Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Lesley Clark reports on the emergence of documents tying Exxon and its lobbying firm to the hacking of climate activists for the purpose of perpetuating decades of fraud on the public. Keith Stewart discusses the role Donald Trump, Pierre Poilievre and other petropoliticians play as enforcers for fossil fuel tycoons. And Brett McKay examines the timeline as to how coal lobbyists have controlled Alberta resource management policy in the face of consistent public and scientific opposition. 

- Meanwhile, David Climenhaga highlights how Danielle Smith is refusing to allow housing to be built in Jasper as anything other than a suburb which requires paving over part of a national park. And Lois Parshley notes that Donald Trump's obsession with Greenland fits with the apparent plans of his billionaire cronies to take over its natural resources. 

- Tax Justice UK argues that the threat billionaires pose to democracy and freedom can only be met by taxing them to ensure they can't exert financial dominance over the general public. And Seth Abramson discusses two recently-revealed letters which offer disturbing insight into Elon Musk's accumulation of both power and villainy. 

- Sarah Kendzior notes that while she and others have been warning of the corruption and disintegration of the U.S.' political and economic system, what ultimately matters most is taking action to change that course of events. Wajahat Ali discusses the need for a true political resistance to reinforce and focus the passion people have to preserve their country from an authoritarian regime. And Bruce McKenna and Jill O'Reilly point out that the most effective organizing needs to actually engage with people rather than merely marketing a political brand to them, while Will Stancil observes that U.S. Democrats have largely allowed a consultant class (relying on assumptions from a previous era) to purge that type of work from their party.  

- Finally, Cory Doctorow discusses the connection between monopoly positioning and the enshittification of social media services. And Ian Welsh notes that the degeneration of AI can be predicted based on the similar path followed by Google as a "state of nature" gave way to a system designed to manipulate users. 

Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Julia Conley reports on the continued accumulation of riches in the hands of a few, as the total wealth of billionaires has more than doubled worldwide over just the last 9 years. And Susan Riley points out that the right's supposed solution to economic anxiety will only make matters worse by diverting even more wealth upward. 

- The Hatchet discusses how price-fixing and profit-taking is the norm across the food supply chain - with manufacturers being no less guilty than major grocery chains. And Dustin Godfrey reports that independent grocers without the clout of a corporate conglomerate are struggling to survive the combination of supplier price increases and deep-pocketed competition.  

- Solarino Ho points out the inevitable consequences of putting housing in the hands of billion-dollar corporations who are both ruthless (to the point of collusion) in extracting the highest possible rent and fees, and utterly unconcerned with tenants' well-being. And Kathy Moreland writes that Doug Ford's plan to punish homeless people does nothing to help them. 

- Krista Carr discusses what the Libs' choice to exclude people receiving disability payments from their general rebate continues to say about erasure by design. 

- Alice Marwick writes that the concept of mainstream media is increasingly becoming obsolete, based on both the availability of viewpoint-driven sources (if currently tilted toward the right) and many people's decreased interest in accessing news as a separate category of content. And Andrew Potter muses about the implications of artificial intelligence being able to mimic any distinct or creative voice. 

- Ron Johnson highlights what cities lose when they purge bike infrastructure in favour of car-centric urban design. And Dan Sheehan calls out how American public space has long been set up to endanger pedestrians.  

- Finally, Catherine McKenna discusses her collaboration with the fossil fuel sector in what it pretended to be a commitment to long-term climate policy - as well as her subsequent realization (obvious though it seemed to some of us all along) that oil barons ultimately have no interest in being good-faith participants in averting climate disaster if it means the slightest haircut to their profit margins.  

Friday Afternoon Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Jillian Ambrose reports on a study showing that there's no reason to approve any new fossil fuel development to meet current demand forecasts - and every reason to reject new projects as they push us toward further climate breakdown. 

- Gordon McBean discusses the need to hold the oil and gas sector accountable for decades of lying about climate change. And Max Fawcett writes about the perpetual dishonesty of the dirty energy industry in misrepresenting scientific research - but as Amanda Follett Hosgood reports, the public is being punished for the release of findings of misleading advertising. 

- Meanwhile, Naveena Sadasivam reports on the dangerous quantities of methane being emitted by landfills. 

- Mariana Mazzucato weighs in on the immense waste of resources involved in using massive amounts of energy on AI data centres. And Asaf Tchazor et al. warn that inaccurate information in AI-generated agricultural advice could precipitate food shortages - though it's apparently not yet at the point of recommending Brawndo for irrigation purposes. 

- Dalmeet Singh Chawla reports on Japan's move to make all publicly-funded research subject to open access.

- Finally, Martin Lukacs writes about the class war pantomime which clouds any real discussion of wealth and power inequality in Canada - including the fact that the Cons' corporate backers know better than to take Pierre Poilievre's posturing seriously:

The establishment media, in turn, have either amplified his anti-corporate message, or reinforced it by bemoaning it. In the Toronto Star, Susan Delacourt tut-tutted about the unfortunate “demonization” of “big business” (before admitting she’s close buds with lobbyists).

They’ve thus let Poilievre wear his chosen mantle, despite all the contradictory evidence: nearly half his governing council are lobbyists, every other week he is hobnobbing and fundraising in their presence, and his main advisor owns not one but two lobby firms.

But he’s keeping up the schtick because it’s working. A few weeks ago, he continued the corporate bashing in an op-ed in the National Post, telling business leaders to “cancel your lunch meeting at the Rideau Club,” “fire your lobbyist,” and “go to the people.”

A rare journalist at iPolitics decided to solicit the view of lobbyists themselves.

“The entire public affairs community in Canada smiled knowingly reading that National Post article,” one veteran lobbyist said . “A government led by Pierre Poilievre with his ministers will absolutely continue to engage the way they have with corporate Canada.”

In other words, they got Poilievre’s message: rest assured, the circus is for the rabble.