Saturday Afternoon Links

Assorted content for your weekend reading.

- Charlie Angus discusses how MAGA is recognizing the effects of Canada's resistance - so long as our leaders don't sell us out. 

- But Martin Lukacs and Nikolas Barry-Shaw warn that there's little reason for confidence Mark Carney plans to treat the U.S.' threats as anything but an excuse to impose a corporate agenda. And David Macdonald predicts the scale of public-sector job cuts we can anticipate based on Carney's plans to waste any available fiscal capacity on military spending and tax cuts.

- Scott Forbes discusses how Canada has become a petrocracy, where the plans of oil barons to extract resources and leave the public with the bill are consistently put first over social well-being. And Chris Severson-Baker highlights how the UCP's obsession with dirty energy pipelines which will never be economically viable is resulting in Alberta missing out on far better opportunities. 

- Finally, Adam Barnett reports on a new study showing how Alex Jones and other denialists are drowning out needed information about climate catastrophes as they occur. And Brian Beutler highlights the dangers of allowing fascists to exploit liberal principles to demand the respect they deny to their perceived out-groups while disseminating their propaganda.

Musical interlude

Rainshow - Aurora

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Harj Narulla weighs in on the effects of the International Court of JUstice's determination that countries can be held liable for contribution to a cliamte breakdown, while Stella Levantesi reports on an Italian court decision allowing for a lawsuit against an oil giant for its own climate damage. And Somini Segupta reports on the joint effort being made by China and the E.U. to keep the Paris Agreement in play - making for a stark choice between working with the world's leading economic powers, or signing on to Donald Trump's denial agenda. 

- Meanwhile, Harrison Mooney interviews Stephen Marche about the need for Canada to be willing to drop the gloves with the Trump regime rather than looking for every possible opportunity to accommodate it. 

- Luke Savage comments on the reality that the AI revolution is nothing but a theft of the information which already exists online and is being turned into word slurry - though I'd think there are arguments to be made that there are equally important heists from investors, and from the people who will face adverse decisions based on artificial non-intelligence. And Paris Marx notes that Mark Carney is fully on board with the use of AI as a means to further enrich the existing tech oligopoly. 

- Finally, Samuel Girard discusses how "build more" is an overly simplistic answer to a housing crisis which is rooted in the use of existing units for investment and profit at the expense of people whose right to a home isn't sufficiently profitable. Jill Atkey highlights the absurdity of prioritizing parking requirements over the availability of accessible homes. And the Globe and Mail's editorial board weighs in on the need for cities to reverse their past car-centric policies which have made communities less walkable and liveable. 

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Isabella Kaminski reports on the International Court of Justice's advisory ruling that climate destruction can be a source of state liability for reparations, while John Woodside discusses the particular impact on Canada as our governments continue to lavish money on the sources of carbon pollution. Steven Wilhelm reports on Alberta's choice to discriminate against clean energy by setting far higher reclamation standards for an industry which doesn't pollute than for the fossil fuel sector which consistently leaves a toxic mess behind. And Lorne Fitch points out that anti-regulatory rhetoric about "red tape" is absolutely incompatible with environmental protection. 

- Paul Krugman writes about the general theory of enshittification and its effect on us as citizens and consumers. Emanuel Maiberg discusses how Google's AI overview is trashing both the Internet and the brains of users, while Jonathan Durand Falco comments on the role of Elon Musk's Grok in precipitating an era of techno-fascism. And Timothy Caulfield offers a warning about the spread of health misinformation  - as well as suggestions to avoid propagating it. 

- Jared Walker and Silas Xuereb make the case for Canada to crack down on the stashing of wealth in tax havens. And Linda McQuaig rightly argues that if Canada is going to get roped into inflated military costs, we should expect the wealthiest few to foot the bill. 

- Kim Siever writes that handouts to for-profit developers will do little to ameliorate a housing crisis based on inequality and a lack of affordable units. And Jonathan English and Stephen Jacob Smith note that our continued attachment to U.S.-based elevator rules represent a barrier to the construction of more affordable rental housing. 

- Finally, Sophia Harris exposes how corporate grocery giants are using false country of origin information to get shoppers to buy U.S.-based products. 

