Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- David Macdonald offers this year's report on CEO compensation in Canada - showing how company men are being handed obscene pay packages while workers on the ground are left to toil away for hundreds of times less. Paul Krugman points out the connection between enhanced worker power and reduced inequality which led to the U.S.' economic success after World War II - even as Donald Trump seeks to drag the country back to a gilded age which was far poorer for all but the wealthiest few. 

- Guglielmo Briscese and Maddalena Grignani study (PDF) the importance of public trust in public institutions - and the potential to substantially increase it by making useful information readily available. Don Moynihan writes that the Trump administration's plans are to make the federal government a toxic employer - and that there's precedent from his first term to see how that will play out. Jason Linkins discusses how the enshittification of the U.S.' civil service will harm the general public. And Jill Lawrence notes that the Republicans' determination to defund the IRS is the ultimate indicator of their phony populism - as the result is both to direct more tax enforcement toward those least able to pay, and to starve the government of resources as the wealthy humb their noses at their tax obligations. 

- Vijay Vaitheeswaran highlights how grid-scale storage is becoming readily affordable and feasible - making renewable energy into by far the most efficient option in places where governments aren't actively distorting power production to favour fossil fuels and other extractive industries. Holly Caggiano, Emily Grubert and Mark Paul discuss the strong U.S. public support to end dirty energy subsidies. And Eric Holthaus makes the case that the most meaningful climate action at the individual level is to opt out of the system that's superheating our planet to the extent possible. 

- Alexa Phillips reports that the fallout from Brexit includes the dumping of garbage ans sewage on UK beaches as the abandonment of EU standards led to a polluter free-for-all. And Walker Bragman points out how the alt-right is already seeking to politicize the avian flu - even as public health authorities shy away from both substantive action and public communication based on the contrived backlash to any and all responses to COVID-19. 

- Julia Metraux interviews Anita Say Chan on how techbros have become the new eugenecists. 

- Finally, The Groundbreaker makes the case for local-level organization as the necessary core of a progressive political movement. 

Friday Afternoon Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Jennifer Sandlin discusses a new analysis showing how COVID-19 infections lead to numerous other types of infectious diseases, while Devika Rao writes about the medical recognition that they may also increase the risk of cancers. And Sam Wollaston offers Natacha Gray's account of the realities of life with long COVID. 

- Meanwhile, Andre Picard writes about a new report warning that we don't appear to have learned much about public health responses from COVID. And Luke Andrews reports on expert warnings that the CDC is flying blind in failing to work on testing as a dangerous bird flu spreads. 

- Danyaal Raza discusses a new World Health Organization report finding that corporate greed is the direct cause of millions of preventable deaths annually. Jessica Ray takes note of the ubiquity of "forever chemicals" in U.S. drinking water - as well as the lack of any apparent plan to address it other than telling people to filter their own water. And Beatrice Olivastri, Fe de Leon and Laura Bowman question why the Libs are dismantling a planned pesticide monitoring program. 

- David Macdonald and Jon Milton point out that contrary to the contrived outrage of the Cons and their corporate puppeteers, Canada's last increase in capital gains inclusion rates was followed by a doubling of investment. And Macdonald discusses the fundamental unfairness of giving capital returns any preferential treatment over wages. 

- Finally, Robert Reich writes that Joe Biden should welcome the hatred of plutocrats who think they're entitled to have government used as an instrument to further their already-unconscionable wealth and power. And the Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce's child labour plans provide just one example of the type of anti-social position people will be happy to reject. 

Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Robin McKie warns that the next pandemic is likely to develop from a flu virus, while Augie Ray offers a reminder that we're still seeing waves of COVID-19 sweep through the population. And Alexander Quon and Zak Vescera report on warnings of the exponential spread of COVID which the Sask Party chose to deny and minimize with catastrophic results. 

