Musical interlude

Dash Berlin feat. Hoyaa - Aviation

Friday Afternoon Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Gary Fuller reports on the European Environment Agency's estimate that EU countries alone are responsible for 238,000 deaths a year arising from their failure to meet World Health Organization air pollution guidelines.  

- Adam Lowenstein discusses the Center for Climate Integrity's report tracing the plastics industry's half-century-long pattern of deceit about the inability of recycling programs to avert a plastic waste crisis. And Francesca Fionda, Jeffrey Jones and Chen Wang report on the massive unfunded mining liabilities which stand to be absorbed by the public in British Columbia. 

- Robert Frank reports on new figures from the IRS showing that tax evasion by U.S. millionaires costs upwards of $150 billions every year. And Christine Wen et al. highlight how tax giveaways to already-profitable businesses have starved education systems and other social supports. 

- Cory Doctorow notes that Google has long since broken the "monopolist's bargain" of claiming that perpetually increasing dominance is necessary to preserve long-abandoned claims to security and functionality. And Steven D'Souza et al. report on the effects of monopoly food pricing in Canada's North - as well as the Libs' utter lack of interest in doing anything but subsidizing the problem. 

- Finally, Mike Elgan points out how return-to-office mandates have resulted in immense losses to workers without producing any discernible benefit for the employers imposing them.  

Wednesday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Armine Yalnizyan offers a warning about the spread of the tapeworm economy in which corporate profiteers wriggle their way into public services and siphon off resources.  

- Julia Velkova discusses how reliance on tech monopolists undermines the capacity to decide and deliver on social priorities. And Allen Best points out the absurdity of subsidizing massive data centres which inevitably cause environmental harm and strain on public infrastructure. 

- Andrew Nikiforuk discusses the precarious state of Alberta's water supply - and the utter lack of any government response to avert disaster. And Dana Nuccitelli writes that the tar sands are singlehandedly preventing Canada from living up to its climate commitments - while also resulting in our oil sector generating far worse carbon pollution per capita than even the U.S.'.  

- Michael Haederle points out new research finding microplastics to be present in every new human placenta. And Sandee LaMotte writes about use of predigested slurries to keep people from having their hunger fulfilled. 

- Finally, Ethan Cox exposes how the federal government has lied and withheld information about its use of private spies who are actively monitoring journalists. And Bryan Carney reports on a special report from Privacy Commissioner Philippe Dufresne on the RCMP's systematic violations of privacy through undisclosed online surveillance. 

Tuesday Night Cat Blogging

Cat among toys.