Musical interlude

Kx5 feat. Hayla - Escape

Friday Afternoon Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Heather Scoffield examines the lessons we should be learning from the COVID-19 pandemic if it hadn't been disappeared down the memory hole. And Delphine Planas et al. study the wave of newly-developed variants which looks set to render existing monoclonal antibodies obsolete. 

- Don Drummond and Sarah Miller write that economic forecasts which don't account for the climate breakdown - and the costs of inaction in mitigating it - are obviously unfit for purpose. Cloe Logan discusses the importance of fighting against the climate misinformation which is used as an excuse for continued carbon pollution. And Laura Cameron asks when the oil industry will start investing in actual emission reductions if it's not bothering while rolling in windfall profits - though it's all too clear that it views "never" as the only acceptable answer. 

- Paul Wells points out the appalling implications of Pierre Poilievre's plan to apply Alberta's moralistic harm maximization to the drug poisoning crisis on a national scale. And Yann Marten offers his take on the realities facing homeless people in a province which can't be bothered to make empty housing available to them. 

- Finally, Jen St. Denis discusses the problem with planning for police to respond to mental health calls. And Rumneek Johal and Stephen Magusiak expose how police forces across Canada are commissioning misleading "think tank" pieces in order to steal funding from any other type of crisis response or social support. 

Thursday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Maggie O'Neill discusses how new research is confirming the importance of avoiding COVID reinfections. And Edward Keenan asks what it will take for us to take even such basic precautions as masking if overflowing pediatric intensive care units are being seen as an acceptable trade-off for living in denial of an ongoing pandemic and other infectious diseases, while Public Health Ontario confirms (PDF) that masking requirements and other public health measures are the best defence against the spread of new variants.  

- Jon Meddings and Paul Armstrong call out the pandemic of misinformation which is serving to make matters worse in Alberta (and elsewhere). And Kevin Esvelt points out what the feeble-to-destructive reaction to an unintended pandemic might mean if a deliberate one were put in motion. 

- Linda McQuaig discusses how billionaires' disproportionate contribution to the climate crisis and resource exhaustion makes them among the most dangerous people on the planet. And Gloria Novovic calls out the Libs for offering personal moralizing as a distraction from systemic exploitation and inequality.  

-  Matt Bruenig points out how means-testing of benefit programs serves only to increase costs while also making public support far more fragile. 

- Finally, Elizabeth Thompson reports on the evidence of foreign donations to the #FluTruxKlan which has been confirmed through the Emergencies Act commission. And Monia Mazigh discusses how the inquiry has also highlighted the difference in treatment between white, privileged occupiers and minority groups who have quickly been labeled threats to national security. 

Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Dave Yasvinski reports on the growing recognition that repeated COVID infections increase the likelihood of severe illness and death. And John Lorinc discusses how the ongoing pandemic should be pushing us toward a long-overdue focus on improving indoor air quality. 

- Sheila Block points out that the Ford PCs are underestimating revenue in order to avoid putting public money toward anything that would help Ontarians. John Michael McGrath writes that even the few sops to social benefits are being set up to both invest and accomplish as little as possible. And Isaac Callan and Colin D'Mello expose how Health Minister Sheila Jones has specifically rejected plans which would have provided assurances that health care won't be privatized. 

- Alex Boutillier reports on the 's conclusion that Canada's military is ill-equipped to identify and address white nationalism within its ranks. And Dan Zakreski reports on the escalation from online threats to real-world arson against Caitlin Erickson for her efforts to expose abuse at the Saskatchewan Party's pet religious schools. 

- Finally, David Sirota writes that Josh Shapiro's successful run for governor of Pennsylvania offers an example of how progressive leaders are more successful running against villains rather than running away from conflict. 

Tuesday Night Cat Blogging

Snuggly cats.

Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Winnie Byanyima discusses the importance of cooperation and coordination in responding to a pandemic. But Michael Lee contrasts the consistent message from doctors against the recalcitrance of governments in refusing to implement any public health measures as COVID and other respiratory illnesses plunge health care systems into crisis. And Martin Regg Cohn calls out Doug Ford for prioritizing cheap gas over vital health care. 

- Peter Zimonjic and Catherine Cullen report on Lana Payne's call for monetary policy that doesn't reflect a thinly veiled class war against workers. And Sara Jabakhanji reports on a new study showing that more and more people with jobs are being forced to rely on food banks. 

- Ruth Michaelson reports on yet another cynical attempt by the fossil fuel lobby to lock in decades of carbon pollution from gas as a "transition". And Maya Menezes rightly questions why so much of Canada's delegation to COP27 consists of oil and gas promoters, rather than people with any interest in averting climate breakdown. 

- Meanwhile, John Clarke contrasts how Canada's security state chose to treat a violent occupation by white nationalists compared to Indigenous defense of unceded land. 

- Finally, David Climenhaga highlights how the UCP sought to tie Alberta into the FTX Ponzi scheme as a low-wage, easy-money alternative to building a care economy. 

Monday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Rob Stein discusses the CDC's recognition that new, more evasive COVID strains are becoming dominant in the U.S. Megan Ogilvie and Kenyon Wallace report on the growing calls for a return to preventative masking in Ontario, while Aline Schnake-Mahl et al. examine the connection between sick leave and other stronger public health policies, and higher vaccination rates. And Arianna Spatola et al. study the causes of long COVID, with an immune response to multiple viruses representing a key risk factor. 

- Bob Weber reports on new assessments showing that Canada is emitting far more methane pollution than it's bothering to document and regulate, while Peter Milne writes about the continuing waste of time and resources that is carbon capture and storage. Greg Jericho discusses how Australian gas companies are raking in windfall profits while contributing nothing more back to public coffers. And Ruth Michaelson reports on the influx of fossil fuel lobbyists at #COP27 attempting to stall meaningful climate action. 

- Meanwhile, Jacques Poitras and Frederic Zalac report on the revelations from the Paradise Papers showing that Irving Oil raked in a quarter of a billion dollars in profit while securing provincial and municipal tax handouts. 

- Alan Drummond writes about the crisis in Canada's emergency rooms. And Jeremy Corbyn makes the case for a national care service, even as the UK Cons instead plan to hand over the existing public health care system (including the private medical records of unconsenting patients) to the sketchiest corporate operators they can enrich. 

- Finally, Max Fawcett discusses how Canadians have already suffered from the right's obsession with cryptocurrency over any activity which would actually benefit people. 

Sunday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- Manina Etter et al. study the causes of neurological damages arising out of COVID-19. And Roni Caryn Rabin reports on the recent research showing how mandatory masks have helped to prevent transmission in schools.

- Jeremy Appel rightly notes that Canada can't be taken seriously as contributing to climate solutions until it stops subsidizing (and generally serving as a mouthpiece for) the oil and gas sector. And Douglas Almond, Xinming Du and Anna Papp trace the connection between fossil fuel funding for energy centres, and biased messaging pushing natural gas in particular.

- Meanwhile, Xander Huggins asks what lies ahead when the water sources relied on by major populations get lost to overuse and climate degradation.

- Tonda McCharles and Alex Ballingall report on the revelations from the Emergencies Act inquiry that tow truck owners were paid to refuse to clear the Alberta border when the #FluTruxKlan had its armed blockade in place. And Jason Markusoff discusses how Alberta's voters are getting sick of a provincial government that's more focused on picking fights with Ottawa than doing anything to help its own constituents.

- Finally, Rob Shaw calls out the Vancouver Police Department for commissioning a grossly-misleading propaganda piece in an effort to extract more funding at the expense of social programs. And Michael King reports on Alberta's disability workers who are among many key actors in the care economy whose wages have been falling far behind the cost of living.