Thursday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Sabina Vohra-Miller discusses the ample body of research showing how COVID-19 vaccinations produce superior health outcomes in the course of a pregnancy. And Nature examines the limited effectiveness of rapid tests in identifying asymptomatic cases (which are responsible for half of COVID transmission). 

- Katharine Sanderson comments on a new study showing how plastic debris is reaching the most remote depths of the ocean. And Guy Standing writes about the extractivists planning to shift from polluting the depths to mining them with no regard for the resulting harms. 

- Meanwhile, Harrison Tasoff discusses how forests can't adapt quickly enough to keep up with the current pace of climate breakdown. 

- Carly Weeks reports on the push from health care advocacy organizations to get premiers to follow through on their rhetoric about health care - as to date not a single one has been willing to commit to evidence-based improvements in order to access federal funding. 

- Finally, Brian Fung reports on the widespread and illegal sharing of data from U.S. tax preparation providers, who disclosed sensitive personal information to social media giants for their advertising purposes. And Darryl Greer reports that the federal government's reflexive distrust of CERB recipients has given rise to a flurry of court proceedings where people have proven their entitlement to benefits. 

Wednesday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Heidi Ledford discusses new research which is helping to identify genetic risk factors for long COVID - though the fact that new COVID-19 variants are being allowed to run wild while that work is in its infancy means that people will be exposed to readily-avoidable suffering. Jennifer La Grassa and Lauren Pelley reports on the National Advisory Committee on Immunization's recommendation that Canadians continue to be vaccinated. But the announcement that university-based wastewater monitoring is being abandoned - leaving any continued reporting to politically-controlled bodies which have shown they're more interested in normalizing transmission than protecting public health - makes it all too likely that Saskatchewan residents will fail to do what they can and should to protect their communities. 

- Patrick Rail interviews Armine Yalnizyan about the grim reality that the Bank of Canada is looking to raise interest rates for the sole purpose of causing pain to the general public. 

- Arielle Samuelson and Emily Atkin write about the oil companies laughing all the way to the bank while the world burns due to the use of their products. Melissa Rossi discusses the eminently-desirable principle underlying 15-minute cities which has been subjected to ritual denunciation as a fossil fuel propaganda point. And Rosa Saba reports on the work being done to turn the availability of outdoor patio space into a normal expectation rather than a perceived aberration. 

- Finally, Cory Doctorow discusses how U.S. Democrats shut off their greatest grassroots operation in modern history in favour of governance by triangulating establishmentarians - and how the result has been predictably disastrous both in terms of electoral outcomes and policy effects. 

Tuesday Night Cat Blogging

Cats with friends.

Tuesday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Joseph Puthussery et al. study the feasibility of real-time, location-based air sampling to identify the presence of COVID-19, while Jennifer La Grassa reports on the efforts of scientists to ensure the powers that be don't scrap what few remaining monitoring efforts are still in progress. And The Japan News' editorial implores that country's government not to stop preventative measures after a ninth wave - which is striking particularly due to our abandonment of any pretense of identifying waves as they keep happening. 

- Meanwhile, Patrick Heuveline discusses how the COVID pandemic has only exacerbated the U.S.' disproportionate number of excess deaths compared to other similarly wealthy countries. And Harold Meyerson writes about the recent increase in lower-income earnings which the corporate sector is determined to squelch.

- Hayatullah Amanat reports on a new survey showing the large number of Canadians losing sleep and suffering adverse health effects from financial worries. And Vanessa Balintec highlights why more needs to be done to ensure that people aren't trapped in precarious work without rights or recourse against abusive corporations. 

- Finally, Bill McKibben argues that a wave of unprecedented heat should confirm that we can't afford to put off urgent climate policy. But while Natasha Bulowski reports on research showing that the same oil industry which is determined to keep spewing carbon pollution could afford to clean up its messes, Markham Hislop calls out its unconscionable refusal to do anything but force the public to pick up the tab. 

Sunday Morning Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- Claire Pomeroy writes that the establishment's refusal to stop the transmission of COVID-19 has created a desperate need to account for the widespread disability it's causing. But Brody Langager reports that in Saskatchewan, a non-profit's website is instead serving as the closest patients have to a central source of information as the Moe government continues not to care about public health.

- Carol Hughes makes the case for a windfall tax on grocery profits which have been extracted by self-serving oligarchs under the false cover of claimed inflation. And D.T. Cochrane notes that the Competition Bureau's recent report only strengthens the argument.

- Sheila Block and Grace-Edward Galabuzi highlight how shifts in Ontario's workforce have exacerbated racial inequalities.

- Erika Shaker calls out the dog-whistle of "parental choice" as an excuse to reinforce inequalities of privilege and power. And Noah Fry warns that Blaine Higgs is using a bland public image to divert attention from an anti-social agenda no less extreme than that of Danielle Smith.

- Finally, Luke Savage discusses how Toronto's election of Olivia Chow as mayor provided a needed rebuke to the austerian corporate forces which had previously dominated the city.

