Musical interlude

TWO LANES feat. Kwesi - Another Time

 

Thursday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Linda McQuaig writes about the need for international solidarity in responding to the corruption and aggression of Donald Trump. Stephen Maher notes that there are important lessons for Canada in Trump's Venezualan coup. And the Economist points out that Canada's military is necessarily planning to respond to U.S. hostility - even as the two largest parties in Parliament treat it as something to be minimized or welcomed. 

- Virginia Heffernan argues that the most important reality of the Epstein scandal is the culture of elite impunity which continues to mutate and spread. And Roger Hallam discusses how the capital class is choosing a death project over any sustainable alternative which might reduce its control over the general public. 

- Faine Greenwood discusses the increasing number of people who see reality itself as irrelevant compared to online slop and propaganda. And Peter Smith comments on the dangers of social isolation to health, well-being and community. 

- Finally, a new McGill study finds that any spin about crime being caused by supervised consumption sites is a myth - meaning that the attack against harm reduction has no effect other than to exacerbate the human toll of the drug crisis.

Tuesday Night Cat Blogging

Cat among the pigeons.

Tuesday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Robert Reich discusses how Donald Trump is a threat to civilization (in the form of any social order other than one based on brute force and coercion) around the globe. And Marisa Kabas warns that much of the media is playing into Trump's hands by normalizing - if not outright siding with - his violence and dishonesty.

- Paris Marx discusses how the U.S.' tech giants serve its military ends - and how Canada and other countries are enabling their own domination by putting critical information in hostile hands. Kaylie Tiessen points out how trade deals have been used as an excuse to prevent Canada from exercising any digital sovereignty. And Heather Stewart notes that AI slop isn't worth the immense financial and environmental cost anywhere.

- Clare Fieseler comments on Trump's destruction of clean power development even as it becomes far more efficient and effective than the dirty energy sources that form his donor base. And Arnie Gundersen offers a reminder that spin about small nuclear reactors serves only as a delay tactic rather than a viable alternative to renewables.

-  Finally, Ed Cara reports on a new study showing that the ongoing toll of COVID-19 in the U.S. is in the range of a million hospitalizations and a hundred thousands deaths every year. And Maja Stojanovic et al. examine the vascular damage done by COVID-19.

Monday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material for your Monday reading.

- Stephen Beschloss writes that while the specifics may be unpredictable, the broad strokes of the Trump regime are entirely in keeping with a U.S. political system gone mad. And Hamilton Nolan confronts the reality that the U.S. is unmistakably the bad guy in its treatment of the rest of the world, while Will Bunch properly characterizes it as a rogue state. And Carol Calwalladr discusses the danger as seen from abroad.  

- The Guardian's editorial board makes the case for Europe to present a strong and united front against the U.S.' imperialism. And Thomas Homer-Dixon and Alex Gordon rightly argue that Canada needs to be planning to respond to American aggression - not tying ourselves even more tightly to a hostile and impetuous power. 

- A.R. Moxon examines the significance of the unapologetic racism and bigotry of white supremacists. 

- And finally, Adam King reviews the state of Canadian labour in 2025 - with unions succeeding in achieving wage gains, but having to fight against adverse conditions in the broader economy. 

Tuesday Night Cat Blogging

Aquatic cat.

Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Yanis Varoufakis rightly argues that the EU (and the international community generally) should be treating the U.S.' draconian sanctions against ICC judges as fully disqualifying it from being treated as anything but a bad actor. And James Ball writes about the challenges facing the war on disinformation as the few people who once worked on countering propaganda are likewise being treated as persona non grata, while Charles Ornstein discusses the Trump regime's intimidation tactics toward working reporters (including treating basic requests for comment as evidence of hostility). 

- Connie Loizis reports on the development of a private security state under the not-at-all-telling branding of Sauron. And Arian Campo-Flores discusses how the wealthy are buying privacy which has been made unavailable to anybody else. 

- Elizabeth Todd-Breland opines that there's no room for dispute that corporations need to pay more taxes to support a functional society. And Richard Partington writes about the need for UK Labour (and other governments) to recognize the human toll of increased automation. 

- Finally, Tina Swanson offers a handy categorization of climate policies based on their level of utility - with the corporate right's preferred delay tactics of nuclear reactors and carbon capture and storage serving as representative examples of what not to bank on. Marc Lee discusses what we've learned about Mark Carney's agenda, including his his prioritizing dirty energy over any considerations of well-being or long-term prosperity. And David Roberts interviews Saul Griffith about the success of Australia's rooftop solar program. 

