Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Simon Tisdall discusses the fallout from the Trump regime's choice to launch a war in Iran - with its culture of denial doing nothing to mitigate the harm. And Anthony Fisher writes about the invariable stupidity and malignancy of the people chosen to surround Trump (for the sole purpose of insulating him from inconvenient realities). 

- Meanwhile, Kyla Scanlon highlights how Zohran Mamdani's inspiring victory in the New York mayoral primary offers an example of how progressive values can win out in the current information environment. And both Hamilton Nolan and Lex McMenamin are optimistic that Mamdani's campaign can be the start of a movement to replace a captured Democratic establishment with a new organization structure that is both answerable and appealing to the general public. 

- Tiffany Hsu discusses how countries around the world are stepping into the gap left by the U.S.' abandonment of international cooperation. But Doug Saunders' analysis of Mark Carney's strategy serves mostly to confirm that the Libs are wasting an immense amount of capacity (and pursuing counterproductive policies) trying to placate Trump rather than looking forward. 

- Cindy Cho points out the case for treating dirty energy purveyors as responsible for unnatural heat waves. And Kendra Jewell, Rowan Burdge and Liv Yoon offer a reminder that the people who suffer most in extreme heat are those already living in poverty or otherwise vulnerable. 

- Ian Urquhart discusses how Alberta is continuing to lie about its contribution to the climate breakdown while consistently increasing its carbon pollution. And Adrienne Tanner rightly questions how the oil industry and its fully-owned government subsidiaries consider themselves entitled to have the public fund the immense cost of carbon capture schemes. 

- Finally, Paris Marx discusses the dangers of allowing the U.S. to dictate both which technology will be used, and which countries have access to it. And Matthew Hughes writes about the tech industry's assumption over complete control of basic infrastructure with no regard for people's needs. 

Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Jonathan Watts talks to Genevieve Guenther about the need to keep talking about the many climate tipping points in front of us - along with the value of taking action to avoid crossing them. Sanjana Gajbhiye reports on the weakening of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, and the resulting cool spot which portends increasing warming elsewhere. Andrew Szava-Kovats writes that we can't accept a prolonged wildfire and smoke season as a new normal. 

- Nora Loreto calls out Mark Carney's choice to serve as Donald Trump's lap dog on Iran rather than opposing an unjustified attack, while Alex Cosh and Nur Dogan point out the impace on Iranian Canadians. And Christopher Holcroft discusses Carney's abandonment of "elbows up" in favour of making concessions to an unreliable authoritarian regime. 

- Meanwhile, Erica Ifill points out that Carney is making a corporate power grab - at the expense of Indigenous rights and environmental protection - in the name of national unity. And Adam King discusses how the Libs are putting a thumb on the scale for management against Canada Post workers, while Andre Frappier offers a reminder that the fight is ultimately one encompassing the entire working class. 

- Ryan Kiedrowski reports on the demands of Danielle Smith and Scott Moe that the federal government essentially trash all environmental and climate policy in order to deliver windfall returns to dirty energy operators. And Dale Smith highlights how Smith is importing the Republican war to dehumanize mmigrants into Alberta. 

- But on the bright side, Sean Boynton reports on polling showing that Canadians have maintained their support for LGBTQ2+ rights even as popular support has declined elsewhere in the face of calculated attacks. 

Tuesday Night Cat Blogging

Circular cat.

Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Shiri Pasternak and Dayna Nadine Scott discuss how Canada's elite consensus toward the Trump regime has turned to one of deference (particularly for the benefit of the corporate interests), while Lloyd Axworthy wonders what happened to the elbows which were supposed to be up in defence of Canadian values and interests. And Michael Harris notes that the need to resist Trump's government extends to leaders around the globe.

- Trevor Herriot writes about the justified anxiety people are feeling about an ongoing climate breakdown - and the need for moral courage to ameliorate the ongoing damage we're doing to our living environment. Heather Stewart discusses the need to incorporate the reality of climate change into economic policymaking, while Ryan Cooper discusses how climate change will soon be bankrupting governments if it isn't reined in. And Deborah de Lange calls out Mark Carney for turning his back on climate action, rather than meeting even a bare minimum of consideration for an ongoing crisis.  

- Ryan Ness responds to a cynical attempt to pit planning for climate disasters against the need for housing by pointing out the futility of building homes which we know will become unliveable due to foreseeable disasters. And Tim Aubry and Jino Distasio point out the tens of thousands of homeless Canadians who need immediate support through Housing First programs (rather than being able to wait for trickle-down development).

- Finally, Karen Weise and Cade Metz report on the mammoth environmental harm being inflicted by AI data centres. 

Monday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Tressie McMillan Cottom calls out how the Trump regime is using political violence to eliminate any democratic forms of opposition and accountability. David Roth discusses how fascist regimes tend to provoke chaos in order to eliminate the sense that it's possible to build anything better. And Jeet Heer writes that there is a window for a popular backlash to stop a sustained war in Iran, but only if public outcry manages to drown out the warmongers pulling the strings around Trump. 

- Luke Goldstein reports that the Republicans' plan to rob from the poor to give to the rich includes tax breaks for private equity when it loads companies up with debt and slashes workforces. Jameson Berkow reports on a new finding that CEO pay is soaring in Canada while so many people continue to struggle. And Brendon Hadden examines some of the options to apply a fairer tax system. 

