Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Sujeet Indap and Akila Quinio report on the accumulation of consumer debt by private credit groups, making people's inability to meet their needs into a factor being exploited by more and more capital interests. And Robert Reich highlights the need for a more fair distribution of wealth and income for the economy to be able to function:

   

- Meanwhile, Roshni Sahoo et al. model the cost of ending extreme poverty around the world, and find the price of ending severe deprivation would amount to a rounding error of .3% of global GDP. 

- Huilin Luo et al. examine (PDF) the effect of different greenhouse gas emission policies, and find that it's impossible to subsidize our way out of a climate breakdown without also regulating carbon pollution. Umair Irfan writes that we can't afford to give up the climate fight even as fossil fuel forces are already pushing us past dangerous thresholds. And Cloe Logan reports on Laura Tozer's lament that Mark Carney is doing nothing but undermining an already-insufficient set of federal climate policies. 

- Finally, Emma Graney reports that Carney is also laying the groundwork to open up the export of single-use plastics as another means of favouring the oil sector at the expense of public and environmental health. And Juno Rylee Schultz discusses how laissez-faire theory which lets businesses decide how much pollution to emit has consistently led to people being poisoned and exploited. 

Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Robert Reich discusses the challenge of trying to live ethically and morally under circumstances where bullying and cruelty are being systematically normalized. And V discusses some of the options available to resist the tide and strengthen a sense of purpose. 

- Shawn Donnan writes that Donald Trump's erratic tariffs are causing real damage to the global economy while being shrugged off by markets. And Alan Beattie is rightly perplexed at the EU's willingness to sign off on a worthless deal at the expense of validating Trump's tariff policy. 

- Paris Marx comments on Mark Carney's choice to give the U.S. tech giants who have bent the knee to Trump everything they want in deciding not to regulate artificial intelligence. And Joe Mullin discusses how Carney's surveillance legislation is everything the Trump regime could have asked for in allowing people's online activity to be monitored and used against them. 

- Stephen Magusiak reports on the direct connections between the Trump regime and the Alberta separatist being promoted by Danielle Smith and the UCP.

- Finaly, Carbon Brief looks in detail at the significance of the International Court of Justice's decision holding that governments can be held responsible for climate damage, while Michael Byers highlights how the ICJ's conclusion is incompatible with Canada's insistence on subsidizing the extraction of dirty fossil fuels (including Alberta's choice to stick the public with cost of reclamation to make sure oil operators don't pay for the messes they've made). Zoe Daniel writes about the "intergenerational bastardry" involved in pushing for continued carbon pollution at the expense of the future of humanity. And Tim Sahay and Kate McKenzie note that China is well on its way to fostering a transition to clean energy - meaning that the countries who drag their heels figure to be left behind in short order. 

Monday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Whizy Kim writes about the rise of the overt use of wealth and associated fame to overwhelm the U.S.' political system. Jason Sattler discusses the need for a new declaration of independence focused on decoupling from billionaires. And Robert Reich notes that Democrats' refusal to meaningfully challenge corporate greed and bullying resulted in their political defeat by a demagogue claiming (however implausibly) to stand up for the working class. 

- Meanwhile, the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage has released its report on the intimidation and subversion tactics of tech giants. And Seamas O'Reilly discusses the comparative joys of Bluesky in contrast to the social media platforms that have gone through full enshittification. 

- Helena Horton, Lucy Swan, Ana Lucía González Paz and Harvey Symons highlight new data showing the acceleration of the climate breakdown - even as the wealthy countries who bear the most blame continue to dodge any responsibility for reparations or mitigation. And Karen McVeigh reports on the scientific recognition that we're generating an unmanageable quantity of plastic waste - with the same bad actors blocking any solutions on that front as well. 

- Nadine Yousif reports on the success of Halifax' choice to integrate tent encampments rather than meeting them with violent displacement. And Jonathan Brooke and Jennifer Hulme discuss how anybody in need of medical assistance is made worse off by a punitive response to addictions. 

- Finally, Jim Stanford studies (PDF) the benefits of expanded child care availability in Canada - including in averting both recessions and inflation. 

Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Oliver Milman reports on the warning from climate scientists that humanity has already missed the window to limit global warming to the agreed target of 1.5 degrees Celsius - making the continued posturing and heel-dragging as a substitute for agreement on action all the more indefensible. Damian Carrington reports on a new assessment showing that numerous heat waves and other severe weather events experienced over the past few years would have been impossible before the climate breakdown. James Riordon points out new NASA data showing a sharp drop in global freshwater levels over the last decade. And Victoria Gill discusses Jane Goodall's warning that the Earth is already well into its sixth great extinction event even as we continue with exploitation and pollution as usual.

- Nesrine Malik discusses how an authoritarian turn in politics can be traced to the enshittification of society generally and social media in particular - together with the lack of a compelling response from any competing alternatives. And Robert Reich notes that the inevitable result is that a Trump kleptocracy will loot the public and make the underlying reality even worse.

- Josh Halliday reports on a new study showing that nearly a quarter of the UK's population - and over a third of children - are currently living in poverty. And Torsten Bell writes about the desperate need for decision-makers to better understand the plight of the working class. Which of course means the political class is firmly focused on ensuring the inheritors of massive agricultural operations don't pay any tax.

- Finally, Adam Piore reports on a new study showing that up to a quarter of American adults may be suffering from long COVID. And City St Georges, City of London finds that the growing list of COVID-19's effects on children includes a 16% increase in heart defects. 

Monday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Jeremy Appel reports on John Vailliant's warning about Alberta's addiction to oil which the UCP is looking to exacerbate. And James Wilt interviews Adam Hanleh about the difficulty transitioning to renewable energy - even when it's cheaper as well as cleaner - when so much entrenched wealth and power is being dedicated to keeping us hooked on fossil fuels.  

- Rebecca Solnit warns that a zombie apocalypse is here as people increasingly engage with the world around them only through manipulative big tech intermediaries. Andrew Nikiforuk writes about the need for the leftist movement to engage with both a general public which is understandably frustrated and disengaged with a political system which is unresponsive to its needs, and increasingly powerful corporate forces seeking to take advantage of that discontent to overthrow democracy. And Robert Reich similarly points out the need for U.S. Democrats (among other parties who purport to be progressive) to take on anti-establishment causes rather than focusing primarily on appeasing the rich and telling the working class it has no alternative.  

- Crawford Kilian discusses how Donald Trump is laying the groundwork for large-scale concentration camps. And Maude Barlow highlights need for Canada to be prepared for Trump's plans - including his intention to take control over limited water resources. 

- Finally, Adam King discusses the Trudeau Libs' continued trampling of the right to strike - and it's particularly noteworthy that they're regularly interfering in all kinds of job actions while refusing to give effect to the anti-scab legislation which was supposed to give workers a modicum of protection. 

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.

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Hilary Beaumont and Nina Lakhani report on the fossil fuel lobby's pressure on U.S. governments to impose draconian anti-protest laws to prevent climate activists from being heard. darryll k. jones points out the dangers facing environmental activists around the globe at the hands of mining corporations and the governments who serve them. And Robert Reich writes that Elon Musk's control over crucial infrastructure - and his complete lack of compunction in using it to settle personal scores or strongarm governments - represents an unacceptable security risk for the U.S. 

- Tamara Palmer discusses the embarrassing lack of recycling of electronic waste - though it's worth noting how manufacturers put far more resources into pushing people to buy new devices than allowing them to recycle old ones. And Rosa Galvez makes the case for an international treaty on plastic pollution.

- Meanwhile, Richard Murphy argues that it's long past time for the UK to abolish "freeports" intended to allow corporations to operate outside the law - while noting that there's been little apparent interest in taking up that option in any event. And Aditya Chakrabortty reminds UK Labour that voters turfed the Cons for trashing public services in the name of catering to the corporate sector - meaning that they're not likely to be pleased with continued austerity from the government which ran on the need for change. 

- Finally, Lorraine Carpenter reports on the spread of fake X accounts in Quebec - following the pattern of similar accounts parroting Con messaging. And Don Braid and Jason Markusoff each discuss how Danielle Smith is catering to the most extreme wing of the UCP, while Jeremy Appel notes that there's little to distinguish those demands from the most dishonest and bigoted faces of the MAGA movement. 

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Bob Berwyn discusses new research showing that existing climate models may underestimate the tendency toward extremes in water levels - including both floods and droughts. Moina Spooner highlights how Africa is facing particularly severe climate impacts (while having played little role in causing the crisis), while Bruno Kalouaz examines the rapid melting of glaciers in central Asia. And Naomi Oreskes writes about the Arctic Seed Vault as an example of adaptation which is failing due to its reliance on conditions which are now a thing of the past. 

