Monday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Linda McQuaig writes about Catherine McKenna's rare (if belated) honesty about the extent to which Canadian policy is dictated by fossil fuel tycoons. And Susanne Rust and Ian James report on the corporate sector's plans to gut health and safety regulations in the U.S. 

- Grant Robertson and Kathryn Blaze Baum report on the combination of reliance on algorithms and self-regulation that led to a large and preventable outbreak of deadly listeria. William Gavin reports on a U.S. Senate committee report documenting Amazon's alarming propensity for work injuries (and deliberate executive choices to prevent workers from protecting themselves), while Hannah Critchfield and Juan Carlos Chavez investigate Florida's wave of heat deaths which employers have concealed from authorities. Jeremy Fuster reports on Disneyland's $233 million wage theft settlement. And Yuye Ding et al. study the effects of mandatory return-to-office policies, which produce a predictable brain drain which employers seem happy to accept in order to temporary slash costs. 

- Jon Queally reports on Donald Trump's plans to privatize the U.S. Postal Service - and the growing movement to save it. And Dru Oja Jay discusses how the same fight is playing out in Canada, with the Libs choosing to strip away the bargaining power of workers using collective action to argue for enhanced public service rather than dysfunction and precarity. 

- Emily Bell highlights why there's no reason to trust the self-serving propaganda of corporate media owners. Steven Beschloss calls out the wealthy and privileged Americans who are bowing before a Donald Trump dictatorship rather than using their resources to fight for a functional society, while Scott Dworkin examines a few of the forms of press complianc. And Greg Sargent interviews Anne Applebaum about the potential domino effect of ABC's failure to fight a strong defamation case on principle, while Jonathan Last notes that the extraction of protection money looks like one of the central pursuits of het second Trump administration. 

- Finally, Dale Smith discusses how 2024 can only be seen as a year of creeping (following by sprinting) authoritarianism. And Laura Barron-Lopez and Cynthia MIller-Idriss discuss the surge of public misogyny following the U.S.' election, while Taj Ali writes about the recruitment of young men into the toxic "manosphere".

Sunday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- Julieta Manrique et al. study the prevalence of COVID-19 after infection - and find that even in patients who aren't immunocompromised, it manages to spread and replicate in most organs. Julia Wright, Dick Zoutman, Mark Ungrin and Ryan Tennant discuss how universities are failing to take post-COVID conditions seriously. Brett McKay reports on the hundreds of COVID outbreaks in Alberta acute care facilities in 2023-24 - even as the UCP torqued any reviews to insist it should have done even less. And Freja Kirsebom et al. study the continued effectiveness of COVID vaccines in preventing symptoms and hospital admissions among pregnant individuals.

- Jenna Hennebry writes that the real problem with Canada' temporary foreign worker policy is the systemic vulnerability it imposes on workers - which won't be improved in the slightest by forcing workers to compete for fewer positions.

- Glyn Moody discusses how the first version of right-to-repair legislation in Canada is almost entirely useless since it only allows for single-use fixes rather than any sharing of solutions.

- Finally, Natascha Kennedy highlights how big money is threatening democracy in the UK and elsewhere - and how prohibitions against corporate donations are a necessary element in reducing the danger. And Jon Queally reports on Bernie Sanders' message that the most important priority needs to be to overcome the global oligarchy.

Musical interlude

Stoto - 299792458

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Will Noel, Lia Codrington and Scott MacDougall examine the lessons to be learned from jurisdictions who have been making a successful transition to renewable energy. David Roberts talks to Cory Doctorow about the need to avoid letting clean energy fall into the enshittification trap that's ensnared so many other parts of our economy and society. Mark Paul, Holly Caggiano and Emily Grubert discuss a new survey showing that there's strong public support even in the U.S. for curtailing fossil fuel extraction. 

- Grant Smith reports that even OPEC is grudgingly acknowledging that demand for fossil fuels is headed for a precipitous decline - though the oil-soaked Canadian right figures to be the last group of people willing to acknowledge that reality. Peter Kalmus discusses the desperate need to stop giving oil barons and their lobbyists a veto over climate action. Ecojustice exposes how CNRL alone is blatantly violating its obligations to report carbon pollution at hundreds of Alberta sites, while Mike de Souza reports that even when the UCP government is aware of violations by oil companies its priority is to suppress the truth rather than enforcing the law. And Yue Qui, Aaron Sojourner and Paolo Volpin examine how mergers and acquisitions tend to signal more dangerous work environments in mines. 

- Jack Marley discusses how increasing desertification of land demonstrates the need to rapidly contain the climate breakdown. And Harriet Reuter Hapgood reports on new research showing how that the reach of drier conditions extends to over three quarters of the Earth's land.  

- Kate Yoder wonders whether talk of tipping points serves to encourage or demoralize people in the pursuit of climate action. And Paul Waldman warns of the dangers of politics based on shapeless disgruntlement. 

- Derek Robertson writes about the tech sector's plan for the Trump administration to foster a culture of impunity and corporate waste. Jarrett Renshaw, Rachael Levy and Chris Kirkham report on a particularly noteworthy example in Elon Musk's plans to eliminate reporting requirements for car crashes to ensure Tesla's carnage on the roads can't be studied or regulated.  