- Samantha Harrington reports on new data showing that the death toll from the climate crisis is at least in the tens of thousands of people per year - and likely much higher. Jamey Keaten reports on the International Labour Organization's plea to recognize and counter the risks to workers from extreme heat and other environmental dangers. And Tim Palmer laments the lack of progress in developing high-resolution climate models to allow us both to better plan for climate changes, and to attribute responsibility. 

- Leah Borts-Kuperman exposes North Bay's collusion with a plastics manufacturer to squelch any discussion about "forever chemicals" in drinking water. 

- Luke LeBrun points out that Pierre Poilievre has a fan and kindred spirit in conspiracy theorist Alex Jones. 

- Finally, David Macdonald highlights how the capital gains tax tweaks which have the corporate lobby streaming about supposed harm to the middle class in fact have no effect on anybody below the wealthiest  0.13 per cent of Canadians. 

Monday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Chris Walker discusses new research showing that over half of the increase in U.S. consumer prices over the past 6 months is pure corporate greedflation. And Michael Harris warns that Pierre Poilievre is planning to use discontent among Canadian voters as to a lack of affordability to further enrich the robber barons who are causing it. 

- Alan Semuels examines the consequences of leaving an important policy project (the installation of solar panels) to the corporate sector, as the goal of converting to clean energy is in danger of being swamped by the machinations of financialization.  

- Geoff Dembicki warns that Canada is on the verge of detonating one of the planet's largest carbon bombs by pushing and subsidizing fossil gas exports. And Nichole Dusyk notes that we no longer have the excuse that "everybody else is doing it", as the U.S. has set a needed example in prioritizing a habitable planet over dirty energy exports. 

- Matthew Rosza writes about new research showing that the spread of microplastics includes accumulation in the bodies of endangered Galapagos penguins. And Joseph Winters reports on a new study showing that while recycling schemes may do little to reduce plastic contamination, actual bans work wonders in reducing the number of bags discarded. 

- Zak Vescera reports on British Columbia's steps to reduce the extent and danger of exposure to asbestos in the workplace. 

- Finally, David MacDonald examines what's included - and what's still missing - in the first step toward a national dental plan. 

Tuesday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- David Macdonald highlights yet another record-breaking year of Canadian CEO income compared to the pay of the average worker. 

- Lisa Young's wish for the new year is for better public health - though the hostility to the concept from Danielle Smith (as well as Scott Moe) doesn't bode well for that hope. Andrew MacLeod examines the politics of privatized health care in British Columbia as Telus keeps taking over the role of care providers. Rachel Cohen highlights how mental health treatment looks radically different for the rich compared to the poor. And Rebecca Watson warns that that the same private equity ghouls who have put numerous major retailers out of business through leveraged buyouts are turning their attention to the medical system. 

- Asia Fields and Becca Savransky examine what happens when a government chooses not to maintain its education system. And the CCPA offers up its favourite graphs of 2023 - including this depiction of how Saskatchewan students are taking on massive amounts of debt to pay higher fees in the face of slashed grant funding:

- Raymond Zheng discusses the scientific debate as to whether global warming is merely happening as projected based on the continued spewing of carbon pollution, or increasing due to unanticipated feedback effects. And Daphne Ewing-Chow points out which foods are facing the greatest risks due to the climate breakdown. 

- Finally, Leigh Stickle and Luke Mari respond to a baseless attack on housing density by pointing out that more housing and increased park space are entirely compatible when they're both designed to be inclusive rather than fenced-off. 

Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Andrew Dessler writes about the non-linear nature of the environmental effects of carbon pollution - with the result that we're seeing cascading effects with each additional increase in temperature. And Sarah Kaplan discusses how we should be recognizing extreme weather events as alarm bells reflecting a climate breakdown in progress.

- The Guardian's editorial board writes that we can't afford to put our living environment on the back burner while perpetually finding other supposedly more immediate issues to prioritize first. And Margaret Shkimba points out the need for leaders to match rhetoric with action (though I'd argue there's a need to focus far more on policy decisions rather than personal theatre).

