Thursday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Margaret Walton-Roberts and Ivy Lynn Bourgeault highlight how plans to poach workers from abroad are bound to fall short of meeting our need for care providers (while also raising ethical concerns). And Benjamin Shingler discusses how extreme heat is putting an increasing number of workers at risk. 

- Tom Burton eulogizes Mary-Louise McLaws by noting that she was among the few voices calling for people to avert avoidable deaths and illness by recognizing how aerosolized ventilation is needed to limit the spread of COVID-19. And Luke LeBrun exposes the connection between the federal Cons and anti-public-health forces.

- Thom Hartmann discusses why the uber-wealthy few fund bigotry and hate - with the instigation of culture wars serving to distract from class-based extraction. 

- Cory Doctorow points out how selective complaints about privacy have served to create the U.S.' exploitative private surveillance apparatus, while lauding some much-needed steps toward public protection from corporate data brokers. 

- Finally, Robin Urevich and Pablo Sandoval expose how Los Angeles landlords have ignoring a requirement to preserve housing for low-income residents and instead marketing protected units to tourists. And Christopher Cheung reports on Burnaby's much-needed effort to build its own affordable homes, rather than relying on giveaways to private developers as the only option to increase the housing stock. 

Wednesday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Crawford Kilian reviews two new books on the effects of an overheating planet. Damian Carrington reports on the science tracing unprecedented heat waves to climate change. And Jag Bhalla warns about the dangers of undue optimism about the state of our living environment - with the people with the least predictably standing to suffer the most.  

- Meanwhile, Elizabeth Rush describes the experience of arriving at a large glacier just in time to see it collapse. 

- Ari Pottens and Scott Seymour discuss the harm unmonitored methane releases are doing in exacerbating the climate breakdown. And David Thurton reports on the double-counting and general trickery behind the Libs' self-congratulation over tree-planting.  

- Pete Evans reports on yet another hike in profits for Loblaws, while the Canadian Press reports on the same as Metro even as it withholds reasonable wages from employees. 

- Finally, Jeff Ernsthausen exposes how the ultra-wealthy use "charitable" foundations to claim massive tax credits and avoid paying their fair share for a functional society. 

Tuesday Night Cat Blogging

Rubbernecking cats.

Tuesday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Ekaterina Pesheva writes about the continued uncertainty as to the driving mechanism behind long COVID even as large numbers of people suffer from it. Eric Berger notes that experts are cautioning Americans to keep a close eye on COVID exposure as new variants develop, while Andre Picard discusses how a summer spike in cases serve to remind us we're still in the middle of a pandemic. And Janice Brown laments that government policy rooted in a "let-'er-rip" philosophy seems to be designed to fail from the standpoint of public health protection. 

- Euan Nisbet warns that sharp increases in atmospheric methane represent both a cause and effect of the climate crisis - and that the elevated levels now reflect those from previous climate shocks. 

- Kevin Krizek discusses how larger vehicles offer the illusion of protection for drivers at the expense of grave and avoidable risks for pedestrians and others. 

- Finally, Phoebe Fuller reports on the work unions are doing to protect Canadians from weaponized hate - even as the Cons and their allies stoke it at every opportunity. 

Monday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Arianna Johnson reports on new research showing how COVID-19 can continue to affect organ function long after the lungs have healed. Philip Finkelstein calls out the lack of any effective response to the widespread and continuing risk of long COVID. Erin Prater examines what we can expect as new variants create another wave this fall. And Tania Bubela, Kimberlyn McGrail and Sharmistha Mishra argue that Canada needs a national inquiry into our COVID response. 

- Fiona Harvey reports on warnings from the UN's desertification conference that global food supplies are at risk even before we reach 1.5 degrees of warming. And Cabin Radio reports on the Northwest Territories' evacuations due to wildfires, while Maanvi Singh, Andrew Witherspoon and Bryony Moore document the devastation of Maui. 