- Finally, Dhruv Khullar writes about the new gilded age of medicine in a system increasingly designed to exploit patients rather than treating them or supporting their health. Annie Waldman reports on UnitedHealth's choice to systematically limit access to treatments for autism. And Christina Jewett and Sheryl Gay Stolberg report on the attempt by one of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s associates to cancel any approval for polio vaccines as RFK is set to assume control over public health in the U.S. 

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Crawford Kilian reviews Richard Seymour's Disaster Nationalism as setting out the problem of fascists using emergencies both real and contrived as an excuse to shut down democratic processes and single out invented enemies for punishment - while recognizing that there's no easy way to inoculate against it. Steven Hill discusses how that analysis largely explains Donald Trump's election in the U.S. Jen St. Denis reports on the Russian influence being used to try to break down democracy in Canada and elsewhere. And Joseph Thomas offers his suggestions as to how to fight misinformation like a doctor in a one-on-one setting. 

- Maurice Mitchell comments on the need not to give up on electoral politics as a means of improving the well-being of the general public, while Marc Elias offers his take on how to build an opposition movement. Jared Yates Sexton discusses the predictable outcome if peaceful and democratic means of change appear to be completely blocked off. And Tara Raghuver and Ruthy Gourevitch discuss the potential for the growth of tenant unions as a mechanism for organization and collective action.  

- Chris McCahill writes about new research showing that higher levels of car dependence produce reductions in life satisfaction as well as health. Catie Gould discusses how parking requirements are a major obstacle to the availability of affordable housing. And John Michael McGrath examines the Charter case for a right to bike lanes, while Matt Hansen reports on the dooring of a cycling advocate on the day of a hearing into Ontario's anti-bike legislation.

- Katie Dangerfield reports on the dangers facing striking postal workers in their day-to-day employment (which Canada Post is seeking to exacerbate by making work even more precarious). And Tom VanHeuvelen, Xiaowen Han and Jane VanHeuvelen study the impact of unionization on mortality - finding that union membership leads to a longer and healthier life. 

- Finally, Oxfam America highlights the social and health benefits of a guaranteed income, while noting that it's possible to work toward one at any level of government. 

Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Laurie Laybourn and James Dyke comment on the developing doom loop as fear, hardship and political instability created by a climate breakdown in progress make it harder to coordinate efforts to ameliorate it. And Gaby Hinsliff writes that Storm Darragh taught her family and community how poorly prepared they were for climate disaster, while Matthew Ballew et al. examine how psychological distress appears to be a spur toward climate activism. 

- Fiona Harvey warns that a COP29 outcome more attuned to Vladimir Putin's political ends than the preservation of a liveable environment may be only the beginning. David Suzuki laments how the oil industry undermined any effort to agree on a plastics treaty. Eamon Ryan discusses how the oil industry and other corporate forces poisoned public opinion against a successful push to reduce carbon pollution in Ireland. And Joe Vipond makes the case to treat the fossil fuel industry like big tobacco - i.e. as a dishonest and destructive actor impeding work which is necessary for the public good.  

- Dharna Noor reports on new NOAA data showing that the Arctic is now a net emitter of carbon pollution, rather than serving as a carbon sink. Max Fawcett discusses Kevin O'Leary's attempt to play Alberta for a fool by seeking out public money for a highly-polluting, zero-benefit AI project - and the danger that the UCP will be happy to play along. And Rewiring America studies the effects of converting to electrical power - finding that a shift to electric appliances produces demonstrable benefits to air quality both inside and outside the home. 

- The Angus Reid Institute finds that a strong majority of Canadians see corruption and tax evasion as a major cause of the affordability crisis - potentially signaling a strong appetite for a credible plan of attack against them. Paul Krugman (on his new site after his retirement from the New York Times) discusses how the right's anti-public sector rhetoric facilitates actual fraud and abuse by corporations and the righ. David Macdonald points out that a time-limited GST holiday isn't a particularly good use even of a temporary windfall, while glaringly failing to address the structural factors that are stressing people's finances. And Paul Kiel reports on a tax loophole which wealthy Americans are using to avoid contributing a cent of a Medicare tax paid by workers. 

- Jason Sattler writes that Donald Trump's main political skill is setting up an alternate reality for himself and a maddeningly large number of voters. Oliver Willis notes that he's been able to get away with denialism in large part due to the refusal of Democrats to engage in a meaningful fight as to the controlling narrative. And Simon Wren-Lewis rightly argues that progressives shouldn't fall into the trap of echoing and reinforcing the politics of stupid. 

- Finally, Ryan Romard writes that public sector strikes in Canada (spurred by years of relatively high inflation paired with pay freezes) are helping to set up opportunities for all kinds of workers to seek better wages and working conditions. 

[Edit: added link.]

Tuesday Night Cat Blogging

Feline takeover.

Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Julia Conley reports on the continued accumulation of riches in the hands of a few, as the total wealth of billionaires has more than doubled worldwide over just the last 9 years. And Susan Riley points out that the right's supposed solution to economic anxiety will only make matters worse by diverting even more wealth upward. 

- The Hatchet discusses how price-fixing and profit-taking is the norm across the food supply chain - with manufacturers being no less guilty than major grocery chains. And Dustin Godfrey reports that independent grocers without the clout of a corporate conglomerate are struggling to survive the combination of supplier price increases and deep-pocketed competition.  

