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.