Phil Free
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philfree.bsky.social
Phil Free
@philfree.bsky.social
Politics, economics, planet - I live in Essex, UK.
The Rise & Fall of Liberal Historiography
www.historynewsnetwork.org/article/the-...
The Rise and Fall of Liberal Historiography
How historians changed their approach, from the 1960s to the present.
www.historynewsnetwork.org
February 9, 2026 at 11:49 PM
“In 1947-48 alone, at least 30 documented massacres left hundreds dead, including children, women ,& the elderly.

In a perverse calculus, Israeli forces classified all males between 10 & 50 as legitimate targets, effectively sentencing children to death.”
open.substack.com/pub/savagemi...
“No Other Country”
Israel, the Pariah
open.substack.com
February 9, 2026 at 11:27 PM
Reposted by Phil Free
We need to stop referring to these people as centrist Democrats. They are advancing a right-wing agenda and should be referred to as such.
NEW: The “centrist” Abundance think tank pushing Democrats toward deregulation is run by a registered corporate lobbyist for OpenAI, Larry Ellison’s Oracle, and a crypto think tank.
February 9, 2026 at 6:32 PM
Reposted by Phil Free
China — China! — has signed off on a report that warns focusing on unchecked economic growth is contributing to the destruction of global biodiversity.

subscriber.politicopro.com/article/eene...
E&E News: Obsession with growth is destroying nature, 150 countries warn
China, India and EU countries were among the signatories of a report that criticized the prevailing measures of economic success.
subscriber.politicopro.com
February 9, 2026 at 10:34 PM
Attacking Black Journalists Is an American Tradition
prospect.org/2026/02/02/a...
Attacking Black Journalists Is an American Tradition - The American Prospect
The arrests of Don Lemon and Georgia Fort reflect an American legacy of targeting the Black press.
prospect.org
February 9, 2026 at 10:26 PM
New Jerseyans Demand State Divestment From ICE Profiteer Palantir
prospect.org/2026/01/30/n...
New Jerseyans Demand State Divestment From ICE Profiteer Palantir - The American Prospect
Locals at a routine state investment council meeting this week told board members they must get taxpayer money out of the surveillance tech company.
prospect.org
February 9, 2026 at 10:05 PM
“[The middle class] are not radical, not liberal, not conservative, not reactionary; they are ‘inactionary’… If we accept the Greeks’ definition of the idiot as a privatised man, then we must conclude that the US citizenry is now largely composed of idiots.”
jacobin.com/2026/02/wrig...
Reading C. Wright Mills in the Age of Trump
Seventy years ago, C. Wright Mills published The Power Elite, a scathing indictment of corporate executives, state officials, and their academic apologists. His analysis has lost none of its bite as w...
jacobin.com
February 9, 2026 at 9:08 PM
Tech’s role in exploiting vulnerable migrant workers
www.opendemocracy.net/en/fake-visa...
Tech’s role in exploiting vulnerable migrant workers
From Saudi Arabia to Nepal and the UK, vulnerable workers are exploited due to a lack of digital and financial literacy
www.opendemocracy.net
February 9, 2026 at 6:25 PM
Reposted by Phil Free
Ironic that a man barely ever in his workplace should make such a call.
BREAKING: Nigel Farage calls for an end to working from home and the focus on work-life balance

"People aren't more productive working from home - it's a load of nonsense”

Whatever you do JUST DON’T VOTE REFORM!
February 9, 2026 at 5:35 PM
“These are problems of what I cal The Global Casino, which facilitates the insane gambling of international financial markets & the direct impact of their activities on our pensions, daily bread, energy & housing; but also on the biosphere.”

@annpettifor.bsky.social
tribunemag.co.uk/2026/01/gamb...
Gambling the Biosphere
The habits of global financial markets have a direct impact on the cost-of-living and climate crises. Societies and governments must take back control to avoid catastrophe.
tribunemag.co.uk
February 9, 2026 at 6:00 PM
Behemoth or Leviathan?
open.substack.com/pub/johnganz...
Behemoth or Leviathan?
State and Unstate
open.substack.com
February 9, 2026 at 5:19 PM
“But that’s what politics is all about: Bending reality to satisfy our primal cravings, however morally indefensible, attainable or sustainable they may or may not be.

