Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Prem Sikka discusses how any prospect of meaningful change for the better depends on prying power out of the hands of the wealthiest few, while David Wallace-Wells writes about the first signs of progress on the part of the working class. And Sam Ellefson talks to Herbert Chang about the systematic abuse of offshore tax havens as one of the mechanisms the ultra-wealthy are using to avoid making any fair contribution to the countries that have made them rich.

- Jennifer Ludden notes that the Trump regime's choice to abandon people to go hungry figures to cause lasting anger and anxiety among the people deemed unworthy of even the most minimal standard of living. Benedict Vigers and Julie Ray report on new polling showing that 40% of younger women in the U.S. would understandably be happy to leave permanently. And Greg Sargent discusses how the U.S. general public has no interest in Republican cruelty when it's inflicted for its own sake rather than being attached to false promises of material gains. 

- Nina Lakhani reports on a new Amnesty International study showing that even setting aside the climate crisis, two billion people have their health threatened by pollution emanating from fossil fuel projects. And Dan Collyns reports on new archeological research documenting a coordinated effort to escape severe drought in Peru thousands of years ago - including warnings left behind for future generations. 

- Bob Berwyn discusses how UN climate talks are now designed to obstruct progress rather than to achieve it. Olivia Rudgard reports that the scientists who have done the most work on carbon capture are now warning against unduly relying on it as a substitute for effective climate action. And Rick Smith writes that the best-case scenario for Mark Carney's narrow climate plan is to see a meaningful industrial carbon price implemented quickly and effectively.

- Finally, Pippa Norman reports that Carney's plans to tie Canada even more tightly to the corporate elite includes pouring resources into a defence bank to finance military spending. 

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Andrew Coyne recognizes that there's no point in pretending that trade negotiations with the U.S. under the control of a mad king can be expected to produce any meaningful results. The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives has plenty of proposals to build our economy away from dependence on the U.S. - both through the results of its Elbows Up Economic Summit, and through its Alternative Federal Budget. And Jeremy Appel discusses how tax loopholes for billionaires are both a fuel for inequality, and a revenue sink keeping us from investing in our own future. 

- John Ganz discusses how the Trump regime is actively staffing up with the worst possible thugs to beat the U.S. into submission, while Zach Everson points out the blatant corruption involved in the shoveling of public money to unqualified contractors who have handed no-work positions to Trump's sons. And Liz Dye highlights how Republicans are not only taking Trump's nonsensical ramblings as gospel in setting policy, but expecting courts to treat them as evidence as well. 

- Ian James reports on a new warning from scientists that we're headed for climate ruin - and need to work together to the extent possible even as the likes of Trump and his Canadian puppets stand in the way. Lisa Song reports that U.S. air pollution is far worse that previously acknowledged, and will only be exacerbated by Trump's interference with any regulation. And Nick Bowlin reports on Oklahoma's acceptance of the flow of toxic wastewater from oil fields, while Brandi Morin highlights the efforts of Alberta First Nations to avoid having tar sands tailings being released into water sources. 

- Finally, Samatha Edwards reports on new polling showing that Canadians are highly dubious about AI - confirming that it's only business elites hoping to profit from it at the expense of labour and consumers who have any interest in keeping its bubble inflated. And Rank and File examines how the Ontario Workplace Safety and Insurance Board has amassed surpluses by under-compensating injured workers, with the benefits denied to workers then being gifted to corporate employers instead by the Ford PCs.

Tuesday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Amy Goodman calls out the media's failure to connect the devastation of Hurricane Helene with the global warming which is exacerbating extreme weather, while Jessica Corbett talks to experts who recognize that it would serve as a blaring wakeup call if the powers that be were at all willing to let such a thing be heard. And Andrew Dessler and Kiara Alfonseca each discuss the grim reality that one of the cities hardest hit by Helene is Asheville, NC - which was previously theorized to be one of the safest cities in the face of a climate breakdown. 

- Meanwhile Keira Wright, Bernadette Toh and Charlotte Hughes-Morgan write about the impact extreme weather will have in pushing up the price of food. 

