Assorted content for your weekend reading.
- Adam Tooze writes that the coronavirus pandemic has offered a reminder that the economy (particularly defined in terms of shareholders' interests) can't be given priority over human survival and well-being.
- John Daley discusses three possible options in responding to the coronavirus - and makes the case for a "stop then restart" plan. And Yishan Wong and Lauren Pelley and Adam Miller highlight the need to at least ensure universal testing and tracking, rather than hoping for uninformed choices to control the virus' spread.
- Omar Mosleh highlights how the pandemic is proving particularly devastating for people already living with severe financial and environmental stressors. John Stapleton reminds us that support for the poor is a matter of life and death - and even more so in the midst of a public health crisis. And Manny Fernandez examines the plight of Americans trying to survive as a lockdown and loss of income is stacked on top of existing poverty and deprivation.
- Shawn Vulliez makes the case to suspend the payment of rent while the crisis is in effect, while Iglika Ivanova offers some suggestions as to what needs to follow the first wave of federal announcements. And Johnna Montgomerie writes about the debt emergency which will need to be addressed.
- Finally, both Don Pittis and Jamelle Bouie write that the pandemic should be reminding us of the importance of effective government. But Scott Schmidt warns that we need to be prepared to push back against Jason Kenney and other reactionary leaders trying to impose further austerity. And Zolan Kanno-Youngs and Annie Karni expose how the Trump administration is trying to impose anti-social Republican policies while the public is distracted.
Saturday, March 21, 2020
Friday, March 20, 2020
Friday Afternoon Links
Assorted content to end your week.
- Mike Konczal offers (PDF) a framework for responding to the coronavirus pandemic from a U.S. perspective. And the CCPA is providing ample analysis of the economic and social impacts of COVID-19.
- Dakshana Bascaramurty discusses how the pandemic is revealing and exacerbating Canada's class divide. And Shree Paradkar points out the difference in government reaction depending on the identity of the lives at risk.
- Michael Laxer notes that hoarding and panic buying are fully predictable within a capitalist economic framework. And Lee Fang exposes how Wall Street is putting pressure on medical suppliers to profiteer as a result of the crisis.
- James Meadway observes the need for an anti-wartime mindset which treats demobilization as the top priority.
- Anne Gaviola makes the case for a national rent freeze to ensure that precarious housing doesn't exacerbate a public health emergency. And Nick Falvo examines the sorry state of housing policy in Canada in advance of the federal budget.
- Finally, Helen Lewis and Moira Wyton both point out how women are struggling with disproportionate burdens in the face of the pandemic.
- Mike Konczal offers (PDF) a framework for responding to the coronavirus pandemic from a U.S. perspective. And the CCPA is providing ample analysis of the economic and social impacts of COVID-19.
- Dakshana Bascaramurty discusses how the pandemic is revealing and exacerbating Canada's class divide. And Shree Paradkar points out the difference in government reaction depending on the identity of the lives at risk.
- Michael Laxer notes that hoarding and panic buying are fully predictable within a capitalist economic framework. And Lee Fang exposes how Wall Street is putting pressure on medical suppliers to profiteer as a result of the crisis.
- James Meadway observes the need for an anti-wartime mindset which treats demobilization as the top priority.
- Anne Gaviola makes the case for a national rent freeze to ensure that precarious housing doesn't exacerbate a public health emergency. And Nick Falvo examines the sorry state of housing policy in Canada in advance of the federal budget.
- Finally, Helen Lewis and Moira Wyton both point out how women are struggling with disproportionate burdens in the face of the pandemic.
Thursday, March 19, 2020
Civility Police, Arrest This Man
Sure, it's common knowledge (at least among those not politically motivated to the contrary) that supervised consumption sites save lives.
And it's true that it's a matter of government choice whether those sites get funded.
But that doesn't mean we can abide anybody pointing out that life-and-death choices - and a leader's history in making them - represent a valid consideration in evaluating that leader's fitness. Because connecting the dots would be uncivilized.
And it's true that it's a matter of government choice whether those sites get funded.
But that doesn't mean we can abide anybody pointing out that life-and-death choices - and a leader's history in making them - represent a valid consideration in evaluating that leader's fitness. Because connecting the dots would be uncivilized.
On safety concerns
One of the great mysteries of Scott Moe’s tenure in power is how he’s evaded scrutiny for a personal track record which has demonstrated a gross lack of judgment - including getting convicted of impaired driving, causing a separate accident which killed another person, and filing for bankruptcy.
In the Saskatchewan Party’s leadership campaign, Moe managed to stay just below front-runner status which might have caused competitors to focus more on his weaknesses. And since he took power, the NDP has understandably focused on the many problems with what Moe’s government has been doing more while in office, rather than his past personal actions.
To be sure, it’s a noble impulse to presume that people can overcome and learn from their past tragedies. But there comes a point where we need to ask whether somebody is repeating the patterns which caused them to happen.
And in Moe’s case, the answer is alarming.
Moe offered a brief media tour when his fatal car crash was raised during the course of the Saskatchewan Party leadership campaign. And his responses then are telling today.
While Moe acknowledged the collision, he avoided humanizing the victim (phrasing his descriptions along the lines of “there was a fatality”). And he's equally plainly dodged any self-awareness or responsibility - recognizing that the RCMP’s investigation determined that he drove unsafely, but portraying the crash as a mere matter of whether he proceeded “a few moments earlier, a few moments later”, rather than something for which he bore any fault.
Moe’s pattern of barrelling ahead with insufficient regard for the safety of himself or others has followed him into power. And now, it’s set the tone for his government.
It would have been telling enough for Moe to pursue a snap spring election at the best of times. Even leaving aside the lack of ethics involved in manipulating a fixed election date for partisan advantage, Canadian political history is rife with leaders who received a rude awakening after indulging in enough hubris to believe that an unnecessary early election was the road to holding power indefinitely.
Even worse, though, Moe was positively gleeful in taunting the NDP and the province about calling an election at a time when any avoidable person-to-person contact exacerbates the risks of a public health emergency - while his party also mocked the NDP's well-founded efforts to point out how dangerous that would have been.
Having reluctantly ruled out the snap election plan (while again refusing to admit he could possibly have been in the wrong), Moe has continued to demonstrate a glaring lack of attention to dangerous driving conditions, insisting on presenting budget documentation for political consumption long after anybody could possibly think it bore any resemblance to reality. It was only this week that he finally and farcically decided to erase the revenue side of the ledger altogether from a spending plan - which figures to allow his party to advertise its election platform on the public dime.
That’s all consistent with the Saskatchewan Party's political strategy of making loud announcements, spending millions of corporate dollars on slanderous attack ads, and hoping to have people make surface judgments based on a lack of information. (And if Moe had been able to get his way, an election held during a pandemic might well have helped in creating that political environment.)
And the problem goes far beyond Moe himself: as he's set the example, his passengers in cabinet have chosen to egg him on. Gord Wyant has taken to shouting insults at any passer-by brazen enough to suggest that Moe keep his eyes on the road; Don Morgan and Jim Reiter have gone out of their way to moon Meili and the NDP, rather than focusing on some of the most important cabinet roles in a public health crisis.
The end result is that Moe’s reckless joyride is endangering everybody in Saskatchewan. And as a province, we need to ask how many people have to get killed by our premier’s unsafe driving before we finally wrestle the keys away.
In the Saskatchewan Party’s leadership campaign, Moe managed to stay just below front-runner status which might have caused competitors to focus more on his weaknesses. And since he took power, the NDP has understandably focused on the many problems with what Moe’s government has been doing more while in office, rather than his past personal actions.
To be sure, it’s a noble impulse to presume that people can overcome and learn from their past tragedies. But there comes a point where we need to ask whether somebody is repeating the patterns which caused them to happen.
And in Moe’s case, the answer is alarming.
Moe offered a brief media tour when his fatal car crash was raised during the course of the Saskatchewan Party leadership campaign. And his responses then are telling today.
While Moe acknowledged the collision, he avoided humanizing the victim (phrasing his descriptions along the lines of “there was a fatality”). And he's equally plainly dodged any self-awareness or responsibility - recognizing that the RCMP’s investigation determined that he drove unsafely, but portraying the crash as a mere matter of whether he proceeded “a few moments earlier, a few moments later”, rather than something for which he bore any fault.
Moe’s pattern of barrelling ahead with insufficient regard for the safety of himself or others has followed him into power. And now, it’s set the tone for his government.
It would have been telling enough for Moe to pursue a snap spring election at the best of times. Even leaving aside the lack of ethics involved in manipulating a fixed election date for partisan advantage, Canadian political history is rife with leaders who received a rude awakening after indulging in enough hubris to believe that an unnecessary early election was the road to holding power indefinitely.
Even worse, though, Moe was positively gleeful in taunting the NDP and the province about calling an election at a time when any avoidable person-to-person contact exacerbates the risks of a public health emergency - while his party also mocked the NDP's well-founded efforts to point out how dangerous that would have been.
Having reluctantly ruled out the snap election plan (while again refusing to admit he could possibly have been in the wrong), Moe has continued to demonstrate a glaring lack of attention to dangerous driving conditions, insisting on presenting budget documentation for political consumption long after anybody could possibly think it bore any resemblance to reality. It was only this week that he finally and farcically decided to erase the revenue side of the ledger altogether from a spending plan - which figures to allow his party to advertise its election platform on the public dime.