- Jonathan Freedland discusses how the oil sector has managed to control the public conversation about climate policy in order to keep lining its pockets at the expense of our planet. And Drew Anderson reports on yet another unconscionable UCP subsidy to dirty energy, this time paying $14 million in public money to make up for rent which oil barons couldn't be bothered to pay to landowners.  

- Lana Payne questions why the Bank of Canada is continuing to punish workers with increased interest rates and suppressed wages when there's little reason to believe that will do anything to limit inflation based on corporate profiteering. 

- Finally, David Macdonald and Ricardo Tranjan chart how much Canadian workers need to earn in order to afford housing - and how consistent a pattern there is of rents far exceeding what people can afford. 

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. 

Friday Afternoon Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Robert Reich discusses how the concentration of power in the hands of the U.S.' capitalist class has reached levels not see since the gilded age - and how improvements in general access to consumer goods (driven in part by increased work participation and debt) doesn't justify or ameliorate the harm from that top-down control. And Josh Rubin reports on the abuse of the CEWS "blank cheque" by major corporations who used public pandemic funding to inflate profits and share prices. 

- David Macdonald highlights the track record showing that no-strings-attached money demanded by the provinces for health care is highly likely to be diverted toward tax giveaways and other ends. And Annie Waldman reports on the evidence of how the world's largest medical device company Medtronic has pushed for the overuse of its products with little regard for anybody's health. 

- Emma McIntosh offers an explainer on induced demand in pointing out the folly of building more highways rather than developing transit plans which actually help people get where they need to go. And Oliver Wainwright discusses how anybody outside of the alt-right fever swamps should see 15-minute cities as an eminently reasonable planning principle. 

- Finally, Robin Abcarian writes that the bigoted attack on pronouns (and other simple elements of basic recognition for trans people) are the result of the deliberate sacrifice of human dignity to political opportunism. 

Saturday Afternoon Links

Assorted content for your weekend reading.

- William Anderson sets out a few of the most important realities about the Kraken COVID-19 variant and its place within the ongoing pandemic. Glen Pyle and Jennifer Huang confirm that infection results in a far greater risk of myocarditis than vaccination. And Julia Doubleday weighs in on the fact that the wealthy and powerful gathered in Davos demanded exactly the preventative measures for themselves that they've denied the rest of us.

- Meanwhile, Steven Lewis discusses how a focus on ensuring everybody has access to primary health care would alleviate both health inequalities and burdens throughout our health care system. But Taylor Noakes writes that the federal government may need to take the lead in building a public system where conservative premiers are solely interested in slashing and privatizing.

- David Macdonald offers a thorough look at which industries and recipients are reaping the spoils from inflation in Canada - with corporate profits predictably the main beneficiary. And Jim Stanford corroborates that conclusion with a look at how unit profit costs have soared while wages have barely budged.

- Finally, Michael Barnard discusses the decades of experience with nuclear power which make it clear it can't compete in a fair comparison to renewable energy.

Tuesday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Brendan Crabbe and Mike Toole discuss how COVID-19 has been able to spread and evolve due to people's willingness to live dangerously, while Marisa Eisenberg and Emily Toth Martin offer a reminder of the continued value of masks in reducing spread. And Dawn Brotherton weighs in on how widespread long COVID is placing massive burdens on workers and employers alike.  

- Pat Armstrong and Majorie Griffen Cohen remind us that privatization of long-term care only undermines service while turning people into profit centres. And Taylor Noakes makes the case for the direct provision of health services by the federal government to overcome the unmistakable pattern of provincial neglect. 

- David Macdonald finds that CEO pay has once again hit new highs - both in absolute terms and in comparison to the pay received by other workers. 

- Finally, Zeynep Tufecki points out that Southwest Airlines' service failure is a direct result of corporate concentration and a blinkered focus on paying out shareholders even as workers fought to keep a business functional. 

