Friday Afternoon Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Steven Mackay writes about new research showing the different responses to the COVID-19 pandemic by gender - with the men who are disproportionately likely to die of the coronavirus expressing substantially less fear of its effects. 

- Robert Reich discusses how the inflation being used as an excuse to attack public spending and worker demands is in fact a result of profiteering by corporate monopolists. And George Monbiot writes that an end to extreme wealth is a must if we're going to rein in the climate crisis. 

- Mostafa Henaway offers an undercover account of life in an Amazon logistics facility - including the efforts made to winnow out all but the most compliant of employees to avoid unionization or any other worker strength. 

- Katherine Rader writes about new survey data showing that voters are far more likely to be persuaded by a commitment to strong universal programs than by mealy-mouthed bromides about access to for-profit services. 

- Finally, Gary Mason writes about the folly of Scott Moe's attempt to push nationalism as a substitute for even faintly competent government. Russell Wangersky discusses how Saskatchewan's citizens are worse off as a result of Moe's inflated sense of self-importance. And Steve Burgess evaluates the risk of Moe's bluster actually amounting to anything. 

Tuesday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Emma Ladds, Alex Rushforth, Sietse Wieringa, Sharon Taylor, Clare Rayner, Laiba Husain and Trisha Greenhalgh study the wade-ranging and severe symptoms resulting from "long COVID", while Jennifer Lutz and Richard Carmona point out how a health care system dependent on individual funding is ill-equipped to respond. Andre Picard writes about the absurdity of Ontario taking a holiday from distributing COVID-19 vaccines.

- Meanwhile, Mitchell Anderson discusses the lives lost in Western Canada to decades of propaganda which have built deep antipathy and distrust toward both science and the federal government. And Lee Berthiaume reports on another poll showing that the vast majority of respondents in the prairie provinces have had enough of failed leadership in responding to the coronavirus.

- CBC News points out how we've wasted two decades in the fight to salvage a liveable planet in the face of a climate breakdown. 

- John Harris points out that the UK's current set of self-inflicted crises is nothing new, but instead reflects a history of hubris and poor judgment by the country's ruling class. And Dani Alexis Ryskamp discusses how the U.S. has eliminated the prospect of the modest but secure middle-class lifestyle depicted in the Simpsons and other cultural touchstones.

- Finally, Michael Laxer highlights how COVID-19 has been used as an excuse for class warfare in Canada, with the richest few individuals and largest corporations claiming massive handouts and taking the opportunity to exploit their advantages in wealth and power while people generally are shamed for trying to survive.

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Derrick O'Keefe writes about the possibilities raised by the B.C. NDP's majority election win - as well as a need for far more ambition to achieve them.

- Elise von Scheel reports on new polling results showing that no matter how desperately Jason Kenney tries to fan the flames of separatism, Albertans aren't actually interested in abandoning Canada. But Arthur White-Crummey reports on Scott Moe's determination to keep echoing Kenney's laughable rhetoric about independence in order to avoid actually dealing with the provincial issues where he's failing miserably.

- Gwynne Dyer points out that regardless of the final results (which are looking somewhat less damning than the early returns), the U.S.' election is giving the rest of the world ample reason not to trust it as a rational actor. And Erik Strikwerda discusses the "Kenney stink" which is enveloping the people willing to risk their reputations to serve him.

- Finally, Chantal Hebert writes about the justified push by the NDP and the Bloc to secure an apology for Pierre Trudeau's blanket negation of civil rights through the War Measures Act. 

On irrational forces

As Saskatchewan voters consider our options in this month's provincial election, Alberta's UCP could hardly be more clear in offering reminders of the cost of putting reckless right-wingers in charge. And this week, the most prominent development on that front has been the decision to pay $2 million for some decision-based evidence-making in order to pave the way for a provincial police force.

David Climenhaga has pointed out the strong likelihood that the result would be an aggressive and violent force aimed at attacking civil liberties in the name of property interests. Others have noted that the UCP is brazenly lying about the public's disapproval of the plan, and hand-waving away the much higher cost of operating a provincial force.

