Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Erika Edwards reports on the increase in the number of children being admitted to hospital due to the spread of the Delta variant. And Sarah Rieger reports on the growing number of infections traced back to the reckless slashing of protections during the Calgary Stampede (despite the Kenney government's attempt to release a laughably low preliminary number then stop counting). 

- Nora Loreto writes about the need for the media to include the connections between business lobbyists and government decisions in its general reporting, rather than saving discussion of those links for all-too-rare special investigations. 

- Stephanie Ross and Larry Savage ask why more workers aren't organizing their workplaces in light of the well-documented advantages of being represented by a union. 

- Jeremy Appel discusses how the UCP's state-directed inquisition against environmental activism has had toxic effects even if the resulting report isn't going to produce any meaningful findings. And Amanda Follett Hosgood observes that seven years after the Mount Polley tailings pond spill, the corporate operator is still using a "temporary" permit to keep dumping toxic water into Quesnel Lake. 

- Finally, Zak Vescera reports on the need for millions of dollars in urgent repairs to Regina's hospitals as the Moe government has allowed our health infrastructure to decay. 

Thursday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Brooks Fallis highlights why a strategy limited to vaccines won't stop a fourth wave of COVID-19. The CP reports on the call by doctors (and others) to have the UCP reverse its declaration of surrender to the pandemic, while David Cournoyer points out that the axing of all public health precautions is leaving a large number of Albertans behind. Jacquie Miller reports that even the Ford government is promising to buy air filters to somewhat improve the safety of schools in the fall. And John Ibbitson discusses the latest polling showing that a strong majority of Canadians support restricting unvaccinated people from attending public gatherings. 

- Karen Howlett points out the lack of coroners' reports or other accountability mechanisms for the thousands of Canadians who died of COVID in long-term care homes. 

- Sarah Lawryniuk discusses how a drought linked to climate change is disrupting agriculture in Manitoba, while Bonnie Allen and Heidi Atter report on the dire plight of Saskatchewan ranchers who can't find food for their herds. Damian Carrington reports on evidence that the Gulf Stream (a major regulator of the global climate) is on the verge of collapse. 

- Jaby Dayle rightly questions how so many people are eager to blame minimal social supports for people's understandable reluctance to accept dehumanizing work.  

- Finally, Jillian Horton expresses her understandable frustration at the disconnect between public needs and demands, and the priorities of those who govern us. 

Wednesday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Nora Loreto points out the thousands of deaths known to have been caused by the spread of COVID-19 in Canadian hospitals - and the virtual certainty that the numbers available to date represent a significant undercount. Allan Massie discusses the spread of COVID-19 through the majority of the attendees at a party where every guest was fully vaccinated. Vincent Del Guidice reports on Idaho's stark rise in cases among babies and toddlers. And Don Braid calls out the UCP for axing even the most uncontroversial and necessary of public health measures to limit COVID transmission. 

- Scott Gilmore argues that we're past being able to rely on rewards and bribes to try to get people vaccinated, and need to start instead limiting holdouts' access to the "normal" they claim to value as long as they make it needlessly more dangerous. 

- David Wallace-Wells writes that a climate breakdown happening at an unforeseen speed is leaving us with the choice to either adapt or die (while still needing to limit the amount of damage to be taken into account). And the Globe and Mail's editorial board rightly recognizes that there's no point in banking on liquified natural gas exports which are far from viable both environmentally and economically. 

- Finally, Tom Parkin writes that the Governor-General has a legitimate role to perform in determining whether an election call is necessary where the prime minister relies on laughable assertions of non-confidence. And Andrew Jackson points out that the Libs may not be on the safe ground they're expecting in trying to plunge Canada into a mid-pandemic election. 

Tuesday Night Cat Blogging

Leisurely cats. 

Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Emily Anthes highlights what the people paying attention to COVID-19 (and particularly the Delta variant) have learned about the risks of transmission in schools - including the need for ongoing mitigation measures to avoid outbreaks. Simon Rella et al. study the spread of vaccine-resistant strains and find a continuing need for public health protections. Antonio Regalado and Casey Crownhart discuss the numerous outbreak clusters among vaccinated people around the globe. And Megan Molteni writes about the reality that the fight against an ongoing pandemic is a long war, not a one-time skirmish which can be left behind us. 

- Ubako Ogbogu and Lorian Hardcastle write that the UCP is playing Russian roulette with the health of Albertans by eliminating public health measures, while the same criticism would of course apply equally to the Saskatchewan Party. Brad Reed reports that Louisiana has been forced to reinstate a mandatory masking policy due to the disastrous results of reopening without protections. And Akiko Okamoto, Linda Sieg and Kiyoshi Takenaka report that Japan's choice to prioritize large-scale sports over public health have led to its health care system having to turn away COVID patients and hope they can survive at home. 

- Rebecca Hersher writes about new research showing that a rapid transition to clean energy could save tens of millions of lives. Rebecca Leber discusses how a clean power grid is an absolute must as part of any climate change plan. Julia Peterson reports that Saskatoon is doing its part to shift toward solar energy even as the provincial government tries to stifle its development. And Mitchell Beer weighs in on the large number of fossil fuel workers eager to transition to more sustainable industries. 

