Wednesday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Casey Newton notes that repeated studies showing the distorting effects of X and other social media sites are making it impossible to pretend that major tech platforms deserve the protection of a presumption of neutrality. And Raphael Satter and Alexandra Alper report on the Trump regime's demand that other countries avoid asserting any protection for data integrity or public privacy where its tech giants think there's something to be exploited.

- Rory White investigates the consultants looking to overwhelm political conversations with AI talking points. And Brett McKay reports on the right-wing astroturf entities who are skirting or deliberately violating Canadian election laws in order to flood the airwaves with election ads without providing timely (or in some cases any) disclosure of who's funding them. 

- A.R. Moxon discusses why toxic masculinity is damaging to the people who succumb to it, while recognition of others' humanity is necessary to the flourishing of one's own. And Kelly Hayes writes that it's no surprise that people who have been systematically isolated are unable to understand the connections being made in Minnesota where people are building support networks. 

- Finally, Sharlene Gandhi examines data from 211 calls which shows that housing and mental health are the most glaring unmet needs among people calling for crisis support. And Simon Enoch discusses Saskatchewan's continued place as the province with the highest rates of child poverty - which is only becoming both broader and deeper under the Sask Party. 

Tuesday Night Cat Blogging

Feline oversight.

Monday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Charlie Angus discusses the realities of being next door to a gangster regime. And Navigator Research finds that a majority of Americans recognize that they live in an authoritarian state rather than a democracy. 

- Norm Berlatsky discusses how even the eventual departure of Donald Trump from power is far from enough to salvage a functional political system. And Hamilton Nolan examines how the uber-rich are already distorting U.S. politics, while noting that there's alarming potential for matters to get far worse. 

- An anonymous writer offers a grim look at the abuse and objectification which awaits teenaged girls online. But lest we be too quick to accept age restrictions as an answer, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Michael O'Flaherty warns of the problems with banning large classes of users rather than making social media platforms safe for everybody. 

- Finally, Rebecca Solnit writes about the decades of activism which have finally led to the arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and other abusers in Jeffrey Epstein's network. 

Sunday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- Ana Marie Cox discusses how Jeffrey Epstein was able to amass influence and commit atrocities by sharing the discriminatory and dehumanizing values with his targets. Solani Kolakhtar notes that the Epstein class consists entirely of wealthy and privileged people using anti-elite messaging to distract from their own contempt for and exploitation of the general public. And Jamelle Bouie talks to Andrea Pitzer about the nature of concentration camps as means of treating disfavoured people into things to be warehoused. 

- Sam Freedman highlights the challenges for governments in trying to reach any meaningful proportion of the public in a media environment which is both fragmented into numerous technical channels, yet still largely controlled by the wealthy few. And John Herrman weighs in on Elon Musk's deliberate choice to use X to breed hatred and bigotry, while Justin Hendrix talks to Jose Marichal about the importance of challenging the implicit algorithmic contract underlying our interaction with major social media sites.

- Joseph Stiglitz, Monica Geingos and Michael Marmot warn that inequality will make the next pandemic worse (even as the right's attacks on science and public health mean it will likely happen sooner). And McKenzie Beard offers a summary of how various communicable diseases spread, as well as how best to mitigate risk at the individual level. 

- Finally, Phillip Inman reports on a new study showing how the arbitrary elimination of remote work options has a disproportionate effect on people with disabilities as well as people relied upon to perform care work. 

 

#ndpldr Roundup

A few links and updates from the NDP's federal leadership campaign...

- The (primarily) English leadership debate can be found via CBC:

 

- Perspectives Journal's January issue focuses on the leadership race and its relationship to the NDP and Canada's progressive movement generally. And Peggy Nash has also been interviewing the leadership candidates for Perspectives Journal: see so far her interviews with Tony McQuail, Heather McPherson, Tanille Johnston and Rob Ashton.

- Laurie Adkin examines the bad-faith complaints about Avi Lewis - including familiar demands of fealty to exploitative oil and gas interests with no regard for the harm they do to public health and well-being - from inside and outside the leadership campaign.  

- Finally, Dale Smith offers his take on the campaign, recognizing that the likely decision will come down to Lewis versus McPherson. 

Saturday Afternoon Links

Assorted content for your weekend reading.

- Victor Pickard writes about the multiple layers of media capture which have collectively undermined access to accurate information across U.S. sources. 

- Ajit Niranian highlights how the EU is stifling any attention to the climate crisis (and indeed pushing a deregulatory agenda) even as the climate breakdown causes increasingly frequent disasters. 

- Gita Jackson offers an important distinction between being opposed to technological progress, and criticizing its use as a means of exploitation. And Jurgen Geuter comments on the challenge of trying to live ethically when the world is largely set up to preclude action other than through problematic means.  

- Meanwhile, Georgia Wells reports on OpenAI's awareness that the Tumbler Ridge shooter was plotting out violence dating back to last year - and its decision not to alert law enforcement or take any other steps to protect the public. And Victor Tangermann examines the alarm bells sounding among investors who are recognizing the implausibility that massive AI-related expenses will produce any returns.

- Finally, Frank Landymore reports on Stanford's development of a "universal vaccine formula" which could protect against multiple respiratory diseases - if it's not blocked by RFJ Jr. and his anti-vaxxers. 

