking about the connection between massive donations and preferential treatment from a Republican governor. And Lisa Song examines the current state of knowledge as to the dangers of gas stoves (even as the oil and gas sector tries to shout down any inquiry into their effects). 

- The Red Deer Advocate reports on a new study showing the cost of starting up new, politically-controlled police services is far higher than assumed by the UCP (as well as the Sask Party). And Ryan Little, Adam Willis and Ben Conarck report on the impact of group violence reduction strategies in reducing the homicide rate in West Baltimore. 

- Gregory Beatty writes about the attempt by private religious schools to undermine the public education system in Saskatchewan.

- Finally, Carolyn Harper talks to Eric Topol about the lack of resources being put into preventing and treating long COVID at a point when a large proportion of the population is being set up to suffer from it. 

Monday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material for your Monday reading.

- Robert Reich rightly questions why trickle-down economics are still being pushed even after decades of consistent failure to accomplish any goal other than increased inequality. And James Galbraith and Mariana Mazzucato each offer an outline as to how to reshape economies to achieve social goals other than further engorging the obscenely-wealthy.

- Carina Marquez et al. study how the length of actual COVID infection has changed over the course of the pandemic, finding an increased length of infection in the Omicron phase even as isolation and leave policies have been weakened. And Kenyon Wallace and Andrew Bailey warn that Ontario is seeking another rise in the number of cases in long-term care homes just in time for increased indoor activity to drive even more transmission.

- Greta Thunberg highlights the need not to accept the word of governments and corporations claiming to be doing their part to avert a climate breakdown while in fact exacerbating the problem. Alastair Marsh reports on new research showing the need for a drastic transition in investment from dirty fossil fuels to clean energy in order to meet existing commitments. And Nina Lakhani reports on TC's cynical use of Black community leaders to create the pretense of community support for pipelines which in fact stand to impose environmental costs on people who can't afford to bear them.

- Oliver Moore discusses how many municipalities have learned valuable lessons about the merits of keeping space open for walking and pedestrian use rather than parking - while Regina stands out as one of the few Canadians cities actively going in the opposite direction.

- Isaac Chotiner examines the longstanding racism and neglect behind Alabama's widespread prison strike.

- Finally, Brodie Thomas reports on the organized ignorance which is on the verge of completely taking over the UCP's party structures. And Cara McKenna reports on the large amounts of money being dumped into municipal campaigns in Squamish, B.C. by the natural gas industry and its puppets to try to bulldoze over popular disapproval for gas projects.

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Kai Kupferschmidt discusses how the Delta variant has caused responsible governments to radically change their response to the COVID in the face of increased risks - and how we can expect future variants to complicate the picture further. And Smitri Mallapaty notes that the Delta variant in particular has been spread primarily by pre-symptomatic carriers, making individual self-isolation insufficient to stop any spread. 

- PressProgress highlights how Doug Ford is trying to use the surgical backlog created by his own negligent response to COVID as an excuse to privatize essential health services. 

- Greta Thunberg and other youth climate activists question why world leaders (and other adults) appear determined to leave a damaged planet behind for their generation. And George Monbiot asks why life on Earth is still being treated as a less important consideration than fossil fuel profits. 

- But Sean Holman points out how Canada's media has fallen even below the standards of the U.S. in responding to ground-breaking news about the climate crisis. And Christian Favreau exposes the emergence of a "deep oil state" as fossil fuel corporations have engaged in even more lobbying under the Trudeau government than they did when the Harper Cons were in power as part of their push for massive subsidies and weak climate policy. 

- Finally, David Shields reports on how the Saskatchewan Party's policy on homelessness is to create more of it by ramming through changes to insufficient social benefits which will likely push people out on the streets. 

Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Justin Ling discusses the dangers of the U.S.' fever swamp conspiracy theories as they get shared - and warped - for Canadian marks. Ryan Cooper writes about the conservative victimhood complex which has made it impossible for the U.S. to be governed in the public interest. And Megan Garber notes that the rise in media echo chambers - and connected decline in local news - has kept far too many people from having credible sources reporting on the world around them.

- Laurie Adkin and Ricardo Acuna highlight how Jason Kenney's UCP has taken direct aim at democratic rights and norms in Alberta to replace it with an unaccountable kleptocracy. Gil McGowan warns against Kenney's plans to replace any labour rights with U.S.-style anti-worker laws. And CBC News reports that the Municipality of Wood Buffalo is having to sue tar sands operators to pay taxes owing - even as the UCP shovels more and more money to the fossil fuel sector based on the laughable promise that it will pay off at some point.

- Greta Thunberg offers a travel diary from her efforts to motivate the world to finally act to avert climate breakdown. And Nerilie Abram, Matthew England and Matt King discuss the threat posed by the destabilization and disappearance of Antarctica's ice sheets.

- Meanwhile, Kevin Ma reports on the perpetually-increasing amount of electronic waste being disposed of every year.

- Finally, John Muscedere and Russell Williams write that seniors deserve far better than to be warehoused in for-profit long-term care operations - and that much of the answer may lie in ensuring supports are available to allow people to remain safely in their own homes.

Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Suzanne Moore is encouraged that Greta Thunberg is challenging - and upsetting - a privileged male ruling class. Jennifer Ellen Good picks up on Thurberg's theme that an obsession with growth at the expense of sustainability can only lead to disaster. And Ricochet documents the UN speech of Autumn Peltier - whose message is every bit as compelling as Thunberg's, even if she hasn't received the same notice yet.

- Cameron Fenton writes that we should follow on the inspiration of last week's climate strikes by electing genuine climate leaders. And Nsikan Akpan highlights how the world's worst carbon polluters need to reduce their harm to our planet - with Canada's refusal to transition away from fossil fuel extraction representing the area where we most need to change.

- Jim Stanford offers a preview of the results of Con-style climate policy, as Australia's equivalent has led to massive emission increases (after a carbon price had produced some actual reductions). And John Paul Tasker notes that Andrew Scheer has yet to develop any clue how to deal with the climate protestors trying to alert him to the essential challenge of our time. 

- Laurie Monsebraaten reports on a new study showing the $33 billion cost of poverty in Ontario alone. And Colin McClelland notes the financial precarity facing an increasing majority of Canadians.

- Finally, Justin Ling writes about the strong evidence supporting the decriminalization of drugs - representing another area in which the limited distinction between the Libs and Cons masks the need for far more radical action than either can be bothered to consider.