Thursday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Armine Yalnizyan writes that in the face of an impending self-inflicted recession, governments should be using their available resources (and taxing the richest people and corporations) to make sure people at the bottom of the income scale don't once again bear the brunt of economic upheaval. And David Macdonald points out that Canada's provinces have plenty of extra cash on hand compared to this year's projections to take care of people who need help. But Jim Stanford notes that central banks are instead focusing on suppressing wages while raising no issue with profit shares far exceeding their acceptable rate of inflation. And Marco Chown Oved reports that Loblaws in particular has turned inflation into an opportunity for massive profiteering.

- Johannes Van Zul reports on new research showing that COVID-19 can activate the same inflammatory processes in the brain as Parkinson's disease. And Melanie Paradis discusses the glaring shortage of medication for children facing the combination of COVID, cold and flu. So naturally, corporate Canada's response is...to demand that government workers be forced back into offices to increase the spread of the coronavirus. 

- Robin McKie discusses how the window to avert climate catastrophe is rapidly closing. And Christopher Flavelle reports on the Biden administration's recognition that many communities will have no choice but to relocate in the face of baked-in climate change. 

- Meanwhile, Ben Elgin and Sindura Rangarajan report that many of the already-insufficient emission credits claimed so far are the result of accounting tricks and impossible promises rather than actual work to reduce carbon pollution. And Simon Enoch and Emily Eaton point out what Regina could be doing to implement its climate equity framework - even as its current decisions are almost invariably tilted in the opposite direction.  

- Finally, Edward Keenan writes that there's reason for anger at Doug Ford's glaring disrespect for school support staff (among other workers).

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Monday Afternoon Links

Assorted content for your Labour Day reading.

- David Macdonald offers a reminder that any difficulty employers are having finding workers is a result of their failing to pay wages to even match, let alone stay in front of, the cost of living. And Trish Hennessy takes a look at the politics of inflation - including the tools to support a reasonable standard of living which have mostly been ignored or ruled out in favour of blatant political bribes by governments who are ideologically opposed to helping people.

- Jake Rosenfeld discusses how the disconnect between low unemployment and continued exploitation is resulting in greater recognition of the importance of unions. And David Beers interviews Enda Brophy about the efforts of gig workers to fight back against platforms designed to evade the protections won in the 20th century.

- Meanwhile, Jorge Renaud writes that one of the U.S.' main workarounds to avoid paying reasonable wages - the prison labour complex - does nothing to improve the future employment prospects of the inmates who have been turned into profit centres.

- Christopher Curtis writes that the CAP government's failure to rein in an epidemic of drug poisonings should be a far greater issue in Quebec's ongoing election. And Karen Ward highlights the importance of how we talk about an avoidable public health catastrophe to avoid minimizing or excusing the human cost of inaction.

- Finally, EKOS offers a look at Canadians' views of the Flu Trux Klan - with a strong majority opposing it within nearly every grouping except for those who consumer disinformation on a regular basis.

Sunday Afternoon Links

This and that for your long weekend reading.

- David Macdonald writes that if there's a risk of a recession being caused by interest rate hikes, it's because people with wealth and power have chosen to engineer one on purpose. And Ken Klippenstein and Jon Schwarz report on an internal Bank of America memo stating that the hope is to undercut labour strength at a point when people are in a position to demand higher wages and better treatment.

- Zeke Hausfather discusses how we're on track for yet another summer of record-breaking heat as a result of a worsening climate breakdown, while Robin McKie writes about Bill McGuire's observations on both how much had gone awry already and how much worse matters will get if we don't reverse course immediately. And Julia Conley reports that catastrophic flooding in Kentucky represents another extreme weather event traceable to the climate crisis.

- Justin Mikulka writes about the hopeful signs that the gas industry won't lock us into methane-dependent "blue" hydrogen due to the lower cost of renewable alternatives - though we still need to be wary of fossil fuel sector lobbying to have governments put a thumb on the scale. And Paris Marx writes that a shift to electric vehicles alone won't be anywhere near enough to make a dent if it's not paired with policies to reduce car dependence.

