Friday Afternoon Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Caitlin Johnstone writes about the reality that the whole of humanity is largely being used solely as a profit-generating machine for the benefit of a wealthy few. And Paul Waldman comments on Elon Musk's SpaceX IPO as the ultimate juxtaposition of greed and hate, while Tom Goldsmith discusses how the mere possibility of an individual accumulating a trillion dollars represents an indictment of our political and economic systems. 

- Ann Larson writes about the impact of inequality on workers in U.S. grocery stores - including seniors forced to stay in menial roles far past retirement age in order to try to eke out a living. James Chappel's review of Samuel Moyn's Gerontocracy points out the problem with trying to portray fundamental issues of oligarchic hoarding of wealth along lines other than class. And Sam Freedman discusses how pouring additional resources into a fundamentally imbalanced system won't resolve inequality in education. 

- Janetta McKenzie points out new polling showing that while the UCP and its political cousins try to paint utter obeisance to oil tycoons as a must to keep Alberta in Canada, the fact is that most Albertans reject their demand for guaranteed profits at the expense of everybody else. And Energy Live News highlights survey data showing broad UK interest in installing solar panels as a means of reducing dependency on volatile fossil fuel supplies. 

- Finally, Geoff Dembicki and Jen St. Denis discuss how Mark Carney's push for AI data centres is specifically aimed at exacerbating the extraction and burning of fossil gas. And Darren Major reports on Carney's decision to eliminate the Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise who offered the sole means of monitoring the human rights abuses of resource extraction firms around the globe. 

Friday Afternoon Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Paul Krugman discusses how some of the wealthiest men on the planet have supplicated themselves before Donald Trump in the hope of stifling both economic redistribution and freedom of critical speech. And Karl Bode notes that the rightful popular outcry against artificial intelligence is connected to the unabashed dishonesty and greed of its main promoters and profiteers. 

- Rei Takver calls out TikTok for sponsoring climate deniers while claiming to hold to climate promises. And tante points out how Google is now declaring war on the distributed World Wide Web, while seeking to replace it entirely with its own AI slop (which may not include the ability to process basic English words, while bearing a suspicious resemblance to paid ads). 

- Matt Gurney highlights how forward-thinking countries are planning for a future freed of domination by an unstable and uncooperative American empire. But in case anybody was under the illusion Canada was engaged in that necessary planning Nessie Nankivell reports on the U.S.' Department of War's takeover of critical mineral resources in Canada (to no apparent objection from the Carney government). 

- Finally, in the face of imminent government crackdowns on labour, Felix Cauchy-Charest offers a reminder that labour rights have generally been won through activism rather than reliance on political systems. And Michael Sainato points out a new report documenting the billions of dollars spent every year by corporations to try to bust unions. But the AFL-CIO rightly celebrates a new International Court of Justice ruling confirming the right to strike in international law. 

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Ryan Cooper and David Dayen discuss how Donald Trump is managing to combine the worst abuses of every British monarch who helped contribute to revolts up to and including the American Revolution. Andrew Egger highlights the Trump regime's assault on free speech from anybody who doesn't trumpet his agenda (coupled with its normalization of violence and bigotry from supporters). And Andy Kroll writes about Russell Vought's tenure as acting shadow president, both in consolidating power and destroying any functional government which remained. 

- Meanwhile, David Climenhaga reports on the latest politicized review which the UCP has used to inject MAGA talking points into Alberta politics. 

- Antoine Trepanier reports on Mark Carney's refusal to live up to his promise of "elbows up" even as Trump continues to impose arbitrary tariffs which undermine any reason to think any negotiated agreement will last longer than Trump's next social media outburst. John Michael McGrath rightly wonders what the plan is for an auto sector which the Libs seem content to leave at the U.S.' mercy. And Amanda Follett Hosgood discusses the potential dangers from a U.S. government takeover of critical mineral interests in Canada (even as the Libs cheerlead for it).

- Ayurella Horn-Miller writes about new research documenting a connection between global warming and increased sugar consumption, providing yet another instance of public health dangers amplifying each other. 

- Finally, Simon Enoch notes that Canada Post would have plenty of options to provide better service for less cost if it weren't shackled by rules designed to protect corporate interests. 