- Robson Fletcher discusses how Alberta (like Saskatchewan) is an extreme outlier in insisting on continuing to use fossil fuel-generated power out of fealty to the oil and gas sector when there are cleaner and more affordable options available. And David Climenhaga points out that the result is nothing but embarrassment on the world stage. 

- David Moscrop writes that the Ontario Auditor General's report on the Greenbelt giveaway proves that the Ford PCs are corrupt - and it's worth noting that Doug Ford's response refusing to review or reverse the handout to donors and cronies only shows that his primary goal is to ensure the spoils of that corruption outlast any investigation or protest. 

- Finally, Shannon Proudfoot points out Pierre Poilievre's laughable attempt at class tourism. 

Musical interlude

Metric - Speed the Collapse

Friday Afternoon Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Rachel DuRose writes about the rise of the Eris COVID-19 variant, while Esther Choo notes that health care workers are bracing for another fall wave even as the ongoing risks have been disappeared from any public attention by authorities looking to squelch any mitigation efforts which might affect immediate profit-seeking. And Madeline Miller offers a personal warning as to the devastating effects of long COVID. 

- Gergana Krasteva reports on Antonio Guterres' stark warning that we're reaching an era of global boiling, while Catrin Einhorn discusses how coral is being exterminated by unprecedented ocean temperatures. And Justine Calma offers a reminder that promises to suck carbon pollution out of the air at some unspecified point in the future based on nonexistent technology will do nothing to ameliorate the damage that's already been done to our living environment. 

- Meanwhile, Todd Miller reports on new research showing that the effects of exposure to small particulate air pollution include increased risks of heart disease. 

- Trillian Reynoldson reports that Regina's food bank usage has reached another all-time high as people's real-world deprivation and stress continues to stand in stark contrast to the Sask Party's obstinate denial of reality. 

- Finally, Cory Doctorow discusses the value of interoperability as a counter to the systematic enshittification of social media. 

Wednesday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Jennifer La Grassa reports on the impending wave of the EG.5 COVID-19 variant, even as Phil Hahn warns that what little and belated data we have on COVID infections in the form of wastewater analysis may soon be cut off. And Ed Yong writes about the difference between ordinary tiredness and the fatigue triggered by long COVID.  

- Matthew Rosza discusses the reality that July was the hottest month in recorded human history. The Guardian publishes accounts from climate experts about the fact that where we stand now is both predictable and disastrous, while Andrew Mitrovica recognizes that future generations should see our destruction of our living environment as unforgivable. And Dimitris Dimitriadis, Joey Grostern and Sam Bright report that fossil fuel corporations are predictably using new social media to keep up their longstanding pattern of disinformation to enable continued carbon pollution. 

- Giulia Carbonaro examines how work may change in the course of a climate breakdown. And Vanessa Balintec reports on the success of four-day work week which has led many employers who tried it as a pilot project to make it a permanent feature. 

- Liam O'Connor writes about the history of streetcars in Saskatchewan, along with the prospect that a similar model could be a key element of future development. 

- Finally, Cory Doctorow highlights how fighting junk fees and abusive corporate practices should be a key element of the progressive political project. 

Tuesday Night Cat Blogging

Floored cats.

Tuesday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Hanwen Zhang highlights yet another rise in COVID cases - albeit paired with obviously-unwarranted minimizing of the risks involved. 

- Jessica Wildfire pushes back against the establishment demand that people somehow evolve to become cacti in order to survive a climate breakdown, which Michael Mall similarly challenges the claim that adaptation is a substitute for averting catastrophe. And Nicholas Frew reports that the damage caused by carbon pollution-driven extreme weather events are turning SGI into a burden rather than a boon. 

- Meanwhile, in case anybody was under the illusion that climate calamity was the only readily-avoidable consequence of allowing fossil fuel operators to run rampant, Daisy Brickhill warns that new drilling licenses in the North Sea are threatening sensitive wildlife habitats. And Sharon Lerner reports on the Trump EPA's choice to green-light a Chevron boat fuel ingredient which is virtually certain to cause cancer in anybody exposed to it over a lifetime. 

