Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Paul Rogers discusses the imminent threat of more extreme weather events, shortages of the necessities of life and increased division and inequality if the climate crisis is allowed to continue unchecked - while trying to find some hope in more widespread awareness of the dangers we face. Michael Mann writes about the place of the Republicans' Project 2025 as part of the right's attempt to block global climate action. And Patrick Greenfield reports on Susana Mohamed's warning that even meeting our greenhouse gas emission targets is only a small part of the work to be done in restoring our living environment to balance. 

- Meanwhile, Bob Weber reports on the pleas from Alberta municipalities for the UCP to stop allowing the dirty energy industry to extract resources and spew pollution without contributing to its own cleanup costs. 

- Phil Tank discusses how unsafe commercial transport trucks remain the norm in Saskatchewan as commercial transporters have carried on business as usual even after the Humboldt Broncos tragedy. And Gabriela Calugay-Casuga points out that the main demand of the railway workers who have since been deprived of a place at the bargaining table by the federal government is to avoid the type of catastrophes caused by corporate railways' disregard for worker and public safety. 

- Nadia Khan reports on a new Centre for Future Work report showing that racialized workers continue to be underpaid compared to other Canadian workers - but that union organization helps to close the gap. And Lucy Uprichard compares the cultural funding and organizational models in Montreal and Toronto, noting that the corporate-focused version in the latter is leading to the steady erosion of community-level activity. 

- Finally, Sarah Butler reports on the false "discounts" being peddled by big retailers who grossly inflate prices, then demand that consumers hand over personal information in order to access the previous price as part of a membership program. And Jim Stanford points out the gross dishonesty of the Poilievre Cons in peddling selective or outright false information about the state of Canada's economy. 

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Damian Carrington reports on the response to the consensus among climate scientists that we're headed for climate catastrophe, including the UN's recognition that there's no higher-stakes issue for humanity. Matt McGrath, Mark Poynting and Justin Rowlatt discuss how the oceans are headed for yet another record-breaking year of heat. And the Canadian Press reports that British Columbia is facing unprecedented threats to its natural waterways due to years of extreme heat and limited precipitation. 

- Meanwhile, Phil Tank offers a reminder that the Sask Party's choice to blow billions on carbon capture and storage has produced little result other than to delay action which would actually reduce carbon pollution.  

- Matt Gurney implores Doug Ford to stop exacerbating his province's health care crisis by refusing to offer reasonable compensation to family doctors. 

- Katie Dangerfield reports on new research into the myriad health risks of ultra-processed foods. 

- Craig Lord reports on the Bank of Canada's recognition that renters rather than property owners are facing the greater level of financial stress. 

- Finally, Geoffrey Picketts writes about the utter lack of reason behind separatist rhetoric in Alberta and Quebec - though there's probably nothing more pathetic than Saskatchewan's "me-too" equivalent which replicates the economic social and risks of separatism, while replacing any theory of self-determination with complete subservience to Alberta puppetmasters. 

Wednesday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Ajit Niranjan reports on the Copernicus Climate Change Service's findings that 2023 is on pace to be the hottest year on record, with October's temperatures at 1.7 degrees above the pre-industrial level. 

- Damian Carrington highlights a UN report warning of the destructive insistence of petrostates on increasing fossil fuel production even in the midst of an ongoing climate breakdown. And while the International Energy Agency's new World Energy Outlook is being spun as good news in projecting a decrease in the share of energy from fossil fuels, it too anticipates that carbon pollution from oil and gas will keep getting worse for the balance of the 2020s. 

- Ecojustice makes the case for Canada to actually live up to its climate commitments, rather than accepting a trajectory toward failure. And John Woodside reports on Quebec's call for the federal government to finally look beyond fossil fuels. 

- Hulya Gilbert and Marco te Brömmelstroet write about the norms of vehicular supremacy that make our communities needlessly dangerous for people in general, and children in particular. 

- Bob Weber reports on an academic assessment which calls out the pseudo-science of the UCP's harm exacerbation approach to drug policy. Which makes it all the more damning that the party is shifting even further away from reality-based policy (as Max Fawcett observes). And Phil Tank notes that the Moe government is going out of its way to impose destructive mandates on Saskatchewan residents. 