Wednesday Night Cat Blogging

Blanketed cat.

Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Blayne Haggart and Eric Duchesne point out that Mark Carney's idea of nation-building reflects little more than barely warmed-over 1980s neoliberalism - making for a particularly inapt response to a reality in which the corporations who stand to dominate us are themselves under the thumb of the Trump regime. Jim Stanford discusses how Canada is far better off avoiding a new trade deal with the U.S. rather than signing over our sovereignty to a bad-faith actor who will never respect any theoretical gains. 

- Janelle Lapointe writes that the "fast-track" laws pushed by Carney and conservative premiers are designed primarily to bulldoze Indigenous rights for corporate benefit. Abigail Jackson, Rachel Samson, and Ricardo Chejfec note that rural and remote communities and local workers stand to lose out if the push for major projects doesn't include a plan to build a local workforce. And Angella MacEwen discusses how workers stand to lose out from Carney's austerity. 

- Carol Schwartz writes that there's no excuse not to be setting - and reaching - net-zero carbon emission targets. Kate Aronoff discusses how climate neglect is driving up grocery prices among other costs of living. 

- Meanwhile, Saul Griffith highlights the ready availability of affordable electricity - particular if we focus on cheap solar and improved storage and distribution rather than allowing fossil fuel interests to dictate that we keep lining their pockets. And Arthur Zhang discusses how a zero-emission vehicle target is still well within reach (and worth pursuing). 

- Finally, Cathy Bussewitz reports on the Trump regime's declaration that protections for workers are obsolete, with Trump's supposed concern for the masses now resulting in attacks on minimum wages, overtime pay and protection from hazardous substances. And George Monbiot rightly calls out the Starmer government for facilitating the importation and use of toxic chemicals without meaningful controls or assessments based solely on the say-so of a single other jurisdiction. 

Tuesday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Tom Nichols discusses how the only discernible values behind the Trump regime are those of corruption and retribution. And Toby Buckle writes about the right's choice to prioritize humiliation for perceived others over benefits for anybody. 

- Meanwhile, Lauren Egan writes that U.S. Democrats are only now understanding the importance of competing in the attention economy - but are doing so just in time for the corporate media to use its full reach to serve Trump. 

- Piers Forster and Debbie Rosen discuss the recognition by climate scientists that we have only a few years left to avoid the worst impacts of a climate breakdown. Andrew Freedman writes that 2025 is shaping up to be a summer of flooding in the U.S. among other catastrophic impacts. And Emma Court reports on the connection between climate change and increased food prices. 

- Mark Hertsgaard writes that most Americans are at least concerned about climate change, but don't understand the scope of the danger - while Ketan Joshi notes that Australia's media (like that in many other countries) is grossly failing to keep people informed about the dangers of carbon pollution. And Fiona Harvey reports on Antonio Guterres' message that a transition to clean energy is in sight. 

- Lisa McKenzie and Nicole Deziel discuss how children near fossil fuel installations face a higher risk of acute lymphocytic leukemia (among other health harms). And Tom Perkins reports on new research showing the dangers of exposure to a combination of pesticides in the course of pregnancy. 

- Finally, Emily Atkin discusses how Microsoft's AI, developed in part based on the promise of helping the climate, is instead being used to increase fossil fuel production. And Faine Greenwood writes about the need to stop relying on platforms which are designed to maximize corporate control rather than recency and accuracy for emergency warnings. 

Musical interlude

Deftones - My Mind Is A Mountain

Hiatus

There will be little or no posting from this corner until next week. Hope everybody's enjoying their summer...

Musical interlude

Tori Amos - Lovesong (Aching Heart Mix)

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- George Monbiot discusses how fascist concepts of "joking" are used to normalize the dehumanization of the targets of a regime's abuses. And Greg Sargent talks to Todd Schulte about the gap between ICE agents coming face to face with public opprobrium, and the Trump regime which wants footage of cruelty for entertainment and propaganda value. 

- Sidney Blumenthal highlights how Trump's budget thoroughly betrays his political base. And Paul Krugman offers a warning as to the dangers of allowing Trump to seize control of the Federal Reserve Board and turn monetary policy into an instrument of political convenience and corruption. 

