Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Jonathan Watts highlights how the global right is pushing extremes in both climate damage and reactonary politics. Jamelle Bouie discusses how the Trump regime is looking to destroy any principle of deliberative government. Robert Reich notes that Disney's about-face in returning Jimmy Kimmel to the airwaves shows that people do have some power to keep corporations from collaboration with fascists - but Luke Savage writes that we can't count on corporate self-interest to protect democracy and human rights. 

- Meanwhile, Hamilton Nolan rightly argues that there's nothing an individual can buy for a billion dollars that should be available for individual purchase in the first place - making the accumulation of further wealth little more than a direct assault on society as a whole. And Jean-Paul Bureaud calls out Canada's provinces other than Quebec for failing to create financial fraud compensation funds to protect individuals from corporate malfeasance. 

- Charlie Angus discusses the meaning of "elbows up" as a statement of collective determination and defence (which isn't about to end no matter how much MAGA complains that other countries should bow to its king). 

- Finally, there's plenty of good news as to new medical breakthroughs to the extent they reach people - with Kat Lay reporting on the potential for an HIV vaccine to end the global epidemic, Amber Carlson reporting on a more stable rabies vaccine which could reduce a death toll of tens of thousands of people each year, and James Gallagher reporting on the first successful treatment for Huntington's disease through gene therapy. But Olivia Bowden writes about the Libs' stalled implementation of pharmacare, particularly as Mark Carney has chosen not to bother following through with ensuring people have the medicine they need. 

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Toby Buckle writes about the role of reactionary centrists in greasing the skids toward fascism, while Owen Jones discusses how that process is playing out in the UK as a nominally centre-left government uses every available opportunity to spread reactionary themes and talking points. And the Canadian Anti-Hate Network points out how white supremacist demands around "remigration" are being smuggled into Canada's political conversation. 

- Meanwhile, Scott Martin rightly questions why Mark Carney appears eager to give the architects of Donald Trump's regime direct access to his government. And Christopher Holcroft argues that Canadians should have a say in any major deal with the U.S. - assuming Carney is foolish enough to think such a thing is worth negotiating.  

- Matthew Hughes is rightly exasperated by the absence of consequences for tech giants' gross abuses of law and public trust. And David Dayen discusses the glaring gap between a court's findings of illegal monopoly activity by Google, and its failure to so much as require it to stop. 

- Daniel Eisenkraft Klein and Arianna Schouten discuss how Canada's position on access to medicine has tended to use the language of equity as a means of allowing big pharma to profiteer off of vital medications. 

- Finally, Bethany Hastie and Keegan Nicol write about the Libs' arbitrary nullification of the right to strike. Isaac Phan Nay reports on the NDP's work to stop the suppression of collective action through ministerial order, while Marina von Stackelberg reports on the determination of unions and workers to fight for their rights. And Saumya Kalia discusses how the gig economy has largely suppressed organizational activity. 

Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Chance Phillips is rightly outraged that the corporate media is letting the Trump regime hand immense power to white supremacists without even calling attention to that fact. And Paul Waldman highlights how Trump's systematic misogyny is exacerbating rather than remedying the sense of dissatisfaction which has been cultivated by the right. 

- Jessica Wildfire discusses how to approach the recognition of imminent social collapse. Brian Beutler points out the importance of fighting against injustice even where victory is far from assured - both due to the possibility of succeeding, and the need to build capacity for ongoing conflicts. Jonathan Last offers his take on how to make good trouble, while pointing out how it's succeeded in reversing some of the Trump regime's abuses. And Hamilton Nolan worries that the American labour movement is crumbling due to a failure to organize broadly.  

- Cory Doctorow highlights how it's impossible to fight enshittification at the individual level, but entirely possible to do so through collective policy choices. And Brian Merchant notes that GPT-5 (among other much-hyped AI releases) is purely bait for investors rather than anything which could possibly hold value for users. 