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Katelyn Burns notes that U.S. Republicans have made clear that they're far more aligned with hard-right parties abroad than the balance of their fellow Americans, while Jason Beeferman and Emily Ngo expose the rank bigotry which has been unleashed as the Trump precedent leads racists to think they'll never face consequences for their hatred. Rachel Gilmore and Susan Delacourt each discuss how Pierre Poilievre is acting even more like a mini-Trump as he seeks to ingratiate himself with the extreme right in advance of a leadership review. And Euan Thomson points out that the Moe government is funneling money toward private and puritanical Alberta-based "recovery centres" rather than investing in the well-being of patients. 

- Niall McGee reports on Tim Hodgson's declaration that the Carney Libs are just fine with the U.S. taking over critical mineral supplies in Canada even as the Trump regime threatens to annex us. Xavi Richer Vis reports on the priority access being granted to energy and mining lobbyists while everybody else is kept out of Carney's orbit. And Linda McQuaig writes that Carney's plan to prioritize military spending that ties us even more tightly to the U.S. will do nothing but leave us poorer and more divided.

- Dean Baker writes that the artificial intelligence bubble is only getting more dangerous as the U.S.' economy increasingly consists of little more than a bet on counterfeit value. And Joe Wilkins notes that scientists are finding AI to be less reliable the more they use it. 

- Finally, Bhavini Gohel discusses how wildfires and other climate disasters result in intolerable pressures on health care systems. And Julia Doubleday points out the ongoing risks and costs being imposed by the continued circulation of COVID-19 - even as the smallest mitigation measures are treated as being unacceptable. 

On humanitarian concerns

Jagmeet Singh has taken comfortably to the task to dealing with the economic aspects of the new Trump administration - both in pressing other leaders on their determination to respond in kind to any Trump tariffs, and in highlighting the potential to focus on critical minerals as a form of pressure. (That latter prospect appears particularly important for a couple of reasons: it signals that Canada won't willingly feed crucial resources into a manufacturing supply chain which is being manipulated to otherwise cut us out, and helps to ensure that resources which may be critical to clean energy development aren't diverted to an administration determined to squelch anything of the sort.)

But it's worth a reminder that the issues arising out of Trump's presidency go well beyond bilateral economic policy. And there may be even more important work to be done in the areas which are thus far being neglected in favour of the economy.

Even before Trump takes office, there are protests developing in the U.S. to oppose the prospect of mass deportations - even as one of his most appalling cabinet nominees leaves open the option of ordering American troops to shoot peaceful protesters in the streets. 

Whether or not Pete Hegseth is ultimately confirmed, there can't be much doubt that Trump's plans include atrocities against vulnerable groups and anybody who would seek to protect them. And it's doubtful that the consensus on responding to tariffs will hold up when the damage caused by his administration is measured in human rights rather than corporate profits. 

With that in mind, a defence of Canada and its values will ultimately need to extend beyond the pocketbook issues which are generally given a place of prominence in political messaging. And in the absence of reason to think any other party is interested in doing that work, there will be both an opportunity and a moral imperative for Singh to lead the cause. 

Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Elizabeth Kolbert discusses the immense damage and disruption which we can anticipate if Greenland's massive ice sheet melts due to global warming, while Monica Machicao and Daniel Ramos report on the unprecedented wildfires burning through Bolivia. And Brad Johnson points out that repeated hurricanes devastating their strongholds aren't making an iota of difference in getting Republican denialists to recognize the risks of a climate breakdown.  

- Oliver Milman reports on new research showing that the gas exports which are constantly pushed by the fossil fuel sector as a climate benefit are in fact more harmful in the medium term than coal power. Drew Anderson writes about a provincial election campaign featuring an unchallenged assumption that  Saskatchewan's economy should be defined solely in terms of non-renewable resource extraction. And Ross Belot writes that the delay tactic of demanding that China rein in its emissions before the rest of the world is running into the reality that it's succeeding - and setting itself up to dominate the world's renewable energy market - in doing so.