- The Guardian's editorial board writes about the inescapable choice between making investments in averting climate change and its effects, and facing perpetually more (and more severe) breakdowns of the systems that support life. And Andre Picard writes about how wildfire smoke is eliminating summer holidays we we know them. 

- Kostansa Rangelova and Dave Jones point out that solar power has reached the point of being the most affordable option even when adding in the need for battery storage - even with the cost of both still having plenty of room to fall. Rose Dixon write that renewable energy has reached the point of being given away in Spain and Germany. And Umair Irfan notes that there are cheap and effective options available to eliminate the vast majority of methane emissions - even as the fossil fuel sector fights against any effort to clean up its act. 

- Finally, Don Moynihan examines how Australia's experience with flawed algorithmic debt assessment and recovery shows the dangers of making access to the necessities of life reliant on automation and AI.

Musical interlude

CamelPhat & Rhodes - Healing

Friday Afternoon Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Damian Carrington reports on a new warning from scientists that we're on pace to exhaust humanity's carbon budget in the next two years, while also pointing out a report on how misinformation is feeding into the climate catastrophe. Umair Irfan discusses how the climate breakdown stands to worsen hunger by reducing agricultural yields. And Laurence Tubiana writes about the desperate need for political leaders to respond to the climate crisis with ambition rather than denialism and excuses. 

- But sadly, Alexander Quon reports on Scott Moe's decision to keep spewing coal emissions for no apparent reason other than to stoke disputes with the federal government, while Adrienne Tanner discusses how Doug Ford is using distant and implausible promises of nuclear power as an excuse to avoid transitioning to cheaper, cleaner energy. David Dayen reports on Republicans' plans to shovel free money to big oil. Jillian Ambrose notes that Keir Starmer is doing the same for UK gas plants, while Sam Bright points out that UK Labour is also promising the oil industry that it alone will be granted an effective exemption from paying a windfall profits tax. And Mitch Anderson discusses how the UCP has failed to advance climate policy an inch even by its own hand-picked (and meaningless) "intensity" targets. 

- Joshua Dean and Robert Hilton discuss how rivers are releasing large amounts of previously-stored carbon dioxide. And Inayat Singh and Tess He report on new estimates indicating that inactive wells produce seven times more methane pollution than previously assumed. 

- Molly Taft reports on the refusal of AI companies to provide any accounting for the energy they plan to burn through. And Andrew Chow reports on a new study showing how the substitution of ChatGPT for actual research and writing results in the erosion of critical thinking skills. 

- Finally, Charlie Angus calls out the social and environmental destruction being pushed by Mark Carney, while Alex Himelfarb and Craig Scott write about the joint effort by the Libs and Cons to ensure a lack of scrutiny into legislation designed to disempower the public. And Randy Thanthong-Knight reports that the Libs' cuts to immigration have resulted in a zero population growth rate for Canada, serving to marginalize us rather than allowing us to stand up for our country on a global scale.

Wednesday Night Cat Blogging

Reaching cat.

Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Owen Jones discusses how the new outbreak of war-mongering toward Iran is indistinguishable - both in its insistence and its utter lack of connection to reality - from that which led to disastrous results in Iraq and Afghanistan. 

- Stephen Maher writes about the new nationalism which reflects Canada's public mood in the wake of the threats and abuses of the Trump regime. And Justin Ling writes about the folly of trying to make deals with a wholly irrational actor who has proven he has no interest in living up to his agreements - though sadly that recognition doesn't seem to be stopping Mark Carney from wagering Canada's future on tying us even more tightly to the U.S.' economy and defence apparatus. 

- On that front, Benjamin Muller warns that Carney's Bill C-2 sets us up to be used as an extension of the U.S.' anti-immigrant policies. And Kate Robertson examines how it also creates a mechanism for Canadians' sensitive personal data to be shared with the Trump regime - despite the virtual certainty it will then be misused, both through government action and through theft by the Republicans' techbro cronies. 

- Joel Morris writes about the parasite economy turning other people's work in creating content into a source of constant rent. Helena Horton reports on the reality that England is facing foreseeable water shortfalls as data centres plan to soak up massive amounts of water without having to account for it. And Benji Edwards notes that there's now an active movement to try to preserve pre-AI content before all publicly-accessible material turns to artificial slop. 

- Finally, Jim Stanford highlights an expert letter on the value of Canada's public health care system - and the need to strengthen it, rather than accepting the argument of profiteers that we have no choice but to replace it with pay-for-play medicine. 

Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Niko Block writes about the desperate need for Canada to devote resources to income supports and industrial strategy, rather than hoping that corporate tax giveaways will do anything other than further enrich those who already have the most. And David Moscrop interviews Laurent Carbonneau about our long history of corporate welfare bums who have consistently turned access into wealth without holding up their end of any bargain to pursue economic development. 

- Curtis Fric reports on the rightful skepticism Canadians thus have about corporate and media elites - with the problem being that the outrage is then often being directed toward the least powerful. And Emma Paling discusses how Mark Carney is only sowing further distrust by utterly capitulating to Donald Trump's authoritarian agenda after campaigning on the promise of standing up to him. 

- Meanwhile, Marcy Wheeler points out how the Trump regime's belief in white supremacy can't survive contact with reality - as epitomized by Pete Hegseth's absolute incompetence. 