- Finally, Dean Bennett reports on the revelation (since confirmed as a matter of policy) that the UCP's plans include the demolition of Alberta's health care system. And Eric Stober reports on a new Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives study which reminds us that health privatization tends to both increase costs and harm service. 

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Phil Tank writes that the holidays will be anything but happy for families dealing with long COVID due to the Moe government's choice to let it rip through the population, while Larissa Kurz reports that a year in which everybody decided to pretend the pandemic was over has been the province's most deadly one yet. Aaron D'Andrea reports on the World Health Organization's warnings about the potential effects of developing variants on overburdened health care systems, while Alika Lafontaine and Stefanie Davis each point out how ours are already collapsing. 

- Meanwhile, Marc-Andre Pigeon, Haizhen Mou and Natalie Kallio point out how cooperative clinics can ensure people have access to primary and preventative care without placing additional burdens on already-overloaded workers.  

- Armine Yalnizyan responds to anti-worker spin by pointing out that there's little reason to think higher wages are a driver of inflation. Marco Chown Oved reports that there's still a direct connection between food price inflation and profiteering by grocery giants. And Katie Hyslop explains her decision to stop contributing to band-aids such as food banks when there's an urgent need to work toward actual food security. 

- Dylan Short reports on the sheer cruelty involved in Calgary's decision to remove doors from transit stations in order to prevent people from seeking warmth. And Arny Wise offers some suggestions as to how David Eby can address British Columbia's housing crisis - including a need to focus on non-market housing rather than hoping that for-profit developers will solve the shortage of affordable homes. 

- Finally, Adam Johnson highlights how under a corporatist political and economic system, free speech is limited to what the wealthiest few are willing to hear and promote. And Rebecca Burns and Julia Rock report on the lobbying by U.S. banks to be able to commit felonies without consequences - supposedly in the name of serving the very customers they apparently plan to defraud. 

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Tori Cowger et al. study how the presence or absence of mandatory masking policies affects the number of COVID-19 cases among students and school staff. The Canadian Press reports on the plea from Ontario doctors for parents and public health officials alike to avoid COVID spread as a priority. And Bob Ferguson reports on a leaked report showing that Ontario's emergency rooms are in an even more desperate state than previously known. 

- Meanwhile, Steven Staples rightly questions why so many provincial premiers expect to be handed gobs of money from the federal government in the name of health funding without providing any assurance it will actually be used on health care. 

- Paul Cowley writes that Alberta (like other jurisdictions) shouldn't be handing free money to the oil industry to clean up its own messes, while Climate Action Tracker calls out opportunistic polluters for planning to send fossil fuel production soaring for decades in response to temporary geopolitical conditions. And Sabaa Khan points out how a just transition needs to take into account the "invisible" informal workforce. 

- The Star's editorial board writes that there's no excuse for paving over Ontario's greenbelt in the name of new development which is designed primarily to funnel money to Doug Ford's supporters rather than to actually improve housing supply. And Gregor Craigie interviews Michael Andersen about Portland's experience in allowing for multi-unit zoning. 

- Finally, Phil Tank discusses the lessons Scott Moe could learn from Danielle Smith's attempts to chase an anti-reality fringe if he was interested in anything of the sort. And Nigel Bankes, Andrew Leach and Martin Olszynski point out that Moe's own anti-Ottawa legislation is matter of playing games rather than responsible governance. 

Thursday Evening Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Claire Sibonney talks to Colin Furness about the cell dysregulation which looks to produce many of the most dangerous effects of long COVID. Sabrina Moreno discusses the connection between COVID-19 and a rising number of maternal deaths. And Betsy Ladyzhets offers suggestions for people looking for the most useful information still available about the risks around them, while Phil Tank rightly calls out Scott Moe and the Sask Party for keeping Saskatchewan's people in the dark (and thereby facilitating another COVID wave). 

- Meanwhile, Creeden Martell reports on CanAge's research showing the Moe government also lacks any plan to either limit avoidable cases of dementia, or address its consequences for care providers. And Steven Lewis points out that the growing cost and duration of health care education creates a barrier to filling the large (and growing) number of vacancies in the health care system. 

