Musical interlude

John Summit & Hayla - Where You Are

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- The Canadian Health Coalition weighs in on the recent study showing that privatized surgeries in Quebec cost more than twice what public procedures would. And Matt Bruenig discusses the U.S. Democrats' development of a layer of bureaucracy for a child care subsidy program intended to exclude only 1% of applicants as a painful example of prioritizing the limitation of access to benefits over the effectiveness of the benefit itself.  

- Sarah Wakeman discusses by the involuntary treatment requirements being pushed as a draconian alternative to harm reduction are dangerous. And Duncan Kinney reports on the deaths resulting from the UCP's insistence on abstinence-only public policy, including ones caused by facilities' lack of training and supplies to deal with drug poisonings.  

- Meanwhile, David Climenhaga writes about the utter refusal of Alberta's energy regulator to answer even the first questions about its coverup of toxic tailings pond leaks. 

- Martin Regg Cohn calls out the Ford PCs' combination of cuts and neglect which is undermining Ontario colleges and universities. 

- Zak Vescera examines what's at stake in the strike among federal employees. And Cory Doctorow discusses how workplace democracy can serve as the foundation for the broader application of democratic principles.

- Finally, Liana Hwang highlights how the availability of food shouldn't be a matter of charity - even as governments are increasingly leaning on food banks and other charities to provide the necessities of life so they can spend lavishly on luxuries for billionaires. 

Thursday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Arielle Dreher reports on the findings of the U.S.' COVID Crisis Group that the U.S. fell short of the mark in coordinating its COVID-19 response and figures to do so again in future pandemics without improvement. And Leigh MacMillan reports on research showing how COVID produces changes in respiratory tract microbes which can in turn cause additional health problems.  

- Nathan Robinson offers a reminder that the means to end homelessness through a housing guarantee are readily available. And Max Fawcett discusses how the choices we've made around housing - including the expectation that it serve as a risk- and tax-free investment - have led to the lack of homes for far too many. But in case we needed a reminder of the forces working to make matters worse, David Sirota examines Blackstone's plans to extract even more intolerable rents from university students and others in order to goose profit margins. 

- Meanwhile, Christine Boyle and Jim Stanford discuss why Vancouver's abandonment of a living wage is bad economics. 

- Josh Gabbatiss notes that Shell has effectively acknowledged that we can't avoid breaking the 1.5 C barrier without ended new fossil fuel development (though of course it wants to instead count on future carbon removal to excuse further pollution). 

- Finally, Geoff Salomon makes the case for Alberta to save the proceeds of non-renewable resources rather than relying indefinitely on temporary revenue sources. And Doug Johnson writes about the immense potential to integrate solar power into agricultural operations to meet Canada's energy and food needs. 

Tuesday Night Cat Blogging

Braced cats.

Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Australia's Inquiry into Long COVID has produced a report (PDF) confirming the obvious needs both to limit the continued spread of COVID-19, and to provide support for the people suffering ongoing effects of the coronavirus.  

- Michele Friedner writes about the people being extorted to preserve their hearing as corporate health equipment providers discontinue the cochlear implants they've come to rely on. And CBC News reports on new Quebec data showing that even after cherry-picking only the easiest cases and shedding , private surgery clinics are charging more than twice the cost of performing operations publicly:

- Bob Weber reports on new research showing that the oil sector is grossly understating the amount of carbon pollution it's currently spewing (even as it plans to keep increasing its emissions). Adam Morton reports on the false promise of the world's largest carbon capture and storage system which is failing to capture anywhere near as much carbon dioxide as claimed. And Natasha Bulowski reports on the Parliamentary hearings into Alberta's toxic substance coverups - which unfortunately continued through a refusal to answer simple questions about when the Alberta Energy Regulator knew about the leaks it concealed. 

- Ann Pettifor debates - and gets the best of - Nick Macpherson in discussing whether the UK's austerity imposed in the course of a downturn produced anything but needless suffering. And Erin Weir points out how Scott Moe is using the assertion of control over natural resources to hand out windfalls to his corporate donors, rather than to benefit actual people in Saskatchewan. 

- Finally, Cory Doctorow writes about the tax-loss harvesting which is being used by the wealthiest few to avoid paying any taxes on massive capital gains. 

Monday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Trevor Hancock discusses the need to treat the economy as a means to human well-being, rather than an end worth sacrificing our health and our living environment.

- Henry Killworth writes about new research confirming that the lost sense of smell arising out of COVID-19 is associated with brain impairment. And Simran Purewal et al. discuss how long COVID is being dismissed or ignored by far too many physicians, resulting in patients facing stigma and receiving no effective treatment. 