- Michael Mann et al. study how the climate breakdown is contributing to extreme weather events. Brendan Haley points out how energy efficiency should be a critical resource in both reducing Canada's carbon pollution, and offering us a more secure energy foundation. And Emily Chung reports on the role electric vehicles can play in reducing emissions from at least some (largely suburban) demographics - even if they're far from a cure-all. 

- Finally, Agam Shah reports that if we didn't have enough tech giants seeking to turn themselves into omnipresent surveillance mechanisms, Grammarly is seeking to elbow its way into the picture.

Monday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Paul Krugman writes that the combination of anti-fascism protests and Donald Trump's crackdown on them could be crucial in determining whether the U.S. sees an end to even the pretense of democracy. G. Elliott Morris notes that Saturday's "No Kings Day" protests were attended by millions of people. And both Toby Buckle and A.R. Moxon discuss how the contrast between the widespread and energetic anti-regime protests and the desultory Trump birthday parade shows the power of popular outrage and dissent. 

- Shawn Micallef notes that this year's Pride events are particularly important as a means of protest. And Dale Smith discusses how book-banning and online age verification - both of which are being pushed as part of an anti-LGBTQ agenda - each serve as tools of authoritarianism.  

- Desmond Cole is the latest to highlight how Mark Carney is adopting Trump's mass surveillance and hostility toward immigration even while pretending to defend Canada against them. Karl Nerenberg  notes that Carney is using the U.S. threat as an excuse to bypass democracy on behalf of corporate interests, while David Thurton reports on the justified backlash against the flattening of Indigenous rights and environmental protection in the name of megaprojects. And Mitchell Beer reports on Simon Donner's warning that Carney's theory about "decarbonized" fossil fuels is patently absurd to anyone with so much as a grade-school understanding of chemistry. 

- David Dayen writes about the damage Trump's signature economic bill will do to the U.S. - exacerbating inequality, stifling productivity and worsening public health - if it passes. And Ryan Ermey reports on new research showing that Americans are already seeing declining spending power and quality of life. 

- Issie Lapowsky interviews Megan Greenwell about the harm done by private equity as it undermines functional businesses in the name of short-term wealth extraction. And Jason Hickel makes the case for economic democracy as a necessary system to ensure that human survival and well-being are given any weight in political decision-making.

- Finally, Yei Ling Ma reports on the choice by Wal-Mart and other major companies to pull out of an agreement on reducing plastic contamination before it takes a penny out of their immediate profits. And Kaylie Tiessen warns that sellers' inflation figures to be making a return to Canada soon as corporate retailers turn confusion about inflation and tariffs into windfall profits. 

Musical interlude

BANKS - Stay

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Susan Glaser writes about the dictator cosplay arising from Donald Trump's military parade, while Jeet Heer is rightly more concerned about Trump's actual claim to be able to use the military like a warlord. Liz Dye points out that Trump has reached the point of prosecuting political opposition with remarkably little pushback. Geoffrey Johnston discusses how freedom is eroding under the Trump regime. And Outspoken highlights how ICE is the new Gestapo. 

- Meanwhile, Jack Wilson offers a reminder that Canada's continuing pretense that the U.S. is a safe third country is resulting in refugees being condemned to ICE's abuses. And Erica Ifill rightly questions why Mark Carney is pushing a surveillance state no less dangerous and intrusive than the one being established under Trump's fascist administration.

- Paul Waldman writes that the Republicans' latest attempt to shovel wealth upward depends on what can only be described as fictitious economic theory. And David Sirota discusses how the right's culture war provides cover for the looting of the general public by oligarchs. 

- Erica Chenoweth, Soha Hammam, Jeremy Pressman, and Christopher Wiley Shay do point out that contrary to most media portrayals, there's significantly more protest activity than at this time in the first Trump administration - as the public hasn't followed the political and media classes in acquiescing to Trump. And Bill McKibben writes that this weekend offers a unique confluence of events with the potential to crystallize resistance. 

- Michael Ross and Erik Voeten note that the decline of democracy and social justice in the U.S. can be traced in no small part to its become a petrostate (with the encouragement of both major parties). And Linda McQuaig highlights the absurdity of pitching still more publicly-subsidized fossil fuel pipelines as a matter of "national unity" rather than climate destruction even as much of Canada burns. 

- Finally, Taylor Noakes writes that a Canadian federal government actually interested in helping people would be acting to rein in corporate control, including by breaking up grocery monopolies. 

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Robert Reich warns that the Trump regime's use of extreme military force to suppress peaceful protest is just the first step toward a police state. And Zoe Williams writes about the importance of people nonetheless standing up against the dehumanization of immigrants, rather than acquiescing in both nativist policy and the authoritarian state being used to impose it. 

- Yessenia Funes reports on the fossil fuel industry's bankrolling of anti-trans and other discriminatory causes with the expectation that recruits eager to hurt people based on gender discrimination will be equally callous when it comes to climate harms. And Chris Mooney reports that Canada is looking at wildfire greenhouse gas emissions which far surpass those from any other year on record other than 2023, while Ian Livingston reports that before summer even starts we've already surpassed a normal yearly amount of burned land.  

- Lana Payne writes about the dangers of treating expansion of internal and international trade as an excuse to attack protections for workers. Bushra Asghar, Erin Blondeau, Juan Vargas Alba and Lea Mary Movelle make the case for a Youth Climate Corps as a means of building a sustainable and prosperous future. And John Harris notes that the Starmer government is undermining itself by prioritizing austerity after being elected on promises to ensure people have access to affordable housing. 

