Musical interlude

deadmau5 - Ameonna

Friday Afternoon Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Noah Berlatsky writes about the dangers of treating the existence of marginalized groups - rather than the bigots seeking to dehumanize them - as the primary barrier to solidarity and unity. Ashifa Kassam reports on Olivier De Schutter's warning that a shredded social safety net has fuelled the rise of right-wing hate. And Geoffrey Johnston discusses how a deliberately-constructed manosphere has caused misogyny to spread, while Stacey Abrams and Esosa Osa call out the Trump regime's targeting of Black history for erasure.  

- Blayne Haggart discusses how Mark Carney is failing to recognize the threat posed by the Trump regime even if one (questionably) gives him the benefit of the doubt as to who he's trying to serve. And Karyn Pugliese writes about Carney's thoroughly scripted plan to inflict austerity on everybody other than capitalists, who are being singled out for preferential treatment. 

- Fiona Harvey reports on the recommendation from a group of retired military leaders that investment in renewable energy should be treated as defence funding - offering an interesting opportunity to meet otherwise arbitrary defence spending targets in a way which actually results in long-term security. Isaac Phan Nay talks to Lin Al-Akkad about the options available to help workers through a green transition.  And Silas Xuereb examines how the current practice of shovelling public money toward dirty energy is doing nothing but exporting profits from Canadian resources to U.S. owners. 

- Finally, Peter MacLeod argues that the most important nation-building project Canada can pursue is the renewal of democratic engagement as a substitute for insider politics. 

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Don Moynihan discusses how the systematic erosion of American democracy includes the elimination of the belief among Republicans that the public service should be qualified and non-partisan rather than controlled from on high for political purposes. And Jonathan Last writes about the needed response to a ruling party which has jettisoned morality and ethics in favour of an unfettered will to power. 

- Zain Haq argues that the climate crisis is also a product of moral corruption (encouraged by the people whose wealth and power derives from harming others). Paul Palmer and Liang Feng discuss the record-breaking carbon dioxide readings being delivered by a NASA satellite which may soon succumb to the Trump war on reality. Oliver Milman reports on a new study finding the U.S. suffered record climate damage this year. And James Murray weighs in on the latest State of Climate Action report which shows humanity falling short of combating a climte breakdown by every possible standard. 

- Meanwhile, the State of Global Air 2025 report finds that the death toll from air pollution continues to be in the high seven figures, while over a third of the world's population is exposed to excessive pollution levels. 

- Paul Mozur, Adam Satariano and Emiliano Rodríguez Mega report on the justified public backlash against AI data facilities which are gobbling up desperately-needed water and power supplies at the expense of public health and well-being. And Caroline Haskins reports on some of the complaints people have made to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission about the direct harms caused by AI.

- Finally, Julia Lurie reports on the latest examples of Amazon's abuse of employees - including its driving a pregnant worker to homelessness by refusing to accommodate her with a place to sit. 

Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Garrett Graff writes about the importance of good character as the ultimate check on the abuse of power - even as the Trump regime looks to purge anything of the sort. And Bruce Arthur notes that Pierre Poilievre's inability to act as anything but an arsonist is starting (at long last) to be seen as a liability both within his party and in the broader political scene. 

- Simon Nixon highlights how China is taking control over global supplies of critical minerals - with a boost from Trump's flailing trade policies. Steff Chavez and Antoine Gara report that the regime's response has been to try to cut shady deals with big capital. Jon Shell warns that the Carney Libs' approval of the debt-financed U.S. takeover of a major refiner and gas supplier signals that they're entirely willing to play along. And Tammy Robert writes about the capital takeover of Saskatchewan farmland - and the Saskatchewan Party's role in undermining any attempt to monitor, let alone manage, foreign and private ownership. 

- Ben Casselman and Colby Smith report on the chasm between higher-income Americans with absurd amounts of money to spend, and an increasingly desperate working class. Matt Egan and Chris Isidore report on new data showing a surge in defaults on subprime car loans as a leading indicator of an economy about to collapse. 

- Meanwhile, Greg Ryan reports that Massachusetts' wealth tax continues to bring in even more revenue than projected - confirming that more progressive tax policy can produce far more fair outcomes. And  in another example of the options to align revenue generation with intrinsically desirable policy, Graham Redfearn notes that Australia is looking at ensuring that companies can't profit from breaking environmental laws. 

- Systems Change Lab examines the state of climate action - finding that while there's been some work done with measurable impacts, the overall picture is one of a grossly insufficient response to a well-known crisis. 

- Finally, the University of Leeds discusses new research showing how UK children are dying as a result of poverty. And Zoe Grunewald rightly calls for the Labour government to prioritize children's well-being over an ideological commitment to austerity. 

Tuesday Night Cat Blogging

Comfy cat. 

Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Paul Krugman writes about the dangers of a mad king taking more and more extreme steps to insulate himself from any trace of inconvenient reality, while Sarah Kendzior notes that the Trump regime is developing a pattern of inventing enemies out of whole cloth in order to excuse rights violations up to and including summary executions. And Joe Wilkins and Jon Christian highlight a similar issue with Peter Thiel’s rapid journey down an apocalyptic rabbit hole. 

- Meanwhile, Charlie Warzel discusses how AI is an invasive species which is rapidly taking over our information ecosystem. 

- Adam Serwer writes about the anti-woke taxes Americans (among others) are paying in the form of environmental destruction and associated health consequences. And Julia Shaw examines the prospect of treating environmental crime as seriously as other direct threats to life and health. 

- Finally, Julia Doubleday highlights the folly of treating masking and other basic disease control steps as unreasonable. The University of Florida studies the effects of COVID-19 vaccines in helping to shield against liver cancer. And Ben Clark discusses the converse effect, that COVID itself can both stimulate and exacerbate the growth of cancer cells.