- Garrett Graff writes that Trump's anti-science bent is destroying a multi-generation culture of research that formed the basis for the U.S.' economic success. And Arcella Martin reports on the reuse of electric vehicle batteries for grid stabilization as an example of the type of innovation and responsible resource use that's possible when governments aren't actively obstructing progress.  

- Roy Edroso explains and calls out the right's war on cities as reflecting their distate for diversity and inclusion. And Bill Fulton points out that most households could thrive with one less vehicle than they're currently paying to operate and maintain. 

- Finally, Megan Rose and Debbie Cenziper report on both the U.S.' general acquiescence in the importing of medications from banned facilities, and the process resulting in its accepting drugs from one Indian supplier with a grim safety record.

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Steven Levitsky, Lucan Way and Daniel Ziblatt discuss how the Trump regime has used the power of an authoritarian state to impose costs on any opposition - and how it's nonetheless essential for people to resist rather than going along to get along. Robert Reich writes about the need to build a populist progressive movement to ensure people know there's a viable alternative to Trump's corruption and corporatism. And John Baglow's review of new books by Alex Himelfarb and Denise Hearn/Vass Bednar examines how neoliberalism has come to dominate our economic and social foundation - and the difficulty countering the power of capital in trying to make change.

- Attracta Mooney reports on new data showing that global warming has exceeded the 1.5 Celsius threshold for nearly all of the past two years. And Andreas Sieber and Stela Herschmann discuss the futility of holding climate talks while skirting any discussion of the fossil fuels which are the cause of three quarters of greenhouse gas emissions.  

- Isaac Sevier and Winston Yau write about the impending summer of shutoffs as outdated infrastructure and worsening extreme weather events make it inevitable that dirty energy sources will shut down. Euronews Green examines new polling showing that Europeans recognize the need to transition to clean and secure energy sources rather than relying on fossil fuel imports. And Eleni Courea reports on England's requirement for solar panels on new homes as a key example of the transition in progress. 

- Mariah Blake discusses how untested synthetic materials came to be so ubiquitous as a long-term consequence of a corporate PR campaign. 

- Finally, Brint Milward examines how the hollowing-out of the U.S.' federal government will have disastrous effects on state- and local-level services linked to what DOGE is destroying. David Armstrong reports on how a cancer drug which can be produced for 25 cents per pill is being sold for 4,000 times that cost, resulting in people being unable to afford the treatment they need.

Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Tim Dickinson interviews Naomi Klein about the oligarchy's escalating war against the general public, while the Guardian's editorial board points out that warehouse and transport workers are the first groups to face decimation as a consequence of the Trump regime's class war. And Lauren Leffer discusses how the normalization and rationalization of death is the primary common theme to Robert F. Kennedy's actions while in charge of U.S. public health. 

- Marc Elias discusses the need for U.S. courts to stop treating the Trump regime as a normal litigant as it repeatedly ignores rulings and seeks to intimidate judges. And Brian Beutler calls for Democratic governers (and anybody else who might be tempted to appease Trump) to avoid becoming an object of scorn like Paul Weiss.

- Jonathan Last writes that the essence of a fascist view of law enforcement is to encourage state violence against perceived enemies while demanding that allies be treated as entirely above the law. And Will Sommer discusses how the MAGA right's moral compass has been so thoroughly warped that it's treating the direction of the "n" word toward a child as a cause deserving of crowdfunding.  

- Andrew Nikiforuk talks to Ece Temelkuran about the predictable steps from democracy toward autocracy - and the importance of acting in the early stages to avoid being pushed down the path. And Zoe Yunker interviews Alexis Shotwell about the need for collective action in response to large-scale problems. 

- Edward Keenan points out how multiplex construction can be a key element in resolving the housing crisis - but that Toronto and other municipalities have effectively banned it in favour of single detached buildings. 

- Finally, Colleen Fuller writes that Canada needs a public insulin manufacturer to ensure that an essential medication doesn't disappear due to arbitrary action by a few corporations.