- Meanwhile, Amy Harder points out the importance of addressing the demand side of our energy equation to enable a transition to a clean economy. 

- But Emily Atkin notes that for all the public support for a shift to renewables, advocates for a just transition are being prevented from advertising due to the refusal of media properties to serve as anything but shills for dirty energy tycoons. 

- Finally, David Dayen provides an inside look at employer union-busting efforts. And Sara Ashley O'Brien reports on the recommendation for a new vote after Amazon went all-out to intimidate employees against unionizing. 

Monday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material for your Monday reading.

- Jonathan Howard writes that the recognition of higher COVID-19 risks in adults has been used as a means of misleadingly minimizing the risks of death and long-term effects in children. And Gideon Meyerowitz-Katz offers the receipts as to how the dangers of COVID itself are far more severe than any effect of public health measures intended to reduce its spread.

- Ahmed Mushfiq Moborak and Saad Moer recognize that we should be sending vaccines to the countries where they're most needed, rather than allowing them to expire in the midst of populations unwilling to receive them. And Sasa Petricic discusses how glaring failures in the face of the pandemic are leading to the unraveling of longstanding governance structures around the globe. 

- Liz Walker and Shanice Regis-Wilkins talk to Jim Stanford about the prospect of increasing the use of sectoral bargaining to increase the bargaining power of Canadian workers.

- John Woodside reports on the difference between the Libs and the NDP as to whether new infrastructure necessitated by a climate breakdown should primarily be built with public money for public benefit, or whether (as the Libs prefer) any planning is going to bake in private profit-taking.

- Finally, Paul Dechene discusses the downside of increased sprawl which seems to be under consideration by Regina's City Council. And Katelyn Duncan highlights how the Moe government has gone out of its way to make it difficult for Saskatchewan residents to mitigate some of the effects of car and truck-focused cities by switching to electric vehicles.

Sunday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- Lauren Pelley examines the impact of the Delta variant in Canada. And Marieke Walsh notes that we're facing an increasingly tight time frame to ramp up COVID-19 vaccinations to avoid it resulting in a fourth wave, while reports on U.S. research showing vaccines alone won't be enough to respond to Delta or other new variants. 

- Paul Krugman discusses how COVID-19 has followed political lines in the U.S. due to the irresponsibility of Republican governments. Blake Murdoch comments on the repugnance of Jason Kenney's decision to let a deadly disease run rampant, while Kelly Cryderman notes that an ideological aversion to acting in the public interest is entirely consistent with the UCP's brand. The CP points out warnings from public health officials as to how the recklessness of Kenney's choices will echo far beyond Alberta's provincial borders. And Kendall Latimer examines the risks arising from Saskatchewan's increasing case counts even as Scott Moe likewise insists on removing any protection for people. 

- Rebecca Casey and others review how the pandemic has highlighted the need for paid sick leave. 

- Oxfam highlights how intellectual property restrictions have already quintupled the cost of distribution COVID vaccines, while Reuters reports that Pfizer and Moderna have gone into full-on shameless profiteering mode by hiking the prices of COVID vaccines in Europe. And Linda McQuaig offers a reminder that Canada has chosen to allow big pharma to engage in price-gouging rather than ensuring that medications and vaccines are both accessible and affordable.

- Noelle Allen discusses the folly of relying on market to fix problems with housing which find their root in the prioritization of profits over people's rights and needs.

- Finally, Jane Gleeson-White writes about the patriarchal bias underlying what's presented as objective and neutral economic thought.

Musical interlude

Glass Animals - It's All So Incredibly Loud

Wednesday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- The Globe and Mail's editorial board highlights the folly of declaring victory in the race to vaccinate Canadians against COVID-19 when we're far short of anything remotely resembling a conclusion. Sarah Rieger reports that Alberta is seeing unprecedented spread as its fourth wave begins to crash into the general public. And Rob Vanstone rightly questions why the Saskatchewan Roughriders are prepared to let COVID into packed football games. 

- The Angus Reid Institute examines public attitudes toward improving our system of long-term care - and as for so many other issues, there are far more people who believe change is needed than who expect it to actually happen. And Janet French reports on the UCP's moves to turn Alberta's health sector into a profit centre at the expense of workers in both surgical centres and laundry facilities. 

- Camille Bains reports on the damage being inflicted on Canadian agriculture by extreme heat and drought conditions. 

- David Gray-Donald discusses two new books on how the fossil fuel industry has manipulated both public information and political choices to block action to ameliorate climate breakdown. And Emily Eaton, Andrew Stevens and Sean Tucker comment on the Co-Op refinery's attack on workers as an example of how a transition will be entirely unjust if corporate interests dictate its terms. 

- Finally, Gillian Steward rightly argues that a federal election is the last thing Canada needs in the midst of a pandemic and summer of climate chaos. 