- Carl Meyer reports that fossil fuel executives are predictably demanding that Canada do nothing whatsoever to limit carbon pollution from the oil and gas sector. And Julia Conley reports on yet another example of oil-sector price fixing which has ensured that consumers pay through the nose no matter what climate policies are or aren't in place.  

- Jeremy Corbyn discusses how corporations focused on nothing but concentrating their own wealth and power have become the dominant governing entities around the globe. And Jamie Mann reports on new data from the Tax Justice Network on the world's most notorious tax havens - with UK territories continuing to rank among the worst offenders in allowing for corporate tax evasion. 

- Finally, Adam King writes that a strong labour movement in Canada needs to fight for the interests of Indigenous workers who continue to face systemic barriers. 

Friday Afternoon Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Jonathan Watts reports on the Earth Commission's work showing how any path to avert climate breakdown needs to break down the concentration of wealth and power. And the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research notes that while the poorest people bear the most immediate existential risk from the climate crisis, wealthier people face substantial economic risks from climate impacts. 

- John O'Donnell reports on the Tax Justice Network's observation that the destructive extraction and burning of fossil fuels is largely financed through tax havens in order to further extract immediate wealth at public expense. And Jeremy Appel reports on Carbon Capture Canada's continued efforts to delay any transition to a cleaner energy supply. 

- Julia Simone-Rutgers reports on the Manitoba PCs' delayed public disclosure of the safety issues which caused the shutdown of Imperial Oil's main pipeline into the province - with a lack of regulatory capacity serving as a major factor in the lack of a response in the public interest. And Matt Simmons reports on the latest environmental violations by Coastal GasLink - even as the total fine amount for repeated violations  pales in comparison to the amount of public subsidies poured into the pipeline. 

- Bronwyn Bragg and Jennifer Hyndman report on the Alberta meat industry's exploitation of temporary foreign workers. Cas Mudde and Gabriela Greilinger call out the dishonesty of hard-right parties seeking to present a facade of concern for workers over policies intended to further entrench the control of capitalists. And Sophie Binet writes that France's recent elections provide an example as to how the promise to focus on local economic development can help win voters over to the left - though it should be noted that Emmanuel Macron's subsequent decision to appoint a hard-right prime minister also offers a cautionary tale as to how the corporate centre will favour the alt-right after running against it. 

- Finally, John Michael McGrath discusses how the Ford PCs are rejecting any options to build housing with any meaningful density (with the effect of favouring developer-friendly sprawl which does nothing to alleviate the housing crisis). 

Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Mo Amir discusses how John Rustad is attempting to cover up his longstanding climate denial in advance of this fall's B.C. election. And Gregory Mikkelson, Arlene Slocombe and Jessica Murray plead for Canada's federal government to stop greenwashing tar sands pipelines, while Gillian Steward offers a reminder that Danielle Smith is pushing to have the rest of the country foot the bill to clean up the messes being made by unscrupulous oil operators today. 

- Pep Canadell, Marielle Saunois and Rob Jackson point out that methane emissions in particular are reaching new extremes, causing an especially large immediate effect on the Earth's climate. And Zebedee Nichols and Tim Baxter note that the short-term exacerbation of a climate breakdown can have immense long-term consequences. 

- Linda Lakhdhir points out that peaceful climate activists are being locked up with far more severe sentences than violent racists. And Bruce Campbell reminds us that workers' safety concerns are at the core of the labour job action which was terminated by the Trudeau Libs in favour of arbitration at the behest of the corporate railways. 

- Simon Wren-Lewis offers a seemingly needed reminder to UK Labour that voters turfed the Cons to preserve public services - not to gut them in the name of fiscal conservatism. And Jean Swanson discusses the problems with a B.C. "social housing" program which is designed to exclude lower-income renters. 

- Finally, Audi van den Hove reports on the decision by the European Court of Justice requiring Apple to pay back taxes rather than laundering its profits in Ireland. And the Canadian Press reports on the Federal Court of Appeal's decision finding that Facebook breached user privacy in allowing apps to scrape and commercialize personal information. 

Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Brian O'Boyle discusses how Ireland's choice to act as a tax haven for the ultra-wealthy has done nothing to help its citizens. And the Center for Working-Class Politics notes that a strong majority of Americans support a jobs guarantee, making it both a desirable means to boost worker interests and a political winner. 

- But then, Martin Lukacs highlights how Canada's media has gone far out of its way to manufacture sympathy for landlords at the expense of tenants. And Katya Schwenk reports on Wall Street's mass takeover of housing.  

- Cecilia Nowell writes about the dangers of ultra-processed foods - both in encouraging overeating, and in causing a variety of health issues. And David Barnett talks to Patrick Grant about the deteriorating quality of clothes (which isn't being matched by any lowering of prices).  

- The Canadian Press reports on new Leger polling finding a majority of Canadians to support the Loblaws boycott against profiteering and monopolization. 

- Cloe Logan writes about the work being done by labour activists to try to protect workers from the effects of extreme heat. 

- Finally, Tom Perkins reports on both new research showing the ubiquity of "forever chemicals" in the Great Lakes basin, and a study finding glyphosate in a majority of sperm samples at an infertility clinic. 

Friday Afternoon Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Eric Anderson writes that capitalism has been developed to exploit psychological vulnerability for profit. And Ludvig Weir and Gabriel Zucman highlight how the corporate profits shifted between countries for the purpose of tax avoidance approached a trillion dollars in 2019 (and likely soared past that milestone since). 

- Bill Curry reports on the PBO's findings that the Libs are spending a record $21.4 billion to outsource public service functions. And Jennifer Carr discusses how the outsourcing of public sector capacity results in both high costs and severe consequences for government's ability to make decisions in the public interest. 

- Maximilian Alvarez talks to railroad workers who have long been warning of the potential for derailments and associated risks to public health and safety as regulatory standards have been slashed in the name of profits. And Chris Isidore reports on Norfolk Southern's continued plan to hand over a thousand times as much money to shareholders in buybacks than to victims of the East Palestine chemical spill and fire. 

- Lindsay Ellis discusses how noncompete clauses have been turned into a systematic attack on worker wages - and how the U.S.' plan to ban them can help. And Leland Glenna writes about the right-to-repair laws being developed to ensure purchasers aren't helpless in the face of arbitrary corporate controls on the use and repair of consumer goods.  

- Alex Hemingway and Simon Pek discuss the problem with housing land use hearings which tend to include only objectors rather than the people who would benefit from approvals. 

- Finally, Sarah Gordon points out how drug decriminalization will improve the well-being and treatment options for people who use them - while also noting that there's still far to go from the standpoint of harm reduction. 

Thursday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus examines how long COVID is producing disastrous social and economic effects. Helena Perez Valle interviews Deepti Gurdasani about the lessons we should be learning both to address the continued spread of COVID-19 and to prepare for future pandemics, while David Wallace-Wells discusses the need for more compelling stories about the continued toll of COVID in order to make the case for the public health measures needed to keep people safe. And Nergis Fertina explores how COVID itself may be changing people's personalities to be more aggressive and less engaged. 

- Glorie Dickie reports on new research showing that the Earth's wildlife population has dropped by more than two-thirds in just the last half century. Emily Hofstaeder reports on the grossly one-sided relationship between pharmaceutical manufacturers which have been devastating Puerto Rico's environment by dumping pollutants and using limited water resources, and the public which has subsidized that harm. And Camilla Hodgson discusses how "loss and damage" funding for developing countries looms as the next major issue in global climate talks. 

- Meanwhile, the Alberta Federation of Labour has offered a blueprint (PDF) for economic development which accounts for the need to transition to the economy of the future - rather than continuing to operate in denial as the UCP and Saskatchewan Party are both determined to do. 

- Josh O'Kane reports on a new study showing how Microsoft has evaded even more taxes than previously known by shifting profits between jurisdictions. 