Monday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material for your Monday reading.

- Seva Gunitsky discusses how the U.S. is committing hegemonic suicide. Simon Tisdall is about as optimistic as one can be about the Trump regime in arguing that it will represent little more than a blotch in on history in the long run, while Daniel Barkhuff writes that the U.S. resistance is winning by persevering. And Will Saletan et al. comment on Trump's plundering of all available sources of tribute. 

- Samuel Wynn Warde writes that Canada has been able to avoid the worst effects of Trump's capriciousness by (thus far) choosing not to supply the U.S.' war against it. And Cory Doctorow argues that countries can further remove themselves from the whims of the U.S. and its tech giants by repealing anti-circumvention laws which prioritize corporate rentiers over users and citizens. 

- Sam Sutton points out that the wealthiest few are predictably making a killing off of Trump's corruption without any benefit finding its way past the upper classes. And Curtis Fric comments on new polling showing that Canadians view the economic system as biased in favour of the rich.  

- Anna Isaac notes that tech billionaires have raked in half a trillion dollars in AI-based valuation based on little more than laughable spin. Aisha Down and Dan Milmo discuss Nvidia's attempts to avoid becoming the next Enron or Lucent, though the main difference seems to be that its need for constant expansion to support its business model is out in the open. And each of Emily Sanders and Morgan Bazalian and Brandon Owens highlight how AI's greenwashed messages and promises are utterly contrary to its reliance on dirty fossil fuels. 

- Oliver Milman reports on new polling showing that even a strong majority of U.S. voters see the climate crisis as affecting their food supply and cost of living. And Steven Morris reports on the National Trust's latest observations on the worsening of extreme weather. 

- Finally, University of California - Riverside examines the effects of microplastics in clogging arteries and fueling heart disease. Which makes Mark Carney's decision to enable single-use plastics exports look like nothing but a choice to sell out people's health in order to prop up the oil sector. 

Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Sujeet Indap and Akila Quinio report on the accumulation of consumer debt by private credit groups, making people's inability to meet their needs into a factor being exploited by more and more capital interests. And Robert Reich highlights the need for a more fair distribution of wealth and income for the economy to be able to function:

   

- Meanwhile, Roshni Sahoo et al. model the cost of ending extreme poverty around the world, and find the price of ending severe deprivation would amount to a rounding error of .3% of global GDP. 

- Huilin Luo et al. examine (PDF) the effect of different greenhouse gas emission policies, and find that it's impossible to subsidize our way out of a climate breakdown without also regulating carbon pollution. Umair Irfan writes that we can't afford to give up the climate fight even as fossil fuel forces are already pushing us past dangerous thresholds. And Cloe Logan reports on Laura Tozer's lament that Mark Carney is doing nothing but undermining an already-insufficient set of federal climate policies. 

- Finally, Emma Graney reports that Carney is also laying the groundwork to open up the export of single-use plastics as another means of favouring the oil sector at the expense of public and environmental health. And Juno Rylee Schultz discusses how laissez-faire theory which lets businesses decide how much pollution to emit has consistently led to people being poisoned and exploited. 

Tuesday Night Cat Blogging

Decorated cat.

Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Kara Miller interviews Ray Madoff about the tax dodges that allow the richest Americans to hoard wealth without contributing to the society that makes it possible. And David Sirota is duly cynical about Mitt Romney and other plutocrats offering meaningless gestures toward tax fairness after they've forfeited the power to implement it. 

- Meanwhile, Thom Hartmann writes that plenty of Americans are eager to see a new New Deal to break up the concentration of wealth and power. And Rafael Behr discusses the prospect of people taking back control after the AI bubble bursts. 

- Allen Woods writes about Mark Carney's decision to become a fossil fuel cheerleader rather than a responsible climate advocate, while Rick Smith laments the uncertainty and lack of ambition created by Carney's climate policy reversals.  And the Guardian's editorial board notes that the EU too looks to be undermining readily-achievable gains by shredding its previous electric vehicle targets. 

- Among the other harms caused by the climate breakdown, Damian Carrington reports on a new analysis showing that crop production is becoming more vulnerable to pests, while Senay Boztas reports that even the food which reaches our tables includes less nutrition and more filler as a result of rising CO2 levels. 

- Finally, Rachel Morgam reports on Ontario School Safety's appeal for basic air quality improvements to limit the spread of cold and flu viruses. And Laine Bergeron discusses new research showing that workplace exposures in high-risk jobs (including teaching and health-care work) correlate to a higher risk of long COVID. 