Tuesday Night Cat Blogging

Stepped-up cats.

 

Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Apoorva Mandavilli reports on the CDC's return to recommending that people wear masks indoors to try to avoid another COVID wave. Matt Elliott asks why nobody is taking the lead on proof of vaccinations when it represents another necessary step to control spread. Jean-Paul Soucy pieces together a full picture of Saskatchewan's COVID timeline which the Moe government had conspicuously avoided making available. 

- Richard Paddock and Muktita Suhartono report on the growing number of children dying of COVID-19 in Indonesia. Adam Hampshire et al. study (PDF) the effects of long COVID. And Wency Leung reports on how the pandemic has aged people prematurely. 

- Mitchell Thompson discusses how the Trudeau Libs are barging ahead with a plan to put workers back on the path to increasing precarity by slashing or withdrawing supports even as the pandemic continues. And Aaron Wherry notes that the push toward austerity comes even as all major parties seem to have accepted the public's willingness to run deficits to tend to people's well-being. 

- Barry Saxifrage reports that the spread of wildfires in British Columbia is resulting in more carbon pollution than the province's burning of fossil fuels. And Fraser Thomson rightly argues that Canada can't claim to be anything but a climate villain as long as we refuse responsibility for emissions from our oil and gas exports. 

- Finally, Steven Chase reports on the Libs' decision to approve a $74 million sale of explosives to Saudi Arabia, once again prioritizing the military-industrial complex over the lives at risk at the hands of an warmongering regime. 

Monday Afternoon Links

 Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- CBC News reports on the research which is just starting to systematically identify and treat the worrisome symptoms of long COVID. Gabriel Scally weighs in on the dangers of the UK's choice to end any public health response to COVID-19 even as the Delta variant is starting to run rampant, while Amanda Holpuch reports that the U.S. is looking at guidance which may include reinstating mask mandates. And Apoorva Mandavilli discusses the broader dangers of the U.S.' environment of vaccine refusal. 

- Doug Gordon writes that a shift toward increasing car traffic represents just one more example of the lack of learning from a pandemic which exposed it as unnecessary. And Emma Arkell points out that young women in particular have borne the brunt of the economic damage from COVID-19. 

- Patrick Brethour highlights the likelihood that the rich in Canada are only getting richer while the Libs do nothing to address income or wealth inequality. And David Moscrop calls out the space race between billionaires as reflecting our complete failure to harness extreme wealth toward any useful end. 

- Meanwhile, Torsten Bell reports on new research showing how public and political corruption spreads into everyday activity. 

- Jonica Newby describes her climate grief - and highlights how it should be an important factor in pushing us to needed action. And Ruth MacLean writes about the oil industry's plan to abandon the mess it's made in Nigeria now that there are no easy profits to be extracted. 

- Finally, Max Fawcett discusses the attempt by the UCP's anti-environment inquiry to throw a report together at the last minute. 

Sunday Morning Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- The Globe and Mail's editorial board recognizes that any responsible government would be continuing to apply public health rules to prevent a fourth wave of COVID, rather than hyping partial vaccination as a cure-all. Zeynep Tufecki discusses how the U.S.' political dysfunction is limiting its ability to mount a full public health defence - though it's well worth noting that Canada and other countries are facing similar difficulties without the exact political barriers south of the border. avid Connett reports on the justified backlash against the UK Cons' attempt to portray responsible risk management as cowardice. Shondipon Laha writes that our growing level of experience in responding to COVID-19 doesn't mean it's getting any easier to ask ICU staff to deal with new waves. Rob Stein and Selina Simmons-Duffin report on new modeling showing how the Delta variant is set to cause a new wave of COVID-19 deaths in the U.S.

- Blake Murdoch and Lorian Hardcastle point out that there's no reason why a vaccine passport can't be designed to protect privacy while also achieving the public health goals of encouraging vaccination and protecting against community spread.

- Arthur White-Crummey reports that the Saskatchewan Party's attack on the solar industry has achieved its goal of destroying an immediate renewable alternative to fossil fuels - as well as the jobs that went with it. And if we needed to be reminded as to how corporate-friendly regimes have worked to tie the hands of anybody trying to implement effective climate policy, Josephine Moulds reports on a UK oil company's use of ISDS provisions to try to force Italy to approve offshore drilling or hand it hundreds of millions of dollars of free money.

- Meagan Day interviews Carol Burris about the use of "nonprofit" charter schools to transfer education funding into the hands of the corporate sector.

- Finally, Paul Krugman calls out the corporatist politicians in then U.S. who are insisting that tax laws should only be enforced against the working class.

Deep thought

It's an absolute mystery where Scott Moe and the Saskatchewan Party got the impression they're entitled to dictate how they're covered and what questions they'll deign to answer.

Saturday Morning Links

Assorted content for your weekend reading.