Musical interlude

Ten Sharp - You

Friday Afternoon Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Emma Goldberg et al. study how the end of COVID-19 protections in China predictably gave rise to a swift and extensive outbreak. And Michelle Gamage reports on the push to ensure kids in British Columbia schools aren't avoidably exposed this fall, while Mark Lieberman discusses the reality that schools are among the many workplaces still reeling from the lasting effects of long COVID on workers. 

- Sascha Pare and Carolyn Gramling each report on the unprecedented melting of Antarctic sea ice among the ubiquitous indicators of a climate breakdown in process. And Stacey Priestley, Andy Baker and Pauline Treble write about the exhaustion of western Australian groundwater as a product of climate change. 

- Gamage also reports on updates to the Canadian Environmental Protection Act - while noting that it still falls short of addressing the long-term effects of historical pollution and environmental racism. 

- Oliver Milman exposes the "double agent" lobbyists who are simultaneously representing the carbon pollution industry and clients seeking to claim to be climate-friendly.

- Finally, Denis Campbell discusses how the UK Cons have locked the National Health Service into a death spiral of eroding care due to their hostility toward public employees - and the parallels to most Canadian provinces are painfully obvious. 

Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Jessica Wong et al. study the risk of hospitalization and death from  the Omicron strain of COVID-19, and conclude (contrary to the spin of denialist governments) that it was just as severe as the original version. And Lindsey Wang et al. find (PDF) that prior COVID infection can be traced to more severe respiratory infections among children in 2022. 

- Meanwhile, Alexander Rabin and Lisa Patel point out how children are particularly susceptible to damage from wildfire smoke. And Carly Weeks examines how inadequate pediatric care can have long-term consequences for any child whose health isn't treated as worth prioritizing. 

- Lydia DePillis comments that contrary to the spin of fossil fuel shills and science denialists, a climate breakdown has severe consequences for Canada. David Shearman discusses the climate grief we can expect as the breakdown becomes more obvious and less avoidable. And Madeleine Cuff writes about the consecutive days of record-breaking global heat this week.  

- Carl Meyer reports that the tar sands operators who have been trying to put on a veneer of interest in climate solutions have in fact been lobbying to tear them down at every opportunity. 

- Finally, Emily Leedham exposes the connections between socon groups seeking to take both the U.S. and Canada back to the dark ages. And Susan Delacourt rightly points out that the real threat of foreign interference comes from the Cons' U.S. puppet-masters looking to impose bigotry and theocracy in Canada. 

Tuesday Night Cat Blogging

Cats into everything.

Tuesday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Jerry White discusses how the wealthiest few have continued to amass obscene riches in the first half of 2023 despite occasional rumblings about requiring them to contribute to the common good. 

- Paul Fauteux points out that fossil fuel pushers have used trade agreements to block measures to subordinate any attempt to combat climate change to their insistence on using the atmosphere as a carbon dumping ground in the name of extracting profits. AFP reports on research showing that the growing list of risks underestimated in current climate assumptions includes the potential for severe and widespread harvest failures. And Adam McKay highlights the reasons not to let minimizers and denialists claim that the appropriate response to existential risk is to calm down and keep up the status quo. 

- Jim Mandeville discusses the widespread support among Canadians for communities which are more resilient to climate risks. And Henry Grabar points out that communities built around people rather than cars and suburbs produce both an improved local standard of living and a lower carbon footprint. 

- Ned Carter Miles reports on the accidental discovery of a process to generate electricity from humidity in the air. 

- Finally, Ashna Hurynag reports on the British Medical Association's recognition that a large number of doctors are unable to carry their normal workloads due to the lingering effects of long COVID. Which naturally means the UK Con government is laser-focused on ensuring that migrant children don't have a single moment of joy while being treated as chattel. 

Sunday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- Seth Borenstein writes that we shouldn't treat constant wildfires as an exceptional event since we can expect them to be the norm for decades to come. The Straits Times reports that the wildfires are both a consequence and cause of climate disaster, as they're spewing higher amounts of carbon pollution than ever recorded. And Matthew Rosza writes that there's no end in sight to either the fires, or the smoke they're spreading across the continent.

- Meanwhile, Andreas Sieber points out that it's readily possible to finance a just transition by charging fossil fuel magnates a fraction of the costs they're imposing on the planet. But Jody MacPherson discusses how Danielle Smith's UCP continues to want to exacerbate the damage of carbon pollution - and avoid any move to a cleaner or more sustainable economy - for as long as possible. 

- Pete Evans reports on the findings of Canada's Competition Bureau that the grocery industry is indeed made up of a small number of corporations with inordinate power to fix prices and extract profits - however obvious that already seemed to everybody whose paycheque doesn't depend on pretending otherwise.

- Finally, Rupert Neate reports on the warning from Patriotic Millionaires UK to uber-wealthy people at an investment conference that their extraction of riches is destabilizing society at large - though I wouldn't hold out much hope the result will be anything other than an increase in the amount of money spent trying to distance the rich from the rest of us.

