Saturday Morning Links

Assorted content for your weekend reading.

- Zeynep Tufecki warns that the deadliest phase of the coronavirus pandemic may be yet to come even after vaccines become widely capable of distribution. Eric Reguly notes that contrary to the wishcasting of conservative governments, existing vaccines themselves haven't resulted in herd immunity. And Simon Little reports on the effect the spread of the B.1.617 variant figures to have on B.C.'s reopening plans. 

- Guy Quenneville reports on the latest request of Saskatchewan's residents not to buy the Sask Party's messaging, as the Saskatchewan Health Authority warns of already-high mobility rates which may be exacerbated if people race back to possible transmission venues. And Zak Vescera uncovers the Moe government's longstanding awareness that it's been failing to provide for vulnerable populations.

- Matthew Thomas reports on new research showing that beyond its benefits for workers themselves, a four-day work week would also substantially reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

- Jesse Freeston and Martin Lukacs expose the Canadian pension funds behind Jair Bolsonaro's privatization of Brazilian public water systems.

- Finally, Tanya Talaga asks how many Joyce Echaquans need to die at the hands of a discriminatory health care system. But the revelation of an unmarked mass child grave at the Kamloops Indian Residential School offers an ugly reminder of the damage to Indigenous people Canada has wilfully inflicted.

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content for your long weekend reading.

- Andrej Markovcic discusses how the pursuit of profit above all else has contributed to the coronavirus pandemic and its devastating effects on people - while warning that we'll only make matters worse by keeping the same warped priorities now. And Ian Welsh writes that the coronavirus may not yet be the shock needed to jolt us away from corporate-driven politics, even as it demonstrates the obvious flaws of a system where power is exercised primarily to allow for asset accumulation by the already-privileged few.

- Warren Bell discusses the crucial role of political decisions in the obvious successes and failures in responding to COVID-19. Claudia Webbe focuses on Jair Bolsonaro's calamitous refusal to acknowledge and address the pandemic. And Michael Harris rightly criticizes Justin Trudeau for trying to turn a public health emergency into a power grab - though of course others have gone far further in that direction.

- Meanwhile, Kate Ng reports on Spain's use of a basic income to offer COVID-19 relief - and the prospect that it will be maintained past the immediate crisis. And Daniel Boffey takes note of Amsterdam's decision to use Kate Raworth's doughnut model in planning its next steps.

- Finally, Marc Lee points out the significance of food insecurity as one of most obvious areas where our social safety net is failing. And Alicia Bridges reports on Scott Moe's continuing failure to provide housing and basic care even to people with the symptoms of COVID-19.