Old Fred
@captainfred.bsky.social
Prog metal-loving, cat-worshipping, Green anti-fascist, Blue Meanie hating, raving democratic Commie.
Reposted by Old Fred
“I’ve been called much worse than a despot, so it’s not that insulting” | Trump & Mamdani’s Awkward Oval Office Meeting
November 24, 2025 at 9:26 PM
“I’ve been called much worse than a despot, so it’s not that insulting” | Trump & Mamdani’s Awkward Oval Office Meeting
Reposted by Old Fred
Reposted by Old Fred
'A new set of forest towns will be built in the area between Oxford and Cambridge, nestled in the middle of a new national forest'.
These are charter cities and are being set up in deregulated SEZs.
Yet again, The Guardian omits to investigate the truth.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
These are charter cities and are being set up in deregulated SEZs.
Yet again, The Guardian omits to investigate the truth.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
New set of forest towns to be built between Oxford and Cambridge
Communities in the middle of new national forest to show how housebuilding can be delivered alongside nature
www.theguardian.com
November 24, 2025 at 10:43 AM
'A new set of forest towns will be built in the area between Oxford and Cambridge, nestled in the middle of a new national forest'.
These are charter cities and are being set up in deregulated SEZs.
Yet again, The Guardian omits to investigate the truth.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
These are charter cities and are being set up in deregulated SEZs.
Yet again, The Guardian omits to investigate the truth.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Reposted by Old Fred
When the racist comedian Bernard Manning fell out of fashion in more tolerant times and stopped appearing on TV he defended his long history of appalling offensive "jokes" as nothing more than "banter"and insisted that he "had a go at everyone".
This is the Bernard Manning defence.
This is the Bernard Manning defence.
November 25, 2025 at 7:19 AM
When the racist comedian Bernard Manning fell out of fashion in more tolerant times and stopped appearing on TV he defended his long history of appalling offensive "jokes" as nothing more than "banter"and insisted that he "had a go at everyone".
This is the Bernard Manning defence.
This is the Bernard Manning defence.
Reposted by Old Fred
Under Bolsanaro the govt tried to save money by stopping treatment of waters used by disease bearing insects.
Saved maybe $5m
Cost of treating the resulting disease and then treating the waters about 6 times as much.
WHen the corporate/far right talk about "saving money" they ignore necessity.
Saved maybe $5m
Cost of treating the resulting disease and then treating the waters about 6 times as much.
WHen the corporate/far right talk about "saving money" they ignore necessity.
Four justices voted to keep the former right-wing president in police custody after his ankle monitor was damaged.
Brazil’s Supreme Court panel votes to keep Bolsonaro in police custody
Four justices voted to keep the former right-wing president in police custody after his ankle monitor was damaged.
bit.ly
November 25, 2025 at 7:19 AM
Under Bolsanaro the govt tried to save money by stopping treatment of waters used by disease bearing insects.
Saved maybe $5m
Cost of treating the resulting disease and then treating the waters about 6 times as much.
WHen the corporate/far right talk about "saving money" they ignore necessity.
Saved maybe $5m
Cost of treating the resulting disease and then treating the waters about 6 times as much.
WHen the corporate/far right talk about "saving money" they ignore necessity.
Reposted by Old Fred
I’m sharing a Palestinian account every day and today is Muhammad. Muhammad was an accountant prior to this but his workplace was destroyed and his home severely damaged. He’s hoping to leave Gaza with his family including his daughters Iman, 5 and Lian, 6 so that they can get a better education.
November 24, 2025 at 9:06 AM
I’m sharing a Palestinian account every day and today is Muhammad. Muhammad was an accountant prior to this but his workplace was destroyed and his home severely damaged. He’s hoping to leave Gaza with his family including his daughters Iman, 5 and Lian, 6 so that they can get a better education.
Reposted by Old Fred
Ultra-processed foods now make up at least half of all food sold in UK supermarkets. The Lancet has described them as a “corporate-engineered public health crisis.”
