Thursday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Paul Krugman notes that Donald Trump has upended the theory that presidential influence on the economy is overstated, as every new difficulty facing the U.S. can be traced to his deliberate choices. And Richard Bookstaber discusses how the global economy may be headed toward much worse than the 2008 crisis, even as Alexis Lapp reports on Trump's plans to reverse the few public protections put in place after that occurred. 

- Meanwhile, Owen Jones writes that the Iran war has destroyed any pretense that the U.S.' is a global leader rather than a bully. And Jan Dehn discusses the prospect that the Iran war will serve as the death knell for fossil fuel dependency, while George Monbiot reminds us that our current reliance on dirty energy has only fuelled the rise of dictators. 

- Eric Dolan writes about new research on the effect of electronic interruptions - with constant notifications serving as a more problematic disruption than screen time alone. The Associated Press reports on Canada's descent in the Wellbeing Research Centre's global happiness rankings, with the effects of heavy social media media use among young people identified as a major cause. And James Densley and Jillian Peterson discuss how the profile of mass shooters increasingly reflects younger people radicalized by an online culture of performative violence.

-  Finally, Meghan Bartels examines new research showing that the death toll from COVID-19 in the U.S. has likely been severely underestimated due to a reluctance to test for the disease. 

Wednesday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Oliver Willis writes about the dangers of a second Donald Trump presidency - and the importance of not conceding core values out of deference or convenience in the face of an abusive state. Daniel Hunter discusses the importance of resisting the autocratic impulse to isolate and exhaust any opposition. And Hamilton Nolan rightly suggests that the labour movement should be a vital centre for organization. 

- Tim Rauf examines the source of the UCP's promotion of carbon pollution and other absurd statements of public policy. Crawford Kilian discusses how distrust and division produce direct damage to health and well-being. And Sander van der Linden and David Robert Grimes model how misinformation is passed between people - suggesting that it's similar to the spread of viruses, with the implication that prevention can limit both the spread and resulting damage. 

- But then, Kevin Quigley notes that public health is one of the areas where Trump is determined to inflict as much damage as possible - meaning that it will fall to Canada and other countries to develop our own capacity to monitor and manage risks. 

- Finally, James Wilt interviews Brett Christophers about the proliferation of asset managers who control many of the necessities of life - and are constantly extracting more out of the citizenry in order to boost owners' returns. 

Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Marianne Cooper and Maxim Voronov optimistically suggest that our state of denial surrounding the climate crisis and other collective action problems can't get any deeper. 

- But Julia Steinberger examines the array of wealth and power dedicated to pushing perpetually-increasing extraction regardless of the environmental damage it causes. Jack Marley writes about the manipulative and deceptive nature of fossil fuel advertising (which of course Canada's establishment is determined to push and echo at every turn). Arno Kopecky discusses the risk that the fossil fuel-funded far right will get to set the limits on any climate action. And Michael Harris warns that Canada is far from immune from the rise of violent fascist politics in Europe and the U.S.

- Martin Guttridge-Hewitt writes about the possibility that weather reports could systematically include a mention of climate impacts so people's day-to-day experiences aren't detached from the carbon pollution which is altering our living environment. Meryl Davids Landau points out how the climate crisis is affecting our brains. And Anna Pivovarchuk highlights how climate scientists are increasingly turning to direct action in an effort to avert a readily-foreseeable catastrophe. 

- Meanwhile, Amanda Stephenson reports on Deloitte's conclusion that even applying the self-serving standards set by the oil and gas industry, it's impossible for Canada to meet existing climate commitments without reducing our fossil fuel extraction. And Carl Meyer reports that RBC is starting to face pressure to acknowledge and respond to its role in financing climate destruction. 

- Finally, Andrew Gregory reports on new research showing the absolute declines in well-being for children in the UK who are shorter, sicker and more prone to obesity than earlier cohorts. 

Wednesday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Kate Raworth discusses the need to orient ourselves toward measures of progress based on well-being rather than growth - both due to its being intrinsically more important, and more sustainable under conditions of dwindling environmental resources. And Sonali Kolhatkar laments the U.S.' choice - largely paralleled in Canada - between a party determined to accelerate the climate breakdown and one which promises little improvement beyond a slower death. 