- Lindsay Ellis reports on the U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy's long-overdue recognition that toxic workplaces represent a needless danger to physical and mental health. 

- Finally, Kat Exner reports on a study from the Daily Bread Food Bank showing that most food bank users face deep poverty alongside their lack of food security and other risk factors. 

Friday Afternoon Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Sarah Zhang discusses the absurdity of treating the COVID pandemic as being over when it's causing more death and illness than ever, while Shanoor Seervai interviews Bob Pratcher about the need for people to keep working on reducing risk even while being told there's nothing left to be done. And Erin Prater talks to experts about the risk that new variants will evade the few protections we still have. 

- Russell Wangersky writes that the reality of a pandemic still in progress applies as much in Saskatchewan as anywhere else - with devastating effects on an already-strained health care system. And John Paul Tasker reports on Alika Lafontaine's recognition that there's a cross-country crisis in medicine which demands immediate responses from the governments who are supposed to ensure our access to the care we need. 

- Phil Tank discusses Scott Moe's choice to be essentially the only politician willing to amplify and echo the nonsensical ravings of Danielle Smith. And Jason Warick reports on the push from former students to ensure that the private religious schools which have covered up child abuse get shut down - even as the Saskatchewan Party bends over backwards to prioritize them over public education. 

- Finally, Linda McQuaig contrasts Pierre Poilievre's performative populism against his consistent track record of attacking the working class on behalf of the wealthy few. Grace Blakeley discusses Liz Truss' embrace of trickle-down economics with no regard for how miserably it's failed even in its own supposed purposes. And as an example of what's possible when governments don't go out of their way to kiss up and kick down, Reuters reports on Spain's implementation of windfall wealth taxes to ensure the cost of inflation isn't borne by the people who can least afford it. 

Saturday Morning Links

Assorted content for your weekend reading.

- Renee Graham writes that the elimination of masking protections as a matter of privileged people's comfort in the midst of a pandemic that endangers everybody shows how painfully cruel and selfish much of the U.S. (like Canada) has become. 

- Phil Tank is rightly unnerved by the Moe government's propensity for catering to conspiracy theorists rather than making decisions with any grounding in reality. And Stefan Labbe writes about the first steps in tracking climate anxiety and distress among Canadian youth, while Simon Appolloni offers some suggestions to help ameliorate matters. 

- Al Jazeera reports on the imminent danger that tens of millions of people in Africa may starve as a result of extreme drought. 

- Ivan Semeniuk reports on a new study showing how a reduction in pollution from traffic could substantially help Canadians' health, while CBC News reports on the federal government's plans for an expanded electric vehicle tax credit which may at least reduce the proportion of vehicles on the road which are needlessly spewing carbon pollution. And Brett Tryon discusses how to transition away from using natural gas in one's home. 

- Alex Hemingway discusses how a public investment in rental housing to make sure everybody has a home can pay for itself (while drastically improving people's lives). 

- Finally, Brynn Bourke points out that the underground economy is costing both public revenues and labour and employment rights for workers. And DT Cochrane writes that it's long past time to start requiring corporations to pay their fair share in order to fund the social infrastructure we desperately need. 

Saturday Afternoon Links

Assorted content for your weekend reading.

- William Haseltine writes about the long-lasting and severe cognitive effects of long COVID, while Danny Altmann discusses the urgency of developing effective treatment given the reality that vaccines do little to prevent it. Katherine Wu warns that the U.S. is rapidly losing any window to set up a relatively safe summer, while Yasmine Ghania reports on the prospect that Saskatchewan could be in for months of high transmission to come. And Phil Tank rightly criticizes Scott Moe's choice to deprive people of any current information about the spread of COVID-19 in Saskatchewan even as he claims he wants them to manage their own risks. 

- Brigitte Pellerin points out the Libs' failure to live up to their promise of a disability benefit for Canadians even as provincial governments eliminate any pandemic supports or protections. 

- Naveena Sadisavam writes about the IPCC's conclusion that it's not too late to limit global warming to 2 degrees Celsius if countries live up to their climate commitments immediately. And Mia Rabson discusses the problem with a climate change policy which is designed to allow the largest emitters to pay the least for their carbon pollution. 