- Dean Blundell reports on one insider's account that Trump's announced tariffs are all "fake" - though that hardly represents any reason to treat him as a rational or good faith actor. And Jim Stanford points out that Canada has room to respond to the latest announcement of arbitrary tariffs by applying far more justified taxes on the U.S.' corporate services surplus. 

- Rebecca Hersher and Lauren Sommer write about the growing risk of floods across the U.S., while Emily Sanders offers a reminder that the reflexive denialism of Greg Abbott and other Republicans isn't shared by their fossil fuel funders. But then, Kate Aronoff notes that the Republicans are also using the chaos they've caused through environmental negligence and gutted disaster response mechanisms to sow fear and confusion. 

- Hiroko Tabuchi reports on Trump's plans to slash a chemical safety investigator even over the objections of the businesses it oversees. And Leah Borts-Kuperman reports on the newly-recognized health effects of chemical contamination at CFB Moose Jaw.

- Finally, Tess Collier reports on the UK's longstanding failure to respond to the use of toxic sludge as a fertilizer. And Rachel Salvidge follows by reporting on both the cover-up between government and corporate forces, and the widespread contamination of waterways by PFAs. 

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Qasim Rashid offers a reminder that the U.S.' deficit and debt are the result of a political system controlled by and for the oligarch class. Paul Krugman writes that Donald Trump's use of punitive tariffs to try to interfere in the Brazilian criminal justice system for the benefit of his crony Jair Bolsonaro represents a new level of abuse of power. Brian Beutler rightly argues that an essential element of any Democratic plans for a post-Trump government will need to include a plan to hold people accountable for their criminal activity. And Toby Buckle warns that moderation and conflict aversion in the face of fascism serves only to exacerbate the danger. 

- Antonia Juhasz reports on Trump's giveaways to dirty energy - which are even larger than generally assumed. Seth Klein questions why governments can always find immense amounts of money for military spending, but won't invest anything close to what's needed to deal with the imminent security threat of climate change. And Sophie Hurwitz writes about the widespread support for carbon prices in affluent countries even as their governments shy away from defending anything of the sort. 

- Bill McKibben writes about the ongoing transformation of energy systems as solar power proves itself to be far more affordable and more stable than fossil-fuel based energy. And Zachary Shahan writes that past projections for oil production and use are grossly outdated as a result, while Max Fawcett points out that Alberta's insistence on trying to vastly increase production lacks any grounding in reality. 

- Carlo Dade writes about the folly of rushing into a trade agreement with a Trump regime which couldn't care less about holding up its end of any bargain, while Sophia Harris reports that Canadian consumers are still eager to boycott U.S. products (but are facing increased difficulty as the corporate class tries to normalize Trump's abuses). 

- Finally, Christo Aivalis calls out Mark Carney's plans to bring DOGE to Canada by another name. And Nora Loreto writes that Carney is following the Chretien-era Libs' legacy of austerity for its own sake even after we've seen the consequences of defunding necessary services. 

Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Paul Krugman discusses how toxic masculinity is being used by the oil and gas sector to keep people addicted to dirty fossil fuels. And Cathy Orlando highlights the need for Canada's energy policy to be based on the recognition that renewables are cheaper, cleaner and more secure, rather than letting the burn-it-all fantasies of oil tycoons dictate our plans. 

- Joseph Gedeon reports on the latest U.S. court decision decreeing that the most basic consumer protections (in this case the requirement for providers to offer a mechanism to cancel services) offend the overriding principle that corporations have a right to avoid restrictions on their extraction of wealth from the public. And Paul Glastris and Kainoa Lowman report on the problems with the U.S.' rural broadband strategy created by incumbent providers and their Republican spokesflacks which are now being trumpeted as reason to avoid public action altogether.  

- Meanwhile, Paris Marx discusses the need to build our own digital infrastructure rather than being subject to the whims of either corporate monoliths or the Trump regime. And Joseph Stiglitz warns that Mark Carney's capitulation to Donald Trump on the digital services tax is threatening the global discussions which were supposed to offer an alternative. 