- Jillian Horton discusses the lack of any meaningful effort to make education safe at the point when provincial governments should be planning for the start of the school year., while Lynn Giesbrecht reports that the Moe government in particular is taking zero responsibility (and offering nothing more than bare-bones suggestions) toward the health of students. And Ian Sample and Heather Stewart report on the concern of some UK experts that their Con government is encouraging the spread of COVID now based on the misguided belief that it will somehow relieve pressure on the health care system later.

- Meanwhile, Macintosh Ross writes about the especially galling lack of interest in public health reflected in the decision to barge ahead with the Tokyo Olympics over the objections of Japan's residents.

- Christy Ferguson highlights how the UCP's inquiry supposedly aimed at messaging about the Alberta tar sands has instead tried to delegitimize any action to help the climate anywhere in the world. And Chuka Ejeckam laments the fact that we're far beneath any reasonable pace of action in trying to salvage our living environment.

- Max Fawcett writes about the end of any illusion that there's any value in rushing to develop natural gas as a "bridge" to renewable energy which is already more affordable while avoiding greenhouse gas emissions.

- Finally, Lois Ross is justifiably outraged that Health Canada is planning to increase the amount of glyphosate permitted in Canada's food supply.

Musical interlude

Rhye - The Fall

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Graham Thomson writes about Jason Kenney's choice to base his governing strategy on COVID denialism. William Hanage expresses his disappointment at Boris Johnson's continually woeful pandemic response - though it's hard to see why anybody should have expected anything different. And Ed Yong talks to Rhea Boyd about the U.S.' unvaccinated population - including the reality that many people have indeed held off out of hesitancy or lacked an opportunity to access vaccines, rather than being single-minded anti-vaxxers. And Katherine Wu writes about the growing recognition that people who have been vaccinated still need to take precautions to protect themselves and others - including resuming wearing a mask even after right-wing voices have declared it's time to burn them. 

- Meanwhile, Adam Morton reports on the risks facing Australia as it depends on natural gas export revenues which are set to evaporate as its customers shift to renewable energy sources. And Fiona Harvey reports on a growing coalition supporting a "global green deal". 

- David Thurton reports on a new study by the Pembina Institute showing that Canada is falling far short of even its insufficient climate change commitments. Chris McGreal writes about the corporate lobbyists blocking any path toward meaningful climate policy in the U.S. And Alex McMaster highlights how the climate breakdown is only exacerbating inequality in Ireland. 

- The Joseph Rowntree Foundation examines how the UK's system of social supports falls far short of providing people with the resources or security they need to avoid being trapped in poverty. And Derek Dunn talks to Angella MacEwen about the importance of treating housing as a human right rather than a market commodity - as well as the readily-available mans to make that happen. 

- The Star's editorial board calls out the Ford PCs for governing solely in the interests of corporate cronies rather than the public. 

- Finally, Jacques Gallant writes about the Libs' cynicism in setting up a bill banning conversion therapy to stall prior to the election they're bent on calling. And Andrew Coyne highlights how Justin Trudeau has managed to capture activists' values in the service of rank political opportunism. 

Thursday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Cory Coleman reports on the blunt recommendation from public health experts that people not attend Saskatchewan Roughrider games due to the near certainty they'll prove to be points of spread for COVID-19. And residents of Canada's least-vaccinated province should take note of Sharon LaFreniere's report about the devastating effects of the Delta variant in the least-vaccinated regions of the U.S. 

- Ivana Kottasova writes about the wildfires now ravaging areas which were never vulnerable to burning prior to the climate crisis. And Diana Magnay points out how thawing permafrost is both a consequence of past carbon emissions, and an alarming source of future ones.  

- And in case there weren't enough reasons to take offence at the recent spate of billionaire space tourism, Katharine Gammon points out how it results in massive amounts of gratuitous carbon pollution. 

- Finally, Kate Aronoff highlights how it's taken forceful activism from voices typically dismissed as far-left to get climate policy anywhere near the U.S.' governing agenda. The Globe and Mail's editorial board writes about the importance of carbon tariffs in ensuring that climate damage isn't treated as a cost saving in corporate decision-making - though it's worth noting that others have recognized that reality much earlier. And Mitchell Beer writes about the need to ensure resource regulation is aligned with Canada's climate change commitments. 

Wednesday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Brian Owens' roundup includes reference to new research showing that excess deaths are the result of COVID-19 itself, not the lockdowns used to combat it. And Renju Jose and Byron Kaye report on Australia's soaring COVID rates, while Yasmine Ghania discusses how Saskatchewan is at risk of a fourth wave. 

- Angus Reid has unveiled new polling on vaccinations and other public health measures - including strong support for at least some form of vaccine requirement in every province/region. Blake Murdoch highlights how there are few rational arguments against vaccine passports. And Andrew Coyne writes that we may soon have little choice but to apply vaccine mandates to ensure we reach herd immunity before the Delta variant runs rampant. 

- Sara Mojtehedzadeh reports on the close connection between workplace COVID outbreaks and the use of temporary and precarious labour. 