- Aaron Wherry writes about the latest national inventory report on greenhouse gas emissions - though it's worth noting that even the math which shows Canada falling far short of its existing climate commitments fails to account for the further harm caused by fossil fuel exports which are also linked to continued domestic emission increases. Cory Doctorow notes that the capitalists profiting from dirty energy appear far more willing to invest in preserving and expanding their wealth through violence than in any transition to clean alternatives. And Leyland Cecco reports on the justified fears of Indigenous communities that the oil sector (and its fully-owned subsidiaries in the UCP) would rather poison vital water supplies in secret than admit to the environmental consequences of its operations. 

- Finally, Rachel Cohen points out that any push to respond to the housing crisis needs to include the availability of affordable homes for families. And Brian Doucet and Laura Pin comment on the need to act against renovictions to ensure developers don't make matters worse. 

Saturday Afternoon Links

Assorted content for your weekend reading.

- Jenna Cartusciello examines the connections between COVID-19 and gastrointestinal issues as yet another poorly-studied and potentially long-lasting effect of infection with a disease we're being told not to worry about. And Omar Mosleh reports on the backsliding in Canadian public health as diseases long understood to be eradicated are surging thanks in large part to anti-vaxxer ideology.

- Steven Lewis discusses the breaches of the Canada Health Act which are already undermining universal public health care while threatening to get worse if left unaddressed. 

- Lisa Harris, Calvin Sandborn, Matt Hulse and Leah Temper write that we can't afford to let oil-soaked disinformation obstruct the action needed to avert catastrophic climate change. And Patrick Greenfield reports on Denis Hayes' rightful condemnation of the use of Earth Day to greenwash environmental destruction by fossil fuel giants.

- Meanwhile, Michelle Lewis reports on the development of a new EV truck battery which offers the prospect of powering a heavy truck for 1.5 million kilometres while being manufactured with less impact than existing options. And Geoff Meggs writes about the combination of social and environmental benefits from the Squamish First Nation's Sen̓áḵw project - while noting the need for far more where it came from.

- Finally, Robert Reich discusses how the Republicans are hurtling ever faster toward fascism by removing elected representatives who dare to assert the humanity of the people they're looking to silence.

Musical interlude

Lastlings - Noise

Friday Afternoon Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Martha Lincoln and Anne Sosin discuss the lack of sustained improvement in the social conditions which exacerbated the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

- David Spratt takes note of the climate tipping points which are being reached much faster than previously anticipated. And Claire Elise Thompson points out how a four-day work week would be better for the planet as well as for workers. 

- Spencer Bridgman discusses how the job action by federal civil servants reflects much-needed pushback against the theory that workers generally need to absorb the cost of inflation. And Jen Hassum writes that any populist worth listening to should be supporting the workers, rather than demanding that they accept stagnation and precarity to grease the skids for the wealthy to accumulate even more. 

- David Moscrop calls out the Ford PCs for lacking any recognition that education needs to involve more than training for the first available job. 

- Finally, Cory Doctorow examines how international trade agreements consistently reflect little more than corporate lobbyists' wish lists to exploit citizens in all of the countries involved. 

Thursday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Ed Yong discusses how the brutal realities of long COVID are being systematically erased from the public eye. And Josh Lynn reports on the state of crisis in a Saskatchewan hospital - even as the Moe government's top priority is to squelch any public awareness of the desperate circumstances facing patients and health care workers alike. 

- Ian Urquhart contrasts the self-congratulatory spin of the federal Libs against Canada's already-miserable track record of failing to even approach any of our climate change targets. And Steve Lorteau writes about the harm being done by state-owned polluters, while Troy Farah discusses the role of the rich in exacerbating both a climate breakdown and the harm it does to the rest of humanity. 

- Cory Doctorow discusses the cruelty behind the Republicans' constant attacks on people's access to the necessities of life. Umair Haque writes about the social collapse evidenced by the fear and violence that's led to a spate of shootings at doorsteps and in public places. And Robert Reich points out that Fox News' settlement with Dominion Voting Systems is designed to turn the consequences of deliberate lies about electoral outcomes into a readily-affordable cost of engaging in the fearmongering business.  

- Finally, Jared Wesley writes that Alberta's impending election reflects a referendum on democracy itself, as the rule of law figures to have little chance to survive another term of UCP government. 

Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Evelyn Lazare discusses how the refusal of the powers that be to act to mitigate an ongoing pandemic is only ensuring that its effects will be worse and longer-lasting than they need to be. And Emily Moskal reports on a promising new type of long-cost, non-refrigerated vaccine which could provide a means of protecting everybody if any attempt were being made to help anybody. 

