Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Andrew Freedman reports on the extreme heat wave scorching the southwest U.S., while Costas Kantouris reports on Greece's unprecedented drought and water depletion. And Kang Jin-Yiu reports on South Korea's exceptionally hot summer, while Ian Livingston notes that Australia has seen summer temperatures exceeding 40 Celsius through what's supposed to be its winter season. 

- Josephine Lee interviews Greg Casar about the Biden administration's belated efforts to ensure workers have protection from extreme heat - while noting that it's an open question whether any rules will be allowed to take effect even next summer. And Shannon Waters offers a reminder of the health damage caused by wildfire smoke.  

- Hannah Daly suggests that we should treat carbon pollution like cigarette smoke in order to treat its reduction as a public health goal. But it's unfortunately far form clear that the corporate forces that be will allow the protection of public health to influence policy - as seen in Tess Finch-Less' plea to stop bullying people out of even the most basic of COVID-19 protection measures, and Julie Doubleday's comparison of the status quo to what an adequate response would look like. 

- Solomon Hughes discusses the cozy relationships between conscience-free corporate abusers and multiple brands of political party. Richard Murphy calls out neoliberalism as the key factor in the Grenfell disaster among other human catastrophes. And Adrienne Tanner highlights how nobody should trust the fakery of John Rustad and other avowed science denialists - even as British Columbia's business class has coalesced to try to install him in power. 

- Finally, Luke LeBrun reports on how the FBI's charges dealing with Tenet Media revealed Russian influence and funding behind dozens of alt-right propaganda videos in Canada. 

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Andrea Thompson reports on the record-breaking heat wave in the southwest U.S. as another stark example of a climate breakdown in progress. But Alex Crawford writes that while we've already done immense damage to our living environment, it isn't too late to limit how much more we inflict.  

- But Geoff Dembicki reports on how the oil industry has captured universities to ensure scientific research is aimed at perpetuating rather than ending carbon pollution, while Steve Rabey exposes Shell's funding of climate denialism through churches and propaganda mills. Jake Johnson notes that Texas has gone so far as to create a separate "business court" in order to ensure its corporate overlords are never subjected to justice. And Drew Anderson reports on the UCP's attempt to push energy regulators to lie about having been involved in Danielle Smith's decision to stop any renewable energy development. 

- Paul Willcocks points out how the business-backed B.C. Conservatives are engaged in a war against factual reporting patterned after that of U.S. Republicans. Thom Hartmann discusses how the U.S. has been overrun by bullies. And Parker Molloy laments that the U.S. media's response to being constantly trolled and gaslighted has been to "sanewash" the obviously-disqualifying utterings of Donald Trump and his acolytes. 

- Finally, Cory Doctorow points out that the same right-wing mouthpieces who constantly claim that people without resources are only lacking long-term planning and self-control are the same voices insisting that the wealthiest people can't be expected to give up a shred of instant profit or gratification to preserve a liveable society or planet. 

Wednesday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Andrew Nikiforuk discusses the immense economic and human cost of COVID-19 denial as another wave surges. And Matthew Frank et al. study how COVID produces lasting damage to the brain. 

- Robert Booth and Emine Sinmaz report on the findings of the UK's Grenfell inquiry, which find that the tragic fire was the result of systemic corporate dishonesty and government neglect. And Mo Amir discusses how B.C.'s government is failing to implement vacancy controls even while understanding they would benefit renters.

- Meanwhile, Myriam Durocher, Annika Walsh, Irena Knezevic and Madison Hynes discuss how charity isn't enough to eradicate food insecurity. 

- Ariel Silber reports on the less-than-surprising revelation that apps are listening in on users' smartphones without notice or consent in order to profit from the contents of their conversations. And Webb Wright reports on the FTC's study into "surveillance pricing" where unspecified personal information is used to present different prices to different consumers. 

- Kea Wilson discusses how the deaths of Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau are just an example of the traffic violence resulting from a transportation system designed to prioritize single-vehicle convenience over pedestrian and cyclist safety. And Coral Davenport highlights how the U.S. will need to update its infrastructure one way or another due to the use of materials which can't withstand a changed climate. 

- Finally, Susan Wright contrasts the importance of unions in social cohesion and development against the solidarity denialism of the UCP. And David Moscrop writes that the Cons and their allies remain hostile to workers - even as they try to pretend otherwise. 

Tuesday Night Cat Blogging

Cuddled cat.

Tuesday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Tyne Logan examines how people react to the extreme heat which is becoming increasingly common. David Bowman discusses why we can no longer pretend that formerly "normal" temperatures will be seen again in our lifetimes. And Denise Chow notes that even the hardiest of desert-adapted plants are struggling to survive the climate breakdown. 

- Kenny Mendoza et al. study the effects of ultra-processed foods, and find a connections to cardiovascular disease. And Hiroko Tabuchi reports on the dumping of forever chemicals into the food chain via wastewater sludge which is used as a fertilizer. 

- Bronwyn Bragg and Jennifer Hyndman discuss how low wages are at the root of the problems with Canada's meat processing industry. And Janet Andrews and Stephen von Sychowski offer a reminder that workers have the power to build a brighter future by organizing, while Mick Lynch discusses the depths the corporate class will sink to in trying to prevent that from happening. 

- In a similar vein, David Moscrop interviews Jim Stanford about the uber-rich's angry and manipulative response to paying a slightly more share of the cost of a functional society. Anne Applebaum writes that kleptocrats aren't merely stealing money, but also trying to destroy any democratic means of furthering the public interest. And Rowan Moore discusses how the UK's Grenfell inquiry exposes the contempt of the wealthy few for the lives of everybody else. 

- Finally, Sheena Goodyear discusses Carol Off's work to reclaim the concept of freedom as a positive goal based on the ability to make meaningful decisions, rather than a cover for hate and exploitation.