Sunday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- Gregg Gonsalves discusses the Trump regime's plan to politicize every single dollar of federal revenue and expenditure in the U.S., setting up a ruthlessly efficient mechanism for executive grift and extortion at the expense of democratically-determined decision-making. Which means that Americans already struggling to keep afloat can only expect matters to get worse as long as Trump and his courtiers hold power. And Will Saletan highlights how the U.S.' foreign policy is similarly aimed at enriching Trump rather than any national or humanitarian interest. 

- Meanwhile, Kim Kelly points out the dark historical parallels to the unconscionable sentences for guilt by association applied to the Prairieland political prisoners. Matthew Gault reports on the criminalization of dissent in the form of merely speaking out against data centres at a public meeting. And Sean O'Kane reports on yet another techbro - this time Peter Diamandis - stating the public intention to inflict unaccountable surveillance on the general public in order to keep people in line. 

- Julia Jacobo discusses the increasing number of people facing heat stress around the globe, while Ajit Niranjan comments on the lack of preparation for global warming which has long been predicted. And Michael Le Page warns that there's far worse to come due both to the damage we've already done to our living environment, and our absolute failure to rein in the carbon pollution that's causing it to break down. 

- Meanwhile, if anybody needed a reminder that responsible policy can eradicate avoidable risks, Aitor Hernandez-Morales reports on Helsinki's year without a single traffic-related death. And Alexandra Frost reports on the HPV vaccine's success in preventing UK deaths from cervical cancer. 

- Finally, Graeme Bayliss rightly questions why Mark Carney is consistently choosing to copy the Trump regime rather than resisting it as promised. 

Sunday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- A.R. Moxon writes about the desperate need for a radical reshaping of both stories and substantive policy when even the most modest challenge to the impunity of villainous elites is treated as impossible. And Prem Sikka notes that the UK's real economy is being hollowed out in service to the dogma that financial interests matter more than people. 

- Victor Tangermann reports on the corrosive effect of AI at an organizational level as actual knowledge is replaced with a pale imitation. And Mariana Lenharo points out similar findings among individual professionals whose skills are degrading when artificial supports are unavailable. Which means it's readily understandable that university students are despairing - as noted by Frank Landymore - at being pressured to use it. 

- Mitchell Beer discusses how dependency on fossil fuel extraction is now a lose-lose proposition, as the windfall profits that follow temporarily from supply crises only drive people toward cheaper and readily available clean alternatives. Fiona Harvey points out the message emerging in advance of the Bonn climate conference that electrification results in far more efficient energy production and use than the outdated technology it replaces. Jan Rosenow highlights how Europe has benefited from its investments in energy efficiency by limiting the rise in energy prices. And Abby Hughes reports on the surge in electric vehicle adoption in Canada.  

- Finally, Leyland Cecco reports on the humanitarian costs of Mark Carney's refusal to acknowledge the realities of Donald Trump's regime, as asylum claimants continue to be told they have to pretend the U.S. is a safe third country even under a government which refuses to acknowledge their humanity. 

Saturday Afternoon Links

Assorted content for your weekend reading.

- Robert Hunzicker discusses the galling juxtaposition between unprecedented heat and a set of U.S. policy choices which could hardly have been designed to exacerbate matters more. 

- Brett Wilkins points out how major corporations have been able to leverage lobbying costs into avoiding any taxes which would result in their supporting the public interest. And Jake Johnson notes that the two businesses which have inflated Elon Musk's wealth into trillion-dollar territory are among those which loudly proclaim they're avoiding any tax contributions. 

- Robert Reich points out that Elon Musk's wealth accumulation model bears absolutely no resemblance to the theoretical ideal of being rewarded for delivering products to consumers - as it instead relies almost entirely on a combination of hype and public subsidies. And Claudie Moreau reports on the U.S.' blocking of two Anthropic AI models as showing the dangers of relying on the whims of a regime determined to enrich cronies and punish anybody who doesn't fall in line.  

- But in case anybody thought Canada was maintaining an "elbows up" stance toward the threat to our south, Todd Coyne reports on yet another example of Mark Carney tying us even more tightly to the Trump regime, this time by joining in a U.S. Pacific military exercise for the first time since Stephen Harper was in power. 