- Finally, Mitchell Thompson highlights how inflation is being used as an excuse to suppress real wages in Canada while big business goes unquestioned about its increased profit share. Robert Reich discusses the need for a bottom-up economy rather than the trickle-down model which benefits only those at the top. And Juliana Kaplan and Madison Hoff report on new research showing that union membership can boost a worker's lifetime income by over a million dollars - offering as much of a boost to earnings as a college degree.

Friday Afternoon Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Nicola Davis, Pamela Duncan and Carmen Aguilar Garcia report that the toll of long COVID in the UK has surpassed a million people. And Jane Dalton reports on the UK's massive increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations - which in past waves had tended to precede similar jumps in Canada. 

- Eric Levitz interviews Adam Tooze about the damage the U.S. Federal Reserve's obsession with suppressing wages figures to inflict on the global economy. And Paul Krugman likewise warns of impending self-inflicted economic damage. 

- Meanwhile, Robinson Meyer discusses the transformative potential of the U.S.' newly-passed climate legislation if it isn't completely counteracted by measures to prevent economic growth. Alex Ballingall reports on the push by Canadian oilsands workers for a transition to work that isn't tied to a dying industry, while Natasha Bulowski reports that the Libs have instead committed to an ever-escalating price tag for the Trans Mountain pipeline. And Aime Williams reports on the IMF's recognition that the costs of a total climate breakdown far exceed the investment needed to avert it to the extent possible. 

- Elizabeth Thompson reports on the growing amount of unpaid taxes identified from the Panama Papers and Paradise Papers - while noting that the Canada Revenue Agency can't say whether it's started a single audit to being recouping money that's been hidden offshore. 

- Finally, Tom Cardoso and Robyn Doolittle report on Information Commissioner Caroline Maynard's warning that the reflexive tendency to suppress and redact information has left Canada's access-to-information system falling far short of its legislated requirements while also costing far more than it should. 

Monday Morning Links

Assorted material to start your week.

- Jeremy Faust laments the removal of the few remaining COVID public health recommendations when we've had ample opportunity to learn about the costs of letting the coronavnirus run rampant. Dave Sherwood and Marc Frank report that Cuba has set an example for other countries in reducing the harm of COVID through widespread vaccination and a focus on children, while Nina Notman highlights how we have the means to clear the air around us to reduce the spread of multiple diseases. Ed Yong discusses how widespread long COVID is forcing health care system to reckon with the realities of chronic fatigue syndrome more generally. 

- Danielle Barnsley writes about the grim choices facing people whose existing poverty is being exacerbated by corporate price gouging. And Anna Fazackerley reports on the heartbreaking number of UK children going hungry as underfunded schools and overworked food banks try desperately to keep up with the deprivation being inflicted on them. 

- Meanwhile, Umair Haque writes about the UK's continuing self-destruction under a Conservative government which is undermining any semblance of a functional state in order to hand still more money to the corporate sector. And Pippa Crerar reports on revelations that a large amount of announced public procurement is being promptly sent to offshore tax havens  

- Finally, John Cochrane, Daniel Litvin, Yanis Varoufakis and Isabella Weber discuss the case for windfall taxes to ensure fossil fuel companies don't rake in undeserved profits while shirking any responsibility for the harm they're doing both to consumers and to our living environment. 

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

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

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

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

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

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

Monday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- The Associated Press reports on the continued disparity in COVID-19 vaccinations between countries which is exacerbating the risk of new and more severe variants for everybody. 

- David Moore and Donald Shaw report on the threat of industrial chemicals at risk of being spilled or discharged due to extreme weather - and the array of corporate forces fighting to keep endangering the public rather than being responsible to address the impending disasters they've created. And Amy Westervelt discusses how a grossly insufficient set of climate policies is the result of corporate-owned governments allowing fossil fuel lobbyists to dictate our policy choices. 

- Kendall Latimer reports on the growing gap between a suppressed Saskatchewan minimum wage and the cost of an acceptable standard of living. 

- Meanwhile, Bruce Campbell points out how the Trudeau Libs' failure to do anything about the growing inequality they recognized in taking power played a major role in the development of the #FluTruxKlan. And Sheila Wang reports on a single loophole being used by some of the wealthiest Canadians to avoid millions of dollars in taxes. 