Musical interlude

Lastlings, RUFUS DU SOL - No Time

 

Friday Afternoon Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Sarah Sloat discusses how the collapse of democracy in the U.S. is producing severe mental health problems for the people living through it. And Natalie Brender writes about the need to treat violent extremism as a threat to public health as well as safety.  

- Graham Readfearn experiences the effects of the type of extreme heat that the climate breakdown is imposing on increasingly large numbers of people, while the Associated Press reports on a new study again finding that the climate crisis is increasing the dangers caused by wildfires. And Disha Shetty highlights new research demonstrating how air pollution contributes to poor mental health. 

- Linda McQuaig weighs in on Mark Carney's plans to further entrench the corporate domination of Canada by placing any favoured businesses above the law. And Ariel Rabinovitch reports on the pitiful fine applied to Superstore for false "Product of Canada" displays. 

- Meanwhile, Justin Ling writes about the moral cost of relying (selectively) on military spending as the primarily mechanism for domestic industrial development. 

- Finally, Markham Hislop argues that Danielle Smith is an even more severe threat to Canada than Donald Trump - though the bigoted "authoritarian libertarianism" which rightly concerns him seems largely of a piece with what's happened in the U.S. And Emmett MacFarlane writes that Smith's plans to render Canada dysfunctional may be even worse than mere secession. 

Tuesday Night Cat Blogging

Flaky cat.

Monday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material for your Monday reading.

- Patriotic Millionaires highlight the connection between the extreme concentration of wealth and the Epstein class' culture of depravity and impunity. Amanda Mull is the latest to call out the absence of any meaningful pushback again the Trump regime from the corporate class. And Greg Sargent notes that the public response to Republican abuses is offering badly-needed evidence that there's still plenty of room for people to work together - even as he recognizes the risk that Democrats will be too stuck in their habits to foster that movement, which is all the more clear based on their reliance on the median-voter theory critiqued by Henry Farrell. 

- Meanwhile, in case the risks of AI weren't glaring enough without a fascist government insisting that it facilitate atrocities, Dave Lawler, Maria Curi, and Mike Allen report on Pete Hegseth's demand that Anthropic (and presumably other AI platforms) offer itself up as a tool to target civilians or face discrimination in government treatment. And Will Bunch warns that spin about ICE "retreating" from Minnesota is no more credible than most self-serving statements from the administration. 

- Thor Benson interviews David Roberts about the Trump regime's decree that climate science be declared null and void - and the risk that a partisan SCOTUS will declare that presidential whims take precedence over facts. And the Guardian's editorial board notes that China's work on renewables is positioning it to be the global leader in the energy sources of the future while the U.S. clings to outdated technology. 

- Finally, Justin Nobel reports on the toxic wastewater that's been left behind from past extraction activity (with communities left to bear the risk of a lack of cleanup), while Joe Wilkins reports on the spraying of radioactive fracking waste on a future elementary school site as a painfully stark example of the oil industry's disregard for public health and safety. And Daniel Price discusses the environmental justice impact of the destruction of water resources in the western U.S.

Sunday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- John Ripton writes about the connection between the egregious concentration of wealth and the rise of fascist politics. And Virginia Heffernan points out how the uber-rich have used their wealth to fund eugenics, while Kristen Toussaint discusses their similar obsession with climate denialism. 

- Meanwhile, Lucas Amin and Peter Geoghegan examine how corporate donations - particularly from companies under the control of extremely wealthy individuals - are distorting UK politics. 

- Jonathan Cohn discusses how the FDA's refusal to even review new vaccines is a threat to health around the globe. And Max Kozlov notes that the Trump regime is scrubbing any suggestion that the U.S.' public health institutions might prepare for or mitigate future disease outbreaks. 

- Charlie Warzel laments the development of nihilist cultures online. But while it's worth pointing out the presence of dangerous actors, Brian Beutler argues that MAGA has never really succeeded in a broad-based culture war.

-  Finally, Duane Bratt makes the case for Alberta to stay in Canada. And Robert Currie points out how there's no legal path to separation through a referendum - though that's exactly why the separatists' collaboration with a Trump regime which operates under a "just try and stop us" mentality is so dangerous and treasonous. 

Saturday Afternoon Links

Assorted content for your weekend reading.

- Will Snell points out the connection between extreme wealth and unconscionable impunity as epitomized by Jeffrey Epstein and his elite co-conspirators.  And Joan Wallach Scott writes that the Republican war on gender studies and other social sciences reflects the Epstein class' priority of dehumanizing every other than its own coterie of rich white men. 

- Karl Nerenberg offers a reminder as to why he (and many other Canadians) sees travel to the U.S. as both contrary to principle and intolerably risky. And Karen Pauls reports on polling highlighting how anxious Canadians are about our relationship with the dictatorship next door. 

- Nohemie Bokuma writes about Canada's continued lack of any meaningful AI regulation - even as the Carney Libs focus primarily on cheerleading for artificial intelligence rather than assessing and managing its dangers. And Gabriel Rojas Hruska points out how we can learn from Europe in developing and protecting a Canadian online public square. 

- Danyaal Raza highlights how the problems with Canada's public health care system are already the result of underfunding - meaning that the right's push to direct money into corporate health services is a sure way to make matters worse. And Jack Hauen reports on pain crisis caused by the Ford PCs' slashing and mismanagement of long-term care and home care services. 