- Laura Cozzi and Apostolos Petropoulos highlight how larger SUVs are one of the major contributors to increases in carbon pollution. Matthew Taylor reports on a new study showing the racial and class dynamics behind greenhouse gas emissions in the UK, with wealthy white men as by far the worst class of polluters. And Karl Bode discusses how the U.S. has passed legislation to close off one of the few tools available to hold the wealthiest few to account for their environmental destruction in the form of emissions from private jets.   

- Katrina Miller and Ryan Romard respond to a typical round of demands for austerity in the name of productivity by pointing out that it's inequality, not fair taxes, which results in stagnation and economic decay. 

- Finally, Kim Siever writes that we can't treat the ability of a worker to quit a single job as a remedy for a system designed for exploitation. 

Thursday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Rachael Lyle-Thompson discusses how children are happier in countries with social safety nets which reduce the anxiety level around them. And Eric Galbraith et al. find that satisfaction levels in small-scale Indigenous societies may be just as high as in the wealthiest countries - offering yet another indication as to how substituting GDP for social well-being misses the mark. 

- Evan Halper discusses how the plastics industry is attempting to hijack school systems to avoid answering for the harm it does to the environment. And Taylor Noakes examines how the dirty energy industry is responding to legislation seeking to rein in deceptive advertising with a barrage of exactly the type of dishonesty which demands a public policy response. 

- Arthur Neslen discusses the "litigation terrorism" being used to block even the most minimal of environmental laws and policies. And Billy Briggs examines the systematic abuse of litigation threats against individual climate activists. 

- Max Fawcett writes that Danielle Smith's obsession with the perpetual expansion of fossil fuel production (and resulting carbon pollution) exceeds even that of Saudi Arabia - even as Alberta stands to pay the price for being a laggard in both climate and economic terms. 

- Finally, Catharine Tunney reports on CSIS' warning that anti-trans bigots pose a threat of extreme violence. Gillian Steward discusses how Smith is serving exactly those forces in aiming her government's power against trans teens, while Althia Raj highlights how Pierre Poilievre is twisting the truth to justify his own attacks on trans people. And Jason Vermes reports on the gender-affirming clinics who have no choice but to operate privately as right-wing governments refuse to recognize their work as health care. 

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Sigal Samuel discusses the potential to better target investments toward well-being - though it seems odd to criticize measures of health as a standard alongside GDP. And Cory Doctorow writes about Deb Chachra's observation that we should view infrastructure as a form of mutual aid.

- Carl Meyer reports on Suncor CEO Rich Kruger's dissembling and evasion in response to questioning about his company's plans to increase carbon pollution for decades to come. Markham Hislop highlights how the regular release of toxic chemicals into drinking water for the tar sands should be treated as an intolerable regulatory failure rather than merely a PR issue for the oil industry. And Shari Narine reports on the Assembly of First Nations' message that Indigenous involvement is vital to the development of climate change solutions. 

- Douglas Main points out the glaring gap between the promise of recycling plastics, and the reality that plastic pollution is overwhelming our natural environment. And andrea bennett interviews Taras Grescoe about the need to work with natural ecosystems to secure our food supply, rather than presuming that industrialized monocultures controlled by greedy rentiers are our only option.

- Finally, Luke LeBrun exposes how the Cons invited violent extremists and conspiracy theorists into Parliament as "VIP" guests. 

Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Antoine Flahault et al. offer a reminder that we can't afford to be complacent about an ongoing COVID pandemic which continues to cause serious and sustained harm on a mass basis. And in case we needed another reminder of the aftereffects of infection, Andreas Weiss et al. study the connection between COVID-19 infection and the development of type 1 diabetes in children. 

- Katharine Hayhoe writes about the twin crises of the climate breakdown and plummeting biodiversity - with both reflecting the desperate need to plan based on environmental well-being rather than profit motives. But Julia Steinberger's discussion of the important work being done at Beyond Growth 2023 (h/t Alison) includes recognition the near-total media blackout on the idea that our society could be shaped by anything but the ideology of the cancer cell. 