Monday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Amanda Marcotte discusses how Donald Trump is taking know-nothingism to new depths in response to even the most glaring of realities. Mike Konczal notes that whatever theory there was behind Trump's economic policy (other than naked corruption) has utterly failed to materialize. And Casey Michel points out that white-collar criminals are among the few groups seeing any advantage to Trump's regime, while Adam Serwer adds Confederacy enthusiasts and anti-equality conservatives to the list. 

- Conor Curtis writes that Trump's most important current attack on Canada is being launched through corporate lobbyists. And Antonia Scatton discusses the failure of empty messaging which fails to recognize or challenge the control exerted by the wealthy few. 

- David Roberts interviews Samuel Bagg about the importance of social identity in guarding against misinformation, while David Climenhaga points out the massive pile of propaganda being served up by the UCP as it seeks to push anti-Canadian sentiment with no regard for facts or outcomes. And David Gilbert notes that some of the most influential voices in politics are ones who use large platforms to only rarely address political issues.  

- Finally, Patrick Marlborough calls out the Australian right for seeking to exploit a tragedy to push immigrant-bashing. But Amy Remeikis notes that nobody should be surprised to see the shock doctrine applied by conservative parties or their media sycophants. 

Musical interlude

deadmau5 - Luxuria (Tinlicker Remix)

Friday Afternoon Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Jonathan Last discusses how the U.S. economy is coming apart under a regime which is attacking progress and security in any form. Matt Johnson highlights how the general public is turning against Trumpism even in the areas where it once found some support, while Toby Buckle laments that the people who offered early warnings about his dangers were ignored. But Miles Taylor warns that the Trump regime's next step is to designate all opposition as "terrorism" which can be summarily suppressed, while David Dayen rightly questions why Congress is continuing to allow Trump to run roughshod over laws and appropriations alike. 

- Justine Calma writes that public backlash is succeeding in blocking expensive and dangerous data centres. And Joe Wilkins reports on the revelation that the contents of "private" ChatGPT conversations are being harvested for profit. 

- Science Magazine names the growth of renewable energy as the breakthrough of the year for 2025. But in case anybody thought that meant governments would stop going out of their way to push dirty fossil fuels, Rafi Schwartz reports on Donald Trump's intention to undermine climate science by trashing the National Centre for Atmospheric Research, while Catherine Garrett reports on yet another oil company leaving the Alberta public holding the bag after failing to pay its taxes. And Natasha Bulowski reports on Steven Guilbeault's painfully modest request that the federal government enforce the law when it comes to climate obligations, while Adrienne Tanner reports on Avi Lewis' far more ambitious plan to make Canada a clean energy leader rather than a fossil. 

- Finally, Ximena Gonzalez writes about the need for Alberta's housing policy to focus on building non-market homes rather than providing handouts to corporate developers, while Alex Hemingway points out the need for B.C. to invest far more in its own social housing. And Ludovic Viger discusses the value of co-ops as another housing model. 

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Paul Krugman discusses Donald Trump's mission of making cruelty and bigotry into default positions in American culture. And Jamelle Bouie comments on the absurdity of concentrating power in a dictator who has no interest in bothering to govern. 

- Eleni Courea and Lisa O'Carroll report on the rightful recognition by UK MPs that there's no point in trying to negotiate agreements with Trump when he's proven utterly incapable of holding up his end of any bargain. But naturally, the Cons (and particularly Jamil Jivani) would like nothing more than to shackle Canada to a deal that ties us more tightly to Trump. 

- Andy Ober discusses how the costs of the climate breakdown can already be seen in substantially reduced income. And Frederick O'Brien, Pablo Gutierrez and Ashley Kirk examine how climate change is degrading food production around the globe.

- The Canadian Climate Institute weighs in on the federal government's latest progress report showing us already off track to miss our 2030 and 2035 commitments even before Mark Carney eviscerates the emission reduction policies previously on the books.

- Finally, Darius Snieckus and Rory White report on the reality that while the massive carbon capture project being pushed by Carney may not be certain to capture the promissed emissions, we can rest assured it will exhaust much of Alberta's already-dwindling water supply. And Chris Varcoe's discussion of how Carney is also enabling indiscriminate data centre construction only raises the prospect that AI might bleed Alberta dry before the oil industry does. 

Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Jonathan Last discusses how many of the harms being inflicted by the Trump regime can never fully be repaired, while Anne Applebaum writes about Trump's determination to undermine liberal democracy anywhere it hasn't yet fully given way to authoritarian kleptocracy. Anika Jane Beamer reports on the disastrous state of FEMA as the concept of providing assistance to people in case of emergency is purged from the U.S.' federal government. And G. Elliott Morris examines Keir Starmer's example as evidence of the need to fight back against race-baiting and immigrant-bashing, rather than triangulating away people's humanity. 

- The Yale School of the Environment finds that climate change is responsible for two-thirds of the emissions from wildfires in the western U.S. And Kevin Morrison reports that the world's largest carbon capture and storage project is becoming less effective by the year - while Uma Gupta writes that in contrast, solar energy backed by battery storage is becoming readily available and affordable while slashing carbon pollution. 

- But the absolute lack of any rational basis to cheerlead for dirty energy hasn't stopped Mark Carney from making that his government's top priority - much to the frustration of both Richard Brooks, and the experts and leaders consulted by Ilya Gridneff and Kenza Bryan. And Adam Ramsay discusses how corporate trade deals are being unsed to allow oil companies to dictate British trade and climate policy. 

- Lloyd Alter comments that for all the complaints about young people's screen time, the most glaring increase in time and dependency can be found among older adults. 

- Finally, Ryan Romard examines how Canada Post compares to its international counterparts - and finds that we currently have a highly effective postal system which will only deliver less value for money if the Libs follow through on their plans to gut it. 

Tuesday Night Cat Blogging

Perky cat.

Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Joyce Vance writes about the purge of any trace of decency in the U.S. right which has found its ultimate expressio in Donald Trump. And Christopher Guly reports on the reaction to the U.S.' plans to dominate Canada from people who have been responsible for managing Canadian foreign affairs.  

- Dana Drugmand discusses a new Center for Climate Integrity report on the constant barrage of false advertising by the fossil fuel industry. And Chris Rossdale et al. study how petropoliticians are repressing and criminalizing peaceful protest to try to ensure oil barons can keep extracting profits unchallenged. 

- Michael Sainato reports on the Trump regime's attacks on the labour movement and the public bodies responsible for regulating and remedying employer abuses. And Emma Arkell discusses the pattern of interference by Canadian governments to prevent workers from making gains through collective action. 

- Gillian Petit documents the reality of the working poor in Canada, while pointing out that readily affordable supports could provide the dignity and stability needed to improve their circumstances. And Mike Moffatt points out the plummeting incomes of young middle-class males (paired with an increase in income for those over 65), while the Canadian Press reports on the World Happiness Report's observation that Canadians under 30 are now the unhappiest generation in the country. 

- Kate Allen notes that one of the primary effects of arbitrary back-to-office mandates is to cause a spike in preventable air pollution. And Gary Fuller reports on new research showing that air passengers are exposed to extreme amounts of particulate pollution during boarding and taxiing. 

- Finally, Jared Wesley offers his take on what Albertans can do in response to the UCP's attacks on anything resembling democratic governance. 

Monday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Thomas Zimmer discusses how the Trump regime is attacking concept of treating people as equals, while Greg Sargent highlights Stephen Miller's role in trying to connect white nationalism to an oppressive police state. Jojo points out the importance of continuing to call out bigotry even as it's implemented as policy. And Garrett Graff offers reason for hope that Donald Trump is losing in his attempt to consolidate power. 

- Jake Johnson reports on the World Inequality Lab's latest study on the extreme concentration of wealth in the top .001% of wealth hoarders. And Michael Hirschorn writes that their ability to buy sycophancy is leading the uber-rich to Louis XV levels of hubris. 

- Jim Stanford writes that the only genuine risk to jobs from AI is the danger of a stock market crash as increasingly implausible valuations are based on little but hype and wishful thinking. M.J. Crockett discusses the crucial distinction between the "thick empathy" possible between people, and the pale imitation served up by performative artifical intelligence. And Derek Kravitz reports on the use of AI by unscrupulous business to extract higher prices from consumers. 

- Zion Lights discusses Finland's work in teaching students how to think critically as an antidote to disinformation. But Arwa Mahdawi laments how the corporate media has embraced being a tool of the rich, famous and connected rather than a counterbalance against elite abuses. 

- Finally, Adam King reports on another area where the Carney Libs seem determined to emulate the Trump regime, as they've removed publicly available labour relations data with no apparent explanation. And Mary Chevreau reports on yet another nasty surprise in the Libs' budget, as its cuts to Canada Post operations include the elimination of a library postage rate which allows for the exchange of library materials. 

Musical interlude

Lavaros - Afternoon Memories