 [Edit: deleted Elizabeth Bruenig link.] 

Musical interlude

Live - They Stood Up For Love

 

Thursday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- David Lurie is rightly appalled by the Trump regime's nihilism, combining insatiable greed for whatever it can seize with a willingness to destroy anything it can't. But Harold Meyerson discusses how Minnesota has managed to force the most violent of Trump's minions into retreat. 

- Dharna Noor reports on Trump's handout to billionaire polluters in the form by making climate denialism official U.S. policy. Andrea Thompson discusses how public health will suffer as a result, while Molly Taft examines the policy chaos which will be created. And each of Katharine Hayhoe and Jonathan Levy et al. review the utter lack of any evidentiary support for Trump's idiocy. 

- Filippo Menczer examines how AI bots can pollute a political information environment to the point of threatening democracy. And Tom Chivers reports on the warnings - and in some cases resignations - of people working on artificial intelligence who see their employers choosing to endanger the public. 

- Alan Elrod writes about the reality that gambling on all manner of political and social outcomes is best set up as the next widespread form of addiction in the U.S. 

- Finally, Leigh Kimmins reports on the details of meetings between Alberta separatists and Trump officials eager to foment unrest and division. And Don Braid discusses both how many Albertans would choose to stay in Canada rather than  surrendering to the U.S., and how federalists are fighting back. 

Wednesday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Zoe Williams writes that Donald Trump is just the most egregious and unrestrained example of the vice-signalling which has become standard operating procedure among right-wing political parties - but that we're finally seeing a fight back on the side of decency. And Dave Karpf warns that Kalshi and other sites which encourage gambling on everything will inevitably foment addictions and manipulations which we'll come to regret. 

- Patrick Wintour discusses Europe's growing realization that it needs to treat the U.S. as a threat rather than an ally or protector - as reflected in a report from the Munich Security Conference. And Ian Welsh writes that we shouldn't underestimate Canada's ability to be independent from the U.S. - particularly in the longer term if we avoid taking steps to further entangle ourselves with a dying empire. 

- Jack Flemming reports on a Rent Brigade analysis of the corporate price-gouging which added insult to injury in the aftermath of California's wildfires last year. 

- Meanwhile, Toula Drimonis discusses how funding to prevent evictions more than pays for itself in health and social service savings. And the Canadian Climate Institute highlights the need to prepare our infrastructure in advance of climate-related disasters. 

Tuesday Night Cat Blogging

Multidirectional cat. 

Tuesday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Brian Beutler writes that the events of Super Bowl weekend show how Donald Trump - even with the support of most of the country's plutocrats and their media outlets - has absolutely failed to take over U.S. culture. But A.R. Moxon writes about the need to avoid normalizing or legitimizing MAGA's culture of hate. 

- Garrett Graff discusses how the Trump security state's masks and secrecy are all about impunity rather than legitimate safety concerns, as immigrant enforcement officers are at less risk of a violent death than a U.S. elementary school student. And Hanna Zlady reports on Transparency International's new corruption perception index - showing the U.S. predictably falling to unprecedented lows even as the Trump regime looks to drive it down further. 

- Alex Clark points out how a continuing obsession with GDP (detached from human well-being) remains one of the most significant obstacles to averting a climate breakdown.

- Meanwhile, Cory Doctorow highlights how the Epstein class is determined to turn ruin for everybody else into an opportunity to extract even more undeserved wealth for itself. And Alexander Hertel-Fernandez and Alix Gould-Werth discuss the perverse incentives around employers blocking worker access to employment benefits. 

- Finally, Nora Loreto rightly argues that Mark Carney's rhetoric about building an international system based on mutual support will be entirely empty if Canada fails to step up and assist Cuba as the U.S. seeks to starve its population. 

#ndpldr Links

I haven't yet put together the candidate profiles and other posts I'm planning for the ongoing NDP leadership campaign. But for now, I'll take time to survey a few noteworthy developments.

- Theresa Lubovitz takes a look at the fund-raising numbers to the end of Q4 2025, and notes that Avi Lewis has a lead over the other two primary candidates combined in both funds raised and donations received. (And on the latter front, Heather McPherson's lead in Alberta makes for the only single province where any other candidate has managed to lead the pack - signalling that Lewis' support base is widespread as well as responsive.)

- Meanwhile, McPherson has been identified as having leads in name recognition within the general public, as well as support by description among potential NDP voters (though Ashton's description interestingly holds a lead among actual NDP supporters).   

- Adam King reviews Lewis' labour platform as identifying and addressing issues far beyond the traditional sphere of labour policy which affect worker solidarity and the balance of class power. 

- Ali Terrenoire writes about the problems with Canada's left being limited to trying to boost the NDP as a parliamentary party. And Martin Lukacs makes the case for leftists to join the party and throw their support behind Lewis. 

- Finally, David Thurton reports on Naheed Nenshi's message seeking to have the federal leader defer to provincial interests. But it's worth noting how the difference he points out may actually signal one of the concerns with McPherson as an alternative: the federal NDP isn't able to limit its ambition to trying to flip swing voters through government fatigue in a two-party system, and any leader who relies on that model where it doesn't apply figures to make little progress in the effort to rebuild. 

Saturday Afternoon Links

Assorted content for your weekend reading.