Musical interlude

Manuel Riva feat. Misha Miller - Wild Young Heart

Friday Afternoon Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Richard Murphy points out the stark contrast between the UK Cons' attempt to pretend that the COVID-19 pandemic is over, and the tens of thousands of excess deaths still resulting from it. Mary Van Beusekom discusses a new study showing that Ontario's infection levels were likely 19 times higher than reported at the peak of the Omicron wave. And Kai Kupferschmidt interviews new WHO chief scientist Jeremy Farrar about the multiple global public health challenges which demand action (even if governments prefer to ignore and minimize them). 

- Alex Himelfarb warns against prematurely declaring the death of neoliberalism when it still serves as the default ideology underlying our society despite its unpopularity. And Brooke Kruger reports on the Saskatoon Food Bank's observation that people are increasingly reliant on it to ensure a source of food (even as Scott Moe continues to pretend that everyone's doing just fine). 

- Niels-Jakob Hansen, Frederik Toscani and Jing Zhou discuss how corporate profiteering is the main driver of ongoing inflation in Europe. And Isaac Callan and Colin D'Mello report on the flood of corporate lobbying as businesses look to take over health care services in Ontario. 

- Robin McKie discusses Bill McGuire's conclusion that we're past the point of averting some level of climate breakdown - though it's still vital to do what we can to reverse the damage. And Moran Cerf, Sandra Matz and Malcolm MacIver find that people who participate in prediction markets (and thus have a reason to pay close attention to climate issues) are more concerned about the climate. But Carbon Brief reports on the Climate Change Committee's recognition that the UK government is falling ever further behind its climate commitments, while Reuters reports on CDP's research showing the same to be predictably true for fossil fuel giants. And Taylor Noakes offers a reminder that hydrogen fuels and carbon capture and storage serve more as delay tactics for carbon polluters than as remotely useful solutions. 

- Finally, Kelly Kimball discusses how existing wildfire models are being overtaken by the reality of far more severe fires. And news.com.au reports on the immense tracts of tropical forest being lost both to fire and to deforestation.  

Thursday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Jessica Wildfire writes about the desperation to return to some past normal (stoked of course by the people who profit from it) which is leading far too many to take obviously reckless risks with their health in the midst of a pandemic. And Kevin Jiang points out that it isn't only people's lungs being harmed by wildfire smoke, as "smoke brain" is also resulting in devastating health impacts. 

- John Timmer discusses the contradiction between the U.S. public's general desire for action to avert a climate breakdown, and its disapproval of many of the steps needed to get there. And Ryan Cooper points out that the car culture which dominates development patterns in the U.S. and Canada can only be seen as a death cult. 

- Matt Stoller and David Dayen comment on the urgent need to move past neoliberalism as its harm to the bulk of the population becomes inescapable. And Chris capper Liebenthal writes that the destruction of the Titan submersible (and the deaths of its occupants) can be traced entirely to laissez-faire capitalism run amok. 

- Finally, Phil Paine discusses how an educated and active populace is vital to democratic governance. Which should mean it's little surprise that the right is pushing to expand the use of child labour - both to undermine the bargaining power of workers, and to reduce the prospect that citizens will be sufficiently informed and engaged to exercise their franchise effectively. 

Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Michael Marshall discusses the growing body of knowledge about the persistence of long COVID - with people still suffering symptoms after a year tending to suffer from it as a chronic condition thereafter, and no effective treatment available once long COVID sets in. And the UN points out new research indicating that 36 million people in Europe alone may have experienced long COVID, while Erin Durkin writes about the choice of New York (and many other jurisdictions) to effectively abandon the patients suffering from it.  

- Jing-Xin Li et al. find that a nasal vaccine is both safe and effective to boost COVID immunity. And Richa Naidu reports on the potential for air sanitizing spray to offer some defence against airborne pathogens - though as others have pointed out, that shouldn't be taken as an excuse for failing to work on improved ventilation and other air safety improvements. 

- Fabio Falchi and Salvador Bara study how light pollution has been continually worsening over the past dozen years.

- Jillian Ambrose reports on the Energy Institute's analysis showing that carbon pollution from fossil fuels continues to rise. Emily Wilmsen discusses the reality that even if we achieve a "net zero" emissions target, we'd still see temperatures continue to rise for a decade or more due to the damage already done to our planet. 

- Stefan Labbé reports on the grim reality that Canada has already experienced its worst year for wildfires in recorded history before the normal wildfire season even begins, while Drew Anderson examines the multiple causes of the fires. And Natasha White and Zahra Hirji report on the damage the fires have done to one British Columbia carbon offset project, wiping out what's supposed to be work to reverse the damage from carbon emissions and replacing it with further harm. 

- Clive Thompson notes that subsidizing e-bikes has proven to be a popular and effective way to rein in at least one source of greenhouse gas emissions. And Gaurab Basu and Jonathan Jay point out that "greening" efforts for cities also have the benefit of helping to remediate existing inequalities. 