That’s all consistent with the Saskatchewan Party's political strategy of making loud announcements, spending millions of corporate dollars on slanderous attack ads, and hoping to have people make surface judgments based on a lack of information. (And if Moe had been able to get his way, an election held during a pandemic might well have helped in creating that political environment.)
And the problem goes far beyond Moe himself: as he's set the example, his passengers in cabinet have chosen to egg him on. Gord Wyant has taken to shouting insults at any passer-by brazen enough to suggest that Moe keep his eyes on the road; Don Morgan and Jim Reiter have gone out of their way to moon Meili and the NDP, rather than focusing on some of the most important cabinet roles in a public health crisis.
The end result is that Moe’s reckless joyride is endangering everybody in Saskatchewan. And as a province, we need to ask how many people have to get killed by our premier’s unsafe driving before we finally wrestle the keys away.
Thursday Afternoon Links
This and that for your Thursday reading.
- Frances Woolley points out how the coronavirus pandemic is exposing the effects of decades of austerity on Canada's health care system. Martin Regg Cohn discusses how the spread of the coronavirus is requiring us to seriously rethink how much of our society and economy are set up. And George Eaton highlights how COVID-19 has offered a reminder of the unique power of government to act in the social interest, while Mariana Mazzucato offers some suggestions as to how the coronavirus response can help us restore democratic governments to a lead role in shaping the economy.
- The ILO highlights the brutal impact of the pandemic on workers, while Jim Stanford points out how it has exposed the undervaluing of the people who are now ensuring the continued provision of the necessities of life even as much of our economy shuts down. Evelyn Kwong reports on the workers who are being forced to keep putting themselves and their loved ones at risk by employer demands. And both Reid Rusonik and Rebecca Long-Bailey discuss the need for a basic income to ensure personal security.
- Both Stanford and David Macdonald examine the response so far from Canada's federal government, including how it falls short both of covering all the people who need help and distributing benefits fast enough to deal with immediate needs.
- Andrew Nikiforuk offers his advice as to be an engaged citizen - rather than a selfish consumer - in a public health emergency.
- Finally, Craig Altemose examines how things would be different if we responded to the slower-moving but equally-dangerous climate crisis with the same urgency as the coronavirus. Jeff Sparrow discusses the irreconcilable conflict between growth and environmental limitations which can be seen in both crises. Kate Aronoff points out the value in making green jobs the focus of our rebuilding after the coronavirus recession. And Jason Hickel argues that a transition to a clean economy offers an opportunity to refocus on quality of life rather than GDP.
- Frances Woolley points out how the coronavirus pandemic is exposing the effects of decades of austerity on Canada's health care system. Martin Regg Cohn discusses how the spread of the coronavirus is requiring us to seriously rethink how much of our society and economy are set up. And George Eaton highlights how COVID-19 has offered a reminder of the unique power of government to act in the social interest, while Mariana Mazzucato offers some suggestions as to how the coronavirus response can help us restore democratic governments to a lead role in shaping the economy.
- The ILO highlights the brutal impact of the pandemic on workers, while Jim Stanford points out how it has exposed the undervaluing of the people who are now ensuring the continued provision of the necessities of life even as much of our economy shuts down. Evelyn Kwong reports on the workers who are being forced to keep putting themselves and their loved ones at risk by employer demands. And both Reid Rusonik and Rebecca Long-Bailey discuss the need for a basic income to ensure personal security.
- Both Stanford and David Macdonald examine the response so far from Canada's federal government, including how it falls short both of covering all the people who need help and distributing benefits fast enough to deal with immediate needs.
- Andrew Nikiforuk offers his advice as to be an engaged citizen - rather than a selfish consumer - in a public health emergency.
- Finally, Craig Altemose examines how things would be different if we responded to the slower-moving but equally-dangerous climate crisis with the same urgency as the coronavirus. Jeff Sparrow discusses the irreconcilable conflict between growth and environmental limitations which can be seen in both crises. Kate Aronoff points out the value in making green jobs the focus of our rebuilding after the coronavirus recession. And Jason Hickel argues that a transition to a clean economy offers an opportunity to refocus on quality of life rather than GDP.
Wednesday, March 18, 2020
Wednesday Afternoon Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.
- David Roberts points out that the coronavirus has rendered it imperative to provide supports for people faced with circumstances beyond their control. And Tess Kalinowski and Laurie Monsebraaten report on the community service providers trying to ensure people's basic needs are met in the midst of a pandemic.
- Duncan Cameron discusses how COVID-19 is exposing fissures within Canada, while Doug Cuthand notes that First Nations will be particularly vulnerable to its effects.
- Eric Klinenberg writes that our response to the coronavirus needs to include social solidarity, not merely physical distancing. And Kirstie Brewer assembles some mental health tips to help through a period of social isolation.
- Stephanie Wood reports on the ten-figure liabilities facing B.C.'s public for mine cleanup and reclamation. And Wallis Snowdon reports that future loans won't make up for the damage done to Alberta landowners by the operators of derelict oil wells.
- Finally, Roger Harrabin reports on research which (not surprisingly) concludes that the richest people bear the most responsibility for contributing to climate change.
- David Roberts points out that the coronavirus has rendered it imperative to provide supports for people faced with circumstances beyond their control. And Tess Kalinowski and Laurie Monsebraaten report on the community service providers trying to ensure people's basic needs are met in the midst of a pandemic.
- Duncan Cameron discusses how COVID-19 is exposing fissures within Canada, while Doug Cuthand notes that First Nations will be particularly vulnerable to its effects.
- Eric Klinenberg writes that our response to the coronavirus needs to include social solidarity, not merely physical distancing. And Kirstie Brewer assembles some mental health tips to help through a period of social isolation.
- Stephanie Wood reports on the ten-figure liabilities facing B.C.'s public for mine cleanup and reclamation. And Wallis Snowdon reports that future loans won't make up for the damage done to Alberta landowners by the operators of derelict oil wells.
- Finally, Roger Harrabin reports on research which (not surprisingly) concludes that the richest people bear the most responsibility for contributing to climate change.
Tuesday, March 17, 2020
Tuesday Morning Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading.
- Owen Jones writes that the coronavirus is offering a stark lesson in how inequality kills:
- Both Campbell Clark and Jerry Dias highlight the need for our political leaders to do more rather than less in the face of a crisis which gets exponentially worse for every day it's left unaddressed. And Jacques Gallant and Alyshah Hasham point out how incarcerated populations stand to be particularly hard hit if the pandemic reaches them.
- Caroline Orr notes that the war on truth by the wealthy and powerful has made it all the more difficult to inform the public and get people to act in response to a pandemic. Andrew Nikiforuk connects corporate globalization to the spread of the coronavirus. Carl Meyer reports on the activist push to ensure that Canada's policy response doesn't focus solely on further enriching the wealthy. And Scott Duke Kominers discusses how big business is exploiting the crisis through price gouging on sanitizer and other needed products - and isn't seeing the same public opprobrium as the individuals doing the same.
- Finally, the CCPA's Alternative Federal Budget offers a plan to protect workers and the public, while transitioning to a more secure and sustainable society. And Avi Lewis points out how a Green New Deal represents an ideal plan for rebuilding and modernizing our economy in the wake of the coronavirus.
- Owen Jones writes that the coronavirus is offering a stark lesson in how inequality kills:
The coronavirus pandemic is about to collide with this engine of inequality. The super-rich are fleeing on private jets to luxury boltholes in foreign climes, while the well-to-do may deploy their private health insurance to circumvent our already struggling and soon to be overrun National Health Service. Meanwhile, Britain’s army of precarious workers have nowhere to hide, including from employment that puts their health at risk. Uber drivers, Deliveroo riders, cleaners: all in low-paid jobs, often with families to feed. Many will feel they have no choice but to keep working. While many middle-class professionals can protect themselves by working from home, supermarket shelves cannot be stacked remotely, and the same applies from factory workers to cleaners. How many could truly afford to live on £94.25 a week, which is our country’s paltry statutory sick pay?- Jon Parsons writes that our response to the pandemic needs to be based on an ethic of collective care. Ian Welsh offers his take on what we can expect from the coronavirus and its aftermath. Ella Bedard, John No and Amy Brubacher discuss the need for additional supports for workers in order for social distancing to be effective. Rossana Rodriguez, Carlos Ramirez-Rosa, Byron Sigcho Lopez, Daniel La Spata and Jeanette Taylor note that the holes in the social safety net being exposed now signal the urgent need for enduring systemic change.
...
We know that depression and stress weaken our immune systems, and the research is clear: those on low incomes are disproportionately likely to suffer from poor mental health. Poor diet is another factor, and one that is strongly linked to poverty. What, too, of our most impoverished, those who are homeless with poor nutrition, weaker immune systems and a lack of access to good hygiene? And what happens to the 1.5 million children eligible for free school meals if our education sector is temporarily closed? Many could soon find themselves with hungry bellies.
...