- Chris Hedges discusses the corporate class' core priorities of burning the planet and locking up anybody who would dare to challenge that plan. Joan Westenberg highlights how obscene wealth and power tend to lead to the evaporation of any sense of morality, while Tom Nichols discusses the phony populism wielded as a weapon to further entrench the control of the uber-rich. And Sidney Blumenthal calls out Donald Trump's deliberate adoption of Hitlerian eugenicist rhetoric, while Alex Nguyen reports on Elon Musk's funding of Stephen Miller's dehumanization of immigrants and minorities. 

- Jeremy Appel discusses how the corporate media has accepted and entrenched messages about mental health and drug policy which favour authoritarian responses. 

- Finally, Robert Reich points out the desperate need for health and safety laws and enforcement mechanisms which won't simply be ignored by employers - particularly bad actors who would rather threaten to close up shop than take steps to keep their employees safe.

Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Cory Doctorow discusses the inherent impossibility of trying to build any public good on an economic system centered on selfishness:

This is the problem at the core of "mechanism design" grounded in "rational self-interest." If you try to create a system where people do the right thing because they're selfish assholes, you normalize being a selfish asshole. Eventually, the selfish assholes form a cozy little League of Selfish Assholes and turn on the rest of us.   

Appeals to morality don't work on unethical people, but appeals to immorality crowds out ethics.

- Meanwhile, Andrew Jackson points out that Canada's real productivity problem is its embrace of neoliberalism. 

- Adam King discusses how pay transparency produces better results for workers. Francesca Fionda notes that corporate mining operators are having difficulty finding workers due to the public's recognition of the industry's track record of abuse. And Zak Vescera reports on Simon Fraser University's use of public money to hire a fossil fuel-connected firm to spy on striking teaching assistants. 

- Clayton Page Aldern writes that the effects of a climate breakdown will foreseeably include a more violent world as well as a hotter and more parched one. Doug Cuthand highlights how Canada's shouting match over carbon pricing is keeping us from even talking about the scope of policy needed to actually reduce greenhouse gas emissions. And Chris Hatch reports on polling showing that the Cons have fostered a culture of denialism which renders them unwilling to even acknowledge the reality of climate change. And Darryl Greer reports that terminal operators are claiming the entitlement to hide their carbon pollution as a "trade secret". 

- Finally, Joel Dryden and Carla Turner report on the dwindling water resources in southern Alberta - which would represent a problem for any reality-based Saskatchewan government, particularly one planning to throw billions at an irrigation scheme which relies on water that's either disappearing or becoming polluted. And Fatima Syed points out that Ontario is rapidly burning through its available landfill space (due mostly to businesses and institutional dumpers). 

Friday Afternoon Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Gary Fuller reports on the European Environment Agency's estimate that EU countries alone are responsible for 238,000 deaths a year arising from their failure to meet World Health Organization air pollution guidelines.  

- Adam Lowenstein discusses the Center for Climate Integrity's report tracing the plastics industry's half-century-long pattern of deceit about the inability of recycling programs to avert a plastic waste crisis. And Francesca Fionda, Jeffrey Jones and Chen Wang report on the massive unfunded mining liabilities which stand to be absorbed by the public in British Columbia. 

- Robert Frank reports on new figures from the IRS showing that tax evasion by U.S. millionaires costs upwards of $150 billions every year. And Christine Wen et al. highlight how tax giveaways to already-profitable businesses have starved education systems and other social supports. 

- Cory Doctorow notes that Google has long since broken the "monopolist's bargain" of claiming that perpetually increasing dominance is necessary to preserve long-abandoned claims to security and functionality. And Steven D'Souza et al. report on the effects of monopoly food pricing in Canada's North - as well as the Libs' utter lack of interest in doing anything but subsidizing the problem. 

- Finally, Mike Elgan points out how return-to-office mandates have resulted in immense losses to workers without producing any discernible benefit for the employers imposing them.  

Wednesday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Sameer Elsayed offers a primer on what people need to know about current COVID-19 risks. Mary Van Beusekom discusses the likelihood that long COVID is being underdiagnosed in children who may not have either the same symptoms as adults, or the vocabulary to describe them. And Theocharis Kromidas et al. examine the incidence of long COVID by occupation, with education and care workers facing a higher risk of long-term effects. 