- Finally, John Michael McGrath offers best wishes to Olivia Chow in winning Toronto's mayoralty - but also a warning that she may be pushed off a glass cliff due to the wreckage left behind by JOhn Tory and his Con co-conspirators. 

Tuesday Night Cat Blogging

Sociable cats.

Tuesday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Henrietta Cook reports on new data as to the number of people dying in hospitals as a result of the spread of COVID-19, while Adam Rowe reports on the CDC's recognition that COVID's human toll is paired with serious economic damage. And Sophie Rosenblum and Michael Bailey ask why we haven't even applied the pandemic's obvious lessons about the importance of air filtration in schools. 

- Meanwhile, Emily Baumgaertner explores how noise exposure can cause substantial harm to public health. And Chris Hatch discusses how oil barons have effectively trapped humanity in a hot car - even as they continue to demand ritual shows of fealty to their power to endanger us all. 

- Niigaan Sinclair discusses the high cost of austerity in the PCs' Manitoba. And Michael Marmot points out the outright decline in child height and other measures of public health and development to demonstrate the wide-ranging effects of austerity in the UK. 

- Steve Morgan and Nav Persaud make the case for a publicly-funded essential medicines program to make needed medications both freely available and less expensive. 

- Finally, Joseph Stiglitz and Tommaso Faccio write about the much-needed steps by some countries to take minimum corporate tax levels into their own hands as a compromised global process appears to have stalled. 

Monday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- John Dearing, Gregory Cooper and Simon Willcock discuss the doom loop which is seeing worse-than-predicted effects of the climate breakdown resulting in vicious cycles of ecosystem collapse. J. Besl writes about new research showing that coastal flooding may be faster and more severe than anticipated due to inaccurate measurements of coastlines. And Jan Olsen reports on the warning from the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control that mosquito-borne diseases will become more prevalent as the planet warms. 

- Meanwhile, Inayat Singh reports on the Canada Energy Regulator's conclusion that fossil fuel expansion is incompatible with any effort to meet existing climate commitments. 

- Luke LeBrun and Mitchell Thompson expose how the Con-connected Civitas invited well-known bigots to attack trans people at a secret conference session. And Moira Donegan discusses how women in the U.S. are suffering as a result of social conservatives getting their way in stripping away reproductive rights. 

- Finally, Cory Doctorow's York University commencement speech emphasized the need to reject the establishment admonition that there is no alternative, and instead work on building something better than what serves its entrenched interests. 

Musical interlude

Elderbrook - Talking

Friday Afternoon Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Steve Turton writes about the dangers of global temperatures which were far exceeding recorded highs even before the start of an El Nino cycle. And Denise Chow reports on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's warning that a spike in ocean temperature will likely linger through most of 2023 at least. 

- Laurie Parsons points out how heat waves and other extreme weather events exacerbate existing inequalities. Paul Brown discusses how urban microclimates can exacerbate dangerous temperatures and winds, while Blaine Friedlander reports on new research showing how wildfire smoke endangers the health and lives of people downwind. And Neha Wadekar highlights how women in particular bear a disproportionate share of the costs and burdens of a climate breakdown.  

- Nigaan Sinclair and Sean Carleton write about the residential school denialism industry (with the full participation of the racist right) which is constantly on the lookout to undermine any recognition and acknowledgment of a genocidal legacy. 

- Finally, Fahad Razak and Angela Cheung discuss the desperate need for Canada to develop a long-COVID strategy - even as the ongoing mass infection giving rise to a steady stream of cases is being systematically ignored. 

Thursday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Dan Rather and Elliot Kirschner discuss how even crucial advances like vaccines are under threat due to the ruthlessly persistent anti-science message being used to excuse continuing disregard for human health. And Jonathan Watts reports on new research showing that we're reaching dangerous climate tipping points faster than previously predicted as the cumulative impact of multiple factors alters our living environment beyond recognition. 

- Umair Haque discusses why we're continuing to stoke an addiction to fossil fuels even as we're experiencing the direct effects of a climate breakdown. But Dharna Noor reports on the prominent role of dirty energy money in fighting against any prospect that corporations could even be permitted to consider environmental or social factors in making decisions.

- Meanwhile, in advance of the COP28 climate conference, leaders from around the world have agreed to statements on the importance of an equitable green transition and a financial architecture which properly accounts for climate costs and risks. But it remains to be seen whether that theoretical recognition will be translated into any action - or whether oil barons will be allowed to dictate the terms of engagement yet again. 

- Matthew Taylor reports on new research showing that most people will be just as well off if we recognize that fossil fuel assets will eventually be stranded - meaning that those fighting to ensure they're exploited are doing so solely for the benefit of their already-wealthy cronies. 

- Kartikay Mehrotra and A.C. Thompson expose how lobbyists from the trucking industry have kept pedestrians and cyclists at increased risk by fighting regulations to mandate the use of side guards - with the assistance of regulators who stifled a recommendation that they be required. 