A decade of austerity, and a social order that deprives millions of citizens of a comfortable existence, will mean many more deaths in the coming weeks and months that could have been avoided. The government’s determination to discover a vaccine for coronavirus must be accompanied by a renewed commitment to addressing poverty. Like every crisis, this one is likely to affect working-class and poor people worst. That is not inevitable. It’s a choice – and one within our power to stop, if only we had the will to do so.
- Both Campbell Clark and Jerry Dias highlight the need for our political leaders to do more rather than less in the face of a crisis which gets exponentially worse for every day it's left unaddressed. And Jacques Gallant and Alyshah Hasham point out how incarcerated populations stand to be particularly hard hit if the pandemic reaches them.
- Caroline Orr notes that the war on truth by the wealthy and powerful has made it all the more difficult to inform the public and get people to act in response to a pandemic. Andrew Nikiforuk connects corporate globalization to the spread of the coronavirus. Carl Meyer reports on the activist push to ensure that Canada's policy response doesn't focus solely on further enriching the wealthy. And Scott Duke Kominers discusses how big business is exploiting the crisis through price gouging on sanitizer and other needed products - and isn't seeing the same public opprobrium as the individuals doing the same.
- Finally, the CCPA's Alternative Federal Budget offers a plan to protect workers and the public, while transitioning to a more secure and sustainable society. And Avi Lewis points out how a Green New Deal represents an ideal plan for rebuilding and modernizing our economy in the wake of the coronavirus.
Monday, March 16, 2020
Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material to start your week.
- Emmanuez Saez and Gabriel Zucman call for (PDF) governments to act as buyers of last resort to minimize the economic fallout from the coronavirus. Andrew Jackson offers his take on the appropriate public policy response to ensure that workers' incomes aren't decimated at the worst possible time, while David Macdonald points out how different types of workers stand to be affected in radically different ways. And Sara Mojtehezadeh reports on the plight of lower-income workers who lack paid sick leave.
- Anne Appelbaum discusses how the spread of the coronavirus challenges some of the U.S.' most fervently-held beliefs about itself. Robert Reich laments the destruction of the U.S.' public health system just as it's needed most. And Max Fisher and Emma Bubola point out how the crisis will both affect people differently based on existing inequality, and exacerbate that inequality.
- Andre Picard is hopeful that social solidarity will see us through. But the Globe and Mail's editorial board writes that we'll need to do everything we can to stop the spread of the virus - not delay in the hope that anything will resolve itself.
- Finally, Jenna Moon examines the many occasions risking the transmission of the coronavirus in the course of a single morning commute. And Ambrose Evans-Pritchard takes note of the obvious dangers to health care workers.
- Emmanuez Saez and Gabriel Zucman call for (PDF) governments to act as buyers of last resort to minimize the economic fallout from the coronavirus. Andrew Jackson offers his take on the appropriate public policy response to ensure that workers' incomes aren't decimated at the worst possible time, while David Macdonald points out how different types of workers stand to be affected in radically different ways. And Sara Mojtehezadeh reports on the plight of lower-income workers who lack paid sick leave.
- Anne Appelbaum discusses how the spread of the coronavirus challenges some of the U.S.' most fervently-held beliefs about itself. Robert Reich laments the destruction of the U.S.' public health system just as it's needed most. And Max Fisher and Emma Bubola point out how the crisis will both affect people differently based on existing inequality, and exacerbate that inequality.
- Andre Picard is hopeful that social solidarity will see us through. But the Globe and Mail's editorial board writes that we'll need to do everything we can to stop the spread of the virus - not delay in the hope that anything will resolve itself.
- Finally, Jenna Moon examines the many occasions risking the transmission of the coronavirus in the course of a single morning commute. And Ambrose Evans-Pritchard takes note of the obvious dangers to health care workers.
Sunday, March 15, 2020
Sunday Morning Links
This and that for your Sunday reading.
- Jim Stanford offers his take on how our governments should respond to the coronavirus epidemic - including an emphasis on health, income security and debt relief, along with a plan for reconstruction. And Armine Yalnizyan and Jennifer Robson provide some more specific details toward exactly those ends.
- Meanwhile, Kelly Crowe and Charlie Warzel each discuss the importance of social distancing as the most important contribution individuals can make. And Mattia Ferraresi warns us not to make the same mistakes as Italy in continuing business as usual until it was too late.
- Taylor Scollon points out how a pandemic is exposing the glaring weaknesses in our welfare state, while Dan Kois notes that it's also demonstrating the arbitrariness of the U.S.' security theater. And Kate Aronoff, Alyssa Battistoni, Daniel Aldana Cohen and Thea Riofrancos discuss the type of transformation we should be demanding as we emerge from it.
- Finally, Andrew Leigh reviews Thomas Piketty's Capital and Ideology, with particular emphasis on how inequality in education and childhood support propagates inequality between generations.
- Jim Stanford offers his take on how our governments should respond to the coronavirus epidemic - including an emphasis on health, income security and debt relief, along with a plan for reconstruction. And Armine Yalnizyan and Jennifer Robson provide some more specific details toward exactly those ends.
- Meanwhile, Kelly Crowe and Charlie Warzel each discuss the importance of social distancing as the most important contribution individuals can make. And Mattia Ferraresi warns us not to make the same mistakes as Italy in continuing business as usual until it was too late.
- Taylor Scollon points out how a pandemic is exposing the glaring weaknesses in our welfare state, while Dan Kois notes that it's also demonstrating the arbitrariness of the U.S.' security theater. And Kate Aronoff, Alyssa Battistoni, Daniel Aldana Cohen and Thea Riofrancos discuss the type of transformation we should be demanding as we emerge from it.
- Finally, Andrew Leigh reviews Thomas Piketty's Capital and Ideology, with particular emphasis on how inequality in education and childhood support propagates inequality between generations.
Saturday, March 14, 2020
Saturday Morning Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading.
- Fernanda Tomaselli and Sandeep Pal point out that the Canadian public is well ahead of its political class in recognizing that there's far more to life and to policy than inflating GDP. And Richard Adams reports on how the UK Cons' choice to keep schools open in the face of a pandemic is based on their directly valuing a few points of GDP over people's lives and health.
- Meanwhile, PressProgress' much-needed naming and shaming of employers in the face of the coronavirus pandemic focuses in on Tim Hortons' insistence on sick notes from its service employees.
- Andrew Nikiforuk offers some lessons from past pandemics. And Sam Hester highlights the need to pull together and face the coronavirus as a shared problem.
- Peter Waldman and Lydia Mulvany report on the right to repair as it applies to farm machinery - particularly when proprietary software might otherwise serve to allow manufacturers to exercise control after they've sold a major piece of equipment.
- Finally, Mark Mazzetti and Adam Goldman report on the use of spies by Erik Prince's shady business to try to infiltrate and disrupt progressive organizations. And Erin Seatter points out the use of state authority to bar activists from expressing support for Wet’suwet’en people on social media.
- Fernanda Tomaselli and Sandeep Pal point out that the Canadian public is well ahead of its political class in recognizing that there's far more to life and to policy than inflating GDP. And Richard Adams reports on how the UK Cons' choice to keep schools open in the face of a pandemic is based on their directly valuing a few points of GDP over people's lives and health.
- Meanwhile, PressProgress' much-needed naming and shaming of employers in the face of the coronavirus pandemic focuses in on Tim Hortons' insistence on sick notes from its service employees.
- Andrew Nikiforuk offers some lessons from past pandemics. And Sam Hester highlights the need to pull together and face the coronavirus as a shared problem.
- Peter Waldman and Lydia Mulvany report on the right to repair as it applies to farm machinery - particularly when proprietary software might otherwise serve to allow manufacturers to exercise control after they've sold a major piece of equipment.
- Finally, Mark Mazzetti and Adam Goldman report on the use of spies by Erik Prince's shady business to try to infiltrate and disrupt progressive organizations. And Erin Seatter points out the use of state authority to bar activists from expressing support for Wet’suwet’en people on social media.
Friday, March 13, 2020
Friday Morning Links
Assorted content to end your week.
- Todd Gordon and Geoffrey McCormack write about Canada's crisis of capitalism - which is only being laid bare by a coronavirus pandemic exposing the fragility of a system built on precarity and debt.
- Kim Kelly discusses how service workers will face the worst of the coronavirus in the U.S. And PressProgress calls out the corporate lobby group Restaurants Canada for insisting that sick fast food workers don't need any opportunity to stay home from work when experiencing symptoms.
- Jordan Press reports that the Libs are rightly being told that Canadians are concerned with child care, education and housing as top affordability issues - though there's little reason for optimism that the result will be anything more than the usual set of baubles and half-measures. And a group of writers calls for the UK's next budget to invest in social infrastructure.
- Steve Lambert reports on Brian Pallister's ideological insistence on privatizing social assistance in Manitoba, while Ian Froese points out his appalling refusal to examine a school meal program because he believes children should suffer for their parents' lack of means.
- Finally, Kendall Latimer discusses how a lack of shelters is forcing Saskatchewan survivors of domestic violence to stay in abusive situations.
- Todd Gordon and Geoffrey McCormack write about Canada's crisis of capitalism - which is only being laid bare by a coronavirus pandemic exposing the fragility of a system built on precarity and debt.
- Kim Kelly discusses how service workers will face the worst of the coronavirus in the U.S. And PressProgress calls out the corporate lobby group Restaurants Canada for insisting that sick fast food workers don't need any opportunity to stay home from work when experiencing symptoms.