- Finally, Curtis Fric reports on Canada's strong public appetite to develop closer ties to the EU. But Katie Simpson, Louis Blouin and Fannie Olivier report that Mark Carney is instead swapping terms for a trade deal with the U.S., with no apparent recognition that any agreement on paper is absolutely worthless as long as Donald Trump is in power. 

Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Anne Appelbaum discusses how the rise of authoritarian politics making elections around the world into existential crises - though it's worth highlighting the role Stephen Harper and his Con/IDU connections have played in fighting against solidarity and democracy. Carole Cadwalladr writes about Peter Thiel's role in fusing extreme wealth and conscience-free political power. And Rebecca Solnit points out that it's a militarized state which bears responsibility for violence arising out of a draconian response to peaceful protests. 

- Michael Sainato reports on the International Trade Union Confederation's warning that the Trump regime is attacking workers' rights around the globe. And Sidney Blumenthal notes that at least some of the corporate forces typically aligned with Republicans are also recognizing they stand to suffer from Trump's corruption. 

- Garce Blakely's Ellen Meiksins Wood lecture points out how corporatism seeks to undermine democracy in order to prevent public action against corporate plans. Simon Enoch writes that neoliberal policy has served to weaken our democratic system, laying the groundwork for an authoritarian takeover. And Dale Smith warns that Mark Carney's first steps in office have continued down that same path, particular in undermining personal privacy and security in favour of further corporate control. 

- Meanwhile, Nick Pearce rightly argues that any plan to build Canada needs to involve both a clear budget and a focus on workers. And Charlie Angus notes that we're not going to save the country by allowing fossil fuel tycoons to torch our natural living environment. 

- Finally, Rebecca Burns reports on the success of a Kansas City tenants' union in stabilizing rents and securing repairs - signaling another area in which collective action can produce tangible benefits. 

Tuesday Night Cat Blogging

Braced cat.

Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- David Lurie discusses how Donald Trump is making flagrant corruption and theft legal for himself and his cronies, while inventing specious excuses to treat anybody who dares to register any opposition as a criminal. Jon Queally points out the predictability of a fascist government rounding up and demonizing labour leaders as a key attack on collective action. And Michelle Goldberg writes about the emergence of autocracy under the Trump regime. 

- Meanwhile, Jeet Heer highlights many of the obvious reasons why the Democrats need to have higher standards than to agree with Elon Musk when he starts disagreeing with Trump's division of the spoils - though even if one wasn't inclined to act on principle, it's hard to see any upside in aligning a party with one of the few public figures more broadly loathed than Trump in any event. 

- Natasha Bulowski reports on the needed pushback against Mark Carney's plans to gut federal regulatory processes for the benefit of corporations pursuing pipelines and other megaprojects. And Morgan Grenfell points out how Doug Ford's cronies will profit from similar legislation designed to squelch public participation and environmental oversight. 

- Ed Zitron reminisces about a time when the tech industry spent at least some time developing products that actually served users, rather than being designed to bleed people dry. And Luke Goldstein and Freddy Brewster report that the government capture by U.S. cryptobros includes pushing to allow banks to raid people's savings and checking accounts to bail out crypto speculators. 

- Finally, Katherine Scott discusses how low-income families in Canada have less disposable income than ever. 

Monday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- David Moscrop writes about the difficulty in trying to respond to a news stream constantly filled with horrors without breaking down. George Monbiot discusses how Britain is seeing increasing swaths of land turned into desert dead zones. And Paula Simons writes about the grim reality of regular wildfire smoke - including far more severe health effects than are generally known. 

- Meanwhile, Chris Hatch points out the absurdity of trumpeting "decarbonized" fossil fuels when the primary intention of oil and gas production remains to have it burned and turned into carbon pollution. And Gaby Clark examines research showing that methane leaks from dormant oil and gas wells are significantly worse than previously assumed. 

- Jessica Wildfire discusses how Donald Trump has been looking for (and working to fabricate) an excuse to impose martial law, while Jonathan Last writes that this week is the most dangerous one in the U.S.' history in terms of the imposition of authoritarianism. 

- Paul Krugman notes that Trump's plans to politicize tax rates on foreign capital is just one more step in ensuring that no rational actors risk a cent of their holdings in the U.S. And Greg Sargent writes that the  difference giving rise to a feud between Trump and Elon Musk is limited to their disagreement as to how best to harm the working class (which should serve as reason for any opposition or resistance voices to refuse to try to make common cause with either of them). 

- Finally, Isaac Phan Nay writes about CUPW's fight to preserve a viable, publicly-operated Canada Post in contrast to management's determination to impose the precarious model used by private delivery services. And in case we needed a reminder as to how businesses are allowed to abuse workers, Nicole Brockbank reports on a single operator's accumulation of almost a million dollars in unpaid wages and fines through multiple employers. 

Musical interlude

Wallflowers - I've Been Delivered

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Amanda Marcotte writes that Joni Ernst's latest pro-death messaging is just another example of the Republican war on empathy and human decency. And Wajahat Ali discusses how dehumanization aimed first at trans people (among other marginalized groups) is being universalized into a general attack on public well-being. 

