Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Smriti Mallapaty reports on new research suggesting that vaccines provide only partial protection against the spread of the Delta variant of COVID-19. Sarath Peiris asks when Scott Moe and his minions will be held accountable for sacrificing hundreds of lives and thousands of people's health to science denial and wishful thinking. And the Maple examines the failure of both Moe and Jason Kenney to take steps to protect public health in the face of record case and hospitalization counts. 

- Jim Stanford writes about the importance of frontline workers in a pandemic - and the economic forces trapping them in precarity and deprivation. 

- Alec Salloum discusses how the Moe government's changes to Saskatchewan social programs are depriving the people who most need housing and income supports of those basic building blocks of a healthy life. And George Eaton points out how cuts to pandemic supports look to increase poverty and inequality in the UK. 

- Cole Hanson highlights how Canada has chosen to legitimize tax evasion rather than making it a priority to ensure the wealthy pay their fair share. And Adam Ramsey similarly writes about the UK's role in the Pandora Papers and the global system of tax avoidance, while Peter Oborne discusses the partisan connections between tax evasion and big-money donations to the UK Cons. 

- Meanwhile, Umair Haque and Doug Saunders each discuss the self-inflicted damage the UK faces as a result of Brexit. 

- Finally, Magdi Semrau explores how the U.S.' media distorted coverage of withdrawal from Afghanistan in favour of a frame of permanent war with no regard for consequences. And David Pugliese exposes how Canada has trained far-right extremists in the Ukraine. 

Monday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Lauren Pelley surveys the latest on COVID-19 - including the reality that viral variants and different affected populations are resulting in it presenting with different symptoms than previously. Natalie Grover discusses how the Delta variant seems to be winning the race against vaccines in the UK. And CBC News' Manitoba update includes news of a girl under 10 who has died of the coronavirus. 

- Pooja Salhotra and Amy Zimmer report on New York City's plan to ensure all classrooms have two air purifiers to limit the spread of COVID-19 among unvaccinated school populations. And BBC News reports on Australia's decisive moves to stop the spread of the Delta variant. 

- Aparna Gopalan discusses how big pharma is using COVID vaccines as a profit centre at the expense of public access in India (just as it's doing elsewhere). 

- Sudipta Saha argues that we can't expect an exploitative capitalist system to respond to either the COVID-19 pandemic or the climate crisis. And Katharine Hayhoe writes that we shouldn't need another IPCC report to recognize that it's vital to start reversing our climate's breakdown as quickly as we can. 

- Michael Byers calls out the Trudeau Libs for abandoning Canada's long-held (and hard-won) resistance to ballistic missile defence systems. 

- Finally, Leyland Cecco reports on Murray Sinclair's call to reveal the "undiscovered truths" of residential schools before it will be possible to begin to heal. 

Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- The Globe and Mail's editorial board is rightly aghast at Doug Ford's choice to facilitate the spread of the coronavirus as a devastating fall wave hits, while Bruce Arthur writes that there may be no choice but to impose a lockdown as the cost of doing nothing becomes more glaring. And Andrew Leach rightly calls out Jason Kenney's attempt to declare a spike in infection to be a matter of personal responsibility, while taking no responsibility whatsoever for his government's failings. 

- Meanwhile, Stephanie Taylor reports on new Saskatchewan Health Minister Paul Merriman's worrisome takes on COVID-19 - including that anti-mask protesting is just fine, and that the availability of field hospitals (which are better described as warehouses) means we shouldn't worry about the effect of the pandemic on our health care system. And Colin D'Mello reports on warnings about Ontario's health care system, which may soon see surgeries and other necessary care cancelled again in order to prioritize COVID-19 treatment. 

- Brady Lang reports on the alarming increase in Saskatchewan drug overdose deaths to over one a day so far in 2020. And Kathrin Glosel offers a reminder that a full Housing First strategy not only saves lives, but also saves money compared to the cost of jails and medical treatment. 

- Meanwhile, Lisa Adkins and Martijn Konings note that the gap between the cost of housing and the wages available from work has grown to the point where middle-class workers are having to rely on inheritances to buy a first home.

- Paola Rose-Aquino writes about the spread of the right-to-repair movement across borders and party lines.