- Emily Leedham reports on the Globe and Mail's belated and begrudging changes to its much-trumpeted "Canada's Top 100 Employers" advertorial based on their repeatedly providing free publicity to corporations responsible for workers' deaths. 

- Finally, Cory Doctorow discusses how AI is being used by for-profit health care providers to deny needed treatment. 

Hiatus

 Gone trippin'. Back to this space on my return.

Musical interlude

Kungs, The Knocks - People

Friday Afternoon Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Cory Doctorow examines how private equity systematically loots both the pension funds which provide capital for its acquisitions, and the businesses which it purchases in order to extract transaction and management fees. And Nancy Fraser discusses how capitalism in any guise - not only the current neoliberal model - is fundamentally at odds with democracy. 

- David Helvarg writes that a climate crisis is already here, even as any goals to even slow the rate of carbon pollution continue to get pushed into the distant future. And Laura Paddison talks to scientists about the impossibility of proclaiming a "new normal" when we don't yet have any idea how much damage we're doing to our living environment. 

- Phoebe Weston reports on warnings from scientists that we're headed in the direction of losing any pretense of food security. And Augustin Guibaud discusses the immediate dangers of unprecedented levels of wildfire smoke - as well as the downside risk of unanticipated effects. 

- Meanwhile, Ari Pottens and Scott Seymour offer a reminder that uncontrolled and unmonitored methane releases (including those generated by fossil fuel production) are resulting in far worse carbon pollution than what's recognized on government books.  

- Finally, Hamilton Nolan writes that the strike by writers and actors has the potential to reverberate far beyond the entertainment industry as a large-scale test of workers' pushback against attempts to capture the fruits of their labour. 

Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Andrew Dessler writes about the non-linear nature of the environmental effects of carbon pollution - with the result that we're seeing cascading effects with each additional increase in temperature. And Sarah Kaplan discusses how we should be recognizing extreme weather events as alarm bells reflecting a climate breakdown in progress.

- The Guardian's editorial board writes that we can't afford to put our living environment on the back burner while perpetually finding other supposedly more immediate issues to prioritize first. And Margaret Shkimba points out the need for leaders to match rhetoric with action (though I'd argue there's a need to focus far more on policy decisions rather than personal theatre).

- Jonathan Freedland discusses how the oil sector has managed to control the public conversation about climate policy in order to keep lining its pockets at the expense of our planet. And Drew Anderson reports on yet another unconscionable UCP subsidy to dirty energy, this time paying $14 million in public money to make up for rent which oil barons couldn't be bothered to pay to landowners.  

- Lana Payne questions why the Bank of Canada is continuing to punish workers with increased interest rates and suppressed wages when there's little reason to believe that will do anything to limit inflation based on corporate profiteering. 

- Finally, David Macdonald and Ricardo Tranjan chart how much Canadian workers need to earn in order to afford housing - and how consistent a pattern there is of rents far exceeding what people can afford. 

Tuesday Night Cat Blogging

Nestled cats.

Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Daniel Altmann et al. examine the myriad forms of long COVID even as governments have gone out of their way to pretend there's no longer a problem to be addressed. And the Star's editorial board offers a reminder that we shouldn't take a summer lull (compared to a higher baseline than previous years of the pandemic) as either an excuse for avoidable risk or a declaration that the spread of COVID-19 is over. 

- Jordan Kovacs and Jimmy Thomson warn that British Columbia has failed to learn lessons from past heat waves as extreme weather conditions become commonplace. And W. Larry Kenney points out how the combination of heat and humidity is especially deadly. 

- Cloe Logan discusses the futility of any climate change plan based on looking for excuses to keep extracting and burning fossil fuels. 

- George Monbiot writes that with ecosystems collapsing and supplies of necessities in grave danger, we're facing a stark choice between plutocrats' unfettered wealth accumulation and the future of human life on Earth. And Paul Kiel reports on the the connection between the billionaires who have taken ownership of a majority of the U.S.' Supreme Court, and tax policies which leave the public footing the bill for their extravagant gifts to judges and lawmakers. 