- Solarino Ho points out the inevitable consequences of putting housing in the hands of billion-dollar corporations who are both ruthless (to the point of collusion) in extracting the highest possible rent and fees, and utterly unconcerned with tenants' well-being. And Kathy Moreland writes that Doug Ford's plan to punish homeless people does nothing to help them. 

- Krista Carr discusses what the Libs' choice to exclude people receiving disability payments from their general rebate continues to say about erasure by design. 

- Alice Marwick writes that the concept of mainstream media is increasingly becoming obsolete, based on both the availability of viewpoint-driven sources (if currently tilted toward the right) and many people's decreased interest in accessing news as a separate category of content. And Andrew Potter muses about the implications of artificial intelligence being able to mimic any distinct or creative voice. 

- Ron Johnson highlights what cities lose when they purge bike infrastructure in favour of car-centric urban design. And Dan Sheehan calls out how American public space has long been set up to endanger pedestrians.  

- Finally, Catherine McKenna discusses her collaboration with the fossil fuel sector in what it pretended to be a commitment to long-term climate policy - as well as her subsequent realization (obvious though it seemed to some of us all along) that oil barons ultimately have no interest in being good-faith participants in averting climate disaster if it means the slightest haircut to their profit margins.  

Monday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Stefan Labbe reports on new research showing how the business-driven use of lead in gasoline resulted in large-scale poisoning in the U.S. (and in other countries including Canada). Shanti Das reports on the pesticide poisonings in Brazil caused by chemicals which are banned in the UK but still approved for export. And Topher Sanders examines both the levels of cancer-causing formaldehyde people encounter in everyday life, and some steps that can be taken to reduce exposure. 

- Ralph Nader writes about the silent violence of corporate control over our health and well-being. Omar Ocampo reports on the latest Forbes wealth data showing that a mere 12 American tycoons have over $1 trillion in concentrated riches between them. Jake Johnson reports on the Congressional Budget Office's findings that tax cuts for the wealthy purportedly intended to spur economic growth will in fact produce economic shrinkage for everybody but those at the top. And Harold Meyerson talks to Randi Weingarten about the need to offer working-class voters something more promising and responsive than a continuation of the neoliberalism that has turned people into resources to be exploited. 

- David E. Sanger, Jonathan Swan and Maggie Haberman report on the cartoonish conformity test being imposed on applicants for positions in the next Trump administration, while Robert Reich notes that the cabinet is being filled out based on absolute subservience and flattery. Ray Fisman writes about the dangers of running government like a business. And David Shiffman discusses what scientists can expect based on lessons learned when Stephen Harper was imposing the Cons' policy of employee muzzling and science denialism in Canada. 

- Finally, Alex Boyd examines how the right-wing noise machine is attacking Canada to inflame fascists in the U.S. Sarah Kendzior asks whether the U.S. is following the path of one of its most prominent celebrities - and approaching its death on the toilet phase. And Tim Miller implores people not to respond to the idiocy of the Trump regime with an "LOL Nothing Matters" ideology which exacerbates its damage. 

Musical interlude

Royksopp - I Had This Thing

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Oliver Milman examines how insurance rates in the U.S. are pricing in climate risks - and pushing insurance out of reach for people facing the most severe effects of the climate breakdown. And Devi Sridhar reports on new research tracking the longer-term damage caused by climate disasters. 

- Anjali Appadurai writes that Canada has chosen to obstruct international efforts to reduce carbon pollution. But Megan Gordon points out that Canada has the ability to join a global surge in clean energy if it's willing to act in the interests of workers rather than oil tycoons. Bjorn Bremer, Jane Gingrich and Hanna Schwander write that it's not too late to turn the tide against the climate crisis. And Becky Robertson points out how non-car-centric infrastructure is both popular and effective where it's implemented - no matter how determined right-wing demagogues are to destroy it.   

- Charlie Angus offers a compelling take on the lamentable state of democracy in Canada, based particularly on a Con party which refuses to take a break from inane talking points regardless of the real issues at stake: 

- Michael Harris points out just a few of the glaring questions which Pierre Poilievre has brazenly ignored while seeking power. Max Fawcett offers a reminder that the corporate-funded branding of right-wing parties as fiscally responsible bears no relationship to reality. And David Baxter reports on the justified frustration of Indigenous leaders that the Cons chose to block legislation to ensure that First Nations have safe drinking water.  

- Meanwhile, Adam Serwer discusses how Donald Trump's supporters have taking to embracing outright villainy. Steve Schmidt notes that the plutocrats who control an increasingly-large share of the U.S.' press and access-based talking heads are both genuflecting before Trump rather than acting like an independent media. Paul Farhi and John Volk examine how Trump's electoral victory was based largely on running up the score in news deserts. And Marcy Wheeler points out the embarrassing lack of context and background being presented in stories seeking to treat a pardon arising out of the politically-driven prosecution of Hunter Biden as a far larger scandal than an entire regime built around corruption.

- Finally, Anelyse Weiler and Tayler Zavitz discuss how the agricultural lobby is pushing draconian ag-gag laws in Canada - and how their implementation creates avoidable health risks for animals and people alike. 

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- John Ganz discusses how a number of tech tycoons chose to support Donald Trump as part of a broader distaste for democracy and popular empowerment. And Oliver Darcy discusses how the Los Angeles Times (like other major media outlets) has been converted into a propaganda arm of the business oligopoly after falling under billionaire control.  