- David Pugliese exposes the plans of Canada's military to set up a propaganda unit to influence public opinion and behaviour. And Jim Bronskill reports on the RCMP's continued stonewalling of a Civilian Review and Complaints Commission report into its covert surveillance of environmental activists.

- Finally, Brent Patterson discusses how we could put public resources to far better use funding a Green New Deal rather than gratuitous military purchasing. And Darrin Qualman examines how climate change stands to harm agriculture in Saskatchewan.

Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Yaryna Serkez highlights how COVID-19 has both exploited and exacerbated the U.S.' existing inequalities. And Alexander Panetta writes about the perpetuation of racial inequality in the U.S. for upwards of five decades after civil rights legislation was supposed to establish a nominally equal footing.

- Cornel West discusses the militarized boot crushing the neck of U.S. democracy. And Poppy Noor examines how the U.S. has treated the media as a target in order to try to suppress reporting on both police violence and the strong public response.

- Meanwhile, Tom Nolan points out how militarized police forces result in the labeling of peaceful activists as an enemy to be combated. And Sandy Hudson discusses how the defunding and demilitarization of police would save the lives of Black and Indigenous people in Canada.

- Steven Chase and Robert Fife report on the Trudeau Libs' choice to fund the Saudi purchase of armoured vehicles - signalling the emptiness of their two main excuses for proceeding with arming the Saudis, including both the supposed sanctity of contract and the desire to have other countries pay for our exported products.

- Eleonore Fournier-Tombs writes about the need to rethink our expectations for care work as we reshape our economy in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

- Finally, PressProgress exposes James Pattinson's laughable claim that he's powerless to change the slashing of hazard pay for workers at Save-on-Foods.

On gleeful destruction

Others have pointed out Stephen Harper's remarkably joyful mood at the prospect of getting into another Iraq war. But lest we let the moment pass without some photographic and Photoshop memory, I'll offer up the following...

A friendly reminder from your military-industrial overlords

Money to extend and improve the lives of Canadian citizens is never available, and the need for funding precludes any discussion of the benefits of investing in people. But money for war is free and unlimited, and the need for funding is not to be discussed as part of any debate as to our military plans.

Saturday Afternoon Links

Assorted content to end your Saturday.

- Susan Delacourt's mention of "likeonomics" as a branding strategy offers an interesting reference point for Canadian politics (particularly since our political scene has been radically reshaped by one obvious example of it in the 2011 election). But I'm not sure there's much new in the Cons' division of labour between Stephen Harper's attempt to portray himself as above political debate, and his designated attack dogs who work tirelessly at dumping partisan muck on any and all opponents. And David Climenhaga documents a few glaring examples of how "when in doubt, make it up" seems to be a consistent order from Harper to his lackeys.

- Meanwhile, Bruce Johnstone nicely points out that Harper has no business lecturing Europe on fiscal or economic management given that he's been a failure on both fronts.

- The Star criticizes the Cons' decision to pack dozens of major and unrelated policy changes into C-38, and challenges them to allow the debate that we should be able to expect.

- Dr. Dawg highlights another stunning change that the Cons have introduced with no apparent notice - a plan to set up military bases around the world which makes absolutely no sense given Canada's historical role in the world, but fits fairly nicely with Harper's apparent wish to be Canada's first Republican President.

- Finally, it's great to see that the federal civil service is joining the list of groups that's had enough of simply taking the Harper Cons' abuses without comment.

Saturday Morning Links

Assorted content for your weekend reading.

- Canada's Prime Minister is openly advocating for the use of soldiers over mere books or arguments as a means of persuasion. Which of course means it's time to start making jokes about Thomas Mulcair.

- Speaking of whom, Mulcair's much-discussed comments also include one point which should speak nicely to the NDP's goal of continuing to build across Canada rather than looking for shortcuts:

Mulcair says he appreciates what Martin is saying, but he won't support a merger.

"He's doing a great job of putting an important idea out there, but I'm categorical," he said. "The reason we did so well in Quebec in particular, is the fact that we aren't the Liberals."

- Deep Climate posts a superb expose of the Ethical Oil Institute. [Update: And see also James Laxer on the myth that it's possible to build a sustainable economy primarily on volatile resource industries.]

- Finally, remember back when any comparisons between Jack Layton and Barack Obama were met with haughty dismissals to the effect that Layton could never match Obama's appeal? Just wondering.