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Andrew Phillips offers a reminder that Canada will pay the price for a climate breakdown whether or not it partially prices emissions in the moment - though it's worth noting that even the existing combination of taxes and regulations falls far short of the investments we should be making in transitioning to a clean society (especially when compared to the massive subsidies incentivizing increased fossil fuel extraction). And Aaron Wherry notes that thanks in part to the know-nothingism of the Cons and their oil industry backers, there's very little public awareness of the rebate side of the federal carbon pricing system. 

- Andrew Nikiforuk points out that Danielle Smith is adopting some of the most laughable coal baron talking points on the planet in an attempt to excuse pushing further extraction with no regard for the climate crisis or the need for potable water. 

- David Climenhaga writes about the UCP's plans to assemble a provincial police force under their political control. And Jim Bronskill reports that the bigoted Flu Trux Klan was given primacy over any interest in police safety, as officers weren't warned of active threats to harm police.   

- David Moscrop writes about the immense power accumulated by Loblaws as a provider of everything, and corporate tech giants as the largest monopolists on the planet. And Erica Johnson et al. report on the continued pressure banks are putting on their employees to push financial products which consumers don't want or need. 

- Finally, Susan Riley writes that the prescription drug plan being developed at the federal level represents only a few baby steps toward a full pharmacare program - and wonders whether we'll ever see that latter goal reached. 

Tuesday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Henrietta Cook reports on new data as to the number of people dying in hospitals as a result of the spread of COVID-19, while Adam Rowe reports on the CDC's recognition that COVID's human toll is paired with serious economic damage. And Sophie Rosenblum and Michael Bailey ask why we haven't even applied the pandemic's obvious lessons about the importance of air filtration in schools. 

- Meanwhile, Emily Baumgaertner explores how noise exposure can cause substantial harm to public health. And Chris Hatch discusses how oil barons have effectively trapped humanity in a hot car - even as they continue to demand ritual shows of fealty to their power to endanger us all. 

- Niigaan Sinclair discusses the high cost of austerity in the PCs' Manitoba. And Michael Marmot points out the outright decline in child height and other measures of public health and development to demonstrate the wide-ranging effects of austerity in the UK. 

- Steve Morgan and Nav Persaud make the case for a publicly-funded essential medicines program to make needed medications both freely available and less expensive. 

- Finally, Joseph Stiglitz and Tommaso Faccio write about the much-needed steps by some countries to take minimum corporate tax levels into their own hands as a compromised global process appears to have stalled. 

Saturday Afternoon Links

Assorted content for your weekend reading.

- Gil McGowan highlights how the UCP's intolerable plans for Alberta include another four years of systematic wage suppression in order to further enrich the donor class.

- Cory Doctorow writes about the importance of having "ideas lying around" to respond to an obviously unacceptable status quo - though it's worth noting that the neoliberal exploitation of that principle has been paired with consistent corporate funding to keep ever more extreme ideas front and centre while shouting down any alternatives. And Manuela Fernandez Pinto and Daniel Fernandez Pinto explore how corporate funding distorts scientific research.

- Nikolaos Christidis, Dann Mitchell and Peter Stott study the rapidly increasing risk of extreme heat in Europe and the Middle East due to climate breakdown. And Leslie Scism reports that the combination of escalating wildfire risks and increasing construction costs has led a major insurer to stop offering home insurance in California.

- Bethany Lindsay and Christine Birak report on new research showing that access to free prescription medication more than pays for itself as a public investment. And the Canadian Press reports on the call for free school meals as a similar investment in health and well-being which would be more than worth funding even based on calculable financial returns (to say nothing of the importance of children being fed).

- Finally, Heather Mallick offers her account of life with long COVID (in case anybody was lacking for examples as to why it's to be avoided).

Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Ewen Callaway writes about the current state of the COVID-19 pandemic - with both a high baseline of cases, and frequent "wavelets" in comparison to seasonal diseases as new variants develop and spread with little resistance. 