- Ellis Simani and Robert Faturechi report on the convenient timing that's seen executives and insiders clean up in trading U.S. biotech and health care stocks. 

- Finally, Iglika Ivanova and Jim Stanford discuss how British Columbia (and other jurisdictions) can better protect gig workers from corporations whose sole business plan is to evade worker protections and rights. 

Wednesday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Mitchell Beer writes about the Canada Energy Regulator's recognition that the future will involve far less fossil fuel use than the oil industry and its spokespuppets want us to believe. And Marc Fawcett-Atkinson discusses how biomethane is just another distraction intended to turn the focus away from actual solutions. 

- Rob Thubron reports on Antonio Guterres' latest warning that continued dependence on fossil fuels is incompatible with a liveable planet, while Fiona Harvey reports on Avinash Persaud's call for far more support for developing countries facing the brunt of the damage of a climate breakdown so far. And Yale Climate Connections points out that there's strong public support for strong action to stop carbon pollution - even as people demanding action wrongly believe they're in the minority due to the cacophony of paid fossil fuel shills dominating any public discussion. 

- Tina Reed discusses how scientists seeking to provide people with accurate information within their disciplines are being harassed off of Twitter (and out of other public spaces) as the violent, anti-knowledge right is being deliberately legitimized by wealthy conservatives. And Cory Doctorow writes about the importance of presenting and defending an alternative to the corporatism and fascism - rather than presuming that the only option is to compromise on everything while satisfying nobody. 

- Omar Mosleh reports on Barrie's appalling proposal to outlaw any assistance to unhoused people. And Clara Pasieka reports on the movement pushing back against that naked cruelty. 

- Finally, Michael Sainato reports on the tens of billions of dollars being stolen from workers by employers every year in the U.S.

Tuesday Night Cat Blogging

Outstretched cats.

Tuesday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Nippon.com discusses a new survey indicating that a large majority of people in Japan continue to mask regularly to protect their own health and that of others. But Richard Woodbury reports that Nova Scotia (like other Canadian jurisdictions) is seeing significant unexplained excess mortality now that it's stopped making any effort to limit or track the spread of COVID-19. 

- Martha Bailey et al. study how investments in the social safety net pay for themselves dozens of times over. But Patrick Butler discusses how the UK has chosen to provide minimal cost of living supports which fall far short of providing a stable financial base. And Michael Casey and R.J. Rico write about the escalating rate of evictions in the U.S. as landlords push people out of their homes to pursue higher rents.  

- Tzeporah Berman highlights how the oil sector is the arsonist responsible for setting much of Canada on fire. Luke Barratt discusses how existing carbon offsets are generally fictitious rather than representing any true reduction in carbon pollution. And Jamie Swift writes about the need for a political movement to work on averting a climate breakdown. 

- Florian Dietrich et al. find that the climate harm caused by fossil gas is far more severe than assumed in existing policies. And Zoë Yunker examines how one carbon-fueled disaster can cause another, particularly as fires make land more vulnerable to flooding. 

- Finally, Andrew Hawthorn rightly argues that "thinking of the children" shouldn't be taken as an excuse for bigotry or violence. And Jae Puckett points out how the anti-social right's attacks on LGBTQ+ people are imposing new burdens and stresses on people who aren't asking for anything more than to be able to live life as themselves. 

Monday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Eyal Press writes about the problems with the U.S.' health care system which forces medical workers to subordinate the health of their patients to the demands of corporate investors. And Andre Picard points out that the largest problems with Canada's health care system come from the areas where it's the least universal and most profit-oriented. 

- The Economist discusses the extreme wildfires which have already torn through massive swaths of Canada before we even reach summer. And Mitchell Thompson offers a reminder that in addition to insisting on spewing the carbon pollution that's driving a climate breakdown, right-wing governments have also systematically destroyed the firefighting response needed to try to limit the damage. 

- Meanwhile, Sam Meredith reports on Europe's recognition that it faces a water crisis - which sadly places it far ahead of Canada in at least attempting to plan ahead rather than merely reacting to disasters as they occur. 

- Andrew MacLeod writes about the significance of global shipping as a driver of climate change - which is particularly important in light of the perpetual push by the dirty energy industry to ship oil and gas offshore and move carbon emissions off of Canada's balance sheet. 

- Emily Chung and Alice Hopton report on the reality that environmentally-friendly housing is often more affordable - as long as it's being built and operated by groups focused on meeting needs rather than banking profits. 

- Finally, Roy E. Bahat, Thomas A. Kochan, and Liba Wenig Rubenstein make the case for employers to start working with organized labour rather than seeking to undermine it at every opportunity. And Zachary Carter discusses Isabella Weber's compelling argument that controls on corporate profiteering are a needed answer to exploitative inflation. 