- Finally, Carole Cadwalladr writes about the irony of Vladimir Putin's failing effort to control the flow of information about Russia's unconscionable attack on Ukraine after funding the disinformation apparatus which has done so much to toxify politics in the rest of the world. 

Monday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Alexandra Hutzler reports that even a majority of Americans seeing mask mandates lifted aren't prepared to buy the line that it's safe to stop taking basic precautions - particularly given the likelihood that the amount of one's initial exposure has a substantial impact on both immediate symptoms and the risk of developing long COVID. 

- Devi Sridhar writes that self-isolation is still a must for people who test positive for COVID - though the lack of social supports has been calculated to take that socially responsible choice away from people who don't have the means to self-fund the protection of others. And Steven Lewis offers a reminder that the failure to provide the basic building blocks of a functional society isn't for lack of resources. 

- Meanwhile, Colleen Fuller laments that we're going backwards in providing supplies of basic medications such as insulin which were once deliberately made affordable, rather than exploited to maximize profit at the expense of human health.

- Wenonah Hauter discusses how the fossil fuel sector is a job killer (as well as a planet poisoner and magnet for the obscene concentration of wealth). And Nick Pearce writes that the Moe government is entirely secretive about the amount of public money being used to keep the industry rolling in subsidies. 

- Jesse Drucker and Ben Hubbard report on the Credit Suisse data leak which has provided a new peek into the world of offshored and concealed wealth which benefits strongmen and spies at the expense of everybody else.

- Finally, Christine Mitchell writes about the role of white Christian nationalism in the #FluTruxKlan. Mitchell Thompson reports on the connection between Randy Hillier and the heavily-armed "Diagolon" group. And Jennifer Wolowic discusses the need to invest in rebuilding our democracy - particularly in light of the reality that massive sums of money can be marshaled both from within Canada and abroad to try to overthrow it.

Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Doug Saunders writes that Europe's devastating new wave of COVID - like those elsewhere - can be traced directly to politicians pandering to antivaxxers rather than making responsible decisions to protect public health. Yushi Nomura et al. study the retention of antibodies after full vaccination - finding that women are far more likely to see a precipitous dropoff after a few months. And Carolyn Johnson and Andre Picard each discuss the benefits of new treatments, while recognizing that they're not a substitute for preventing viral spread. 

- Matthew Barker writes that a basic income would work wonders in ensuring people are able to secure a home. And Rachel Tribe discusses the problem with substituting restrictive food aid for the ability to buy what people need. 

- Steve Randall discusses a new study showing that Canada loses billions of dollars to tax abuse every year. Ben Steverman highlights how just one of Donald Trump's giveaways to the rich has led to a precipitous drop in revenue from the U.S.' estate tax. And Clay Cockrell notes that claiming unfathomable wealth doesn't actually serve to make the uber-rich happy or fulfilled. 

- Sally McManus writes that Australia doesn't have a shortage of workers, but of jobs worth working. And Nelson Lichtenstein discusses the U.S.' slow-motion general strike as a means of securing improved wages and working conditions. 

- Robert Reich laments the U.S.' obsession with deficits as a mechanism to shut down discussion of improvements to people's well-being (while recognizing the role he and the Clinton administration played in framing policy choices that way). 

- Finally, Hannah Richardson reports on Samantha Price's recognition that instead of treating "woke" as an insult to younger people, parents and teachers should recognize that what's being held up for criticism is the laudable decision to build a more caring world. 

Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- CBC News reports on the public health officers begging Saskatchewan's provincial government to stop the spread of COVID-19 as our health care system collapses, while Guy Quenneville notes that Dr. Saqib Shahab is now publicly calling out some of the areas where the Saskatchewan Party is being particularly negligent. And Jillian Smith reports on Saskatoon's move to apply gathering limits at the municipal level due to Scott Moe's stubborn refusal to lift a finger to protect public health. 