- Juan Cole theorizes that lawsuits against fossil fuel conglomerates could make for a turning point in the fight against climate breakdown. But Christopher Pollon warns that Canada's resource extraction sector offers a blueprint for corporate exploiters to avoid paying for the damage they inflict on our planet. 

- Cory Doctorow discusses the information imbalance which makes it impossible for citizens to hold corporate wrongdoers to account. And Brewster Kahle writes that U.S. libraries are facing twin threats from greedy publishers and anti-knowledge extremists. 

- But on the bright side, Amanda Marcotte points out how parents are pushing back against the bigoted right's attempted takeover of public schools. 

- Finally, Jennifer Liu highlights how workers are bearing the massive cost of being pushed back to the office even after it's been proven they can work just as effectively through alternate arrangements. 

Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- John Woodside weighs in on the UN's recognition of the need to stop our dependence on dirty energy. And Jillian Ambrose reports on the International Energy Agency's projections which foresee the beginning of the end of fossil fuel use. 

- Leo Collis points out how steps to disincentivize combustion commuter vehicles produce safer communities on multiple levels. And Kevin Krizek writes that ever-larger vehicles are creating readily-avoidable safety hazards for pedestrians and road users. 

-  Lauren Kirschman interviews Allison Russell about the connection between the climate crisis and the information crisis - and Markham Hislop discusses how the UCP is directing tens of millions more public dollars toward polluting minds in order to enable further carbon pollution. Amanda Follett Hosgood exposes how the RCMP is burning millions of dollars protecting pipelines at the expense of people. And Natalie Alcoba reports on the massive amounts of money being poured into expanding greenhouse gas emissions compared to the pittance going to mitigation and transition measures. 

- Meanwhile, Nick Gottlieb discusses how the mining industry generally is exploiting legal loopholes in order to avoid cleaning up its toxic messes. 

- Finally, Andre Picard highlights how the poisoning of hundreds of Calgary children due to corporatized food supplies reflects the breakdown of public health as a priority in Canada. And Martin Lukacs notes that the takeover of the Cons' internal party apparatus by corporate lobbyists signals the intention to exploit the public and disregard people's well-being even more. 

Thursday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Sabina Vohra-Miller discusses the ample body of research showing how COVID-19 vaccinations produce superior health outcomes in the course of a pregnancy. And Nature examines the limited effectiveness of rapid tests in identifying asymptomatic cases (which are responsible for half of COVID transmission). 

- Katharine Sanderson comments on a new study showing how plastic debris is reaching the most remote depths of the ocean. And Guy Standing writes about the extractivists planning to shift from polluting the depths to mining them with no regard for the resulting harms. 

- Meanwhile, Harrison Tasoff discusses how forests can't adapt quickly enough to keep up with the current pace of climate breakdown. 

- Carly Weeks reports on the push from health care advocacy organizations to get premiers to follow through on their rhetoric about health care - as to date not a single one has been willing to commit to evidence-based improvements in order to access federal funding. 

- Finally, Brian Fung reports on the widespread and illegal sharing of data from U.S. tax preparation providers, who disclosed sensitive personal information to social media giants for their advertising purposes. And Darryl Greer reports that the federal government's reflexive distrust of CERB recipients has given rise to a flurry of court proceedings where people have proven their entitlement to benefits. 

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Katie Camero discusses how the belief that the COVID-19 pandemic is over (pushed by businesses and politicians eager to avoid responsibility for anybody's health) is creating avoidable dangers for everybody. Sydney Stein et al. study the persistence and dispersal of COVID in the bodies of its victims, while Alexander Tin reports on CDC research tracing the number of long COVID deaths in the U.S. And Jill McIntosh reports on a new study showing a correlation between vaccine refusal and car accidents - with the plausible confounding factors of carelessness and a disregard for others hardly serving as a defence for people inflicting risks on the public in multiple ways. 

- Danyaal Raza weighs in on the prospect of community health hubs to ensure people have access to the primary care they need. Kenyon Wallace and Megan Ogilvie trace the causes of the crisis of pediatric care in Ontario. And Chris Gallaway highlights how the solution to capacity limitations is investment in a public system that's designed to succeed, not funneling money toward corporate profiteers based on the claim that Medicare is beyond repair. 