- Samantha Hancox-Li writes about the need for the U.S.' citizenry to retake power from a militarized surveillance state through nonviolent organized resistance. And Philip Bump points out how Minnesota has already provided a model for other communities to follow. 

- Oren Cass discusses the need to treat the financial sector as a grift rather than a source of investment or productivity. And Cory Doctorow calls out stock buybacks and other swindles that are being used to transfer wealth from the working class to the corrupt few. 

- Meanwhile, Isaac Phan Nay reports on Tim Li's recognition that even full-time workers are facing an inability to pay for food and other necessities as wages fall behind inflation. 

- Ajit Niranjan reports on a new study showing that increasingly dangerous and ecologically harmful pesticides are being used in far too many countries (including the U.S.). And Dylan Baddour and Peter Aldhous report on Texas' massive-scale venting of pollutants during a bout of winter weather as regulators give gas power plants free rein to dump their waste in the air. 

-  Finally, Don Newman weighs in on how Danielle Smith is plying with fire by stoking separatism, while Andrew Coyne notes that the portions of the separatist group actively seeking a Trump takeover are veering into treasonous territory. And Emmett Macfarlane warns Mark Carney against indulging Smith's attempt to take provincial control over federal judicial appointments (among other incursions into federal jurisdiction). 

Musical interlude

Metric - Victim of Luck

 

Friday Afternoon Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Matt Seybold writes about the message sent at Davos that AI will be forced on people regardless of whether they want it (or whether it will do them anything but harm). And Michael Geist writes about the absurdity of the Carney government allowing the hallucinations of artificial intelligence to override the actual results of public consultation into AI itself. 

- Melissa Troutman and Rebecca Sobel highlight New Mexico's record levels of oil and gas spillage, as the dirty energy industry sees itself as ever more entitled to pollute everything around it. And Olivia Rosane discusses how Louisiana pipeline explosion offers another vivid example of the dangers of fossil fuels which are dumped on unsuspecting and/or marginalized populations. 

- Andrew Longhurst and Rebecca Graff-McRae examine how the UCP's two-tier health care is threatening the public medical system. And Sneh Duggal reports that Ontario's response to increasing levels of hallway health care has been to stop reporting on how often people are forced into it. 

- Finally, Jen St. Denis offers new details as to the far right's operations in Canada - including their sway over right-wing parties. And both Markham Hislop and Don Newman call out Danielle Smith for conjuring up and stoking a separatist threat rather than serving the interests of Alberta and its people. 

Thursday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Seva Gunitsky notes that the same culture of elite impunity is behind both the Epstein files and Donald Trump's Russian connections. And Alan Elrod writes that the Trump regime's war on the arts can be traced to its general aim of destroying empathy. 

- Damian Carrington reports on a new expert analysis indicating that current models are grossly underestimating the financial damage we can expect from the climate crisis. Aaron Thierry comments on the politics behind the choice of victims of climate change. And Matthew Hoffmann writes about the challenge of trying to develop coordinated global action to reduce the impact of a climate breakdown when the concept of rules-based international relations is being destroyed. 

- Meanwhile, Dan Gearino discusses how the transition to electric vehicles will change our retail landscape as gas stations become non-viable and unnecessary. And Tik Root reports on a new analysis showing that the conversion to EVs is already having a noticeable positive effect on air quality in California and elsewhere. 

- Mia Maldonado reports on the results of an Oregon pilot program showing that modest income security can work wonders in helping homeless youth to find permanent housing. But Niko Block observes that the financialization of housing is pushing stability out of reach for far too many. 

- Finally, Ashley Aimone laments Mark Carney's failure to live up to rhetoric about a well-being economy and society as he instead imposes yet another round of austerity and corporatism. 

Tuesday Night Cat Blogging

Tuckered-out cat.

Tuesday Afternoon Links

 This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Anand Giridharadas writes that the most important takeaway from the Epstein files is the existence of the "Epstein class" which considers itself beyond both any concern for humanity as a whole, and any accountability for its actions. Ryan Broderick examines how the entitled abusers around Epstein have been actively looking to undermine democracy for profit. And John Sipher comments on the need for more to come of the damning evidence against so many powerful people than temporary media attention.

- Meanwhile, Carlos Avenancio-Leon discusses how access to food is a polarized political issue in the U.S., with the pro-starvation party becoming increasingly strident in its desire to see people suffer. 

- Mark Kersten highlights how Canada can stop enabling the abuses of Donald Trump's authoritarian state. But The Dabbler warns that Mark Carney is instead combining rhetoric about principle and independence with consistent choices to make us even more dependent on the U.S.' tech giants.

- On that front, Faiz Siddiqui et al. examine Elon Musk's deliberate choice to bet on turning Grok into a generator of nonconsensual porn as his primary business strategy. And Raphael Sattler tests the results of that decision. 

- Finally, Marco Oved reports on the shift in employment from the oil and gas sector to clean energy - and the improved lives of workers as a result. And The Energy Mix points out a new Pembina Institute analysis showing how the price of renewable energy is plummeting, while Chris Aylett and Armida van Rij note that anybody concerned about energy security should be fully on board with a just transition. 

Sunday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- Don Moynihan examines how the U.S. is experiencing a more rapid fall from democracy to autocracy than any other country in recent history. And Joseph Cox reveals the user manual for the Palantir tool being used by ICE to target people for incarceration and deportation.  