- Finally, Dougald Lamont discusses how the cottage industry around attacking internal "trade barriers" in the name of general deregulation is based entirely on laughably false assumptions. 

Friday Afternoon Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Paul Krugman discusses how some of the wealthiest men on the planet have supplicated themselves before Donald Trump in the hope of stifling both economic redistribution and freedom of critical speech. And Karl Bode notes that the rightful popular outcry against artificial intelligence is connected to the unabashed dishonesty and greed of its main promoters and profiteers. 

- Rei Takver calls out TikTok for sponsoring climate deniers while claiming to hold to climate promises. And tante points out how Google is now declaring war on the distributed World Wide Web, while seeking to replace it entirely with its own AI slop (which may not include the ability to process basic English words, while bearing a suspicious resemblance to paid ads). 

- Matt Gurney highlights how forward-thinking countries are planning for a future freed of domination by an unstable and uncooperative American empire. But in case anybody was under the illusion Canada was engaged in that necessary planning Nessie Nankivell reports on the U.S.' Department of War's takeover of critical mineral resources in Canada (to no apparent objection from the Carney government). 

- Finally, in the face of imminent government crackdowns on labour, Felix Cauchy-Charest offers a reminder that labour rights have generally been won through activism rather than reliance on political systems. And Michael Sainato points out a new report documenting the billions of dollars spent every year by corporations to try to bust unions. But the AFL-CIO rightly celebrates a new International Court of Justice ruling confirming the right to strike in international law. 

Monday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Ian Bremmer highlights how countries around the globe are hedging their bets rather than risking being taken down as the U.S. collapses. And Karen Attiah comments on the "dying mall vibes" being given off by the country. 

- Paul Bledsoe examines what needs to be done to stop catastrophic climate change without resorting to dangerous geoengineering. 

- Cory Doctorow points out how the Trump regime is allowing less-wealthy countries to get the jump on technological development by forcing a transition to cleaner energy which he's determined to squelch in the U.S. And Adrienne Tanner comments on Alberta's similarly self-destructive blocking of solar power in a province which would otherwise be at an advantage in building it. 

- Rory White reports on the proliferation of online "groups" which in fact serve as nothing but corporate propaganda outlets. 

- Finally, Nora Loreto examines the history of fascism in Canada - including how it was able to rise as laissez-faire governments elected not to deal with people's needs as they went unmet.  

Friday Afternoon Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- John Rapley highlights Canada's choice between tying ourselves to a dying and decaying American empire and its petropolitics, or instead investing in our future as part of a global clean energy economy. But Murray Brewster reports on Mark Carney's choice to secretly lock us into a billion-dollar military deal as a reminder that the Libs' inclination is to appease and support the Trump regime in substance even while occasionally posturing against it for the cameras. 

- Meanwhile, Natasha Tusikov and Blayne Haggart discuss how Canadians stand to lose out from Carney's plans to deploy artificial intelligence to replace a functional public service.  

- Erin Anderssen and Yang Sun discuss how the lack of available and affordable homes is the main factor driving unhappiness among young Canadians. 

- Cameron Micallef reports on the effort by Australian unions to make gains for workers on a scale not seen in decades, including though a shift to a four-day work week. And Jacob Fuller highlights Arindrajit Dube's research showing that there's plenty of room to increase minimum wages with effectively no impact other than to improve labour's share of income (and perhaps improve social indicators tied to income). 

- Finally, Leni Spooner writes about the dangers of surveillance pricing - and the choice of Libs and Cons alike to let greedy corporations use personal information to extract every possible nickel from consumers. 

Tuesday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Robert Kagan is the latest to notice that the U.S. is a rogue superpower whose capricious action under the Trump regime has undermined the international system that previously served its interests. And Paul Krugman observes that the oil crisis precipitated by the Iran war is about to get physical in the form of real shortages (rather than merely being a matter of rationing and anticipated effects), while Neil Irwin recognizes that the U.S. won't avoid the ill effects of its aggression.  

