Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Jonathan Watts reports on a new Oxfam report finding that the carbon emissions of the wealthiest few result directly in increased hunger and poverty for those less lucky. 

- Colin Bogle writes about the damage caused in Texas by a Republican party focused on corruption and climate denial at the expense of the basic functions of government. Geoff Dembicki reports on Gwyn Morgan's large donations to the development of a similar culture of ignorance north of the border. 

- Drew Anderson weighs in on what Saskatchewan can expect from another term of extractivist government. And Oliver Milman writes about some of the global environmental risks arising from the prospect of another Trump presidency, while Hadrian Mertins-Kirkwood focuses on the potential fallout for Canada in particular. 

- Paul Willcocks discusses what the BC NDP's narrow election win (in the face of a concerted attempt by the corporate sector to install an alt-right party in power) means for the province. And Max Fawcett discusses how the spread of anti-democracy truthers following the election bodes ill for Canada's political system generally. 

- Finally, Chris Osuh reports on a new study showing that beyond the obvious social harms, the UK's social stratification also produces economic costs in the tens of billions of pounds per year. 

Monday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your Saskatchewan election day reading. And if you haven't voted yet, now's the time! (Update: Also, ReginaPosterBoy's summary of the Sask Party's track record (via Cathie) is well worth a look.)

- Alex Birrell and Sophie Jin report on the children who have died in Regina's underresourced shelter system. And Peter Zimonjic reports on Scott Moe's refusal to even reply to the federal government about any plan to provide people with needed housing over the winter. 

- Alex Ballos, Bashir Bello and Jared Wesley call out the UCP for importing the U.S. Republican playbook to Alberta (after providing no warning whatsoever in the province's election campaign). And Ben Quinn discusses how the UK's National Trust has fought back against anti-environmental disinformation. 

- Wes Davis and Richard Lawler report on the attempt by cable, home security and advertising lobby groups to block any attempt to make it easy for consumers to unsubscribe from services. And Freddy Brewster reports on the business groups pushing to eliminate any liability for the nondisclosure of business failures - and in the process confirming that any rhetoric about shareholder interests is secondary to the presumed supremacy of unaccountable corporate insiders. 

- Meanwhile, both Will Bunch and Noah Berlatsky offer scathing criticisms of the billionaire media owners who have chosen to bow down preemptively in the face Donald Trump's plans to misuse public power to punish his enemies, rather than allowing for editorial decisions to support democracy and the rule of law. 

- Finally, John Cartwright writes that the answer to destructive right-wing populism and atomization is to work on building a society that focused on public well-being. 

Sunday Morning Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- Tim Winton writes about the need to wake up from our fossil fuel stupor - with the role of activists being to sound the alarm in ways that will drive collective action. And Ha Pham and Marc Saner discuss the need for inclusive consultations around climate adaptation - particularly to ensure that the knowledge and interests of already-marginalized groups aren't ignored as the wealthiest and most powerful few dictate the terms of any discussion.

- Todd Woody discusses how wildfires are moving faster and causing more damage as the western U.S. gets warmer and drier. And Olivia Rosane reports on a warning from scientists that a crucial Atlantic ocean current may collapse in the coming decades.

- Paul Dobson and Rob Edwards report on Scotland's decision to slash environmental prosecutions, with the predictable result that business who perceive no risk of consequences are feeling free to pollute with impunity.

- Jay Van Bavel et al. examine the effect that political polarization can have as a determinant of health - particularly when one of the poles comes to identify itself based on rejection of public health measures.

- Olesya Dmitracova reports on yet another study showing that a shorter work week produces not only huge benefits to well-being, but also improved economic performance.

- Finally, Lil Kalish reports on a new survey showing that even a plurality of Republican voters consider anti-trans rhetoric to be sad and shameful - with other groups of voters of course agreeing in even wider numbers. And we'll find out tomorrow whether Scott Moe's choice to bet his government on attacking trans kids will similarly receive the condemnation is deserves.

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Ian Welsh discusses how austerity doesn't offer a roadmap to economic development, but instead serves as a means of ensuring that the burden of economic failure is borne by the working class in the form of service and wage reductions, rather than the ownership class through the devaluation of capital. And Tannara Yelland highlights how it's investors rather than immigrants who are responsible for Canada's housing crisis. 