- Meanwhile, Paul Dechene offers a reminder of the City of Regina's broken promises to address people's core needs eventually after funneling money toward shiny megaprojects - as it's now looking at a new round of sports and entertainment spending after doing nothing to work on the housing and revitalization which was supposed to be paired with the construction of a brand new Mosaic Stadium.

- Finally, Andrea Hsu discusses the millions of Americans suffering from long COVID, and the ripple effects of their being unable to work as before in an environment where employers don't bother offering required accommodations.

Saturday Afternoon Links

Assorted content for your weekend reading.

- Cecelia Smith-Schoenwalder discusses the imminent prospect of a majority of Americans suffering from long COVID as more and more dangerous variants are allowed to run rampant. And Courtney Greenberg reports on a new finding that half of Canada's population was infected over a period of only five months at the start of 2022.

- Marco Chown Oved examines how grocery stores have been hiking prices, and finds it to be a matter of profiteering rather than merely passing along costs. And David Macdonald warns that sharp increases in interest rates are virtually guaranteed to cause a recession while doing little to help curb the inflation most people are facing.

- David Wallace-Wells rightly questions why we accept (and largely ignore) the eight-figure annual death toll from air pollution. And Sonia Furstenau makes the case for a windfall profit tax on the energy giants who are simultaneously gouging customers and overheating our planet.

- Charles Rusnell reports on the UCP's attempt to conceal the concentration of drug poisonings in Edmonton and elsewhere. 

- Finally, Rachel Gilmore examines the deep links between Con MPs and open racists and white supremacists. And Max Fawcett rightly labels the party as a whole as the Convoy Party of Canada.

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Mary Ward and Lucy Carroll report on New South Wales' warning of the potential for COVID-19 reinfection as the newer Omicron variants become dominant. Zoe Swank et al. find that people with long COVID may have viral reservoirs in their bodies for a year or more after first being diagnosed, while David Holdsworth et al. discover cognitive deterioration comparable to that expected from 10 years of aging after only six months of long COVID. And Jennifer Couzin-Frankel discusses the main theories as to the causes of long COVID symptoms.  

- David Macdonald writes that any recovery from the 2020 recession is unprecedented in its combination of massive increases in corporate profits and declines in compensation for workers. Matt Trinder discusses how real wages are falling off a cliff in the UK, while Russell Napier calls out central banks for putting a thumb on the scale to push even more money into the hands of capital rather than labour. And Aditya Chakrabortty writes that an important part of the pushback will involve identifying corporate vulnerability to public and union pressure, rather than relying on legislative action alone. 

- Ed Burmilla writes that what should be the end of the neoliberal era has been delayed for want of an alternative. And the continued entrenchment of a failed economic system can largely be traced to Sandor Demetor's observations about political and regulatory capture, as the people with the power to act on the recognition of the dangers of serving corporations have financial incentives not to. 

- Finally, Claire Parker highlights the devastating effect of air pollution on public health. Oliver Milman points out the staggeringly large number of lives at stake as the U.S. hems and haws on any climate action. And Stephanie Hogan notes that even Canada's housing stock is far from equipped to deal with the warming and extreme weather that's already locked in (to say nothing of what we're continuing to cause with prolonged fossil fuel use). 

Saturday Afternoon Links

Assorted content for your weekend reading.

- Matt Gurney examines the competing interpretations of what it means to say COVID is over, reaching the grim conclusion that we're never going to reach a better outcome than one with people dying needlessly and governments refusing to take preventative action. And the Canadian Press discusses the warning from experts that choosing not to collect or release data about continued infection will exacerbate the already-worrisome spectre of untreated long COVID.

- David MacDonald discusses how inflation is largely the result of corporate profiteering rather than any inevitability, while Amy Peng offers her own take on its causes and effects. Angella MacEwen highlights the unfairness of punishing workers while their bosses scoop even more profits off the top. And Andrew Nikiforuk argues in a two-part series that the inflation we're facing now is an inevitable result of overreliance on unsustainable fossil fuels which need to be phased out. 