- Judi Rever discusses how Canadian forestry policy favouring corporate interests and monocultural replanting has exacerbated the danger of wildfires. And Matt Price notes that Canada's banks and high-wealth individuals are doing nothing but obstructing climate action even when presented with proposals to incorporate the reality of climate change into organizational planning. 

- Sharon Lerner reports on the Trump administration's suppression of research showing the harms caused by industrial chemicals and systematic reprisals against the scientists who dared to report accurate information. And Leah Borts-Kuperman and Urbi Khan report on Ontario's choice to allow a company with a history of exposing residential areas to ethylene oxide to treat itself as "lower-risk" and self-report its environmental impact. 

- Max Fawcett discusses how unmanageable housing costs (particularly for renters) are at the root of voter discontent with the Libs, while James Hardwick offers a reminder that inescapable consumer debt is an integral part of the financial sector's business model. And Jessica Corbett reports on the bill being proposed by Alexandria Ocasia-Cortez and Tina Smith to develop a solution on the scale of the U.S.' housing crisis by establishing a national social housing authority with a mandate to ensure everybody has an affordable home. 

- Robert Reich highlights how the U.S.' economy is set up to serve only the narrow interests of CEOs and especially-wealthy shareholders over the general population. The Canadian Health Coalition points out that Canadian voters are placing a high value on pharmacare and investment in health workers. And Jim Stanford discusses the importance of valuing public-sector work - rather than treating it solely as a cost as corporate mouthpieces tend to do. 

- Finally, Timothy Caulfield offers an alarming look into Pierre Poilievre's conspiracy vortex. And Stephen Magusiak discusses the latest example of every right-wing accusation being a confession, as Poilievre and other prominent Con-connected politicians are actively seeking to indoctrinate students with Ted Byfield's legacy of bigotry, oppression and manufactured grievance. 

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- The Australian National University examines how it's possible to ensure a healthy standard of living for all of humanity within the Earth's planetary limits - but only based on a transformation of how we manage and distribute resources. And Rob Jackson and Josie Garthwaite discuss how especially-dangerous methane emissions are continuing to rise, while a belated effort to limit them is only starting to produce any observance results.

- Marc Fawcett-Atkinson reports on the federal government's decision not to regulate harmful PFAs based on heavy lobbying and polluter-funded research. 

- Robert Reich points out how Donald Trump's economic plans combine a toxic mix of corporate impunity, further concentration of wealth, and added costs for consumers. 

- Marcia Dunn discusses how space has become yet another plaything for the uber-wealthy rather than a domain for exploration and discovery. But Giri Nathan writes that there's no realistic basis for the fantasy of colonizing Mars as a substitute for caring for the Earth.

- Finally, Harrison Mooney discusses how John Rustad is looking to bring a Republican-style book purge to British Columbia. David Climenhaga compares Danielle Smith's demand that the federal government squash any form of job action by federally-regulated workers against her support for the Flu Trux Klan's violent takeover of cities and border crossings. And Colin Horgan wonders whether Pierre Poilievre's substitution of shitposting for any substantive communication will carry a price during a federal election campaign.  

Sunday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- Michael Savage points out the billions of pounds worth of pay and benefits being stolen from workers by UK employers every year. And The Breach reports that the same app being used to fix housing prices and gouge renters on the behalf of landlords in the U.S. is also being used by familiar landlords in Canada. 

- John Lanchester discusses the absurd amount of activity and nominal wealth based purely on financial speculation rather than the production or delivery of anything real or useful. Robert Reich notes that billionaires are looking to fund the end of democracy in the U.S. and elsewhere as they recognize that their continued accumulation of wealth and power will never stand if people have any say in the matter. And David Moscrop points out how learned helplessness from current governments has opened the door for fascist politicians to claim they can solve problems which other politicians won't. 

- On that front, Hayley Juhl writes that decades after Canada's Parliament agreed unanimously to end child poverty, its persistence and growth is leading to understandable skepticism among younger generations that the federal government is interested in their needs.

- Finally, Chris Lehmann discusses how Russian funding and direction is behind prominent MAGA influencers in the U.S. And Luke LeBrun highlights the Canadian connections (and in some cases roots) of Vladimir Putin's right-wing mouthpieces in North America.