- The Energy Mix notes that Shell and Mitsubishi are looking to remove themselves from fossil gas projects which stand to be uneconomical due to the rise of renewable energy, while Michael Thomas points out that solar and battery buildup are taking over from gas plants in California's power system. And the Washington Post's editorial board offers a reminder that it's the general public who will pay the price for Donald Trump's obsession with coal power and other dirty energy - due to higher prices as well as more severe pollution. 

- The Guardian's editorial board implores governments to work on building biodiversity and avoiding ecosystem collapse. And Kamil Karamali reports on the next steps in reducing the scourge of plastic waste. 

- Ryan Tumilty reports on the tens of thousands of public service positions at risk from Mark Carney's austerity. And John Woodside notes that scientists and professionals at Environment and Climate Change Canada are facing particularly large cuts. 

- Finally, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation examines how the UK is falling far short of meaningfully reducing poverty. And Qasim Rashid writes about the potential for other governments to mimic Zohran Mamdani's model of following through on social commitments and addressing any budgeting complains through progressive taxes on the wealthy.

Saturday Afternoon Links

 Assorted content for your weekend reading.

- Sidney Blumenthal writes that the Trump regime never ceases to spiral downward (no matter how difficult it would seem to get worse than their previous actions). Anne Applebaum discusses the erosion of the U.S.' civil service as people with knowledge and integrity are being displaced in favour of lackeys and useful idiots. And Supriya Dwivedi notes that Donald Trump's impetuousness doesn't mask his oft-stated plans for conquest and exploitation. 

- Donald Gutstein examines how tech giants represent the tip of the spear in the U.S.' threats to Canada. And Matt Seybold discusses the attempt to impose mandatory AI adoption to squeeze profits out of massive promised investments which will never make sense without strongarming governments and citizens. 

- Veronica Riccobene and Freddy Brewster highlight how private prison contractors are raking in massive profits from ICE's indiscriminate detention of anybody who crosses its path. And Luke Farrell points out that private contractors are making a killing off of needless means-testing contracts to deny benefits to members of the public. 

- Finally, Anoosh Chekellan writes about the pathetic excuses for playgrounds which are being foisted on families by UK developers. And Kea Wilson reports on a new survey showing that Americans are broadly open to living car-free if their communities are set up to allow for it. 

Wednesday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Jeremy Wallace examines China's massive - if messy - renewable energy revolution which stands to make fossil fuels obsolete in the very near future. And Adam Morton notes that Australia is among far too many jurisdictions making a doomed push for increased dirty energy production even while dealing with the disastrous effects of climate change. 

- Carole Calwalladr, Charlie Young and Max Colbert report that Palantir's extension of its tentacles into every possible shady business includes a contract with the UK's nuclear weapons department. David Reevely reports on the Libs' subsidization of JSE Telecom as it provides wiretapping services to ICE. And Miranda Bogen and Ruchika Joshi note that the dangers of surveillance capitalism are all the more severe when AI agents are collecting and linking increasingly sensitive personal information.  

- Lauren Dobson-Hughes rightly questions why Mark Carney is slashing Canada's foreign affairs staff while trumpeting the need for increased international engagement. And Karen Briere reports that Carney is also eliminating 1,370 food inspection workers even as the U.S. has gutted its own regulatory regime. 

-  Finally, Andrew Longhurst highlights how Doug Ford is starving public health care while throwing money at corporate providers. And David Macdonald points out how little most provinces are contributing to child care programs - with Saskatchewan's government once again ranking at the back of the pack by offering up only 13% of child care funding in the province. 

Tuesday Night Cat Blogging

Reaching cat.

Tuesday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Adam Serwer offers a hopeful take on how Minnesota is proving MAGA social theory wrong, showing that the vast majority of people are caring and supportive rather than willing to accept or encourage the dehumanization of immigrants. Eric Blanc interviews Aru Shiney-Sjay about the successful citizen organization in opposition to ICE. And Brian Beutler writes that Alex Pretti offered a shining example of positive masculinity - in contrast to the violent, bigoted goon squad which murdered him. 

- But Ta-Nehisi Coates highlights how the attempt to retroactively turn Pretti and Karen Good into "others" unworthy of life represents just one more front in the Republicans' deadly culture war. And Jake Spring reports on the Trump regime's censorship of basic factual information at national parks and monuments in an attempt to whitewash American history. 

- Charlie Angus points out the need to move on from any dependence on the U.S. as it once again seeks to impose intolerable burdens in exchange for a temporary retrieve from arbitrary abuse. Stephen Maher offers a warning about Steve Bannon's plans to stoke separatism and subjugate Canada if given the change, while Stewart Prest discusses the need for a firm response. And Don Braid discusses how the desire of Alberta separatists to tie themselves to the Trump regime looks like it will help limit the risk of voters getting bamboozled.

- Finally, George Monbiot examines a UK national security report showing how ecosystem collapse represents a serious risk to security and prosperity. And Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility calls out the Trump administration for trashing the Clean Air Act. 

Monday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material for your Monday reading.

- Francine Prose offers a reminder that everything else happening in the U.S. is secondary to the imminent threat of an authoritarian takeover. Ed Burmila highlights how Donald Trump can't afford the usual PR tactic of throwing somebody else under the bus for abusive behaviour due to his reliance on total impunity to keep his goons behind him. And Noah Berlatsky observes that the Trump regime's public statements can't be evaluated based on truth or falsity when they're aimed solely at laying the groundwork for perpetually increasing violence.