- Tina Yazdani and Meredith Bond report on the unsurprising revelation that privatized surgery costs far more than public-sector health care - while also recognizing the Ford PCs' determination to keep enriching private operators rather than funding care. And Raisa Patel reports on the Libs' refusal to act on the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board's work to reduce drug prices. 

- Meanwhile, Mike de Souza discusses how the UCP has coordinated efforts to enrich fossil fuel operators while concealing the government meetings used to discuss them. And Cory Doctorow writes about the problems with the breakdown of strong institutions, particularly in transferring effective power to weak institutions which can easily be taken over by corrupt or extreme actors.  

- Paul Hannon discusses how inflation is "sticky" due to its connection to corporate price-fixing rather than other factors - representing a noteworthy step toward recognition of the obvious on the pages of the Wall Street Journal. 

- Finally, Michael Spratt calls out Pierre Poilievre's reality-deficient attempts to stoke fear over crime as an excuse to make nonsensical policy demands. 

Tuesday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Stephanie Soucheray discusses new research linking COVID-19 to subsequent sleep disturbances and dyspnea. And Linda Geddes reports on findings showing that a growing number of cases of diabetes can also be traced to COVID. 

- John Bell and Alex MacKenzie argue that Canada should develop its own pharmaceutical research and manufacturing infrastructure to treat rare diseases. And Andre Picard highlights how any effective response to the drug poisoning crisis needs to include harm reduction and social supports, rather than being limited to a demand that people immediately sequester themselves in for-profit treatment centres. 

- Meanwhile, the Canadian Press reports on the Moe government's diktat that health care workers conceal the dire state of Saskatchewan's medical system from the opposition. 

- Kate Aronoff discusses how inflated fossil fuel profits over the past couple of years are the direct result of war profiteering. And Julia Conley points out how corporate landlords are taking over more and more U.S. housing and driving up rents. 

- Finally, Alex Birrell calls out Sandra Masters for using convenient allegations of sexism to impose regressive policy choices and misogynistic themes which hurt women. 

Monday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material for your Monday reading.

- The University of Denver examines how prior infection with COVID-19 produces effects comparable to a traumatic brain injury in worsening the effects of long COVID. And Laise Conde reports on the efforts of Protect Out Province BC (among others) to keep people protected even as the motivation to normalize continued spread is used as an excuse to slash any public health measures, while Meg Duff reports that access to Paxlovid is being restricted even as its function in reducing the severity of long COVID becomes better known. 

- Meanwhile, Mariana Mazzucato discusses the need for our system of drug research and manufacturing to be oriented toward keeping people healthy rather than locking in corporate profit streams. 

- Adam King writes about British Columbia's example in showing how reducing employer interference in organizing can help workers to pursue their collective bargaining rights. 

- Luke Savage discusses how Elon Musk has become a test case in demonstrating that amassing money under a capitalist system has nothing to do with merit. And Nik Popli highlights how food companies have made groceries more expensive through blatant profiteering. 

- Finally, Alex Himelfarb writes that there's nothing prudent about budgetary choices which fall far short of meeting the needs of people and the planet. 

Saturday Afternoon Links

Assorted content for your weekend reading.

- Statistics Canada offers some new (if dated) data on the spread of COVID-19 in Canada - with over 40% of those with antibodies from a past infection having no idea they'd ever had COVID. And Carla Johnson examines the inescapable answer to the question as to whether we've allowed COVID-19 to win over humanity.

- Brendan Haley discusses how the U.S.' sudden infusion of investment in a green economy exposes Canada's lack of any meaningful industrial policy. And Brett Dolter points out that we should be far more concerned with getting to balance (or better) in the global carbon budget than in government balance sheets.

- Gordon Laxer notes that any meaningful study of foreign interference in Canadian politics needs to include a strong focus on the control exerted by the fossil fuel sector. And Kristoffer Tigue examines how oil tycoons and their puppet politicians continue to water down any attempt at agreement on the necessary steps to avert climate breakdown.