- Waterloo University has released new modeling showing that the effects of climate change will result in upwards of a hundred million people facing regular air quality alerts in the coming decades. And Forrest Smith points out the trillion-dollar price to remediate the damage oil drilling has done to the U.S.' living environment even without accounting for the climate crisis. 

- Meanwhile, Anthony Cuthbertson reports on a new breakthrough which may make solar energy even more efficient than previously thought posssible. And Hannah Ritchie and Pablo Rosado update their previous findings as to how more affordable batteries are making electric vehicles into by far the superior option for consumers. 

- Finally, Rebecca Solnit looks at the realities of Cesar Chavez' personal sexual abuse in the context of the farmworker movement as a compelling reason to memorialize collective action rather than idolized heroes. 

Friday Afternoon Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Robert Reich examines how the uber-wealthy have undermined any pretense of decision-making in the public interest - and how political financing rules and more progressive taxes are both needed to reverse the trend. And Lindsay Beyerstein notes that the most important lesson to be drawn from the Epstein files is the intolerable danger of allowing people to be so rich as to avoid any potential for accountability. 

- Andrew Coyne discusses how the Trump regime's plans for Canada involve dismemberment at best as any independence or values are seen as a threat to U.S. dominance. Which makes it all the more galling to see Mark Carney using the power won with the promise of "elbows up!" to subsidize continued fossil fuel dependence, allow American-driven AI hype to override any consideration of the future of our planet, and throw money at projects designed to hand more of our natural resources to the country threatening our sovereignty.

- Meanwhile, Max Fawcett notes that the fossil fuel lobby which has such a stranglehold on our country's politics is plainly living in the past. And Michael Mann discusses how the war in Iran is only accelerating the transition to clean energy for countries who aren't bent on supplicating themselves before Trump. 

- Similarly, Matteo Wong and Charlie Warzel take a look at the numerous obvious weak spots in the AI bubble. And Ed Zitron examines the laughable economics behind the self-serving declarations of inevitability and infinite potential.  

- Finally, Joe Vipond, Dick Zoutman and Stephane Bilodeau lament the continued refusal to recognize COVID as airborne due to a general distaste for the basic mitigation steps associated with that reality. 

Thursday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Thomas Unner discusses how Olof Palme's candour offers a needed lesson for Mark Carney and other leaders facing Donald Trump's threats. Patrick Lennox writes that we're already at war with the U.S., even if that hasn't yet been formally acknowledged. And David Coletto finds that a majority of Canadians are neutral or downright positive about loosening our trade ties with the U.S. - even as the Cons keep insisting on handing Trump yet another deal he'll never honour. 

- Marco Turco et al. study how the climate breakdown is producing immense effects on global extreme fire weather. And while John Gibbons offers some hope that a spike in oil prices will help to wean more people off of dirty energy, Damien Gayle reports that the bombing of oil infrastructure in Iran is only making people's continued dependence on fossil fuels even more of an environmental calamity. 

- Armon Aghahosseini et al. study the potential paths forward for energy development, concluding that maximizing immediate investment in clean energy is the superior strategy for both economic and environmental outcomes. But Drew Anderson examines how the UCP's sabotage has set back renewable energy development in Alberta, while Jeff Brady reports on the utilities who are lobbying to prevent the deployment of solar panels in the U.S. 

- Finally, Gabrielle Piche reports on the Kinew government's legislation to implement the right to repair in Manitoba. 

Monday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Charlie Angus discusses the realities of being next door to a gangster regime. And Navigator Research finds that a majority of Americans recognize that they live in an authoritarian state rather than a democracy. 

- Norm Berlatsky discusses how even the eventual departure of Donald Trump from power is far from enough to salvage a functional political system. And Hamilton Nolan examines how the uber-rich are already distorting U.S. politics, while noting that there's alarming potential for matters to get far worse. 

- An anonymous writer offers a grim look at the abuse and objectification which awaits teenaged girls online. But lest we be too quick to accept age restrictions as an answer, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Michael O'Flaherty warns of the problems with banning large classes of users rather than making social media platforms safe for everybody. 