- Qi Yang, Mohsen Mosleh, Tauhid Zaman and David Rand study the familiar gripe that Twitter content management is biased against conservatives, and finds instead that content moderation is consistently based on the level of misinformation being shared by users of any political leaning.  

- Meanwhile, Stephen Magusiak discusses how Jason Kenney is trying to import Republican culture wars - including an attack on any recognition of historical or systemic discrimination - into Alberta's curriculum and education system. 

- Finally, David Dayen writes about the risks of making global trade dependent on China's monopoly in shipping container manufacturing. 

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- George Monbiot writes that rhetoric about "learning to live with it" has become the go-to excuse to allow preventable tragedies - including the COVID pandemic and the deepening climate crisis - to go unaddressed. Joe Vipond, Kashif Perzada and Malgorzata Gasperowicz argue that Albertans (like citizens elsewhere) have never given informed consent to the mass infection strategy apparently being substituted for any reasonable public health policy. And Linda Geddes reports on new research adding a massively increased risk of deep vein thrombosis and blood clots to the list of effects of infection. 

- The CCPA offers its review of Saskatchewan's provincial budget, highlighting Scott Moe's attempt to use it as to stop talking about the ongoing pandemic even as the damage wrought by COVID-19 reaches new heights. Phil Tank points out how a continued focus on (misleading nominal-dollar) comparisons to a decade and a half ago shows that the Saskatchewan Party has never grown up. And Jessie Anton reports on the students taking direct action to push for adequate education funding - rather than cuts for an already-starved public system while new money is funneled to private operators. 

- Meanwhile, the CCPA's federal budget review recognizes that some important steps toward improving people's lives are ultimately being treated as secondary to keeping the corporate sector comfortable. Mike Moffatt notes that a belated federal return to the world of making housing policy falls far short of what people need to fulfil their right to a home. And Alex Ballingall reports on the rightly frustrated response of environmental groups to a budget whose main investment in climate change is a handout to oil companies for carbon capture and storage schemes which do little to reduce emissions while locking in fossil fuel infrastructre. 

- Fatima Syed writes about the Ontario NDP's complete and ambitious climate plan in an election where the other main parties are looking to downplay the future of the planet. And Paige Bennett reports on new research from the White House Office of Management and Budget showing a multi-trillion-dollar price tag attached to climate inaction.  

- Jacob Lorinc discusses the growing recognition that corporate greed is the main driver in life becoming perpetually less affordable. 

- Finally, Lauren Pelley explains why a national pharmacare program hasn't yet been implemented despite a myriad of promises and studies - with furious lobbying by profiteers of course ranking at the top of the list. 

Thursday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Phil Tank writes that the Saskatchewan Party has only reluctantly held off on eliminating even what little information it still provided the public about ongoing COVID-19 infections in the midst of a new wave, while Laura Sciarpelletti reports the Moe government is ignoring the science demonstrating the importance of additional booster vaccines.  

- Ian Sample reports on the UK's belated recognition that it allowed companies to profiteer off of the COVID pandemic. And Melanie Bechard and Jasmine Gite write that we shouldn't let the underfunding and mismanagement of our public health care system be used as an excuse for privatization which will only further undermine service provision. 

- Matt Phillips reports that corporations managed to rake in record profits in 2021, while Alex Henderson discusses how the Koch brothers' fortune continues to be used to secretly undermine any attempt at democratic decision-making. Josh Bornstein notes that structural attacks on organized labour have exacerbated inequality in Australia, while Robert Reich writes about the emergence of the particularly dangerous class of mega-billionaires thanks to the consistent upward redistribution of wealth. And Michael Hiltzik makes the case for the type of billionaires' tax being proposed by Joe Biden. 

- Natasha Bulowski reports on the glaring flaws with the federal government's plan to rely on carbon capture and storage as a substitute for a transition away from dirty energy, while Max Fawcett writes that an industry which actually wanted to live up to its own PR would be doing far more to meet its environmental responsibilities. And Damian Carrington reports on the continued prevalence of "ghost flights" spewing carbon pollution for no reason.

