Is decline the new trend for civilization? With the exception, perhaps, of population growth, humanity seems to be at or on the cusp of decline. Tom Engelhardt, of TomDispatch, has written an oddly touching column on decline in the latest ScheerPost. He writes of the decline that accompanies old
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Accidental Deliberations: Tuesday Morning Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading. – Eric Topol writes that the only sensible response to the increased death and sickness from COVID-19 is to dedicate our efforts to fully containing it. And Jessica Nelson reports on research from the University of Alberta showing the massive health care costs
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Monday Afternoon Links
Miscellaneous material to start your week. – CBC News reports on the rise of COVID levels in Saskatchewan cities’ wastewater. David Axe reports on the development of the BA.4.6 variant which looks likely to represent an even greater threat than the currently-dominant version. And Bruce Mirken discusses how the failure
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Afternoon Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading. – Alexander Quon reports on the belated announcement that Saskatchewan adults will be able to get a second COVID booster vaccination. And Pratyush Dayal reports that the Saskatchewan Health Authority is finally warning people about the dangers of monkeypox and making some testing available.
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib Mk. II: Michael Harris – Conservatives Can’t Shake the Curse of Harper
Michael Harris has sized up Pierre Poilievre and concludes that he’s a symptom of a sickness the Conservatives just cannot shake. The Conservatives are still the party of “Make Harperism Great Again.” Instead of taking the rejections of 2015, 2019 and 2021 as signs of the urgent need to
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Musical interlude
Metric – All Comes Crashing
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib Mk. II: Trump Being Investigated Under the Espionage Act
The Independent has obtained a copy of the warrant to search Mar-a-Lardo. The search warrant, which federal agents obtained on 5 August, directed agents to seize “physical documents and records constituting evidence, contraband, fruits of crime, or other items illegally possessed in violation” of three criminal laws: the Espionage
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Afternoon Links
Assorted content to end your week. – Irini Osaeivi et al. study the effects of long COVID and find that it continues to result in vascular damage for 18 months (or more) after infection. – Carly Weeks discusses how the combination of COVID misinformation and increasingly untenable workloads is imposing intolerable
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib Mk. II: Faster Than We Imagined.
It’s widely understood that the Arctic has been warming twice as fast as the rest of the world. Wrong, we got that wrong. A paper published in Communications Earth & Environment contends that, since 1979, the Arctic has warmed not twice as fast but four times. In recent decades, the warming
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Thursday Morning Links
This and that for your Thursday reading. – David Quammen writes about the ongoing race between scientific discovery and an evolving coronavirus. And Heidi Sheehan reports on new research showing a similarity between long COVID and myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome based on the inability of receptors to properly receive calcium. –
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Afternoon Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Maggie Mills discusses how an antisocial public health policy in the midst of an ongoing pandemic is producing a disastrous human cost (particularly for vulnerable people), while Pamela Heaven reports on CIBC research showing that even the economy to which people are being
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib Mk. II: There’s No Vaccine for This
A Leger poll finds Canadians aren’t warming to that cold fish, Pierre Poilievre. Another recent poll finds we’re none to fond of the other guy either. Both results are easy to understand. Canadians, it seems, are tired of Justin’s empty platitudes and uneasy at Pete’s radical right rants. Does this
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib Mk. II: Trump and His Muppets Play Possum
There was a time they wouldn’t shut up. Now, except for when they’re safely inside some Republican festung, they’re a lot less talkative. Trump showed up to a scheduled deposition today, after repeatedly trying to get out of it. Then he went mute, claiming the protection of the Fifth
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Tuesday Afternoon Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading. – CBC reports that Ontario transit is the latest major public service being paralyzed by the uncontrolled spread of COVID-19. And Ishani Desai reports on research showing the exacerbating effect of air pollution on the severity of COVID infections. – Meanwhile, Angely Mercado
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib Mk. II: Betting on Rock Bottom
Seabed trawlers are almost universally reviled. Their lead-weighted nets scour the seabed, in the process destroying almost everything in their path. This 2014 article from The Guardian focuses on the problem: The Firth of Forth was once home to vast beds of oysters, for example. None remains. Similarly, the
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Monday Evening Links
Miscellaneous material to start your week. – CBS reports on the Walk to Remember intended to highlight the continued need for long COVID supports. And Elizabeth Thompson reports on the federal government workers who are rightly challenging the demand to return to offices for little apparent reason (and with no
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib Mk. II: FBI Raids Mar-a-Lardo
CNN is reporting that FBI agents just raided Donald Trump’s compound at Mar-a-Lardo. Trump apparently said the agents even broke into his safe.
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib Mk. II: Trump Complained His Generals Didn’t Act Enough Like Hitler’s
A New Yorker article explores former president Donald Trump’s contempt for his own generals. Ever a fan of the Austrian paper-hanger, Trump had this exchange with his then chief of staff, John Kelly. The President’s loud complaint to John Kelly one day was typical: “You fucking generals, why can’t
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib Mk. II: The Case for Longtermism
George Monbiot calls it the “conspiracy of silence that dominates public life.” Governments dodge dealing with problems, existential threats, and puts it down to the “power of incumbency.” …those politicians and media barons deploy every imaginable wile and ruse to prevent decisive action from being taken. They do so
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