Sunday Morning Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- Matthew Cunningham-Cook and Andrew Perez highlight how Suncor and other dirty energy giants have poured loads of windfall profits into stock buybacks while simultaneously repudiating their environmental promises and obligations.

- Jonathan Barrett discusses how Australia has seen the same spate of "shrinkflation" that's similarly resulted in the corporate sector goosing its profits at consumer expense elsewhere. And Paul Krugman points out how a focus on current measures of core inflation results in a misleading picture of household expenses.

- Meanwhile, Michelle Cyca discusses how Canadian public policy has gone astray due to the impossible promise that homeownership can paper over growing structural inequality. 

- Finally, Luke LeBrun reports on the bigoted right's attempts to take over Canada's schools and public spaces. And Jeremy Appel discusses how the Alberta NDP unfortunately kept that mindset in power by seeking to placate a right-wing view assumed to be shared by persuadable voters while offering only to be less hateful and corrupt in implementing it.

Saturday Morning Links

Assorted content for your weekend reading.

- Alexander Haro reports on the scientific recognition that 2023 stands to be by far the hottest year in recorded human history (even compared to the elevated temperatures of other recent years). And Kate Aronoff wonders when the general public will start waking up to the glaring climate risks that are rendering massive amounts of land uninsurable. 

- Meanwhile, Nathasha Bulowski discusses how the federal sustainable jobs bill will would give labour some voice in the future of Canadian work - which represents one of the main reasons why the Cons and their provincial allies are determined to block it.

- Katherine Scott and Trish Hennessy examine how the low-barrier income provided through the CERB served not only as a temporary source of income, but also as a means for workers to improve their work circumstances. And Malone Mullin reports on Food First N.L.'s call for people to have the income they need to ensure a reasonable standard of living, rather than being forced to rely on food banks and other charities.

- Finally, Andre Picard discusses how the price of inaction and dithering in Canada's health care system is a deep decay. And the Canadian Health Coalition highlights why the NDP's push for pharmacare legislation is needed to ensure people don't face barriers to access to medicine.

Musical interlude

Flight Facilities feat. Grosvenor - With You

Friday Afternoon Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Scott Dance reports on the scientific recognition that the Earth's oceans are warming far faster than previously feared, while Sid Perkins discusses the particularly large temperature increases in parts of the north Atlantic. And the American Geophysical Union points out that humanity's unanticipated effects on the planet include pumping so much groundwater as to have altered the Earth's rotational axis. 

- Damian Carrington reports on the World Bank's recognition that massive fossil fuel and agricultural subsidies are major contributors to environmental damage. And George Monbiot writes about the connection between fascist politics and climate change denial.

- But lest anybody think the problem lies solely in right-wing parties, Alex Ballingall reports on how the Trudeau Libs have failed to spend billions in promised climate funding. And Markham Hislop laments the state of Alberta's climate politics on all sides, while Martin Lukacs points out how fossil fuel lobbyists are largely dictating the direction of the provincial NDP in multiple provinces. 

- David Moscrop discusses how the Ford government is using glaringly inaccurate budget estimates to justify a failure to fund public services. 

- Lauren Weber, Caitlin Gilbert and Taylor Lorenz report on the systematic development of astroturf groups intended to establish naked reactionary bigotry as the basis for health policy. 

- Finally, Anand Giridharadas' commencement speech to Sidwell Friends School offers a compelling call to young people to work on fixing the institutions which are so profoundly broken. 

Thursday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Stephanie Soucheray discusses how many patients whose senses of taste and smell have been affected by COVID-19 never fully recover, while the University of Waterloo finds new evidence of lasting impact on the brain. And Carolyn Bramante et al. study how metformin can reduce the severity of COVID infection.  

- Mike Bebernes wonders whether the combination of COVID and wildfires could prompt advances in indoor air safety. But that will require the current generation of adults to take ownership of responsibility for improving matters, rather than planning to leave a smoking husk of a world to today's children.  

- George Takei interviews Robert Reich about the need to fundamentally change the balance of power which currently lies solely with the robber baron class. And Cory Doctorow points out how the largest corporations are as fervently opposed to competition and market factors as anybody when they have the opportunity to extract profits from monopolies. 

- Meanwhile, Junaid Jahangir discusses the need to rein in inequality, including by recognizing corporate taxes as a valuable tool both to bring in public revenue and to eliminate incentives for profiteering. And Richard Barnthaler and Ian Gough discuss the prospect of an economy based on sufficiency rather than excess. 

- Finally, Michael Kan reports that instead of looking to protect people's privacy from corporate manipulation, the U.S. government is buying up (and re-identifying) personal information for itself. 

Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Fiona Harvey reports on Greta Thunberg's warning that a failure to stop burning fossil fuels amounts to a death sentence for people living in poverty - which would be a much more powerful message if the denial of environmental disaster and devaluation of human life weren't core principles of our corporatist governance model. Andrew Fanning and Jason Hickey model what climate reparations would look like if the wealthiest countries compensated the rest of the world for the cost of their carbon pollution. And Gary Mason discusses how Canada's response to the climate crisis would be different if we had any notion of sacrifice. 