- Therese Raphale reports on the exodus of doctors fleeing the UK Cons' deliberate destruction of public health care - and their arrival instead in Australia where they're being promised that their work will be valued. 

- Finally, Naama Weingarten reports on the flood of false information in Alberta, as both the public safety emergency created by wildfires and the ongoing provincial election have been turned into opportunities for propaganda and disinformation. And Trevor Harrison writes that Danielle Smith's laughable denials shouldn't persuade Alberta voters that a UCP win will result in anything but the destruction of national institutions and benefits based on the whims of the fanatical fringe. 

Sunday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- Karl Nerenberg writes about the Parkland Institute's research showing how privatization has undermined  Alberta's health care system. And Mitchell Thompson warns that the UCP has a similar plan to turn what's already a housing crisis into a profit extraction extravaganza at the expense of the people living in what little public housing already exists.

- Meanwhile, Brandon Drenon reports on the disastrous wildfires sweeping across Alberta, while Ian Austen points out the provincial election campaign's glaring lack of discussion of the climate breakdown which is causing them. And John Vaillant writes that there's no excuse for feigning surprise that a refusal to rein in global warming is producing exactly the effects which have been predicted for decades. 

- Julia Simon reports on the damage caused by a ruptured CO2 pipeline in Satartia, Mississippi. And Mark Olalde notes that taking into account only site cleanup (and thus excluding air pollution and climate damage), the liabilities created by California's oil industry far exceed its profits - meaning that the perception of economic value is purely the result of failing to account for real costs. 

- Jonathan Barrett reports on new research showing how Australia's grocery giants have used the pandemic and associated inflation to goose their profit margins. And Delphine Strauss points out a similar story in the UK's milk market, which has seen an unprecedented gap between retail prices and the amount paid to producers.

- Finally, Cory Doctorow discusses how any reasonable utilitarian evaluation of well-being would focus far more on how policies affect a wider range of people, rather than treating the accumulation of extreme wealth by sociopaths (disguised as "GDP" or other cumulative wealth measures) as the most important consideration.

Monday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Trevor Hancock discusses the need to treat the economy as a means to human well-being, rather than an end worth sacrificing our health and our living environment.

- Henry Killworth writes about new research confirming that the lost sense of smell arising out of COVID-19 is associated with brain impairment. And Simran Purewal et al. discuss how long COVID is being dismissed or ignored by far too many physicians, resulting in patients facing stigma and receiving no effective treatment. 

- Aaron Wherry writes about the latest national inventory report on greenhouse gas emissions - though it's worth noting that even the math which shows Canada falling far short of its existing climate commitments fails to account for the further harm caused by fossil fuel exports which are also linked to continued domestic emission increases. Cory Doctorow notes that the capitalists profiting from dirty energy appear far more willing to invest in preserving and expanding their wealth through violence than in any transition to clean alternatives. And Leyland Cecco reports on the justified fears of Indigenous communities that the oil sector (and its fully-owned subsidiaries in the UCP) would rather poison vital water supplies in secret than admit to the environmental consequences of its operations. 

- Finally, Rachel Cohen points out that any push to respond to the housing crisis needs to include the availability of affordable homes for families. And Brian Doucet and Laura Pin comment on the need to act against renovictions to ensure developers don't make matters worse. 

Monday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Zhenguo Nie, Yunzhi Chen and Meifeng Deng study the relative merits of COVID precautions, finding upward ventilation and masking to be the most effective combination in reducing the concentration of infectious particles. And Pascal Irrgang et al. find an altered immune response after multiple vaccinations which consists increasingly of a non-inflammatory antibodies.

- Peter Armstrong writes about the reasons for concern that 2023 will be an even more grim year than 2022 from an economic standpoint, with most people having to face continually-increasing prices amidst declines in employment and real wages. And Sam Meredith reports on the efforts of the Wellbeing Economy Governments partnership to work on a more meaningful definition of well-being to measure policy choices - while noting that the background to that work is a "polycrisis" which has largely been ignored in favour of GDP-only measurement.