- Lawrence Berkeley writes about research showing how the U.S. can meet a commitment to halve its greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 - but only if it gets to work immediately. And Gregor Semieniuk and Philip Holden note that while plenty of oil barons will keep their individual riches, it's institutional wealth that mostly stands to be affected as fossil fuel assets become uneconomic.

- Finally, Paula Tran reports that the UCP's attempt to claim that Alberta's drug overdose crisis is improving at all lacks any basis in reality. And David Moscrop writes that while British Columbia's move to decriminalize possession of small amounts of drugs represents a first step, there's a long way to go in eliminating the causes of the drug poisoning epidemic.

Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Helen Collis reports that European governments are only now starting to acknowledge the large number of people - particularly of prime working age - faced with severely reduced functions due to long COVID. And Matt Elliott discusses how a push toward improved ventilation is needed to reduce the damage from this pandemic and the next. 

- Meanwhile, Kendall Latimer reports on the glaring lack of mental health treatment in Saskatchewan due to a desperate lack of care providers. 

- ProPublica offers a detailed look at the people with the highest incomes in the U.S. - along with the pitiful amounts of tax many pay in comparison to their distortionary fortunes. Philippe Heim and Bertrand Badre recognize that systemic inequality is ultimately a threat even to the banks and financial-sector actors who are making massive profits exploiting it. And David Macdonald highlights how Canadian workers have been seeing their incomes erode compared to inflation - even as the door is being slammed shut in response to demands to at least keep up with the added profits banked over the past two years. 

- Molly Taft examines the role of carbon removal in the effort to avert climate breakdown, along with the risk that it will be used by denialists and fossil fuel interests to delay any transition to a sustainable society. Amy Westervelt reports on corporate polluters' interference in any attempt to pursue global climate action. Cloe Logan calls out the inexcusable choice of federal regulators to ignore the carbon emissions caused by the products of oil and gas projects in order to approve them. And Lucie Edwardson reports on the overbuilding of Alberta's electrical grid which has resulted in consumers paying more to put assets in the hands of private utilities. 

- Finally, John Michael McGrath discusses the need for progressive parties to develop responses to Pierre Poilievre's attempt to turn a complaint about "gatekeepers" generally into an excuse to turn over housing policy entirely to private developers. [Update: And John Lorinc rightly calls out the flaws in Poilievre's rhetoric - though it's worth noting that the answer can't merely be to go far out of people's way to implausibly assert that government is helpless, particularly when Lorinc himself recognizes available policy choices to actually improve the availability of housing.]

Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Andrew Nikiforuk discusses how the pandemic denial of Boris Johnson, Jason Kenney, Scott Moe and others is only ensuring that more people suffer avoidable illness and death. And Merlyna Lim and Brandon Rigato examine how Canada's far right has become a fertile breeding ground for anti-science conspiracies around COVID and climate change.  

- Polly Toynbee writes that the UK Cons need to be held responsible for the damage they've knowingly inflicted on their public health care system. 

- David Macdonald finds that a substantial portion of the inflation being used as an excuse for austerity and neglect is in fact directly traceable to corporate profiteering. 

- Ole Hendricksen calls out the joint effort between governments and the corporate sector to conceal health and safety risks in the name of maximizing the extraction of short-term profits. And Brian Mann highlights how corporations use bankruptcy laws selectively to shed the liabilities arising from their past abuses while otherwise continuing business as usual. 

- Finally, Rebecca Laibor and Umair Irfan discuss the IPCC's conclusion that new fossil fuel infrastructure can't be reconciled with averting a climate breakdown. And Yasmine Ghania reports that the Moe government's response to even the insufficient plans of the Trudeau Libs is to thumb its nose at any action whatsoever. 

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Kai Kupferschmidt reports on the recognition among scientists around the globe that the Omicron COVID variant is almost certain to precipitate another major wave of infections and hospitalizations. CBC News reports on the Ontario COVID19 science table's recommendation of a circuit breaker to reduce the damage, while Laura Sciarpelletti reports on similar calls being ignored by Scott Moe in Saskatchewan as he once again insists on "vaccines only!" in response to impending disaster. 