- PressProgress exposes how Doug Ford's government has actively treated the pandemic as an opportunity for private actors to extract money from the public education system. And Mike Crawley reports on Ford's immediate end to the enforcement of licensing requirements for workers in skilled trades - signaling that for all the talking points conservatives spout about respect for tradespeople, they're the ones who wrongly believe there's no need for tradespeople to have any skills or qualifications. 

- Finally, Gabriel Zucman and others warn (PDF) that a loophole in the current international joint statement on a global minimum corporate tax may not only render the minimum ineffective, but could actually create new incentives for tax havens and the businesses who seek to abuse them.  

Tuesday Night Cat Blogging

Playtime cats.

 

Tuesday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Sarah Rieger reports on the experts pointing out that Jason Kenney (among other right-wing demagogues) is wrong in bleating incessantly that the pandemic is over. And Yasmine Ghania reports that many Saskatchewan residents are far more responsible than their government (or the media which keeps declaring them unwilling to accept public health measures in the absence of any evidence). 

- Yves Engler lends his voice to the growing chorus calling for Canada to invest in a sustainable future rather than a wasteful fighter jet purchase. And Cloe Logan reports on a push by environmental groups and other organizations to stop throwing public money at costly and ineffective carbon capture and storage which serves mostly to prop up the fossil fuel sector, rather than actual investments in averting climate breakdown. 

- Montana Getty reports on the financial precarity facing Saskatchewan residents. And Grace Blakeley highlights how conservative messaging about freedom is entirely empty when it isn't paired with either concern for civil liberties, or recognition as to how material deprivation undermines any positive freedom to make choices. 

- Gwyn Tophan reports on Philip Alston's findings that the privatization of the UK's bus service went so far as to breach human rights by depriving people of access to basic services.  

- Finally, Joe Roberts offers a needed reminder that what the Liberals promise to try to take a false majority looks very different from what they offer if they happen to secure one. 

Monday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- John Paul Tasker writes that Canada needs to push hard to increase the number of vaccinated people to prevent a fourth wave of COVID-19. An anonymous COVID ward worker in the UK expresses well-justified anger that health care workers and vulnerable people will bear the brunt of a conservative government's gross negligence in slashing public health protections. Marianne Guenot reports on an outbreak of 964 cases at a single outdoor music festival which required proof of immunity - signalling the massive dangers of eliminating social distancing as a protective measure. And Emma Sandri reports on new research documenting the many debilitating symptoms of long COVID. 

- Amelia Pollard discusses Pfizer's push to encourage third "booster" shots of little medical value in more profitable markets rather than allowing vaccines to be distributed where they're most needed. And Erika Edwards reports that any approval of vaccines for children under 12 may be on hold until winter. 

- Philipp Heimberger and Sebastian Gechert highlight how corporate tax cuts don't contribute to growth, only to exacerbated inequality. And Mark Blyth calls out the conservative obsession with inflation at the expense of human well-being. 

- Saba Dar examines the history of land privatization in Saskatchewan - and the environmental damage associated with selling off public lands. 

- Marion Werner, Annie Shattuck and Ryan Galt ask why glyphosate is still ubiquitous in both commercial agriculture and home gardens after being recognized as a probable human carcinogen. 

- Finally, Doug Cuthand writes that we're far past the point where empty statements of apology or regret are a sufficient response to broader awareness of Canada's legacy of genocide. And Emilie Nicolas points out the level of ignorance about Indigenous peoples - to say nothing of Indigenous languages - that has been treated as a laughing matter by the same people stoking outrage over Mary Simon's ability to speak French. 

Sunday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- Kelly Grant writes that the toll from COVID-19 includes driving many workers out of the nursing profession. And Kim Siever notes that while the UCP is driving nurses and doctors out of Alberta by shrieking that they're overpaid and working to starve them of resources in the midst of a pandemic, it's also privatizing care including eye surgery.

- David Byrne discusses how avoiding incarcerating people for minor offences leads to an overall reduction in crime. 

- Zak Vescera reports on both the initial response to the Saskatchewan Party's arbitrary decision to cut off access to methadone as therapy for people addicted to opioids, and the personal experience of an individual whose life was saved by the harm reduction measure which is now being taken away.

- Finally, Bianca Mugyenyi weighs in on the choice between dumping billions upon billions of dollars into fighter jets for show, or instead investing in protecting against climate catastrophe (or at least mitigating its effects). And Sask Dispatch highlights how reconciliation and reparations figure as an important part of our long-term climate strategy.

Saturday Morning Links

Assorted content for your weekend reading.

- Robert Booth and Heather Stewart report on Boris Johnson's insistence on lifting COVID-19 protections even as case counts rise in the UK. And Annette Dittert discusses how Johnson's government has relied on being able to dispense with concepts such as the rule of law and objective reality whenever it suits their purposes (and without pushback from compliant media).

- Michelle Ghoussoub reports on the rise of climate anxiety in B.C. as extreme weather becomes an everyday reality.

- David Hasemyer reports on the intersection between climate breakdown and fossil fuel infrastructure, as a major Alaska pipeline is on the verge of collapsing and spilling due to melting permafrost. CBC News reports on British Columbia's inability to keep up with the spread of wildfires. 