- Armine Yalnizyan tests (and finds reason to doubt) the theory that increasing interest rates are invariable effective to reverse inflation. And Derek Decloet reports on the reality that Canadians are facing exceptionally high levels of consumer debt payments even with rates at relatively low levels - which should raise a red flag that further increases will cause catastrophic damage to individual-level finances.  

- Geoffrey York reports on the RCMP's investigation into corruption by the mining company Ivanhoe in its exploitation of copper resources in the Congo. And Matteo Cimellaro reports on a push by Indigenous nations in the Amazon to limit the harm done by the Canadian resource extraction sector.

- Janetta MacKenzie writes about the inevitable decline in fossil fuel reliance despite the obstruction of the industry and its political spokespuppets. Justine Hunter reports on a Canadian Climate Institute study finding that Canada's haphazard climate adaptation plan is both underresourced, and poorly targeted to address the known results of a climate breakdown. And Don Pittis discusses how a focus on electric vehicles alone neglects both the carbon pollution resulting from power generation, and the effects of perpetuating a car-based transportation system.  

- Finally, Doug Cuthand highlights how the cynical assertion of "sovereignty" by Danielle Smith and Scott Moe is based on the deliberate erasure of treaty rights. 

Monday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Cate Swannell discusses how research showing the multitude of harms which can result from COVID-19 infection. Calixto Machado-Curbelo, Joel Gutiérrez-Gil and Alina González-Quevedo study how new variants are entering the brain in different ways than prior versions - easing the respiratory damage associated with the coronavirus initially while also causing different symptoms. And Bryce Covert points out how long COVID is affecting the workforce - resulting in labour shortages for exactly the employers who are demanding that employees be forced back to in-person work.  

- Emily Blake reports on the billions of dollars in remediation costs being dumped on the public as large mine operators have left contaminated sites to be cleaned up on the public dime. And Drew Anderson exposes new information as to how Imperial Oil concealed its knowledge about contamination while claiming innocence when people have observed direct damage from their sites. 

- Annie Lowrey discusses how misogyny in the field of economics results in a distorted set of interests and assumptions behind economic research and decision-making. 

- Finally, John Bell calls out Danielle Smith's smash-and-grab UCP government. And Katha Pollitt writes that democratic socialism offers reason for hope in some alternative to a capitalist system where greed is the primary consideration in all kinds of decision-making. 

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Pam Belluck reports on a new study showing that people who weren't initially hospitalized for COVID make up over three-quarters of the U.S.' long COVID cases, while Andrew Romano discusses the likelihood that people will face constant infection absent better vaccine protection than we have now. And Jennifer Rigby reports on the lamentable conclusion of a World Health Organization panel that we're no better equipped to respond to a pandemic than we were before the ongoing one struck.  

- Meanwhile, Emily Leedham exposes the Ford PCs' place among the right-wing governments who went out of their way to hand pandemic supply contracts to people linked into the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church. Mitchell Thompson calls out Doug Ford's responsibility for anti-LGBTQ candidates including Will Bouma. And Environmental Defence examines how the Ford government has destroyed climate policy in Ontario.

- Ricardo Tranjan examines what Ontario's parties have on offer for people who rent homes, while Bailey Martens reports on the story of a family which has spent eight years trying to find a wheelchair-accessible house suitable for their son. And David Shield reports on a projection that Saskatchewan needs to build 100,000 new housing units in only 8 years - when leaving building to the provide sector has resulted in fewer than that over the past 22 years including multiple boom periods. 

- Damian Carrington reports on new research showing that pollution, including toxic air and contaminated soil and water, is responsible for one in six deaths globally. And Hadrian Mertins-Kirkwood reminds us that Canadian mining firms are using trade deals to bully governments into allowing them to keep poisoning people and destroying natural environments without consequence.

- Finally, Mark Bou Mansour and Jake Johnson each discuss a new edition of the Tax Justice Network's Financial Secrecy Index that shows the U.S. emerging as the worst offender in allowing wealth to be concealed. And Jemima Kelly points out the moral case against cryptocurrency which is only strengthened by its role in evading taxes and social responsibility. 