- Lori Lee Oates sets out how we can make a just transition to a clean energy economy generally, while Raidin Blue examines the path for Saskatchewan to do the same. And Emily Chung writes about a focus on net zero by 2050 actually looks like - along with the problems with trying to count carbon removal when there's little certainty that it will have its intended effect. 

- Meanwhile, Matt Simon writes about the potential for the concurrent use of land for solar panels and crops may produce improved outcomes for both energy generation and agricultural output. 

- But Doreen Nicoll points out the problem with spending billions to subsidize sprawl and carbon pollution at a point when we need to be working on decarbonizing. 

- Finally, Emma Kelly calls out the countries who provide tax havens for the wealthy seeking to avoid paying their fair share - with Canada making the list due to both low corporate tax rates and a lack of transparency.  

Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Ian Sample and Peter Walker report on the Parliamentary inquiry which has found the UK's response to COVID-19 to be one of the country's most severe public health failures in history. Denis Campbell reports on a new study showing that the UK's growing gap in lifespans based on income has only been exacerbated by the pandemic. And Jackie Dunham reports on the long-term damage to the nervous system being observed in people who have suffered from long COVID. 

- Meanwhile, Jake Johnson discusses the U.S.' hoarding of COVID vaccines. And Rebecca Robbins points out how after being gifted a vaccine developed through public investment and targeted donations, Moderna is going out of its way to avoid making any supply available to the poor countries where they're most needed. 

- Julieta Caldas chimes in on how philanthropy generally serves to entrench wealth and power. And Lori Nikkel writes that Canada now has significantly more food charities than grocery stores - while asking how we can accept that reality. 

- CBC News offers a reminder of some of the revelations about tax evasion prior to the Pandora Papers - while at the same time making clear that mere knowledge of offshoring has been far from enough to ensure that the wealthy are required to pay their fair share. And Roman Lanis and Peter Wells warn that we'll continue to see more of the same unless we eliminate the secrecy that allows assets to be hidden. 

- The Associated Press reports on the first step of achieving agreement among 140 countries on a minimum corporate tax rate. But Michael Galant highlights the problems with hoping for inequality to be solved based on the self-interested designs of the wealthiest countries. 

- Finally, Stuart Trew discusses how investment treaties continue to give corporate owners precedence over democratic governance in the public interest - even under newer models which supposedly respond to environmental and labour concerns. 

Saturday Afternoon Links

Assorted content for your weekend reading.

- Adam Hunter points out the stark gap between public health officials emphasizing the need for protections against community transmission of COVID-19, and Scott Moe's stubborn refusal to apply them. Alexander Quon writes about the hundreds of Saskatchewan patients missing out on surgeries every day. And Jacqueline Howard reports on the new research confirming that children face no less risk of infection than adults.

- Rhitu Chatterjee points out the large number of people in the U.S. losing essential caregivers to COVID-19. And Matt Sedensky discusses how nursing homes are losing staff - and the ability to care for residents - as a result of the ongoing pandemic.

- Umair Haque warns that the supply chain breakdowns seen in the course of the pandemic are just the beginning of a state of perma-crisis.

- Bob Weber reports on the UCP's pathetic - if perhaps not surprising - announcement that oil companies won't be contributing a dime of their massive windfall profits to cleaning up their messes. And Isabella Kaminsky highlights how fossil fuel giants have put massive chunks of the legal industry to work in attempting to avoid responsibility for the damage they've done to people and our natural environment.

- Meanwhile, Christian Schimpf et al. find that confidence in the long-term future of fossil fuels (however misplaced) translates into a refusal to accept climate action. 

- Finally, the Guardian's editorial board discusses the connection between the UK Cons' pay-to-play political schemes and the tax loopholes shown to be exploited in the Pandora Papers.

Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Smriti Mallapaty reports on new research suggesting that vaccines provide only partial protection against the spread of the Delta variant of COVID-19. Sarath Peiris asks when Scott Moe and his minions will be held accountable for sacrificing hundreds of lives and thousands of people's health to science denial and wishful thinking. And the Maple examines the failure of both Moe and Jason Kenney to take steps to protect public health in the face of record case and hospitalization counts. 