We can change this — but only if we confront corporate power.
youtu.be/BJ8nEeiFmH4?...
We can change this — but only if we confront corporate power.
youtu.be/BJ8nEeiFmH4?...
How ultra-processed food became a corporate-engineered health crisis
YouTube video by Richard J Murphy
youtu.be
November 24, 2025 at 7:08 AM
Ultra-processed foods now make up at least half of all food sold in UK supermarkets. The Lancet has described them as a “corporate-engineered public health crisis.”
We can change this — but only if we confront corporate power.
youtu.be/BJ8nEeiFmH4?...
We can change this — but only if we confront corporate power.
youtu.be/BJ8nEeiFmH4?...
Reposted by Old Fred
Rachel Shabi: "This whole idea of the BBC being too liberal.. on Gaza, is just gaslighting on an epic scale. If anything, as we all know, people have been watching with increasing frustration as the BBC has massively failed to accurately report a war described as genocide in Gaza"
November 24, 2025 at 6:48 AM
Rachel Shabi: "This whole idea of the BBC being too liberal.. on Gaza, is just gaslighting on an epic scale. If anything, as we all know, people have been watching with increasing frustration as the BBC has massively failed to accurately report a war described as genocide in Gaza"
Reposted by Old Fred
The Alternative Budget 2025, Part 9: Essential economic reforms www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2025/11... My alternative budget is drawing towards its close.
The Alternative Budget 2025, Part 9: Essential economic reforms
Rachel Reeves will be presenting her Budget on November 26, if the Labour government of which she is a part lasts that long.
I will be commenting on that Budget on the day on BBC Radio 2, and elsewhe...
www.taxresearch.org.uk
November 24, 2025 at 7:15 AM
The Alternative Budget 2025, Part 9: Essential economic reforms www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2025/11... My alternative budget is drawing towards its close.
Reposted by Old Fred
Up to 7m extra working-age people could be denied minimum standard of living in retirement if UK state pension triple lock is ditched.
Neoliberals squeeze wages and call for real cuts to pension.
Thousands will die prematurely.
State pension must not be less than the minimum wage
archive.ph/UaHIw
Neoliberals squeeze wages and call for real cuts to pension.
Thousands will die prematurely.
State pension must not be less than the minimum wage
archive.ph/UaHIw
The total number of retirees facing poverty if state pension triple lock is cut
Figures have been released days before the Budget, in which Reeves may target tax perks given to pension savers
inews.co.uk
November 23, 2025 at 9:47 AM
Up to 7m extra working-age people could be denied minimum standard of living in retirement if UK state pension triple lock is ditched.
Neoliberals squeeze wages and call for real cuts to pension.
Thousands will die prematurely.
State pension must not be less than the minimum wage
archive.ph/UaHIw
Neoliberals squeeze wages and call for real cuts to pension.
Thousands will die prematurely.
State pension must not be less than the minimum wage
archive.ph/UaHIw
Reposted by Old Fred
I’m going to coin a law - call it Maugham’s First Law - and it is that nothing Wes Streeting ever says turns out to be true. 🧵
April 11, 2025 at 2:14 PM
I’m going to coin a law - call it Maugham’s First Law - and it is that nothing Wes Streeting ever says turns out to be true. 🧵
Reposted by Old Fred
Rachel Reeves says there’s a “hole” in the public finances. A new decade-long Brexit study explains it: a 6–8% hit to GDP – that's £180bn-£240bn a year – means less tax, less investment and less money for everything else.
Brexit made Britain poorer. Much poorer.
@eastangliabylines.co.uk
Brexit made Britain poorer. Much poorer.
@eastangliabylines.co.uk
New: Boris Johnson’s ‘Brexit Titanic success’ was half right
Nearly ten years on, the first full assessment of Brexit confirms what millions warned: Britain made itself poorer
eastangliabylines.co.uk
November 23, 2025 at 5:51 PM
Rachel Reeves says there’s a “hole” in the public finances. A new decade-long Brexit study explains it: a 6–8% hit to GDP – that's £180bn-£240bn a year – means less tax, less investment and less money for everything else.