- Rebecca Leber writes about new data showing that air quality is deteriorating in the U.S. as the pollution caused by the productions of climate change (including wildfires, heat and drought) outweighs any gains in pollutant regulation. And the Canadian Press reports on a release of polluted water from a Suncor tar sands mine, while Natasha Bulowski reports on the warranted outrage of Indigenous leaders who were kept in the dark about Imperial Oil's release of toxic tailings into food and water sources.  

- Julian Jacobs writes about the contrast between the capital class which continues to rack up massive increases in wealth, and the recession of choice being imposed on workers. And David MacDonald points out how federal benefits for housing and dental care have seen low uptake rates which results in far less improvement of people's material conditions than promised. 

- Emily Leedham offers a primer on the strike among federal government bargaining units seeking to avoid losing ground, while Jeremy Appel reports on the massive strike vote among WestJet pilots. 

- Finally, Max Fawcett writes that the alt-right takeover of Twitter has allowed Pierre Poilivre to claim one victory over truth in his contrived fight against the CBC. And Martin Lukacs points out that beyond serving to separate more gullible supporters from their money, Poilievre's false outrage also works the refs to help ensure the CBC's coverage remains objectively biased in favour of conservatives. 

Tuesday Night Cat Blogging

Snuggled cats.

 

Tuesday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Stephanie Soucheray discusses new research linking COVID-19 to subsequent sleep disturbances and dyspnea. And Linda Geddes reports on findings showing that a growing number of cases of diabetes can also be traced to COVID. 

- John Bell and Alex MacKenzie argue that Canada should develop its own pharmaceutical research and manufacturing infrastructure to treat rare diseases. And Andre Picard highlights how any effective response to the drug poisoning crisis needs to include harm reduction and social supports, rather than being limited to a demand that people immediately sequester themselves in for-profit treatment centres. 

- Meanwhile, the Canadian Press reports on the Moe government's diktat that health care workers conceal the dire state of Saskatchewan's medical system from the opposition. 

- Kate Aronoff discusses how inflated fossil fuel profits over the past couple of years are the direct result of war profiteering. And Julia Conley points out how corporate landlords are taking over more and more U.S. housing and driving up rents. 

- Finally, Alex Birrell calls out Sandra Masters for using convenient allegations of sexism to impose regressive policy choices and misogynistic themes which hurt women. 

Monday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Jia Li et al. study the causal associations between COVID-19 and numerous types of cancer - finding generally that COVID is associated with increased cancer risk. And Erin Prater reports on the spread of the Arcturus variant as the most transmissible version yet.

- Alex Press discusses how deteriorating working conditions in the trucking industry are leading to safety risks for truckers themselves, and for the general public. And Robert Ovetz and Kevin Van Meter offer some advice to marshal the collective strength of labour to stand up to exploitative employers. 

- Brett Christophers writes that contrary to what people might assume in turning the ownership of public infrastructure over to pension funds, the incentives facing the funds' managers tend toward short-term thinking at the expense of the long-term preservation of the underlying asset. And while Graeme Nuttall and James Bonham offer a theory as to how they'd like employee stock ownership to work, their proposed mandate that employees take on debt to pay owners more than market value for businesses seems to represent little more than a systematic upward transfer of wealth.  

- Finally, Ricardo Tranjan writes that the housing crisis is the result of governments catering to private developers' desire for immediate profit, not the presence of newcomers needed to perform essential services in our communities. 

Sunday Morning Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- Kenyon Wallace writes that the only reason we're not observing large COVID waves is that we've been pushed to accept a perpetual high tide - with all the avoidable illness and death which comes with that. And Bill Hathaway discusses new research showing how the Omicron subvariants in particular avoid our immune system, meaning that their uncontrolled spread and mutation pose especially severe threats.

- Bill McKibben discusses how even after years of unprecedented heat waves, wildfires and other severe weather events, we're likely only approaching the true weight of a climate breakdown.

- Cara McKenna and Martin Lukacs report on the Indigenous communities fighting to avoid the uncontrolled release of toxic tar sands waste into crucial watersheds. And Bob Weber reports on the predictable reality that the UCP's assurances about having contained the initial spill (while concealing it from the people affected) have proven false.

- Blair Fix discusses the redistributive implications of interest rates - and the inequality which inevitably results from a choice to prioritize higher rates of capital return over shared wealth. 