- Alex Himelfarb writes that the only defence against authoritarian demagoguery is a plausible path to ensure our public institutions actually work for people's benefit. 

- Keith Stewart juxtaposes Pierre Poilievre's anti-lobbyist rhetoric with his eagerness to convert oil industry donations into even more extreme forms of petropolitics. And Andrew Nikiforuk notes that British Columbia's election may have produced the only result which doesn't result in a full term of absolute capture by the fossil gas industry.

- Drew Anderson examines the respective platforms of the Saskatchewan NDP and Sask Party on the environment - again with little indication that either is prepared to wrestle with the scope of the climate crisis, but with the former recognizing the need to build clean energy and maintain healthy land and water where the latter offers nothing but destruction. 

- Finally, Saniya Ghaledhar writes about the dangers of bigoted populism focused on punishing minority groups. Aastha Shetty reports on sentencing submissions indicating that a stabbing rampage at the University of Waterloo was based on a deliberate intention to instil fear which right-wing purveyors of "tough on crime" spin seem to have no interest in counteracting. And Peter Smith warns that post-truth conspiracism no longer seems to be even a hindrance - let alone a disqualifying factor - for conservative political leaders in Canada. 

Monday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Jessica Glenza reports on a new survey showing that the overwhelming majority of U.S. youth are (rightly) worried about the climate crisis. Pamela Swanigan argues that an imminent existential threat needs to be met with a campaign of courage, rather than a mere invocation of hope. And Adam Hanieh reminds us that any effort to mitigate the climate breakdown in progress will be met with the accumulated wealth and clout of one of the most powerful industries on the planet - which is determined to keep up carbon pollution as usual regardless of the human cost. 

- Carl Meyer reports that Canada's federal government is set to meet its schedule in reducing greenhouse gas emissions from its own assets - making it all the more damning that private action continues to keep the country as a whole far behind schedule. And Felicity Bradstock discusses the rightful outcry against the UCP's determination to stifle clean energy. 

- Drew Anderson takes a look at the Moe government's plans to pour money into a Lake Diefenbaker irrigation scheme based solely on wishful thinking about the value of corporate giveaways (coupled with absolute denial that clean water or a healthy environment matter at all). And Geoff Leo exposes how Jeremy Harrison and the Saskatchewan Party purged a Crown corporation of whistleblowers in order to allow cronies to take it over for their own profit while neglecting to mention their multiple conflicts of interest. 

- Sheila Regehr and Ben Earle highlight the ample data showing that a basic income helps improve people's health and well-being without reducing their efforts to find work. But Kenan Malik is rightly aghast that multiple UK governments have shown more interest in pumping drugs into unemployed people in the hope it'll push them back to work than in recognizing even an ounce of human dignity. 

- Finally, Gerry McGovern is justifiably frustrated with the proliferation of junk data, while Zachary Basu points out the deliberate spreading of disinformation from Elon Musk and the rest of the alt-right. And Julia Angwin decries the TikTokification of social media as people have lost the ability to see what they value rather than what tech giants want to serve up, while Geoffrey Fowler calls out Instagram and other platforms for stifling personal political messages. 

Friday Afternoon Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Blake Murdoch discusses how long COVID is harming a large number of children - and getting worse as constant reinfection has become the norm. Carly Cassaela discusses new research identifying the brain stem as a crucial site for its worst effects. And Heather Mallick writes about her experience with long COVID.

- Meanwhile, Sarah Boden writes that the public health measures taken at the start of the pandemic appear to have caused one strain of influenza to go extinct - showing again that the steps taken to limit the spread of COVID-19 also helped avoid other public health threats.

- Leslie Hart and Miranda Dziobak examine the growing body of knowledge as to the spread of toxic microplastics - which can be breathed in through the air as well as taken in through food and water. And Sandra Laville reports that most soft plastic collected for the ostensible purpose of recycling is instead burned, while Sean Amato reports on Alberta's choice to adopt the Beaverton's energy policy and encourage the burning of used tires. (Needless to say, the actual spin that "it's no worse for people than burning fossil fuels!" should be taken as a compelling reason to rein in the latter, not a basis to support the former.)