- More broadly, Blayne Haggart questions how Carney can pretend to be so clueless about the constant bad faith action of the Trump administration. Neil Moss points out that even former Lib cabinet ministers are sounding the alarm that their party's new leader is selling us out. Christopher Holcroft points out the lack of any defensible rationale for increased military spending (especially where it serves to tie us even more tightly to the U.S.), while William Eltherington reports on the damage Carney's planned austerity will do to our civil service capacity. And Tom Goldsmith writes that the problem is Carney's determination to follow a corporate playbook rather than having any vision for Canada as a country. 

- Finally, David Macdonald and Martha Friendly write that there's a long way to go for the promise of $10 per day child care to be fulfilled at the national level - even as Scott Moe and other right-wing premiers look to reverse the progress that's been made by refusing to sign on to an extension of funding. 

Tuesday Night Cat Blogging

Reaching cat.

Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Julia Steinberger writes about the necropolitics surrounding the climate breakdown - as fossil fuel interests have declared our lives forfeit, and our scope for decision-making is limited to trying to salvage what we can around that assumption. Ellen Ormesher and Rebecca John discuss the UK's parliamentary debate on fossil fuel ads with reference to the increasingly sophisticated and manipulative techniques used to keep people addicted to dirty energy. Michael Bloomberg notes that the recent Texas floods are just the latest example of disasters made worse by climate denial. And Erin Sagen highlights how the childhood experience of gaining independence and bolstering health through cycling is being taken away by car-centric transportation choices. 

- Ezra Levin notes that the firehose of money being spewed at ICE will represent the most obvious direct effect of the Trump budget. And Greg Sargent talks to Garrett Graff about the reasons to anticipate that an immense flow of money into a secret police apparatus will lead to massive corruption. 

- Alexander Hill and Paul Robinson each highlight why Canada shouldn't accept sleepwalking into its own wasteful funding of a militarized state. And Kate McKenna reports on a new procurement process set up to favour an American supplier rather than doing anything to support Canadian sovereignty and independence from the would-be conqueror to our south. . 

- Meanwhile, Christo Aivalis discusses how Mark Carney's promise of resistance has generally given way to absolute capitulation to Trump - making the latest round of calls for "strategic voting" the most destructive one yet. 

- Finally, Hamilton Nolan writes about the blinkered vision of billionaires who can't imagine politics or social structures serving any goal other than to shower them with still more unnecessary wealth. 

Monday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Alex Morrison reports on the call from climate experts for immediate action to avoid careening past imminent climate tipping points. BNE reports on the unprecedented reversal of of the Deep Western Boundary Current as yet another example of the damage already done. And Aliyah Marko-Omene reports on the drought emergency facing southwestern Saskatchewan - even as the Moe government continues in its nihilistic determination to exacerbate the climate breakdown. 

- Jim Stanford points out that the digital services tax which Mark Carney sacrificed just to sit down with a manifestly untrustworthy counterparty has been was itself far from sufficient to account for the rents being extracted by U.S. tech giants.  

- Meanwhile, Stuart Trew and Marc Lee highlight how the business lobby's knee-jerk demand to eliminate regulations and development strategies in the guise of "trade barriers" will do little to boost anybody's economy, but create immense risks for democratic decision-making. 

- Finally, Tim White discusses the EU's experience - paralleled across North America as well - showing that the financialization of housing ensures that people's human rights aren't met. And Aishwarya Dudha reports on the rise of mortgage delinquencies across Canada - with Saskatchewan once again ranking worst among the provinces. 

Musical interlude

The XX - Intro

Friday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material to end your week.

- Greg Sargent highlights how Donald Trump's pretense of concern for working-class people has given way to the largest transfer of wealth to plutocrats in U.S. history. Harold Meyerson discusses how Trump's repressive police state is keeping communities from celebrating the Fourth of July or otherwise participating in public life. Jeremy Brecher writes about the importance of ensuring that people with the means and privilege to engage in protest make sure Trump knows there's widespread opposition. And Yanis Varoufakis writes about the lessons from Karl Marx which are as vital to today's populist movements as those of the 1800s. 

- Meanwhile, Rick Salutin points out that Mark Carney's caving to Trump on a digital services tax represents an absolute failure to understand what Canadians expect from him. 