- Finally, Rebecca Solnit writes about the decades of activism which have finally led to the arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and other abusers in Jeffrey Epstein's network. 

Sunday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- John Ripton writes about the connection between the egregious concentration of wealth and the rise of fascist politics. And Virginia Heffernan points out how the uber-rich have used their wealth to fund eugenics, while Kristen Toussaint discusses their similar obsession with climate denialism. 

- Meanwhile, Lucas Amin and Peter Geoghegan examine how corporate donations - particularly from companies under the control of extremely wealthy individuals - are distorting UK politics. 

- Jonathan Cohn discusses how the FDA's refusal to even review new vaccines is a threat to health around the globe. And Max Kozlov notes that the Trump regime is scrubbing any suggestion that the U.S.' public health institutions might prepare for or mitigate future disease outbreaks. 

- Charlie Warzel laments the development of nihilist cultures online. But while it's worth pointing out the presence of dangerous actors, Brian Beutler argues that MAGA has never really succeeded in a broad-based culture war.

-  Finally, Duane Bratt makes the case for Alberta to stay in Canada. And Robert Currie points out how there's no legal path to separation through a referendum - though that's exactly why the separatists' collaboration with a Trump regime which operates under a "just try and stop us" mentality is so dangerous and treasonous. 

Saturday Afternoon Links

Assorted content for your weekend reading.

- Will Snell points out the connection between extreme wealth and unconscionable impunity as epitomized by Jeffrey Epstein and his elite co-conspirators.  And Joan Wallach Scott writes that the Republican war on gender studies and other social sciences reflects the Epstein class' priority of dehumanizing every other than its own coterie of rich white men. 

- Karl Nerenberg offers a reminder as to why he (and many other Canadians) sees travel to the U.S. as both contrary to principle and intolerably risky. And Karen Pauls reports on polling highlighting how anxious Canadians are about our relationship with the dictatorship next door. 

- Nohemie Bokuma writes about Canada's continued lack of any meaningful AI regulation - even as the Carney Libs focus primarily on cheerleading for artificial intelligence rather than assessing and managing its dangers. And Gabriel Rojas Hruska points out how we can learn from Europe in developing and protecting a Canadian online public square. 

- Danyaal Raza highlights how the problems with Canada's public health care system are already the result of underfunding - meaning that the right's push to direct money into corporate health services is a sure way to make matters worse. And Jack Hauen reports on pain crisis caused by the Ford PCs' slashing and mismanagement of long-term care and home care services. 

 [Edit: deleted Elizabeth Bruenig link.] 

Thursday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- David Lurie is rightly appalled by the Trump regime's nihilism, combining insatiable greed for whatever it can seize with a willingness to destroy anything it can't. But Harold Meyerson discusses how Minnesota has managed to force the most violent of Trump's minions into retreat. 

- Dharna Noor reports on Trump's handout to billionaire polluters in the form by making climate denialism official U.S. policy. Andrea Thompson discusses how public health will suffer as a result, while Molly Taft examines the policy chaos which will be created. And each of Katharine Hayhoe and Jonathan Levy et al. review the utter lack of any evidentiary support for Trump's idiocy. 

- Filippo Menczer examines how AI bots can pollute a political information environment to the point of threatening democracy. And Tom Chivers reports on the warnings - and in some cases resignations - of people working on artificial intelligence who see their employers choosing to endanger the public. 

- Alan Elrod writes about the reality that gambling on all manner of political and social outcomes is best set up as the next widespread form of addiction in the U.S. 

- Finally, Leigh Kimmins reports on the details of meetings between Alberta separatists and Trump officials eager to foment unrest and division. And Don Braid discusses both how many Albertans would choose to stay in Canada rather than  surrendering to the U.S., and how federalists are fighting back. 

Wednesday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Zoe Williams writes that Donald Trump is just the most egregious and unrestrained example of the vice-signalling which has become standard operating procedure among right-wing political parties - but that we're finally seeing a fight back on the side of decency. And Dave Karpf warns that Kalshi and other sites which encourage gambling on everything will inevitably foment addictions and manipulations which we'll come to regret. 