- Shannon Osaka reports on new data from the World Meteoroligical Organization warning that we're blowing past dangerous levels of global warming years sooner than previously projected. Phil de Luna examines how wildfires are among the disasters making homes uninsurable due to the ongoing climate breakdown. And Solomon Gebrechorkos et al. examine how atmospheric evaporative demand alone is resulting in a massive rise in drought severity. 

- Elizabeth Thompson reports that Trump's budget includes plans to squeeze Canadian investors (while showering free money on other capital). But Jeremy Appel writes that Mark Carney has chosen to bend the knee to Trump by imposing a severe surveillance state in response to fabricated complaints, even as Canada is being singled out for discrimination. 

- Finally, Alex Hemingway examines how a wealth tax could both strengthen Canada's position globally and alleviate inequality and deprivation within it. 

Tuesday Night Cat Blogging

Cat in action.

Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Jessica Wildfire discusses the importance of not letting the Trump regime and its corporate backers take away people's righteous anger, while Ava Kofman highlights how Trump's administration is deliberately using over-the-top evil as a means of domination. And Jonathan Last comments on the proliferation of secret police violently carrying out illegal orders, while Gregory Magarian examines some of the less direct (but still dangerous) tactics being used to stifle free speech. 

- Anna Merlan points out the absurdity of the claim that Elon Musk is anything but fully entangled in the Trump regime even as far too much of the American media buys into a laughable PR tour. And Scott Waldman reports that Musk has torqued his AI chatbot to spout climate denialist talking point in addition to doing massive amounts of environmental damage itself.

- Madeleine Cuff discusses the looming prospect that we may see warming of 2 degrees Celsius before the end of the decade. David Chandler et al. examine the likelihood that the Antarctic ice sheet could unleash a gigantic sea level rise. Tess McClure reports on the recognition that insect populations are dwindling in large areas as part of a climate-related ecological collapse. And EHN reports on a study connecting rising temperatures to increased cancer and death rates among women in the Middle East and North Africa. 

- Ratwat Deonandan discusses the foolishness of RFK Jr.'s cancellation of funding for Moderna's flu vaccine in particular. And Katie Herchenroeder reports on the Trump regime's cuts to research which was on the verge of breakthroughs in developing an HIV vaccine. 

- Finally, Katherine Scott examines how racialized workers are continuing to face disproportionate barriers as employment structures have change in the midst of an ongoing pandemic. 

Monday Morning Links

Assorted content to start your week.

- Denny Carter discusses how Alexandria Ocasia-Cortez is the ultimate "kitchen table" campaigner - even as she's wrongly treated as being out-of-touch by people who want to ensure it's the boardroom table that dominates politics. And Marina Requena-i-Mora, Dan Brockington and Forrest Fleischman find that lower income correlates with stronger concern for environmental issues (likely due to the fact that marginalized people are also the victims of environmental inequaliy and neglect). 

- Tim Dickinson highlights just a few of the nastiest attacks on the public in Donald Trump's murder budget. Jason Sattler calls out the Trump regime for setting the future on fire (both literally and figuratively). Jennifer Rubin discusses how the Trump administration is completely detached from reality, while Margaret Sullivan comments on its attacks on any institution which could preserve people's connection to the real world. 

- Kate Aronoff discusses how Republicans are aiming to subject people to death by heat stroke. And Ames Alexander points out the corporate interests making cities far more dangerous in order to keep profiting from "dark roof" products. 

- The Canadian Press reports on ACORN Canada's work pushing for tenant protections from extreme heat. And Elliot Goodell Ugalde and Natalie Braun make the case to facilitate tenant organization to ensure renters can engage in collective action when governments don't properly address their rights and needs. 

- Daniel Trilling's review of Richard Seymour's Disaster Nationalism highlights the conditions that facilitated the rise of fascist politics both in the 1920s and in the recent past. And Mona Charen points out how false bothsidesing has served to legitimize authoritarianism. 

- Finally, Matthew Renfrew offers a reminder that the Cons have stoked anti-vaccine and other anti-science sentiment - and argues that it's long past time for them to confront that dangerous tendency. And Donald Gutstein takes a look at the extreme evangelicals who have been at the core of right-wing Canadian politics for decades - and who are trying to sell us out to the Trump regime out of religious fervour today. 

Sunday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- A.R. Moxon discusses our role in observing and shaping the world around us with the help of the analogy of a submarine whose occupants choose not to surface when it's obvious we can't survive the loss of oxygen. And Jen Kostuchuk, Erik Steiner and Sean Lyons discuss the need for adults generally - and decision-makers in particular - to start paying attention to the concern children have for our planet's future. And Ariel Wittenberg reports on the dirty energy industry's lobbying to prevent any regulation which would protect workers from having to suffer through dangerously hot conditions.

- Luke O'Brien highlights how the U.S.' surveillance state has always been built for the purpose of targeting and controlling left-wing actors. Prem Sikka discusses how money wields power in the UK, turning facially neutral laws into a means to exacerbate inequalities. And Robert Reich writes that neoliberalism is far past salvaging or rehabilitating as an organizing economic principle.  

- Phoebe Weston reports on new research into the wide variety and dangerous quantity of harmful chemicals seeping into the UK's rivers.

- Finally, David Olive writes that along with the patriotic push to buy domestically, Canadians should be doing everything we can to avoid buying from the country trying to take us over.