Brexit made Britain poorer. Much poorer.
@eastangliabylines.co.uk
Brexit made Britain poorer. Much poorer.
@eastangliabylines.co.uk
Reposted by Old Fred
Apsana Begum is right, the chancellor needs to scrap the two child benefit cap entirely.
Apsana was of course suspended from the Parliamentary Labour Party by Keir Starmer last year for voting to scrap the cap.
Apsana was of course suspended from the Parliamentary Labour Party by Keir Starmer last year for voting to scrap the cap.
November 24, 2025 at 7:29 AM
Apsana Begum is right, the chancellor needs to scrap the two child benefit cap entirely.
Apsana was of course suspended from the Parliamentary Labour Party by Keir Starmer last year for voting to scrap the cap.
Apsana was of course suspended from the Parliamentary Labour Party by Keir Starmer last year for voting to scrap the cap.
Reposted by Old Fred
"Children don't choose to be born & I don't think children should be punished or disadvantaged because their parents can't afford to put food on the table for them"
A woman in Coventry on the two child benefit cap. Well said #GMB
A woman in Coventry on the two child benefit cap. Well said #GMB
November 24, 2025 at 6:11 AM
"Children don't choose to be born & I don't think children should be punished or disadvantaged because their parents can't afford to put food on the table for them"
A woman in Coventry on the two child benefit cap. Well said #GMB
A woman in Coventry on the two child benefit cap. Well said #GMB
Reposted by Old Fred
We’re still DRAMATICALLY understating how completely batshit-level unhinged this is.
Seriously. Imagine this happening in any other presidency.
You can’t, because it’s completely inconceivable that it could happen, or that it would be allowed.
Seriously. Imagine this happening in any other presidency.
You can’t, because it’s completely inconceivable that it could happen, or that it would be allowed.
This is what rock-bottom polling does to a man with a fragile ego.
November 24, 2025 at 6:33 AM
We’re still DRAMATICALLY understating how completely batshit-level unhinged this is.
Seriously. Imagine this happening in any other presidency.
You can’t, because it’s completely inconceivable that it could happen, or that it would be allowed.
Seriously. Imagine this happening in any other presidency.
You can’t, because it’s completely inconceivable that it could happen, or that it would be allowed.
Reposted by Old Fred
Call for boycott of firms criticised by Grenfell fire inquiry.
Arconic, Kingspan and Celotex behaved with “systematic dishonesty”, “engaged in deliberate and sustained strategies to manipulate the testing processes, misrepresent test data and mislead the market”
72 died in 2017. No one prosecuted.
Arconic, Kingspan and Celotex behaved with “systematic dishonesty”, “engaged in deliberate and sustained strategies to manipulate the testing processes, misrepresent test data and mislead the market”
72 died in 2017. No one prosecuted.
Architect George Clarke calls for boycott of firms criticised by Grenfell inquiry
TV personality wants homeowners and businesses to shun ‘dishonest’ firms Arconic, Kingspan and Celotex
www.theguardian.com
November 24, 2025 at 7:47 AM
Call for boycott of firms criticised by Grenfell fire inquiry.
Arconic, Kingspan and Celotex behaved with “systematic dishonesty”, “engaged in deliberate and sustained strategies to manipulate the testing processes, misrepresent test data and mislead the market”
72 died in 2017. No one prosecuted.
Arconic, Kingspan and Celotex behaved with “systematic dishonesty”, “engaged in deliberate and sustained strategies to manipulate the testing processes, misrepresent test data and mislead the market”
72 died in 2017. No one prosecuted.
Reposted by Old Fred
Over at the Daily Telegraph, they're scratching their heads as to why the former mining and steel producinv city of Gliwice in Poland is now 45% more prosperous than Darlington... and why it has new shiny infrastructure... without mentioning EU funds for urban and regional development...
November 24, 2025 at 7:53 AM
Over at the Daily Telegraph, they're scratching their heads as to why the former mining and steel producinv city of Gliwice in Poland is now 45% more prosperous than Darlington... and why it has new shiny infrastructure... without mentioning EU funds for urban and regional development...