- Meanwhile, Clean Energy Canada finds that electric vehicles are already more affordable to own than their fossil fuel-dependent equivalents. 

- Finally, May Bulman reports on the stark increase in deaths among homeless people in the UK. Rogan Bowen-Harper highlights the connection between food insecurity and pain-related hospital visits. And the Canadian Press reports on Saskatchewan Children's Advocate Lisa Broda's call for desperately-needed mental health and addictions services in order to avert the suicide crisis among teens in particular. 

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Ed Yong laments the U.S.' particularly dangerous spin through the pandemic cycle of panic and neglect as it is eliminating all federal funding even as the most dangerous COVID-19 wave yet begins to crest, while Phil Tank calls out Scott Moe's cherry-picked appeal to public opinion as overriding any sense of responsibility to keep people safe and healthy. And Maija Kappler discusses how the Omicron BA.2 variant is taking over as the dominant strain in Canada, while Chris Herhalt and CTV News report on its rise in Ontario and Alberta respectively. 

- Joel Dryden writes about the fallout from the #FluTruxKlan's heavily-armed assault on the Coutts, AB border crossing. And Jessica McDiarmid and Mark Fawcett investigate how much of the Facebook content claiming to reflect grassroots local concerns from a right-wing perspective is in fact the product of Conservative-affiliated political operatives, while Geoff Dembicki reports on the role of Canada Proud in particular in systematically disseminating climate misinformation. 

- Meanwhile, Thom Hartmann writes about the role of the libertarian message injected into the political mainstream by Ronald Reagan in enriching the already-wealthy while making life ever more precarious for everybody else. And Patrick Radden Keefe discusses how Vladimir Putin's oligarch cronies have found welcoming servants in London (and elsewhere) when throwing around the money extracted from their home country.  

- Finally, Victoria Gibson reports on new research showing that the Libs' model for privately-developed housing development is allowing private rental landlords to access federal funding while still charging above-market rents. 

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Caroline Chen discusses the reasons why we're still waiting for COVID vaccines for children under 5 - leaving the people least able to protect themselves to bear the full weight of irresponsible declarations of surrender against the pandemic. Benjamin Ryan reports on the research showing that even mild COVID cases can lead to brain damage and reduced cognitive function. And Phil Tank writes that Saskatchewan's citizens are understandably losing hope and faith as a result of the Moe government's callous disregard for their health and well-being. 

- Meanwhile, Zak Vescera reports on the continued overload in Saskatchewan's health care system even as even the slightest public health measures are eliminated. And Linda McQuaig calls out Doug Ford and his Ontario PC government for joining Moe and Jason Kenney in using the pandemic as an excuse to privatize health care. 

- David Macdonald writes that the provinces making excuses to slash public services have plenty of money available to improve the lives of their constituents. And Clarisa Diaz discusses how part of the story of inflation includes corporations supplying less of their products while charging the same or more out of sheer opportunism. 

- Mitchell Anderson writes about the need for a detox from Russian state propaganda which has been put on Canadian airwaves for profit. Walker Bragman examines how business lobby groups have bought support from U.S. judges by painting corporatist ideology as neutral legal education. And David Suzuki discusses how the fossil fuel sector continues to sow doubt and denial in order to allow it to keep polluting our planet, while Alice McCool and Thomas Lewton point out the use of "Indigenous-washing" in particular to deflect from the real costs of locking in new pipelines. 

- Finally, D.G. discusses the conspicuous contrast in how police have treated violent white supremacists compared to peaceful land defenders. And Kelly Hayes talks to Harsha Walia about the radically different treatment being offered to refugees from Russia's attacks on Ukraine as opposed to people seeking to escape war in the Middle East - as well as the organizing necessary to make sure everybody has the opportunity to seek a better life. 

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Jacques Poitras talks to some of the at-risk people whose freedom will be undermined by the scrapping of public health protections. Phil Tank calls out Scott Moe for refusing to report on child COVID deaths (among other essential information even from the standpoint of making personal decisions, to say nothing of evaluating the Sask Party's policy choices). And Tasnim Ahmed reports on the latest research on the long-term harm caused by COVID infection. 