- Jesse Drucker examines how the U.S.' estate tax has been undermined, resulting in stagnant public revenues even in the face of systematic concentration of wealth. And Margit Schratzenstaller examines how the rich respond to inheritance taxes - finding far more evidence of evasion and avoidance than of any real moves to avoid paying a fair share. 

- Marcela Garcia reports on the takeover of veterinary medicine by private capital, resulting in corporate control over both consumers and veterinarians.

- Anna Merlan reports on the rise of one prominent climate denial account on X thanks to active support from numerous members of the Trump regime. And Adamo Anthony Donovan writes about the misinformation campaign against bike infrastructure. 

- Joel Bourne discusses the climate and environmental effects of a global food system based on fragile monocultures in stressed ecosystems. And Kiley Price examines how the climate breakdown is both increasing the need for vaccines, and interfering with their availability. 

- Finally, Lise Courteau points out the need to recognize and value unpaid work in order to promote equality and safety for women - even as dangerous political forces are attempting to push in the opposite direction. 

Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- William Hunter reports on a warning from scientists that the Arctic's sea ice may melt completely as soon as 2027. And David Spratt examines (PDF) the devastating implications if we continue along the path toward 3 degrees Celsius of global warming. But Robert Kopp et al. warn (PDF) of the dangers of oversimplifying complex climate effects into "tipping points" - particularly when they serve as an excuse for inaction. 

- Fieldnotes reports on the fossil fuel sector's role in installing Donald Trump back in power - as well as its plans once he retakes it. And Isaac Slevin et al. study the shadowy corporate forces at work trying to block offshore wind power projects - with "information subsidies" representing the most important pollution of the public discourse.  

- John Lorinc implores Ontario to learn from the ample evidence that public-private partnerships serve only to enrich the latter at the expense of the former - though of course for the Ford PCs, that's precisely the point. And Emma McIntosh reports on the first set of reports from Ontario's new Auditor General Shelley Spence, which include fully-anticipated findings that Ford is wasting billions of public dollars to enrich a few developer cronies. 

- Adam King discusses how the Trudeau Libs' failure to benefit the material conditions of workers has allowed the Cons' demagoguery to resonate far more than it should. 

- Finally, Alvin Finkel writes about the historical pattern of oppressors and popular revolt. Jason Sattler sets out a declaration of independence from the control of billionaires. And Nathan Robinson notes that the plutocrats in Trump's inner circle in particular are conspicuously unconstrained by reality and reason in seeking to seize ever more power for themselves. 

Tuesday Night Cat Blogging

Festive cat.

Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Andrew Dessler offers a reminder that it's still possible to alter the trajectory of the climate breakdown if we take steps to stop spewing carbon pollution. And Fatima Syed discusses Ontario's shuttering of coal power plants as an example of how a modicum of will and effort can make major changes. But Amy Westervelt highlights how the fossil fuel industry is determined to prevent a transition from happening - and has largely enlisted the power of governments to stifle the prospect. 

- Aaron Cantu discusses how oil operators are staying away from wells in California if they're made responsible for cleanup costs. And Amanda Follett Hosgood reports on Enbridge's decision not to build the Westcoast Connector pipeline based on a lack of business merit after receiving approval a decade ago. But Max Fawcett warns that there's another attempt afoot try to ram a Northern Gateway pipeline through B.C. - with Donald Trump's election serving as the latest excuse. 

- Victor Tangermann reports on Tesla's release of large amounts of dangerous wastewater around its plant in Austin. And Sharon Lerner and Al Shaw report on the FDA's scientific documentation of the dangers of formaldehyde as an air pollutant - but note that it's refusing to reduce the risk to the people affected. 

- Jason Murphy discusses how long COVID is affecting health and well-being in Australia. And Andre Picard takes note of the danger of an avian flu pandemic which governments seem entirely determined to ignore in the name of business as usual. 

- Finally, Carol Cadwalladr examines how billionaire ownership of major media outlets has resulted in the distortion of the information available to citizens. Rumneek Johal points out that coverage of CUPW's Canada Post strike has been glaringly slanted toward the interests of management and the corporate sector. And Alex Cosh observes that Canada's business lobby is determined to inflict austerity on the public in order to funnel public money to defense contractors. 

Monday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Sarah Kendzior writes about the replacement of shared culture with corporate-funded propaganda - and the need to maintain focus on the bigger-picture fight to maintain and build community rather than the firehose of trivia and scandal from the second Trump administration. Peter Turchin examines some of the forces pushing the U.S. toward collapse which help to explain its election results. Bob Berwyn reports on the UN's warning that disinformation is one of the major obstacles to climate action. And Harold Meyerson argues that the path forward for U.S. Democrats needs to involve resisting the corporate elite, rather than hoping to be seen as better serving its interests.

- Meanwhile, Stewart Prest discusses how Canadian political leaders need to earn the trust of young people in order to build a movement capable of countering the alt-right. Charlie Angus highlights the historical roots of neoliberalism and the collapse of the working class, while Luke Savage writes about the need for social democracy to roll back the spread of corporatism and commodification. And Paul Kahnert points out how the concentration of wealth and power - and concurrent decline of civil society - have laid the groundwork for political and social unrest. 

- Jim Stanford notes that the concept of a "vibecession" (to be dismissed as illusory) serves to undermine the work needed to strengthen our social base - while noting that we should also call out the right's determination to use public frustration as an opening to make matters far worse. And Muneeb Javaid discusses the real hardships facing many Canadians who rightly aren't prepared to accept the argument that they can't expect more from their political leaders. 

