Monday Afternoon Links

Assorted content to start your week.

- The Climate Change Performance Update's latest update shows Canada tumbling to the bottom of the world's development countries in climate performance - even as right-wing petropoliticians demand that we make matters worse. Justin Ling discusses how we've ended up with that painful gap between any reasonable response to the climate crisis and what's seen as politically possible, while Colin Bruce Anthes makes the case for a sharp shift toward direct government intervention as a carbon tax put in place to appease free-market zealots faces imminent execution at the hands of Canada's corporate party. And Bill McKibben rightly opines that the business sector's antipathy toward protecting our living environment can only be seen as suicidal. 

- Meanwhile, Aliénor Rougeot and Anna McIntosh note that beyond their feeble climate policy, the Libs have also failed to address water pollution from the tar sands. And Rachel Uda reports on new research showing that the microplastics shed by the oil industry's backup plan to continue production can produce increased risks of heart attacks and stroke beyond their other harmful environmental effects. 

- George Monbiot laments the reality that we've allowed our politics and societies to be dominated by bullies. And John Harris discusses how a new political movement rooted in nature is beginning to build up strength in the UK. 

- Rosa Marchitelli and Jenn Blair report on the poisoning of multiple teenaged Co-op employees with carbon monoxide - and the Sask Party government's choice not to hold the employer responsible for repeatedly exposing young workers to severe risks.  

- Finally, Jason Markusoff discusses the UCP's plans to subject all university research in Alberta to alt-right ideological screening. 

Thursday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Stephanie Soucheray examines how COVID-19 can cause lasting damage to the brain even without causing severe initial symptoms, while the British Heart Foundation points out the soaring rates of cardiovascular disease during the course of the ongoing pandemic. And Lisa Lundberg-Morris et al. find that vaccination helps to prevent long COVID. 

- But while there has been (and remains) ample room for public policy to reduce the spread of COVID, Alanna Smith reports on the complete lack of return on the UCP's $80 million investment in giving Ottawa the middle finger. 

- Jason Markusoff highlights how Preston Manning's publicly-funded COVID inquiry report is a work of fiction. And Bob Hepburn rightly asks why the Canadian media is largely giving Pierre Poilievre a pass on his refusal to engage with the real world of policy development. 

- Markham Hislop talks to Janet Annesley about the culture of secrecy in Alberta's oil sector which precludes any honest discussion of the dangers of fossil fuel extraction and dependency. And Marco Chown Oved points out the folly of building new carbon pollution infrastructure (including fossil gas electricity generation) and pretending it's somehow a climate solution. 

- Finally, Cory Doctorow discusses how the dominant tech giants have succumbed to long-foreseen enshittification - and points out how institutions can be set up and managed to avoid that outcome. 

Thursday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Alex Hemingway offers a reminder of the urgent need for a wealth tax - and the opportunity to fund important social priorities by implementing one. But Cory Doctorow points out how our economic system is structured to favour people seeking to get rich off of avoiding responsibility - including through the same firms being responsible for performing audits as for advising corporations on how to beat them. 

- Gwynne Dyer writes about the threat to our living environment posed by warming oceans, while Isla Myers-Smith notes that the release of greenhouse gases from permafrost stands to accelerate the cycle of warming and extreme weather. 

- But while the world burns, Carl Meyer reports on how the UCP has allowed oil lobbyists to take any discussion of even distant and loophole-riddled net-zero emission targets off of their policy agenda. And Trina Moyles reports on the direct connection between the UCP's cuts to firefighting and the calamitous wildfires which struck last week.

- Meanwhile, Jason Markusoff discusses how the UCP under Danielle Smith is now controlled by Take Back Alberta, which is pushing the limits of anti-science and authoritarianism even compared to both the UCP and the past Wildrose party. 

- Finally, Emma Bowman comments on how the dehumanization of homeless people results in many avoidable deaths - even if few receive as much publicity as Jordan Neely's.

Sunday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- Manina Etter et al. study the causes of neurological damages arising out of COVID-19. And Roni Caryn Rabin reports on the recent research showing how mandatory masks have helped to prevent transmission in schools.

- Jeremy Appel rightly notes that Canada can't be taken seriously as contributing to climate solutions until it stops subsidizing (and generally serving as a mouthpiece for) the oil and gas sector. And Douglas Almond, Xinming Du and Anna Papp trace the connection between fossil fuel funding for energy centres, and biased messaging pushing natural gas in particular.

- Meanwhile, Xander Huggins asks what lies ahead when the water sources relied on by major populations get lost to overuse and climate degradation.

- Tonda McCharles and Alex Ballingall report on the revelations from the Emergencies Act inquiry that tow truck owners were paid to refuse to clear the Alberta border when the #FluTruxKlan had its armed blockade in place. And Jason Markusoff discusses how Alberta's voters are getting sick of a provincial government that's more focused on picking fights with Ottawa than doing anything to help its own constituents.

- Finally, Rob Shaw calls out the Vancouver Police Department for commissioning a grossly-misleading propaganda piece in an effort to extract more funding at the expense of social programs. And Michael King reports on Alberta's disability workers who are among many key actors in the care economy whose wages have been falling far behind the cost of living.