-' Finally, Crawford Kilian reviews Paul Wells' An Emergency in Ottawa, and discusses how it points out the continued need for a reckoning with the systematic breakdown of trust in public institutions and the concurrent rise of the anti-social right. And Euan Thomson comments on the UCP's choice to value religious control over human lives in allocating resources for drug treatment.

Saturday Afternoon Links

Assorted content for your weekend reading.

- Zak Vescera reports on the CCPA's new research showing how an increasing number of jobs in British Columbia are precarious - with already-disadvantaged workers especially likely to be affected. Don Pittis points out the Bank of Canada's continued attempts to hold wages below the rate of inflation, while offering much-needed space for Kaylie Tiessen to point out how that focus results in its being a soldier for capital in an ongoing class war. And Nick French writes that the essence of socialism is rooted in justice for workers pursuing what's rightfully theirs.

- Andrew Petter and Jim Rutkowski write about the value of progressive populism as a tool to make the case for an egalitarian society.  And Rowan Burdge, Jen Kostuchuk and Ismail Askin point out the importance of ensuring that social justice is embodied in any climate plan in order to ensure people see the benefits of a clean energy transition. 

- Meanwhile, Roberto Burgos discusses how the latest IPCC report is both alarming in its expectations, and unduly optimistic in its assumption that we'll manage a full transition away from carbon pollution.

- Finally, David Beers discusses the need to value journalism as a public good - particularly as the Cons and their provincial cousins attempt to stifle any reporting or commentary other than from their own side's propagandists.

Musical interlude

PVRIS - Anywhere But Here

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Kendra Pierre-Louis discusses the need for journalists to cover the massive health risks posed by COVID-19 even as (or even because of) the failure of governments to do so.  

- Jed Anderson calls out the increasing privatization of universities in Canada (facilitated by the systemic underfunding and corporate-oriented management of public post-secondary institutions). And David Moscrop writes that any form of enclosure and privatization of public spaces like Ontario Place would be problematic - though the Ford PC's entirely cronyist version is particularly odious. 

- Peter Waldman, Sinduja Rangarajan and Mark Chediak document how institutional farm ownership has been exacerbating the strain on California's water supply. And the Canadian Press reports on a new study forecasting a wave of retirements among Canadian farm and agricultural producers - raising the risk of takeovers by corporate forces. 

- Manuel Lopez Rostrepo notes that Generation Z is particularly pro-union - but that a shift in structural power will require work to convert that preference into organization and action. 

- Finally, Rae Deer offers a reminder that trickle-down economics has never been anything but a scam to direct more money to rich people. And Cory Doctorow writes about new research confirming the seemingly-obvious point that heavily-advertised goods on social media are likely to be overpriced junk. 

Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Alex Fulton discusses the lessons we should be learning from the response to COVID-19 in preparing for the next pandemic. Richard Payerchin highlights how physicians recognize the need to diagnose and treat long COVID as it afflicts an increasing proportion of the population, but largely lack the means to do so.  And Milos Ajcevic et al. find a connection between cognitive impairment associated with long COVID, and dysfunction in cerebral blood flow observable through MRIs.

- Josh Gabbatiss writes about new research which projects that we're entering an age of decline for fossil fuels. Emily Chung points out what Canada can learn from Sweden's success in replacing oil heating with electric heat pumps. Joe Fassler argues that the disproportionate carbon pollution spewed by the ultra-rich can only be seen as a theft from everybody else. And Kevin Timoney writes about the multiple problems with tar sands tailings ponds - including but not limited to the toxic leaks into drinking water sources which have been concealed by the UCP government and operators alike. 

- John Michael McGrath highlights how the Ford PCs' supposed housing strategy figures to do far more to cause sprawl than to make homes available. Helena Horton writes that a road-building spree is utterly incompatible with any responsible climate strategy. And Matt Gurney notes that Ford's complete lack of credibility in funding promised transit infrastructure makes it impossible to take him seriously on transportation matters generally. 

- The Angus Reid Institute examines how Canadians are responding to additional cost pressures piled on what have long been precarious personal finances. Erin Weir points out that the list of windfall profits which should be tapped into to help the working class includes those emanating from grocery inputs. And Wayne Simpson makes the case to make the grocery rebate permanent to provide predictable support for people living on lower incomes. 

- Finally, Gillian Steward writes that Danielle Smith has chosen to present herself as the face of anti-science quackery and violent bigotry. And Stephen Magusiak reports on the Take Back Alberta group (which appears to be in full control of the UCP) which has been based on organizing exactly those malignant forces. 

Tuesday Night Cat Blogging

Playful cats.