- Patrick Wintour discusses Europe's growing realization that it needs to treat the U.S. as a threat rather than an ally or protector - as reflected in a report from the Munich Security Conference. And Ian Welsh writes that we shouldn't underestimate Canada's ability to be independent from the U.S. - particularly in the longer term if we avoid taking steps to further entangle ourselves with a dying empire. 

- Jack Flemming reports on a Rent Brigade analysis of the corporate price-gouging which added insult to injury in the aftermath of California's wildfires last year. 

- Meanwhile, Toula Drimonis discusses how funding to prevent evictions more than pays for itself in health and social service savings. And the Canadian Climate Institute highlights the need to prepare our infrastructure in advance of climate-related disasters. 

Tuesday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Brian Beutler writes that the events of Super Bowl weekend show how Donald Trump - even with the support of most of the country's plutocrats and their media outlets - has absolutely failed to take over U.S. culture. But A.R. Moxon writes about the need to avoid normalizing or legitimizing MAGA's culture of hate. 

- Garrett Graff discusses how the Trump security state's masks and secrecy are all about impunity rather than legitimate safety concerns, as immigrant enforcement officers are at less risk of a violent death than a U.S. elementary school student. And Hanna Zlady reports on Transparency International's new corruption perception index - showing the U.S. predictably falling to unprecedented lows even as the Trump regime looks to drive it down further. 

- Alex Clark points out how a continuing obsession with GDP (detached from human well-being) remains one of the most significant obstacles to averting a climate breakdown.

- Meanwhile, Cory Doctorow highlights how the Epstein class is determined to turn ruin for everybody else into an opportunity to extract even more undeserved wealth for itself. And Alexander Hertel-Fernandez and Alix Gould-Werth discuss the perverse incentives around employers blocking worker access to employment benefits. 

- Finally, Nora Loreto rightly argues that Mark Carney's rhetoric about building an international system based on mutual support will be entirely empty if Canada fails to step up and assist Cuba as the U.S. seeks to starve its population. 

Tuesday Afternoon Links

 This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Anand Giridharadas writes that the most important takeaway from the Epstein files is the existence of the "Epstein class" which considers itself beyond both any concern for humanity as a whole, and any accountability for its actions. Ryan Broderick examines how the entitled abusers around Epstein have been actively looking to undermine democracy for profit. And John Sipher comments on the need for more to come of the damning evidence against so many powerful people than temporary media attention.

- Meanwhile, Carlos Avenancio-Leon discusses how access to food is a polarized political issue in the U.S., with the pro-starvation party becoming increasingly strident in its desire to see people suffer. 

- Mark Kersten highlights how Canada can stop enabling the abuses of Donald Trump's authoritarian state. But The Dabbler warns that Mark Carney is instead combining rhetoric about principle and independence with consistent choices to make us even more dependent on the U.S.' tech giants.

- On that front, Faiz Siddiqui et al. examine Elon Musk's deliberate choice to bet on turning Grok into a generator of nonconsensual porn as his primary business strategy. And Raphael Sattler tests the results of that decision. 

- Finally, Marco Oved reports on the shift in employment from the oil and gas sector to clean energy - and the improved lives of workers as a result. And The Energy Mix points out a new Pembina Institute analysis showing how the price of renewable energy is plummeting, while Chris Aylett and Armida van Rij note that anybody concerned about energy security should be fully on board with a just transition. 

Saturday Afternoon Links

 Assorted content for your weekend reading.

- Sidney Blumenthal writes that the Trump regime never ceases to spiral downward (no matter how difficult it would seem to get worse than their previous actions). Anne Applebaum discusses the erosion of the U.S.' civil service as people with knowledge and integrity are being displaced in favour of lackeys and useful idiots. And Supriya Dwivedi notes that Donald Trump's impetuousness doesn't mask his oft-stated plans for conquest and exploitation. 

- Donald Gutstein examines how tech giants represent the tip of the spear in the U.S.' threats to Canada. And Matt Seybold discusses the attempt to impose mandatory AI adoption to squeeze profits out of massive promised investments which will never make sense without strongarming governments and citizens. 