In the fight between platitudes & ecological realities there can be only one winner.”
open.substack.com/pub/gnug315/...
Collapse - Part 1/5: Denial
Why no one wants to talk about doom and gloom
open.substack.com
February 9, 2026 at 4:49 PM
“Those are not the actions of people trying to secure systems. They look like the actions of people trying to shut down scrutiny.”

McSweeney goes - but ​​Josh Simons in the frame over targeting journalists
open.substack.com/pub/democrac...
McSweeney goes - but ​​Josh Simons in the frame over targeting journalists
Cabinet Office minister hired a PR firm to investigate journalists. His explanation is bewildering - and begs one big question. How can Starmer keep him on?
open.substack.com
February 9, 2026 at 3:56 PM
“The argument pushed by governments & industry that the emissions can be ignored because new trees will absorb them in the future is wrong & dangerous.”

Woody biomass is a false climate solution & a massive threat to Indonesia’s forests - @reddmonitor.bsky.social
open.substack.com/pub/reddmoni...
Woody biomass is a false climate solution and a massive threat to Indonesia’s forests
A new report highlights the threat to Indonesia’s forests from industrial biomass demand.
open.substack.com
February 9, 2026 at 3:33 PM
U.S. Envoys Refused to Report "Apocalyptic" Conditions in Gaza. Exclusive Photos Show the Reality They Suppressed
open.substack.com/pub/dropsite...
U.S. Envoys Refused to Report "Apocalyptic" Conditions in Gaza. Exclusive Photos Show the Reality They Suppressed
The U.S. embassy in Jerusalem suppressed a February 2024 report on northern Gaza because it “lacked balance.” These photos from the UN fact finding trip are visual evidence of the conditions.
open.substack.com
February 9, 2026 at 2:58 PM
“To reinstate progressive neoliberalism would be to exacerbate the very conditions that created Trump & perhaps even prepare the ground for something far more monstrous.” #PostCapitalism

Neoliberalism’s Persistence & the Struggle for What Comes After
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Sage Journals: Discover world-class research
Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.
journals.sagepub.com
February 9, 2026 at 1:07 PM
“Economic growth has a near mythical status in the affections of economists & politicians. But wishful thinking won’t solve the climate crisis.” #PostCapitalism #Degrowth #PostGrowth #BeyondGrowth

Economic growth is still heating the planet
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Economic growth is still heating the planet. Is there any way out?
Rising GDP continues to mean more carbon emissions and wider damage to the planet. Can the two be decoupled?
www.theguardian.com
February 9, 2026 at 9:40 AM
Matt Yglesias is still lying about Democratic donors
open.substack.com/pub/carlbeij...
Matt Yglesias is still lying about Democratic donors
Another swing at the Shor / Yglesias "rich people have made Democrats too progressive" schtick.
open.substack.com
February 8, 2026 at 11:19 PM
“On the night of Jan 3, several officers entered the home of Mohammed Hussain Tarabin Al-Sana, a 35-yr-old father of six, & shot him in the chest in front of his wife & children.”

Israel is ‘restoring governance’ to the Negev - by terrorising Palestinians
www.972mag.com/tarabin-al-s...
Israel is ‘restoring governance’ to the Negev — by terrorizing Palestinians
With the pretext of a stolen horse, police have turned the Bedouin village of Tarabin Al-Sana into a war zone. A fatal shooting was only a matter of time.
www.972mag.com
February 8, 2026 at 11:02 PM
The Peak of Trump’s Fact-Free Vendetta Against Regulation
newrepublic.com/article/2046...
The Peak of Trump’s Fact-Free Vendetta Against Regulation
Conservatives once promoted cost-benefit analysis to check the administrative state—until it got better at measuring the huge benefits of regulation.
newrepublic.com
February 8, 2026 at 10:15 PM