- Meanwhile, Patrick Brethour writes about the obvious flaws in Scott Moe's demand to receive credit for doing less than the bare minimum to regulate carbon emissions. And D.C. Fraser rightly argues that there's no value in trying to claim future credits based on past actions.

- Finally, Justin Rowlatt reports on a new study discussing the need to make healthy food more readily available compared to junk food alternatives. And Joyce Nelson writes about the movement pushing for meaningful regulation of toxic plastic products in the face of the usual anti-social lobbying from the oil industry. 

Musical interlude

LAUREL - Scream Drive Faster

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Claire Pomeroy and the Financial Times each highlight the likelihood that survivors of long COVID will be affected for the rest of their lives by a disease which governments have decided to allow to spread. And a group of health experts in the UK weighs in on the folly of condemning thousands of people to illness or death in the name of "personal responsibility" in response to a social threat. 

- Apoorva Mandavilli and Benjamin Mueller discuss how the Delta variant is exacerbating the gap in outcomes between the reality-based portion of the U.S. and the Trumpist death cult. And Jonathan Bernstein discusses the willingness of Republicans to sacrifice the lives of their supporters for political gain. 

- Umair Haque makes the point that none of the interlocking crises which are endangering our health and our living environment are anything close to normal - even as far too many people have accepted (at the behest of those in power) that we should normalize a state of catastrophe. 

- Ezra Klein points out the absurdity that we would let our natural environment burn even as we're experiencing the results of a climate breakdown. And Sofia Andrade reports that climate scientists are recognizing that they've underestimated the climate impacts of increased greenhouse gas emissions and temperatures so far. 

- The Associated Press reports on Greenland's decision to reject oil development which would provide temporary profits at the expense of long-term survival. Mike de Souza reports on new polling showing that oil and gas workers are more than willing to transition to work in the renewable energy sector as long as petrostates aren't standing in their way. But Noam Scheiber points out the need to ensure that green development actually results in the creation of good jobs, rather than following a corporatist model which suppresses wages and working conditions.

- Finally, Lisa Carter highlights how women stand to bear the brunt of yet another set of impossible demands in navigating a reopening after exhausting available time away from work and losing pandemic-related supports. And Arisa Valyear points out the CCPA's work showing how families would stand to benefit from a full national child care plan.

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Umair Haque discusses how the UK is headed for yet another avoidable wave of COVID-19 disaster. Sarah Rieger reports on the rising spread of COVID-19 in Alberta, while James Keller reports that Jason Kenney's declaration of surrender has predictably convinced people not to bother getting vaccinated. Martin Finucane reports on the dozens of COVID deaths and hundreds of hospitalizations even among fully vaccinated people in Massachusetts. 

- David Tynar and Matthew Johnson study how actual methane emissions from fossil fuel facilities are far higher than assumed in British Columbia's regulations and climate plans. 

- Dharna Noor discusses how extreme temperatures have a disproportionate effect on poorer communities and populations. But lest anybody take that as a basis to think Western Canada won't be affected, Olivia Condon reports on warnings from climatologists that extreme heat and desertification are coming Alberta's way, while Kevin Ma writes about the crops already scorched by the recent heat dome (to say nothing of the high temperatures yet to come). And Tez Dhalizal reports on the dangers posed by exceptionally high temperatures and numerous wildfires in Saskatchewan, while Kathryn Blaze Baum and Ivan Semeniuk point out the damage caused by wildfires goes far beyond what actually gets burned. 

- All of which is to say that there's plenty of force behind a new call for Canada to invest in protecting people from pandemics, the climate crisis and other real problems, rather than burning tens of billions of dollars on fighter jets which serve little practical purpose. 

- John Michael McGrath calls out the misguided push against rooming houses in Toronto which only figures to make housing availability even worse. Marc Lee discusses both the positive ideas and the limited scope of options presented by the Canada-British Columbia Expert Panel on the Future of Housing Supply and Affordability. And Charlotte Dalwood makes the case for a more ambitious plan to provide universal public housing. 

- Finally, Anne Levesque highlights how Indigenous children still facing systemic discrimination need action rather than another round of empty thoughts and prayers. And PressProgress takes note of the failure of the prairie provinces to address systemic racism in the criminal justice system. 

Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Marlene Habib writes about the continued efforts of grocery workers to ensure we have access to food and supplies in the face of the pandemic (and now complete abandonment by governments and employers). Celine Castronuovo reports on the hospitalizations of children resulting from the spread of the Delta variant in the U.S. And CBC News talks to David Fisman about the lessons to be drawn from the recent outbreak in the Yukon - including both the importance of continued public health measures (no matter how determined irresponsible governments are to reject them), and the limitations of current vaccination rates. 

- Carys Roberts asks why politicians in the UK - like those around far too much of the globe - are refusing to take bold action to protect our climate in the face of massive public demand. 