- Jordan Press reports that the Libs are rightly being told that Canadians are concerned with child care, education and housing as top affordability issues - though there's little reason for optimism that the result will be anything more than the usual set of baubles and half-measures. And a group of writers calls for the UK's next budget to invest in social infrastructure.
- Steve Lambert reports on Brian Pallister's ideological insistence on privatizing social assistance in Manitoba, while Ian Froese points out his appalling refusal to examine a school meal program because he believes children should suffer for their parents' lack of means.
- Finally, Kendall Latimer discusses how a lack of shelters is forcing Saskatchewan survivors of domestic violence to stay in abusive situations.
Thursday, March 12, 2020
Thursday Morning Links
This and that for your Thursday reading.
- Amy Goodman and Denis Moynihan write about the U.S.' choice between health care for all, or the spread of disease as people can't afford to seek medical treatment.
- David Dayen highlights how the coronavirus is likely to expose the weaknesses of an economy build on debt and precarity. Mandy Pipher reminds us that far too many workers can't afford to stay home even when containment is essential at a social level. And Liz Alderman points out how Europe's comparatively strong social safety net offers far more capacity for people to avoid making a pandemic worse, while Dan Taekema reports on the health benefits of Ontario's basic income pilot project.
- John Harris writes that the UK's social breakdown has gone well past mere inequality, to the point of actively harming the health of people living in deprivation. And Jon Stone notes that ending and reversing privatization is an essential step in ensuring that public services actually serve the people who need them.
- Bas van Beek, Alexander Beunder, Jilles Mast and Merel de Buck trace how corporations including Shell and Bayer have funded climate denial while knowing it to be false. And PressProgress exposes some of big pharma's lobbying to deprive Canada of universal pharmacare.
- Finally, Canadians for Tax Fairness highlights how more progressive fiscal policy can ameliorate Canada's continued gender inequality. And Anne Karpf points out how everybody is better off when we close our persistent gender gap.
- Amy Goodman and Denis Moynihan write about the U.S.' choice between health care for all, or the spread of disease as people can't afford to seek medical treatment.
- David Dayen highlights how the coronavirus is likely to expose the weaknesses of an economy build on debt and precarity. Mandy Pipher reminds us that far too many workers can't afford to stay home even when containment is essential at a social level. And Liz Alderman points out how Europe's comparatively strong social safety net offers far more capacity for people to avoid making a pandemic worse, while Dan Taekema reports on the health benefits of Ontario's basic income pilot project.
- John Harris writes that the UK's social breakdown has gone well past mere inequality, to the point of actively harming the health of people living in deprivation. And Jon Stone notes that ending and reversing privatization is an essential step in ensuring that public services actually serve the people who need them.
- Bas van Beek, Alexander Beunder, Jilles Mast and Merel de Buck trace how corporations including Shell and Bayer have funded climate denial while knowing it to be false. And PressProgress exposes some of big pharma's lobbying to deprive Canada of universal pharmacare.
- Finally, Canadians for Tax Fairness highlights how more progressive fiscal policy can ameliorate Canada's continued gender inequality. And Anne Karpf points out how everybody is better off when we close our persistent gender gap.
Tuesday, March 10, 2020
Tuesday Morning Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading.
- Nick Falvo points out the massive cost savings that come from investing in Housing First programming. And Keith Gerein writes that if it wanted to help people rather than merely looking to vilify those in need, the UCP would be investing in housing rather than looking to shut down supervised consumption sites.
- CBC examines Alberta's increasingly alarming number of decaying oil wells which have been abandoned by their operators for the public to clean up. And Dave Seglins and Joseph Loeiro report on the literal self-policing which sees rail companies investigate (and cast blame for) their own pattern of disasters.
- Aaron Wherry challenges the Cons' constant attempts to pretend Canada can excuse its woeful track record on climate change by pointing to our proportional contribution to global emissions - though it's worth noting that his response misses our additional harm to the planet by subsidizing the supply side of dirty fossil fuels. And Chris Turner discusses the violent misogyny deployed against women who join the fight against a climate breakdown.
- Peggy Nash asks why women aren't making the same type of progress in Canada as in many of our peer countries.
- Kyle Wiens notes that among its other desirable outcomes, a right to repair would make us far better able to withstand outbreaks and other disasters which threaten the flow of new goods.
- Finally, Rita Trichur makes the case for the Canada Revenue Agency to prepare automatic income tax assessments rather than pushing people into paying for tax services.
- Nick Falvo points out the massive cost savings that come from investing in Housing First programming. And Keith Gerein writes that if it wanted to help people rather than merely looking to vilify those in need, the UCP would be investing in housing rather than looking to shut down supervised consumption sites.
- CBC examines Alberta's increasingly alarming number of decaying oil wells which have been abandoned by their operators for the public to clean up. And Dave Seglins and Joseph Loeiro report on the literal self-policing which sees rail companies investigate (and cast blame for) their own pattern of disasters.
- Aaron Wherry challenges the Cons' constant attempts to pretend Canada can excuse its woeful track record on climate change by pointing to our proportional contribution to global emissions - though it's worth noting that his response misses our additional harm to the planet by subsidizing the supply side of dirty fossil fuels. And Chris Turner discusses the violent misogyny deployed against women who join the fight against a climate breakdown.
- Peggy Nash asks why women aren't making the same type of progress in Canada as in many of our peer countries.
- Kyle Wiens notes that among its other desirable outcomes, a right to repair would make us far better able to withstand outbreaks and other disasters which threaten the flow of new goods.
- Finally, Rita Trichur makes the case for the Canada Revenue Agency to prepare automatic income tax assessments rather than pushing people into paying for tax services.
Sunday, March 08, 2020
Sunday Morning Links
This and that for your Sunday reading.
- Robert Reich highlights how the long-term costs of failing to invest in a just transition and a healthy society far outweigh the short-term price of providing for basic needs, while Duncan Cameron calls out the deception behind claims that we can't afford social benefits.
- Paul Krugman points out that extremely low interest rates further militate in favour of public investment by making it all the more affordable. But Eric Doherty discusses the need for a full climate audit of Canada's infrastructure spending - as a willingness to dole out money doesn't help matters when any projects serve to increase our carbon emissions.
- Taylor Noakes calls for a long-overdue end to subsidies for the oil sector. Sara Hastings-Simon writes that while Alberta should be following in Peter Lougheed's footsteps, the lesson to take from him involves investing in the economy of the future rather than pouring every available cent into a dying fossil fuel sector. And Geoffrey Morgan reports on the drop in immediate oil consumption resulting from the coronavirus.
- Mike Hixenbaugh and Stephen Buranyi each discuss how we could have a coronavirus vaccine ready now, if only a profit-driven pharmaceutical industry hadn't concluded it wasn't worth bothering with.
- Finally, Jim Stanford discusses how public health in the face of a pandemic depends on our protecting workers.
- Robert Reich highlights how the long-term costs of failing to invest in a just transition and a healthy society far outweigh the short-term price of providing for basic needs, while Duncan Cameron calls out the deception behind claims that we can't afford social benefits.
- Paul Krugman points out that extremely low interest rates further militate in favour of public investment by making it all the more affordable. But Eric Doherty discusses the need for a full climate audit of Canada's infrastructure spending - as a willingness to dole out money doesn't help matters when any projects serve to increase our carbon emissions.
- Taylor Noakes calls for a long-overdue end to subsidies for the oil sector. Sara Hastings-Simon writes that while Alberta should be following in Peter Lougheed's footsteps, the lesson to take from him involves investing in the economy of the future rather than pouring every available cent into a dying fossil fuel sector. And Geoffrey Morgan reports on the drop in immediate oil consumption resulting from the coronavirus.
- Mike Hixenbaugh and Stephen Buranyi each discuss how we could have a coronavirus vaccine ready now, if only a profit-driven pharmaceutical industry hadn't concluded it wasn't worth bothering with.
- Finally, Jim Stanford discusses how public health in the face of a pandemic depends on our protecting workers.
Saturday, March 07, 2020
Saturday Morning Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading.
- Bethany Lindsay reports on the start of B.C.'s inquiry into money laundering through casinos. And PressProgress offers a reminder as to how the Saskatchewan Party has chosen to operate under the "Wild West" of election financing rules to ensure it can rely on big corporate donations from out of the province.
- As for what those donations have secured, Arthur White-Crummey reports first on the remarkable declaration that a multi-million-dollar investment fund for First Nations and Metis run by a Saskatchewan Party insider was never intended either to make money or to create jobs, and then on the multi-billion-dollar backlog of maintenance in schools resulting from the Sask Party's focus on tax slashing and corporate giveaways.
- Meanwhile, Susan Delacourt writes that a pandemic should be the type of event which reminds us of the need for a functional government. And Tara Carman reports on the national crisis of under-resourced shelters which leave people attempting to flee violence with nowhere to turn.
- Finally, Mitchell Anderson ponders how our political and economic standing would look better if we'd spent the last few decades focused on pursuing treaties rather than gambling on fossil fuel subsidies.
- Bethany Lindsay reports on the start of B.C.'s inquiry into money laundering through casinos. And PressProgress offers a reminder as to how the Saskatchewan Party has chosen to operate under the "Wild West" of election financing rules to ensure it can rely on big corporate donations from out of the province.