Friday Afternoon Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Jennifer Sandlin discusses a new analysis showing how COVID-19 infections lead to numerous other types of infectious diseases, while Devika Rao writes about the medical recognition that they may also increase the risk of cancers. And Sam Wollaston offers Natacha Gray's account of the realities of life with long COVID. 

- Meanwhile, Andre Picard writes about a new report warning that we don't appear to have learned much about public health responses from COVID. And Luke Andrews reports on expert warnings that the CDC is flying blind in failing to work on testing as a dangerous bird flu spreads. 

- Danyaal Raza discusses a new World Health Organization report finding that corporate greed is the direct cause of millions of preventable deaths annually. Jessica Ray takes note of the ubiquity of "forever chemicals" in U.S. drinking water - as well as the lack of any apparent plan to address it other than telling people to filter their own water. And Beatrice Olivastri, Fe de Leon and Laura Bowman question why the Libs are dismantling a planned pesticide monitoring program. 

- David Macdonald and Jon Milton point out that contrary to the contrived outrage of the Cons and their corporate puppeteers, Canada's last increase in capital gains inclusion rates was followed by a doubling of investment. And Macdonald discusses the fundamental unfairness of giving capital returns any preferential treatment over wages. 

- Finally, Robert Reich writes that Joe Biden should welcome the hatred of plutocrats who think they're entitled to have government used as an instrument to further their already-unconscionable wealth and power. And the Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce's child labour plans provide just one example of the type of anti-social position people will be happy to reject. 

Monday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Robert Reich discusses the growing gap between the well-being of lower-income and higher-income consumers in the U.S. - as well as the reality that the former are being perpetually worse served by the market as businesses chase the larger amounts of money held by the latter. Geoffrey Diehl writes about the U.S.' zombie democracy, where unpopular and destructive policies win out due to a combination of a distorted electoral system and a political class more interested in preserving itself than representing people's interests. And A.R. Moxon calls out the anti-morality of the people who have proclaimed themselves the U.S.' moral authorities. 

- Chris Hatch writes about the need to acknowledge that reversing climate change is beyond our means, such that we need to be focused on harm reduction (even as that concept has been vilified by conservatives). Natasha Bulowski reports on a new climate report card showing how right-wing provincial governments are the main barriers to any progress. And Jordan Pearson reports on new research showing that rivers are among the geographical phenomena which are being turned from carbon sinks into carbon sources, while the Alfred Wegener Institute discusses the effects of melting permafrost. 

- Marc Fawcett-Atkinson reports on the prospect that Canada may end up approving an increase in toxic PFAs in our food supply even as other countries begin to regulate them. 

- Finally, Carolyn Barber discusses the new research finding that COVID-19 may continue to cause health problems for years after infection. And Jianyu Lai et al. find that readily-available duckbill N95 masks are extremely effective in stopping the spread of COVID and other viruses.

Wednesday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Julia Doubleday offers a reminder that any remotely responsible definition of "living with COVID" would include doing everything reasonably possible to upgrade air quality. And Dylan Matthews discusses the prospect that UV light may help to reduce the spread of viruses generally - along with the need for more work to ensure that can be done without unintended consequences. 

- Gordon McBean writes that Canada saw some of the most extreme effects of climate change in the world in 2023, while Mitchell Beer reports on the connection between the climate crisis and an exceptionally warm December in particular. And CGTN reports on new research showing that ocean temperatures have been hitting record highs for several years in a row. 

- But Rachel Ramirez discusses the rise of new forms of climate denialism which are propagating on YouTube (as well as anywhere else the fossil fuel industry is propagandizing). 

- Emily Fagan reports on a new study showing no consistent correlation between police spending and crime rates. And Denis Campbell reports that the UK - like most Canadian jurisdictions - is spending massive amounts of money on temporary health care staffing which result in profits for well-connected labour brokers while doing nothing to contribute to sustainable patient care. 

- Finally, Robert Reich comments on the long-term destruction of the middle class by an oligopoly determined to extract everything possible from it. And David Moscrop highlights how Ed Broadbent's life's work consisted largely of organizing the working class to push back against the concentration of corporate wealth and power. 