But with Alberta barging ahead in the face of all evidence and logic, it's time for a mid-campaign reminder that this is another issue where Scott Moe is serving as an echo for Jason Kenney rather than a leader for Saskatchewan - threatening to pay more for worse services pursue out of little more than manufactured spite toward Ottawa and the desire to cater to Wexiteers.

And as I've noted before, the reasons for concern about effectiveness and cost are even more severe for Saskatchewan than Alberta. We don't have to limit ourselves to theoretical worries about what new police structures might do: after all, Moe's own highway patrol has been caught stockpiling weapons which go far beyond its mandate, as well as handing training contracts to purveyors of hate.

It would be a simple matter for Moe to say that he's not going to waste anybody's time with the preposterous suggestion to pay more for a destructive and ineffective provincial police service - particularly as he claims there's no money around to actually help Saskatchewan's citizens. 

But once again, the Saskatchewan Party is more interested in serving the UCP and the separatist right than focusing on what's best for citizens. And the province's voters should be eager to ensure that warped set of priorities isn't rewarded.

Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- PressProgress examines the damage Doug Ford wants to inflict on children in Ontario's education system. Fareed Khan calls out the right-wing politicians acting like spoiled children rather than responsible decision-makers. And Rick Smith discusses how to develop public policy to withstand the vandalism of today's conservatives:

(A) tangible connection to people’s daily lives is key.  Amongst their frenzy of repeal aimed at environmental policy and regulation, Doug Ford and his cronies have decided that the Greenbelt is untouchable.  One reason for this is doubtless that the Greenbelt is a physical place on the map, demarcated by numerous signs on the highway.  Ontarians have become accustomed to its presence and value it highly.  Similarly, in Alberta, Jason Kenney doesn’t dare attempt a full-blown repeal of the minimum wage, even if he hopes to chip away at it.

A second and related lesson is that policies that entrench rights in a universal manner are more enduring and far harder to undo. The Ford government doesn’t dare meddle with full-day kindergarten in the same way that it’s eliminating many other kinds of programmes. Why?  Because full-day kindergarten has become an integral part of our publicly-funded school system, available to all, and is now regarded by Ontario families as an essential service.

These lessons are every bit as applicable in a federal context.

Given the ease with which Ford eliminated Ontario’s partial, means-tested experiment with Pharmacare, the Trudeau Liberals would be doing Canadians a huge disservice to repeat this experience at the federal level.  The example of Medicare demonstrates better than anything the resilience of universal programs over small-scale reforms that are easily reversed after a single change of government.  We need universal Pharmacare now, not some piecemeal and underfunded half-measure.  In a recent Abacus poll for the Broadbent Institute, 78% of Canadians (and, interestingly, two-thirds of Conservative voters) support the federal government moving forward with universal, not partial, Pharmacare as a top priority.

With respect to climate change:  Carbon taxation, even when fully implemented, will be bickered over and — like all taxes, increased and decreased — by different governments over the next few decades.  Yes, we need to price carbon, but a massive green jobs creation program and rapid scale-up of permanent electric vehicle infrastructure would be impossible for even the most ardent climate-denier to demolish.

- Thera Kumar likewise calls for the Libs to follow through on a national pharmacare program - though it's worth noting they've been more slippery in any "promise" than Kumar implies. Aaron Carroll notes that even relatively small co-pay requirements can cause severe harm by preventing people from accessing needed medication. And Nicola Davis reports on the increase in childhood pneumonia under the UK Cons as a painful example of the price of social neglect.

- Grant Cameron reports on the CCPA's research showing that P3s only add to the price tag for infrastructure. And Ian Mulgrew reports on the progress of British Columbia's money laundering inquiry as a vivid example of a laissez-faire attitude run amok.

- Finally, Vaughn Palmer writes about the unexplained exploitation of B.C. consumers when it comes to gasoline prices. And David Leonhardt comments on the $5,000 annual cost to consumers arising from corporate consolidation in the U.S.