- As for what those donations have secured, Arthur White-Crummey reports first on the remarkable declaration that a multi-million-dollar investment fund for First Nations and Metis run by a Saskatchewan Party insider was never intended either to make money or to create jobs, and then on the multi-billion-dollar backlog of maintenance in schools resulting from the Sask Party's focus on tax slashing and corporate giveaways.
- Meanwhile, Susan Delacourt writes that a pandemic should be the type of event which reminds us of the need for a functional government. And Tara Carman reports on the national crisis of under-resourced shelters which leave people attempting to flee violence with nowhere to turn.
- Finally, Mitchell Anderson ponders how our political and economic standing would look better if we'd spent the last few decades focused on pursuing treaties rather than gambling on fossil fuel subsidies.
Friday, March 06, 2020
Friday Morning Links
Assorted content to end your week.
- Owen Jones asks why we're not treating the existential threat of a climate breakdown with anything close to the urgency applied to the coronavirus response. And Niklas Höhne, Michel den Elzen, Joeri Rogelj, Bert Metz, Taryn Fransen, Takeshi Kuramochi, Anne Olhoff, Joseph Alcamo, Harald Winkler, Sha Fu, Michiel Schaeffer, Roberto Schaeffer, Glen P. Peters, Simon Maxwell and Navroz K. Dubash highlight how a decade of delay on reducing greenhouse gas emissions has already made the task far more difficult.
- Norm Farrell offers a reminder that greenhouse gas emissions aren't any less damaging just because nobody bothers to measure them. And Sarah Cox reports on the massive liability attached to B.C.'s orphaned oil and gas wells.
- Sir Michael Marmot offers a reminder of the importance of the social determinants of health after a decade in which the UK has chosen to make itself a test case in the harm that can be done by austerity. And Laurie Monsebraaten notes that the results of Ontario's basic income pilot show that rather than disincentivizing work, a reliable source of income instead enabled people to find better-paying and more secure employment.
- Simon Wilson writes about Leilani Farha's case to make evictions illegal as part of the recognition of housing as a human right.
- Finally, Jenna Moon offers some background on the use of facial recognition software - both as a matter of policing and of corporate profit-seeking. And Caitlin Taylor, Stephanie Matteis and David Common report on the design and manufacturing of consumer products to fail and require replacement.
- Owen Jones asks why we're not treating the existential threat of a climate breakdown with anything close to the urgency applied to the coronavirus response. And Niklas Höhne, Michel den Elzen, Joeri Rogelj, Bert Metz, Taryn Fransen, Takeshi Kuramochi, Anne Olhoff, Joseph Alcamo, Harald Winkler, Sha Fu, Michiel Schaeffer, Roberto Schaeffer, Glen P. Peters, Simon Maxwell and Navroz K. Dubash highlight how a decade of delay on reducing greenhouse gas emissions has already made the task far more difficult.
- Norm Farrell offers a reminder that greenhouse gas emissions aren't any less damaging just because nobody bothers to measure them. And Sarah Cox reports on the massive liability attached to B.C.'s orphaned oil and gas wells.
- Sir Michael Marmot offers a reminder of the importance of the social determinants of health after a decade in which the UK has chosen to make itself a test case in the harm that can be done by austerity. And Laurie Monsebraaten notes that the results of Ontario's basic income pilot show that rather than disincentivizing work, a reliable source of income instead enabled people to find better-paying and more secure employment.
- Simon Wilson writes about Leilani Farha's case to make evictions illegal as part of the recognition of housing as a human right.
- Finally, Jenna Moon offers some background on the use of facial recognition software - both as a matter of policing and of corporate profit-seeking. And Caitlin Taylor, Stephanie Matteis and David Common report on the design and manufacturing of consumer products to fail and require replacement.
Thursday, March 05, 2020
New column day
Here, on the Saskatchewan Party's refusal to accept that nuclear power is as impractical as it is unpopular - and how that fits into the view the province's voters should take of Scott Moe's government.
For further reading...
- The Uranium Development Partnership's report is archived here (PDF), and Dan Perrins' subsequent public consultation report here (PDF).
- Elise von Scheel reported here on Moe's nuclear reactor announcement (alongside Doug Ford and Blaine Higgs, who at least have previous dependence on nuclear power as an excuse). But then, Richard Carlson discussed why Ontario too has far better options than to keep pushing nuclear.
- Jim Harding and Theresa McClenaghan (in a report by Jordan Gill) highlighted some of the glaring problems with a plan to rely on undeveloped hypothetical power rather than real clean energy.
- And as a reminder of what Alberta has been able to accomplish by pursuing renewables, remember that its solar and wind power are now its most affordable (and environmentally-friendly) power sources.
For further reading...
- The Uranium Development Partnership's report is archived here (PDF), and Dan Perrins' subsequent public consultation report here (PDF).
- Elise von Scheel reported here on Moe's nuclear reactor announcement (alongside Doug Ford and Blaine Higgs, who at least have previous dependence on nuclear power as an excuse). But then, Richard Carlson discussed why Ontario too has far better options than to keep pushing nuclear.
- Jim Harding and Theresa McClenaghan (in a report by Jordan Gill) highlighted some of the glaring problems with a plan to rely on undeveloped hypothetical power rather than real clean energy.
- And as a reminder of what Alberta has been able to accomplish by pursuing renewables, remember that its solar and wind power are now its most affordable (and environmentally-friendly) power sources.
Wednesday, March 04, 2020
Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.
- Polly Toynbee and David Walker write about the brutal social consequences of a decade of austerity in the UK.
- Andrew Jackson reviews James Crotty's Keynes Against Capitalism with a strong emphasis on Keynes' recognition of the need for a democratically-planned economy.
- Justin Ling suspects that a political reckoning may be on its way as housing prices soar far beyond the means of Canada's working class. And Leilana Farha writes that the effect of setting housing policy based on the profit motive of developers is to deny people a human right to a safe place to live.
- Josh Dzieza discusses the dangers of putting algorithms in charge of workplaces (and treating workers' humanity as an inefficiency to be eliminated). And Jason Miller writes that the problem of far too many workers lacking social supports to make it possible to follow quarantine recommendations is no less prevalent in Canada than the U.S.
- Finally, Matthew Norris writes that the emergence of protests across Canada is a symptom of crumbling democratic legitimacy. And David Roberts notes that the U.S. allies of Canada's right-wing parties are going to ever greater lengths to stymie even the most basic of governance - with the party's minority in Oregon's legislature systematically denying quorum in order to make sure a Democratic majority is unable to pass anything at all.
- Polly Toynbee and David Walker write about the brutal social consequences of a decade of austerity in the UK.
- Andrew Jackson reviews James Crotty's Keynes Against Capitalism with a strong emphasis on Keynes' recognition of the need for a democratically-planned economy.
- Justin Ling suspects that a political reckoning may be on its way as housing prices soar far beyond the means of Canada's working class. And Leilana Farha writes that the effect of setting housing policy based on the profit motive of developers is to deny people a human right to a safe place to live.
- Josh Dzieza discusses the dangers of putting algorithms in charge of workplaces (and treating workers' humanity as an inefficiency to be eliminated). And Jason Miller writes that the problem of far too many workers lacking social supports to make it possible to follow quarantine recommendations is no less prevalent in Canada than the U.S.
- Finally, Matthew Norris writes that the emergence of protests across Canada is a symptom of crumbling democratic legitimacy. And David Roberts notes that the U.S. allies of Canada's right-wing parties are going to ever greater lengths to stymie even the most basic of governance - with the party's minority in Oregon's legislature systematically denying quorum in order to make sure a Democratic majority is unable to pass anything at all.
Tuesday, March 03, 2020
Monday, March 02, 2020
On continued embarrassments
Abbas Rana's revelation that the Cons have decided to protect all of their incumbent MPs from any internal accountability seems to have received relatively little attention. But it's particularly worth paying attention to it given how many Cons have gone out of their way to demonstrate they're not up to their current jobs.
Surely voters should have at least some option other than to be stuck with a representative signing on to a grossly ignorant and inflammatory separatist manifesto.
Surely constituents should have an opportunity to challenge an MP trying to push anti-abortion legislation through Parliament, or undermining decades of progress in respect for the LGBTQ community.
And surely citizens should be able to question whether a failed leader reduced to ranting about children's TV shows deserves to represent them on the ballot.
But the Cons have declared they don't want anybody who to have better choices than the utter embarrassments currently in their ranks - whether based on what they've done so far, or what they continue to do while holding positions of public trust. And that should speak volumes as to the party's institutional unfitness for office.
Surely voters should have at least some option other than to be stuck with a representative signing on to a grossly ignorant and inflammatory separatist manifesto.
Surely constituents should have an opportunity to challenge an MP trying to push anti-abortion legislation through Parliament, or undermining decades of progress in respect for the LGBTQ community.
And surely citizens should be able to question whether a failed leader reduced to ranting about children's TV shows deserves to represent them on the ballot.
But the Cons have declared they don't want anybody who to have better choices than the utter embarrassments currently in their ranks - whether based on what they've done so far, or what they continue to do while holding positions of public trust. And that should speak volumes as to the party's institutional unfitness for office.
Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material to start your week.
- Fernando Arce discusses how Doug Ford's attacks on labour create public health risks. And Amanda Mull writes about the futility of telling workers with no safety net to stay home to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, while Donald McNeil Jr. points out the obvious dangers of gagging the scientific community in the face of an impending pandemic.
- Evan Smith highlights how any blather about a "free speech crisis" generally represents nothing but a right-wing attempt to protect bigotry from criticism while stifling any other points of view.
- Shiri Pasternak and Irina Ceric write that court injunctions all too often serve only to privilege smash-and-grab business tactics over the public good. And Doug Nesbitt points out that while Jason Kenney and his fellow petropoliticians lean heavily on talking points about jobs, they have no interest in actually fostering sustainable employment.
- James Bruggers reports on the Trump administration's choice to ignore all scientific evidence and facilitate pollution in order to goose short-term profits for big corporations.
- Finally, Agence France-Presse reports on Luxembourg's decision to make all transit free to users. And Lauren O'Neil points out that Toronto (and other Canadian cities) could easily afford the same if we chose to plan our communities around people rather than cars.
- Fernando Arce discusses how Doug Ford's attacks on labour create public health risks. And Amanda Mull writes about the futility of telling workers with no safety net to stay home to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, while Donald McNeil Jr. points out the obvious dangers of gagging the scientific community in the face of an impending pandemic.
- Evan Smith highlights how any blather about a "free speech crisis" generally represents nothing but a right-wing attempt to protect bigotry from criticism while stifling any other points of view.
- Shiri Pasternak and Irina Ceric write that court injunctions all too often serve only to privilege smash-and-grab business tactics over the public good. And Doug Nesbitt points out that while Jason Kenney and his fellow petropoliticians lean heavily on talking points about jobs, they have no interest in actually fostering sustainable employment.
- James Bruggers reports on the Trump administration's choice to ignore all scientific evidence and facilitate pollution in order to goose short-term profits for big corporations.
- Finally, Agence France-Presse reports on Luxembourg's decision to make all transit free to users. And Lauren O'Neil points out that Toronto (and other Canadian cities) could easily afford the same if we chose to plan our communities around people rather than cars.
Sunday, March 01, 2020
Sunday Morning Links
This and that for your Sunday reading.
- Heather Scoffield points out that the Trudeau Libs' definition of poverty (for the purposes of claiming credit for having reduced it) excludes many people facing extremely precarious financial circumstances. Sarah Boseley discusses how the UK Cons' gratuitous austerity has led to declining life expectancies among lower-income people. And Smokey Thomas slams the Ford PCs' use of a foreign corporation to try to take social assistance away from Ontarians.
- Alistair Steele writes that Ottawa's catastrophic choice to use a P3 to build the Confederation light rail line should offer important lessons for other governments looking at developing infrastructure.
- Imelda Dacones highlights how our climate breakdown is a public health crisis (among other dangers). And a group of B.C. health professionals calls for a moratorium on liquid natural gas pipelines due to their risks to health and the environment.
- Meanwhile, Hadrian Mertins-Kirkwood argues that the withdrawal of the Teck Frontier project should offer us an opportunity to begin a needed conversation about a transition away from fossil fuels. But Mike De Souza and Heather Yourex-West's report on the UCP's cover-up of a report on harms from the climate crisis should remind us not to expect a trace of honesty from Canada's petropoliticians.
- Finally, Graham Thomson points out that the obvious answer to Alberta's budget is to start raising revenue at least somewhat commensurate with the norm across Canada. But PressProgress notes that Jason Kenney has instead chosen to attack Alberta's most vulnerable citizens along with its public service.
- Heather Scoffield points out that the Trudeau Libs' definition of poverty (for the purposes of claiming credit for having reduced it) excludes many people facing extremely precarious financial circumstances. Sarah Boseley discusses how the UK Cons' gratuitous austerity has led to declining life expectancies among lower-income people. And Smokey Thomas slams the Ford PCs' use of a foreign corporation to try to take social assistance away from Ontarians.
- Alistair Steele writes that Ottawa's catastrophic choice to use a P3 to build the Confederation light rail line should offer important lessons for other governments looking at developing infrastructure.
- Imelda Dacones highlights how our climate breakdown is a public health crisis (among other dangers). And a group of B.C. health professionals calls for a moratorium on liquid natural gas pipelines due to their risks to health and the environment.
- Meanwhile, Hadrian Mertins-Kirkwood argues that the withdrawal of the Teck Frontier project should offer us an opportunity to begin a needed conversation about a transition away from fossil fuels. But Mike De Souza and Heather Yourex-West's report on the UCP's cover-up of a report on harms from the climate crisis should remind us not to expect a trace of honesty from Canada's petropoliticians.
- Finally, Graham Thomson points out that the obvious answer to Alberta's budget is to start raising revenue at least somewhat commensurate with the norm across Canada. But PressProgress notes that Jason Kenney has instead chosen to attack Alberta's most vulnerable citizens along with its public service.
Saturday, February 29, 2020
Saturday Morning Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading.
- Joseph Stiglitz writes about the need to cultivate solidarity as an alternative to neoliberal selfishness. And Chuck Collins reminds us how the very existence of billionaires represents both a profound failure of public policy, and a cause of distortions at the whims of those who have far too much.
- Meanwhile, Pete Evans reports on the failure of a bond system to provide any effective response to the coronavirus. And Patrick Condon discusses how the influence of the financial sector is making housing unaffordable.
- PressProgress highlights the connections between Ford PC insiders and a (thankfully unsuccessful) smear campaign against Ontario teachers.
- Finally, Ralph Surette points out the inevitability that we can't go on subsidizing dirty and inefficient tar sands projects. Scott Gilmore writes that contrary to the spin from the right, the only people betraying Albertans are the fossil fuel fanatics who refuse to tell the truth about the need for a transition to clean energy. And David Climenhaga discusses the laughable Buffalo Declaration as just the latest round of faux victimhood.
- Joseph Stiglitz writes about the need to cultivate solidarity as an alternative to neoliberal selfishness. And Chuck Collins reminds us how the very existence of billionaires represents both a profound failure of public policy, and a cause of distortions at the whims of those who have far too much.
- Meanwhile, Pete Evans reports on the failure of a bond system to provide any effective response to the coronavirus. And Patrick Condon discusses how the influence of the financial sector is making housing unaffordable.
- PressProgress highlights the connections between Ford PC insiders and a (thankfully unsuccessful) smear campaign against Ontario teachers.
- Finally, Ralph Surette points out the inevitability that we can't go on subsidizing dirty and inefficient tar sands projects. Scott Gilmore writes that contrary to the spin from the right, the only people betraying Albertans are the fossil fuel fanatics who refuse to tell the truth about the need for a transition to clean energy. And David Climenhaga discusses the laughable Buffalo Declaration as just the latest round of faux victimhood.
Friday, February 28, 2020
Thursday, February 27, 2020
Thursday Morning Links
This and that for your Thursday reading.
- Ezra Klein discusses the socialist ethic behind Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign. And Umair Haque writes that the antidote to Donald Trump's authoritarianism is a far stronger recognition of the need for collective action.
- Meanwhile, Shree Paradkar notes that the vilification of solidarity among Indigenous peoples is a familiar part of Canada's colonial playbook. And Ethan Cox points out that regardless of the predictable bluster from reactionary politicians, it's impossible to stop a solidarity movement by force.
- Will Dubitsky writes that the struggle surrounding the Coastal Gas Link pipeline should represent a canary in the coal mine for further fossil fuel development in Canada. And Marc Lee notes that the pipeline is no more defensible in its economic and environmental effects than in its intrusion on unceded lands and Indigenous rights, while Geoff Dembicki confirms that the Teck Frontier project similarly had no path to commercial viability even if environmental realities were ignored.
- Nick Falvo offers some important background information on Alberta's treatment of low-income households. Alicia Bridges reports on the challenges facing homeless people navigating the coldest part of the year in Saskatchewan - including arbitrary limits on their ability to access shelters even if spaces are available. And Brian Cross writes about the financial stress facing the province's farmers.
- Finally, Patrick Condon discusses how exploitation by the financial sector makes housing unaffordable for the people who need it most.
- Ezra Klein discusses the socialist ethic behind Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign. And Umair Haque writes that the antidote to Donald Trump's authoritarianism is a far stronger recognition of the need for collective action.
- Meanwhile, Shree Paradkar notes that the vilification of solidarity among Indigenous peoples is a familiar part of Canada's colonial playbook. And Ethan Cox points out that regardless of the predictable bluster from reactionary politicians, it's impossible to stop a solidarity movement by force.
- Will Dubitsky writes that the struggle surrounding the Coastal Gas Link pipeline should represent a canary in the coal mine for further fossil fuel development in Canada. And Marc Lee notes that the pipeline is no more defensible in its economic and environmental effects than in its intrusion on unceded lands and Indigenous rights, while Geoff Dembicki confirms that the Teck Frontier project similarly had no path to commercial viability even if environmental realities were ignored.
- Nick Falvo offers some important background information on Alberta's treatment of low-income households. Alicia Bridges reports on the challenges facing homeless people navigating the coldest part of the year in Saskatchewan - including arbitrary limits on their ability to access shelters even if spaces are available. And Brian Cross writes about the financial stress facing the province's farmers.