- David Zipper points out the need to treat traffic safety as primarily a matter of systemic choices and forces rather than isolated individual acts. Taylor Noakes contrasts Doug Ford's decision to punish everybody for his hatred of people on bikes against Montreal's success developing cycling infrastructure. And Muhammad Rizwan Azhar and Waqas Uzair write that demand for fossil fuels is bound to decline based on a shift toward bikes, mopeds and other more efficient forms of transportation. 

- Meanwhile, Kevin Crowley and William Mathis report that oil giants are already borrowing money to pay out shareholders rather than being able to do so based on value produced. But Agence France-Presse reports on the failure to reach an agreement on curbing plastic production can be traced primarily to petrostates insisting that their desire to pollute trumps human health and well-being. 

- Finally, Gary Fuller reports on new research showing the incidental health benefits of reducing carbon pollution. And Heather Stewart discusses how the climate crisis threatens the availability and affordability of basic food supplies. 

Musical interlude

Audrey Vixen - Emergency Room

Friday Afternoon Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Joshua Pearce discusses the reality that the climate crisis could carry a ten-figure death toll over the course of this century - which would give rise to an obvious responsibility to act among any but the most inhuman of leaders. Mario Alejandro Ariza reports on the connection between insurance costs rising as a result of the climate breakdown, and a resulting spike in people who can't pay their mortgages. And Hadrian Mertins-Kirkwood highlights the need for Alberta and other jurisdictions currently under the thrall of petropolitics to prepare for reduced demand. 

- But Joakim Kulin examines how finger-pointing and blame-shifting have been used to translate nationalism into climate obstruction. Raphael Satter and Christopher Bing reports on the emerging revelations as to how Exxon Mobil and its corporate buddies have sponsored and made use of the hacked e-mails of environmentalists to disrupt climate litigation and activism. And Geoff Dembicki reports on the astroturfing efforts of the fossil gas lobby in its attempt to undercut Vancouver's ban on gas heating - though Seth Klein is relieved to note that attempt to drag the city backwards just barely fell short. 

- Henry Obanya discusses the immense amount of microplastic pollution caused by vehicle tires. 

- Negin Owliaei and Maya Schenway point out that the incoming Trump administration has a detailed and dangerous playbook to shut down progressive civil society. And Robert Reich offers a reminder that an ostensibly populist campaign has given way to a cabinet of plutocrats and their sycophants, while Gil Duran talks to Brooke Harrington about the tech bros' plans to exploit the power of the presidency. 

- Finally, David Moscrop discusses the belated recognition by some commentators that a "liberal" consensus which does nothing to challenge concentrated wealth and power will never earn the support of the working class. And Kim Siever reminds us that billionaires are an economic drain on society - not a goal to be pursued, or even a necessary evil to be accepted.

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Carbon Brief examines the results of the COP29 climate summit - with the main takeaway being a familiar combination of barely-existent commitments and watered-down aspirations. Sofia Gonzales-Zuniga, Danial Riaz and Mia Moisio highlight the hypocrisy of Canada and other petrostates who are ramping up exported carbon pollution while trying to claim to be meeting emission reduction targets. 

- Andrew Nikiforuk reports on the sham referendum being used as an excuse for dangerous coal mining in Ranchland, Alberta. And Emma McIntosh exposes the reality that Doug Ford's government was well aware there's no rational basis for systematically destroying cycling infrastructure before ramming through a bill to do just that. 

- Meanwhile, Carl Meyer notes that cross-party cooperation played a crucial role in applying a minimal standard of accuracy to petropropaganda. 

- Stéphane Leman-Langlois, Aurélie Campana and Samuel Tanner warn that the violent far right has been emboldened in Canada - with little apparent response from governments or law enforcement. And Max Fawcett notes that our institutional conservative parties are eager to surrender Canada to Donald Trump and his brand of fascism. 

- Finally, Tannara Yelland and Martin Lukacs report on the Competition Bureau's investigation into rantel price-fixing by corporate landlords. 

Wednesday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Ellen Wald writes that Canadian oil companies would be smart to be prepared to answer for their environmental and human rights abuses. But Carly Penrose reports that they're instead funding petropoliticians and shadowy lobby groups in an effort to undermine climate change policy, while David Climenhaga discusses Danielle Smith's latest scheme to make accurate information about emissions illegal. 

- Hiroko Tabuchi writes about the propaganda campaign being waged by the plastics industry in an effort to avoid answering for massive and easily-avoidable damage to people's health and the environment. And Tom Perkins reports on new research finding that microplastics and "forever chemicals" are particularly dangerous in combination with each other. 

- Jack Hauen discusses how the Ontario PCs' destruction of bike lanes shows the outsized influence of a few wealthy donors. Sarah Elton and Madeleine Bonsma-Fisher write that Doug Ford's diktat forcing the removal of bike lanes doesn't merely reflect hostility to bikes themselves, but a war on data and evidence in policy choices. And David Rider discusses the misinformation being deployed to undermine the development of walkable and people-friendly cities. 

- Silas Xuereb examines the hundreds of billions of dollars per year being diverted into excess profits - and the resulting opportunity to both reduce inequality and fund social needs through a windfall profit tax. 

