Musical interlude

Miami Nights 1984 feat. Gunship - Only When It's Dark

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- David Climenhaga writes that nobody should be surprised by Danielle Smith's determination to privatize Alberta's health system - though her explicit declaration that she wants providers to be motivated by an ethic of fear rather than care lays bare what the UCP has in store. Alexander Quon reports on the patient-pays system for doctor access set up by one Regina medical clinic on the Moe government's watch. And Gretchen Morgenson reports on research showing how private equity involvement in health facilities results in asset stripping and worse service. 

- Nora Loreto calls out the right-wing push to maximize harm and deaths from public health challenges. And Jon Woodward reports on the large number of additional deaths anticipated from Doug Ford's shuttering of safe consumption sites alone. 

- Todd Feathers reports on the illegal denial of hundreds of millions of dollars of medical benefits by a malfunctioning AI system. And Michael Joel-Hansen reports on the known issues with the Saskatchewan Party's new payment processing system which is leaving workers unpaid and supplies unordered. 

- Suzanne Blake reports on the admission by one Kroger executive that it engaged in price gouging (while using inflation as an excuse for profit-taking).

- Finally, Emily Peck discusses how the U.S.' public perception of labour unions is at a multi-decade high.

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Brittany Hopkins rightly argues that parents with any interest in providing a worthwhile future for their children should be motivated to combat the climate breakdown. Steven Lam and Gloria Novovic write about the need for climate impacts to be included as a matter of course in analyzing all types of policies. And David Zipper discusses the need to transition away from highway megaprojects - and notes that anybody who actually believes in fiscally responsible government should be happy to join a coalition to that end. 

- David Suzuki calls out the glaring gap in treatment between climate activists facing constant police disruption and severe sentences for attempting to ensure a liveable future, and corporate polluters who face no meaningful consequences (and indeed receive massive subsidies) for polluting both the public discourse and the Earth. 

- Nicolas Graham examines how the U.S.' fossilized right wing is operating in Canada - often with public funds and/or the imprimatur of academic credibility. And in the wake of the sudden departure of BC United from this fall's election, Luke LeBrun and Rumneek Johal offer a reminder that the B.C. Conservatives are unabashedly running against science and reality.  

- Finally, the Economist reports that the crypto firms courted by Texas in the name of economic development are making their money exploiting the terms of power supply agreements. 

Wednesday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- The Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research discusses a new study showing that the effects of a climate breakdown could far exceed what has generally been treated as the worst-case outcome, with the potential for temperatures to increase by up to 25 degrees Fahrenheit. Bob Burwyn writes about the dangerous feedback loop in which global warming results in the release of previously-trapped methane. And the Climate Historian observes that the uninhabitable surface of Venus is the result of a runaway greenhouse effect. 

- Daisy Dunne writes about the role climate change is playing in the outbreak of extreme heat events. Anna Betts reports on new research showing that the number of deaths caused by extreme heat in the U.S. has doubled over the past 25 years, while Ashifa Kasaam reports on a study showing that people with lower incomes bear a disproportionate share of the burden of heat waves. 

- Andrew Whelton points out that the effects of increased wildfire activity extend to widespread water pollution and harm to agriculture. And Emma Bryce discusses how there's ample food production capacity to feed the whole of humanity (and reduce carbon emissions) if the wealthiest few people adjust their consumption patterns to fit what the Earth can support.  

- But George Monbiot notes that the factory farm lobby is looking to ban any form of food production that could endanger its existing profit margins by making a healthy diet more affordable and accessible. And Tom Perkins reports on the corporate-owned scientists trying to keep toxic forever chemicals flowing into drinking water. 

- Finally, Colin Bruce Anthes discusses how the treatment of land is at the root of our housing crisis - with fair taxes on land value and investment in building affordable housing serving as the most obvious means of turning a current policy oversight into a logical solution. And James Hardwick notes that the accumulation of housing as a store of wealth prevents the people who need homes from finding them. 

Tuesday Night Cat Blogging

Extended cat.

Tuesday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Matthew Rosza discusses the growing recognition that there's little chance of holding to our one-time target of 1.5 degrees of global warming - and that it will take a radical change of course to limit the damage to 1.6. But New Scientist rightly argues that we should be doing everything within our power to avoid any more climate breakdown than is absolutely inevitable. And both Matthew Taylor and Adrien Plomteux discuss how a turn toward degrowth and focused resource allocation can both reduce the harm we're inflicting on our living environment, and produce far better outcomes for people. 

- Meanwhile, Taylor Noakes discusses how Imperial Oil has faced a laughably insignificant penalty for dumping millions of litres of contaminated waste from a tailings pond into the natural environment. 

- Dougald Lamont writes about Elon Musk's takeover of Twitter - noting that in addition to serving as a cautionary tale about fascist control over media, it also reflect the culture of debt-funded speculation as a substitute for actual economic development. 

- Finally, Andrew Ewing et al. examine the expert consensus on long COVID - even as the ongoing pandemic has been largely hidden from public notice. Jason Gale notes that the business of death is booming as a result of COVID-19, while Flannery Dean asks why we've accepted constant reinfection as our normal state of being. And Tina Reed discusses how contrived anti-vaccine messaging is now leaving American children exposed to numerous diseases which had previously been eradicated. 

Monday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Robert Rohde surveys yet another month of record-high temperatures from July 2024. And Richard Heinberg examines what a real energy transition would look like - including a meaningful effort to stop using energy unnecessarily as well as a shit to clean energy sources. 

- Jim Stanford points out that price controls can be one mechanism to ensure that corporate profiteering doesn't cut into the affordability of basic necessities. 

- But Jason Hickel writes about the main barrier to that effort, as our key economic decisions are made by capitalists acting unilaterally to keep up their resource profits rather than by any government or other structure with any meaningful capacity to determine and act in the public interest. And Prem Sikka likewise discusses how wealthy individuals and corporations have hijacked any democracy. 

- Linda McQuaig notes that Doug Ford is going far out of his way to ensure Ontarians don't know how factory farms are abusing animals. Jake Johnson discusses how the meat industry is yet another sector where corporate collusion and price-fixing are increasing the cost of living for consumers. And Sara Moniuszko and Meg Oliver report on new research showing that the majority of baby food sold in the U.S. falls short of WHO health standard. 

- Scott Martin discusses how Ford (and other premiers focused on harm maximization as policy) can only be seen as choosing a legacy of social murder. And David Climenhaga notes that Danielle Smith is adding gross cronyism to the mix, as anybody seeking addiction services in Alberta is required to disclose sensitive personal health information to a politically-connected provider. 

- Finally, Matt Motta and Kathryn Haglin find that the benefits of Alaska's basic income include greater use of primary and preventative health services.