- Finally, Patrick Condon discusses how exploitation by the financial sector makes housing unaffordable for the people who need it most.
Wednesday, February 26, 2020
Tuesday, February 25, 2020
Tuesday Morning Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading.
- Saeed Kamali Dehghan reports on a new World Health Organization study showing the utter lack of progress toward sustainable development, particularly due to the harms caused by our climate breakdown. Mahita Gajanan focuses on the reality that every child's future is threatened by our continued carbon pollution and the culture of exploitation which causes it. And Patrick Greenfield and Jonathan Watts report that JP Morgan Chase - even after decades of profiting off of dirty energy - has issued its own warning of the threat climate change poses to humanity as a whole.
- Paul Fauteux, Howard Mann, Chris McDermott and Guy Saint-Jacques challenge Canada's federal government to finally end our hypocrisy in pushing fossil fuel development while paying lip service to the cause of fighting the climate crisis.
- Nadja Popovich points out the growth in U.S. public support for action to fight climate change, while recognizing that the Republican echo chamber still won't tolerate any concern for our planet. And Gaby Hinsliff takes note of the social stigma finally coming to be attached to businesses clinging to climate denial and delay.
- Edward Helmore reports on new research showing that BP's Deepwater Horizon blowout was even more disastrous than previously understood.
- And finally, Marcelo Lu and Sean Drygas discuss the opportunities available to Canada if we work on becoming leaders in renewable energy, rather than putting our efforts toward being the last fossil fuel pusher standing.
- Saeed Kamali Dehghan reports on a new World Health Organization study showing the utter lack of progress toward sustainable development, particularly due to the harms caused by our climate breakdown. Mahita Gajanan focuses on the reality that every child's future is threatened by our continued carbon pollution and the culture of exploitation which causes it. And Patrick Greenfield and Jonathan Watts report that JP Morgan Chase - even after decades of profiting off of dirty energy - has issued its own warning of the threat climate change poses to humanity as a whole.
- Paul Fauteux, Howard Mann, Chris McDermott and Guy Saint-Jacques challenge Canada's federal government to finally end our hypocrisy in pushing fossil fuel development while paying lip service to the cause of fighting the climate crisis.
- Nadja Popovich points out the growth in U.S. public support for action to fight climate change, while recognizing that the Republican echo chamber still won't tolerate any concern for our planet. And Gaby Hinsliff takes note of the social stigma finally coming to be attached to businesses clinging to climate denial and delay.
- Edward Helmore reports on new research showing that BP's Deepwater Horizon blowout was even more disastrous than previously understood.
- And finally, Marcelo Lu and Sean Drygas discuss the opportunities available to Canada if we work on becoming leaders in renewable energy, rather than putting our efforts toward being the last fossil fuel pusher standing.
Monday, February 24, 2020
Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material to start your week.
- Anand Giridharadas writes that with Bernie Sanders in position to win the Democratic nomination for president, the U.S.' election will answer the question of whether the country belongs to billionaires or to everybody else.
- Emily Bazelon discusses how the Trump administration's choice to stop enforcing labour law is making life even worse for American workers. And Jim Stanford writes that the employers complaining about a "skills gap" as an excuse for stagnant wages are responsible for setting up precarious jobs and failing to invest in their own employees.
- Kenneth Jackson reports on the federal government's failure to even track how many First Nations children are apprehended from their homes.
- Danyaal Raza writes about the dangers to Canada's universal health care system arising from the corporate-backed attempt to turn for-profit medicine into a constitutional principle.
- PressProgress highlights how Doug Ford's combination of mandatory online course credits and ballooning class sizes figures to make education entirely unmanageable.
- Finally, Mike Blanchfield reports on the Libs' acceptance of some transparency for future trade deals in order to secure the quick passage of the new version of NAFTA.
- Anand Giridharadas writes that with Bernie Sanders in position to win the Democratic nomination for president, the U.S.' election will answer the question of whether the country belongs to billionaires or to everybody else.
- Emily Bazelon discusses how the Trump administration's choice to stop enforcing labour law is making life even worse for American workers. And Jim Stanford writes that the employers complaining about a "skills gap" as an excuse for stagnant wages are responsible for setting up precarious jobs and failing to invest in their own employees.
- Kenneth Jackson reports on the federal government's failure to even track how many First Nations children are apprehended from their homes.
- Danyaal Raza writes about the dangers to Canada's universal health care system arising from the corporate-backed attempt to turn for-profit medicine into a constitutional principle.
- PressProgress highlights how Doug Ford's combination of mandatory online course credits and ballooning class sizes figures to make education entirely unmanageable.
- Finally, Mike Blanchfield reports on the Libs' acceptance of some transparency for future trade deals in order to secure the quick passage of the new version of NAFTA.
Sunday, February 23, 2020
Sunday Morning Links
This and that for your Sunday reading.
- Eric Holthaus calls out any attempt by the uber-wealthy to paper over their profits from climate destruction with "philanthropic" donations. And David Wallace-Wells notes that while a response to our climate crisis is possible using the resources of society as a whole, it's beyond the scope of any individual fortune.
- Bronwyn Oatley, Meghan Bell and Danial Hoyer highlight the need for an inheritance tax and wealth taxes to meet obvious social needs and to ensure that wealth and power don't continue to accumulate in the hands of a privileged few.
- Sophia Reuss discusses the parallels between the U.S.' debate over health care generally and Canada's continued need for pharmacare. And the Economist also takes note of the glaring gap in our health care system.
- Finally, Bob Weber reports on the justified fear by Alberta workers that Jason Kenney will gamble their pensions on doomed fossil fuel developments. And Alex Ballingall reports on the prospect that the federal government might underwrite the Coastal GasLink pipeline to ram it through Wet’suwet’en territory - even as word comes out that the project has been rejected by provincial regulators.
- Eric Holthaus calls out any attempt by the uber-wealthy to paper over their profits from climate destruction with "philanthropic" donations. And David Wallace-Wells notes that while a response to our climate crisis is possible using the resources of society as a whole, it's beyond the scope of any individual fortune.
- Bronwyn Oatley, Meghan Bell and Danial Hoyer highlight the need for an inheritance tax and wealth taxes to meet obvious social needs and to ensure that wealth and power don't continue to accumulate in the hands of a privileged few.
- Sophia Reuss discusses the parallels between the U.S.' debate over health care generally and Canada's continued need for pharmacare. And the Economist also takes note of the glaring gap in our health care system.
- Finally, Bob Weber reports on the justified fear by Alberta workers that Jason Kenney will gamble their pensions on doomed fossil fuel developments. And Alex Ballingall reports on the prospect that the federal government might underwrite the Coastal GasLink pipeline to ram it through Wet’suwet’en territory - even as word comes out that the project has been rejected by provincial regulators.
Saturday, February 22, 2020
Saturday Morning Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading.
- Benjamin Israel, Jan Gorski, Nina Lothian, Chris Severson-Baker and Nikki Way highlight the reality that increased extraction from the tar sands is fundamentally incompatible with any attempt to meet reasonable greenhouse gas emission targets. And Jonathan Watts reports on new research from the UN Environmental Programme showing that the fossil fuel industry has caused far more carbon pollution than previously recognized.
- Alex Verman calls out Canada's front of friendliness covering up a pattern of aggressive exploitation by the mining industry:
- Finally, Primrose Riordan and Jamie Smith write about the control exerted by Australia's coal lobby even in the wake of its devastating wildfires. Bob Edwards points out the UK's massive subsidies to offshore drilling operators. Michele Bertelli reports on Italy's dumping of massive amounts of plastic waste in Malaysia. And Andrew Nikiforuk examines the identified environmental destruction to be expected from the Teck Frontier mine if it ever goes ahead.
- Benjamin Israel, Jan Gorski, Nina Lothian, Chris Severson-Baker and Nikki Way highlight the reality that increased extraction from the tar sands is fundamentally incompatible with any attempt to meet reasonable greenhouse gas emission targets. And Jonathan Watts reports on new research from the UN Environmental Programme showing that the fossil fuel industry has caused far more carbon pollution than previously recognized.
- Alex Verman calls out Canada's front of friendliness covering up a pattern of aggressive exploitation by the mining industry:
Canada is continuing its practice of colonialism and primitive accumulation. What’s more, Canada is violating international laws around military occupation and around the rights of Indigenous people. Right now, as I write this, members of Wet’suwet’en nation are still resisting, facing mass arrest and state violence, to protect their lands from privatization at the barrel of a gun. But for Canada, this is business as usual. The siege on Wet’suwet’en is a microcosm of what makes Canada “Canada.” The logic of resource extraction, led by private companies and enforced by the state, is what motivates Canadian policy and justifies Canadian national identity. Canada is three mining companies in a trench coat, wearing a stupid hat and carrying a gun.- Samuel Alexander muses that capitalism can't be squared with an adequate response to our environmental crises. And Umair Haque worries that we're exhibiting the patterns of a society without a future.
Scratch the surface, and that’s all that’s underneath it. Canada is fake. But the consequences are real.