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Jason Markusoff writes about the human cost of Jason Kenney's false claim that the COVID-19 pandemic was over. Phil Tank points out that Scott Moe is now without question the most negligent premier in the country when it comes to public health protections. And Adam Hunter reports on the call from Alexander Wong and other experts to at least follow Manitoba's path in limiting the spread of the Delta variant, while Guy Quenneville talks to Steven Lewis about the Moe government's insistence on pushing privatization rather than paying attention to what's worked in responding to COVID. 

- Richard Hine discusses the emerging reality of death by anti-vaxxers in the U.S. - which is of course being matched in Alberta and Saskatchewan. Peter Hotez points out how anti-vaxx messaging is spreading in Canada. And Jenny Deam reports on the story of a 12-year-old whose appendix burst while he was stuck waiting in an emergency room as a stark example of how COVID's strain on health care puts everybody at risk. 

- Daniel Quiggin et al. study the compounding risks of failing to avert a climate breakdown by transitioning away from an economy which relies on carbon pollution. 

- Finally, Noah Lanard and Jacob Rosenberg write about some of the indignities bad bosses have inflicted on their employees - and the steps workers have taken to fight back. 

Monday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- As we lay the groundwork for a COVID recovery and energy transition, Heather Scoffield comments on the importance of making sure resources go where they're needed (rather than serving only to further distance the richest from the rest of us). And Yves Engler notes that the Libs have thankfully failed in some of their efforts to favour corporate interests over people. 

- Benjamin Moll, Lukasz Rachel and Pascual Restrepo examine how automation has been one of the drivers of growing inequality. David Lao reports on a new Statistics Canada report showing that social mobility is becoming ever more illusory. And Alex Cooke reports on the recognition that venture capital funding does far less for either equality or prosperity than investment in child care and other support for families.

- Elin Kelsey offers some reasons for hope - and for continued action - in the fight to avert climate breakdown. Alex Nguyen reports on the workers wondering whether any transition plan includes any future for them. And David Akin reports on new polling showing strong public support for government measures to fund the transition to electric vehicles.

- Meanwhile, in case there was any doubt that the fossil fuel sector is nothing more than a shapeshifting magnet for handouts, Duncan Kinney reports on the UCP's handout of a COVID testing contract to a rebranded (and crony-connected) oil service company. And Andrew Nikiforuk warns that it's too soon to claim victory based on the UCP's partial walkback of its plans to let foreign operators tear apart mountain ranges and pollute waterways for coal. 

- Finally, Jason Markusoff discusses how Kenney's tenure in government has generally proven to be a failure.

Thursday Evening Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Thomas Powell makes the case for ensuring that families are able to maintain connections to loved ones in long-term care as part of our rules governing the COVID-19 pandemic. And Karen Wang argues that we need a national mask requirement in place immediately to make school opening as safe as possible this fall, while Zak Vescera reports on the Saskatchewan NDP's plan for schools (in response to the Moe government's complete lack of effort).

- David Macdonald writes that the mobilization of public resources in response to the coronavirus pandemic shows that there's no excuse for refusing to fund a just transition to a clean economy. And in case there was any doubt whether investors have any appetite for a dirty fossil fuel economic strategy, Patrick Collinson and Jillian Ambrose report on the UK National Employment Savings Trust's move toward divestment, while Dan Healing reports on Total's writedown of its tar sands assets (and disaffiliation from CAPP).

- But lest anybody hoped the fossil fuel sector would be replaced without a fight, Dana Drugmand exposes how natural gas operators are attacking the electrification of buildings.

- Finally, Jason Markusoff highlights why whataboutism isn't a legitimate response to the Libs' WE scandal. And Paul Wells writes about the jarring refusal to listen to the public which resulted in the Libs trying to substitute a vaguely-defined review for an full inquiry into the Portapique shooting spree.

Saturday Afternoon Links

Assorted content for your weekend reading.

- Alexandra Zannis discusses the need to treat the end of poverty as a core policy goal. Peter Gilmer highlights how voters motivated by Christian ethics should be particularly focused on improving the condition of marginalized people. And Lynn Giesbrecht reports on Cindy Blackstock's work to call needed attention to the continuing systemic discrimination against Indigenous people in Canada.

- Meanwhile, Toby Sanger comments on the glaring need to crack down on tax havens and the wealthy few who abuse them to avoid contributing to the social good.

- Jason Markusoff examines the glaring flaws in the attempts of tar sands operators to paint themselves as environmentally responsible even by the standards of oil producers. Fiona Harvey, Damian Carrington, Jonathan Watts and Patrick Greenfield offer some suggestions to rein in the fossil fuel industry. Bruce Wilson writes that energy sector workers are well aware of the life-and-death stakes involved in carbon pollution. And Don Pittis rightly questions whether anybody trying to invest for the long term should want to bet on a dying sector.

- Eric Beinhocker writes about the need for a carbon abolition movement. And Polly Toynbee discusses the change in culture already flowing from growing activism against the climate crisis.

- Finally, Derrick O'Keefe writes that a strong turnout among young voters could result in a massive change to Canada's political status quo. And Laird Cronk and Sussanne Skidmore argue that voters should support an NDP government to end economic insecurity and precarity.