- Charley Adams reports on the increasing recognition among health care providers in the UK that its national health service is under intolerable (if deliberately-chosen) stress. And Simon Jenkins writes that anybody interested in saving public health care would approach the crisis with a war footing - making the minimization and denial from the Cons a clear indication that they're willing and eager to see the system fail so its spoils can be handed out to donors. 

- Finally, Philip Drost and Craig Desson discuss what the history of rail transportation in Canada can tell us about its future prospects - with past decisions to privatize passenger rail service and tie its operation to other railways' operations making rail travel less desirable than heavily-subsidized highway use.

Thursday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Evan Xu, Yan Xie and Ziyad Al-Aly study the long-term neurological effects of COVID-19, finding elevated risks of numerous kinds of neurological disorders even following mild initial infections.  

- Crawford Kilian discusses the need for a prosocial revolution to deal with COVID along with other social ills. Jenalee Doom discusses how poverty translates into lasting effects on people's health and welfare. And the CCPA's Alternative Federal Budget offers a reminder of what could readily be accomplished if our federal government was focused on meeting people's needs rather than serving the interests of capital.  

- Americans for Tax Fairness documents how the U.S.' political system has been warped by the billionaire-dominated Club for Growth and its perpetual demand of free money for the rich. And Erin McCormick and Aliya Uteuova expose how the lead industry - in the wake of public awareness that it was poisoning people - pushed for the proliferation of lead water pipes which continues to be a public health disaster in the U.S. 

- Finally, Jeff Gray reports on the Ford PCs' privatization of jobs programs, with the immediate effects of both eliminating provincial accountability and making citizens' interests subject to the pursuit of profits. And Fatima Syed reports on the Financial Accountability Office's projections as to how a climate breakdown will increase the costs of maintaining infrastructure - even as Ford remains determined to destroy green space and subsidize carbon pollution. 

Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Aria Bendix and Shannon Pettypiece report on the reality that due to a failure to contain it in its early stages, COVID-19 now stands to be a leading cause of death (and a factor in reduced lifespans) for decades to come. Erin Praiter points out that yet another variant (BF.7) seems to be taking over as the dominant strain in the U.S. and elsewhere. John Naish discusses how even mild infections may cause long-term heart damage and other lingering effects. Pettypiece also reports on the risk that COVID test supplies will dry up this winter in the wake of proclamations that the pandemic is over - even as case numbers and deaths surge. Julia Metraux discusses why voluntary one-way masking isn't anywhere close to sufficient protection for people with compromised immune systems (including those suffering from the aftereffects of COVID itself). And Raia Small rightly questions why so many nominal progressives have given up on pushing for a pandemic response based on empathy and care, particularly when the alternative is acquiescing in social murder. 

- Ann Hui reports that grocery prices are rising at the highest rate in decades - which, as Armine Yalnizyan points out, means that oligopolistic suppliers of necessities are extracting even higher profits even as people's incomes are being suppressed in the name of fighting inflation. 

- Dylan Sullivan and Jason Hickel study the relationship between capitalism and human welfare, and find that people have in fact been better off under pre-existing systems and worse off within the global capital economy than generally assumed.  

- Finally, Yasmine Ghania tells the stories of some of the students who were abused within the churches and religious schools which continue to be catered to by the Saskatchewan Party government. 

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Benjamin Mazer writes that of all the other public health analogies, COVID-19 may prove most similar to smoking in the systematic failure of governments to take readily-available steps to prevent widespread harm. Beth Mole reports on research showing that COVID was the leading cause of death of Americans aged 45 to 54 in the first three quarters of 2021. And Benjamin Shingler reports on the new wave cresting due to the BA.5 subvariant, while Katie Anthony and Andrea Michelson discuss the danger of repeated infections at short intervals. 

- Meanwhile, Zak Vescera reports on the glaring gap between the messaging conveyed to the public about Saskatchewan's public health measures in 2021, and the recognition by Dr. Shahab and others that it was grossly insufficient. And Patrick Collison writes that the prospect of universal COVID vaccines is running into a lack of interest in developing new versions which could be more easily administered and more effective against variants.  

