Vijay Prashad | In Ecuador, the oligarchy used the techniques of the guerra jurídica (‘legal war’) to delegitimise the entire left, especially former president Rafael Correa (2007-2017). Correa was accused of bribery – with the bizarre notion of ‘psychic influence’ (influjo psíquico) at the root of the case. He was handed down an eight-year sentence which prevented him from running for office in Ecuador.

Every COVID-19 vaccine maker Canada signed a contract with last summer was asked if they could make the doses in Canada and all of them concluded they could not, Procurement Minister Anita Anand said Thursday. ... "The manufacturers reviewed the identified assets here in Canada and concluded that biomanufacturing capacity in this country, at the time of contract, which was last August and September, was too limited to justify the investment of capital and expertise to start manufacturing in Canada."

Spearheaded by the advancement of AI and automation, a new social conflict is looming large—one between the creative class and the current capitalist elites. Akin to the clash between the emerging bourgeoisie and aristocracy in seventeenth/eighteenth-century Europe, this conflict can stoke up social tensions and radically transform urban space. What will the changing production and consumption economies herald for the disciplines of urban planning, architecture, and design?

The Laurentian University Faculty Association (LUFA) and Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations (OCUFA) are concerned to hear that Laurentian University is filing for court protection under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement due to financial challenges it is facing as a result of poorly considered and reckless administrative decisions and the erosion of public university funding. While there are some important questions to be asked, Minister of Colleges and Universities Ross Romano has a responsibility to step up and provide Laurentian with the funding it needs, not just to survive for a few more months, but to secure the public institution’s long-term future.

Yesterday, the Biden administration took two long-overdue steps toward potentially ending the Saudi war on Yemen. But the president has to provide more clarity on what exactly his administration is willing to do to halt Saudi Arabia’s brutality and remove the boot from the neck of Yemenis.

A handful of Big Tech corporations now wield more power than most national governments. It’s time to subject them to democratic control – before their power erodes democracy.