Musical interlude

Florrie - Never Far From Paradise

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Allison Gill offers a reminder that every aspect of the U.S.' descent into fascism can be traced back to the increasing power of an insatiable oligarchy. Jason Sattler highlights how a PR blitz to dissociate himself from the consequences of his actions doesn't mean Elon Musk is absolved of contuining responsibility. And Paul Starr calls out the Trump regime's plan to impose artificially high taxes on university endowments to punish the role of universities in building knowledge. 

- Paul Krugman discusses the U.S. Court of International Trade's ruling invalidating most of Trump's arbitrary tariffs. But James Downie notes that Trump has refused to accept repeated messages from all kinds of parties as to the harm being caused by his tariff obsession. 

- Colette Delawalla et al. warn that Trump's politicization of science figures to destroy the U.S.' position as a source of research and discovery. David Cutler and Edward Glaeser examine the multi-trillion-dollar health calamity which can be traced back to Trump's cuts to health research. And Cornelia Schneider and Martha Walls point out the eugenic attitudes which result in Trump and RFK Jr. being perfectly happy to sacrifice human lives. 

- Dhruv Mehrotra reports on the U.S.' collection of DNA samples of children as young as 4 in order to allow for the operation of a future surveillance state. And Marisa Kabas reports on Marco Rubio's launch of an office dedicated to white supremacist immigration policy. 

- More and Better Housing Canada offers a report card on housing policy - finding that not a single province in the country is doing more than a middling job dealing with the failure to provide for basic needs. Hallee Mandryk reports on the skyrocketing rates of homelessness (including among children) in Saskatoon. And Victoria Gibson reports on Doug Ford's choice to favour wealthy landlords in scrapping any affordable housing requirements. 

- Finally, Alex Himelfarb discusses why we have no choice but to keep working for better no matter how grim matters appear today. 

Thursday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- David Moscrop writes that "inequality" is a far too mild word for the extreme concentration of wealth and power in the U.S. (coupled with increasing deprivation and disempowerment of large numbers of people). David Sirota argues that the resistance to the Trump administration needs to directly oppose corporate control rather than hoping that some general claim of abundance will be seen as sufficient, while Hans Nicols reports on polling showing that the general public agrees. And YouGov finds that in the UK, there's far more public appetite for improved services than for austerity and tax slashing. 

- Meanwhile, Anna Merlan discusses what the U.S. stands to lose from the Trump regime's deliberate destruction of knowledge. 

- The Associated Press reports on Louisiana's draconian crackdown against sharing information about the pollution that's threatening public health. And Emily Schwing reports on the limitations of adapting to environmental catastrophes after the fact as evidenced by the crumbling new community of Mertarvik, Alaska. 

- Elyse Hauser discusses her own blood test for microplastics in the context of their spread throughout our living environment. And EcoWatch points out a new study documenting a particularly severe concentration of microplastics in agricultural soil. 

- Finally, Ophélie Dénommée-Marchand rightly argues that Canada needs to be providing a safe haven for trans people and others facing grave risks under the Trump regime. 

Wednesday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Jon Milton et al. discuss how the first speech from the throne under Mark Carney was based on Donald Trump's wish list rather than the priorities of Canadians. David Moscrop notes that while Carney is breaking his promise of patriotically standing up to U.S. threats and pressure, businesses are actively exploiting nationalism into a profit centre. Sonali Karnick interviews Nora Loreto about the corporate roots of the housing shortage and affordability crisis. And Simon Enoch warns that the privatization of Canada Post (which is a looming possibility only due to the federal government's refusal to allow it to expand its delivery of public services) would have immense costs for Canada as a whole. 

- Pat Rich offers a reminder (with reference to a speech from Dr. Andrew Boozary) that the most important building blocks of health are its social determinants including income, housing, and food security. And Mary Hudetz reports on the Trump regime's slashing of a program which provided Indigenous communities with access to healthy, locally-sourced food as another stark example of its destructive approach.

- Meanwhile, Andrew Nikiforuk laments how Danielle Smith and the UCP have chosen to give measles the advantage over Albertans.

- Finally, Michelle Gamage reports on the call for workplace temperature limits to protect British Columbia workers from extreme heat. And Ashley Cowburn reports on an Autonomy Institute report calling for the same in the UK. 

Tuesday Night Cat Blogging

Curled-up cat.

Sunday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- Doug Cuthand offers a reminder that the need for forward-thinking climate action hasn't been reduced just because any discussion of the possibility has been eliminated from Canada's political conversation. The Rude Pundit highlights how the Trump regime is actively making the threat of a climate breakdown even worse. And Mitch Anderson notes that even the Macdonald Laurier Institute can't pretend there's an economic case for more dirty energy pipelines - even as Pierre Poilievre, Danielle Smith and Scott Moe continue to obsess over locking in more fossil infrastructure.

- Meanwhile, Lisa Young discusses how Trump's disregard for Canadian sovereignty has fed into the separatist sentiment being stoked by Smith and Moe. And Jim Stanford writes that while Albertans have reason to be angry, the object of their ire should be exactly the greedy capitalists already getting rich off of public resources while general standards of living erode. 

- Matthew Renfrew reports on the strong majority of Canadians boycotting American products and looking to strengthen our own self-sufficiency - even as the two largest parties in Parliament are fixated on locking us into further ties with the regime that's trying to take Canada by force.