- Gregory Beatty highlights the case for universal reproductive medicine (which B.C. has since introduced).

- Finally, the Star's editorial board calls out the cruelty motivating Doug Ford's elimination of health care for the people who have the least.

Wednesday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Ritika Goel, Vanessa Redditt and Michaela Beder discuss how the Ford PCs are cruelly taking health care away from the marginalized people who need it most. And CBC News reports on the preferred right-wing model of privatized profit centres threatening patients into paying for upsold services. 

- But on the bright side, Harold Meyerson writes that California is taking steps toward the public production of insulin and other medication to ensure that corporate profit motives don't restrict access to needed medicine. 

- Francis Sedgmore points out how our already-worrisome expectations for an overheating Arctic region may underestimate actual temperature changes. And Moritz Langer et al. examine the threat posed by the thawing of permafrost at sites with industrial contamination. 

- Damian Carrington reports on a new study which concludes that the UK is completely unprepared for the readily foreseeable effects of a climate breakdown. And Kristoffer Tigue reports on the corporate interests (and their puppet governments) who insisted on watering down science-based recommendations in the latest IPCC report. 

- Finally, Adam Minter writes about the growing push to ensure a right to repair consumer electronics. And Michael Woods reports on the preliminary steps toward its implementation in the recent federal budget. 

Tuesday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Joshua Cohen writes that the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in the first sustained streak of declining  global life expectancy in over 60 years - even as governments everywhere attempt to pretend the threat has passed. And the Washington Post's editorial board offers a reminder of the need to keep masking in order to reduce both the spread and severity of COVID. 

- Joel Lexchin writes about the lack of regulation of pharmaceutical advertising in Canada. And Andre Picard salutes British Columbia's progress in making contraception universally and freely available, while imploring other provinces to follow suit. 

- Owen Schalk discusses how the Libs' fossil fuel subsidies are merely providing fuel for an ongoing climate emergency. Damian Carrington reports on the "super-emitting" methane leaks could singlehandedly push the Earth past its carbon budget to stay under 1.5 degrees of warming. And Jeff Masters and Bob Henson explain why even relatively small temperature increases result in significantly more severe weather. 

- Gordon Laxer writes that while Canada should be investigation foreign interference in our elections, we should be paying more attention to the corporate actors who do so with a veneer of local presence while directing our policies for the benefit of foreign owners. 

- Amy Hanauer notes that the best way to address concerns about public debt is to make sure the rich pay their fair share. 

- Finally, Alexander Hinton writes that spin about "lone wolf" extremist attacks serve as a dangerous distraction from the networks of eliminationist rhetoric which invariably underlie the danger. 

Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- David Wallace-Wells discusses how the U.S. is woefully unprepared to deal with the real prospect of another pandemic (particularly on top of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic which is the subject of a policy of denial). 

- Peter Frankopan writes that climate is a crucial aspect of history which we ignore at our own peril both in assessing past events, and planning for our own futures. Tessa Koumoundouros reports on new modeling showing that the melting of large ice sheets may result in a far more rapid climate breakdown feedback loop than already anticipated. And Jamey Keaten reports on Antonio Guterres' rightful opprobrium toward climate-wrecking corporations.

 

- Meanwhile, Susan O'Donnell and M.V. Ramana write that New Brunswick (and other governments) shouldn't give in to the demands of nuclear operators seeking to lock down massive funding for projects which will almost certainly fall short of being worth their immense cost.  

- Joel Lexchin offers a reminder of the cozy relationship between the Canadian government and big pharma which has once again been leveraged to prevent any action to make needed medications more affordable. And Lyndsay Armstrong reports on the concern by Nova Scotia social workers that one-time access to for-profit counselling represents more of a corporate recruitment strategy than a plan to help citizens. 

- Finally, Trish Hennessy introduces the latest issue of Monitor Mag with a reminder as to the importance of income inequality and the options available to tackle it. And D.T. Cochrane makes the case for a minimum tax on corporate book profits to limit corporate tax avoidance and fund social priorities. 

Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Julia Doubleday writes that we shouldn't accept spin from any party which attempts to minimize the unacceptable dangers of exposing children to a virus known to cause lasting damage to people's immune systems, while Terry Pender reports on the growing recognition that COVID-19 does just that. And Justus Burgi et al. find that past COVID-19 infection is correlated with increases in troponin I which normally signals heart damage. 

- Carly Weeks reports on Ontario's belated decision to require the use of biosimilar biologic drugs to prioritize access to medication over pharmaceutical profits. Liana Hwang and Adam Pyle discuss the unfairness of government attempts to blame doctors for their own failures in making health care available. And Mitchell Thompson reports on the Ontario Financial Accountability Office's finding that the Ford PCs have set the hospital system up for years of worker shortages to come. 

- Thompson also calls out the Fraser Institute for its truly inhumane attempt to claim that poverty is a trendy lifestyle choice rather than an injustice demanding a policy response. And Pratyush Dayal reports on the thousands of evictions (caused in part by the Moe government's deliberate choice to make social assistance both stingy and unduly complicated) which have left Saskatchewan people without homes over just the past few months. 

- Vijith Assar discusses how Elon Musk's takeover of Twitter shows the need for social networks which can't be put under the thumb of capricious and self-serving billionaires. But Jim Stewartson points out that for the moment, both Twitter and one of its most prominent replacements are under the control of alt-right actors more interested in stoking misinformation and division than providing sustainable spaces for online interaction. And Heidi Cuda writes about the natural alliance between corporate power and fascist politics.  

- Finally, John Nguyen and Maryam Tibrizian make the case for Canada to follow the U.S. in ensuring open access to publicly-funded research. And Justin Ling offers a reminder of the importance of transparency in the beneficial ownership of property - while noting that a European Court of Justice decision is providing a precedent going in the wrong direction. 

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- C Raina MacIntyre offers five reasons to keep wearing a mask even after mandates are removed - and the arguments are even more compelling in areas where waves of infections are still in progress. And Elizabeth Yuko reports on the victims of long COVID who have lost their homes as well as their health, while Mark Melnychuk reports that Scott Moe has predictably declared that homeless people in Saskatchewan are on their own once they become ill. 

- Justin Marchand and Ene Underwood ask how it's at all fair for people who own homes in established neighbourhoods to have the ability to deny access to housing to others. 

- Katharina Pistor examines how Vladimir Putin and the surrounding Russian oligarchy are the direct result of an ill-advised choice to prioritize privatization and wealth accumulation over the development of a functional society. 

- Charlie Angus discusses how the #FluTruxKlan and the ecosystem of disinformation behind it highlight the difficulty in trying to reach people who have disconnected fully from reality. 

- Finally, M. Chamoun et al. study the respective costs of drugs under public and private plans, finding that patients pay significantly more under the latter.  

Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Emma Farge and Mrinalika Roy report on the World Health Organization's warning that it's dangerous to act like the COVID pandemic is over. Davide Mastracci observes that governments who have been willing to bother protecting citizens against substantial community spread have been successful even against the Omicron variant - meaning that the illness and death sweeping over countries with less responsible governments are a matter of choice. Vincent McDermott reports on the Alberta Workers' Compensation Board's recognition of thousands of cases in the province's workplaces, while Zak Vescera reveals that Scott Moe and his government have blocked any enforcement of the vaccine mandate which was supposed to reduce the risk of transmission in Saskatchewan's health care system. And Sarath Peiris argues that we should be expecting Saskatchewan Party MLAs to speak up about their leader's refusal to keep the province healthy - though there's no apparent precedent for their doing anything of the sort. 

- Zackie Achmat discusses how Cuba's vaccine development and distribution efforts are creating a needed alternative to the corporate pharmaceutical industry which has sought to prolong the pandemic in the name of profiteering. But Joel Lexchin offers a reminder that the Libs are choosing to side with big pharma over the Canadian public when it comes to ensuring that people have the medication they need. 