- Finally, Adam King discusses how the Canada Post strike fits into wider trends around precarious work and the destruction of public services. And Paris Marx points out the contrast between the strength and solidarity of public sector workers in a well-established bargaining unit, and the results of isolate-and-conquer practices imposed Amazon and other corporate giants. 

Tuesday Night Cat Blogging

Curious cat. 

Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- John Woodside reports on the pitiful excuse for climate finance advanced by developed countries at COP29. Kate Dooley highlights how the carbon trading scheme set up at COP29 falls far short of both actually reducing carbon pollution, and accounting for other environmental and social harms caused by credit-generating activities. Patrick Greenfield notes the absurdity of governments and businesses claiming credit for natural carbon sinks as somehow offsetting new carbon pollution. And Nancy Stauffer discusses how existing emission promises rely in particular on implausible assumptions about the viability and impact of carbon removal.

- Trevor Tombe and Jennifer Winter study the price impact of carbon pricing on Canadian food, and find that it's a fraction of the added cost imposed on consumers by corporate profiteering. And Andre Picard writes that the recent cluster of cases of scurvy in La Ronge reflects a far broader issue of poverty and food insecurity in northern regions. 

- Meanwhile, Cheryl Jahn interviews Alex Hemingway about the immense opportunity cost of offering boutique tax cuts rather than investing in underresourced public services. And Wency Leung reports on the dire state of Ontario's public education system as a result of decades of austerity. 

- Simon Spichak points out that recommendations being supported by the Public Health Agency of Canada may actually worsen the effects of long COVID, including by recommending exercise when it's strongly inadvisable. 

- Finally, Ricardo Tranjan discusses how to make rent regulation effective to ensure that housing is both available and affordable. 

Monday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Whizy Kim writes about the rise of the overt use of wealth and associated fame to overwhelm the U.S.' political system. Jason Sattler discusses the need for a new declaration of independence focused on decoupling from billionaires. And Robert Reich notes that Democrats' refusal to meaningfully challenge corporate greed and bullying resulted in their political defeat by a demagogue claiming (however implausibly) to stand up for the working class. 

- Meanwhile, the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage has released its report on the intimidation and subversion tactics of tech giants. And Seamas O'Reilly discusses the comparative joys of Bluesky in contrast to the social media platforms that have gone through full enshittification. 

- Helena Horton, Lucy Swan, Ana Lucía González Paz and Harvey Symons highlight new data showing the acceleration of the climate breakdown - even as the wealthy countries who bear the most blame continue to dodge any responsibility for reparations or mitigation. And Karen McVeigh reports on the scientific recognition that we're generating an unmanageable quantity of plastic waste - with the same bad actors blocking any solutions on that front as well. 

- Nadine Yousif reports on the success of Halifax' choice to integrate tent encampments rather than meeting them with violent displacement. And Jonathan Brooke and Jennifer Hulme discuss how anybody in need of medical assistance is made worse off by a punitive response to addictions. 

- Finally, Jim Stanford studies (PDF) the benefits of expanded child care availability in Canada - including in averting both recessions and inflation. 

Musical interlude

Romy - The Sea

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Michael Scherer and Josh Dawsey document the dark-money false flag operation used by Republicans and their wealthy owners to depress Democratic turnout. And Justin Ling calls out Pierre Poilievre for relying on absurd claims to try to generate outrage within the Cons' low-information base. 

- Meanwhile, Thomas Zimmer laments how the U.S.' upper class is indicating its plans to accommodate Donald Trump's authoritarianism in order to preserve its position of privilege. 

- Clement Nocos discusses how Justin Trudeau's temporary GST giveaway is a poor substitute for removing consumption taxes from essential goods. And Danyaal Raza points out that Canadians in general are paying for the private health insurance that's prioritizing the wealthy and undermining our public health care system. 

- Mike Moffatt points out that mixed-use, walkable neighbourhoods can do wonders to both alleviate the housing crisis and minimize avoidable carbon pollution. And Iglika Ivanova and Anastasia French discuss how soaring housing costs are driving up the living wage needed to get by in Vancouver (among other cities). 

- Finally, Nadia Hasan writes about the need for real disability benefits to account for the fact that most people will be disabled at some point. 

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Sarah Johnson reports on Unicef's warning that children will face far more extreme heatwaves and other dangerous weather events in the decades to come. And George Monbiot writes that the "solutions" being relied upon to respond to the climate crisis are rarely any more plausible than the spin of the most stubborn head-in-the-sand denialists. 

- Ben Stockton and Hajar Medah expose how McKinsey & Company has been working on keeping people hooked on fossil fuels. Amy Westervelt and Royce Kurmelovs examine how fossil fuel giants have always been preventing COP conferences from achieving any meaningful progress - even if they're far more brazen about controlling the agenda now. 

- Graham Thomson discusses the obvious dangers of putting a partisan operative and fossil fuel zealot in charge of Albertans' retirement savings. But Angela Amato reports on the gap between the CPP's net-zero promises and its choice to invest in dirty energy. 

- Jon Milton examines the background to the CUPW postal strike - and particularly the difference in goals between workers committed to public service, and an employer determined to do less in order to claim false economies.  

- Finally, The Disabled Ginger points out how a refusal to mask in health-care settings further endangers vulnerable patients. Heidi Ledford examines the rise of bird-flu infections in humans which are being largely ignored as a matter of public policy. And Lisa Schnirring reports that anti-vaxxers have managed to cause an outbreak of polio in Warsaw. 

Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Jake Johnson writes about the growing recognition that we'll never avert a climate breakdown by putting all action at the mercy of petrostates and oil lobbyists. And Carl Meyer discusses how the Libs have spent far more time and political capital doing PR work for the tar sands than to work on developing an international framework to combat the climate crisis. 

- Luke LeBrun notes that Europe is taking steps to work around reliance on the U.S. over the course of another Trump presidency, and writes that Canada should be pursuing the same option.  

- Max Fawcett writes that the importance of the CBC has only been amplified by the spread of disinformation from elsewhere - meaning that the Cons' plans to trash it could have devastating consequences. And Mitchell Anderson warns of the dangers of allowing propaganda to overwhelm any sense of shared objective reality. 

- Jon Milton discusses how the U.S. Democrats' campaign serves as a painful example of how not to combat far-right demogoguery. And Sheima Benembarek discusses how the compulsive blaming of immigrants - which is currently being enabled by the Trudeau Libs - serves as an entry point to fascism.

- Finally, Jeremy Appel calls out Danielle Smith's attacks on trans people in Alberta. And Duncan Kinney reports on the UCP's use of for-profit nurses - coupled with its refusal to provide any information about the scope of the practice. 

Tuesday Night Cat Blogging

Geometric cat.

Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Oliver Milman reports on the warning from climate scientists that humanity has already missed the window to limit global warming to the agreed target of 1.5 degrees Celsius - making the continued posturing and heel-dragging as a substitute for agreement on action all the more indefensible. Damian Carrington reports on a new assessment showing that numerous heat waves and other severe weather events experienced over the past few years would have been impossible before the climate breakdown. James Riordon points out new NASA data showing a sharp drop in global freshwater levels over the last decade. And Victoria Gill discusses Jane Goodall's warning that the Earth is already well into its sixth great extinction event even as we continue with exploitation and pollution as usual.

- Nesrine Malik discusses how an authoritarian turn in politics can be traced to the enshittification of society generally and social media in particular - together with the lack of a compelling response from any competing alternatives. And Robert Reich notes that the inevitable result is that a Trump kleptocracy will loot the public and make the underlying reality even worse.

- Josh Halliday reports on a new study showing that nearly a quarter of the UK's population - and over a third of children - are currently living in poverty. And Torsten Bell writes about the desperate need for decision-makers to better understand the plight of the working class. Which of course means the political class is firmly focused on ensuring the inheritors of massive agricultural operations don't pay any tax.

- Finally, Adam Piore reports on a new study showing that up to a quarter of American adults may be suffering from long COVID. And City St Georges, City of London finds that the growing list of COVID-19's effects on children includes a 16% increase in heart defects. 

Monday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Jeremy Appel reports on John Vailliant's warning about Alberta's addiction to oil which the UCP is looking to exacerbate. And James Wilt interviews Adam Hanleh about the difficulty transitioning to renewable energy - even when it's cheaper as well as cleaner - when so much entrenched wealth and power is being dedicated to keeping us hooked on fossil fuels.  

- Rebecca Solnit warns that a zombie apocalypse is here as people increasingly engage with the world around them only through manipulative big tech intermediaries. Andrew Nikiforuk writes about the need for the leftist movement to engage with both a general public which is understandably frustrated and disengaged with a political system which is unresponsive to its needs, and increasingly powerful corporate forces seeking to take advantage of that discontent to overthrow democracy. And Robert Reich similarly points out the need for U.S. Democrats (among other parties who purport to be progressive) to take on anti-establishment causes rather than focusing primarily on appeasing the rich and telling the working class it has no alternative.  

- Crawford Kilian discusses how Donald Trump is laying the groundwork for large-scale concentration camps. And Maude Barlow highlights need for Canada to be prepared for Trump's plans - including his intention to take control over limited water resources. 

- Finally, Adam King discusses the Trudeau Libs' continued trampling of the right to strike - and it's particularly noteworthy that they're regularly interfering in all kinds of job actions while refusing to give effect to the anti-scab legislation which was supposed to give workers a modicum of protection. 

Musical interlude

 MisterWives feat. PVRIS - Vultures

Friday Afternoon Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- The University of California, Irvine examines the connection between air pollution and spontaneous preterm births. And Attracta Mooney and Jana Tauschinski discuss how the fossil fuel sector is far more interested in concealing its dangerous methane emissions than reducing them. 

- Hannah Brown interviews Faith Birol about the value of renewable energy in limiting our dependence on bad actors and vulnerability to crises - though it's well worth noting that the oil and gas sector which has amassed obscene amounts of wealth by preventing us from escaping won't be eager to see us take advantage. And Megan Gordon discusses the latest IEA report confirming that anybody focused on jobs should be supporting clean energy over fossil fuels. 

- Stéphane Leman-Langlois, Aurélie Campana and Samuel Tanner examine how the far right is expanding its reach in Canada. And Rachel Ward, Steven D'Souza, Andrew Culbert and Daysha Loppie report on the RCMP's video evidence showing the extremist ideology behind the armed insurrection at Coutts, AB. 

- Nick Falvo lists some of the gains made in homelessness and poverty policy in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic - though it's worth lamenting how those have been reversed (or worse) since. And Emmanuelle Bernheim writes about the flawed theory that involuntary treatment is a viable solution to homelessness. 