- Finally, Jessie Stein and Sophie O'Monique point out that the housing crisis can't be fixed without the migrant construction workers who are wrongly being blamed and punished for it.

Musical interlude

Lastlings - Holding Me Like Water (Juno Mamba Remix)

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Andy Craig writes that the Trump regime and its enabers have shattered the U.S.' past constitutional order.  Jill Lawrence discusses the denihilism behind the Republican embrace of ignorance and destruction, while Adrienne Mitei highlights the absurdity of the elite effort to normalize the collapse of society. And Jessica Wildfire writes about the limitations of in-system prepping in a world that projects to far exceed the most severe temperatures and weather humanity has ever experienced. 

- Gaby Hinsliff notes that Trump and his ilk have made a point of denying merit and humanity to anybody but white males, while warning against the UK allowing a similar attitude to take hold. Gil Duran highlights Ruha Benjamin's analysis of the eugenics which have been embraced by techbros - and the resulting need to avoid relying on them to do anything to support the population which they see as disposable. And Sandeep Vaheesan's review of Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson's Abundance rightly notes that the path to meeting people's basic needs doesn't involve further empowering the corporate oligarchy which has priced them out of reach. 

- Alex Cyr discusses why Canadians have every reason to fear crossing the border into the U.S. - even as Mark Carney is trying to tie us even more tightly to the Trump regime. And Sam Biddle reports on the U.S. intelligence community's hoovering up of sensitive personal information from data brokers to set up an unprecedented surveillance state. 

- Nicholas Kristof writes about some of the key strategies available to counter an autocracy. And Desmond Cole points out that the suppression of dissent isn't limited to the U.S. - with "bubble zone" laws aimed solely at limiting specific kinds of speech serving as a dangerous example. 

- Finally, Taylor Noakes discusses how Canada Post has long been set up to fail - but how a government with any interest in its effectiveness at providing a vital public service could ensure its success simply by allowing it space to grow. 

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Edward Zitron writes about the idiotic results of purging all considerations from business decision-making other than goosing short-term share prices. And EuropeanPowell examines the connection between deregulated "free zones" (of the type the Cons are actively seeking to impose in Canada) and the broader hijacking of public resources and services by greedy corporations.  

- Simon Kuper reports on the push for a global wealth tax in order to ensure the richest few can't hide their obscene wealth offshore. Dean Baker makes the case for a financial transactions tax to disincentivize shell games as a substitute for productivity. And Rick Szostak discusses the need for everybody to be willing to contribute to the common good. 

- Noah Berlatsky writes about the dangers of the Trump administration's attacks on vaccines, while Reuters reports on Moderna's decision not to seek approval of a more effective hybrid COVID/flu vaccine under an anti-science regime. Susan Mashiyam highlights a new study into vaccine disinformation as expressed at public meetings. And Bingyu Zhang et al. find that the consequences of COVID-19 include severe cardiovascular outcomes in children.

- Finally, Sam Freedman points out the inherent fragility of hard-right political alignments which rely on uniting the corporate sector and conspiracy theorists against professionals. Matthew Hays notes that Pierre Poilievre's attempts to send different messages to different sides of the conspiracist divide resulted in nobody having any basis to trust him. Crawford Kilian writes that the Trumpists and separatists being boosted by Danielle Smith's UCP are likely to make the Cons even less electable. And Don Braid notes that the immediate purpose of Smith's promotion of separatism is to undermine national values and standards, while Taylor Noakes offers a reminder that the separatist push is being bankrolled and directed by and for the dirty energy sector. 

Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Mike Palecek discusses how the Trump regime's tariff chaos isn't aimed merely at conducting trade wars against other countries, but also serves to destabilize economic activity for other ends (including the desire to seize control of Canada). And Anne Kauranen reports that several European countries are setting up alternate payment systems in case Trump decides to commandeer the infrastructure of Visa and Mastercard for his own ends. 

- But in case we were under the impression that Mark Carney was following trhough on his campaign theme of holding tough against Trump, Bloomberg News reports that he's dropped nearly all of Canada's defensive tariffs, while Mike Le Couteur reports that he has Canada in talks to tie us even more tightly into the U.S.' military by participating in an expensive and unworkable Golden Dome scheme. Which is to say that Carney seems to be following Danielle Smith's agenda of legitimizing a surrender to Trump for the benefit of fascists and oil tycoons. 

- Meanwhile, Julie Fine et al. find that even in the U.S. there's a strong majority desire to see more effort to protect people from the harms of a climate breakdown. And Cristen Hemingway Jaynes reports on a new study showing that it's entirely possible to pair a transition to a clean economy with the availability of a decent standard of living for everybody. 

- Manuela Vega reports on new research confirming that financialized landlords tend to impose higher housing costs, while Andrew Willis reports on the capital sharks circling around a major apartment holder. And both John Michael McGrath and David Moscrop highlight the seemingly obvious point that the Libs' insistence on treating housing primarily as capital stock is absolutely contrary to any attempt to make it more affordable and available for people who need it. 

- Finally, the Canadian Press reports on the continued rise of food and grocery prices far in excess of inflation as corporate grocers put the screws to Canadians. And Aaron Vansintjan notes that a solution to our food crisis will require promoting local production.

Tuesday Night Cat Blogging

Poised cat.