- Dylan Matthews reports on new research reaching the entirely predictable conclusion that improved income supports enhance children's brain development. CBC News reports on the recognition by anti-poverty activists that the aspect of inflation which needs to be fought is its effect on people already struggling to get by - not the prospect of slightly reduced net returns on capital. And Meara Conway has released her consultation report on housing and social supports in Saskatchewan. 

- Finally, Rachel Snow discusses how the right-wing denial of mass graves and other residential school abuses represents a continuation of white supremacy and colonialism. 

Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Paul Kuodi et al. find some hopeful evidence that vaccinations may help to prevent long COVID symptoms as well as more acute ones. Nili Kaplan-Myrth rightly questions why safety is being treated as a privilege to be withheld from vulnerable people. And Yasmeen Serhan discusses how responsible leaders are challenging the anti-social actions of those who have chosen to remain unvaccinated, while Adam Hunter reports that Scott Moe's nonexistent public health response and insistence on coddling anti-vaxxers are being rejected by a growing majority of Saskatchewan's public. 

- Leyla Asadi, Raina MacIntyre, Lisa Brosseau and Trish Greenhaigh highlight the need to upgrade to respirators which effectively control the inhalation of viral particles. Josh Mark reports on John-Mark Opondo's call for people to self-isolate even with mild cold-like symptoms in order to reduce COVID spread. And Megan Ogilvie reports on Ontario's shortage of therapeutic drugs to treat COVID patients.  

- Taylor Lambert discusses the toxic mix of intimidation, disinformation and heavy-handed legislation that defines Jason Kenney's reign in Alberta - though one would be hard-pressed to find much basis for distinction from the governing philosophies of Scott Moe or Doug Ford. 

- Scott Schmidt calls out the familiar con being used once again by corporate spokesflacks to try to attack universality in health care. And Luke Lebrun reports on a new study documenting the Canadian Taxpayers Federation's deliberate choice to push racist messages and themes.  

- Matthew McClearn discusses how far Canada has to go in eliminating fossil fuel subsidies from a starting point of pouring more money into them than any other G20 country. And Amory Lovins and M.V. Ramana point out how a fully renewable power grid is entirely feasible with current technology - as long as we don't let climate deniers and corporate polluters set our energy agenda. 

- Finally, Joel Dryden reports on the effect of gig platforms on Alberta's labour market - including the reality that corporations are using apps as an excuse to avoid basic protections for workers who are actually their employees. 

Sunday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- Nick Dunne interviews Colin Furness about the impact the Omicron COVID variant figures to have in schools - and the need to hold off on reopening after a holiday which has included grossly insufficient precautions. Alyson Kruger asks whether people are learning lessons as to how to self-isolate when necessary. And Nick Cohen rightly draws an analogy between the UK Con MPs pushing to slash public health measures and their previous insistence on a hard Brexit as examples of wilful self-destruction in the name of revolution.

- Dawn Bowdish and Chandrima Chakraborty discuss how avoidable vaccine inequity paved the way for the emergence of the Omicron variant. And Jack Healey, Noah Welland and Richard Fausset discuss the increasingly-entrenched antivaxxers who are extending and worsening the pandemic for everybody. 

- Meanwhile, Joel Lexchin and Abhimanyu Sud write that Health Canada's reinforcement of brand-name drugs rather than scientific generic names serves only to make it more expensive to treat medical issues.

- Bruno Latour writes that the pandemic should serve as a warning as to the importance of collective action in the face of an impending climate breakdown. And Nick Boisvert reports on Canada's continued lack of preparation to deal with the extreme weather events and other emergencies caused by a changing climate.

- Finally, Robert Reich argues that we should be wary of the corporate media's insistence on narrowing the set of public policy issues treated as worthy of discussion or above any cost-benefit analysis. And Luke Savage challenges the core centrist philosophy of treating any worthwhile change as being politically impossible.