- Finally, Peter Armstrong calls out the problems with addressing inflation solely through interest rate increases aimed at reducing wages. Jim Stanford points out that retail food prices are still surging due to corporate profit-taking even as input costs are leveling off. And Garros Gong discusses how corporate monopolies represent a threat to general prosperity. 

Monday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Neil Shaw reports on the demands by Scottish doctors that their government reinstate COVID -19protections in health care facilities. And Tia Ewing reports on new research showing the devastating and lasting effects of long COVID. 

- AFP reports on what's already a record-breaking year for wildfire damage in Canada even before we reach peak fire season. Dharna Noor writes about the dirty energy sector's repudiation of any climate promises even as their devastating impact on the world manifests itself worse and sooner than ever anticipated. And Caitlyn Clark discusses how workers are having to fight for their health and safety against employers determined to expose them to unmitigated harm from smoke and heat. 

- Yvette D'Entremont writes that Nova Scotia's government is choosing not to collect the data needed to know exactly how bad the province's housing crisis is. 

- Jon Schwarz highlights how the hanger-on class which has thus far supported the accumulation of wealth by the elite few is becoming the new target for exploitation as lower classes are squeezed dry. And Cory Doctorow discusses why it's dangerous to hope for better outcomes when merely replacing one corporate monopoly with another. 

- Finally, Bill Longstaff points out that Norway serves as a compelling, one-word refutation of the most deeply-embedded corporatist assumptions which have been allowed to form the basis for Canadian economy policy. 

Musical interlude

Jamie Woon - Night Air

Friday Afternoon Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Qiulu Ding and HanJun Zhao study the long-term effects of COVID-19 on the brain, including lasting effects on function and memory. Ida Mogensen et al. find that the younger people who were so frequently declared to be "low-risk" are entirely vulnerable to long COVID. And Thomas Graham, Amrit Dhillon and Caroline Kimeu discuss the devastating effects of COVID-19 on the global South which have been almost entirely neglected by wealthier countries. 

- Aarhus University studies the accumulation of "forever chemicals" even in some of the most remote populations in Europe. 

- Tony Keller points out that Canada is one of the worst climate offenders in the world in terms of both inefficient personal vehicles, and a transportation system designed to require their use. And Markham Hislop highlights how the demand of fossil fuel tycoons and their puppet governments to the public on the hook for site remediation reflects an attempt to break a decades-old deal to have the oil industry clean up at least one aspect of its own mess. 

- Linda McQuaig contrasts Doug Ford's endless supply of free money for developers and donors against his brutal austerity when it comes to social needs. 

- Finally, Cory Doctorow points out the selective security in the U.S.' welfare system which makes strict demands of recipients, while providing no security against fraud and abuse aimed at them.

Thursday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Sabina Vohra-Miller discusses the ample body of research showing how COVID-19 vaccinations produce superior health outcomes in the course of a pregnancy. And Nature examines the limited effectiveness of rapid tests in identifying asymptomatic cases (which are responsible for half of COVID transmission). 

- Katharine Sanderson comments on a new study showing how plastic debris is reaching the most remote depths of the ocean. And Guy Standing writes about the extractivists planning to shift from polluting the depths to mining them with no regard for the resulting harms. 

- Meanwhile, Harrison Tasoff discusses how forests can't adapt quickly enough to keep up with the current pace of climate breakdown. 

- Carly Weeks reports on the push from health care advocacy organizations to get premiers to follow through on their rhetoric about health care - as to date not a single one has been willing to commit to evidence-based improvements in order to access federal funding. 

- Finally, Brian Fung reports on the widespread and illegal sharing of data from U.S. tax preparation providers, who disclosed sensitive personal information to social media giants for their advertising purposes. And Darryl Greer reports that the federal government's reflexive distrust of CERB recipients has given rise to a flurry of court proceedings where people have proven their entitlement to benefits.