- Damian Carrington reports on new research showing that an obsession with resource extraction and commercial development has turned the Amazon rainforest into a net emitter of greenhouse gases. Jaweed Kaleen and Thomas Curwen write about the western U.S. where temporary droughts caused by climate breakdown are giving way to outright aridification and the loss of vital water sources. 

- Meanwhile, Aidan MacNab reports on a study showing the problems with federal environmental assessment legislation which fails to enable assessment of fossil fuel projects which create obvious dangers to climate systems and biodiversity. 

- Finally, Sam Gindin writes about the need to develop political movements which challenge the fetishization of competition (particularly due to the corrosive effect of systematic competition for position within the working class). 

Tuesday Night Cat Blogging

Attentive cats.

Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Kit Yates offers a reminder of ignoring the exponential growth of COVID-19 as the Delta variant puts many jurisdictions back on that same path. And the BBC reports on the belated recognition by Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte that the slashing of public health protections was leading to high infection levels - particularly in bars and nightclubs. 

- John Agliata writes about the prolonged pain, stress and anxiety experienced by COVID long-haulers which creates obvious risks of suicide - a point which is distinctly ignored by the people who have demanded the relaxation of restrictions based on a supposed concern about mental health. Ashley Okwuosa discusses how an outbreak was allowed to overrun Brampton's Ontario Correctional Institute, resulting in dozens of COVID-19 cases among inmates, staff and their families. 

- Murray Brewster reports on a review panel's findings that Canada's pandemic warning system was gutted under the Harper Cons and never rebuilt while the Libs were in power. And Tom Parkin discusses how Justin Trudeau has undermined the movement for paid sick leave across Canada by shirking responsibility and pointing fingers at provincial governments. 

- Fair Vote Canada points out the risk that one of the Libs' most glaring broken promises could combine with Trudeau's cynical election posturing to produce the most unrepresentative majority government Canada has ever seen. 

- Finally, the Broadbent Institute calls for a fair tax system which doesn't reward idle capital owners with lower tax rates compared to workers. 

On mood disorders

Summer is the time for reruns. And when your local political columnist keeps repeating the same patently false assertions about public opinion in the face of actual evidence, well...

How actual people (PDF) see the need for continued public health rules to prevent the spread of COVID-19:

Do you think governments should lift all restrictions related to COVID-19 right now? Yes 24% / No 69% / Don't Know 6% (Canada); Yes 33% / No 58% / Don't Know 9% (SK/MB)

How Murray Mandryk spins the public's mindset where it means giving Scott Moe an excuse to put us all at risk:

“After 485 days of the government telling you how to live your life, all those restrictions are coming to an end,” Moe said. “Outside of war time, I don’t think a government has asked so much.”

One gets it. It was a message reflective of his government’s philosophy, its general approach to this COVID-19 fight and — quite frankly — the mood of the province right now.

And as a consequence, the type of gross disregard for the health and well-being of others that's being legitimized as the basis for public health policy:

“The pandemic is (expletive) done! It’s over,” he said. “I don’t give a (expletive) about your variants. I don’t give a (expletive) about your Delta variant. I don’t give a (expletive) about your tetra variant (not a real variant). All the variants can (expletives).”

Needless to say, Scott Moe has found a future cabinet candidate, and Mandryk a "man in the street" whose destructive whims will be taken as more representative of the province than any plausible polling data. And when more people die as a result...that's the price of putting anti-government talking points over actual governance. 

Monday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Crawford Kilian draws from Alex de Waal's New Pandemics, Old Politics to make the case that plagues and the associated responses are invariably political. Adam Miller writes that there's an opportunity for Canadian governments to build off of low COVID-19 case counts and keep further spread contained, including by planning and investing to make sure schools are safe this fall. But the Globe and Mail's editorial board warns that Canada is falling far short of the vaccination rate necessary to lift public health restrictions safely. And Laura Elliott discusses how premature declarations of "freedom" from an ongoing pandemic will force vulnerable people back into personal lockdowns. 

- David Moscrop writes that Michael Lewis' The Premonition signals the need for the U.S. to rebuild its public institutions. And Shailly Gupta Barnes discusses the resources available to do so if the wealthy way just part of their fair share, while Maureen Dowd interviews Bernie Sanders about his hope that it will be possible to prove nihilistic Republicans wrong about the capacity to do good through government.  

- But Umair Haque points out that the foundational bad faith which underpins the county's political and economic institutions makes it impossible to build for the common good. 

- Meanwhile, Rodger Moran highlights why Ontario voters (among others) have every reason to be suspicious of Libs asking voters to ignore their attacks on public institutions and workers while in power based on the bare claim that this time will be different. 

- Finally, Bob Berwyn discusses how the recent spate of record temperatures can only be traced to a climate breakdown in progress. And Alex Bozikivic discusses the ramifications now that extreme heat is here to stay. 

Sunday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- Richard Hurley discusses the findings of an inquiry showing that COVID-19 was treated largely as an opportunity for corporate profiteering rather than an emergency requiring action in the public interest. And Brook Baker calls out the continued refusal of wealthy countries to lift intellectual property restrictions which are limiting vaccine access around the globe, while Jessica Corbett reports on the World Health Organization's warning that we're all at greater risk as a result.