- Finally, Primrose Riordan and Jamie Smith write about the control exerted by Australia's coal lobby even in the wake of its devastating wildfires. Bob Edwards points out the UK's massive subsidies to offshore drilling operators. Michele Bertelli reports on Italy's dumping of massive amounts of plastic waste in Malaysia. And Andrew Nikiforuk examines the identified environmental destruction to be expected from the Teck Frontier mine if it ever goes ahead.
Friday, February 21, 2020
New column day
Here, on the attempt at a hostile takeover of the U.S.' political system - and the need for Saskatchewan to update its campaign finance rules to avoid the same fate.
For further reading...
- Libby Watson wrote about the decline of the U.S.' public financing system once candidates decided they could raise more money from other sources.
- Edward Helmore reported on Tom Steyer's move to buy his way into one set of Democratic presidential debates. And FiveThirtyEight's ad buy tracker is just one of many sources showing the wildly disproportionate ad spending by Steyer and Michael Bloomberg.
- Leslie Albrecht discusses Bloomberg's leveraging of his wealth through multiple types of donations into political support. And Bloomberg News has been serving the cause of its owner with headlines like "Bloomberg Campaign Says It’s a Two-Man Race for the Nomination".
- Finally, David Dayen writes about the risk of people supporting Bloomberg solely as a matter of partisan loyalty. And Tom Scocca argues that Bloomberg is the cause of the U.S.' democratic illness, not a cure.
For further reading...
- Libby Watson wrote about the decline of the U.S.' public financing system once candidates decided they could raise more money from other sources.
- Edward Helmore reported on Tom Steyer's move to buy his way into one set of Democratic presidential debates. And FiveThirtyEight's ad buy tracker is just one of many sources showing the wildly disproportionate ad spending by Steyer and Michael Bloomberg.
- Leslie Albrecht discusses Bloomberg's leveraging of his wealth through multiple types of donations into political support. And Bloomberg News has been serving the cause of its owner with headlines like "Bloomberg Campaign Says It’s a Two-Man Race for the Nomination".
- Finally, David Dayen writes about the risk of people supporting Bloomberg solely as a matter of partisan loyalty. And Tom Scocca argues that Bloomberg is the cause of the U.S.' democratic illness, not a cure.
Wednesday, February 19, 2020
Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.
- John Miller takes note of the corporate media's bias against Wet'suwet'en land defenders and others engaged in demonstrations in solidarity. Stuart Trew comments that we shouldn't let demands for convenience override the ongoing need for reconciliation. Paige Raibmon writes about the obvious error in writing Indigenous law out of the "rule of law" for the purpose of delegitimizing land defenders. And Jennifer Ditchburn points out the absurdity of relying on the concept of the rule of law at all as a means of undermining well-recognized Indigenous rights, while Stephen Maher points out how the CPR's history is intertwined with the subjugation of Indigenous peoples.
- Laurie Macfarlane writes about the need to discuss how wealth is accumulated - including the growing roles of inheritances and luck - in order to build a movement to ensure that it's put to positive social purposes. Daniela Gabor worries that the EU's plans for a green economic transition are being designed mostly to further enrich the wealthy, rather than focusing on either environmental improvements or distributive justice. And Stefan Stern points out how much better off we'd be if the rich paid more in wages and taxes rather than claiming to be philanthropists.
- But on the bright side, PressProgress highlights British Columbia's plan to raise an extra $200 million per year by ensuring that its highest-income residents pay something closer to their fair share of the price of a civilized society.
- Finally, both the Globe and Mail's editorial board and Rob Breakenridge join the chorus calling for the UCP to shut down its backfiring war room.
- John Miller takes note of the corporate media's bias against Wet'suwet'en land defenders and others engaged in demonstrations in solidarity. Stuart Trew comments that we shouldn't let demands for convenience override the ongoing need for reconciliation. Paige Raibmon writes about the obvious error in writing Indigenous law out of the "rule of law" for the purpose of delegitimizing land defenders. And Jennifer Ditchburn points out the absurdity of relying on the concept of the rule of law at all as a means of undermining well-recognized Indigenous rights, while Stephen Maher points out how the CPR's history is intertwined with the subjugation of Indigenous peoples.
- Laurie Macfarlane writes about the need to discuss how wealth is accumulated - including the growing roles of inheritances and luck - in order to build a movement to ensure that it's put to positive social purposes. Daniela Gabor worries that the EU's plans for a green economic transition are being designed mostly to further enrich the wealthy, rather than focusing on either environmental improvements or distributive justice. And Stefan Stern points out how much better off we'd be if the rich paid more in wages and taxes rather than claiming to be philanthropists.
- But on the bright side, PressProgress highlights British Columbia's plan to raise an extra $200 million per year by ensuring that its highest-income residents pay something closer to their fair share of the price of a civilized society.
- Finally, both the Globe and Mail's editorial board and Rob Breakenridge join the chorus calling for the UCP to shut down its backfiring war room.
Tuesday, February 18, 2020
Tuesday Morning Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading.
- Christiana Figueres and Tom Rivett-Carnac offer a stark look at the plausible worst-case scenario for a climate breakdown over just the next thirty years. And Zarah Sultana argues that in the UK (as elsewhere), we need to demand transformative politics to respond to our social and environmental crises:
- Andrew MacLeod highlights how the RCMP has been interfering with free reporting in the course of its Wet’suwet’en raids - presumably with reference to its documented concern about allowing activists to with public support.
- Finally, Amir Barnea makes the case for Canada Post to offer affordable banking and financial services to people left behind by the financial sector.
- Christiana Figueres and Tom Rivett-Carnac offer a stark look at the plausible worst-case scenario for a climate breakdown over just the next thirty years. And Zarah Sultana argues that in the UK (as elsewhere), we need to demand transformative politics to respond to our social and environmental crises:
The scale of the climate crisis means moderation won’t cut it. The only answers are radical. Socialists across borders will need to link up to campaign for an international Green New Deal. It will tax the super-rich and take on polluting profiteers who wreak havoc from Brazil to Bangladesh. It will create new, green industries that will save our communities while saving our planet too. None of it will be possible without confronting the existing order, where 100 companies are responsible for 70 per cent of global pollution. Our lives are threatened by their pursuit of profit.- Andrew Nikiforuk suggests that federal approval of the Teck Frontier mine could provide Alberta with a lesson in when to stop digging - though the danger is that even allowing Jason Kenney to oversee development could further destabilize the ground for everybody.
Call it ‘taking back control’ if you like — taking control away from the billionaires and winning it for workers in every corner of the planet. This means being clear that our allies are the dispossessed everywhere, and our enemies arrive by limousine not dinghy, with green politics as a new class politics for our age.
My generation grew up being told there was no alternative to cuts and declining opportunities. That was miserable enough. Now that dismal economic model is putting our planet in peril.
We can be the generation that rises to this existential challenge. We can end the cycle of capitalist destruction. As our planet burns, we must make good on the promise of an old socialist hymn: We will bring to birth a new world from the ashes of the old.
- Andrew MacLeod highlights how the RCMP has been interfering with free reporting in the course of its Wet’suwet’en raids - presumably with reference to its documented concern about allowing activists to with public support.
- Finally, Amir Barnea makes the case for Canada Post to offer affordable banking and financial services to people left behind by the financial sector.
Monday, February 17, 2020
Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material to start your week.
- Monika Dutt offers a reminder that some of the best investments we can make in improving public health are aimed at social factors:
- Emily Leedham discusses how the law is all too often stacked in favour of capital and against the interests of labour and other groups of citizens.
- Amber Bracken challenges the attempts of outside actors to portray and stoke division within the Wet’suwet’en. And Kate Gunn and Bruce McIvor offer a primer on the law involved in the use of unceded land.
- Finally, George Monbiot discusses how ongoing policy choices which destroy the natural environment are exacerbating flooding in the UK. And Collin Gallant notes that Alberta may be able to resolve part of its vast problem of abandoned oil wells by turning well sites into solar installations.
- Monika Dutt offers a reminder that some of the best investments we can make in improving public health are aimed at social factors:
As a physician, I often see people at high risk of poor health because they live in poverty. We know that poverty contributes to higher rates of many conditions, including diabetes, heart disease, depression, and even children having difficulty in school.- Michael Swan points out the Ford government's moves to turn welfare into a profit centre. Matt Elliott highlights the unfairness of the TTC's plans to crack down in forcing extremely high fines on people who lack the money for transit. And Antonietta Corado writes about her path from relative security to homelessness.
It is simply harder to be healthy when you lack a decent income. Many people can’t afford their medications, adequate housing, activities for their kids or nutritious food — some of the staples for being healthy. This is a serious concern in a place like Cape Breton, where there is such a high rate of poverty.
To reframe how we think about poverty and health, we need to consider what is needed to create healthier communities. One important aspect of that is the elimination of poverty.
- Emily Leedham discusses how the law is all too often stacked in favour of capital and against the interests of labour and other groups of citizens.
- Amber Bracken challenges the attempts of outside actors to portray and stoke division within the Wet’suwet’en. And Kate Gunn and Bruce McIvor offer a primer on the law involved in the use of unceded land.
- Finally, George Monbiot discusses how ongoing policy choices which destroy the natural environment are exacerbating flooding in the UK. And Collin Gallant notes that Alberta may be able to resolve part of its vast problem of abandoned oil wells by turning well sites into solar installations.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)