- Geoffrey Lean is hopeful that a new treaty being reached by governments and backed by some business interests will result in an end to plastic pollution. But we should be wary of temporary corporate concessions intended to keep dirty business as usual going as long as possible - with Shell's reversal of plans for even tiny fossil fuel production cuts serving as just the latest example. 

- John Quiggin points out how Australia's grocery store duopoly has used the cover of inflation to goose its profit margins. And Holly McKenzie-Sutter reports on the Bank of Canada's needed recognition that corporate pricing and exploitation are at the root of Canada's inflation as well - though as Jim Stanford notes, it isn't following that to its logical conclusion by using tools less focused on reducing work and wages. 

- Finally, the Center for Working-Class Politics discusses how it's possible to defeat the populist right by making a priority of genuinely challenging corporate power and meeting the needs of the working class. 

Tuesday Night Cat Blogging

Cats on parade.

Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Piers Forster reports on new research showing that both greenhouse gas emissions and temperatures continue to push past all recorded records. Andrew Freedman adds sea surface temperatures to the list of indicators setting off alarm bells for anybody bothering to pay attention. And Shannon Osaka, Michael Miller and Beatrice Rios write about the danger that we're sleepwalking into a "fire age" even as our corporate overlords command us to keep burning things. 

- Bryan Owens writes about the causes of what may be an entire season of wildfire in Canada, while  David Ball reports that British Columbia is among the provinces facing the prospect of a devastating drought. Caroline Mimbs Nice connects California's recent spate of fires to the effects of climate change. Justine McDaniel writes about the possibility that direct experience of the consequences of a climate breakdown will make people more eager to push for action - along with the risk that it will be minimized and memory-holed at the first opportunity. 

- Frank Jordan comments on the glaring gap between the corporate sector's empty "net zero" pledges, and its willingness to follow up in any meaningful way. 

- Vanmala Subramaniam discusses how temporary CERB benefits provided workers with a modicum of opportunity to seek out better positions - which explains why it was discontinued so quickly and has been attacked with such vitriol by the Cons and their anti-social base. And Nicholas Hune-Brown discusses how libraries have been turned into the social service provider of last resort and singular cost-free public space (without having been provided with the resources needed to fill those roles). 

- Finally, Chris Pepin-Neff points out how the bigoted right's anti-trans campaign fits into the history of violent moral panics. 

Monday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Katrina vanden Heuvel writes that the same plutocrats who have chosen to value the lives of most of humanity at nil are pouring massive amounts of money into bizarre and expensive longevity treatments for themselves.  

- The Globe and Mail's editorial board deigns to point out that much of Canada is on fire, while Rebecca Falconer reports on warnings that that reality may last all summer. And Carolyn Kury de Castillo discusses how farmers in Alberta are looking at zero production due to the dry and pest-infested spring. 

- Matthew Yglesias points out that the effect of the wildfires has been to reverse hard-won (if apparently-forgotten) progress in reducing air pollution. And Will Bunch wonders whether a continent-wide blanket of smoke will serve as any more of a wakeup call than so many other disastrous effects of a climate breakdown, while John Vaillant isn't optimistic. 

- Robson Fletcher writes about the dehumanizing experience facing renters trying to find a home in Calgary. 

- Finally, Rachel Tompa discusses new research finding a connection between long COVID and persistent inflammation. 

Sunday Morning Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- The Canadian Press reports that the Ford PCs' COVID negligence includes shutting down a rapid test program still distributing hundreds of thousands of tests each week.

- Denise Balkissoon writes about the need for Toronto (like other cities) to elect representatives who recognize the severity of the climate crisis, while lamenting that most of its mayoral candidates are barely paying lip service to the great challenge of our time. And Imperial College London warns that we can't meet our climate goals without all current net-zero pledges being met in full - even as 90% appear to be based on little more than wishcasting.

- Irina Ivanova reports on new research showing how a climate breakdown is driving up the cost of food. Michelle Gamage discusses how wildfire smoke is making people sick. And the University of Reading explores how climate change is also causing increased airplane turbulence - in case mild inconvenience for the wealthy is a better driver of motivation to change than loss of the necessities of life for everybody else.

- P.E. Moskovitz discusses how the suburbanization of the U.S. has proven to be a breeding ground for fascism in taking away community venues while encouraging messages about excluding outsiders from isolated communities.

- Finally, Beth Mole reports on new research estimating the death count from just three of the U.S. Supreme Court's more antisocial decisions - with a conservative estimate suggesting that the partisan actions of half a dozen Republican hacks will personally cause 6,000 deaths over the next decade.

Musical interlude

Andain - Much Too Much (Zetandel Chill Remix)

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Umair Haque discusses the absurdity (and manufactured idiocy) that results in us continuing with extractive business as usual as we enter a palpable age of extinction. And Richard Eskow writes about the reasons why billionaires can't tolerate the prospect that most people would enjoy even a modicum of security and well-being. 

