Tuesday Night Cat Blogging

Elevated cat.

Tuesday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Brian Beutler comments on the Trump regime's absolute lack of distinction between war and politics, and what that means for any hope of a peaceful transition to reflect electoral choices. And Robert Reich discusses the absurdity of the U.S. launching increasingly destructive wars without having the slightest clue what their endgame is in any of them. 

- Dave Levitan writes about the dangers of allowing people to gamble on choices and outcomes in war. 

- Meanwhile, Alexander de Croo points out that development is no less an exercise of hard power than military action - while providing a much-needed prospect of positive outcomes. 

- Surya Sakhar-Suot writes about the myriad benefits of remote work - and the concurrent folly of imposing return-to-office mandates. 

- Finally, Ben Steverman discusses how the rise of 19th-century billionaire robber barons is being reflected in the emergence of the trillionaires of the near term. And Hugh Gusterson writes about the elite gifts and manipulations that tied together Jeffrey Epstein's network of influence and control. 

Monday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Bruce Boccardy writes about the continued centrality of class struggle. Melissa Ryan comments on the realities that "Epstein class" is by far the most apt description of the people currently in charge of the U.S. (and far too much else). And Nick Chater and George Loewenstein highlight how self-serving corporations and billionaires are trying to force individuals to bear the responsibility and consequences for systemic ills. 

- Meanwhile, Jason Koebler writes that the gamification of war crimes in Iran has turned into just another appalling example of the depravity economy. And Rana Foroohar discusses how the U.S.' increasing adherence to petrostate logic is making everybody worse off (other than a tiny number of the most exploitative tycoons).

- The Economic Security Project examines how we could be ensuring a dignified life for everybody - even while helping individual recipients' employment prospects - through a readily-affordable guaranteed income. 

- Finally, Isaac Callan and Colin D'Mello report on the Ford PCs' decision to just stop informing the public of the measured consequences of their policies. 

Sunday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- Mark Kreidler notes that people from around the globe are staying away from the U.S. in droves - due to both the risk of being a foreigner in a country looking to detain anybody fitting that description, and the desire to avoid rewarding a rogue regime. And Drew Hinshaw and Joe Parkinson write about the increasing number of Americans choosing to leave the U.S. rather than suffering under the violence and corruption of the Trump administration. 

- Sadiq Khan highlights how UK Labour has only hurt itself by imposing right-wing bigotry as policy rather than giving effect to the progressive values of its base. And Justin Ling questions Mark Carney's cheerleading for the U.S.' wars of conquest, while Lloyd Axworthy discusses how Carney has chosen to enable (and indeed embrace) U.S. aggression in violation of international law. 

- Ajit Niranjan reports on the shocking loss of marine life as a result of the climate breakdown, with drops in marine biomass of up to 20% in a single year. Greg Harman discusses new modeling showing that over 2% of all deaths in a Texas summer - numbering up to a thousand in any given year - can be traced back to extreme heat caused by global warming. And Sadie Harley examines how carbon dioxide levels in the human body are increasing dangerously. 

- Hayley Smith discusses yet another pernicious application of artificial intelligence, as fabricated "public comments" were used by a California environmental authority as reason not to phase out fossil gas appliances. 

- Finally, Erika Edwards reports on the tens of millions of dollars in traceable losses caused by the anti-vaxxers' choice to spread measles in the U.S. - while hinting at far more severe damage which may never be observable. 

Musical interlude

CHVRCHES - Killer

Friday Afternoon Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Owen Jones writes that a stunning Green by-election win in the UK can be traced to their offering meaningful hope that things can get better while Labour has chosen a strategy of reactionary centrism. And G. Elliott Morris highlights how the problem U.S. Democrats face with voters is one of being perceived as weak rather than falling offside of people's values. 

- George Tsakraklides discusses the myriad ways in which our existing systems and structures are being wrecked - as well as the need to build up again from the wreckage. 

- Seth Klein points out the desperate need for public investment as part of Canada's economic reorientation, including through new or revitalized Crown corporations. But Taylor Noakes reports on yet another instance of Mark Carney instead serving the interests of dirty capital, this time by facilitating the development of fossil fuel-powered data centres following a flurry of lobbying. And Darius Snieckus reports on Investors For Paris Compliance's warning that the capital class' push to lock us into fossil gas infrastructure represents a losing bet for Canadian savings. 

-  Finally, the Norwegian Consumer Council offers a painfully apt take on the enshittification of our world:

Thursday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Adam Serwer points out the glaring contrast between real accountability for bad actors in other countries, and the U.S.' culture of absolute elite impunity epitomized by the Trump regime. And the Boston Globe reports on the Republicans' deliberate trashing of institutional knowledge which served to benefit the general public. 

- Norm Farrell weighs in on the reality that clean renewable energy is also far more affordable than dirtier sources. But Carl Meyer reports on the Moe government's determination to burn a billion dollars and large amounts of avoidable coal just to prove it's above the law - even as the Libs show little inclination to enforce it. 

- Alexander Gazmararian, Nathan Jensen and Dustin Tingley study the Biden administration's failure to promote or take credit for its green investments - making it far too easy for Republicans to both take power and reverse course. 

- Dean Baker discusses some of the factors which figure to cause the eventual bursting of the AI bubble. And in case public opprobrium wasn't already high enough on the list, Clare Duffy and Leah Eadicicco report on Anthropic's sudden dismantling of any binding guardrails against the misuse of its system.   

- Finally, David Dayen writes that Kalshi and other prediction markets are inadvertently conceding that their platforms create the potential for deliberate manipulation that far exceeds any innocent or neutral purpose. 

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.