Musical interlude

Bryan Adams - We're Gonna Win

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Shiri Pasternak examines the history of enemies lists as a mechanism to oppress minority groups and stifle dissent. And Adam Serwer distinguishes between cowardice which is at least based on genuine fear, and the chickenshit elites who are eager to sell out to fascists to avoid the slightest inconvenience. 

- Rachel Abrams talks to Eric Lipton about the corruption involved in the Trump regime's sellout of U.S. tech policy. And Kate Niederhoffer et al. discuss how AI "workslop" is trashing productivity, while Victor Tangerman writes about new research showing that the excess power consumption from AI is even worse than anticipated as longer and more complex requests give rise to increased incremental energy usage.

- Julia Conley discusses a new report showing how a small group of fossil fuel producers (including Canada) are planning dirty energy expansion which on its own will place existing climate commitments out of reach. And John Woodside reports on Catherine McKenna's warning that we can't trust the oil industry to live up to its climate promises. 

- Finally, Arthur Bledson points out how remote communities are increasingly turning to renewable energy as both a more affordable and more secure option than clinging to a fossil fuel addiction. And Patrick Commins reports on a new study showing that Australia's power costs would be soaring if it had limited itself to dirty energy. 

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Noah Berlatsky discusses the Trump regime's policy of wanton violence and murder. And Choe Sang-Hun reports on the recognition by South Korean workers caught in a recent ICE raid that the U.S. is no safe place to work, while Wired tells the stories of federal workers who were caught in DOGE's purge of the public service. 

- Greg Sargent writes that ABC's about-face over Jimmy Kimmel has exposed the lack of public support for the Trump regime's culture war. And Paul Krugman expresses some hope that others facing similarly arbitary demands from the MAGA government will push back sooner and allow the U.S. to avoid the fate of states that lost all independent media to authoritarian regimes. 

- But then, Lord Foulkes notes that the UK's media is still treating its hard-right party with kid gloves and legitimizing its message of hate in the process. And Stephen Maher writes about the need for Canada to prevent alt-right grooming from turning into political violence. 

- Thor Benson discusses how China is taking what looks to be an insurmountable lead over the U.S. in developing and deploying clean energy. And Andrew Freedman reports on Climate TRACE's work allowing people to trace responsibility for air pollution (which confirms the disproportionate role of a few corporate super polluters in spewing harmful substances). 

- Finally, Melissa Heikkilä, Chris Cook and Clara Murray report on the glaring lack of substance behind most corporate spin about AI. But Anja Karadeglija reports that the Libs remain determined to bank on AI as a panacea.

Wednesday Night Cat Blogging

Naptime cat.

Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Jonathan Watts highlights how the global right is pushing extremes in both climate damage and reactonary politics. Jamelle Bouie discusses how the Trump regime is looking to destroy any principle of deliberative government. Robert Reich notes that Disney's about-face in returning Jimmy Kimmel to the airwaves shows that people do have some power to keep corporations from collaboration with fascists - but Luke Savage writes that we can't count on corporate self-interest to protect democracy and human rights. 

- Meanwhile, Hamilton Nolan rightly argues that there's nothing an individual can buy for a billion dollars that should be available for individual purchase in the first place - making the accumulation of further wealth little more than a direct assault on society as a whole. And Jean-Paul Bureaud calls out Canada's provinces other than Quebec for failing to create financial fraud compensation funds to protect individuals from corporate malfeasance. 

- Charlie Angus discusses the meaning of "elbows up" as a statement of collective determination and defence (which isn't about to end no matter how much MAGA complains that other countries should bow to its king). 

- Finally, there's plenty of good news as to new medical breakthroughs to the extent they reach people - with Kat Lay reporting on the potential for an HIV vaccine to end the global epidemic, Amber Carlson reporting on a more stable rabies vaccine which could reduce a death toll of tens of thousands of people each year, and James Gallagher reporting on the first successful treatment for Huntington's disease through gene therapy. But Olivia Bowden writes about the Libs' stalled implementation of pharmacare, particularly as Mark Carney has chosen not to bother following through with ensuring people have the medicine they need. 

Tuesday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Jared Yates Sexton writes about the Trump administration's attacks on reality and truth. Marisa Kabas laments the fact that the U.S. is deteriorating faster and in more ways than it's realistically possible to track even absent the harm being done to its information environment. And about the best available reason for hope is to note, as Agent Nkrumah does, that the Trump Republicans are running scared. 

- Scott Galloway writes about the rise of violence entrepreneurs as part of the MAGA propaganda machine. And Olufemi Taiwo discusses the need for shame as part of any functional social system - even as the Trump regime looks to purge anything of the sort (with far too much assistance from the corporate media). 

- Susan Delacourt reports on new polling showing that Canadians quite rightly don't see any point in negotiating a trade agreement with a regime which can't be trusted to honour it. 

- Erin Sikorsky discusses how the U.S.' war on climate action will leave it at a disadvantage as the global economy shifts toward clean energy. David Wallace-Wells offers a reminder that attacks on climate policy have had harmful effects around the globe. And John Woodside reports that environmental groups are being shut out of any direct interaction with a Carney government which is only interested in catering to CEOs. 

- Andrew Nikiforuk notes that spin about nuclear power serves mostly to delay a clean energy transition (and commit massive amounts of money to an inefficient, non-renewable energy source). And Adam Thorn writes about the importance of using public policy to foster a move toward electric vehicles. 

- Finally, Ryan Cooper reports on the success of Greenland's state companies in both providing employment and generating public returns as an example for other jurisdictions to follow. 

Monday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Nikki McCann Ramirez examines Mike Duncan's take on how the U.S.' current position fits into the historical collapses of empires. Gary Engler offers a checklist to determine when a country has shifted from authoritarianism to fascism, while Andy Craig writes about the Trump regime's censorship binge in an attempt to squelch all opposing or dissenting voices. And Gil Duran discusses the alternative interpretations of Trump's abuses - which may reflect either dangerous steps toward the end of democracy, or desperate attempts to avoid the real consequences of public disapproval. 

- Alan Elrod rightly notes (with particular reference to the kidnapping of firefighters working to contain dangerous wildfires) that the Trump regime is seeking out virtue for the specific purpose of eradicating it in favour of absolute corruption and violence. And Jonathan Liew asks what the endgame is for politicians of any stripe seeking to use anti-immigrant messaging. 

- Adrienne Matei writes about the role of women in strongman regimes. And Noami Beinart writes about the increasing pressure being placed on U.S. girls to acquiesce in their own subjugation. 

- Alastair Marsh discusses how China has taken what may be an insurmountable lead in developing clean energy and battery technology - as decades of being told we have to focus on dirty energy have left us unable to contribute to the cleaner economy that's developing. Jespen Brun Petersen discusses new research on the interplay between solar panels and crops, even as Bharat Dogra writes about the harm wealthy countries have caused to the world's food production system. 

- Anton Nilsson et al. write about Google's plan to "rent its enemies" in order to ensure nobody regulates its monopoly activities. But Steven Levy points out that tech giants who thought they could avoid the dangers of the Trump regime are rapidly finding out otherwise. 

- Finally, Adam King offers a reminder that unions improve well-being for everybody, not only for their own members. And Adam Gabbatt writes about the elite class solidarity which has billionaires and landlords assembling their riches and influence to avoid even the slightest hint of redistribution of wealth or power.