Saturday Afternoon Links

Assorted content for your weekend reading.

- Crawford Kilian writes that even if the Omicron variant of COVID-19 doesn't prove as dangerous as it appears, it should serve as a reminder as to why we should be careful to protect everybody's health and safety. And Andrew Nikiforuk examines the evidence that Omicron is going to lead to the most dangerous wave yet, while Virginia Harrison reports on the exponential spread it's causing in South Africa.

- Nick Dearden discusses how big pharma's profiteering paved the way for variants to emerge. And Ketty Nivyabandi, Madhukar Pai and Christina Warner push for Canada to stop obstructing the availability of vaccines in the countries where they're needed most.

- Jim Stanford writes that the case for 10 paid sick days (rather than any lesser sop to corporate interests) is particularly compelling when that time frame matches the incubation period for COVID.

- Andrew Jackson argues that our response to inflation should be focused on making essential goods affordable, not on trying to funnel money to the owners of capital. And Paul Krugman highlights how the increases in prices people are facing result from supply chain limitations and corporate profiteering, not the printing of money.

- MiningWatch maps out the impacts on communities around the globe if new mining plans are allowed to run roughshod. And Pam Palmater discusses how the RCMP's role is still fundamentally one of clearing Indigenous lands for the benefit of corporate interests. 

- Meanwhile, James Whittingham challenges the Moe government's pathetic excuses for standing in the way of any transition toward electric vehicles in Saskatchewan.

- Finally, Amir Barnea encourages workers to organize in order to put their relatively high level of bargaining power to the best possible use.

Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Ed Yong writes about the damage to people's health as care workers flee their jobs in the wake of the COVID pandemic. Kenyon Wallace and May Warren discuss how more infectious variants have made masks more important than ever as a form of personal protection. And Alanna Carlson Sinclair writes about her experience with long COVID to encourage people to get vaccinated. 

- Meanwhile, as many countries continue to lack access to vaccines, Jake Johnson highlights how the money lost to tax abuses by the rich could pay to vaccinate the world three times over. 

- Paul Taylor discusses the connection between the climate crisis and food insecurity - even before British Columbia's catastrophic flooding and mudslides cut off any connection between Western Canada and most global trade. Leyland Cecco points out the role corporate-driven forestry practices have played in causing fires and floods. Nina Lakhani reports on the concerns raised by Indigenous activists that carbon trading schemes may only incentivize damaging megaprojects rather than emission reductions and the preservation of our natural environment. 

- John Lin et al. study the massive methane leakage in Utah which results in reported emission levels severely underestimating the damage done by oil and gas extraction. And Oliver Milman reports on the Biden administration's choice to advance massive new offshore drilling leases in the wake of Glasgow. 

- Meanwhile, Robert Kuttner notes that the U.S. is working on making climate progress compatible with industrial goals through a transition to green steel. 

- Joan Baxter reports on the abuses inflicted on citizens by Canadian mining companies in Guatemala - and the stain on the country as a whole as we enable them. 

- Finally, Nicole Lyn Pesce reports on yet another record set of bonuses set to be siphoned off by the financial sector. And Len McCluskey discusses the need for workers to be strong and organized to counter the constant drive by employers to exploit labour. 

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Christine Gibson writes about the need to start seriously fighting against the dangers posed by a climate breakdown, rather than merely hoping the problem goes away on its own. And George Monbiot observes that any plan which fails to account for the need to keep fossil fuels in the ground is at best a distraction tactic. 

- Which is to say that an agreement only to prioritize domestic production over foreign projects falls far short of the mark - particularly as Canada's oil companies are planning to ensure that carbon pollution continues to get dumped into our atmosphere for decades regardless of the damage done to our planet.  And Silvia Pastorelli makes the case to ban fossil fuel advertising as a needed step to stop corporate disinformation from getting in the way of climate action. 

- Meanwhile, Annie Hylton discusses how Canadian resource companies continue to commit human rights abuses in Guatemala and elsewhere (with the full support of the federal government in the name of the "business environment"). Gregg Mitman highlights how the concealment of history in the form of corporate records prevents us from knowing and acting in response to some of the most powerful forces shaping our world. And David Sirota and Andrew Perez write that unchecked corporate power is central to the U.S.' slide away from anything resembling democracy. 