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Sultan al Jaber and Vanessa Kerry offer a reminder that a climate breakdown in progress represents a foundational danger to human health and well-being. Geoffrey Diehl observes that the root causes of the crisis are greed and strictly-enforced ignorance. Miki Perkins points out that the response of governments has been to shovel more and more free money at the fossil fuel sector to keep spewing the carbon pollution, while Mitchell Beer reports on demands by carbon capture and storage operators for leniency as their promises fall by the wayside. And John Woodside reports on the Parliamentary Budget Office's findings that we could instead bring in billions by taxing windfall profits so the oil sector funds at least part of the cost of repairing its harm to our planet.  

- Kaitlin A. Naughten, Paul R. Holland and Jan De Rydt examine the locked-in loss of ice from West Antarctica through the 21st century. And Catrin Einhorn highlights the scientists who are seeing their life's work disappear as the great extinction takes hold. 

- Cory Doctorow discusses how intellectual property rights and software controls have resulted in our having meaningful ownership over very little of what we buy. And Ethan Sawyer reports that we can add Hallowe'en candy to the list of goods getting more expensive due to corporate greedflation. 

- Finally, Robert Reich writes about the importance of fighting bullying in all of its forms as a precondition to any prospect of social justice. 

Tuesday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Dawn Bowdish and Andrew Costa provide a reminder as to how to stay as safe as possible from COVID-19 (even as governments have abandoned any attempt to limit the spread of a dangerous disease). 

- Ryan Meili writes about the connection between the climate breakdown and increasing risks to health. Charles Stanier, Gregory Carmichael and Peter Thorne discuss how the severe wildfires and stifling smoke we've seen in 2023 is just the beginning of what's to come, while Ben Nesbit talks to experts about how this year's wildfires may be followed by flooding and other disasters. And Paula Duhatschek and Dan McGarvey discuss what the melting of glaciers in the Rocky Mountains means for the long-term water supply of much of Western Canada.  

- Stewart Lansley writes about the inescapable connection between worsening poverty in the UK and increasing wealth concentration among the most privileged few. Robert Reich offers a reminder of the deliberate effort of corporate tyrants to ensure that decision-making is based on no considerations other than short-term profits for capitalist. And Jason Linkins points out the propaganda campaign around shoplifting which serves to distract from the far more widespread scourge of wage theft. 

- Finally, Justin Ling and Public Policy Forum examine what they view as polarization in Canadian politics - though it's worth noting the inevitable determination to bothsides what's largely an issue of right-wing cult formation. 

Thursday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Stephanie Soucheray discusses how many patients whose senses of taste and smell have been affected by COVID-19 never fully recover, while the University of Waterloo finds new evidence of lasting impact on the brain. And Carolyn Bramante et al. study how metformin can reduce the severity of COVID infection.  

- Mike Bebernes wonders whether the combination of COVID and wildfires could prompt advances in indoor air safety. But that will require the current generation of adults to take ownership of responsibility for improving matters, rather than planning to leave a smoking husk of a world to today's children.  

- George Takei interviews Robert Reich about the need to fundamentally change the balance of power which currently lies solely with the robber baron class. And Cory Doctorow points out how the largest corporations are as fervently opposed to competition and market factors as anybody when they have the opportunity to extract profits from monopolies. 

- Meanwhile, Junaid Jahangir discusses the need to rein in inequality, including by recognizing corporate taxes as a valuable tool both to bring in public revenue and to eliminate incentives for profiteering. And Richard Barnthaler and Ian Gough discuss the prospect of an economy based on sufficiency rather than excess. 

- Finally, Michael Kan reports that instead of looking to protect people's privacy from corporate manipulation, the U.S. government is buying up (and re-identifying) personal information for itself. 

Saturday Afternoon Links

Assorted content for your weekend reading.

- Jenna Cartusciello examines the connections between COVID-19 and gastrointestinal issues as yet another poorly-studied and potentially long-lasting effect of infection with a disease we're being told not to worry about. And Omar Mosleh reports on the backsliding in Canadian public health as diseases long understood to be eradicated are surging thanks in large part to anti-vaxxer ideology.

- Steven Lewis discusses the breaches of the Canada Health Act which are already undermining universal public health care while threatening to get worse if left unaddressed. 

- Lisa Harris, Calvin Sandborn, Matt Hulse and Leah Temper write that we can't afford to let oil-soaked disinformation obstruct the action needed to avert catastrophic climate change. And Patrick Greenfield reports on Denis Hayes' rightful condemnation of the use of Earth Day to greenwash environmental destruction by fossil fuel giants.