- Finally, Mary Stuart reports on the deep connections between the Flu Trux Klan and the BC Cons, while Peter Smith examines the sources of some of the conspiracy theories being peddled by the corporate class' choice of parties. And Pratyush Dayal reports on Scott Moe's sudden campaign announcement that using the power of government to bully trans kids is far higher on the Saskatchewan Party's priority list than such trifling considerations as health, welfare and affordability.

Sunday Morning Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- Geoffrey Deihl warns that this year's U.S. election may represent a point of no return in trying to avoid civilization-shaking climate breakdown (even if even the best possible result falls far short of ensuring the action we need). Tim Winton writes that it's understandable to experience rage and dread when we're treated as colonial subjects by politicians and tycoons who couldn't care less for our futures. And Jake Bittle points out that the costs of calamities like Hurricane Helene aren't currently accounted for - meaning that the general public will end up paying the price for the corporate-driven insistence on continuing to spew carbon pollution.

- Meanwhile, Christopher Oldcorn reports on Brett Dolter's observation that Saskatchewan can readily afford to be a full participant in Canada's clean energy system - contrary to the denialist impulses of the Sask Party and its fossil fuel backers. 

- Phillip Inman offers a reminder to UK Labour of the importance of investing in maintaining existing infrastructure rather than presuming the sole role of government is to pursue new and shiny photo-ops. And Maya Singer Hobbs discusses why new roads in particular are an unconscionable waste of public money compared to superior transportation options.

- Jamie Mann reports on the connections between the UK Cons and a billionaire family involved in blacklisting workers for daring to unionize.

- Finally, Trevor Herriot writes about the precipitous drop in Saskatchewan voter participation in recent elections - and the risk that a population which has given up on the possibility of change for the better will simply set itself up to be exploited all the more.

Thursday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Paul Abela writes that the continual concentration of wealth is patently unsustainable. Alex Himelfarb discusses how neoliberalism has laid the groundwork for the violent authoritarianism of Donald Trump and his fascist fellow travelers. And Karen Landmand examines how private equity's takeover of health care in the U.S. is endangering patients' lives while driving health care workers out of their professions. 

- Josh Pringle reports on a new survey showing Canadian workers see substantial benefits from remote work (even as many employers have sought to put an end to it). And Cory Doctorow juxtaposes the impetus toward in-person control and extensive supervision with Wells Fargo's complete neglect of well-being to the point of leaving a dead employee rot for days. 

- Katia Lo Innes and Tannara Yelland take a look at the double-dipped donations from the corporate elite which are funding the Saskatchewan Party's election campaign. And Ricardo Acuna discusses how the UCP is determine to avoid anything resembling fair taxation. 

- Finally, Stephen Magusiak exposes the hasty scrubbing of the BC Cons' platform, while Andrew MacLeod points out a few questions which should be directed at John Rustad if he deigned to interact with actual journalists. And Rumneek Johal notes that even the sanitized version of the party's plans includes using the notwithstanding clause to lock up people dealing with substance addiction. 

Tuesday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Avery Lotz reports on Al Gore's latest reminder that the fossil fuel sector is far better at capturing politicians than carbon pollution. And Max Fawcett discusses how the UCP continues to make polluter-paid its primary operating principle in dealing with the oil and gas sector. 

- Marietje Scheeka points out the dangers of treating "innovation" (defined as corporate impunity) as the sole end to be pursued through economic policy. And Pauline Gerrard writes about the need to keep plastics out of our fresh water.  

- Alex Hemingway rightly questions why municipalities are banning small, liveable apartment buildings while complaining about a housing crisis. 

- Kendal David and Hannah Owczar note that Leah Gazan's basic income bill offers an immediate chance to move toward eradicating poverty in Canada. 

- Finally, Randy Robinson points out how the Ford PCs use big headline numbers to paper over real cuts to public services - and it's well worth noting the similar pattern of the Moe government as it pretends not to have starved Saskatchewan's health and education systems.