- Molly Murphy points out how defunding the police fits into the goal of protecting our climate. But Laura Sciarpelletti reports that the Moe government is instead echoing Jason Kenney's desire to pay more for a police force under provincial political control.

- Finally, Murray Mandryk writes about the vaccine hesitancy problem within the Saskatchewan Party as one of the causes of Moe's fourth COVID wave. 

Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Mickey Djuric reports on Saskatchewan's alarmingly high rate of positive COVID-19 tests as students prepare to return to school. And Heidi Atter reports on the Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation's call for mandatory vaccination to minimize the all-too-predictable spread in the school environment. 

- PressProgress notes that Justin Trudeau's campaign message about COVID benefits is based primarily on the CERB and other supports which he had to be pressured to provide in the first place, and which are gone or disappearing even as a fourth wave hits. But while any temporary gains for many workers have been reversed, David Macdonald and Alicia Massie document how the CEO class took advantage of the pandemic to rewrite bonus formulas in their favour. 

- Meanwhile, Joe Ryle makes the case as to how a four-day work week (without loss of pay) could lead to both a reduction in carbon emissions and a healthier environment for workers. 

- The Economist highlights new research showing a strong correlation between resource extraction and political corruption. Paul Krugman highlights the faulty economic assumptions of fossil fuel defenders. And Fitsum Areguy exposes how Canada enabled mining companies profiting from extraction linked to war and human rights abuses in Ethopia.  

- Finally, Jeremy Appel writes about the surveillance and psychological manipulation techniques used by the Canadian military in Afghanistan which are now being turned against the public domestically. 

Saturday Afternoon Links

Assorted content for your weekend reading.

- Adam Hunter talks to epidemiologists about Saskatchewan's pitiful COVID-19 response and the avoidable disease and death that have resulted. Gary Mason warns that we shouldn't expect to be into a post-COVID period by this summer. And Crawford Kilian writes that not only can we not rush in pretending we're back to normal, but we also shouldn't accept what we put up with as normality before.

- Linda McQuaig reminds us that the Libs' infrastructure bank is designed to turn needed public services into a windfall for wealthy investors. And Shoo Lee, Brian Rowe and Sukhy Mahl study how privatized health care produces worse results for everybody other than the people extracting profits from the system. 

- Emily Dwyer writes about the futility of a mining "watchdog" which has been denied any authority to actually investigate complaints.

- Finally, Dan Darrah highlights how there's no reason for Niki Ashton (or anybody else) to be shy about engaging with Jeremy Corbyn in the development of the Progressive International. And Joe Roberts warns against allowing hostile and politicized actors to determine who's entitled to be involved in movement-building.

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Edward Lempinen reports on new research showing that the response to COVID-19 in just six countries has prevented 500 million infections and millions of deaths. And Amanda Follett Hosgood writes that stopping the spread of the coronavirus is especially important in remote areas whose limited resources make them particularly vulnerable to infectious diseases. 

- David Macdonald notes that Canada's job losses from the coronavirus are reaching Great Depression levels, and reflecting a shift from temporary to permanent unemployment. And Beatrice Britneff reports on the open questions as to how Canadians are expected to make ends meet when CERB benefits expire this summer.

- Pete Hudson discusses Brian Pallister's determination to use the coronavirus as an excuse for austerity at a time when it's even more damaging than usual. 

- Andrew MacLeod reports on MiningWatch's findings as to how mining corporations have worsened the spread of COVID-19. And Nicole Hong, Barry Meier and Ronen Bergman report that the intimidation tactics of the dirty fossil fuel sector now include paying mercenaries to attempt to hack activists and journalists. 

- Finally, Gary Mason highlights why we should be outraged at the RCMP's treatment of Chief Allan Adam. Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor emphasizes the need to move beyond questioning specific acts of police violence when it reflects longstanding - and police-enforced - racial and social inequality. Canadians for Tax Fairness points out the role a more just tax policy can play in eliminating systemic racism. And Sandra Hudson sets out some options for defunding police across Canada, while Hadeel Abdel-Nabi makes the case to pursue that possibility in Calgary.