Tuesday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Paul Krugman examines the regressiveness and cruelty of the Republicans' planned budget which imposes massive costs on those who already have the least in order to fund tax cuts for the uber-wealthy. Sam W writes about the "let them skip meals" demand being made of people suffering already in poverty. And Jessica Donati et al. report on the amount of food aid currently rotting away due to the Trump regime's callousness, instead of going to people in developing countries who relied on it to survive. 

- In case there was any doubt whether the American public is on side with being under constant attack in a one-sided class war, Aaron Sojourner and Adam Reich note that public opinion is simultaneously supportive of unions and enraged at big business. But Josh Marshall rightly criticizes the establishment Democrats who are refusing to fight. 

- David Suzuki discusses how the concentration of wealth can be traced to the destruction of our living environment.  Amanda McKenzie notes that emission targets mean nothing if they're not paired with action to meet them (and through actual emission cuts rather than accounting tricks). Marc Lee writes that B.C.'s choice to lock in decades of fossil gas exports is nothing to celebrate, while Fenner Stewart examines how Canada's dirty energy industry has foisted the cost of its operations off on the public. And Mitchell Beer points out Mark Carney's stark choice between taking a golden opportunity to work toward a just transition, and allowing oil and gas magnates to saddle us with a dying and unsustainable economic policy. 

- We Don't Have Time points out how global temperatures continue to soar due to carbon pollution, while Chris Hatch notes that we're likely to see another summer of extreme wildfires. And Brendan Montague comments on the need for climate policy to reflect the worsening risks and realities. 

- Finally, Laurent Carbonneau discusses how Canada is handing out more and more corporate subsidies compared to its investment in people - while seeing no apparent benefit. 

Saturday Afternoon Links

Assorted content for your weekend reading.

- Bill McKibben rightly describes the Trump regime's attacks on the entire federal regulatory apparatus as vandalism with a plan (which includes making things more wasteful in ways that serve the profit motive of corporate donors). Georgina Gustin reports on its choice to facilitate toxic forever chemicals in the U.S.' water supply as a particularly egregious example. And Veronica Riccobene and Lucy Dean Stockton report on the Republicans' choice to validate the use of artificial intelligence to allow for rent collusion and insurance claim denials. 

- Michael Tomasky calls out the absolute lack of limits on the Trump regime's corruption and inclination to abuse power. But Brian Beutler notes that the Democrats' reluctance to call out corruption when it happens is both allowing it to continue unabated, and preventing the opposition party from being seen as offering any change for the better.

- Crawford Kilian reviews Carl Zimmer's Air-borne, pointing out the readily-available opportunities to keep people healthier by keeping our air cleaner.

- Erika Morris reports on a new study showing that investments in social housing produce massive returns in dollar value alone, while also providing jobs and (of course) helping people find homes.

- Finally, Gabriela Calugay-Casuga warns that the Carney Libs' prioritization of tax baubles risks starving the federal government of resources needed to support people's health and well-being.

Musical interlude

TWO LANES - Belong

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Natalie Alms reports that Elon Musk's attempt to manufacture a fraud scandal at the Social Security Administration has failed miserably - except to the extent his real goal was to undermine service levels for people entitled to benefits. Andrew Buncombe reports that the activities being arbitrarily slashed by DOGE include the cleanup of nuclear waste. And Joshua Kaplan, Brett Murphy, Justin Elliott and Alex Mierjeski report on the U.S. government's use of diplomatic pressure and funding cuts to get African countries to hand both money and control over vital infrastructure to Musk's Starlink. 

- Josh Toussaint-Strauss et al. examine how PFAs have come to be ubiqitous in our bodies and our living environment, while CBC maps out where they're most concentrated in Canada. And Tobi Thomas reports on new research showing that early exposure to air pollution has lasting health consequences. 

- Alyssa Sinclair et al. compare the effectiveness of different motivational strategies, and find that a focus on future impacts rather than present-day accounting is more effective in spurring people to action. Katie Surman reports on the Union of Concerned Scientists' latest study documenting how dirty energy companies have misled the public about the long-known dangers of climate change. 

- Jonathan Ames reports on a warning that homebuyers (and the professionals who advise them) are at risk if they don't consider climate impacts on property use and value. Lauri Myllyvirta reports on a new analysis showing that China has lowered carbon pollution in the context of economic growth by shifting toward clean energy. The Guardian's editorial board writes about the need for environmental standards (including using solar panels and heat pumps) in new housing construction, while Alison Takemura notes that carbon-free construction is particularly important in rebuilding from climate disasters such as wildfires. And Andrew Lawrence notes that contrary to its billing as apocalypse-proof, the Cybertruck has proven unable to hold up even under normal use. 

- Izzy Romily writes about the value of low-traffic neighbourhoods in creating healthier communities. Abdul Matin Sarfraz calls out Doug Ford for pouring massive amounts of public money into increasing gridlock while eliminating healthier alternatives to single-vehicle traffic. And Hilary Beaumont notes that the climate breakdown is resulting in the collapse of ice roads, making remote communities even less accessible than they previously were. 

- Finally, Charlie Angus points out that the Alberta separatists being treated as the most important people in the world by both the UCP government and the corporate media are bound up in a history of racism and bigotry. And CTV News reports that even the corporate bigwigs who benefit from an angry and distracted public are making clear they have no appetite to support the destruction of Canada.