- Finally, Christopher Cheung talks to Rachel Bok about the self-serving corporate "solutions" being peddled to cities as a substitute for community-building. And Ian Welsh discusses how any nominal savings from Elon Musk's government destruction project are bound to be illusory as the corporate sector moves in to provide the same services at a marked-up price. 

Thursday Night Cat Blogging

Clutching cat.

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Ajit Niranjan reports on Climate Action Tracker's latest assessment that we're making minimal progress toward any climate commitments, while Damian Carrington reports on new data showing that even the use of dirty fuels like coal, oil and gas continues to increase. 

- Bonny Ibhawoh writes about the need to address climate inequality if we're going to make any headway. Peipei Tian et al. study the relative share of responsibility for the overuse of natural resources - finding that the vast majority of environmental damage is caused by between 10-20% of people. And Phoebe Weston discusses how rapacious corporate conglomerates have taken over the COP biodiversity conference to an even more extreme degree than the fossil fuel-dominated climate version.

- Christina Pagel discusses new research showing that while COVID-19 still remains a problem for the general population, it leads to a particularly large increase in hospital admissions for babies (along with the elderly). Lian Duan et al. study the link between maternal infection and neurodevelopmental disorders. Katie Kerwin McCrimmon writes about the potential that COVID may increase the risk of cancer. Andn Josh Robertson reports that COVID-19 deaths are continuing to drive down general life expectancies in Australia.

- Ruth Patrick points out the unfairness and futility of demonizing people receiving social benefits as lazy - noting that conditionality and restrictions on benefits cause substantial harm to recipients while doing nothing to increase their rates of employment. 

- Finally, Diana Chan McNally offers a perspective on the real needs of people who have had to resort to tent communities - and the importance of treating them as human beings rather than as objects to be stripped of all rights in the name of denial.

Wednesday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Fiona Harvey, Damian Carrington, Ajit Niranjan and Dharna Noor report on Antonio Guterres' warning to the COP29 climate conference that 2024 has been a masterclass in destruction - though there's reason to worry that even worse is in store. And Paige Bennett reports on new research from the International Chamber of Commerce showing the cost of the climate breakdown is already upwards of $2 trillion per year. 

- Noor also reveals that the fossil fuel sector's private awareness (and self-serving public obfuscation and denial) of climate science dates back at least 70 years. And Bruce Huber discusses how commitments to reduce subsidies for dirty energy have all too often been discarded. 

- Kim Siever points out how Alberta's corporate sector relies disproportionately on low-wage temporary foreign workers. And Cory Doctorow discusses the importance of the labour movement in ensuring that employers can't exploit the most vulnerable workers.  

- Finally, Stephanie Swensrude examines how Canada's current housing crisis can be traced to the decision to abandon the construction of non-market homes.

Tuesday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- The Guardian's This is Climate Breakdown series offers first-hand accounts of the current catastrophes arising out of the climate crisis. And Michael Mann writes that it's possible to avoid the worst anticipated effects of climate change - but only if we stop spewing carbon pollution in a hurry. 

- But Sehoon Kim discusses how the corporate sector is buying cheap and meaningless credits rather than taking steps to reduce its own environmental harm. Fatima Syed reports on Enbridge's laughable attempt to avoid any regulation of emissions by claiming that greenwashing is more than enough. And Angela Amato and Carly Penrose examine Alberta's plans for fossil fuel propaganda in schools - even as Breene Murphy notes that oil and gas aren't viable long-term investments.  

- John Clarke writes about the importance of cultivating truth and understanding against the entrenched interests seeking to drown out anything that might threaten their accumulation of wealth and power. But Charlie Warzel points out the immense resources being used to try to push people away from reality-based media, while Carole Cadwalladr discusses the especially dangerous combination of media and government power currently coalescing under the impending Trump regime. And Zak Vescera reports on Stockwell Day's role in building an alt-right echo chamber to try to install the BC Cons in government. 

- Finally, David Climenhaga reports on Danielle Smith's summary termination of the pension board it wants to put in charge of all Albertans' retirement income - while Paula Sambo, Layan Odeh and Dawn Lim confirm the UCP's plans for AIMCo are so political that they're planning to hand it over to Stephen Harper.

Sunday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- The Climate Historian writes that COP climate change conferences are now far more a matter of theatre than of action. Justin Rowlatt reports on yet another COP conference being hosted by a fossil fuel operative seeking to use the cover of climate action to cut oil and gas deals. And David Suzuki offers a reminder that fossil gas is a bridge to nowhere rather than any solution to the climate crisis.

- Meanwhile, James Dyke notes that the disastrous floods in Spain should remind us that even the most developed countries are far from equipped to deal with the catastrophe that's in store if we don't avert more of a climate breakdown.

- Stockholm University studies the harmful effects of plastic pollution on other environmental dimensions including the climate crisis, biodiversity and water safety. And Miriam Freedman and Heidi Busse note that microplastics may be responsible for unusual cloud formation (and resulting increases in precipitation).

- Steven Staples warns that Donald Trump is coming for Canada's already limited and threatened fresh water.

- Finally, Steven Waldman examines how voters' news sources are a strong indicator of their voting preferences - with voters who rely on social media or cable news unsurprisingly repeating the positions of right-wing echo chambers. And Don Moynihan points out that the loudest forms of identity politics are those seeking to maintain while male supremacy - even as they're normalized so as to make the public falsely perceive marginalized groups as having outsized influecen.