- Veronica Riccobene and Freddy Brewster highlight how private prison contractors are raking in massive profits from ICE's indiscriminate detention of anybody who crosses its path. And Luke Farrell points out that private contractors are making a killing off of needless means-testing contracts to deny benefits to members of the public. 

- Finally, Anoosh Chekellan writes about the pathetic excuses for playgrounds which are being foisted on families by UK developers. And Kea Wilson reports on a new survey showing that Americans are broadly open to living car-free if their communities are set up to allow for it. 

Tuesday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Adam Serwer offers a hopeful take on how Minnesota is proving MAGA social theory wrong, showing that the vast majority of people are caring and supportive rather than willing to accept or encourage the dehumanization of immigrants. Eric Blanc interviews Aru Shiney-Sjay about the successful citizen organization in opposition to ICE. And Brian Beutler writes that Alex Pretti offered a shining example of positive masculinity - in contrast to the violent, bigoted goon squad which murdered him. 

- But Ta-Nehisi Coates highlights how the attempt to retroactively turn Pretti and Karen Good into "others" unworthy of life represents just one more front in the Republicans' deadly culture war. And Jake Spring reports on the Trump regime's censorship of basic factual information at national parks and monuments in an attempt to whitewash American history. 

- Charlie Angus points out the need to move on from any dependence on the U.S. as it once again seeks to impose intolerable burdens in exchange for a temporary retrieve from arbitrary abuse. Stephen Maher offers a warning about Steve Bannon's plans to stoke separatism and subjugate Canada if given the change, while Stewart Prest discusses the need for a firm response. And Don Braid discusses how the desire of Alberta separatists to tie themselves to the Trump regime looks like it will help limit the risk of voters getting bamboozled.

- Finally, George Monbiot examines a UK national security report showing how ecosystem collapse represents a serious risk to security and prosperity. And Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility calls out the Trump administration for trashing the Clean Air Act. 

Thursday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Charlotte Clymer discusses Mark Carney's Davos speech as signaling a divorce from the U.S. But Justin Ling points out the need to match sporadic and selective words of independence and solidarity with meaningful action, while the Economist reports on the reality that Canadian soldiers are continuing to carry out U.S. orders even as the Trump regime threatens to take us over. 

- Dylan Dusseault discusses how the Davos agenda conspicuously avoids any consideration of having the wealthy pay a fair share of taxes - no matter overwhelmingly popular and positive that course of action would be. And Graeme Wearden reports on the numerous millionaires who are onside with contributing to the common good. 

- Blayne Haggart highlights the implausibility of promises from Microsoft and other U.S. tech giants that they'll respect Canadian data sovereignty - particularly when they've so pitifully prostrated themselves in front of the Trump regime at every opportunity.  

- Finally, John Michael McGrath asks whether 2026 will finally be the year Ontario starts making progress in answering its housing crisis - while noting that Doug Ford's track record strongly suggests the answer is again "no". 

Monday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material for your Monday reading.

- Gaby Hinsliff highlights the need for the UK (and the rest of the world) to cut ties with an entirely unerliable U.S., while John Crace discusses the futility of any action based on Keir Starmer's apparent assumption that Trump is sufficiently sentient to be calmed down and reasoned with. And Paul Krugman implores American businesses to end their Faustian bargains with the Trump regime. 

- Kaamil Ahmed reports on Oxfam's latest research on the continued concentration of global wealth in the hands of a few billionaires - and how that's both a cause and effect of policy skewed to further enrich the wealthy. Harold Meyerson examines how the labour share of U.S. income is at an all-time low. And Julian Hinz et al. confirm (PDF) that the working class is bearing the brunt of Trump's tariffs out of its declining resources. 

- Lest anybody wrongly assume that Trump is the only North American leader looking to eliminate any consequences for corporate malfeasance (particularly for preferred donors and cronies), Sophie Elias-Pinsonnault and Silas Xuereb examine Mark Carney's plan to make the application of nearly all laws to corporations a matter of ministerial discretion. 

- Finally, Charles Ferguson warns that artificial intelligence is on the verge of taking over media as we know it.