- Meanwhile, Michelle Lewis reports on the development of a new EV truck battery which offers the prospect of powering a heavy truck for 1.5 million kilometres while being manufactured with less impact than existing options. And Geoff Meggs writes about the combination of social and environmental benefits from the Squamish First Nation's Sen̓áḵw project - while noting the need for far more where it came from.

- Finally, Robert Reich discusses how the Republicans are hurtling ever faster toward fascism by removing elected representatives who dare to assert the humanity of the people they're looking to silence.

Thursday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Ed Yong discusses how the brutal realities of long COVID are being systematically erased from the public eye. And Josh Lynn reports on the state of crisis in a Saskatchewan hospital - even as the Moe government's top priority is to squelch any public awareness of the desperate circumstances facing patients and health care workers alike. 

- Ian Urquhart contrasts the self-congratulatory spin of the federal Libs against Canada's already-miserable track record of failing to even approach any of our climate change targets. And Steve Lorteau writes about the harm being done by state-owned polluters, while Troy Farah discusses the role of the rich in exacerbating both a climate breakdown and the harm it does to the rest of humanity. 

- Cory Doctorow discusses the cruelty behind the Republicans' constant attacks on people's access to the necessities of life. Umair Haque writes about the social collapse evidenced by the fear and violence that's led to a spate of shootings at doorsteps and in public places. And Robert Reich points out that Fox News' settlement with Dominion Voting Systems is designed to turn the consequences of deliberate lies about electoral outcomes into a readily-affordable cost of engaging in the fearmongering business.  

- Finally, Jared Wesley writes that Alberta's impending election reflects a referendum on democracy itself, as the rule of law figures to have little chance to survive another term of UCP government. 

Monday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Tarun Sai Lomte discusses new research on the connection between structural brain changes and fatigue associated with long COVID. And Eric Topol examines the growing body of evidence on the increased risk of heart attacks and strokes after COVID infection. 

- Robert Reich writes about the problems with corporate capitalism which tries to cut all values other than immediate exploitation out of decision-making processes. David Sirota writes that the prospect of increased rail regulation in the wake of reporting about the East Palestine toxic release offers at least some example of how responsive governance is supposed to work. And Joe Mayall points out the importance of talking about wage theft - and combating it at every possible level of government. 

- Jim Stanford writes that Bank of Canada's choice to strangle growth is only ensuring that we don't produce more goods to help counteract inflation and push prices down. And David Moscrop points out that the most important source of affordable homes needs to be the public sector - which is currently falling far short of replacing housing which is becoming unaffordable in private hands. 

- Jim Bronskill reports on CSIS' assessment of the multiple security threats posed by a climate breakdown, while Owen Jones offers a reminder that anti-refugee rhetoric is being used to try to deny a massive wage of climate migrants any place to go. And Graham Readfearn reports on new findings showing Antarctica's sea ice at the lowest level ever. 

- Finally, David Climenhaga discusses how Danielle Smith is determined to break Alberta beyond repair, both in ensuring the collapse of systems of public services and in setting up the worst fossil fuel bust cycle the province has ever seen. And Jonathan Thompson writes about the public subsidy to oil barons as U.S. states pick up the tab for neglected and abandoned well sites. 

Friday Afternoon Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Robert Reich discusses how the concentration of power in the hands of the U.S.' capitalist class has reached levels not see since the gilded age - and how improvements in general access to consumer goods (driven in part by increased work participation and debt) doesn't justify or ameliorate the harm from that top-down control. And Josh Rubin reports on the abuse of the CEWS "blank cheque" by major corporations who used public pandemic funding to inflate profits and share prices. 

- David Macdonald highlights the track record showing that no-strings-attached money demanded by the provinces for health care is highly likely to be diverted toward tax giveaways and other ends. And Annie Waldman reports on the evidence of how the world's largest medical device company Medtronic has pushed for the overuse of its products with little regard for anybody's health. 

- Emma McIntosh offers an explainer on induced demand in pointing out the folly of building more highways rather than developing transit plans which actually help people get where they need to go. And Oliver Wainwright discusses how anybody outside of the alt-right fever swamps should see 15-minute cities as an eminently reasonable planning principle. 

- Finally, Robin Abcarian writes that the bigoted attack on pronouns (and other simple elements of basic recognition for trans people) are the result of the deliberate sacrifice of human dignity to political opportunism.