- But Luke O'Neil writes that the sense of solidarity on display in Minneapolis offers ample reason for hope that fascism won't ultimately win out. And Robert Worth discusses how plenty of people are finding homes for themselves in the resistance to Trump's occupation. 

- Meanwhile, Kate Connolly reports that the international response to Trump's capriciousness includes Germany's examining the prospect of repatriating gold currently held on U.S. soil. 

- And both Jason Markusoff and David Climenhaga note that the already-limited appeal of Alberta's separatist faction is declining all the more as the consequences of being more tightly tied to Trump become inescapable.

- Finally, Caitlin Johnstone rightly notes that the few people sitting on obscene levels of wealth and power can't have reached that position through anything resembling a healthy worldview. And Oxfam documents the continued concentration of wealth at the top of the income spectrum.

-  

Musical interlude

Lane 8 - Watermelon Wormhole

 

Friday Afternoon Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Adrienne Tanner comments on how Canada has taken on unacceptable risks in accepting industry-funded "research" as a substitute for an accurate assessment of the dangers of pesticides. And Mark Carney's plans to defer to approvals from the U.S. and other foreign regulators only stands to make matters worse - particularly given Virgina Gewin's analysis of the devastating effects of the Trump regime's attacks on science in destroying careers and standards alike. 

- Paris Marx discusses how Elon Musk is showing exactly why conscience-free tech giants need to be regulated rather than allowed to do as much damage to people as they can get away with. 

- Marie Woolf reports on the recommendations of a Canadian task force to regulate artificial intelligence in particular. And Daniel Munro notes that while there are choices to be made as to what to do once the AI bubble inevitably pops, the guiding principle needs to be the public interest rather than the subsidization of ill-fated decisions. 

- Katie Pedersen et al. point out that property controls are just one more mechanism grocery giants use to stifle competition and gauge consumers. 

- Finally, Jeremy Wallace discusses how the renewable energy revolution is set to triumph no matter how much money and power is thrown at trying to subsidize fossil fuel profits. Alexandra White reports that U.S. gas producers are spewing far more methane (and thus doing far more climate damage) than they're willing to report publicly. And David Shephardson and Mike Scarcella report on Michigan's legal action against oil companies for conspiring to suppress electric vehicle development.

Thursday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Charlotte Clymer discusses Mark Carney's Davos speech as signaling a divorce from the U.S. But Justin Ling points out the need to match sporadic and selective words of independence and solidarity with meaningful action, while the Economist reports on the reality that Canadian soldiers are continuing to carry out U.S. orders even as the Trump regime threatens to take us over. 

- Dylan Dusseault discusses how the Davos agenda conspicuously avoids any consideration of having the wealthy pay a fair share of taxes - no matter overwhelmingly popular and positive that course of action would be. And Graeme Wearden reports on the numerous millionaires who are onside with contributing to the common good. 

- Blayne Haggart highlights the implausibility of promises from Microsoft and other U.S. tech giants that they'll respect Canadian data sovereignty - particularly when they've so pitifully prostrated themselves in front of the Trump regime at every opportunity.  

- Finally, John Michael McGrath asks whether 2026 will finally be the year Ontario starts making progress in answering its housing crisis - while noting that Doug Ford's track record strongly suggests the answer is again "no". 

Wednesday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Inae Oh weighs in on the neo-royalism fueling Trump's sense of divine right. Seva Grunitsky points out that a hubristic belief that might makes right has caused the downfall of empires before as it likely will for the U.S. And Ryan Cooper discusses the prospect of countering the Trump regime by punishing the uber-rich who have lent their wealth and power to him - though the difficulty in trying to do so speaks to the dangers of their accumulated wealth.

- Owen Jones calls out Trump's "Board of Peace" as combining rank neocolonialism with yet another grift. Daniel Beland and Klaus Petersen discuss why the people of Greenland (like those virtually everywhere) want nothing to do with Trump's rule. And Luke O'Neil notes that the fear of Trump arises precisely from his refusal to recognize anybody but his immediate circle as human and deserving of any respect or consideration. 

- Reuters reports on new U.N. research showing that most of humanity is already facing dangerous water supply limitations - with much worse to come. And David Thurton reports on Environment Canada's warning that 2026 is likely to be yet another of the hottest years on record. 

- Finally, Matt Simmons and Lauren Walsh report on LNG Canada's excessive flaring which has made an already-polluting operation into far more of a climate bomb than promised. And Maxine Joselow discusses the Trump administration's choice to value human lives at zero in order to facilitate industrial pollution. 

Tuesday Night Cat Blogging

Chin-up cat.

Monday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material for your Monday reading.

- Gaby Hinsliff highlights the need for the UK (and the rest of the world) to cut ties with an entirely unerliable U.S., while John Crace discusses the futility of any action based on Keir Starmer's apparent assumption that Trump is sufficiently sentient to be calmed down and reasoned with. And Paul Krugman implores American businesses to end their Faustian bargains with the Trump regime. 

- Kaamil Ahmed reports on Oxfam's latest research on the continued concentration of global wealth in the hands of a few billionaires - and how that's both a cause and effect of policy skewed to further enrich the wealthy. Harold Meyerson examines how the labour share of U.S. income is at an all-time low. And Julian Hinz et al. confirm (PDF) that the working class is bearing the brunt of Trump's tariffs out of its declining resources. 