Reposted by Old Fred
⚠️BE WARNED. Charter cities are coming to Brexit ravaged UK, this was the whole reason why the Tories' and Labour colluded on installing deregulated free zones across England, Scotland, and Wales.
open.substack.com/pub/european...
open.substack.com/pub/european...
Suffolk's Forest City and the Ghost of Próspera: Why Britain Should Learn From Honduras
What happens when libertarian billionaires build “startup cities” promising prosperity but delivering corporate sovereignty? Ask the fishermen of Crawfish Rock.
open.substack.com
November 23, 2025 at 12:53 PM
⚠️BE WARNED. Charter cities are coming to Brexit ravaged UK, this was the whole reason why the Tories' and Labour colluded on installing deregulated free zones across England, Scotland, and Wales.
open.substack.com/pub/european...
open.substack.com/pub/european...
Reposted by Old Fred
This young man has it exactly right.
November 21, 2025 at 11:30 PM
This young man has it exactly right.
Reposted by Old Fred
"If there is a work of art that truly captures what is taking place in Ukraine right now it is probably Picassos horrific picture of slaughter of the innocents by fascists in the Spanish Civil War, Guernica"
Trevor has never & would never say this about Gaza, would he.
Trevor has never & would never say this about Gaza, would he.
November 23, 2025 at 8:38 AM
"If there is a work of art that truly captures what is taking place in Ukraine right now it is probably Picassos horrific picture of slaughter of the innocents by fascists in the Spanish Civil War, Guernica"
Trevor has never & would never say this about Gaza, would he.
Trevor has never & would never say this about Gaza, would he.
Reposted by Old Fred
Heidi Alexander on the govts position: "Our fundamental view on this is the future of Ukraine has to be determined by Ukrainians themselves"
They never say 'the future of Palestine has to be determined by Palestinians themselves', do they?
They never say 'the future of Palestine has to be determined by Palestinians themselves', do they?
November 23, 2025 at 8:41 AM
Heidi Alexander on the govts position: "Our fundamental view on this is the future of Ukraine has to be determined by Ukrainians themselves"
They never say 'the future of Palestine has to be determined by Palestinians themselves', do they?
They never say 'the future of Palestine has to be determined by Palestinians themselves', do they?
Reposted by Old Fred
"We are setting up GB Railways which is going to bring the train operating companies into public ownership, stop the leakage of public £ to private shareholders"
So why are you leaving the private rolling stock companies alone? They extract hundreds of millions from the system
So why are you leaving the private rolling stock companies alone? They extract hundreds of millions from the system
November 23, 2025 at 9:01 AM
"We are setting up GB Railways which is going to bring the train operating companies into public ownership, stop the leakage of public £ to private shareholders"
So why are you leaving the private rolling stock companies alone? They extract hundreds of millions from the system
So why are you leaving the private rolling stock companies alone? They extract hundreds of millions from the system
Reposted by Old Fred
Zarah Sultana, "Wages are stagnating, bills are rising, companies are posting record profits, the rich are laughing all the way to the bank. Everyone can see it."
Yes they can.
#bbcqt
Yes they can.
#bbcqt
November 14, 2025 at 9:04 AM
Zarah Sultana, "Wages are stagnating, bills are rising, companies are posting record profits, the rich are laughing all the way to the bank. Everyone can see it."
Yes they can.
#bbcqt
Yes they can.
#bbcqt
Reposted by Old Fred
As part of the Lift the Ban campaign which challenges the use of terrorism laws to suppress dissent, activists are planning civil disobedience actions in 19 locations across the country 18-29 November.
*Is your town or city on the list?*
*Is your town or city on the list?*
November 14, 2025 at 10:25 AM
As part of the Lift the Ban campaign which challenges the use of terrorism laws to suppress dissent, activists are planning civil disobedience actions in 19 locations across the country 18-29 November.
*Is your town or city on the list?*
*Is your town or city on the list?*