- Jim Stanford writes about the importance of frontline workers in a pandemic - and the economic forces trapping them in precarity and deprivation. 

- Alec Salloum discusses how the Moe government's changes to Saskatchewan social programs are depriving the people who most need housing and income supports of those basic building blocks of a healthy life. And George Eaton points out how cuts to pandemic supports look to increase poverty and inequality in the UK. 

- Cole Hanson highlights how Canada has chosen to legitimize tax evasion rather than making it a priority to ensure the wealthy pay their fair share. And Adam Ramsey similarly writes about the UK's role in the Pandora Papers and the global system of tax avoidance, while Peter Oborne discusses the partisan connections between tax evasion and big-money donations to the UK Cons. 

- Meanwhile, Umair Haque and Doug Saunders each discuss the self-inflicted damage the UK faces as a result of Brexit. 

- Finally, Magdi Semrau explores how the U.S.' media distorted coverage of withdrawal from Afghanistan in favour of a frame of permanent war with no regard for consequences. And David Pugliese exposes how Canada has trained far-right extremists in the Ukraine. 

Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Nazeem Muhajarine and Kathryn Green call out Scott Moe's Saskatchewan Party government for causing readily-preventable suffering and death - both from COVID-19 directly, and its devastating effects on the broader health care system. And Scott Larson reports on the "grim" situation facing Saskatoon's hospitals (among others). 

- Paul Krugman rightly questions why the self-appointed Very Serious People can't reach agreement on such fundamentals of a civilized society such as preserving a habitable planet and ending child poverty. 

- Sean Holman discusses the need to put human faces on the climate crisis, rather than dealing with it primarily as a matter of abstract policy. And Rachel Sherrington documents how the fossil fuel sector uses manipulative advertising to claim an interest in exactly the type of climate progress it's blocking through the concentrated application of wealth and power.  

- Jason Deign reports on yet another example of carbon capture and storage turning into an expensive flop, as a Chevron CCS setup intended to serve as license for a massive natural gas project is falling far short of its emission control targets. Hilary Beaumont reports on Enbridge's payment and use of Minnesota police to attack demonstrators opposed to the Line 3 pipeline, once again demonstrating the oil industry's use of state violence to override public concerns about health and the environment. 

- PressProgress exposes how Saskatchewan's process to evaluate infrastructure proposals is hopelessly biased in favour of privatization and financialization of public goods. And Randy Richmond reports on Ontario's plans to privatize the monitoring of inmates as an alarming example of the intersection of corporate interests and limitations on individual rights. 

- Finally, the Guardian and Charlotte Grieve offer summaries of the Pandora Papers as just the latest example of the wealthiest few around the globe escaping any obligation to contribute to the common good. 

Wednesday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Brian Owens' roundup includes reference to new research showing that excess deaths are the result of COVID-19 itself, not the lockdowns used to combat it. And Renju Jose and Byron Kaye report on Australia's soaring COVID rates, while Yasmine Ghania discusses how Saskatchewan is at risk of a fourth wave. 

- Angus Reid has unveiled new polling on vaccinations and other public health measures - including strong support for at least some form of vaccine requirement in every province/region. Blake Murdoch highlights how there are few rational arguments against vaccine passports. And Andrew Coyne writes that we may soon have little choice but to apply vaccine mandates to ensure we reach herd immunity before the Delta variant runs rampant. 

- Sara Mojtehedzadeh reports on the close connection between workplace COVID outbreaks and the use of temporary and precarious labour. 

- PressProgress exposes how Doug Ford's government has actively treated the pandemic as an opportunity for private actors to extract money from the public education system. And Mike Crawley reports on Ford's immediate end to the enforcement of licensing requirements for workers in skilled trades - signaling that for all the talking points conservatives spout about respect for tradespeople, they're the ones who wrongly believe there's no need for tradespeople to have any skills or qualifications. 

- Finally, Gabriel Zucman and others warn (PDF) that a loophole in the current international joint statement on a global minimum corporate tax may not only render the minimum ineffective, but could actually create new incentives for tax havens and the businesses who seek to abuse them.