- Meanwhile, both Dharna Noor and Zeeshan Aleem discuss how the wildfire smoke blanketing the U.S. is just part of the new, broken-down climate we'll be living with thanks to oil barons continuing to dictate our social choices. 

- On that front, Fiona Harvey reports that the fossil fuel peddlers put in charge of the next major global climate talks are refusing to even talk about limiting dirty energy. Carl Meyer exposes how Suncor is being allowed to dictate Canadian federal climate policy (even as the official opposition spends its time complaining that such a thing even exists). And Mark Sweney reports on the UK Advertising Standards Authority's determination that Shell's greenwashing is "likely to mislead" the public about the harm it's causing to our planet.

- Finally, Harvey also reports on new data showing that greenhouse gas emissions continue to reach record highs. And Yvonne Gordon reports on the discovery of microplastics in even the most remote of ocean environments as we continue to use the Earth as a dumping ground.

Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Caitlin Johnstone offers a grim but fair evaluation of the barely-existent left in the U.S. and elsewhere - while recognizing that the obvious implication is the need to build capacity to demand systemic change. And David Suzuki discusses how an obsession with perpetually consuming more stuff - particular when linked to the fetishization of dirty energy sources - produces both personal dissatisfaction and disastrous environmental consequences. 

- Damian Carrington reports on new research which concludes the climate breakdown has reached the point where there's no longer any prospect of saving Arctic ice in the summer (with more extreme weather expected to result from its loss). 

- Aaron Wherry writes that Canada's Parliament is largely fiddling as the country burns, while Greg Pyle discusses how the UCP is determined to make matters even worse in order to keep short-term profits flowing to its oil backers. And Jacob Knutson discusses how Canadian wildfires are resulting in dangerous levels of air pollution in large swaths of the U.S. 

- Mary Vallis offers an explainer on rent strikes as organized tenant resistance is becoming more common in the face of intolerable rent extraction. 

- Finally, Angela Satni explores the roots of patriarchy - along with the anecdotes and debunked theories used to try to present it as an inevitability. And Tandeep Sidhu writes that the militarization of Canadian police is destroying public trust and making everybody less safe. 

Tuesday Night Cat Blogging

Floored cats.

Tuesday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Thom Hartmann offers a reminder of the broad-based growth and social progress which is possible when capitalists are required to pay reasonable tax rates. And conversely, Cory Doctorow examines the utterly destructive practices of private equity - which is being catered to with a business model of taking windfall profits at the expense of workers, infrastructure and business sustainability. 

- Meanwhile, Fiona Harvey reports on new Oxfam research showing how wealthy and polluting countries are trying to profit off the damage wrought through the climate breakdown. Benjamin Shinger reports on the difficulty and complexity people are facing trying to get insurance as insurers account for increasing climate risk. And Francesca Fionda discusses what's needed to ensure the victims of climate disaster have an opportunity to heal and rebuild. 

- Andrew Nikiforuk discusses the lie of "clean" tar sands production, as environmental standards have been regularly degraded and ignored in order to keep money flowing to oil barons. And Joseph Winters points out how we need a massive reduction in our reliance on plastics as part of any effective climate plan. 

- Kyle Bakx reports on Suncor's slashing of 1,500 jobs within days after the UCP bamboozled voters into believing their hold on power could maintain oil jobs. And David Climenhaga writes that it similarly took Danielle Smith no time at all to start undermining any pretense of democracy after securing her own re-election. 

- Finally, Jonathan Montpetit reports on the fundamentalists looking to mimic the U.S.' imposition of extreme religious views through the political system. 

Monday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Laura O'Callaghan writes about new research showing how the NHS (like other health systems) is facing staff shortages based in part on the loss of thousands of workers to long COVID. And Mary Van Beusekom discusses a study finding that 40% of foodborne illness outbreaks in the U.S. can be traced back to worker illness. 

- David Spratt writes about new research from James Hansen and others warning that we may be operating based on gross underestimates of both climate sensitivity to changes in temperature and greenhouse gases, and the consequences of failing to reverse the feedback loops already in operation. And Thom Hartmann asks why we're not seeking to hold accountable the fossil fuel industry responsible for defrauding the public and endangering our living environment in order to accumulate short-term profits. 

- Steve Lafleur points out that the only solution to traffic congestion is to make it possible for people to function without constantly needing to drive personal vehicles. And Megan Robinson notes that an increase in greenwashing as part of marketing clothing can't hide the reality that the best way to reduce the environmental impact of what we wear is to ensure that it lasts rather than requiring constant replacement.

- Finally, Andrew Nikiforuk asks how much damage we can expect from another term of the UCP's petrostate populism. But in case anybody is tempted to draw the lesson that there's no alternative but to give into the constant demands of exploitative capital, Cory Doctorow points out that Washington state has offered a valuable example of how a capital gains tax can reduce inequality and fund public services.