- Carolyn Ferns discusses how Ontario's private child care operators have proven they can't be trusted with the task of building an effective system for families. Tom Conway highlights how unions are having to take the lead in pushing for safety in all kinds of workplaces. And Christine Saulnier points out the continued need for paid sick days for the sake of everybody's health. 

- Damian Carrington reports on new research showing that investment in plant-based proteins is the most effective use of carbon mitigation funding. And Geoff Dembicki discusses how the oil industry's history of deception includes pushing carbon capture and storage which it has known for decades to be ineffective. 

- Finally, Shane Wright discusses how Australia's Labour government is ensuring that its budget is assessed based on public well-being, not merely on GDP or profits. 

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Kai Kupferschmidt reports on the recognition among scientists around the globe that the Omicron COVID variant is almost certain to precipitate another major wave of infections and hospitalizations. CBC News reports on the Ontario COVID19 science table's recommendation of a circuit breaker to reduce the damage, while Laura Sciarpelletti reports on similar calls being ignored by Scott Moe in Saskatchewan as he once again insists on "vaccines only!" in response to impending disaster. 

- Which means at least from a governance standpoint, we're in much the same boat as Ed Yong's description of the U.S., with our leaders lacking any willingness to ensure a collective response to a social problem. And Karl Nerenberg writes that the Libs' fiscal update pays lip service to COVID while failing to address ventilation as a core determinant of community spread. 

- David Dayen warns against causing severe and immediate deprivation for large number of people by cutting off supports in the name of making a marginal dent in the far less important issue of inflation. Solani Kolhatkar recognizes that the main source of price increases has been corporate exploitation. And David Macdonald points out there are plenty of other options to address inflation by managing prices rather than abandoning the people who most need help.   

- Alfred McCoy discusses the global unrest we can expect if we don't succeed in reining in catastrophic climate change. Ben Phillips discusses how gross inequalities are spurring widespread human rights violations and democratic backsliding, while Gabrielle Canon notes that people already faced with homelessness end up bearing the brunt of extreme weather events. And Diane Coyle writes about the need to start measuring our social progress in terms of well-being rather than GDP and investor moods. 

- Rebecca Leber writes about the move in New York and other jurisdictions to eliminate natural gas distribution as a building standard. And Leanna First-Arai rightly questions the claim that crypto mining somehow serves as solution to climate destruction, rather than a generator of unnecessary pollution which exacerbates the problem. 

- Finally, Asha Banerjee et al. examine the broad effects of unionization, and find important benefits going far beyond the workplace. And Anna North writes about the culture that has left so many people continuing to muddle through work even in the midst of multiple crises - and severe dangers to their own health and well-being. 

Saturday Afternoon Links

Assorted content for your weekend reading.

- Jennifer Lee reports on the debilitating lasting effects of long COVID. John Pavlovitz tells the story of his family's experience suffering from COVID-19 after three of its four members were fully vaccinated. And Paul Taylor notes that people on immune-suppressing drugs may see reduced effectiveness from vaccines.

- Alexia Cambon points out the folly of clinging to restrictive requirements to spend specific, non-productive hours in an office after we've seen how people can work successfully with more flexibility. And the Canadian Press reports on the pattern of people choosing not to stay in abusive workplaces once they've experienced an alternative.

- Joe Pinsker writes that the lesson we should take from the world's happiest countries is that people value a functional society substantially more than income growth concentrated at the top. And Tim Jackson argues that a capitalism system based substantially on manufacturing unhappiness then charging for temporary relief is ultimately doomed to fail. 

- Douglas Todd writes about the psychological toll that results when basic needs such as housing become unaffordable. And Zak Vescera reports on the Saskatchewan Party's choice to cut thousands of Saskatchewan residents off from the social supports they need in the name of arbitrary program changes.

- Finally, Doug Cuthand writes about the need to recognize and give modern effect to treaty rights as the key step toward reconciliation between Canada and Indigenous peoples.