- The Maple examines what would be needed to compensate and support the people who lost weeks of their lives to the #FluTruxKlan. Armine Yalnizyan takes a look at the widespread costs in Ottawa and beyond. And Yvette Brend reports on the fragility caused by our reliance on a single, privately-owned bridge (among other limited border crossings) for so much of our international trade. 

- Umair Haque discusses the vicious circle created by the combination of wilfully ignorant people and capitalists looking to exploit them. And Joe Roberts writes about the need for global institutions to deal with problems that go far beyond the borders and interests of any single nation-state. 

- Alex Cosh examines the Libs' corporative-executive-heavy cabinet and its disconnect from the economic realities facing most Canadians. And Greg Jericho reports on Australia's plummeting real wages - and the desperate attempts of a right-wing government and its corporate cronies to paper over them.

- Jerusalem Demsas examines the causes and implications of the U.S.' increasing lack of mobility.  Matthew Yglesias discusses why people who own homes should welcome new and dense home construction. And Sara Birrell starts a must-listen series of podcasts with a discussion of the economy of land in Saskatchewan. 

- Finally, CBC News reports on the warning from Saskatchewan's treaty commissioner that the province is falling far short of meeting its obligations to First Nations and Indigenous peoples. 

Sunday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- Umair Haque writes about the reasons why the COVID pandemic is far from over - and indeed the worst may be yet to come if we abandon the public health measures needed to reduce foreseeable harms. Smriti Mappalaty discusses the increasing proponderance of reinfections and breakthrough infections due to the Omicron variant. And Phil Tank calls out the conspiracy theorists looking to undermine what are already likely significant undercounts of the harm caused by COVID.

- Josh Keller offers a visual take on how long COVID wears out the human body. And David Mercer talks to Kelly Fearnley about her personal battle with the coronavirus as her government moves to "let 'er rip" among the general public.

- Meanwhile, CBC Radio discusses how single mothers have faced a particularly large and exhausting set of new burdens in the course of the pandemic.

- Ryan Broderick writes about Facebook's role in spreading propaganda on the part of the #FluTruxKlan, while Daniel Dale fact-checks the glaringly false claims that the occupation has more than fringe popular support. Todd Gordon notes that far-right uprisings are far from new or unusual in Canada's history. And Amnesty International weighs in on both the damage done by the convoy itself, and the authorities' conspicuously gentle response to an insurrection led by white supremacists.

- Finally, Eliza Strickland and Mark Harris report on the obsolescence of eye implants as an egregious example of the dangers of relying on private corporations to provide and support medically necessary aids.

Saturday Afternoon Links

Assorted content for your weekend reading.

- Gary Mason writes about the combination of fatigue and outrage which is producing a particularly toxic mix for anybody attempting to limit the damage caused by COVID-19. Phil Tank laments the sense that protecting people from avoidable infection and death has become controversial, while also reporting on "Unified Grassroots" and other anti-public health forces who have organized to create that reality. And Adam Hunter highlights how Scott Moe's messaging about and to unvaccinated people has turned deferential even as more dangerous variants have emerged.

- Robert Hiltz discusses how Ontario has been one of many jurisdictions which has repeatedly wasted the downtime between waves by choosing to operate in denial rather than doing anything to prepare for foreseeable events. Don Darrah discusses how conservative premiers including Moe are using the damage they've inflicted on health care systems as an excuse to turn more and more necessarily medical services into profit centres for their donors. And Catherine Varner writes about the physicians who are looking at leaving jurisdictions or even the profession due to the violence directed at them by anti-vaxx extremists. 

- Van Badham writes about the crank and conspiracy behind anti-public health protests around the globe. And PressProgress has offered plenty of important reporting on the #FluTruxKlan - including a systematic look at its donors, as well as reports on the intention to pursue intimidation and violence for political ends and how that's been carried out.

- Finally, Cam Scott writes that there are limited lessons for progressive organizers to draw from the right's populist organizing which is necessarily built around fabrications and illusions rather than solving real-world problems. And John Geddes discusses the institutional differences that have helped somewhat in limiting the translation of far-right ideology into formal power.