- Which means at least from a governance standpoint, we're in much the same boat as Ed Yong's description of the U.S., with our leaders lacking any willingness to ensure a collective response to a social problem. And Karl Nerenberg writes that the Libs' fiscal update pays lip service to COVID while failing to address ventilation as a core determinant of community spread. 

- David Dayen warns against causing severe and immediate deprivation for large number of people by cutting off supports in the name of making a marginal dent in the far less important issue of inflation. Solani Kolhatkar recognizes that the main source of price increases has been corporate exploitation. And David Macdonald points out there are plenty of other options to address inflation by managing prices rather than abandoning the people who most need help.   

- Alfred McCoy discusses the global unrest we can expect if we don't succeed in reining in catastrophic climate change. Ben Phillips discusses how gross inequalities are spurring widespread human rights violations and democratic backsliding, while Gabrielle Canon notes that people already faced with homelessness end up bearing the brunt of extreme weather events. And Diane Coyle writes about the need to start measuring our social progress in terms of well-being rather than GDP and investor moods. 

- Rebecca Leber writes about the move in New York and other jurisdictions to eliminate natural gas distribution as a building standard. And Leanna First-Arai rightly questions the claim that crypto mining somehow serves as solution to climate destruction, rather than a generator of unnecessary pollution which exacerbates the problem. 

- Finally, Asha Banerjee et al. examine the broad effects of unionization, and find important benefits going far beyond the workplace. And Anna North writes about the culture that has left so many people continuing to muddle through work even in the midst of multiple crises - and severe dangers to their own health and well-being. 

Tuesday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- John Paul Tasker reports on Dr. Theresa Tam's warning that cases of the Omicron COVID variant are set to escalate rapidly. Blake Murdoch and Christopher McCabe discuss why waiting for full confirmation of Omicron's dangers before responding will result in action being taken far too late, while the Globe and Mail's editorial board argues that booster shots are needed now to contain the damage. Brooks Fallis writes that the tools are available to rein in COVID if they're paired with political will which has been sorely lacking to date. And Andre Picard writes that we still have much to learn about immunity to COVID (even as the ground continues to shift). 

- Meanwhile, Jessie Anton reports on the Moe government's decision to restrict the information available about COVID spread in schools, further limiting people's knowledge even as they're admonished to navigate a social crisis through individual choices. And Luke Savage discusses how corporatism is behind both COVID inequities, and the continued mutation and spread of a disease which continues to endanger everybody. 

- Tami Luhby juxtaposes the millions of people driven into poverty by the pandemic against the wealth amassed by the richest few, while Daniel Ziffer notes that the relative health of people who received what amounted to a limited basic income should point toward the benefits of pursuing one more broadly. And Katherine Scott writes about the need for a recovery which doesn't leave people behind, while Nav Persaud et al. offer an important set of recommendations to ensure health equity. 

- Julian Cribb writes about the rise of petrofascism as a means of insulating powerful corporations from either science-based decision-making or democratic choice. Jeffrey Barbee and Laurel Neem expose Reconnaissance Energy Africa's drilling in a protected wildlife conservancy (while buying the silence of local people). And Jeremy Appel points out the oil lobbyists standing in the way of the climate action needed in Canada. 

- David MacDonald examines how only a few types of costs are responsible for nearly all of any complaint about inflation - and how the same right-wing governments demanding austerity to "help" are doing nothing to protect their poorest residents from those. Abhi Kantamneni and Brendan Haley make the case for a national strategy to reduce energy poverty. And Ayla Peacock writes about the difficulty many people are facing navigating a housing crisis while being paid poverty wages.  

- Finally, Aaron Wherry writes about both the case to reduce the voting age to ensure young people can vote on the decisions which will shape their future, and the NDP's work to advance that cause.