- Lest anybody wrongly assume that Trump is the only North American leader looking to eliminate any consequences for corporate malfeasance (particularly for preferred donors and cronies), Sophie Elias-Pinsonnault and Silas Xuereb examine Mark Carney's plan to make the application of nearly all laws to corporations a matter of ministerial discretion. 

- Finally, Charles Ferguson warns that artificial intelligence is on the verge of taking over media as we know it. 

On high-level tracking

With the January 28th membership deadline approaching for voters in the NDP's federal leadership campaign, I'll offer a brief high-level look at the campaign so far - and how it fits into the wider political scene. 

For the most part (other than the exceptions I'll get to shortly), the campaign seems to be best explained as reflecting a party recognizing the need to build itself up in generally rather than fighting for existing territory. Litmus tests which would have been applied in previous races (including bilingualism and experience in office) have largely fallen by the wayside in light of the actual candidate pool, while the interactions between the lower-ranking candidates in particular have been marked by regular cooperation to keep people in the race rather than any sense of competition. 

The result has been the presence of candidates to meet most target NDP voters, without a great deal of clash between them. And the stature of the approved candidates has generally fit the relative strength of their prototype within the party.

The two most prominent candidates have been Heather McPherson, following the urban prairie model whose success at the provincial level has made it the default for the party as it stands, and Avi Lewis running as an urban environmentalist and champion of economic equality. Both have some measure of national profile (McPherson as a sitting and well-respected MP, Lewis based on his media experience and personal ties), and would have fit comfortably among the class of contenders in previous leadership campaigns. 

As for the rest of the candidate, Rob Ashton has been a consensus choice for much of the labour movement and seems to have gained the most profile from the campaign to date. And his challenge to Lewis seems to have been treated as the first major oppositional moment of the campaign - though I'm not sure the end result is a bad one for Lewis, as a willingness to challenge rip-and-ship resource extraction and the toxic politics it's funded would seem to be a mantle that will serve him well in the leadership campaign. 

Tanille Johnston has reflected both Indigenous inclusion and municipal political experience, and Tony McQuail has offered a rural-agricultural perspective. But each would figure to have been a distant also-ran in any other leadership campaign in recent memory, and it's difficult to see a path to victory for either of them absent some serious negative impressions around the front-runners. 

The most obvious exclusion from the current mix has been any Quebecois or other francophone candidate. Yves Engler and then Bianca Mugyenyi have lurked around the race as informal candidates, and on paper would appear to add to the inclusiveness of the campaign as a whole. But unfortunately their efforts seem to have been aimed more at sniping from the sidelines than participating in the actual campaign - and while I would have preferred to see Engler's candidacy approved, there's significant reason to doubt the campaign is much worse off for his being rejected. 

For now, there's plenty of reason for people interested in the future of the NDP to at least ensure they're able to vote, while planning to take a critical look at the candidates as the campaign progresses. 

Sunday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- Heba Gowayed and Victor Ray discuss the need to go beyond merely calling to abolish ICE and other human rights abuses, and instead center the humanity of the people being singled out for collective punishment. Theresa MacPhail writes about the need to maintain hope and community to counter the dark times we're facing. And Charlie Angus calls for us to stop the spread of hate now, rather than hoping for future generations to clean up our messes. 

- James Plunkett highlights how it's possible to restore power to the people, while noting the dangers of instead hoping for a technocratic state to defend itself against populist threats. And The Citizens point out the need to stop relying on monopolistic corporate platforms for our information and communication as part of the effort to regain control. 

- David French identifies the "dual state" in which Donald Trump and his cronies are able to act with impunity - while most people continue on with business as usual until state overreach affects them directly. And Sarah Kendzior discusses what Minnesota is facing as Trump invades it with agents of violence and chaos, while Don Moynihan offers his take as a resident of occupied territory. 

- Kathryn Jezer-Morton comments on the need to create friction against bad actors who are counting on silent compliance to avoid answering for a lack of strength or justification. And Robert Rubin calls out business "leaders" for meekly and knowingly falling in line behind Trump's abuses. 

- Finally, Moul Dey reports on the connection between ultraprocessed foods and exacerbated aging processes. 

Saturday Morning Links

Assorted content for your weekend reading.

- George Monbiot recognizes that all of the major problems now confronting us derive from the political class' willing subservience to the filthy rich. And Casey Michel notes that the Trump regime's obsession with Greenland reflects the world domination plans of particularly anti-social plutocrats. 

- Paris Marx discusses the need to decouple Canada from any dependence on U.S. tech giants - due to both their own destructive practices, and their fealty to Donald Trump. Timothy Garton Ash writes that Trump's threats to NATO allies will inevitably force the development of a new international order. And Stuart Trew points out the limitations on a strategy of merely replacing the U.S. with China as a dominant source of capital and export market. 

- Ambrosia Wohjan reports on new research showing that the microplastics released from synthetic fabrics may post a particular risk to agriculture. 

- Finally, Jamelle Bouie writes that one of the most important points of distinction between Trump and previous presidents is his mindset that the U.S. exists only as his property and for his benefit. And Doug Firby discusses how the UCP has made dirty politics the norm in Alberta in an effort to lock in permanent power for itself - and how only public rejection can reverse the tide. 