- Annina Claesson highlights how worker organization is a must to achieve improvements in living conditions such as a four-day work week. Brandie Weikle discusses how Canada's essential workers in particular deserve a better deal. And Peyton Forte reports on research confirming that gratuitously making life worse for workers - in this case through Republicans stripping away COVID unemployment benefits - does nothing to improve the labour market. 

- Winston Choi-Schagrin and Aatish Bhatia discuss the dangers of record-breaking overnight temperatures (which are climbing even faster than daytime ones).

- David Roberts writes about the centrality of clean electrification to any attempt to limit catastrophic climate change.

- Finally, Entrepreneur points out the connection between the systematic enrichment of the wealthiest few, and the increasing debt burden being dumped on everybody else.

Saturday Afternoon Links

Assorted content for your weekend reading.

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

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

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

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

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

Musical interlude

Joywave - The Inversion

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Max Fawcett highlights why it's foolish to throw out the protection face masks have provided both against a continuing pandemic, and other infectious diseases. 

- Jonathan Watts reports on a new warning from scientists about the urgent need to prepare for unprecedented heat, while Vishwam Sankaran reports on research finding that millions of people are dying each year from extreme temperatures. And The Guardian's editorial board points out how actual climate change is exceeding even the most dire predictions from longstanding models. 

- Tzeporah Berman reminds us that the Trudeau Libs' insistence on pushing and subsidizing fossil fuels is only making matters worse. Avi Lewis writes about the connection between colonialism, petropolitics and our climate breakdown. And Alyssa Scanga argues that rather than watching humanity destroy its living environment, we need to push for truly radical change.  

- Jim Stanford discusses how cryptocurrency platforms combine all the attributes of unsustainable asset bubbles with extreme environmental destruction. 

- AFP reports on Paris' move to reduce speed limits to make streets safer for citizens. 

- Finally, Cindy Blackstock and Pamela Palmater write that it's long past time for Canada's government to take responsibility for its role in the deaths of Indigenous children. 

Thursday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Peter Beaumont reports on the World Health Organization's warning that the premature lifting of COVID-19 restrictions does nothing but put people at unnecessary risk, while a group of experts is pressing the UK's government not to throw caution to the wind by eliminating public health measures. David Fisman and Ashleigh Tuite study the increased virulence of the Delta variant and its implications for public health, while Kevin Griffin talks to Sarah Otto about her concerns as to the dangers of eliminating protections in British Columbia. Lauren Pelley and Michelle Meiklejohn report on the arrival and spread of the Lambda variant in Canada. 

- Iglika Ivanova discusses the need to address the uneven effects of the pandemic, including its disproportionate effect on service workers and members of racialized communities. 

- Audrey Carleton writes about the emerging research into humans' ability to survive temperatures which are only being experienced as a result of climate breakdown. And Ran Boydell discusses the reality that many buildings haven't been designed or constructed to withstand the climate they'll actually face. 

- Jason Allen writes about the immense cost of unconstrained urban sprawl, and Calgary's success in ensuring that the city as a whole doesn't subsidize that cost to put money in developers' pockets. 

- Finally, Keith Stewart calls out the UCP's anti-environment inquisition as an affront to democratic debate. 

Wednesday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Statistics Canada's COVID-19 Immunity Task Force examines new data as to the spread of the coronavirus prior to the third wave - with the results including higher rates of infection among young people and visible minorities. Wency Leung and Chen Wang report on the slowing pace of first vaccinations in Canada, leaving a substantial part of the population with no protection against increasingly dangerous variants. Andre Picard writes about the lack of consistent guidance on the value of continuing to mask to protect the people who haven't yet been (or aren't able to be) vaccinated.  And Tess McClure reports on Jacinda Ardern's continued leadership in fighting against COVID-19 - this time by forcefully rejecting any theory of "living with COVID" which would in fact result in avoidable illness and death.  

- Peter Gleick warns that a climate breakdown will result in a division between people who can afford to flee the worst effects, and those doomed to risk losing everything they have to preventable disasters. And Derrick O'Keefe points out the class divide in the fallout from the heat dome in British Columbia. 

- Daniel Litvin writes that the oil industry's choices at this point are limited to how to accept inevitable decline - and at this point there's little reason for optimism that it will choose to plan ahead and depart the economic scene without maximizing the resulting damage. And Canada News Central highlights a Parkland Institute study showing that the main effect of government funding for oil well cleanup has been to get the public to foot the bill for pollution by profitable oil companies.

- Dan Kaufman discusses how the deliberate erosion of organized labour laid the groundwork for the politics of fascism and racism in the U.S. And David Sirota points out how pension funds are being hijacked to enrich Wall Street and attack the workers who fund them. 

- Finally, Kenny Stancil writes about the resounding success of Iceland's experiment with a four-day work week and reduction in work hours. 

Tuesday Night Cat Blogging

Picturesque cats.