Musical interlude

Kelela - Enough For Love

Friday Afternoon Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Nathalie Grandvaux writes about the causes and impacts of a triple epidemic of respiratory viruses. And Erin Goerlich et al. study the cardiovascular effects of COVID-19, while Beth Mole reports on research showing that COVID vaccinations help protect against strokes and heart attacks which would otherwise be predictable results of infection. 

- Meanwhile, Alexander Quon reports on the Moe government's continued drug policy of harm maximization - and the expert outcry against the deliberate choice to exacerbate the risks of drug toxicity and unsanitary supplies. And Sandra Smiley, Preet Gandhi and Kathryn Haegedorn point out the social harm caused by "evictions to nowhere" - which of course represents an accurate description of the Sask Party's housing policy. 

- Adam Morton and Graham Redfearn highlight how 2023 was not just the hottest year on record, but the year when the visible signs of climate breakdown stunned even the scientists most familiar with the climate crisis. And Emma Garnett and Charlotte Kukowski discuss how inequality serves as an obstacle to meaningful climate action.

- Finally, Andrew Nikiforuk writes about the need to stop treating the man-made technosphere as somehow more real and important than the natural ecosphere which is necessary to our survival. 

Wednesday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Julia Doubleday offers a reminder that any remotely responsible definition of "living with COVID" would include doing everything reasonably possible to upgrade air quality. And Dylan Matthews discusses the prospect that UV light may help to reduce the spread of viruses generally - along with the need for more work to ensure that can be done without unintended consequences. 

- Gordon McBean writes that Canada saw some of the most extreme effects of climate change in the world in 2023, while Mitchell Beer reports on the connection between the climate crisis and an exceptionally warm December in particular. And CGTN reports on new research showing that ocean temperatures have been hitting record highs for several years in a row. 

- But Rachel Ramirez discusses the rise of new forms of climate denialism which are propagating on YouTube (as well as anywhere else the fossil fuel industry is propagandizing). 

- Emily Fagan reports on a new study showing no consistent correlation between police spending and crime rates. And Denis Campbell reports that the UK - like most Canadian jurisdictions - is spending massive amounts of money on temporary health care staffing which result in profits for well-connected labour brokers while doing nothing to contribute to sustainable patient care. 

- Finally, Robert Reich comments on the long-term destruction of the middle class by an oligopoly determined to extract everything possible from it. And David Moscrop highlights how Ed Broadbent's life's work consisted largely of organizing the working class to push back against the concentration of corporate wealth and power. 

Tuesday Night Cat Blogging

Curled-up cat.

Tuesday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Dharna Noor discusses how the U.S.' dirty fossil fuel industry is propagandizing against any transition to cleaner energy sources. And Benjamin Shingler reports on research showing that the forestry sector (like so many other industries) is causing far more damage to the climate than it officially reports. 

- Anne Toomey McKenna examines the Federal Trade Commission's complaint against data broker Kochava as a worrisome example of the information corporate behemoths are able to collect and use against the public. And Cory Doctorow writes that the constant stream of spam and scams online is the direct result of the mindset that the key to wealth is to extract money for nothing from a greater fool. 

- But in case there was any doubt that big business is able to avoid answering for its own unconscionable practices, Sarah MacMillan reports on Enbridge's regular pattern of sticking customers with massive bills without any forewarning or explanation. And Andrew Sampson and Aly Thomson report on Loblaws' decision to let more food go to waste rather than continuing to discount products which are about to expire. 

- Jacob Cerebrin reports that the consistent reactionary principle that "it's always projection" extends to a science-denying conspiracy theorist blaming the government for wildfires actually being a serial arsonist himself. 

- Finally, Marc Edge writes that the National Post - having itself been founded and operated as a shameless right-wing propaganda outlet - has no business shedding crocodile tears over media bias. 

Monday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Jamie Ducharme examines the realities of a COVID-19 surge in progress - as well as the reason to worry that avoidable illness and death is being treated as the new normal. Kailin Yin et al. highlight the harm caused by systemic inflammation and immune dysregulation in the course of infection, while Brian Imbiakha et al. find that mice without adaptive immune cells don't experience those effects. And Marti Catala et al. study the evidence showing that vaccination helps to prevent long COVID symptoms. 

- Oxfam's latest briefing paper on inequality highlights how wealth continues to concentrate in the hands of a privileged few - and will continue to do so unless we take drastic steps to challenge our corporate overlords. 

- Rachel Donald reports on new research documenting the human behavioral crisis underlying the climate breakdown. And Marc Fawcett-Atkinson discusses how the fossil gas sector is seeking to exacerbate that problem by locking us into decades of carbon pollution to come, while Stephen Stapczynski, Ruth Liao and Anna Shiryaevskaya point out the real-world effects of that propaganda. 

- Jorg Broschek discusses how reduced speed limits could significantly slash carbon pollution while also making communities far safer. 

- David Climenhaga writes that Danielle Smith's government which is fearmongering about federal policy leaving people to freeze in the dark has actually made that a real risk due to its own corruption and mismanagement. Yet even his list of examples omits the most jarring contrast between energy security as a goal and UCP policy, as it's actively pushed to bring in crypto miners to use as much energy as possible. 

- Finally, Cory Doctorow writes about the need for solidarity among all kinds of workers - including tech and gig workers - to counter the accumulation and abuse of corporate power.