Musical interlude

French 79 - Hometown

 

Friday Afternoon Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Matt Simon writes that Donald Trump's plans to kill off clean energy are futile in the face of its inexorable progress in price and reliability compared to reliance on fossil fuels. And Mark Gongloff likewise notes that the smart money is on investment in renewable power. 

- The CP's report on Canada's lifting of some tariffs on electric vehicles from China offers a rare indication that Mark Carney isn't entirely averse to being on the right side of the divide. But Maxwell Cameron argues that we have much further to go in opposing Trump's regime as it claims the entitlement to exercise complete and arbitrary control over the Western hemisphere.

- Meanwhile, Sammy Roth discusses how precarious manhood plays a role in fueling opposition to responsible climate policy (among other obviously desirable policy choices).  

- Davis Legree highlights Cory Doctorow's warning that Canada should be protecting itself against the impending collapse of the AI bubble rather than buying into implausible hype. 

- Finally, Eric Dolan reports on new research showing that the lasting effects of COVID-19 may include brain microstructure alterations even in people who otherwise appear to have fully recovered. And Massimo Nunes et al. examine how long COVID and other post-virus diseases may result from endothelial cell dysfunction.

Wednesday Night Cat Blogging

 Braced cat. 

Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Thomas Seal and Derek DeCloet warn about the threat the U.S. poses to Canada - including the risk of becoming even more of a vassal state. And Emmett MacFarlane laments that we're lacking moral leadership at precisely the moment when it's most needed. 

- Meanwhile, Franklin Foer writes that the Trump regime is trashing both the U.S.' public sector capacity, and the very idea that an impartial civil service can use its expertise to support the public interest. And Maxine Joselow reports that air pollution regulation is the latest area in which the Republican regime is absolutely devaluing human life and public health in order to cater to destructive corporate interests - even as Jerome Smail points out new research showing that air pollution can undermine the health benefits of exercise. 

- But in the "better things are possible" department, Adam Bonica notes that much of what is wrong with the U.S. could be fixed simply by having it emulate its international peers (as long as its model is the median OECD country rather than Russia and North Korea). And A.R. Moxon rightly suggests that rather than being handed absolute immunity to abuse the public, armed state agents should be held to a higher standard in justifying the use of force.

- Joseph Cox reports on a new tracking tool being used by ICE to monitor phones and their owners without a warrant. 

- Finally, Heather Vognell and Agnel Phillip report on SpaceX's unregulated space debris - and the near-misses it has already caused as parts of exploded rockets have intersected with air traffic. 

Monday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Miguel Xavier discusses the need for social democrats to stop limiting their goals to preserving the status quo, and instead make the case for transformative change of an unfair economic system. And Dale Smith comments on the need to build grassroots democracy as a necessary precondition to sustainable social and policy gains. 

- Patrick Lennox warns that the separatist movement being stoked by the UCP and the Sask Party represents a threat to Canada's national security. Matthew Mendelsohn writes about the changes Canada's public service needs to make to strengthen our defences against the U.S.' aggression, while Paris Marx highlights the need to ban X in particular as both a peddler of CSAM and a threat to democracy. And Paul Stewart points out how reliance on P3 schemes and outsourcing as a substitute for a dedicated civil service only makes the delivery of necessities more expensive and less effective. 

- IndustriALL examines how social dialogue mechanisms have led to improved wages and working conditions in Kyrgyzstan. 

- Finally, Laura Semenzato et al. study the effects of COVID-19 vaccines, and find a substantial reduction in COVID-related deaths without tradeoffs in all-cause mortality. 

Sunday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- Paul Crider discusses how the Trump regime is setting up the U.S. for explosive internal violence - while planning to blame its victims in order to impose martial law. Ned Resnikoff observes that the devaluation of human life in the name of demanding obeisance to the exercise of arbitrary power is far from new - though some forms of privilege are no longer protecting people who once perceived themselves as immune. Jonathan Chait calls out the Republican dogma that the January 6 rioters were entitled to take over democratic institutions and defy police with as much violence and force as they wanted, while anybody not devoted to usurping power on Donald Trump's behalf is subject to summary murder for failing to defer to state actors. And Garrett Graff writes about the emotional weight imposed by Trumpism.

- Meanwhile, Jason Stanley highlights the need to recognize the threat posed by an aggressive expansionist U.S. rather than assuming we can operate based on business as usual. And John Woodside's report on the Trump cheerleading by Scotiabank's CEO should make clear that the corporate class is not on our side.  

- Lucy Dean Stockton and Helen Santoro note that the FDA's elimination of warnings against excessive alcohol consumption reflects just the latest example of the Trump regime letting destructive corporate interests dictate policy. But Cory Doctorow discusses how the connection between Trump and the U.S.' exploitative tech giants may actually offer a needed opportunity to disenshittify our economy. And Scharon Harding reports on the rare positive example of Bose making some of its systems open-source to allow consumers to continue using them after they're no longer directly supported.  

- Marc Lee points out the absurdity of treating the U.S.' coup in Venezuela as an excuse to push new oil pipelines in Canada. 

- Finally, Tom Sandborn writes that a rare example of a conviction against an employer for negligently causing a worker's death serves only to highlight how few consequences businesses face for endangering their own employees.