- Greg Silsbe et al. study the decline in ocean nutrients and photosynthesis caused by a warming climate. Isabella Kaminski reports on the ruling of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights that states have a legal duty to protect people from the effects of a climate breakdown. And Ayesha Tandon discusses a new analysis showing that the research we have into the effects of the climate crisis fails to take into account the particular impacts on fast-growing cities in developing countries. 

- Franziska Mager writes that there's no lack of resources available to fund a just transition if governments recognize and exercise their ability to tax extreme wealth. Reuters reports on new research showing that Germany could make substantial progress toward its carbon pollution targets just by cutting fossil fuel subsidies. And Juan Moreno-Cruz notes that methane mitigation can both create jobs and significantly cut harmful emissions - but that it won't work without effective emission regulation. 

- Simon Enoch discusses the importance of rural media outlets to build community connections on a foundation of facts and basic principles. And Gillian Steward calls out Danielle Smith for spending her summer on a separatist road show rather than anything that could actually help Albertans, while Leanna Sanders reports on the UCP's joint attempt with the Ford PCs to officially torpedo any commitment to clean drinking water for First Nations. 

- Finally, Bruce Campbell offers a reminder as to how corporate greed and deregulatory zeal led to the Lac-Megantic rail disaster - and how people are still suffering from its aftereffects. 

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Charlie Angus comments on the futility of giving up substantial interests in the hope that a new trade deal with the Trump regime will be the first one he ever sees fit to honour. And Dylan Robertson reports on Lloyd Axworthy's jusitifed criticism of Mark Carney's bootlicking. 

- Meanwhile, Stephen Marche discusses how Canada can go it alone from a national defence standpoint if the Libs stop operating in denial of the Trump threat. And Elizabeth Payne reports on the Canadian Medical Association Journal's call to build a stronger system to track and monitor communicable diseases to fill the void left by a U.S. regime that's happy to condemn people to avoidable deaths. 

- Davis Legree reports on David Suzuki's lamentation that it's too late to avoid a climate breakdown as opposed to mitigating and surviving it as best we can. But Oxfam notes that there's still widespread public support to hold dirty energy tycoons responsible for the damage they've inflicted on our living environment.

- Finally, David Climenhaga discusses how the UCP's latest surveys couldn't be more blatant as means of manufacturing consent for separatism and division. And Jeremy Appel offers an account of Canada Day in the realm of the Alberta separatists whose cause is being stoked by their provincial government. 

Wednesday Morning Links

 Assorted content for your Wednesday reading.

- Dharna Noor discusses how Zohran Mamdani is rightly connecting climate ambition to an affordability agenda. And Vass Bednar looks to Mamdani's push for public grocery stores as the type of government action which can provide tangible benefits to people who are chronically neglected by corporate forces.

- The Guardian's editorial board writes that leaders should be reminding the public why it's so important  to cut our carbon pollution (particularly as an extreme heat waves makes the stakes readily apparent) - though Sam Jones reports on Teresa Ribera's warning that political cowardice is already the primary barrier to climate action. And David Vetter reports on the call from U.K. ad agencies for a ban on fossil fuel advertising to stop the flood of propaganda for an immensely harmful industry. 

- Andrea Pitzer calls out the Republicans' plan to direct hundreds of billions of dollars toward ramping up a secret police and detention apparatus. And Robert Reich warns that Peter Thiel and other tycoons are looking to make an even more invasive surveillance state into a source of political control (as well as private wealth accumulation). 

- Paris Marx joins the many voices calling out Mark Carney's decision to rescind a digital services tax which would have set the slightest of limits on how big tech exploits Canadians. And Blaine Haggart writes that we now know enough to assess - and criticize - Carney's blinkered refusal to accept that the Trump regime will never enter into any trade agreement in good faith. 

- Meanwhile, Matteo Cimellaro reports that Carney's plans for Canada's public sector include the worst cuts to service in recent history, while David Macdonald highlights how there's no way to inflict those cuts without causing severe harm. And Geoff Mulgan writes about the lack of interest in plumbing which has made it impossible to turn promises or expectations into reality. 

- Finally, Bob Lord writes that income tax rates alone won't rein in worsening inequality based primarily on gross disparities in wealth whose products are given favourable treatment.